A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
Should California expect more tropical storms like Hurricane Hilary?
“California is notoriously dry this time of year. Yet, over the course of a single day this weekend, some desert areas were hit with more than a year’s worth of rainfall. Hurricane Hilary threw California into a state of emergency after more than 80 years without a tropical storm making landfall there. This kind of storm is unusual for California, and it will probably remain a rare occurrence. Even so, strange and extreme weather is a hallmark of climate change. And experts say it could have more curveballs in store that the state should be preparing for. “There probably will not be a whole lot more [hurricanes that move into the southwestern US] in the future. But when they do happen, they’ll be much more like Hilary,” says David Easterling, chief of the Climate Assessments Section and director of the National Climate Assessment Technical Support Unit at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. … ” Read more from The Verge.
A marine heat wave off California helped fuel Hurricane Hilary. What’ll it do next?
“Last week, a massive marine heat wave sitting roughly 60 miles off California’s coast oozed eastward, providing warm water fuel for Hurricane Hilary and its historic trek north. It was a worrisome development for researchers who have monitored this warm mass for nearly a decade — and who are watching a developing El Niño in the equatorial Pacific. Ever since the “blob” appeared in the northeastern Pacific at the very end of 2013 — a massive marine heat wave that gripped the West Coast for nearly two years in heat and drought; disrupting marine ecosystems up and down the coast — a massive offshore heat wave has appeared nearly every year (with the exception of 2017 and 2018); expanding in the summer and shrinking in the winter. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via the Brunswick News.
Would filling a new reservoir give off lots of greenhouse gases?
“When you think about sources of planet-heating greenhouse gases, dams and reservoirs probably aren’t some of the first things that come to mind. But scientific research has shown that reservoirs emit significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. It’s produced by decomposing plants and other organic matter collecting near the bottom of reservoirs. Methane bubbles up to the surface of reservoirs, and also passes through dams and bubbles up downstream. Scientists call these processes ebullition and degassing. And there is a growing debate about how much of these gases would be emitted by California’s planned Sites Reservoir, which is slated to be built in a valley north of Sacramento to store water for agriculture and cities. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO: Press release: Scientific Report: Yearly Greenhouse Gas Pollution From Proposed Sites Dam and Reservoir Project Would Equal 80,000 Gas-Powered Cars, from Friends of the River
New database helps Californians understand proposed groundwater plans
“To achieve groundwater sustainability under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, demand management – policies that encourage water conservation – will be necessary, says Ellen Bruno, University of California Cooperative Extension specialist in quantitative policy analysis at UC Berkeley. A key feature of the state’s approach to SGMA is that local groundwater sustainability agencies can 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 across the state include a variety of water conservation strategies. Many, but not all, GSPs include tools such as allocations, taxes or fees, pumping restrictions, or efficiency incentives. Understanding these policy choices is important because they will influence the economic costs of SGMA. … ” Read more from UCANR.
WEBINAR: SGMA Review: Achieving Groundwater Access for All & Visual Data Tool Demonstration
A new report, authored by experts from organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Audubon California, and Clean Water Action, provides a set of recommendations on how California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act can better protect vulnerable communities and the environment. The recommendations are based on findings from a study published this week in Nature Communications, which found that the majority of local groundwater plans developed under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) overlook the state’s most vulnerable groundwater users. A webinar was held that provided an overview of the analysis of the plans and information about how the plans fail to protect groundwater for many. The webinar included brief presentations, a live demonstration of an interactive visual data tool, and a Question and Answer session. View webinar here.
CDFW completes release of 23 million fall-run chinook salmon
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has completed the release of approximately 23 million fall-run Chinook salmon raised at its four Central Valley anadromous fish hatcheries, the Feather River Fish Hatchery, the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery and the Merced River Hatchery. The 23 million salmon raised and released by CDFW in 2023 represents a 15 percent increase over the roughly 20 million fall-run Chinook salmon raised and released in 2022. This year’s production goals were increased as a coordinated effort among state and federal partnering agencies to help fall-run Chinook salmon overcome impacts from an extended drought that increased water temperatures and decreased water flow throughout the Central Valley during critical salmon spawning and rearing periods. Drought conditions coupled with Thiamine Deficiency Complex, a vitamin deficiency that impacts reproduction, have reduced in-river spawning success the past several years. … ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
SEE ALSO: 23 million Chinook salmon were released throughout California’s Central Valley. Here’s why, from the Sacramento Bee
Educating the judiciary on water and climate change
“Justices Ron Robie and Stacy Boulware Eurie are spearheading an effort to educate California’s judiciary about climate change and water issues. We asked them why they’ve taken on this task—and what they hope to accomplish. You are leading the judiciary’s efforts to train judges and justices on water and climate. What does this entail, and why is it so important? Justice Robie: I’ve taught classes on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for about 20 years. Water is a similar specialized area like CEQA, and more water cases are being assigned to larger courts. It seemed logical that using the CEQA model would be good for water. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
State Water Board begins rulemaking to Make Conservation a California Way of Life
“Moving to strengthen California’s water supply and resilience to climate change through long-term water conservation practices, the State Water Resources Control Board today formally began the rulemaking process for the Making Conservation a Way of Life regulation. The first public comment period is open from August 18 until October 17, 2023. … ” Click here for more information.
Proposed bill would limit how California businesses water decorative lawns
“Even if California is out of its drought, brown might still be the new green. A proposed state bill, AB-1572, would try to conserve water by banning companies and industrial areas from watering decorative lawns around their properties with potable water. California put a similar rule in place in 2022, preventing commercial, industrial, and government agencies from using drinking water for upkeep of grass deemed non-functional or ornamental by regulators. The state legislature later extended that ban until June 2024. But some lawmakers now want to make that rule permanent. That would mean a ban on using fresh water to keep up right-of-ways, as well as the lawns for strip malls, office parks, corporate campuses and schools. … ” Read more from NBC News.
We reviewed more than 150 papers on water management. Here’s what we learned.
Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida, Senior Water and Climate Scientist, writes, “In my previous life as a graduate student, I worked with hydroeconomic modeling. I recently had the opportunity to jump back into that type of research with colleagues from the University of California Davis and Merced. If hydroeconomic modeling sounds like jargon, that’s because it is. In a nutshell, hydroeconomic modeling is a tool for water management. It helps researchers, water practitioners, and policymakers answer critical questions related to how much water is available now and in the future, and–ideally–the best ways to use it. This type of modeling gets complicated when you are trying to find balance among water use by people, agriculture, ecosystems, energy production, and recreation. Fold in the need to consider flood management, politics, and economics…and oh yes!…add climate change, and it gets very complicated! My colleagues and I reviewed more than 150 scientific papers that applied hydroeconomic modeling. … ” Read more from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Unlocking hydropower’s potential: Renewable Energy Discovery (REDi) Island demonstrates water power technologies at the heart of NREL research
“In 1880, a water-powered turbine generated its first spark of electricity. It powered a theater and storefront in Grand Rapids, Michigan. By 1893, the first commercial hydropower plant was operating in Redlands, California. And according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in 2022, hydropower accounted for more than 28% of all renewable electricity generation in the United States. Needless to say, hydropower is not new. In fact, hydropower’s consistency, flexibility, and dispatchability (more on that later) have already made it essential to the grid—and to our clean energy transition. The virtual Renewable Energy Discovery (REDi) Island, an educational resource developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) water power team and design agency IKM 3D and funded by DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), showcases all types of marine energy and hydropower technologies in action—technologies that are being developed and refined right here at NREL. … ” Read more from NREL.
El Niño and La Niña multi-year events could become more common
“The Pacific Ocean covers 32% of Earth’s surface area, more than all the land combined. Unsurprisingly, its activity affects conditions around the globe. Periodic variations in the ocean’s water temperature and winds, called the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, are a major meteorologic force. Scientists know that human activity is affecting this system, but are still determining the extent. A new study in Nature has revealed that the atmospheric component — called the “Pacific Walker Circulation” — has changed its behavior over the industrial era in ways that weren’t expected. The international team of authors also found that volcanic eruptions can cause the Walker Circulation to temporarily weaken, inducing El Niño conditions. The results provide important insights into how El Niño and La Niña events may change in the future. … ” Read more from UC Santa Barbara.
In commentary this week …
California needs to set its ‘Sites’ on off- stream reservoirs & recharging aquifers
Dennis Wyatt, editor of the Manteca Bulletin, writes, “Albert Hammond nailed it. “Seems it never rains in southern California; Seems I’ve often heard that kind of talk before. It never rains in California, But girl, don’t they warn ya? It pours, man, it pours” Tropical Storm Hilary early this week underscored that premise. While Hammond was talking about bad luck, it is certainly true of desert regions in Southern California from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. And while Las Vegas Review Journal editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez has a point in his cartoon accompanying this column, it doesn’t apply to the flooding that just occurred mostly in in the Mojave — the 47,781 square mile desert that goes from 266 feet below sea level to 5,000 feet. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin..
Biden administration’s WOTUS rule hinders infrastructure progress
Matthew Hinck writes, “The Biden administration that spearheaded the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 to revitalize our nation’s critical infrastructure is now the same administration pumping the breaks on its nationwide execution in 2023. Earlier this year, the Biden administration issued a regulation defining “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which attempted to radically grow the footprint of the federal government on private land by giving it broad authority over ponds, ditches and even dry land that rarely holds water. The overreaching WOTUS rule exacerbated an already complicated permitting process for aggregate companies like mine and threatened our industry’s ability to deliver high-quality raw materials for the country’s roads, bridges, airports, waterways and other critical infrastructure projects on time and within budget. The administration’s push for a sweeping expansion of federal authority jeopardizes the very industries responsible for carrying out its vision for robust, modernized infrastructure. … ” Read more from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Your clothes are polluting the environment with microplastics. Can washing machines help?
When you hear the word “microfiber,” you probably think of the now-ubiquitous reusable cloths used for cleaning floors, wiping up spills and polishing countertops. For environmentalists, however, that word has a much more sinister meaning. It describes the tiny threads that textiles — clothes, bedding, towels and, yes, reusable cleaning cloths — shed by the millions during each spin through the washing machine and which ultimately end up polluting the environment, particularly oceans, rivers and lakes. Since most clothing is made with synthetic materials, such as polyester, rayon and acrylic, it means that most microfibers are also microplastics. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news this week …
Klamath River tributary restoration gives salmon a chance before – and after – dam removal
“By the end of 2024, four dams will be removed on the Klamath River, opening hundreds of miles of habitat to native fishes including coho salmon. But until those dams do come down, and even after as the river recovers, coho salmon in the Klamath Basin are in desperate need of places to safely grow and rear their young. On the South Fork of the Scott River, a tributary to the Klamath, CalTrout and our partners are beginning the fourth phase of a restoration project that will reconnect the stream to its natural floodplain and improve cold water rearing habitat for Klamath Basin fish. Historic mining and timber operations significantly altered the landscape, disconnecting the river from its floodplain and degrading fish habitat. In 2017, CalTrout and our partners began implementation for the South Fork Scott River Floodplain Connectivity Project. Our work thus far has included restoring and excavating floodplains, adding habitat features in side-channels and the mainstem, removing mine tailings, and monitoring these improvements. … ” Read more from Cal Trout.
Minimum flows set for Scott River in state Water Board meeting
“Last week, the state Water Board heard a petition to retain minimum water flows for the Scott River, a key Klamath tributary. The petition was brought by the Karuk Tribe, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and the Environmental Law Foundation. The board eventually directed staff to reinstate the emergency regulations for both the Scott and Shasta rivers, a major win for the petitioners who say flows must be maintained to protect endangered salmon. The board also directed staff to begin work on permanent regulation for flows in the Shasta and Scott rivers. The meeting went late into the night and saw public commenters who traveled hours to Sacramento to speak. “This is the first time that provision has been used to ask for a flow regulation, it’s really a result of nothing else working,” noted Craig Tucker, a natural resources consultant for the Karuk Tribe. He said that, in his mind, this is the best outcome of the petition. … ” Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard.
Water Talks: Waiting on PG&E to figure out life after the Potter Valley Project
“At the first meeting following a proposal for life after the Potter Valley Project, participants talked about money, conservation, water rights, and what to do next, in the absence of key information from the current owner of the project. At the end of July, Sonoma Water, the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, and the Round Valley Indian Tribes made a proposal to PG&E about how to continue diverting water from the Eel River into the Russian River without Scott Dam and with a new kind of infrastructure where Cape Horn Dam is now. They hope that PG&E will include their proposal in its draft plan for decommissioning the project, which it will submit to regulators in November. The three groups agreed to form a regional entity that could legally take on the water right and manage the diversion. But the other members of the Russian River Water Forum, a large group of representatives from interests in the Eel and Russian River watersheds, were not involved in negotiations with PG&E. Some, though not all, feel blindsided. … ” Read more from the Redheaded Blackbelt.
Is water recycling the answer to the Bay Area’s drought woes, algae blooms?
“When recycled for drinking, the millions of gallons of water that Bay Area residents flush down toilets and showers every day could be cleaner than the pristine Hetch Hetchy water that flows from many taps in the region, according to a top California water official. “Both are drinkable and pure,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the drinking water division of the state’s Water Resources Control Board. Recycled water for human consumption, he added, will be so clean that workers will have to add minerals to it, because the purification process strips the water of necessary minerals that make it drinkable. But recycling the region’s used water for drinking, a process called “direct potable reuse,” is not happening anywhere in the Bay Area — at least not yet. … ” Read more from KQED.
Commentary: The grand jury is in, and the Paso basin is still in trouble
Andrew Christie, executive director of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club, writes, “The plan to save the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin is failing. In 2014, the California Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), requiring local communities to form groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) to be administered by groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs). If you’ve been following the saga of the critically overdrafted Paso Robles Groundwater Basin for the last 10 years, the following news may depress you, but it probably won’t surprise you. Some things have changed over that time—the basin now has a groundwater sustainability agency and a groundwater sustainability plan—but some other things have not, including the mindset that still believes the problem can be solved by voluntary conservation, supplemental water projects, and digging deeper wells. … ” Continue reading at New Times SLO.
Poso: Kern County’s recurring problem creek in search of a solution
“It’s no mystery why the tiny community of Pond was flooded out this last spring. All you had to do was drive four miles south to see the massive pile of debris at the Highway 43 bridge to know all that water churning through the normally dry Poso Creek was going bust out and go somewhere. It did. And it headed straight for Pond. For generations, the Poso has been an intermittent problem child – bone dry most years, then swelling beyond its banks about every six to 10 years, flooding towns, vital roadways and thousands of acres of farmland northwest of Wasco. Why does it keep happening? … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Ridgecrest: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority under fire for lack of communication in pipeline project
“Attendees of the Imported Water Pipeline Project Scoping Meeting accused the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority of failing to give proper notice of initial environmental studies that took place or that the period to make public comments expires on Aug. 31. Dena Giacomini, principal planner/biologist for Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group and project manager for the environmental compliance portion of the project, facilitated the scoping meeting on behalf of the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority (IWVGA) held Wednesday evening at the Kerr McGee Center. The meeting was held in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and addressed how the Indian Wells Valley could obtain sustainable water supplies by local authorities. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent.
Southern California’s ‘water doctor’ pushes for transformation to adapt to climate change
“When Adel Hagekhalil speaks about the future of water in Southern California, he often starts by mentioning the three conduits the region depends on to bring water from hundreds of miles away: the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Colorado River Aqueduct and the California Aqueduct. As general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Hagekhalil is responsible for ensuring water for 19 million people, leading the nation’s largest wholesale supplier of drinking water. He says that with climate change upending the water cycle, the three existing aqueducts will no longer be sufficient. Southern California urgently needs to buttress its water resources, he says, by designing the equivalent of a “fourth aqueduct” — not another concrete artery to draw water from distant sources, but a set of projects that will harness local water supplies and help prepare for more intense extremes as temperatures continue to rise. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
Orange County Water District successfully captures rainfall from tropical storm Hilary to bolster local drinking water supplies
“With the arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary, the Orange County Water District (OCWD; the District) maximized water supply operations to capture 2.56 inches of rain, ensuring not a drop was lost to the ocean, and increase its water storage behind Prado Dam to more than 3.4 billion gallons of water. OCWD was prepared to take full advantage of stormwater capture due to decades of sound planning, regional partnerships, and investments in water infrastructure. Located in the northern part of the county lies its managed aquifer recharge system where a series of rubber dams, pumps and percolation ponds work to get water into the Orange County Groundwater Basin (Basin). The Basin is a vital resource managed by OCWD which supplies 85% of the water for 2.5 million people. … ” Read more from Orange County Water District.
Water Authority asks county registrar to stall water divorce vote
MacKenzie Elmer writes, “I got some pushback recently on the idea that legislation which could stall the breakup of the San Diego County Water Authority may have trouble getting through. But it’s hardly a guaranteed success for the city of San Diego and its sponsor, Democrat Tasha Boerner from Encinitas. It needs a two-thirds vote from the state Legislature and there’s evidence that – despite strong support from labor unions – Democrats may not have all the votes they need. It would also change the fundamental relationship between the Water Authority and its members. Jack Bebee, head of defecting Fallbrook Public Utilities District, told Voice before that if the whole county had to vote on something like this, his agency would never have joined the Water Authority in the first place. … ” Continue reading from the Voice of San Diego.
Colorado lawmakers: AZ, CA must do their part before state agrees to water cuts
“A panel of state lawmakers who lead in the water and agriculture space said any water conservation program Colorado conceives of shouldn’t go into place until after California and Arizona first take action. The bipartisan panel spoke Wednesday at Colorado Water Congress about the water policies passed in the last legislative session, and where they see Colorado water policy headed in the next year. “We’re at a place where we know that Colorado is not the reason why the Colorado River is threatened. It is Arizona and California’s overuse,” Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Eagle, said. But it would be foolish for the state of Colorado to simply lock itself into that position of “we want the lower basin to do everything” because the political realities don’t bear that out. … ” Read more from Colorado Politics.
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