A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
California’s water contractors get full supply from the state and federal systems
“Water users for both the State Water Project and Central Valley Project will get a 100% allocation, agencies announced Thursday. The string of storms that battered California over the past few months have inundated the state with water and built up a record-breaking snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The extraordinary amount of water is responsible for the rare increase to 100% allocations. The State Water Project is a network of reservoirs and canals that serve 29 water agencies, 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland. The state Department of Water Resources (DWR) Thursday announced an increase to a 100% allocation for water users, up from 75% in March. The last time there was a full allocation was 2006. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
When will California have its next drought? JPL may soon offer a water crystal ball
“A new satellite by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will soon provide more precise — and vital — data on how much water is available on Earth’s surface, allowing better forecasts for extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods, and helping water resources managers and farmers to get a better picture of their water budget. The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography or SWOT mission was launched in December 2022 from Vandenberg Space Force Base atop a Falcon 9 rocket. While SWOT won’t solve water problems, the mission will provide better information on how communities can plan and respond in the future, according to the JPL. “We don’t have a good view of water right now,” said Dr. Ben Hamlington, one of the researchers for the SWOT mission. “As climate continues to change, water resources are changing. We need to understand how water is moving about Earth and how the availability is going to shift.” … ” Read more from NBC 4.
Why California’s water extremes are wilder than ever — and what we can do about it
“What a relief last winter is finally over. In late December, California was hit by the first in a series of powerful storms called atmospheric rivers. Then eight more atmospheric rivers arrived in January. And they kept coming (and coming) through February and March — so many I lost count. Soon I wished the torrential rains would just stop. I felt like a bad Californian. While alternating between drought and deluge is nothing new for California, climate change is making these swings even more dramatic. New research will help the state prepare for future water extremes by improving forecasts and optimizing water savings in the wettest years for use in the inevitable dry stretches. New policies and updates could make water allocation more equitable while safeguarding deliveries to cities and farms as the supply boom and bust cycle grows ever wilder. … ” Read more from Knee Deep Times.
Will California get enough rain to fill its pricey new reservoir?
“In January, a series of storms pummeled California, causing floods, mudslides, and widespread power outages. In just three weeks, 32 trillion gallons of water fell on the state. Then, in March, another series of storms hit, triggering additional destruction … California’s state and local agencies hope a different kind of reservoir will help manage water and limit impacts on remaining aquatic habitat. This reservoir will be located off-river in what’s now a grassy, sparsely inhabited valley about 80 miles northwest of Sacramento. Named for the small community it will eventually inundate, the Sites Reservoir will divert water from the Sacramento River during high flow conditions via two existing canals and a new pumping station. Once completed, Sites will be among the largest reservoirs in California. The $4 billion project, funded by local agencies, voter-approved water projects, and the federal Bureau of Reclamation, is slated to break ground in 2025. … ” Read more from Undark Magazine.
After the deluge: Floods may taint more drinking water in California
“When Kelli and Tim Hutten made an offer for a house in the quiet Monterey County town of Moss Landing last summer, they looked forward to mild weather, coastal views, trails along nearby wetlands and being a bit closer to family. Unfortunately, the Huttons also knew that something wasn’t right with the neighborhood’s groundwater. The Huttons’ community in the Salinas Valley, one of the nation’s most productive farm areas, is just one of many towns in California plagued by nitrate contamination of drinking water. For decades, high levels have contaminated groundwater basins throughout the state — especially in disadvantaged farm communities in the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys — as well as much of the world. Now this year’s heavy rains may worsen this widespread contamination as fertilizer from crops and orchards and manure from ranches and dairy farms are flushed into underground water supplies. … ” Continue reading at Cal Matters.
Despite storms, many Californians are still coping with dry wells and awaiting fixes
“In a neighborhood surrounded by almond orchards and citrus groves southeast of Fresno, large plastic cisterns occupy the yards of many homes, and residents have learned to ration water until the next tanker truck arrives. Even after major storms have boosted California rivers and reservoirs, many in the unincorporated community of Tombstone Territory continue to rely on state-funded water deliveries. Some of their wells went dry last year, while others have been coping with dry wells for as long as three years. “It is really a struggle,” said Anita Torres, 61. “Sometimes I just cry because I’m so frustrated.” Since her well failed, she and her family have been taking short showers and lugging 5-gallon jugs into their home to cook and drink. Tombstone is one of many communities in the San Joaquin Valley where chronic overpumping of groundwater by agriculture has left homeowners with dry wells. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via AOL News.
Big water year doesn’t mean more planted acres
“The fluidity of spring weather in California and the likelihood of flood conditions through summer because of the projected record snowmelt has created a bit much of a good thing for farmers. Too much, in fact. California farmers could see their first 100% irrigation allotment in years from state and federal water managers. With nowhere to use it all, and no new storage to prevent its loss to the ocean, some growers are struggling mentally. Moreover, the loss of the Tulare Lake Basin ground to cotton and tomatoes for the next year or two, and maybe longer, is already improving demand for ground in Westlands Water District and in Kern County as water allocations will likely be sufficient this year for those regions. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
California’s farmers reeling as flooding wreaks havoc on dairy industry
“Floodwaters from an overflowing Lake Success reached the Tule River next to Joseph Goni’s Tulare family dairy on March 15, in the middle of the night, much faster than he had expected. When Goni and his fiancee woke up, the water was at their front door. By the time his sister and brother-in-law, who also lived on the farm, pulled their children out of their home in pajamas, 2 to 3 feet of water was rushing everywhere, impossible to stop. Goni choked up recently as he and Roberto Martinez, a 30-year employee, recounted how floodwaters nearly washed away the dairy three generations of his family had built. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Thousands of acres are underwater in California, and the flood could triple in size this summer
“Torrents and torrents of rain have drowned thousands of acres of farmland in California’s Central Valley this winter and resuscitated a lake that vanished decades ago. As far as the eye can see, water stretches to the horizon — across roads, across crop fields, through homes and buildings. Now, the massive snowpack that piled up on the Sierra Nevada this winter is a dripping time bomb. As it melts, the flood could triple in size by summer, threatening the surrounding communities and costing billions in losses. “All of the crops are completely flooded and ruined,” resident Martina Sealy said as she held her baby daughter and gazed out across white-capped water, where vast fields of cotton and alfalfa had grown all her life. “It takes a lot of jobs for people. That’s a lot of food that we provide for up and down California and all around the nation. It’s pretty scary.” Even scarier when you realize the standing water that’s there now is just the beginning of their ordeal. … ” Read more from CNN.
Could California’s next dam removal take place on this endangered river?
“This summer crews will break ground on the first of four dam removals along the Klamath River in California and Oregon. The dam-removal and river-restoration effort over the next two years is the largest of its kind, and river advocates hope more will follow. They may not have to wait long. Up next in the region could be two dams on the mainstem of Northern California’s Eel River. … The Eel River is the third-largest river basin in the state and once had the largest runs of salmon and steelhead on the North Coast. Both Chinook and steelhead are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The removal of Scott Dam and Cape Horn Dam could help boost populations of Chinook and steelhead by providing access to hundreds of miles of prime, cold-water spawning and rearing habitat, acutely needed because climate change can push water temperatures above what’s tolerable for salmonids. … ” Read more from The Revelator.
Water theft proves lucrative in a dangerously dry world
“They learned the hard way not to drive out alone. Officials inspecting water theft in Monterrey, Mexico, started going out in convoys of three or four cars accompanied by police because others before them had been pelted with stones or had their cars surrounded. … Mexico is not alone. Water theft on a monumental scale has decimated national park lagoons in Spain and threatened to bankrupt farmers in Chile. In California, the illicit cannabis industry manages to get as much water as it needs while residents for years have faced high fines — and public shaming — for violating strict use limits. Illegal water theft even ensnared a former mayor in Brazil. … ” Continue reading at Bloomberg (gift article).
An aerial fire retardant is widely used in Northern California. Is it harming the environment?
“The 2020 Walbridge Fire had finally stopped burning and Birkin Newell was visiting a property along Wine Creek, a tributary that feeds into Dry Creek — one of Sonoma County’s most important salmon spawning habitats. Newell, who is restoration director for the Russian Riverkeeper conservation organization, said the owner of the property was concerned about fire retardant that had been dropped on the creek during the more than six-week battle against Walbridge. In photographs he took on Oct. 8, 2020, six days after the fire had officially ended, you can see large and small faded pink spots completely covering a wooden deck, as well as soil, leaves and rocks along the creek. … The retardant, whose essential ingredient is ammonium phosphate — an inorganic compound used to enhance plant, yeast and bacteria growth — has become a symbol of defiance in the age of massive wildfires and climate change. But some are raising concerns about the possible environmental fallout of fighting wildfires with what is essentially fertilizer. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (gift article).
In commentary this week …
Editorial: California lacks enforceable water rights system
The San Jose Mercury News and the East Bay Times editorial board writes, “California’s inability to prevent illegal and wasteful use of its water supply is more annoying than a leaky faucet. And far more costly. When water is illegally diverted, it severely reduces the amount available to urban and agricultural users throughout the state. But the state Water Resources Control Board lacks the tools needed to enforce water rights and protect the limited supply. The process for stopping illegal diversions can take weeks. And when the state does finally step in, the fines it levies are insufficient to act as a deterrent. It’s the equivalent of a police officer catching someone speeding and sending a letter to the speeder saying, if you don’t slow down in the next 20 days, we’ll hit you with a fine for the cost of a gallon of gas. Two bills introduced into the Legislature would help solve the problem. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
Dan Walters: Imperial Valley nears day of reckoning for use of distressed Colorado River
“When white settlers forayed into what came to be known as the Imperial Valley at the dawn of the 20th century, they found a barren desert in California’s southeastern corner, unpopulated except for a few members of the Kamia clan of the Kumeyaay tribe. The harsh conditions, however, had a potential upside. With water, the desert could bloom with crops and the water was potentially available from the Colorado River, which flowed to the sea a few dozen miles to the east, on the other side of a massive stretch of Sahara-like sand dunes. The settlement of the valley was romantically portrayed in “The Winning of Barbara Worth,” a best-selling novel by Harold Bell Wright that later became a silent movie. A canal was dug, routed through Mexico to skirt the sand dunes, and the Imperial Valley, named for the Imperial Land Co., blossomed. It became a 500,000-acre provider of vegetables, alfalfa and other crops watered at very little cost from the Colorado and nurtured by year-round sunshine. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Editorial: Drought and flood, California’s double whammy
The LA Times editorial board writes, “Just as federal officials were laying out alternative scenarios last week for steep water supply cuts from the Colorado River due to the drying Southwest, California officials were warning that this year’s historic Sierra snowpack could flood much of the state later this year. So do we have too much water or not enough? The only honest answer, as head-spinning as it may be, is that we have both problems at the same time. Lake Mead, and farther up the Colorado River, Lake Powell — Southern California’s two big out-of-state water supplies — remain dangerously low and will not fill again, despite a wet Rocky Mountain winter. Meanwhile, reservoirs in California are full. But much of that precious water will have to be released to make room for melting snow. How much room depends on weather conditions over the next several months. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
How to not close salmon fisheries
Tom Cannon writes, “California salmon fisheries do not have to close. Hatcheries in California are still releasing thirty million hatchery smolts each year. This means that three to five hundred thousand adult hatchery salmon are still out there for potential harvest. About a quarter of the fish released from hatcheries are marked. Selectively harvesting the marked hatchery fish, while returning to the water all unmarked fish that are caught, is reasonable. Marking all the hatchery smolts would quadruple the number of harvestable fish. Do not let anyone tell you this is not reasonable. The state and federal governments have mismanaged California’s natural salmon production nearly into oblivion. They can spend the money to partially mitigate the consequences by marking all hatchery fish. … ” Read more from the California Fisheries blog.
Why turning sewage into tap water won’t solve our water woes
Food & Water Watch writes, “Maybe you’ve seen a video that goes something like this: someone drinks a glass of clear water and announces that it tastes great. “Get this,” a second person says, “That came from the sewers!” The first person who sipped is shocked. “But it tastes just like tap water!” they might exclaim. What some may know as an internet novelty is heading for our municipal water systems. Amid historic drought in the American West, several states are looking to turn sewage into drinking water. But this is not the direction we need to go. “Toilet-to-tap” projects are very risky and expensive. Moreover, they distract from the true solutions to our water crisis: conserving the water we do have and tackling corporate water abusers. … ” Read more from Food & Water Watch.
Legislative bills pose new threat to water supply
John M. Derby, The Times Publisher, and Jonathan Whitaker, Managing Editor, write, “Years ago, when Tony Coelho was our Congressman, we asked him to name the No. 1 issue that was critical for California’s survival. He did not hesitate, “WATER!” Coelho was a Los Banos native who grew up working on his family’s dairy farm. He would become a powerful Democrat politician who understood that agriculture is, and has always been, the driving force which propels our state and local economies. Today, it’s distressing to know that there are those in Sacramento who are taking tortuous action that endangers our very own prosperity. For more than a decade, our community has been fighting to keep the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento from stealing half our water supply and sending it north to the Bay Delta. And now — this year — several bills have been injected into the State Legislature because the authors believe they need to “modernize” the water rights system in California. In reality, these bills do nothing of the sort. … ” Read more from the Merced County Times.
Before Western states suck the Colorado River dry, we have one last chance to act
Bruce Babbitt, the secretary of the Interior Department in the Clinton administration and a former governor of Arizona, writes, “The Interior Department last summer dropped a bomb on the seven states that depend upon the Colorado River for water. It declared an emergency over the two-decade drought that was parching the West and instructed these states, already scrambling to conserve water, to come up with a plan to cut consumption of as much a four million acre-feet, an amount equal to about one-third of the Colorado’s annual flow. Then, after delivering this blow, the agency retreated to the sidelines. Instead of taking the lead, it urged the seven states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — to figure out how to make the cuts themselves. Since then the states have engaged in futile discussions about how much water each must forgo. Tensions have been most acute among Arizona, California and Nevada, the three states that get their water primarily from large reservoirs instead of stream flow and therefore are the only ones who can be ordered to make reductions. Arizona and California, whose allotments are much larger than Nevada’s, should make the biggest cuts, but they have been sharply divided over how to carry them out. … ” Read the full commentary at the New York Times (gift article).
In regional water news this week …
Reclamation announces 2023 Klamath Project allocation, $13 million for drought resiliency, ecosystem enhancement
“The Bureau of Reclamation announced the 2023 water supply allocations for Klamath Project contractors at the Klamath Water Users Association annual meeting last evening. In addition, Reclamation announced $13 million for drought resiliency, ecosystem enhancement, and groundwater monitoring in the Klamath Basin. Detailed in the 2023 Annual Operations Plan, the Klamath Project allocation includes 215,000 acre-feet available from Upper Klamath Lake, 35,000 acre-feet from Gerber Reservoir, and 35,000 acre-feet from Clear Lake Reservoir. To support Klamath Basin communities amid a fourth consecutive year of drought, Reclamation is committing $13 million to support drought resiliency programs and ecosystem enhancement projects. Approximately, $9.85 million will be available through the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency for contractors who receive a reduced water allocation, with an additional $3 million in technical assistance to Tribal Nations for Klamath Basin ecosystem activities, as well as $150,000 for groundwater monitoring in the Basin. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Klamath Project sees fourth year in a row of water supply cuts
“For the fourth year in a row, the Klamath Project will be dealing with water cuts this summer– impacting farmers, ranchers and wildfire refuges alike. On Thursday, during the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) annual meeting, officials with the Bureau of Reclamation announced that the project will only be allocated 215,000 acre-feet available from Upper Klamath Lake, 35,000 acre-feet from Gerber Reservoir and 35,000 acre-feet from Clear Lake Reservoir. This is much less than KWUA officials were anticipating. “The typical irrigation demand for the Klamath Project is generally between 350,000 & 400,000 (acre-feet),” said Moss Driscoll with KWUA. “So a project supply of 215,000 acre-feet has a number of implications for the project in terms of getting through this year. ” … ” Read more from KDRV.
SEE ALSO: Feds allocate more water for Klamath Basin agriculture this year, but farmers say it’s not enough, from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
‘It’s disappointing’: Emergency drought regulations ‘catastrophic’ for Scott Valley agriculture
“Following a record wet winter, drought conditions continue to improve statewide. While most of the state has fully escaped drought, it holds on in far northern California along with the desert of southeastern California, according to the drought monitor updated weekly by the National Drought Mitigation Center. Included in this area still considered in a drought is Scott Valley, located in Siskiyou County. … Although the area has received abundant rain and snow this winter, it remains under emergency drought regulations. The regulations put a chokehold on farmers and ranchers in the area. … ” Continue reading from Channel 10.
Salinas Valley growers say much of flood damage due to choked river
“With the economic impact from the January and March flooding estimated at $1 billion, many growers are left feeling frustrated because they say much of the damage to their croplands could have been prevented. For most of the past century, growers could go into the Salinas River channel and clear out sandbars and vegetation in order to increase flow capacity and stabilize levees. During heavy rains like what was seen in January and March, the water charges down the river and then hits shallow depths because of built-up sediment, as well as large amounts of brush that impede the river’s capacity. The sediment and brush impediments have a damming effect. Water will flow along the path of least resistance, and when the channel is clogged, that path becomes cropland. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald. | Read via East Bay Times.
Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County
“The old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County will remain mostly dry and continue being farmed by the J.G. Boswell Company despite the coming, epic snow melt. But unlike in Kings County where Boswell has been taking heat for continuing to farm parts of the old Tulare Lake bed while others have been flooded out, there likely won’t be much controversy over the Buena Vista lake. That’s because back in 1964 the famed Miller & Lux company paid big money to keep a vast slice of Buena Vista Lake bed dry in perpetuity. That was about 10 years after the Army Corps of Engineers built Isabella Dam and the Kern River rights holders had to start paying the bills. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Work begins on $500M advanced water treatment facility for Los Angeles
“Design is underway on the $500 million Donald C. Tillman Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF), one of the largest potable reuse projects in the country. Led by LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the facility will be constructed via progressive design-build, with Jacobs serving as the lead contractor. Los Angeles relies on groundwater supplies for a portion of its drinking water and officials say this project is a major part of the City’s long-term water management objective to fully reuse its water supplies. … ” Read more from Engineering News-Record.
Stakes are high for farmers in Colorado water options
“The federal government is considering two options to prevent the Colorado River from running dry. Both plans announced last week would require water users in the river’s Lower Basin to dramatically cut their use. Under one option, the cuts would be determined according to the longstanding water-rights system, honoring the senior rights of many California farmers and requiring junior rights holders in Arizona and Nevada to give up water first. Under the other option, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would toss out the century-old “Law of the River” and enforce cuts evenly across the three states. … “To some extent, California agriculture hangs in the balance—and California agriculture feeds the nation,” said Chris Scheuring, senior counsel for the California Farm Bureau. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
