On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: Where the Rivers Meet: Stewarding California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from 12pm to 1:30pm. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is a biodiversity hotspot, supporting more than 750 species of plants and wildlife. It’s also home to about half a million people and 500,000 acres of productive farmland. Delta waterways play an essential role in the state’s water delivery system, and the region’s towns and open spaces are a hub for recreation and tourism. In coming decades, climate change will impact the Delta and require unprecedented efforts to build its resilience. Join us for an engaging conversation about the area’s unique value and its future. Together we’ll unpack the ongoing work to protect communities from climate extremes, restore ecosystems, and build the economic and environmental sustainability of this unique region. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Press release: Ignoring veto threat, House passes spending bill that terminates the Central Valley Project Improvement Act
“Within hours of taking up the gavel, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Johnson, brought it down on a bill that would gut California’s fisheries and wipe out a thirty-year old program to repair environmental damage caused by the massive Central Valley Project. Buried in the 100-page bill are eight lines written by Representative David Valadao (R-CA-22) and co-sponsored by eleven other California Republicans, including Speaker Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20). They order the Secretary of the Interior to “deem complete the fish, wildlife, and habitat mitigation and restoration actions” required by the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (PL-102-575 Title XXXIV) signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. … ” Continue reading this press release from the Hoopa Valley Tribe.
SEE ALSO:
- Despite Veto Threat, House Passes Spending Bill Terminating CVPIA Environmental Restoration Program, from Dan Bacher at the Daily Kos
- Valadao water bill passes House as part of larger legislation, from the Ripon Advance
California regulators tell Sacramento Valley groundwater agencies to fix sustainability plans
“California regulators have told local agencies in western portions of the Sacramento Valley that their plans to combat groundwater overpumping need fixing, giving them six months to revise their plans before the state agency makes a final determination. The Department of Water Resources said Thursday that officials determined that local groundwater plans are incomplete in areas of the Sacramento Valley where prolonged drought and heavy agricultural pumping drew down aquifers and left residential wells dry. So-called groundwater sustainability plans are required under California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which aims to tackle the state’s widespread groundwater depletion problem by 2040. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Letter: NGOs say DWR needs to revise Delta Conveyance Project EIR because of new information in Water Board’s proposed updates to the Bay-Delta Plan
“By this letter, our public interest organizations submit additional supplemental comments on the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Delta Conveyance Project. These comments follow up the comments our organizations submitted on December 15, 2022, and supplemental comments we submitted on June 29, 2023. These supplemental comments provide significant new information regarding environmental impacts of the proposed project that became available after DWR made the subject Draft EIR available for public review on July 27, 2022. The public interest organizations joining in this supplemental comment letter are Sierra Club California, AquAlliance, California Water Impact Network, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Water Caucus, Friends of the River, Planning and Conservation League, and Restore the Delta. The new information set forth in these supplemental comments and the referenced documents add to the circumstances requiring revision of the Draft EIR and recirculation for public review and comment that our organizations said was required in our previous comments on the Draft EIR. … ” Read more and view/download letter.
Less toxic algal blooms in California’s waters this year
“Conditions for fish and people in the rivers have been favorable this year. Over the past years, river systems around the state have been plagued by toxic algal blooms. But this year is different. Spencer Fern, Delta science program manager for the Restore the Delta nonprofit in the Stockton area, explained that last summer, McLeod Lake in the heart of Stockton — which feeds from the San Joaquin River — experienced algal blooms for much of the summer. “This year, at least compared to last year and the years prior, we haven’t seen any single harmful algal bloom outbreak along this waterway, which is kind of strange.” … ” Read more from Spectrum 1.
This billion-dollar plan to save salmon depends on a giant fish vacuum
“To free salmon stuck behind dams in Oregon’s Willamette River Valley, here’s what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has in mind: Build a floating vacuum the size of a football field with enough pumps to suck up a small river. Capture tiny young salmon in the vacuum’s mouth and flush them into massive storage tanks. Then load the fish onto trucks, drive them downstream and dump them back into the water. An enormous fish collector like this costs up to $450 million, and nothing of its scale has ever been tested. The fish collectors are the biggest element of the Army Corps’ $1.9 billion plan to keep the salmon from going extinct. The Corps says its devices will work. A cheaper alternative — halting dam operations so fish can pass — would create widespread harm to hydroelectric customers, boaters and farmers, the agency contends. … ” Continue reading at Pro Publica.
‘Special forces’ helitack team crosses state line
“Kris Kirkland leans over from the hanger bench at the Minden-Tahoe Airport and looks out the open helicopter bay. On clear days, the pilot can see the burn scars from two or three fires in plain sight. “That Tamarack fire just destroyed a beautiful landscape,” he said. It’s a reminder why Kirkland and his helicopter crew with the Nevada Division of Forestry are so vested in protecting the land and why the Nevada Division of Forestry has made one of it’s helitack teams more readily available to the Tahoe Basin through a new interstate agreement with Cal Fire. Typically the fires this helitack crew fights don’t get big enough to have a notorious name or garner them great praise. And that’s exactly how they want it. “They’re not looking for recognition. If they did, that fire got too big.” … ” Continue reading from the Mountain Democrat.
Boiling Point: This California desert oasis has lessons for climate change
Sammy Roth writes, “Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is so green right now it’s hard to believe it’s in the middle of the desert. I recently spent a few hours hiking through the oasis, just off Highway 62 and not far from the 10 Freeway in California’s high desert, about two hours east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs. It’s a gorgeous spot, full of blooming flowers and sun-dappled mountains and scurrying lizards. It’s especially vibrant right now because of this summer’s intense rains. “Typically it would be browner,” said Kevin Wong, executive director of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, the nonprofit that manages the space. “But right after Tropical Storm Hilary, everything turned green again. We all just jumped up and down.” It had been nine years since I’d last visited Big Morongo, on one of my first assignments as the energy reporter at the Desert Sun newspaper. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times.
In commentary today …
Sites Reservoir would cause negative environmental impacts to Sacramento River
Gary Wockner, PhD, director of Tell The Dam Truth, writes, “As the permitting battle over the proposed Sites Reservoir Project in Northern California heats up, it’s become clear that the project would further heat up the atmosphere as well. Just as California has made bold commitments to achieve carbon neutrality in the next few decades, the state seems ready to approve a dam project that would put that progress in jeopardy. A new report, “Estimate of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Proposed Sites Reservoir Project Using the All-Res Modeling Tool,” created by a science team at my organization, Tell The Dam Truth, exposes the climate impacts caused by this massive dam and reservoir system. In a nutshell, the report found that over the 100-year expected life-cycle of the Sites Project, it is predicted to emit approximately 362 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) or 362,000 metric tons of CO2e each year (the vast majority of which is methane). … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
CalTrout examines orange creek incident, advocates for nature-based solutions in future waterway management
“Bay Area-based conservation group California Trout (CalTrout) is taking a closer look at a local creek turned orange following a PG&E canal failure earlier this summer. The event, on Aug. 10, resulted in orange sediment flowing into Butte Creek. PG&E says they’re still working to clean the creek, a process which has been ongoing since mid-October. In CalTrout’s latest edition of its publication The Current, they take a look at the likely aftereffects of the breach as well as how nature-based solutions can be deployed to mitigate similar risk in the future. … ” Read more from KRCR.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Army Corps fishes for data to help save Green Sturgeon
“As cool Autumn air flows along the winding Sacramento River, thousands of sleek and graceful North American green sturgeons swim along the riverbed after spawning upriver last spring. Amongst those making their migratory journey this fall are 25 fish that will play an important role in growing their species’ numbers, albeit with some help from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planners. For the past four years, fish biologists with USACE’s Sacramento District Planning Division have spent Mondays and Fridays from September through October on the 300-mile-long river where it passes through Hamilton City, angling in a 20-foot fishing hole favored by the ancient bottom-dwellers. But they’re not there for sport. They’re there to help recover the species that since 2006 has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. … ” Read more from the Army Corps of Engineers.
CENTRAL COAST
Press release: Groups challenge Water Boards’ orders as harmful to Central Coast disadvantaged communities and fisheries
“Rural Latino community and farmworker groups, environmental organizations, and commercial and recreational fishing organizations filed a lawsuit against state agencies’ September decision to strike down measures to control extensive nitrate pollution in the Central Coast region. The groups contend that nitrates in runoff from chemical fertilizers and other sources contaminate thousands of families’ wells, and that by refusing to take steps to protect the region’s polluted rivers and streams, the State Water Resources Control Board has become part of this problem. The State Board’s decision has statewide policy and downstream impacts and represents the state government’s unwillingness to confront decades of pollution by the agricultural industry—despite rising nitrate contamination and the resulting lack of clean, safe, affordable drinking water for many communities. Nitrate contamination in the Central Coast region is widespread and increasing. … ” Continue reading this press release.
ExxonMobil plan emerges to restart ‘zombie pipeline’ on Calif. coast
“Environmentalists and groups tasked with protecting the Central California coastline are celebrating a small victory as Pacific Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, announced it will withdraw its application to build a new pipeline that would allow the oil giant to restart offshore drilling in Santa Barbara County. “We find the potential environmental impacts associated with the major construction of a second pipeline unnecessary and avoidable,” Andrew Craig, venture manager for Pacific Pipeline Company and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, wrote in a letter to Errin Briggs, the supervising planner for Santa Barbara County, on Oct. 24. … ” Read more from the SF Gate.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Planning for drinking water sustainability in the San Joaquin Valley
“Communities across California are facing extreme water challenges. Decades of overpumping groundwater coupled with ongoing drought has led to crises including depleted aquifers, domestic and shallow wells running dry, issues with groundwater salinity, and devastating floods. Fairmead, an unincorporated community in the San Joaquin Valley, faces significant concerns about its drinking water supply. The Madera Subbasin, in which the community is located, is categorized as “critically overdrafted.” Many residents have experienced their wells drying up, and drilling deeper wells is cost-prohibitive for most. In early 2022 CivicWell helped the Madera County Department of Water and Natural Resources obtain a $180,188 California Resilience Challenge grant for the Fairmead Groundwater Resilience Project. … ” Read more from Civic Well.
Kings River water agencies celebrate record wet 2023
“Record water flow this year has propelled the Kings River region closer to groundwater sustainability. After multiple years of drought, the Kings River ended the 2023 water year with a record breaking 4.5 million acre-feet of runoff. Investment for the Kings Subbasin has recharged 500,000 acre-feet of water into the aquifer during the 2023 Kings River water year. Flood releases from Pine Flat coursed water through Kings River channels and water purveyor headgates for 162 days straight. This record breaking water year allowed agencies within the Kings Subbasin, encompassing portions of Fresno, Tulare, and Kings counties, to make greater strides in meeting groundwater sustainability goals. … ” Read more from The Business Journal.
Judge orders Bakersfield to keep water in the Kern River
“In what one attorney called a “moment of truth” for the City of Bakersfield, a judge ordered the city to keep enough water in the normally dry Kern River to protect fish populations. The 21-page preliminary injunction was issued by Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp Monday afternoon. Colin Pearce, who represents the city on Kern River issues, declined to comment saying the city is still reviewing the order. It’s unclear if the city, or other Kern River interests, will appeal the injunction. The plaintiffs called the ruling “amazing.” “There isn’t a single disagreement from the court with our arguments,” said Adam Keats, an attorney representing Bring Back the Kern, which, along with Water Audit of California and several other groups, sought the injunction against the City of Bakersfield. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SEE ALSO:
- PRESS RELEASE: Court Grants Preliminary Injunction to Keep Water in the Kern River, press release from Water Audit California
- Environmental groups score win in Kern River dispute, from the Courthouse News Service
- ‘We’ve now got a seat at the table’: City of Bakersfield ordered to halt excess pull of water from Kern River to protect wildlife, from KGET
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
SoCal cities use shade to mitigate a warming world
“It was an unusually hot summer, but July made history as the hottest month ever recorded on the planet. Climate change attributed to heat affected 6.5 billion people — about 81% of the world’s population – according to the nonprofit organization Climate Central. And it’s going to get hotter. Daily maximum average temperatures in California are projected to rise 4.4 to 5.8 degrees by the year 2051. Extreme heat affects everything from agriculture to water to transportation. There are a multitude of regulatory efforts and programs in effect to respond to climate change. But one critical solution to fighting heat and how it affects urban areas is to a rather simple one — more shade. … ” Read more from Spectrum 1.
Californians with past-due water bills can get help with payments. Here’s how
“Low-income Los Angeles County residents who are behind on their utility payments have a chance at keeping the water on, with a federally funded program that has been extended through March. The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, administered by the California Department of Community Services and Development, was established by Congress in December 2020 as a one-time support to help low-income Californians pay past-due or current bills for water, sewer or both services. Through the program, eligible applicants can receive up to $15,000 in assistance. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District announced its highest water recharge record of all time
“Despite alarming predictions for drought in Southern California, the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District announced today its highest water recharge record of all time: 85,302-acre feet of water, or 27,795,778,560 gallons. This record-breaking figure is thanks in part to peak levels of rain and snowfall as well as the district’s water capture and storage efforts in local underground aquifers. The greater Los Angeles region saw its eighth wettest season in 145 years, with the San Bernardino Mountains and other local ranges receiving up to 240 inches of snow. These conditions combined with recent improvements to San Bernardino Valley recharge facilities helped bring in 85,302-acre feet of water, or 27.79 billion gallons. … ” Read more from the San Bernadino Valley Water Conservation District.
Some South OC residents’ water rates double
“Water bills are about to double over the next five years for over 13,000 Orange County residents after the Trabuco Canyon Water District increased their rates this year. The new rates only apply to some residents from Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and unincorporated South Orange County. It’s following a growing trend across Orange County’s water suppliers of moving forward with major price hikes over protests from residents. Under state law, water districts aren’t allowed to charge residents more than it costs to provide them with water, but leaders of the Trabuco Canyon Water District are saying their costs have skyrocketed in recent years due to investing in new infrastructure and inflation. … ” Read more from the Voice of the OC.
SAN DIEGO
Project manager pleads guilty to falsifying permits, filling wetlands with pollutants
“A project manager for a firm developing properties in Otay Mesa admitted to falsifying permits that led to the illegal discharge of pollutants in connection with a project known as the International Industrial Park, prosecutors said. Fiona Skye McKenna, 37, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to falsifying permits by cutting and pasting permits the firm had obtained for work at another site, Kelly Thornton with the Office of the United States Attorney Southern District of California. McKenna admitted that she forged permits allegedly issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place fill dirt, rock and sand into Johnson Canyon Creek at the International Industrial Park site. … ” Read more from Channel 5.
SEE ALSO: Project manager admits to submitting fake permit for fill of wetlands, from the Justice Department
Along the Colorado River …
How should the drying Colorado River be managed? Here’s what’s at stake in negotiations for its long-term future
“An immediate crisis on the Colorado River has been averted, but negotiators now must turn their attention to the next problem at hand: How will they manage the drying river after the current guidelines expire at the end of 2026? Federal officials announced this week that last winter’s heavy snowpack and cuts in use likely will be enough to keep the river basin’s two major reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, from draining to water levels too low to generate power or move water downstream for at least three years. Federal officials, the seven Colorado River basin states and 30 tribes in the basin are negotiating the future of water management on the Colorado River and creating the next set of guidelines that will govern use of the critical water source in decades to come. The negotiations will be a “rollercoaster ride,” but history shows that the states are capable of coming to a consensus, said Jennifer Gimbel, a senior water policy scholar with Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Center. “There’s hope,” she said. “But it’s not going to be easy.” … ” Continue reading at the OC Register.
What the fed’s new proposal for management of Colorado River reservoirs means
“Last week, the Bureau of Reclamation released an updated proposal for the near-term management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Its revised draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) includes a proposal crafted by the Lower Colorado River Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — that commits to conserving 3 million acre-feet of water through the end of 2026. The new plan comes after a period of relative optimism thanks to last winter’s record snow year, a wet summer in parts of the Rockies and increased water-conservation efforts across the region. But while federal officials and state leaders celebrated the new cuts and sunnier short-term water projections, environmental groups warned against minimizing the gravity of the crisis. … ” Read more from High Country News.
In national water news today …
Scientists gain powerful tool to scrutinize changing U.S. weather patterns
“An extraordinary new dataset of high-resolution weather simulations that span more than four decades over the continental United States is now available to the Earth system science community. The unprecedented resource — which required almost a year’s worth of supercomputing time to create and is nearly one petabyte in size — provides rich opportunities for scientists and stakeholders interested in how weather patterns may have already shifted as the climate warms, among many other applications. For example, scientists are already using the data to dig into new techniques for improving long-range forecasting, planning for water resource allocation, and to better understand the causes and impacts of extreme and rare weather events. … ” Read more from NCAR.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
NOTICE of Opportunity to Comment & Public Workshop: Nitrate Control Program, Management Zone Implementation Plans
NOTICE of 180-Day Temporary Water Right Permit Application (T033400) to Appropriate Water from the Chowchilla Bypass in Madera County
