A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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This week’s featured articles …
Southern California’s natural gas plants to stay open through 2026
“California officials agreed today to extend operations at three natural gas plants on the Southern California coast in an effort to shore up California’s straining power grid and avoid rolling blackouts. The controversial and unanimous vote that keeps the plants open came from the State Water Resources Control Board, which oversees the phaseout of natural gas facilities that suck in seawater and kill marine life. Three plants in Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Oxnard will be kept in reserve for three more years to feed power into the state’s grid during power emergencies, such as the 10-day heatwave last August and September that led to statewide power alerts. The plants had been slated to cease operations by the end of 2020, but received a three-year extension amid rolling blackouts that summer. Now that extension has been extended again — through 2026. A fourth, the Scattergood Generating Station in Playa Del Rey, will receive a five-year extension to fill regional supply gaps though 2029. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Delta Conveyance Project update
The Delta Stewardship Council met in July at Peter’s Steakhouse in Isleton. On the agenda was an update on the Delta 
Conveyance Project. Carrie Buckman, Environmental Program Manager for the Department of Water Resources, provided the update.
The Delta Conveyance Project is an infrastructure project that involves the construction of a tunnel to divert water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, rather than through it. By bypassing the Delta, the project aims to improve water supply reliability for the State Water Project and Central Valley Project, which provide water to millions of Californians and agricultural lands. The project has been a subject of debate due to concerns about its potential environmental impacts and high cost. However, proponents argue that it is a necessary adaptation strategy to safeguard the state’s water supplies in the face of changing climatic conditions.
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DELTA LEAD SCIENTIST: A tool for optimizing groundwater recharge; update on nutria eradication efforts
“At the July meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council, Delta Lead Scientist Dr. Laurel Larsen spotlighted an article that developed a model to optimize groundwater recharge, gave an update on nutria eradication efforts in the Delta, and highlighted the activities of the Delta Science Program. Dr. Laurel Larsen began her report by noting that a local TV station has been running a week-long series on how California stores its water, with the premise that California’s climate is changing rapidly, creating challenges for water management. More precipitation is falling as rain and snow, and variability is also increasing, underscoring the need for storage that balances flood protection with water supply. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
In California water news this week …
Hilary to bring life-threatening flooding from Southern California to Nevada, western Arizona
“A recently formed tropical system has strengthened rapidly into Category 4 Hurricane Hilary and is forecast by AccuWeather meteorologists to wander close enough to the southwestern United States to raise the likelihood of torrential rain and the potential for major flash flooding beginning this weekend and lasting into next week. The system was dubbed a tropical storm on Wednesday morning when it developed maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. As of late Thursday night, it had strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph. The powerful hurricane was located 400 miles to the south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Hilary has far exceeded the threshold of a 35 mph increase in sustained winds over a span of 24 hours to qualify as rapidly intensifying. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
Hilary could disrupt West Coast harvests
“Now off the tip of Baja California, Hurricane Hilary is expected to bear down on the U.S. Southwest this weekend and drench much of the West just as growers are planting or harvesting a multitude of the region’s iconic specialty crops. While lettuce beds are starting to go up in the deserts of Southern California and southwestern Arizona, some farmers planning their transition to winter vegetables may see some delays. Meanwhile, California farmers are being told to brace for significant impacts. One Yuma-area cotton farmer said his transition to lettuce might be delayed as he opted to wait out the storm before defoliating his cotton. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
Central Valley farmers are having a climate reckoning
“Climate change — and changing political winds — are prompting shifts in strategy at California’s largest agricultural water district. Westlands Water District, which occupies some 1,100 square miles of the arid San Joaquin Valley, is in the midst of an internal power struggle that will determine how water fights unfold across the state. After years of aggressively fighting for more water, Westlands is making plans to live with less. In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned in the valley, promising to “open up the water” for farmers in the then-drought stricken state. Its leaders are now sounding a more Biden-esque note: They are planning to cover a sixth of the district with solar panels to start “farming the sun” instead of thirsty crops like almonds and pistachios. … Westlands’ new general manager, Allison Febbo, who began in April, is charting a course that’s more in line with projections of how climate change is expected to affect the valley. Febbo characterized the state’s reckoning with climate change as a journey through the stages of grief. … ” Read more from Politico.
EPA launches civil rights probe over Calif. water fight
“EPA is probing California’s water department over accusations of discrimination against Native tribes and people of color, launching a significant environmental justice investigation that could affect how the state oversees water. The agency’s civil rights office announced the move this week, saying it would look into a complaint alleging that the California State Water Resources Control Board has failed to protect the water quality of the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. In a letter to SWRCB Executive Director Eileen Sobeck, Biden administration officials said they would launch a preliminary review over “discrimination based on race, color, and national origin.” While the agency emphasized its role as “a neutral fact finder,” EPA also underscored a commitment to protecting the groups that brought the complaint. … ” Read more from E&E News.
SEE ALSO: California water board under investigation for discriminatory water management practices, from KTLA
Database of demand management actions under SGMA goes live
“Demand management – policies that alter the incentives of water users in ways that encourage conservation – will be necessary to achieve groundwater sustainability under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). A key feature of the state’s approach to SGMA is that local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies are each allowed to develop their own plans for achieving sustainable groundwater use, allowing for local flexibility and experimentation. Reflecting the open-ended nature of the law, Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) across the state include a wide variety of demand management strategies. Many, but not all, GSPs include some form of demand management. Understanding these policy choices is important because they will influence the economic costs of SGMA. … ” Read more from UCANR The Confluence.
Reaping the benefits of a wet winter
“Central Valley Project contractors accessed hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of floodwater provided by Reclamation in 2023, recharging groundwater basins that are a critical part of California’s water supply. The influx of water has been a welcome respite after the driest three-year stretch ever recorded in California. The winter months saw a series of atmospheric rivers rolling through the Sierra Nevada, building a mountain of snow that remained well into the spring and summer. Central Valley Project reservoirs reaped the benefits, gaining almost 7 million acre-feet of storage since Dec. 1, with Shasta leading the way with more than 3 million acre-feet of increased storage. During the brunt of the storms and afterward, large amounts of runoff had to be safely conveyed through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley to alleviate any flood danger. Some of this water, known as “Section 215” was made available to those CVP contractors who had the capability to take it. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
UCLA: Why are California’s wildfires getting worse? Experts explain what we know
“Since 1980, fires have gotten significantly larger and more severe across California and the western United States, vastly increasing the amount of destruction they cause. With lives, communities, natural resources and billions of dollars’ worth of property hanging in the balance, why this is happening and the most important causes to address have become a hot-button issue for leaders in academia, government and business. Many have focused on individual causes such as land management or climate change, but the answer is more complicated. To better inform the debate, wildfire experts from 15 universities, research institutes and government agencies authored a paper — published in the International Journal of Wildland Fire — that synthesizes the latest research on wildfires and their causes. The paper’s authors examined climate data, land cover changes, historical land management, fire suppression, and changing environments and ecosystems. … ” Read more from UCLA News.
In commentary this week …
This idea could save California billions of gallons of water while generating clean energy
Brandi McKuin, a project scientist with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced, and Roger Bales, a distinguished professor of engineering and management at UC Merced, write, “In 2021, our team at UC Merced found that covering California’s extensive network of irrigation canals with solar panels could make significant contributions to both clean energy and water conservation, serving two of the state’s most pressing needs at once. In addition to the added solar power, we found that shading all 4,000 miles of the state’s canals and aqueducts could save as much as 63 billion gallons of water annually by reducing evaporation — enough to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or provide water to the homes of more than 2 million people. Now we have a chance to put those projections to the test. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Water rights reform is a century overdue
Rob Katherman, an elected director of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, writes, “The Mountain Counties Water Resources Association Op-Ed (Daily Breeze, July 16, 2023), claims changes in California’s water rights system embodied in three current legislative proposals would have dire consequences and “would upend the water rights system that, while imperfect, has worked in California for more than a century.” Nonsense. Big Ag[riculture] wants to pretend that nothing has changed since 1914 and their “first in time first in right” is sacrosanct and the public has no right to question their water use even if the water supply in seven out of 10 years no longer supplies even average stormwater. By the way, the years before 1914 were part of the wettest 20 years in the past 1,100 years. … ” Read more from Random Lengths News.
Central Valley dairies utilize various methods to ensure clean water for all
Anja Raudabaugh, chief executive officer of Western United Dairies, writes, “The struggle for safe drinking water in the Central Valley has been around for generations. Even the first settlers to the region had to deal with water quality issues since the Valley is uniquely situated at the bottom of a large basin. The California dairy industry has stepped up to implement feasible solutions that will keep our friends and neighbors safe and able to maintain their livelihoods. But it will take collective and coordinated action by the agricultural industry, state and local leaders, regulators and environmental groups to adequately improve our water quality. This fight is deeply personal for me, having grown up on a diversified farm in the Central Valley and spending my career in farm management and agriculture. I saw firsthand the impact that limited access to clean water had on my family and continues to have on families and farm operations across the Valley. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee.
Perhaps we need to sacrifice jobs & farmland in LA to bring Chinook salmon back to LA River
Dennis Wyatt, editor of the Manteca Bulletin, writes, “Climate change clearly is the common battle cry in Sacramento. Then why hasn’t California abandoned the high-cost absolute rock bottom minimum return to ensure the future of Chinook Salmon on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced rivers? Harboring that as a mere thought would constitute blasphemy in today’s climate change/political complex. But if one is certain severe climate change is eminent, then concentrating on chinook salmon preservation efforts where they have the better chance such as the Sacramento River is the logical thing to do. It also would free up the water resources involved to address other climate change concerns such as adequate water to grow food, serve human needs, and protect the Delta. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin.
We’re on the path to clean drinking water in the Central Valley, but there’s more work to do
Tom Barcellos, the owner of Barcellos Farms and the president of the Lower Tule River Irrigation District, writes, “To live and farm in the Central Valley for three generations means water is a constant topic of conversation around the dinner table. While water quantity and water quality are serious and often daunting problems, I see reason for hope. Important work is already underway on my family dairy farm and across the Valley to protect our drinking water. We are taking the time to celebrate the small victories but are ready to get back to work with the state and other local interests to keep up the momentum. Highlighting our current efforts is a new partnership with the California Department of Water Resources to provide immediate protection to drinking water wells in our district through the establishment of a new “LandFlex” program. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly.
California’s historic water rights come under new scrutiny, and that is a good thing
Thomas Holyoke, professor of political science at CSU Fresno; Cordie Qualle, lecturer in civil and geomatics engineering at CSU Fresno; and Laura Ramos, interim director of research and education at the California Water Institute at CSU Fresno, writes, “Over the last few years, we have heard plenty of disturbing stories about wells going dry in the small, poor towns across the San Joaquin Valley, such as East Porterville and East Orosi. In 2012, California reacted by declaring access to water to be a human right, but with little money attached to stop what was now a human-rights violation. More recently, alarms have been ringing about the state seeking to abolish its longstanding system of water rights. This concern is overblown, at least at the moment, and a little refining of the state water rights system might make it easier to supply poor, rural communities with some water. The 2012 law is little more than a values statement, enacted after a rash of drying-up domestic wells made international headlines. … ” Continue reading at the Fresno Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
Editorial: No one will win a North Coast water war
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat writes, “The tap on the upper Russian River turns at the Potter Valley hydroelectric plant. Since 1908, water from the Eel River has flowed through a tunnel 8 feet in diameter and dropped 450 feet through penstocks to spin the turbines at the Potter Valley powerhouse, in a remote area northeast of Ukiah. From there, the water empties into the Russian River, where it sustains vineyards, ranches and cities in Mendocino and Sonoma counties. But the power plant is no longer profitable, and PG&E is moving ahead with plans to shut it down permanently. … California has a long history of water wars, and another one may be shaping up here on the North Coast. … ” Read the full editorial at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (gift article).
Editorial: Say goodbye to grass that’s only there for looks. California can’t afford to waste water
The Los Angeles Times editorial board writes, “California was so dry and its water supply so precarious by May 2022 that the State Water Resources Control Board issued an emergency order: No drinkable water could be used to irrigate grass that had no function other than to look nice. The regulation does not apply to residential lawns, although they were already turning brown due to local restrictions on sprinkler use. It does apply to all purely ornamental lawns — “nonfunctional turf,” in regulatory parlance — at commercial, industrial and institutional sites, such as shopping centers and corporate headquarters. That order was recently extended for another year. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Recess is over, Californians demand climate action from state legislators
“In the final week of what became the hottest month in history, it was reported that California is not on track to reach our 2030 climate goals to reduce emissions to 48% below 1990 levels. As we experience more extreme heat, droughts, water scarcity, and intense wildfires, California’s role as a climate leader for the nation and world is called into question. Our state legislature and Governor Newsom must now pass key climate bills to reduce emissions at the sources, hold polluters accountable for their climate impact, and support climate resiliency in frontline communities. Our recent poll confirms that our communities are demanding these solutions that will accelerate our progress towards the state’s climate goals. While polls rarely reflect the state’s diversity, ours was administered in-language, and ensured the demographic communities that have seen higher rates of growth in the last decade, like voters of color, were included. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly.
What is the Interior doing for Indian Country?
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland writes, “Before I was Secretary of the Interior, or even a member of Congress, I was an organizer. With signs made on my kitchen floor with poster board and markers, I urged our leaders to act for and invest in Indian Country. Today, my tools for change look different. With documents signed at the desk of the Secretary of the Interior, we are charting a new course for our communities. And with more than $45 billion in funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda – from the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act – we are acting for and investing in Indian Country. I feel a great responsibility to take all perspectives into account to leave a better America for future generations. It’s a responsibility of the position I hold, but also one that I inherited from my ancestors. With these historic investments, we are empowering Tribes to build long-term resilience for our communities. … ” Read more from the Navajo-Hopi Observer.
In regional water news this week …
Judge affirms reversal of Klamath irrigators’ enforcement stay
“Oregon water regulators rightly overturned an “automatic stay” that shielded irrigators from the enforcement of the Klamath Tribes’ water rights, according to a federal judge. Earlier this year, the Klamath Tribes asked the state’s Department of Water Resources to “regulate off” junior irrigators who draw water from Upper Klamath Lake and its tributaries. The agency ordered the 45 farms to stop irrigating, finding the lake’s water level was low enough to adversely affect the tribes’ oldest “time immemorial” water rights. However, four farmers filed a lawsuit arguing OWRD should have ignored the “futile” request because federal officials were releasing water from the lake to improve habitat for protected fish. … ” Read more from the Capital Press.
Klamath farmers hope to harvest crops before shutoff
“Even with a more positive water outlook in early 2023, irrigators of the federal Klamath Water Project who are nearing the end of the growing season say they hope to finish harvest before their water supply is cut off in the coming weeks. Siskiyou County farmer Scott Seus of Tulelake-based Seus Farms, which grows a variety of crops including horseradish, onions, mint and grain, said the region’s farmers face water challenges again this season, despite a plentiful water year. “It’s hard to fathom. They tell you there’s not enough water to go around, yet you have 220% of normal precipitation and you should be closer to 300,000 acre-feet or 280,000 (acre-feet) reasonably,” Seus said, referring to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that manages the Klamath Water Project, which relies on water from Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River. “There’s a strong probability that they are going to shut our water off before the end of the season. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
Aquatic robot cleaning Lake Tahoe waters
“A new aquatic robot is skimming invasive weeds and other pollution from the Tahoe Keys Marina to help protect Lake Tahoe water quality. The PixieDrone can pick up floating debris like plastic litter as well as fragments of invasive weeds. Keep Tahoe Blue, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, ECO-CLEAN Solutions and the Tahoe Keys Marina announced the skimmer this month. “Together, we’re embarking on a mission to safeguard the pristine beauty of Lake Tahoe, combining cutting-edge technology with environmental stewardship,” said JT Chevallier, co-founder and chief strategy officer of ECO-CLEAN Solutions. … ” Read more from Channel 8.
Stanislaus Forest: Protecting water from fire: How the Wildfire Crisis Strategy protects critical infrastructure
“If they’d only known. Back in the 1850s, miners in the Sierra Nevada gold-rush town of Sonora, California created a connected system of ditches, wooden flumes and pipes to move water. Sierra snowpack melted into the South Fork of the Stanislaus River and flowed into the Lyons Reservoir. From there, the snowmelt trickled down to service the gold mines. As a secondary concern, it was also a source of drinking water for Sonora and the nearby towns of Columbia and Jamestown. More than 150 years later, the 72 miles of open channels, wooden flumes and pipes still exist, 16 miles of which snake through the Stanislaus National Forest and flow into treatment plants operated by the Tuolumne Utilities District. This configuration serves as the primary source of drinking water for the more than 44,000 residents of Tuolumne County. The project Kuiken refers to is one of the Forest Service’s “Wildfire Crisis Strategy” landscapes. … ” Continue reading from the US Forest Service.
Tomales Bay invaded by invertebrates from Southern Hemisphere
“Thousands of small, self-cloning sea anemones native to the Southern Hemisphere are rapidly spreading in Tomales Bay, an event researchers say could be the first recorded sighting of the species above the equator. After the anemone was reported last year through a citizen science app, iNature, researchers at the University of California at Davis’ Bodega Marine Laboratory confirmed the species to be Anthopleura hermaphroditica, known as the small brown sea anemone. The striped anemone, which is less than an inch, is native to New Zealand, Australia and Chile. UC Davis researchers, led by doctoral student Keira Monuki, are contemplating how the species could affect the bay’s ecosystems. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
Bay Area red tide crisis ends, watchdog group declares algae bloom over
“The red tide that gave East Bay waters a light brown sheen earlier this month is likely over, declared the environmental watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper Monday. “I would say this bloom is done for now,” said the group’s staff scientist Ian Wren on a boat under the eastern half of the Bay Bridge, where the water was olive green instead of a murky tea color brought on by the bloom. “Almost overnight the bloom died and the water was crystal clear,” he added. Even though the red tide has dissipated, Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, is hesitant “to declare victory.” “It is still summertime and at this time I am cautiously optimistic,” she said. “We don’t have enough knowledge of the species. Warmer weather could bring it back and we will continue to monitor the situation.” … ” Read more from KQED.’
Central Valley farmers are having a climate reckoning
“Climate change — and changing political winds — are prompting shifts in strategy at California’s largest agricultural water district. Westlands Water District, which occupies some 1,100 square miles of the arid San Joaquin Valley, is in the midst of an internal power struggle that will determine how water fights unfold across the state. After years of aggressively fighting for more water, Westlands is making plans to live with less. In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned in the valley, promising to “open up the water” for farmers in the then-drought stricken state. Its leaders are now sounding a more Biden-esque note: They are planning to cover a sixth of the district with solar panels to start “farming the sun” instead of thirsty crops like almonds and pistachios. … Westlands’ new general manager, Allison Febbo, who began in April, is charting a course that’s more in line with projections of how climate change is expected to affect the valley. Febbo characterized the state’s reckoning with climate change as a journey through the stages of grief. … ” Read more from Politico.
Group of Valley water users files appeal against proposed new dam
“A group of water users on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley is continuing its unlikely quest to stop a proposed new dam on the west side of the valley. Back in Oct. 2022, a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge dismissed a host of environmental challenges against the project as well as concerns brought by the Friant Water Supply Protection Association. On July 24, the Friant group filed an appeal in the Fifth District Court of Appeals. It’s not that the Friant group wouldn’t like to see more water storage, it would. But the group is concerned with how that stored water will be counted and how that accounting could affect Friant, according to the appeal. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
VOICE OF SAN DIEGO: Water Authority OK’s suit to keep districts from leaving as they rush to pack
“San Diego’s biggest water seller will sue the boundary referees that allowed two of its buyers to leave its business territory. After hours of deliberation in a closed meeting last week, the board of the San Diego County Water Authority voted to sue the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO. That’s because LAFCO’s board agreed to let Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utilities District divorce from the Water Authority last month so they could buy cheaper water from Riverside County. The Water Authority board approved the lawsuit by a slim margin. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
To help navigate looming water cuts, Imperial Irrigation hires its longtime rival from LA
“One of the West’s top water kingpins is back, and in an unlikely new spot. Jeffrey Kightlinger, retired general manager for the powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, has been hired as a consultant by the Imperial Irrigation District, which in the past has been his bitter rival on Colorado River policy. The contract comes at a critical juncture, as seven states and federal officials ramp up negotiations over a long-term agreement to keep the massive but dwindling river and its reservoirs functional. IID holds the rights to by far the largest share of that water. Kightlinger, 63, said of his new client, “It’s an intriguing thing … IID is obviously a big player, and I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I think it could work out well for both of us. ” … ” Read more from the Desert Sun.
Feds ease up on Colorado River restrictions — for now
“The water shortage crisis on the Colorado River is improving, but it’s far from over. That was the message from the Biden administration on Tuesday, as officials announced they would loosen water restrictions on the river in 2024. Thanks to robust winter snowpack that provided about 33 percent more moisture than the average year, the water levels in the riverʻs two main reservoirs have begun to stabilize after plummeting over three years. This has lessened the need for states in the Southwest to cut their water usage. The total cuts will be about 20 percent lighter than they were last year, requiring three Southwest states and Mexico to save around 600,000 acre-feet of water — enough to supply roughly 1.2 million homes. … ” Continue reading from Grist.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE: Opportunity for public comment on the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum’s 2023 Triennial Review
REGISTER NOW: Water Leadership Development Open House on August 24th
NOTICE: Available for Comment: Kaweah Basin Water Quality Coalition Comprehensive Surface Water Quality Management Plan
