On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Department of Food and Ag from 10am to 2:30pm. Agenda items include CDFA’s Racial Equity Action Plan, an update on the CA Water Commission drought work, and regenerative agriculture. Click here for the agenda and remote access instructions.
In California water news today …
California Senate candidates share a position on the Delta tunnel: no position
“Most statewide California candidates blow off the Central Valley. There are more votes and media — and donors, of course — on the coast. But not this year. The Central Valley is up for grabs for Senate candidates vying to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The top three Democrats — who represent coastal districts in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Bay Area and aren’t well known in almond country — made a beeline last Saturday from a major union endorsement interview in Los Angeles to a $25-a-head fundraiser hosted by Rep. Josh Harder along the Stockton waterfront. Harder told the 400 people gathered in the 91-degree heat that his job “is to make sure that people are reminded that California is more than San Francisco and Los Angeles.” But while they’re all showing up to campaign in the Valley, none has crafted a position on a crucial aspect of the issue in America’s breadbasket that could give them an advantage over their rivals: water. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
Silicon Valley billionaires’ land grab for utopian development draws fury, fears
“Kathy Threlfall received two offers from a group of ultra-wealthy Silicon Valley investors to buy her Solano County farm and a two-story farmhouse built by her great-grandparents that’s “a little cocky-wobble” with age. The would-be buyers, a who’s-who of Silicon Valley billionaires, are snapping up farmland and suing neighbors to construct their vision of utopia north of Antioch and east of Vallejo. Threlfall, 75, is retired from cattle ranching, but still takes comfort in the rolling hills and farms surrounding her 240-acre property about three miles northwest of the Sacramento River. The landscape, green in winter and spring and golden now, fills her with a sense of home, community and “belonging somewhere.” … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
NOW AVAILABLE: New groundwater recharge guidance documents from DWR and Sustainable Conservation
“The Department of Water Resources and Sustainable Conservation have released new guidance documents for groundwater recharge. These include an on-farm recharge methods manual, District Recharge Program Guidance and Central Valley Groundwater Recharge Incentives and Strategies. Click here to read more and access the documents.
Groundwater grievances
“The New York Times has run some features this week on groundwater depletion in the United States. Their central message is undeniable. There is acute groundwater depletion in certain regions: the Central Valley and Salinas Valley in California, large stretches of Utah and Idaho, central Arizona, the western Great Plains, eastern Arkansas, northwestern Mississippi, northeastern Virginia, much of Maryland, and New York’s Long Island. Examining results from 84,544 wells since 1920 nationwide, the article says, “Nearly half the sites have declined significantly during the past 40 years as more water has been pumped out than nature can replenish.” Agriculture is responsible for much of this depletion, the stories say. … ” Read more from Produce Blue Book.
These five cities could be one natural disaster away from a catastrophic water crisis – Central California Coast is one of them
“What happened in Jackson, experts say, is a bellwether for what’s to come if America continues to kick the can down the road in addressing its aging and crumbling water infrastructure. The climate crisis threatens to make those issues even more pressing. When sea levels rise, summers become hotter or heavy rains lead to more flooding, the country’s water infrastructure – largely built last century and only designed to last roughly 75 years – will be more strained than ever, threatening a system vital to human life. … Roughly an hour from California’s Bay Area and less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean, Kelli and Tim Hutton purchased a half an acre property in the Central Coast town of Moss Landing last summer. As with many others living in the area, they heavily rely on their private well for water. … ” Read more from CNN.
Sunken tug boat leaking diesel and oil into the Delta
“The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office is advising people to avoid the Delta Waterway due to a submerged tug boat leaking diesel fuel and oil. The tug boat is located in the Empire Tract, near Herman and Helen’s on Little Potato Slough. … ” Read more from KTXL.
Wetlands on the edge
“It’s really easy to overlook and undervalue wetlands. Some are small or just don’t look very important. Others are enormous, and cause flooding issues for homeowners and growers. Some might even think wetlands are gross, worry about mosquitos and vector borne illness, or have never experienced what it’s like to be close to or inside of one. It’s uncommon to see a home or store positioned on a wetland (usually because it was drained), so perhaps they can also appear to be taking up valuable real estate better utilized for ‘human needs’. Naturally, wetlands require water, which means they compete with humans for the acre-feet we so often discuss in California water. Yet according to Constanza et al. 1997, ecosystem services for wetlands, compared to all other ecosystem types, are the most valuable on Earth. … ” Read more from the California Water Blog.
Santa Cruz Senator’s bill to curb illegal water usage at unlicensed cannabis cultivation sites becomes law
“Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Santa Cruz Senator John Laird’s SB 756 into law on Friday, according to the governor’s office. The bill addresses three issues regarding the State Water Board. First, its ability to participate in the inspection of unlicensed cannabis cultivation sites with law enforcement; second, its ability to inspect these sites for violation of water rights laws (including illegal diversion and/or use); and third, its ability to serve various types of legal documents and provide notice to unlicensed cannabis cultivation sites. … ” Read more from KION.
Research results: Producing food in a drying climate
“Searching 150 Best Quotes About Agriculture for something appropriate to discuss The Future of Agriculture and Food Production in a Drying Climate, this comment stood out — “At the very heart of agriculture is the drive to feed the world. We all flourish…or decline…with the farmer.” That core concept, “the heart of agriculture”, resonated with Bobby Robbins, a cardiologist by trade whose day job is President of the University of Arizona in Tucson. Living in the Northern Sonora Desert, Robbins has watched a changing climate threaten food and agriculture systems in the arid Southwest. “The agriculture industry needs innovative research-based solutions to continue producing food year-round,” he said in announcing a high-IQ Commission to tackle the job. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
NASA technology can spot wine grape disease from the sky. The world’s food supply could benefit
“Cutting-edge NASA imaging technology can detect early signs of a plant virus that, if unaddressed, often proves devastating for wineries and grape growers, new research has found. While the breakthrough is good news for the wine and grape industry, which loses billions of dollars a year to the crop-ruining disease, it could eventually help global agriculture as a whole. Using intricate infrared images captured by airplane over California’s Central Valley, researchers were able to distinguish Cabernet Sauvignon grape vines that were infected but not showing symptoms — before the point at which growers can spot the disease and respond. The technology, coupled with machine learning and on-the-ground analysis, successfully identified infected plants with almost 90% accuracy in some cases, according to two new research papers. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Climate change means Californians need flood insurance now, too
“Californians know wildfires and earthquakes; hurricanes, not so much. So when Tropical Storm Hilary inundated Southern California in normally bone-dry August, it showed just how exposed homeowners are to a growing financial risk from unpredictable climate-driven flooding. Standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover flooding and fewer than 2% of California households have flood insurance, even as intensifying winter storms overflow rivers and levees, batter the coast and drench the desert. As Hilary, the first tropical storm to strike the Golden State in 84 years, passed over Palm Springs on Aug. 20, it dumped nearly a year’s worth of rain in a day on the desert community east of Los Angeles, causing widespread flooding in the surrounding Coachella Valley. … ” Read more from Bloomberg.
A suspense(ful) day for wind and fire
“Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are sending the Department of Water Resources shopping for offshore wind. The governor and legislative leaders announced last night they’d struck a deal to advance AB 1373, which tasks the state with buying “clean, diverse” — and expensive-to-build — carbon-free energy and then selling it to utilities and electricity customers. The deal revives legislation that had stalled due to disagreements over the scope of the department’s buying authority and provisions regulating small-scale electricity sellers. … ” Continue reading at Politico.
California escaped deadly wildfires this summer. The danger isn’t over yet
“As the Labor Day holiday weekend draws the summer to a close, it’s been an unusually quiet season for fires across the American west. Roughly 80,000 hectares (2m acres) have burned across the country so far, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), roughly 61% less than the 10-year average for this time of year. The decrease has been particularly pronounced in the fire-prone west, which has grown accustomed to seeing swaths of their parched forests and browning hillsides ignite but has largely been given a reprieve from a summer of smoke-filled skies. In areas that are typically under threat, a severely wet winter set the stage for milder conditions through the spring, refreshing dry landscapes and lifting much of the region out of dire drought conditions. … ” Read more from the Guardian.
SEE ALSO: How do I find my wildfire evacuation zone or home’s risk level in California?, from the Sacramento Bee
Climate change boosts risk of explosive wildfire growth in California by 25%, study says
“Climate change has ratcheted up the risk of explosive wildfire growth in California by 25% and will continue to drive extreme fire behavior for decades to come, even if planet-warming emissions are reduced, a new study has found. “Emissions reductions have a minimal impact on wildfire danger in the near term — the next several decades,” said author Patrick T. Brown, co-director of the climate and energy team at the Breakthrough Institute, a Berkeley-based think tank. “So it’s important to look at more direct on-the-ground solutions to the problem like fuel reduction.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
The climate crisis could mean the twilight of the American West
Wade Davis writes, “I first visited the Grand Canyon in 1967 with two school friends and an elderly teacher who filled his summers by taking young students on long road trips, camping across the country. I mostly remember the color of the sky and the immensity of the chasm, with the Colorado River as seen from the canyon rim just a dirt thread lying across the bottom of the world. The nearest we got to the river was a mule ride down the Bright Angel Trail, three hours that left us sunburnt and swarming with ticks. Of the greater forces at play that summer, we were as oblivious as our teacher. In retrospect, 1967 was an auspicious year for the army of engineers, planners, and developers whose confidence in their ability to tame the Colorado, transform the desert, and reimagine the hydrology of the American West had taken on a religious dimension, secured as if an article of faith. … ” Read more from the Rolling Stone.
California state scientists authorize first-ever strike. Will workers walk off the job?
“California state scientists could potentially walk off the job for the first time in their union’s four-decade history. The California Association of Professional Scientists on Friday announced members voted to authorize a strike after a three-year contract fight. The union represents about 5,300 managerial-level scientists in state government who monitor food safety, prevent air and water pollution and manage natural resources, among other public duties. CAPS leaders announced the strike authorization vote on Tuesday, and members were able to cast ballots until 8 a.m. on Friday. About 93.5% of members voted in favor of calling a strike, according to a news release. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
In commentary today …
Time for a water wake up call
Eric Caine with the Valley Citizen writes, “Recent stories in the New York Times highlight a groundwater crisis throughout much of the United States, including the San Joaquin Valley. While depleted aquifers aren’t news to Valley citizens, the urgency of the situation has yet to strike home, especially in the northern part of the Valley where last winter’s heavy rains have led to a false sense of security and a “it can’t happen here” mindset. Farther south, wars between water barons Stewart Resnick, the Boswell company and John Vidovich have dominated news even while Tulare Lake has reclaimed mile upon mile of its natural heritage. Widespread flooding and a near-record snowpack have made it easy to forget that drought has been the dominant weather feature of the last fifteen years and climate change is virtually certain to put future water supplies in even greater peril. … ” Continue reading at the Valley Citizen.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Water management opportunities during dam removal
“The ongoing removal of four hydroelectric dams on the mainstem of the Klamath River presents opportunities for creatively managing water in the Klamath Basin that will never exist again. Yet those opportunities are likely to be lost amidst the complexities of dam removal, the uncertainties of hydrology, and the dysfunction of federal bureaucracy unless water users, tribes, and other stakeholders are better prepared to both identify and act upon them. The purpose of this article is to generally explain the nature of the opportunities that are likely to exist. Keep in mind, the exact nature or timing of potential opportunities cannot be identified at present with any reasonable certainty. Likewise, don’t fall into the trap of trying to identify volumes of water to potentially be managed and/or disposed of. Instead, the opportunities arising during dam removal will be driven by two primary factors in the construction logistics: 1) risk tolerances and 2) flow capacities. This means opportunities may not be reasonably known until they actually manifest, and how long they exist cannot assuredly be known. … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
Klamath Project supply update
“Political promises met the hard wall of objective reality recently for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), as under-performing inflows since early July will result in water levels in Upper Klamath Lake falling below 4,139.2 feet before September 30. In May Reclamation had committed the lake to remaining at or above 4,139.2 feet this year in response to litigation brought by the Yurok Tribe and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. With current projections showing the lake falling below that level imminently, Reclamation has indicated that the 260,000-acre-foot water supply for the Klamath Project may be in jeopardy. … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Commentary: What VIPs don’t see: All is not well in Lake Tahoe
Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos, writer and Tahoe resident, writes, “From a Lake Tahoe resident’s point of view, it has been surreal to see so many high-profile leaders visit in the span of weeks. To balance rosy reports from agency leads and their development-focused allies (some of whom use nonprofit status to seek more federal, state and local funding), I’d like to provide an insider’s view of life on the ground. The VIP access afforded to presidents mirrors what we saw in preparation for the recent 27th annual LakeTahoe Summit: illegal buoys vanish from the lake; overflowing trash disappears; and roads clear of construction and tourist gridlock that routinely grind traffic to a stop. If only Tahoe were like that every day. … ” Continue reading from the Nevada Independent.
Lake Tahoe dips to near-freezing temperatures on Labor Day weekend
“Unseasonably rainy weather pelted Lake Tahoe over Labor Day weekend during one of the region’s most popular times for tourists, and forecasters predicted a significant dip in temperatures at the beginning of the week. Near-freezing temperatures were in the forecast for Monday morning, which Mark Deutschendorf, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Reno station, said “has happened [before], but it’s still well below average.” Tourists who were planning to soak up the sun one last time before summer ends were set to wake up to temperatures near the 30s and 40s Monday morning. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Redding rainfall tops 40 inches since Oct. 1
“With a month left to go in the rain year ― Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 ― steady rain on Friday pushed the total precipitation for the Redding area to more than 40 inches. While Friday’s rain cooled the region by some 30 degrees from the high of 101 in Redding on Wednesday, the area was expected to begin drying out over the weekend. By Labor Day on Monday, the high temperature is expected to reach about 85 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The official weather service rain gauge at the Redding Regional Airport recorded just over 1 inch for the 24 hours ending at 5 p.m. Friday, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Friday’s rain pushed the total since Oct. 1 to just over 40 inches. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight.
NAPA/SONOMA
Out with the old, in with…the New Eel-Russian Facility?
“It’s called the New Eel-Russian Facility, and the proposal was submitted to PG&E on July 31st, the deadline day set by the utility. It is a joint effort looking to take over control of two-thirds of the Potter Valley Project: the Cape Horn Dam and Van Arsdale diversion. One of three groups behind the new proposal is Sonoma Water. “We put that together along with Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, Round Valley Indian tribes in order to sort of what I refer to as keep the door open,” said Sonoma Water’s Pam Jeane. So what exactly does keeping that door open mean? “The diversion from the Eel River to the Russian River continuing, as well as improving fisheries on the river,” Jeane said. … ” Read more from Northern California Public Media.
Combined Lake Sonoma, Lake Mendocino storage at highest level ever for this time of year
“Remember this time last year, when water stores depleted by several years of drought left water managers and consumers alike hoping desperately for a wet winter ahead? Well, Sonoma Water says the region’s main reservoirs — Lakes Sonoma and Mendocino — ended this August with the highest combined storage level since 1985, the first full year the newly constructed Lake Sonoma was filled. This, less than nine months after the reservoir on Dry Creek reached its lowest level in history on Dec. 9 — 96,310 acre feet, just more than a third full. Lake Sonoma now has nearly 240,000 acre feet in it, while Lake Mendocino, which is smaller, has nearly 84,000 acre feet, for a combined total of more than 322,000 acre feet. (An acre foot of water equals 325,851 gallons, or about the amount of water needed to flood most of a football field one foot deep.) … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
SEE ALSO: 2 Bay Area reservoirs at highest levels for this time of year, from KTVU
BAY AREA
Marin water district set to launch study of new Russian River pipelines
“Marin Municipal Water District is set to begin a new study into potential projects to import more Russian River water into Marin, including a first-time intertie to local reservoirs. On Tuesday, the district Board of Directors is set to vote on a nearly $936,000 contract with a consulting firm to conduct the study. The district identified several options as part of a previous water supply study completed earlier this year. The proposed options range from improvements to the existing aqueduct system to miles of new pipeline that would pump water directly into two of the district’s largest reservoirs, Nicasio and Soulajule. The new studies would work to provide more detail on the costs and benefits of each option as well as construction, potential environmental impacts and other factors. The study would aim to identify a preferred project by May 2024. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
49ers legend Joe Montana sues San Francisco alleging ‘toxic fecal’ matter in home
“Joe and Jennifer Montana are among the people suing San Francisco, alleging city departments did nothing to prevent “torrents of water and untreated sewage” from flooding their homes. The lawsuit, filed in the San Francisco County Superior Court on Aug. 24, was brought by dozens of families who live, rent or own property in the Marina District. The families allege that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Department of Public Works, as well as contractors they hired, knowingly allowed negligent conditions to develop in their neighborhood. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Valley Water spends $2.4M to collect trash in local waterways
“Over the last decade, Valley Water has continued to spend more money on cleaning up homeless encampments around Silicon Valley. In fiscal year 2013-14, the regional water wholesaler put $786,085 into the initiative. That grew to $1.5 million just a few years later, then dipped to a low of $364,896 during the first year of the pandemic. This year it soared to new heights—costing the agency $2.4 million. That’s in addition to spending $403,594.60 on litter removal (down from $1 million last year, but still up from the $130,881 it put into the task in 2013-14). Officials at the district, which manages 10 dams, say it’s a necessary part of ensuring residents have clean drinking water while contributing to the biodiversity of the Bay Area. … ” Read more from San Jose Inside.
CENTRAL COAST
Big Basin Water Company could enter receivership, hundreds under boil order
“Hundreds of water customers in the Santa Cruz mountains are under an advisory to boil their water from a private utility that has a history of problems and is now headed to court where a judge could put the utility in receivership. For many customers of the Big Basin Water Company their only source of fresh water is a temporary fill station set up in downtown Boulder Creek, courtesy of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District. “It’s everything from washing dishes to flushing toilets to taking showers, whatever we need to use water for,” said Chan Moore, a Big Basin Water customer. … ” Read more from KSBY.
Central Coast Water Board and Salinas agree on a settlement over alleged sewage discharge
“The City of Salinas has reached a settlement with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board for an alleged spill that occurred on April 15, 2022. The settlement is for a total $193,879 in administrative civil liability for violating state and federal law related to the release of sewage from two manholes into the Natividad Creek on April 15, 2022. The order proposes the following that Monterey One Water, the regional water treatment agency for several cities (including Salinas) would pay $95,715 to improve its system. The plan includes installing 11 manhole lids and a new, better alarm system at Salinas’ Lake Street Lift Station. The City os Salinas will pay the reminder, or $98,164, to the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account; this account provides funds to clean and combat wastewater contamination in the state and drinking water projects. … ” Read more from Monterey Weekly.
Strong El Niño is in the forecast for winter. What does that mean for SLO County weather?
“El Niño could be bringing another warm, wet winter to San Luis Obispo County The El Niño phenomenon is created when seawater temperatures along the surface of the Pacific Ocean near the equator heat up above historical averages, impacting weather conditions along the western United States. Climate models are predicting that the ocean water surface temperatures will increase enough in October through February to allow moisture-rich air to rise and develop into strong rainstorms. Whether or not those rainstorms hit SLO County depends on the location of the jet stream, a concentrated area of strong wind currents that can blow storms through a specific area. … ” Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Cuyama Basin landowners sued by major carrot producers Grimmway, Bolthouse
“Landowners in the Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin have been fighting major agriculture producers, Grimmway Farms and Bolthouse Farms, for their water rights. Everyone in the basin was on track to cut water usage until the carrot growers filed an adjudication in court against every landowner in the basin, including the school district, temporarily halting the cutback, and essentially leaving the courts with the decision on who gets water rights in the basin. The Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin was designated as one of 21 basins or subbasins in California that are in a state of critical overdraft. Local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA), agencies under the California Department of Water Resources, are responsible for creating a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) to outline how basins throughout the state will become sustainable by 2040. Those plans then get updated every five years. … ” Read more from KSBW.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Manteca: A pairing for prosperity
“The perfect wine pairing? Manteca and wineries. Manteca Mayor Gary Singh believes such a pairing will boost the prosperity of the agricultural sector in San Joaquin County as well as Manteca’s economy. San Joaquin County, after all, is the largest wine grape producing county in the nation, surpassing Napa and Sonoma counties. It is also home to the world’s fifth largest winery — Delicato Vineyards. And just east of Manteca on Highway 120 in rural Ripon is the Wine Group, the world’s second largest winery operation. Singh envisions a wine tasting center of some sort in or near the city’s family entertainment zone (FEZ) or in downtown. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
L.A. was ready for Tropical Storm Hilary. That preparedness proved to be life-saving
“Days of preparedness ahead of Hurricane Hilary appear to have paid off in Los Angeles, with not even a single traffic fatality reported on city streets, despite L.A. getting the most rain it’s had in a year. Urgent pleas for people to stay home seem to have worked. California Department of Transportation data for Los Angeles and Ventura counties show that traffic on freeways during the peak of the storm fell by 30% compared with the prior Sunday. Downtown L.A. received more rain on Aug. 20, the day Hilary hit Southern California as a tropical storm, than any day since the water year began Oct. 1. The storm dumped 2.48 inches, exceeding the 2.29 inches downtown L.A. got on Feb. 24 during one of the winter’s 31 atmospheric rivers that hit California. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Santa Clarita: Water board yet to announce decision on re-noticing Cemex
“The State Water Resources Control Board has yet to decide whether to hold a hearing on Cemex’s application to use water from the Santa Clara River, or when they will re-notice the application, water officials reported Friday. The agency confirmed last week it would re-notice the application and sent a letter to Cemex’s counsel that stated officials would not reconsider their decision to notice the application. “The state water board has not determined whether to hold a hearing regarding the Cemex water right permit application. The next step in processing the application is to re-notice the application,” according to an email from Ailene Voisin, information officer for the state water board. … ” Read more from The Signal.
Chino: California water purification facility marks major milestone
“The Chino Basin Program (CBP), a program led by the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) and partners, has reached a significant milestone as environmental engineering firm Brown and Caldwell completes the preliminary design of a new 13.4 million gallons per day Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF), a vital component of the innovative water program. The preliminary design, developed in partnership with Water Systems Consulting, Inc., provides the technical feasibility, planning-level design, and preliminary costs for the AWPF that can produce 15,000 acre-feet per year of purified water (water for approx. 100,000 people) for groundwater replenishment that meets Chino Basin water quality objectives and integrates the flexibility to meet potential future regulations. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
As cost for Doheny desalination plant grows, California aims to streamline more projects
“Whenever California has a dry year, or decade, it’s hard not to look west and wonder: Why aren’t we drinking more ocean water? It’s far from a pipe dream in places like Saudi Arabia, where desalination plants suck in supplies from the Red Sea, purge the salt, and meet half the nation’s water needs. But while California’s population is nearly the same size as Saudi Arabia and its coastline is twice as long, such a tiny fraction of the Golden State’s tap water comes from the sea that the figure won’t register on a standard calculator without scientific notation getting involved. The state’s supply of drinkable ocean water could jump 10% in five years — from 55 million to 60 million gallons per day — if the Doheny Desalination Plant in Dana Point becomes a reality. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Tropical Storm Hilary leaves minimal impacts on Salton Sea restoration projects
“As communities continue to recover from the impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary, active restoration projects around the Salton Sea report minimal construction damage in the wake of the storm. The Species Conservation Habitat Project (SCH), located at the southern end of the Salton Sea, saw an increase in flows from the New River as a result of the storm. The increase amounted to twice the typical inflow during the active storm period. … ” Continue reading and check out the pictures from the Salton Sea Management Program.
Niland underwater after heavy rain, canal overflow
“An overflow of the East Highline Canal east of Niland led to major flooding in the township late Friday afternoon, Sept. 1, where water raced in from the east, inundating homes and streets, keeping many residents from leaving the area for nearby evacuation centers, according to a Calipatria official. With the main artery in and out of Niland — Highway 111 — underwater for hours, relief efforts and an escape route for residents proved challenging. For those who could get out, the American Red Cross had set up a shelter at the Carmichael Center on Park Avenue in Calipatria for Niland families by late evening, and students from the Bombay Beach area who couldn’t get home on the bus slept overnight at Erickson Gymnasium on the campus of Calipatria High School, Calipatria Mayor Maria Nava-Froelich on Saturday morning, Sept. 2. Vouchers also were made available for hotels in Northend cities. … ” Continue reading from the Holtville Tribune.
SAN DIEGO
Commentary: 37,000 county residents want to raise water costs for 3.3 million San Diegans without a vote
“Imagine going to dinner with a large group where everyone orders a full meal and one couple leaves just as the bill arrives. Unfortunately, this “dine and dash” is happening right now in San Diego County. Except it’s not just friends at dinner but rather two water districts attempting to leave us all with a tab of more than $200 million as they form a new partnership in Riverside. What does this mean for the rest of us? All our water bills will go up as we’re forced to foot the bill. It all started in the early 1990s, when San Diego County had only one source of water and was experiencing one of the worst droughts in history. That’s when all our region’s 24 water agencies collectively embarked on a plan to invest billions of dollars over several decades to diversify our water sources. … ” Continue reading at the Voice of San Diego.
Commentary: State bill will wreak havoc on local water control
Clint Baze, general manager of the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, writes, “The “Water Ratepayers Protection Act of 2023” has a nice ring to it, right? Unfortunately, the name doesn’t accurately reflect the proposed legislation – and its provisions and potential consequences should be deeply troubling to San Diego County residents, farmers and other essential businesses throughout our region. This proposed legislation, Assembly Bill 399, attempts to undermine the existing authority of local water districts and Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCO), which are regional service planning agencies in communities throughout California. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
SEE ALSO: State Bill Is Just a Little Too Late, from the Voice of San Diego
Broken ditch on Mount Soledad causing ‘major problem’ with runoff; San Diego weighs repairs
“A crumbling drainage ditch used to direct stormwater down Mount Soledad in La Jolla is being evaluated for repair after a resident expressed concern that the damage is causing his street to flood. The concrete ditch — which the city of San Diego calls a brow ditch and resident Purushotham Kotha calls a swale — runs east-west behind a cul-de-sac in the 7100 block (north end) of La Jolla Scenic Drive South. It bisects a trail that leads from the dead end of La Jolla Scenic Drive South to the top of Mount Soledad. The trail is popular with hikers and cyclists, according to Kotha, who lives at the end of the cul-de-sac. … ” Read more from the La Jolla Light.
Federal help on the way for cross-border sewage crisis in San Diego County
“After many years of fighting, southern San Diego communities are getting good news about the future of sewage spills in the Tijuana River Valley. Gov. Gavin Newsom says federal help is on its way. The announcement came in the middle of a protest at Coronado Central Beach, where more than 250 demonstrators were demanding action. “We cannot stop. We cannot put our heads down, bow down and compromise,” one protestor said. They were angry because miles of beaches, including many popular Labor Day weekend destinations, are closed. … ” Read more from NBC 7.
Along the Colorado River …
As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’
“For years, environmentalists have argued that the Colorado River should be allowed to flow freely across the Utah-Arizona border, saying that letting water pass around Glen Canyon Dam — and draining the giant Lake Powell reservoir — would improve the shrinking river’s health. Now, as climate change increases the strains on the river, this controversial proposal is receiving support from some surprising new allies: influential farmers in California’s Imperial Valley. In a letter to the federal Bureau of Reclamation, growers Mike and James Abatti, who run some of the biggest farming operations in the Imperial Valley, urged the government to consider sacrificing the Colorado’s second-largest reservoir and storing the water farther downstream in Lake Mead — the river’s largest reservoir. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SNWA, partners develop tool to rank incoming businesses’ water consumption against benefits to the community
“Cities and economic development organizations could start saying no to incoming businesses seeking tax abatements and grants if they consume too much water and won’t bring enough economic benefits to Southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is nearly finished developing its new “water investment tool,” which ranks businesses on a scale from one to five based on how much water they would annually consume. The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance partnered with the water authority to develop the ranking system over the last year and a half. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Sun.
Lake Mohave water levels dropping to help endangered fish
“Water levels at Lake Mohave are expected to drop about 10 feet in the coming weeks to improve habitat and spawning cycles for two endangered fish species native to the Colorado River system. The annual fall drawdown of the reservoir is part of an ongoing effort by the federal government to restore populations for the boneytail chub and razorback sucker, the National Park Service said in a news release. The surface of Lake Mohave will go from its current elevation of roughly 643 feet above sea level down to about 633 feet by mid-October. Water levels will start to tick back up starting in November and return to normal by mid-January. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Colorado faces a water-stressed future. Here’s how the state uses its existing supply.
“After two decades of near-constant drought, Colorado’s water supply is stressed. And there’s not much relief in sight. Colorado’s cities, industries and farms could face more severe water shortages by 2050, depending on how the state responds to key factors such as warming temperatures, uncertain rainfall and a growing population. Instability in the Colorado River Basin — which provides 40% of Colorado’s water — is just adding to the pressure. “Warming is going to put more stress on the water resources across the board,” said Russ Schumacher, Colorado’s state climatologist. “Even if precipitation does go up a little bit, that increased stress is still going to be there. Probably the most likely outcome is, on average, a decline in water supply overall.” … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
In national water news today …
Water sector reiterates call to fully fund SRFs in 2024
“In August, 18 water sector organizations including those representing U.S. utility systems, wrote to Congress to reiterate support for funding the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) to the maximum authorization in federal law, $3 billion each, for fiscal year 2024. The nation’s 7th Drinking Water Needs Survey estimates the cost of meeting the nation’s infrastructure needs for safe drinking water is $625 billion over the next 20 years. The nation’s Clean Watershed Needs Survey, which completed data collection earlier this year, is expected to demonstrate a significant increase in needs for wastewater, water recycling and stormwater infrastructure since the last survey. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
The summer from hell was just a warning
“It’s been a summer of norm-shattering extremes — with temperatures beyond human memory, catastrophic floods from Beijing to Vermont, choking wildfires and climate records tumbling on every continent. Welcome to the rest of our lives. To the scientists studying the planet’s warming, this season of heat deaths, burn-inducing sidewalks and coast-to-coast tropical cyclones is just a sign of the havoc to come as humans keep pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The weather extremes are costly, deadly and probably coming faster and faster — but, perhaps even more worrying, they should not come as a surprise. “There’s not a ‘weird’ acceleration happening” in the Earth’s climate, said Noah Diffenbaugh, a scientist at Stanford University. “There’s an expected acceleration happening.” … ” Read more from E&E News.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
NOTICE of 180-Day Temporary Water Right Permit Application to Appropriate Water from Rock Creek in San Joaquin County
