On the calendar today …
- LEG HEARING: Senate Committee on Environmental Quality beginning upon adjournment of the Insurance Committee. Click here for the agenda and remote access instructions.
- WEBINAR: Reducing Nitrogen in Groundwater Through Enhanced Onsite Wastewater Treatment and Wetland Restoration from 11am to 12pm. Excess nutrients are a widespread cause of water quality degradation and adverse outcomes for people and ecosystems throughout the United States. Mitigating nutrient pollution can be a complex challenge due to the diffuse nature of sources and regulatory authorities, physical and temporal distance between sources and receptors, and the performance, availability, and social acceptability of interventions. In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, stakeholders are working within this context on a range of traditional and alternative approaches to reduce nitrogen loading to impaired estuaries. Here the nitrogen source is primarily onsite wastewater treatment systems. Enhanced septic systems and wetland restoration are two biogeochemically related approaches for reducing nitrogen loads to sensitive water bodies. They have the potential to better denitrify effluent prior to subsurface discharge or intercept legacy pollution in groundwater. The success of either approach with respect to this objective, however, depends on design and implementation. Click here to register.
- WEBINAR: Bringing Our Groundwater Basins Back into Balance from 12pm to 1:30pm. A painful truth has emerged through the SGMA process in the San Joaquin Valley. Restoring groundwater basins will require a significant amount of agricultural land be taken out of active production (demand management) in addition to recharging groundwater basins (supply management). Ellen Hanak, Public Policy Institute of California, will speak about the on-going implementation of SGMA, in addition to the realities of supply and demand management required to bring over-drafted basins back into balance. Ann Hayden, Environmental Defense Fund, will discuss the Department of Conservation’s innovative multi-benefit land repurposing program that aims to transition properties away from high groundwater use while creating benefits to ecosystems and communities. Click here to register.
- GRA SoCAL BRANCH: Banking on Knowledge: Coordinating Hydrogeologic Modeling and Field Investigation in the Antelope Valley (Hybrid) from 5:30pm to 9:00pm. A new water banking and recovery project is being constructed in the Antelope Valley. Developed by the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency (AVEK) and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), the bank will store up to 280,000 acre-feet of State Water Project surface water in the subsurface during wet periods, recover the stored water using a recovery wellfield during dry periods, and convey it downstream using the State Water Project California Aqueduct. Banking operations will improve water reliability for both AVEK and MWD. Project design was informed by implementing a phased, adaptive field and modeling program. Click here to register.
Delta Conveyance Project …
Delta tunnel on life support? What the latest blow means for Newsom’s controversial project
“California’s most hotly-contested water proposal suffered a setback Monday after a budget deal reached between Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers dropped a provision that would have put the project on a regulatory fast track. It means more uncertainty for the Delta Conveyance project, a 45-mile tunnel that would pull water from the Sacramento River and pipe it underneath the environmentally fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — the water supply source for 27 million people and millions of acres of farmland in the Bay Area and Southern California. … “This can is getting kicked farther down the road,” said Jeffrey Mount, senior fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center. “It has already involved hundreds of millions of dollars in studies, engineering design and everything else. It has involved multiple downsizing. There’s nothing at this point that will appease the opposition, with the exception of just not doing it.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
DAN WALTERS: California budget deal delivers major setback to Delta water tunnel project
“It’s gone by several names: Peripheral Canal, Water Fix and Delta Conveyance. Its design has changed several times, from a canal to twin tunnels and most recently a single tunnel. However, its purpose has been unchanged for seven decades – bypassing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as water is moved from Northern California to San Joaquin Valley farms and Southern California homes. Likewise, the fierce disagreement over whether it would rescue the Delta from environmental deterioration, as its advocates contend, or degrade it even further, as opponents maintain, has also remained unchanged. This week, a new chapter in the project’s long and torturous history was written when legislators thwarted Gov. Gavin Newsom’s effort to partially exempt it, along with other major public works projects, from the California Environmental Quality Act. … ” Read more from Dan Walters at Cal Matters.
Commentary: Tunnel vision: Delta project ignores rising sea levels at forebay; based on 1950s LA-centric water plans
Dennis Wyatt, editor of the Manteca Bulletin, writes, “Tunnel vision, and not climate change per se, is the greatest risk facing California’s water supplies. And nowhere has tunnel vision manifested more than it has with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fascination with the Delta Tunnel. The full-court press to get language in the $302 billion state budget that would carve out an exception to much of the environmental review process for the low-balled $16 billion project comes from a governor who 4½ years ago openly talked about killing the endeavor altogether. Instead — after getting pressure from the mother-of-all California water districts — Metropolitan Water District in the Los Angeles basin — and a selected group of billionaire agri-businesses in the southwest San Joaquin Valley, Newsom revived the twin tunnel project as a single tunnel. The need for a Delta bypass — either a canal or a tunnel — was devised as part of a 1950s era State Water Project masterplan. You remember the 1950s? … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin.
Stakeholders react to Newsom budget deal …
From environmental justice stakeholders: “Unfortunately, water debts continue to rise with the cost of water. These funds can only be applied through the COVID-19 emergency, which ended February of this year and can only address debt that has already accrued. The state must prioritize the creation of a low-income rate assistance program (LIRA) to address affordability at the source rather than relying on emergency relief once families are already in debt. “Communities should not be forced to choose between water that is toxic and water that is unaffordable,” says Kyle Jones, Policy & Legal Director of Community Water Center. “Safe drinking water is a necessity and whether or not a family can afford their water should not be based on their zip code.” … Read the full statement at the Community Water Center.
From Victoria Rome, California director of government affairs at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): “The Legislature significantly strengthened the proposed trailer bills in order to better protect communities and the environment. Despite being forced into the truncated budget process, legislative leadership upheld core environmental protections and included the public in the process of creating a pathway to accelerating our clean energy future. The final package excludes the Delta tunnel project and many other environmentally destructive projects, while rejecting provisions that would have undermined agency transparency. The updates also maintain strong protections for California Condors, Sea Otters, Sandhill Cranes, and other Fully Protected species. The updated trailer bills will ensure needed protections for communities and biodiversity, even as we build out the desperately needed clean energy infrastructure necessary to address the climate and biodiversity crisis.”
From Restore the Delta: Barbara Barrigan-Parilla: “We are pleased the tunnel was removed from the Design and Build trailer bill, and that the trailer bill for changing voting quorums for the Delta Stewardship Council was dropped. However, this play by the Governor makes it clear that he and DWR will seek to change any rules to move the Delta tunnel forward while excluding the people of the region. It is time for him and DWR to drop the project, that nobody supports, and to get busy on meaningful reforms and projects to restore the Delta and secure California’s water future.”
In other California water news today …
Chowchilla groundwater plan resubmitted, state releases probationary hearing schedule
“The first of six inadequate San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans has been revised. Water managers in the Chowchilla subbasin made changes to its groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) and informally resubmitted the plan to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in hopes of avoiding a probationary trial and state intervention. In March, six valley plans were rejected by the state Department of Water Resources. The rejection moved the process on to the SWRCB, the enforcement arm of groundwater management. On June 21, the board announced a tentative schedule of probationary hearings for the rejected subbasins. The hearings would, in theory, come before the state intervenes in groundwater management enforcing its own fees and pumping limitations. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Hearings pending on aquifer plans for six subbasins
“Local agencies for six San Joaquin Valley subbasins, facing possible state intervention after their groundwater sustainability plans were deemed inadequate, have learned more about next steps from California water officials. At a workshop of the California State Water Resources Control Board last week, members identified a schedule for potential probationary hearings for the six plans, including for the Tulare Lake, Tule, Kaweah, Kern County, Delta-Mendota and Chowchilla subbasins. “It’s not ‘pencils down’ for our basins here. Folks need to continue to work diligently through their issues so that they’re winnowed down as they come before the board,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the state water board. “We’re here to do our part and get folks back to local control.” … ” Read more from Ag Alert via Maven’s Notebook.
Water rights bill pulled from hearing agenda
“AB 460 (Bauer-Kahan), a bill that seeks to impose significant penalties on water rights holders, was pulled from the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee agenda today shortly before the hearing was scheduled to begin. ACWA will continue to provide its members with updates on this bill as they develop. AB 460 is one of several bills moving through the Legislature that would fundamentally change the way California’s water rights system is implemented and enforced. … ” Read more from ACWA’s Water News.
Operating Shasta in a New Climate:Moving from crisis management to long-term stability
“Shasta Reservoir is the centerpiece of the Central Valley Project – a major infrastructure component with effects reaching far beyond its confines in the upper Sacramento Valley. As the Bureau of Reclamation undertakes reinitation of consultation on the new operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project under the Endangered Species Act, Reclamation would like to engage with interested parties and the public as part of a multilayered and multifaceted effort to envision a modernized Shasta Reservoir that operates within a different environment than which existed almost 80 years ago.” View story map from the Bureau of Reclamation.
‘Tremendous project’ at San Luis Dam showing progress
“Q: I was traveling with a friend recently from Gilroy to Santa Nella and we passed the full San Luis Reservoir on the trip. What a sight! There is a lot of construction going on near the face of the dam along Pacheco Pass. It must be a tremendous project, as there were trucks full of materials and a series of gravel, rock and dirt yards full of raw materials to be moved somewhere else, as well as trucks driving across the top of the dam. That was an area where you could see the Tule elk that have been able to make the dam and surrounding territory their home. I think they will move back into the hills and we might never see them again. Too bad. I hope you can find out what is going on. A: It’s a $1.2 billion project in order to reduce the risk of the dam failing in a major earthquake. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Warming causes more extreme rain, not snow, over mountains and scientists say that’s a problem
“A warming world is transforming some major snowfalls into extreme rain over mountains instead, somehow worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year as well as long-term water shortages, a new study found. Using rain and snow measurements since 1950 and computer simulations for future climate, scientists calculated that for every degree Fahrenheit the world warms, extreme rainfall at higher elevation increases by 8.3% (15% for every degree Celsius), according to a study in Wednesday’s journal Nature. Heavy rain in mountains causes a lot more problems than big snow, including flooding, landslides and erosion, scientists said. And the rain isn’t conveniently stored away like snowpack that can recharge reservoirs in spring and summer. … ” Read more from Fox 40.
Expert: How wildfires contaminate drinking water
“As wildfire season continues, a Purdue University professor is sharing his expertise on how fire damage can impact drinking water. Andrew Whelton, a Purdue professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering, has traveled numerous times to the sites of wildfires, where he and his students collect water samples to help guide a community on the best way to restore its water systems. This research is expected to lead to the first national recommendations on the roles and responsibilities of utilities and federal and state agencies for addressing drinking water contamination caused by wildfires. Later this year, the recommendations will be published as a “concept of operations plan” written by Whelton and funded by the Water Research Foundation. … ” Read more from Morning Ag Clips.
Reimagining water infrastructure in a changing California
“In [this] article, Pacific Institute Director of Research Heather Cooley, emphasizes that water is a crucial resource for California, supporting its population, ecosystems, agriculture, and economy. Historically, the state relied on building reservoirs and drilling wells to meet water demands, but these methods have come with social, economic, and environmental costs. Persistent water challenges, the severe drought, and the intensifying effects of climate change highlight the vulnerability of California’s water systems and the need for new approaches. This includes the adoption of a more expansive definition of infrastructure—one that prioritizes water conservation and efficiency, embraces non-traditional water sources, and values green infrastructure. By rethinking water policies and investing in sustainable practices, California can respond to droughts, ensure water supply reliability, and achieve co-benefits for the state. … ” Read the article at the Pacific Institute.
Report: Potential of Oilfield Produced Water for Irrigation in California
“Facing the increasing severity of droughts due to climate change and ongoing depletion of groundwater, this project investigates the potential of Oilfield Produced Water (OPW) for agricultural irrigation. There is interest in using OPW, generated during oil and gas extraction, as a new source of irrigation water for some farms, but more work is needed to ensure this practice is protective of human and environmental health. This initiative, in partnership with the Water Research Foundation and the California State Water Resources Control Board, addresses knowledge gaps and seeks to provide comprehensive understanding on the use of OPW for agricultural irrigation. The report delves into the evaluation of Title 22 Recycled Water Regulations as a policy template for OPW reuse. This comparison provides critical insights into monitoring, regulating, and managing alternative water supplies and the unique challenges posed by OPW. The project also developed an interactive geospatial model that provides decision-makers with a tool for evaluating potential areas for OPW reuse in California. … ” Read more and download report from the Pacific Institute.
Climate change is reshaping crop varieties in California, sparking adaptation
“Being excited about plants is not unusual for nursery owner Gary Gragg, but when it comes to tropical fruit plants like his 20 foot mango tree, his eyes really light up. “These trees, not only are they really delicious tasting, but they’re just gorgeous, sexy plants,” Gragg said. His excitement is also spurred on by the fact his tropical mango tree, Gragg said, should not be growing on his property that sits about 30 miles west of Sacramento. But thanks to the planet’s rising temperatures, Gragg said things are changing in terms of what can grow where. … ” Read more from Spectrum 1.
Wildlife winners and losers from the west’s snowy winter
“The superbloom can be seen from space. California’s wet winter — bolstered by a torrent of atmospheric rivers — has yielded a bumper crop of colorful, knee-high wildflowers cascading across hillsides in the region. It wasn’t all roses — or purple phacelia — earlier in the year. The state’s heavy winter rains at lower elevations and dozens of feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains took more than 20 lives, cost billions in damages and prompted 47 counties to declare a state of emergency. Many still brace for flooding as one of the largest snowpacks on record melts out of the mountains and rushes downstream. Other states like Wyoming, Colorado and Utah also received above-average snowpacks, which has helped to ease drought across the West. But for wildlife throughout the region, the rain and snow has been a mixed blessing. … ” Read more from The Revelator.
Defining environmental justice
“Consider these three statements: I experience odor or discoloration in my tap water, English is not the primary language spoken in my home, and I live near industrial activity. Now, consider these statements: The organization that I work for can access environmental subject matter experts, the organization that I work for has influence in the regulatory review of projects that I care about, and the organization that I work for can access regulators and leaders of agencies. Responses to these and similar prompts may highlight the persistent disparities among communities and reveal the varying levels of involvement in regulatory processes among stakeholders in communities across America. The refreshed focus on Environmental Justice (“EJ”) in regulatory and commercial activities is targeted at narrowing the gaps in lived experiences across American neighborhoods. … ” Read more from Stoel Rives.
In commentary today …
Transformations to be proud of
Dylan Stern, Program Manager 1 at the Delta Stewardship Council, writes, “As we celebrate Pride Month, I want to share a story of remarkable transformations. Last month I gladly seized the opportunity to tour the newly upgraded Sacramento Regional Sanitation District (Regional San) wastewater treatment plant to commemorate the completion of its EchoWater Project. I first toured the Regional San facility six years ago, soon after the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Science Program funded Operation Baseline, a research pilot project to document the before and after effects of the plant’s upgrade on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. As I look around today and see all the changes, I realize how profound this major transformation is for me, professionally and personally. As the Council’s contract manager for research studies on the effects of the EchoWater Project, I’ve witnessed the pivotal role our Operation Baseline played toward establishing a “baseline” of nutrients and their impact on the ecosystem. While at the same time, I have gone through my own personal transformation as a transgender man. Today, over six years after I began transitioning, physically, I am very different, and I am finally comfortable in my own skin. … ” Continue reading at the Delta Stewardship Council.
Today’s featured article …
SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT: Australian wildfires and California drought
At the June meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council, Delta Lead Scientist Dr. Laurel Larsen spotlighted an article on the connection between the Australian wildfires in 2020 and California’s recent drought.
Recent headlines have been proclaiming the return of El Nino and what this means for expected weather patterns varies across the country and the world. For California, it generally means likely wetter than average conditions are expected; the opposite are the La Nina years, which have typically been associated with drought in California, as the atmospheric rivers carried by the jet stream generally are diverted north of California under those conditions.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Eel River restoration project wraps up
“A restoration project wrapped up that has provided new public access to the estuary of the Eel River. The Ocean Ranch restoration project has reconnected wetlands with the Eel River Estuary, and reopened to the public in January after two years of construction work. Kate Freeman, a biologist for Ducks Unlimited, said there is an urgency to this kind of restoration work. “With 90% of California’s historic wetlands lost, projects like this can’t happen quickly enough,” she said. This area serves as a major stopover point for birds in the Pacific flyway. The project breached last fall, but Freeman said it was 10 years in the making. In total, 850 acres of dunes and tidal wetlands were restored. Much of the work has to do with the removal of historical levees that stopped the natural flow of water. … ” Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard.
Russian and Eel River advocates gather to set the rules of engagement
“On June 12 the Planning Group of the Russian River Water Forum held an online meeting facilitated by Ben Gettleman and Jim Downing of Kearns & West. The Planning Group is comprised of a large group of stakeholders in the Eel and Russian River watersheds who are seeking solutions for sustainable water sources and habitat restoration of the two river basins, in response to PG&E’s decision to surrender its license to operate the Potter Valley Project. Gettleman said of the initial Planning Group meeting on May 17, “We really wanted to paint the whole landscape,” as far as mapping out the positions of the various stakeholders, and that it was “a productive start to this conversation together.” … ” Read more from Mendo Fever.
Saving this fish means saving our Tribe’s future
Ron Montez Sr. and Jeanine Pfeiffer write, “This February, after long-anticipated rains deluged California, causing creek beds to overflow and turning fields into marshland, the spawning runs of a sacred, highly endangered fish—the Clear Lake Hitch—reappeared in their historic waterways. We rejoiced, we wept, and we sang to them. Then we rolled up our sleeves and pantlegs and rescued over 5,000 hitch from puddles in vineyards and isolated pools in the creeks as the water levels dropped lower and lower. Tribal members participating in the rescues held hitch gently in their hands, marveling over their size and vigor. Some of the beefier guys gave them quick, surreptitious kisses before releasing back into safer waters. Hitch are deeply embedded in our Tribal culture. … ” Read more from Civil Eats.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Forest-thinning efforts underway in Sierra to minimize wildfire risk
“Part of a multi-billion dollar clean-up of forests is underway in Tahoe National Forest. Officials say the thinning work is making a difference and will lessen wildfire dangers by the end of the year. “We’re trying to reduce the threat of large-scale wildfires by reducing the number of trees across the national forests in the Western U.S.,” said Eli Ilano, a supervisor with the Tahoe National Forest. The focus is clearing out dry vegetation and dead trees, which is a huge job. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento.
Biden-Harris Admin spends $3 million on projects protecting Lake Tahoe Basin
“The Biden-Harris Administration announced on June 20 it would spend over $3 million to fund projects that protect the Lake Tahoe Basin. The funds were part of the administration’s Investing In America agenda, which used $2 billion in investments to restore America’s lands and waters. The initiative sought to include the Washoe Tribe in restoration efforts around Lake Tahoe and mainly addressed invasive species. … ” Read more from KUNR.
CENTRAL COAST
Local agencies feud over flood protection spending in South Santa Cruz County
“A sizzling disagreement between two local agencies about spending on South Santa Cruz County flood protections escalated this week and has resulted in one of the parties abandoning a cost-sharing agreement that is less than 8 months old. At its meeting Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to ratify a decision to withdraw from the Santa Cruz County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Zone 7A cost-sharing agreement that funds activities of the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency. The decision will withdraw nearly $1 million in county funds that had been provided to the flood agency after the two local authorities failed to agree on specifically how those funds should be spent. … ” Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
As Fresno politicians celebrate more river access in one spot, others quietly close
Columnist On a dirt road alongside the San Joaquin River, backed by a faint outline of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Fresno-area politicians and dignitaries gathered Monday morning to celebrate more public access to one of the region’s greatest natural features. To be specific: Sycamore Island Park, located on the Madera County side of the river near Valley Children’s Hospital, will now be open daily, rather than Friday through Sunday. With no car entrance or trailer fees charged on weekdays. While everyone at the press conference was happy to wax poetic about Sycamore Island’s new days of operations — which is indeed excellent news — not a word was uttered about other parkway lands that have recently (and quietly) closed. Per orders of the San Joaquin River Conservancy’s Board of Directors. …” Read more from the Fresno Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
EASTERN SIERRA
Grant Lake Reservoir is spilling, bringing impressive amounts of water to Rush Creek
“Grant Lake Reservoir began spilling at 4:30pm on Wednesday, June 7, for the first time since 2017! After several years of very low levels Grant re-filled quickly this spring as record amounts of snow started to melt, culminating with the spillway’s torrent of water cascading down the concrete ramp to join Rush Creek.Water makes it into Rush Creek from Grant in two ways. The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power releases water from Grant to Rush via a return ditch, which has a maximum capacity of 380 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water. In most years, this amount of water is adequate to meet the downstream Stream Ecosystem Flow (SEF) requirements set by the State Water Board for Rush Creek. … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
Ridgecrest: Groundwater Authority approves lawyers to move quickly during legislative session
“At the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority’s regular board meeting on June 14, the board approved a measure to allow the IWVGA’s legal counsel to address certain legislative concerns at the state level without the need for the IWVGA board to approve such action. The motion passed by a vote of 4-1, with the dissenting vote coming from IWV Water District representative Chuck Griffin. IWVGA legal counsel Phi Hall explained that the motion is important as the IWVGA board only meets once a month but the California legislative session moves quickly. Hall said, “At our last board meeting, the board adopted two positions on two bills that are moving through the legislature right now. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles DWP to halt water and power shut-offs for all customers during extreme weather
“As Southern California braces for its first heat wave of the summer, the board of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution that will cease water and power shut-offs due to nonpayment during extreme weather events. The unanimous decision by the DWP’s Board of Commissioners will direct the department to adopt local alerts from the National Weather Service as a “trigger” for suspending utility shut-offs during extreme heat and cold weather events, effective immediately. It marks a significant change from the previous policy, which only suspended shut-offs for nonpayment when temperatures reached 100 degrees or higher. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
‘It gets worse every day’: why are sea lions and dolphins dying along California’s coast?
“On a recent morning on Leadbetter state beach in Santa Barbara, a California Sea Lion puppy, weighing about 30 or 40lbs, lay dead in the sand. It’s the latest victim in what scientists and rescue organizations have described as an unprecedented event along the California coastline. Since the beginning of June, dead sea lions and dolphins have been turning up all along the southern California coast – from the tiny Butterfly and Miramar beaches, down south to Santa Monica beaches in Los Angeles and even further to Laguna Beach in Orange county. … ” Read more from The Guardian.
Sea lions will live at a high school while they receive care for deadly algae bloom
“The Los Angeles Unified School District is providing the Marine Mammal Care Center with a temporary outdoor space at Angel’s Gate High School to house sick sea lions before they are released back into the wild. The campus will provide an overflow triage area with space for about 20 animals. “It’s a necessary indispensable, life-saving effort,” LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. “If there is a need for an amplification of the space, we’ll be here to provide it,” Carvalho said during a news conference Tuesday. “We have the workforce that did this initial work and are ready to do more should the need arise.” … ” Read more from NBC LA.
SEE ALSO: Toxic algae bloom becoming deadly for sea lions, dolphins in Pacific Ocean, from Fox Weather
Long Beach commission approves 9% hike in water bills
“Long Beach water customers will likely see their bills increase this year. This comes after the Utilities Commission approved a 9% increase for water usage Monday. The increase would add just over $5 to the average single-family household’s bill starting Oct. 1. A public hearing on the rates is tentatively scheduled for August. A majority of account-holders would have to object to the rate increase to block it from going forward. … ” Read more from ABC 7.
‘I expected worse:’ measuring OC beach health after wet winter
“Orange County’s beaches typically earn top marks in environmentalists’ scoring for ocean water pollution along the west coast. But after a nonstop winter deluge and 45 million spilled gallons of sewage into the waters off the state between this and last year, even some of Southern California’s cleanest beaches are seeing higher amounts of bacteria-carrying fecal pollution. It’s thinned out environmentalists’ statewide list of beaches comprising the cream of the crop every year. And this time, none of them are from Orange County. … ” Read more from the Voice of the OC.
SAN DIEGO
Supervisors OK emergency declaration on cross-border pollution
“San Diego County supervisors unanimously approved a proclamation Tuesday declaring a state of emergency due to pollution and sewage flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border. Board Chairwoman Nora Vargas and Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer introduced the proclamation, which asks Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden to issue similar declarations, “suspend red tape that may hinder response efforts, and expedite access to federal resources for San Diego County. “This is the same process recently followed by local agencies to resolve the water quality crisis in Flint, Michigan,” county officials added. … ” Read more from KPBS.
San Diego County leaders call on Biden to fix Tijuana sewage crisis
“Plugging up Tijuana’s leaky sewage system, which routinely fouls shorelines from Imperial Beach to Coronado, will likely require another major cash injection from the United States. Amid ratcheting concerns, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to declare the situation an emergency — a largely symbolic step calling on President Joe Biden and other top government officials to fast-track significantly more spending to address the rampant pollution. “We’re asking that the federal and state government really step up and provide the funding that we need to ensure that our families, businesses and visitors in these communities have clean water,” said Supervisor Nora Vargas, whose District 1 includes Imperial Beach. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
Months of wet weather erase the drought conditions across the Southwest
“A stretch of unusually wet months has erased drought across much of the Southwest. A briefing by climate experts spelled out how a snowy winter and rainy spring brought relief to a particularly parched region. “Unlike some past presentations I’ve given for the Southwest,” said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center, “This one actually has some good news in it.” In June 2022, 99% of the Southwest was under some degree of drought. Just a year later, only 28% of the region is experiencing drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor defines the Southwest as Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada. … ” Read more from KUER.
In national water news today …
There’s a bipartisan path to a sustainable water future
““The more people know about water in general, the more likely they are to care about how water is managed and treated, and the more likely they are to be willing to protect those water resources that are local,” says Peter Gleick. One of the world’s leading water scientists, and a 2003 MacArthur Fellow, Gleick was recognized by the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization in 2018 for his decades of work to bring about such understanding. In 1987, Gleick co-founded the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit think tank with global reach, “focused on a world in which society, the economy and the environment have the water they need to thrive now and in the future.”In The Three Ages of Water, a book former Gov. Jerry Brown calls “timely and magisterial,” Gleick traces the history of water from its first appearance on Earth and its role in making life on the planet possible. … ” Read more from Governing.
Biden’s efforts to clear wildfire fuel in US forests are falling short
“Using chainsaws, heavy machinery and controlled burns, the Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the US west through a multibillion-dollar cleanup of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth. Yet one year into what is envisioned as a decade-long effort, federal land managers are scrambling to catch up after falling behind on several of their priority forests for thinning even as they exceeded goals elsewhere. And they have skipped over some highly at-risk communities to work in less threatened areas, according to data obtained by the Associated Press, public records and congressional testimony. … ” Read more from The Guardian.
