On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Central Valley Flood Protection Board beginning at 9am. Agenda items include an update on the Delta Conveyance Project; consideration of the Yolo Bypass Comprehensive Study Feasibility Cost Share Agreement and Local Feasibility Cost Share Agreement; a briefing on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Drainage District Assessment District Feasibility Study; an update on current activities related to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Law 84-99 Rehabilitation Assistance for the 2023 storms; 2023 Tulare Basin Hydrology and Flooding; and the Middle Mile Broadband Initiative Update. Click here for the full agenda and remote access instructions.
- USGS WEBINAR: Tire dust and fish health from 11am to 11:30am. For more than 25 years, urban stormwater runoff has been implicated as a causative factor leading to pre-spawn mortality for coho salmon in the Pacific Northwest. In 2021, academic and federal researchers using high-resolution mass spectroscopy discovered that a single chemical found in urban stormwater runoff can kill juvenile coho salmon at environmentally measurable levels. The chemical in question is 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ), a transformation product of 6PPD that is used as an anti-degradant for car tires. The USGS has been actively involved in assessing the transport and distribution of 6PPDQ, species sensitivity, and potential modes of action for toxicity. Currently, the California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) plans to list 6PPD as a Priority Product in California’s Safer Consumer Products program—a stance that is supported by the U.S. Tire Manufacturing Association. This presentation will provide an overview on 6PPDQ and how the USGS is involved in solving the problem of 6PPDQ mediated toxicity. Click here to join Teams meeting.
In California water news today …
The history of the Delta water tunnel project and why people are against it
“A battle remains underway in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Delta. For decades, Delta residents and the state have been unable to agree on a plan to transport water from the rainy but rural northern part of the state down to the heavily populated, dry southern half. The current Delta Conveyance Project wants to put a tunnel underneath the Delta to transport water. Former Governor Jerry Brown proposed two tunnels and Gov. Gavin Newsom narrowed it down to one. To understand its significance and the controversy surrounding it, you need to look at the Delta. “We have 700 miles of waterways across this, the five-county area of that we call the Delta. That’s a trip down to Los Angeles and back basically in this one area,” said Jay Ziegler with The Nature Conservancy. “This is the source of water for the state and federal water projects, also the Bay Area, and all the communities in the Delta and all the farms that exist across 700,000 acres.” … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Biden-Harris Administration invests $50 million in California water storage projects
“The Department of the Interior today announced a $152 million investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will bring clean, reliable drinking water to communities across the West through six water storage and conveyance projects. The projects in California, Colorado and Washington are expected to develop at least 1.7 million acre-feet of additional water storage capacity, enough water to support 6.8 million people for a year. The funding will also invest in a feasibility study that could advance water storage capacity once completed. … ” Continue reading from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Long-awaited Sites Reservoir Project inches closer to construction, says executive director
“Construction of the long-awaited Sites Reservoir Project could be only a couple of years away. That’s the word from Sites Project Authority Executive Director Jerry Brown, who spoke to the Redding Rotary Club on Thursday afternoon, at Simpson University. During wet years, the 1.5-million-acre-feet would be pumped out of the Sacramento River and into the reservoir, west of Colusa, with the water used by agencies who would pay for it. KRCR asked Brown what everyone asks him: when are we going to see something happen there? … ” Continue reading at KRCR.
‘One for the record books’ Photos show rare summer snowpack in California
“Visitors to the Sierra this summer may be shocked to see the mountains still shrouded in significant amounts of snow. Their surprise would be warranted: Experts say that this year’s prolonged Sierra Nevada snow has few precedents in recent history. “It’s pretty great to still have snowpack around,” said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory. “So often by this time in the year we’ve talked about how we haven’t had enough snow and rain, and the drought, and how fire season is still going on,” he said. But this year is different. With forests still moist and reservoirs mostly full, this year we enjoy “a nice departure from the doom and gloom of dry conditions,” Schwartz said. … ” Continue reading from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
DWR releases GSP determinations for 10 non-critically overdrafted basins
“The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced today the approval of groundwater sustainability plans for 10 non-critically overdrafted groundwater basins located across California. The approved basins are East Bay Plain, East Contra Costa, Ukiah Valley, Sierra Valley, North San Benito, North American, South American, Butte, Vina, and Wyandotte Creek. These basins provide a significant portion of water supply for nearly three million Californians. “Local groundwater sustainability agencies have put a tremendous amount of work into these plans that will have long-term benefits for communities, agriculture, and the environment across California,” said DWR Deputy Director of Groundwater Management Paul Gosselin. “These approved plans will continue to address the impacts of ongoing weather extremes associated with climate change to ensure that communities remain safe and resilient to the challenges of a hotter, drier future in California.” … ” Read more from the Department of Water Resources.
Water resilience at risk from fossil fuels and industrial agriculture
“Today national environmental organization Food & Water Watch released a report compiling new data that demonstrates how periods of exceptional drought and flooding events have become more common in the past few years, like in drought ravaged areas like California, and offers recommendations on how federal and state governments can help stop egregious water abuses. Few areas in the U.S. have experienced the whiplash effects of increasing drought and flooding more than California. Following the driest 22-year period in 1,200 years, Californians are now experiencing catastrophic floods from snow melt. In April 2023, heavy rains flooded thousands of acres of Central Valley farmlands, and the slowly melting snowpack — which was up to 400 percent of its historic average size — threatened to increase the flood’s size three times over. The flood resurrected the long-dry Lake Tulare, which had been converted to cropland and residential land, and future flooding will likely bring billions in losses to farmers and surrounding communities. … ” Continue reading at Food & Water Watch.
Next phase of recycled water begins for California
“Achieving a major milestone in the state’s efforts to maximize the potential of recycled water, the State Water Resources Control Board announced on July 11, 2023, proposed regulations that would allow for water systems to add wastewater that has been treated to levels meeting or exceeding all drinking water standards to their potable supplies. The process, known as direct potable reuse, will enable systems to generate a climate-resilient water source while reducing the amount of wastewater they release to rivers and the ocean. This development advances Gov. Newsom’s all-of-the-above Water Supply Strategy, which includes the goal of recycling and reusing at least 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030. … ” Read more from the West Sacramento Ledger.
The transformative role of water markets for a climate-changed future
“Water markets can help with the efficient allocation of water. Could they also serve a role in improving transboundary water governance? Global Water Forum editor Christo Makridis discusses emerging research on market-based water reallocation in the Murray Darling Basin (Australia) and argues that such mechanisms not only help water users adapt to a climate-changed future, they also have the potential to improve our transboundary water governance.” Read the article at the Global Water Forum.
Plugging the gaps: How the USGS is working to fill in data gaps for orphaned oil and gas wells
“Once a well has reached the end of its productive lifetime, it is supposed to be properly shut down and sealed. Then the area around the well is supposed to be returned as much as possible to the way it was before the well was drilled. This process is called “Plugging and Abandoning.” The majority of modern oil and gas wells are plugged and abandoned properly. However, oil and gas wells have been drilled in this country since the 1800s, so there are quite a few wells that reached the end of their production run well before any laws were in place to require them to be properly closed. In addition, some modern oil and gas wells were not properly plugged and abandoned, despite existing mandates. In most cases, these unplugged oil and gas wells are not owned and registered by anyone, making them “orphaned” wells. … ” Continue reading from the USGS.
Why California’s coast isn’t warming up like the rest of the world’s oceans
“Summer 2023 is setting record temperatures around the world. On Thursday, the World Meteorological Organization announced that July is likely to finish as Earth’s warmest month in recorded history. Water in the Florida Keys surpassed 100 degrees this week, the north Atlantic Ocean is at record temperatures, and a developing El Niño is warming waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s July report, 44% of the global oceans are experiencing marine heat waves — the most in recorded history. Waters off the California coast have remained cooler-than-normal, though, scientists forecast that temperatures may creep up as the seasons turn. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
In commentary today …
There’s no denying our new climate reality: We must rethink disaster management
Mathew Sanders with the Pew Charitable Trusts writes, “One evening this spring, I was out to dinner when a curious thing caught my attention. The Weather Channel was on TV in the background, and every few minutes the camera cut to a radar shot of Fort Lauderdale, where a lone storm cell sat stationary over the city. There it continued to sit, refusing to move inland to dissipate or blow out to sea. I had never seen anything like it. Neither had Fort Lauderdale, where on that day, April 12, nearly 26 inches of rain fell in approximately 12 hours.Fort Lauderdale is not a one-off. … ” Read more from The Hill.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Environmental Dive Center launched by Clean Up The Lake
“Clean Up The Lake, renowned for its successful 72 Mile Cleanup project, has announced the inauguration of a revolutionary Environmental Dive Center (EDC) at Lake Tahoe. The EDC will be a hybrid between a conservation dive school and an environmental science center located in the heart of Incline Village, NV. This transformative initiative marks a significant leap in the fight against all litter and aquatic invasive species (AIS) in and around Lake Tahoe. “Clean Up The Lake is striving to create a more sustainable future not only through cleanup efforts but also through advocacy & preventative action and most importantly, an evolutionary educational program based at the Environmental Dive Center,” says Founder & CEO Colin West. “The center will be the first of its kind,” added West. … ” Read more from South Tahoe Now.
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit advises caution, avoid projects at Kiva and Baldwin beach
“Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of US Forest service has advised caution in areas around Kiva and Baldwin beaches while noxious weed abatement protocols are in place. Underwater mats are held in place by a rebar structure to smother the new growth and kill unwanted invasive weed species. “We recommend that people and pets stay out of the water in the project area and away from the mats and rebar stakes,” LTBM said in a social media post. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Chico to creek visitors: Please stop building rock dams
“Many people who’ve spent time in Big Chico Creek over the years have undoubtedly participated in building rock dams, the rearrangement of stones to divert water and make small, protected pools for swimming. Perhaps others have created them as small bridges, allowing travel across the creek when flows are low. Whatever the reasons for building them, the dams almost always stay in place when their builders depart. This is evident with the dams distributed along the creek’s length in shallow water. Chico officials really don’t care about people’s motivations, though. They just hope people will stop building them, for the sake of natural water flow and the upstream movement of fish and wildlife. Creating the dams also violates a provision in the municipal code. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record.
Sites gets $30M more in fed funding: Money part of $152M investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
“Sites Reservoir, a proposed water storage facility 10 miles west of Maxwell, received another monetary boost Thursday with the announcement that it is part of a $152 million investment from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide clean, reliable drinking water to communities across the American West. The project, which has been in development for more than 60 years, previously received $80 million in federal funding in January from the Bureau of Reclamation via the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. In October 2022, it received $30 million in additional funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was passed in 2021. … ” Read more from the Appeal Democrat.
Groundwater sustainability plan for greater Sacramento region secures state approval
“The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced today the approval of a long-term plan for protecting the groundwater aquifer underlying parts of Sacramento, Placer and Sutter counties. The North American Subbasin (NASb) Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), required under the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, provides a roadmap for sustainably managing the groundwater subbasin through the year 2042 and beyond. Groundwater aquifers within our NASb are reservoirs you cannot see, running deep below our urban, agricultural, and natural environment. The aquifer is one of the Sacramento region’s primary sources for drinking water, especially during drought years, and also provides more than half of the water supply used for agriculture. … ” Read more from Roseville Today.
CENTRAL COAST
College Lake pipeline construction moving along
“More than a month after its groundbreaking ceremony, the $80 million construction of a new pump station, water treatment plant and 6-mile pipeline at College Lake is taking shape. This week, crews have been working on building open trenches off Holohan Road during the day and constructing pipeline near the intersection of Highway 152 and Holohan and College roads during the night. Crews are also placing machinery near Lakeview Road to commence the construction process there. The project, located on a former apple orchard along Holohan, aims to connect a pipeline to deliver treated water from the new treatment plant to more than 5,500 acres of farmland through Pajaro Valley Water’s Coastal Distribution System in an effort to reduce groundwater extraction. … ” Read more the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Water board OKs cleanup settlement of ‘forever’ chemicals near SLO airport
“Cleaning up the toxic “forever” chemicals at and around the San Luis Obispo airport will likely take decades, but a recently ratified voluntary agreement aims to ensure that impacted area residents will at least have clean water to drink before the end of August. “We’re going to be watching them, that’s all I can tell you,” Buckley Road resident Kathy Borland told New Times. “At least we finally have the clock ticking. … We’ve been in a holding pattern for the last two years, and we are on the edge of this.” … ” Read more from News Times SLO.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Experts tour floodplain restoration west of Modesto that has drawn national media
“State and federal flooding experts toured Dos Rios Ranch, a river preserve west of Modesto that continues to impress as a cheaper, faster alternative to building dams. They saw how these 2,100 acres of restored floodplain handled some of the massive runoff from the 2023 storms. And they talked of how to spread this means of flood control as climate change brings even more erratic weather to California. Dos Rios is where the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers meet. The nonprofit River Partners has joined with the Tuolumne River Trust and other allies on about $45 million worth of restoration since 2012. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee.
Kings County: Local water district challenges water export ordinance
“Corcoran area water district El Rico GSA has sued Kings County over the county’s new groundwater export ordinance. The lawsuit, received June 8, says the County did not follow the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) procedures that they are mandated to follow. The district says the ordinance, passed Nov. 29, 2022 was adopted with only one hearing in a few weeks’ time. not allowing for input from water agencies. The news that the County wanted to move forward on the ordinance was met with criticism from a number of local water entities. El Rico maintains that allowing time for input could have ironed out problems they say include the issue of groundwater imports into the county. … ” Read more from the Hanford Sentinel.
In normally dry Kings County, Tulare Lake has carved a long, soggy road ahead for farmers
“Cory Vanderham’s dairy cattle have waterfront property. Waves lap at the shoreline as ducks, geese and swallows flit and flutter in every direction. Vanderham’s Australian shepherd, Opi, takes a dunk at every opportunity he can get. But here’s the thing: Vanderham’s dairy is in the middle of agricultural fields, outside Corcoran in normally dry Kings County. “There’s no water like this,” he said. “We’ve never had this before.” That is, not until this past March, when Tulare Lake refilled for the first time in a quarter of a century. … ” Read more from Valley Public Radio.
EASTERN SIERRA
Ridgecrest: Court to allow amicus briefs in Mojave Pistachios water appeal
“The Fourth Appellate District, Court of Appeal will allow four amicus briefs to be filed in support of Mojave Pistachios in its legal action against the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority according to an order issued by the court last week. “Amicus brief” means literally “friend of the court.” An amicus brief is filed by a person or organization who is not a party to a legal case but who wants to aid the court by providing information or arguments. Mojave Pistachios put out a press release yesterday on the development, but groundwater authority General Counsel Keith Lemieux said the news is no big deal. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Dangerous blue-green algae prompts warning at Pyramid Lake
“It may be best to avoid jumping into the water at Pyramid Lake for the time being. On Thursday, the Department of Water Resources issued a danger advisory, urging people to avoid the water at the popular Los Angeles County getaway spot because of a toxic algae bloom blanketing it. As of July 27, Vaquero Swim Beach is closed. Officials also issued a caution algal bloom advisory at Emigrant Landing Beach. People should avoid eating any fish or shellfish from the lake as well. … ” Read more from CBS LA.
LA County Supes pass proposal calling for more PFAS water testing, research
“A proposal calling for further research, investigation, testing and advocacy for funding related to polyfluorinated alkyl substances in drinking water was passed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The motion was proposed by 4th District Supervisor Janice Hahn, who said in a statement on Tuesday that she wanted to take on this issue after learning of a study on PFAS that said 45% of drinking water in the United States contains them and that PFAS are possibly more common in Southern California. “These chemicals don’t naturally break down in the environment and can build up in our bodies and cause serious health problems,” Hahn said in a press release following the proposal’s approval. “We need to know whether they are in our drinking water and at what concentrations so we can start putting together a plan to get them out.” … ” Read more from The Signal.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Access to Wiest Lake restricted due to lack of water flow caused by nearby work activity
“The County of Imperial and Department of Public Works informed the public through a press release that Wiest Lake is temporarily closed due to the restriction of water flow caused by nearby work activity of the Imperial Irrigation District. The County urged residents and visitors in the release to respect the closure and refrain from swimming and/or fishing activities in the lake until further notice. The County said in the release that closure is not due to contamination or any concerns about bacteria levels in the water at this time. Regular testing is ongoing and all results have consistently met the standards required for the lake to remain open. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
SAN DIEGO
Water Authority defectors survive second round of legal threats
“Tensions seem to be cooling slightly between the San Diego County Water Authority and those that want to leave it. Two small North County farming communities survived a second round of attempts by the Water Authority to wage a legal war against their divorce from the regional water supplier. The board’s disinterest in suing to stop the divorce signals that recent negotiations between the parties may yet end in a deal to get those communities to stay. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Along the Colorado River …
The Colorado provides drinking water to 40 million people. Do they know what Utah does to it upstream?
Stephanie Mencimer writes, ” … Last year, I went down the White River with photographer Russel Albert Daniels to take a closer look at what’s happening in the Uinta Basin, where dystopian industrial development overshadows its critical ecological role as the watershed of the endangered Colorado River. Some 40 million people depend on the Colorado for water. But the West’s most important river is predicted to shrink up to 30 percent or more by mid-century because of rising temperatures caused, in part, by the very fossil fuels extracted from its Utah watershed. And while scientists warn that the planet needs to stop burning these fuels in the next decade to prevent ecological catastrophe, Utah’s political leaders are actively pushing to quadruple oil and gas production in the basin. And they’re getting a lot of help from the Biden Administration. … ” Read the full story at Mother Jones.
Colorado River Basin megadrought caused by massive 86% decline in snowpack runoff
“The Colorado River Basin provides freshwater to more than 40 million people within the semi-arid southwestern United States, including major cities such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles. However, between 2000 and 2021 the basin experienced a megadrought (a severe drought lasting multiple decades), which researchers have suggested likely would not have occurred if it were not for anthropogenic climate change. In particular, during 2020 and 2021, the river basin recorded the driest 20-month period since 1895 and the lowest river flow since 1906. Dr. Benjamin Bass and colleagues at the University of California aimed to identify how precipitation and runoff within the basin have changed since the 1880s, in line with a 1.5°C increase in temperature over the same period. New research, published in Water Resources Research, identified a 10.3% decrease in runoff within the basin as a direct result of anthropogenic warming and vegetation changes in the landscape, meaning available water resources to support the local population have declined 2.1 km3. … ” Read more from PhysOrg.
How cloud seeding is giving a boost to Nevada’s water supply
“In mountain peaks across the West, it’s their job to make it snow. No, they’re not wizards, even if the work they do seems like magic. For scientists at Nevada’s Desert Research Institute, using cloud seeding to increase snowfall has been part of the job for more than half a century, dating back to the early 1960s. It’s a practice that research has shown can add more than a little extra snow to the winter totals. And as states like Nevada grapple with dwindling water supplies along the Colorado River, which supplies 90 percent of the water in the Las Vegas Valley, it’s one the Silver State is investing in.“This is inexpensive. It works. It’s pretty easy to do. And it’s safe,” said Frank McDonough, who leads Desert Research Institute’s cloud seeding program. “It’s kind of a no-brainer.” … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In national water news today …
Senate appropriators spare Interior, EPA of deep cuts
“Senate appropriators approved legislation Thursday morning for agencies paramount to President Joe Biden’s climate and environmental justice priorities. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its plan to fund the Interior Department, EPA and other agencies. The bill passed 28-0. The legislation would approve almost $42.7 billion in appropriations for fiscal 2024, according to a bill summary released Thursday morning. That is much more than the $25.4 billion in the House’s version. Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called the bill “incredibly important when it comes to protecting our kids from breathing polluted air, drinking contaminated water or being exposed to chemicals like PFAS.” … ” Read more from E&E News.
National water and climate update …
The Natural Resources Conservation Service produces this weekly report using data and products from the National Water and Climate Center and other agencies. The report focuses on seasonal snowpack, precipitation, temperature, and drought conditions in the U.S.
dmrpt-20230727Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
NOTICE: Flood management releases to end, San Joaquin River Restoration Flows to continue through summer, fall, and winter.
DELTA FARMERS: Apply by 8/14 for the BirdReturns-Delta Farmlands Program
