A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
Note to readers: Sign up for weekly email service and you will receive notification of this post on Friday mornings. Readers on daily email service can add weekly email service by updating their subscription preferences. Click here to sign up!
This week’s featured articles …
Agrivoltaics: Combining agriculture and solar PV for a sustainable future
“California is leading the charge in clean energy with its ambitious goals. By 2030, the state aims to have 60 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources, and by 2045, it plans to achieve 100 percent renewable and zero-carbon energy. In 2021, California made significant progress towards these goals, with over 37 percent of its retail electricity sales coming from renewable sources.
While solar power, wind power, and other renewable sources will play a crucial role, one challenge is the amount of land needed to produce renewable energy compared to fossil fuels. However, there is a solution on the horizon: agrivoltaics.
Agrivoltaics combines the use of land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy generation. Rather than seeing agriculture and solar energy as competitors, agrivoltaics takes a complementary approach. This innovative technique has the potential to generate energy on farmland while simultaneously reducing water usage, minimizing the impact on natural lands, and increasing crop yields. Agrivoltaics could help California achieve its clean energy goals while supporting its agricultural industry.
Click here to read this article.
IEP ANNUAL MEETING: Understanding Predators to Better Understand Predation
“Salmon populations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have significantly decreased over the past century, with most populations considered endangered, threatened, or species of concern. Non-native sport fishes, such as striped bass or black bass, are popular sportfish and economically important to the Delta; however, as predators, they create challenges for the recovery of salmon as predation during outmigration is a major factor contributing to the population decline.
Balancing competing interests of non-native fisheries with the need to reduce predation pressure on native species will require novel and flexible management strategies and increased information on sport fish populations.
In response to the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act (2016), FIshBio worked with NOAA Fisheries and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop and implement a predator study on the Stanislaus River. The program’s overarching goal was to identify potential management strategies to mitigate Chinook salmon mortality from predation. This research into the ecology of these predators is an important step in developing strategies to reduce predation pressure on native fishes. At the 2023 IEP Annual Workshop, Tyler Pilger, fisheries biologist with FishBio, gave a presentation on the initial results of the study, now in its fifth and final year.
Click here to read this article.
In California water news this week …
El Niño is coming this winter. The question is, will it be a whopper?
“San Diego County’s fragile shoreline and vulnerable beachfront properties could be in for a rough winter, according to the California Coastal Commission, the National Weather Service and some top San Diego scientists. “We are looking at an emerging El Niño event,” staff geologist Joseph Street told the Coastal Commission at its meeting Wednesday in Eureka. An El Niño is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years. The water temperature at the surface of the Central Pacific Ocean along the equator warms a few degrees above its long-term average, creating conditions for stronger, more frequent seasonal storms across much of the globe. “El Niño conditions can generate a triple threat for coastal hazards in California,” said Adam Young, an integrative oceanography researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Ensuring a sustainable future: San Joaquin Valley Blueprint engages in the Delta reconsultation process
“The Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley is pleased to announce what it hopes you will find exciting news! The Blueprint will assist with efforts to protect more than 400,000 acre-feet, on average, of water supplied by the federal Central Valley Project (“CVP”) and the State Water Project (“SWP”). In addition, the Blueprint will seek to further enhance water supply by proposing potential changes to restrictions imposed on operations of the CVP and SWP by Water Rights Decision 1641 (“D-1641”) based on what we have learned about how climate change and its impact hydrologic patterns in California over the last three decades. The Blueprint will also suggest modifications to how measures imposed under the California Endangered Species Act on operations of the SWP to protect species are implemented with an eye to promoting SWP operational flexibility. … ” Continue reading from the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint.
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).
New California law taps science to improve water management
“Legislation signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom ensures the state has the science and weather forecasting tools it needs for more flexible reservoir operations. The bill, AB 30, makes breakthrough water management technology standard for the California Department of Water Resources. The legislation was introduced by San Diego Assemblymember Chris Ward and co-sponsored by the Sonoma County Water Agency and the San Diego County Water Authority. The bill was supported by the Water Authority’s partner, UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The strategy is called forecast-informed reservoir operations, or FIRO, and it complements Gov. Newsom’s California Water Supply strategy released in August 2022 calling for more reservoir storage capacity to capture runoff from big storms, often fueled by atmospheric rivers. The governor and Legislature have already provided funding for state water managers to integrate the strategy. … ” Read more from the Water News Network.
New California law bolsters groundwater recharge as strategic defense against climate change
“A new but little-known change in California law designating aquifers as “natural infrastructure” promises to unleash a flood of public funding for projects that increase the state’s supply of groundwater. The change is buried in a sweeping state budget-related law, enacted in July, that also makes it easier for property owners and water managers to divert floodwater for storage underground. The obscure, seemingly inconsequential classification of aquifers could have a far-reaching effect in California where restoring depleted aquifers has become a strategic defense against climate change — an insurance against more frequent droughts and more variable precipitation. The state leans heavily on aquifers, drawing about 40 percent of its water supply from the ground during an average water year and up to 60 percent during dry years. … ” Read more from Western Water.
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.
Sweeping California water conservation rules could force big cuts in some areas
“With California facing a hotter and drier future — punctuated by bouts of extreme weather — state officials are moving forward with a new framework for urban water use that could require some suppliers to make cuts of 20% or more as soon as 2025. Many of the suppliers facing the harshest cuts are located in the Central Valley and in the southeastern part of the state — large, hot and primarily rural areas that have historically struggled to meet conservation targets. In Los Angeles, where the Department of Water and Power has reported significant conservation gains over the last decade, new reductions wouldn’t take effect until 2030, according to state data. Other neighboring water suppliers, such as the city of Beverly Hills and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, would be required to make cuts of 18% and 13% within two years, respectively. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Large municipal water suppliers may soon have prescribed methodology for calculating water use efficiency objectives under newly proposed regulations
“The “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” regulation (Proposed Conservation Regulation) seeks to establish the methods and criteria that large municipal water suppliers must use to calculate their “urban water use objectives.” An urban water use objective is akin to a water use goal. It is based on the estimated aggregated quantity of water that a supplier would have delivered in a previous year, if all of that delivered water was used efficiently, as well as the water use efficiency standards and the local characteristics of the water supplier’s service area. State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) staff is hosting a workshop on the Proposed Conservation Regulation on October 4, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, at which interested persons can provide oral comments. Written comments on the Proposed Conservation Regulation may be submitted from now until October 17, 2023. … ” Continue reading from Somach Simmons & Dunn.
Thousands of domestic and public supply wells face failure despite groundwater sustainability reform in California’s Central Valley
“Across the world, declining groundwater levels cause wells to run dry, increase water and food insecurity, and often acutely impact groundwater-dependent communities. Despite the ubiquity and severity of these impacts, groundwater research has primarily focused on economic policy instruments for sustainable management or the quantification of groundwater depletion, rather than assessing the impacts of management decisions. In particular, how definitions of groundwater sustainability shape the fate of resource users remains unexplored. Here, we examine one of the world’s largest-scale environmental sustainability reforms, the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), and estimate the impact of sustainability definitions proposed in groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) on well failure. We show that locally-proposed sustainability criteria are consistent with business as usual groundwater level decline, and if reached, could impact over 9000 domestic wells and around 1000 public supply wells. These findings highlight the necessity of careful and critical evaluation of locally-developed sustainability definitions and their implementation to prevent detrimental impacts, such as threats to household and municipal water supply.” Read the full article from Nature.
Restored Delta tidal marsh fights climate change and attracts wildlife, native species
“Once eyed for thousands of homes, the recently restored Dutch Slough tidal marsh in east Contra Costa County is already flourishing as a new habitat for fish and wildlife, a living laboratory for scientists and one of the world’s strongest sinks for absorbing and storing carbon long-term. Led by the state Department of Water Resources, the ambitious $73 million project to restore 1,187 acres of freshwater Delta tidal wetlands near Oakley – one of the largest such projects in the state – is a little more than half finished. When it is completed, the scientists are hoping it will become a model for future restoration projects, climate change defenses and scientific research. “It’s taking in carbon at a rate compared to the top 1 percentile (of all ecosystems) in the world (annually),” said Katie Bandy, the department’s Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh Restoration project manager. “It’s taking in a lot more carbon than other land is producing.” … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
Rural land grab in Solano County prompts hearing
“Alarmed by a company that they say has been operating in the shadows buying large swaths of farmland in Solano County, farmers and their advocates say the state should bolster its toolbox to protect agricultural resources and open space. The call came during a hearing last week at the state Capitol, where the state Senate Agriculture Committee held a panel discussion on “navigating threats to California agriculture.” The meeting was prompted by concerns that a group known as Flannery Associates LLC since 2018 has amassed 400 parcels spanning nearly 55,000 acres of agricultural-zoned land near Travis Air Force Base. The group—now the largest landowner in Solano County—formed the limited liability company so as not to expose the source of more than $800 million used to purchase the land. That 75% of the land surrounds the air force base raises national security concerns, local officials and state lawmakers have said. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
Google vet wants to turn your hot water heater into a “virtual power plant”
“Rick Klau spent nine years as a partner with Google Ventures, before leaving in 2020 to become California’s chief technology innovation officer. Now he’s back in the private sector with a startup that wants to revolutionize the humble hot water heater. Klau is co-founder of Onsemble, which today will announce $3 million in seed funding and a rollout in three Northern California counties. The basic idea is to turn residential boilers into what’s become known as virtual power plants — an aggregated group of connected devices whose usage is coordinated with electric grid operators. Consumers effectively would get to offset most of the cost of upgrading from gas to electric hot water heaters, in exchange for utilization during non-peak hours. … ” Continue reading from Axios.
Elwha River: New study examines effects of dam removals on coastal ecosystems
“Dam removal has gained traction as a powerful tool for restoring aquatic habitats and eliminating high-risk infrastructure. While most previous studies have concentrated on river and watershed responses to dam removal, the dam removals on the Elwha River, a short river within Olympic National Park that drains to the coast, offered an unprecedented chance to investigate the impact of dam removal on coastal ecosystems. A key finding of the study is the profound effect of sediment deposition on nearshore communities. Where sediment deposits persisted, mostly near (within two kilometers of) the river mouth, sites exhibited wholesale changes in their biological community composition, resulting in a shift that so far has not reverted to its pre-dam removal state. … ” Continue reading from the USGS.
Funding: How Do I Get My Hands on These “Wild Billions,” Anyway?
“Historic amounts of federal money are flowing into the Bay Area and California thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). How does your organization or agency apply for some of it? After talking with experts and grant awardees to wrap our minds around this process, we’ve come up with a quick guide and database for seeking grants related to nature-based solutions in northern California available through BIL and IRA. … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
SEE ALSO: Biden-Harris Administration Launches New Large-Scale Water Recycling Program with $180 Million from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, press release from the Department of the Interior
In commentary this week …
DWR: Why modernizing infrastructure will benefit our future water supply.
“The State Water Project (SWP) moves life-sustaining water across the state for 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. It supplies families, businesses, crops, and industries with safe and affordable water. Without modernization of our infrastructure, climate-driven weather extremes and seismic threats will affect how we can deliver this water, risking human health and safety, urban and agricultural economies, and the cost of water to communities. The modernization work required includes physical infrastructure improvements to how we capture and move water during high flow weather events to store for later use during dry periods. Improving the way we move the water with a proposed tunnel system, called the Delta Conveyance Project, will help protect against interruptions in water deliveries due to earthquakes and the effects of climate-driven weather extremes like rising sea levels and other unanticipated extreme weather. … ” Read more from DWR.
Water shortages: A problem we can and must solve now
Kenneth R. Pike, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Law at the Florida Institute of Technology, writes, “In 1964, US President Lyndon B. Johnson made a historic request: he wanted a large-scale, nuclear-powered desalination programme to address the growing need for potable water in the American Southwest. Members of the federal government were dispatched to Israel for conversations with the world’s leading experts on desalination technology. Four years later, the Secretary of the Interior and the Chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission submitted a report endorsing nuclear-powered desalination as a “solution to the Southwest region water supply” and outlining locations for the relevant facilities. These plans never came to fruition. Disputes over the salinity of the Colorado River soured America’s diplomatic relations with Mexico, especially on water issues. … ” Continue reading at Aero.
Environmentalist conceit on basic forest management will bring more devastation
Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, writes, “When we see the thousands of people impacted by flames that have engulfed forests and homes in Hawaii, or across the vast wilderness of western Canada and California, it is easy to be both shocked and angry. Pristine forests, homes, and entire villages no longer exist as they once did. In Lahaina, the area most impacted by wildfires on Maui, at least 115 lives were lost and over $6 billion worth of property was destroyed. While the underlying causes for this devastation continue to be examined — whether it was electrical utility negligence, water politics, or climate change — the fact remains that proven fire prevention methods haven’t been enough. Or, perhaps, in pursuit of more lofty goals, we’ve been hoodwinked by misguided activist groups to cast time tested knowledge aside. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
The ground beneath our feet holds the key to successful climate change adaptation
Karen Ross, Secretary of Agriculture, writes, ““Farmers Have the Earth in Their Hands.” That’s the title of a book written by Paul Luu, a European agronomist and leader in the international push to recognize the essential nature of soil in climate resilience and nutrition security. The book resonated with me immediately for several reasons: a connection to the place I grew up — a family farm in Nebraska — and my understanding of the commitment of California’s farmers and ranchers to care for soil in order to maintain sustainability well into the future for food production, environmental protection and stewardship of the land for succeeding generations. It’s critical that we understand the fundamental connection between the ground beneath our feet and the many forms of life it sustains. … ” Read more at the Sacramento Bee.
Why you should give a damn about America’s dams
Dan Reicher, a Senior Scholar at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability; Tom Kiernan, CEO of American Rivers; and Malcolm Woolf, CEO of the National Hydropower Association, write, “This summer’s unprecedented floods across the U.S. highlight how a massive piece of infrastructure — the nation’s 90,000-plus dams — can play the role of hero or villain in these climate-enhanced calamities. In Vermont, the 90-year-old Wrightsville Dam, built in response to the Great Flood of 1927 that killed 84 people, did its job, preventing flooding in the state capitol of Montpelier from getting far worse. But over in New York, the Jennings Pond dam, declared “unsafe” by the Army Corps of Engineers more than 40 years ago, breached, causing flood waters to inundate the Adirondack tourist town of Long Lake. … ” Read more from The Hill.
America should harvest a trillion gallons of rainwater
In regional water news this week …
Reclamation affirms Klamath Project 2023 water supply
“Reclamation announced today that the Klamath Project water supply allocation, originally announced on April 13 and increased on May 19, will remain at 260,000 acre-feet and no reductions will be made to Klamath Project water users. Irrigation districts and Tribes were notified on August 18, that a curtailment may be necessary due to a potential shortfall in water supply. Due to improved hydrology in the Klamath Basin over the last two weeks; opportunities for Upper Klamath Lake water conservation this fall and winter; and coordination with Tribal partners and water users, no curtailments will be necessary. “The Department appreciates the willingness of our partners to engage in productive conversations to work through the past couple of weeks,” said Matthew Strickler, Department of the Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Parks. “We landed in a place that confirms our commitment to water users and fulfilling environmental needs.” … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Exploring the Yurok Tribe’s management of the Klamath River
“Melodie Meyer is associate general counsel for the Yurok Tribe in Northern California—one of the few California tribes whose members still reside on a portion of their ancestral lands. The Yurok reservation borders a 44-mile stretch of the Klamath River; we asked Ms. Meyer to tell us more about efforts to protect the watershed. Tell us about the Yurok Tribe’s water management program on the Klamath River. The Tribe’s water programs center around managing water quality—ensuring that the tributaries that drain into the Klamath are healthy and not polluted. The environmental department’s water division has staff dedicated to dealing with permitting for the water programs, as well as a water quality control plan and a water pollution control ordinance. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
Heralded winemaker sues Napa County over water wells
“A lauded winemaker in California’s most famous wine region has filed a lawsuit against Napa County after the county refused to issue permits for water wells on land owned by the winemaker. Plaintiff Jayson Woodbridge, founder and owner of Hundred Acre Wine Group, says in his lawsuit that Napa County is overstepping its authority. The county has denied water well permits at four of Woodbridge’s vineyards: Double Vee Properties LLC; Caldera Ranch LLC; and Hundred Acre LLC, all in St. Helena; and The Hundred Acre Wine Group in Calistoga. The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California, seeks a declaration that the county’s actions violate state law governing water rights as well as the Fifth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. It also seeks damages and attorneys’ fees. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Folsom Lake is losing water to evaporation. Why officials say it’s not a problem
“Folsom Lake has plenty of water heading into the fall. As of Wednesday morning, the reservoir is at 73% of capacity. That is the highest the water level has been in early September since 2019. At this point in the year, the reservoir is drawn down as managers send water to local customers and provide for environmental needs. At the same time, a notable amount of water is lost to the dry air sitting just above it through evaporation. “In August we were losing about point three inches a day,” said Drew Lessard, the area manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water operations at Folsom Lake. … ” Read more from KCRA.
One of California’s largest water pipeline projects will run through Elk Grove. Here’s when
“A water pipeline project said to be one of the largest of its kind in California will soon break ground in Elk Grove. Its destination: thousands of acres of south Sacramento County farmland and habitat. Construction of the Harvest Water project is set to begin late this year. The project is 41 miles of pipeline in all, stretching from Regional San’s EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility at Laguna Station Road east of Franklin Road near Interstate 5 south to Twin Cities Road near the Cosumnes River Preserve. The water project will deliver up to 50,000 annual acre-feet of treated recycled water to irrigate up to 16,000 acres of crops, replenish wildlife habitat and raise groundwater levels. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
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.
East Orosi residents protest what they say is abusive, dysfunctional water district
“Just as residents in rural East Orosi are getting some traction on drinking water issues, they are dealing with what they call abusive treatment over sewage services and they’ve had enough. At a recent protest during the East Orosi Community Services District meeting, about 40 residents laid out charges of mistreatment. They alleged the district has overcharged them and even threatened to call immigration services on some residents. They laid the blame at the feet of a single district employee and what they say is a dysfunctional board. The problem is apparently tangled up with conjoined water issues that have separate oversight authority – sewage and drinking water. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
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.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
CALL FOR EXPERTS: National Academies Review of the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project
NOTICE of Water Right Permit Application and Petition in Mendocino County
NOW AVAILABLE: Western Water and Working Lands Framework for Conservation Action
NOW AVAILABLE: Updated Delta Plan Performance Measures Guidebook and Dashboard Data
NOTICE of 180-Day Temporary Water Right Permit Application to Appropriate Water from Rock Creek in San Joaquin County
