On the calendar today …
- EVENT: Paradise Cut Tour from 9am to 11am. Experience a guided journey through the Paradise Cut Bypass Expansion and South Delta Restoration Project, which seeks to decrease peak flows during potential flood events and improve and enhance habitat. Paradise Cut was constructed as a bypass for high flows on the San Joaquin River. Click here to register.
- WORKSHOP: Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan, Sacramento/Delta update – modeling beginning at 9:30am. The State Water Resources Control Board has released a draft Staff Report/Substitute Environmental Document (Staff Report) in support of possible updates to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Delta. The updates are focused on the Sacramento River watershed, Delta eastside tributaries (including the Calaveras, Cosumnes, and Mokelumne Rivers), interior Delta, and Delta. In this workshop, staff will describe the modeling used to support the draft Staff Report. Click here for the notice (scroll to page 5).
- IN-PERSON POLICYMAKERS WORKSHOP: Flood risk management and nonstructural mitigation in the San Joaquin Valley from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. Join us for interactive presentations from local, state, and federal agencies on engineering with nature, flood risk mitigation options, climate resilience insights, and tips for community engagement. Your active participation will help shape a resilient future in flood risk management by increasing community preparedness. Click here to register.
- IN-PERSON EVENT: Delta Restoration Forum from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. The Delta Plan Interagency Implementation Committee’s Restoration Subcommittee invites you to attend its second Delta Restoration Forum on November 2, 2023, at the Ryde Hotel in Walnut Grove. Attendees will meet project leads and learn about restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh, recent and potential projects, funding programs, and opportunities for landowners to implement wildlife-friendly practices. This public event will be held in an open-house format, allowing participants to drop by, network, and share their perspectives. Click here to register.
- EVENT: SoCal Water Coalition Annual Dinner from 5:30pm to 8:30pm in Costa Mesa. The annual SCWC dinner and meeting brings together an amazing group of leaders from across Southern California to network, share ideas and learn more about the challenges facing California’s water supply. The VIP reception begins at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. We will present the Kathy Cole Award and the Harriett Wieder Water Leadership Award starting at 7:15 p.m. Our keynote speaker will be Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon, who represents the 62nd Assembly District in Southeast Los Angeles County. We’re excited to debut a new video highlighting our accomplishments of the year and many of our hard-working and inspiring Board members! Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Heat waves strike rivers too—can prescribed burns and beavers cool streams for salmon?
“While marine heat waves are well known, a 2022 study was the first to document aquatic temperature spikes in rivers nationwide. Even river experts were surprised. “I’d never thought about it,” recalls Sarah Null, a Utah State University physical geographer who focuses on environmental water management. “But when I saw the paper, I thought ‘of course.’” River heat waves are temperature extremes that last several days or more. “They’re out of the ordinary—often 5 to 10 °C warmer than normal for the time of year and place,” says Jonathan Walter, a UC Davis quantitative ecologist who co-authored the 2022 nationwide study. Warm water can stress or even kill aquatic life. Fish that depend on cold water, such as salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout, are particularly at risk. Now Walter, Null and colleagues are taking a deeper dive into river heat waves in California and eight other Western states. The nationwide study had “huge gaps,” Null says. “We’ll fill in those gaps in the West.” … ” Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.
PPIC report: Priorities for California’s water: Stewarding the wet years
“California has always been an exceptional place. In the 1800s, the state’s ancient coast redwoods and sequoias generated disbelief on the East Coast: dwellers there imagined that photos of these giants were doctored. Our vibrant agriculture, teeming fisheries, spectacular forests, raging rivers—many of these wonders must be seen to be believed. And Californians adore their state: an explosion of wildflowers—like this spring’s superbloom—is enough to inspire a temporary mass migration to the state’s most remote corners. Californians care deeply about protecting the magic of this place we call home. But a highly engineered water system, heavily transformed landscapes, and a changing climate mean that much of what we hold dear is struggling. … This policy brief examines how California’s water sector managed the unusually wet conditions of the 2023 water year and outlines priorities for action, drawing on discussions with experts from around the state. … ” Read the report from the PPIC.
Bay Delta Plan: State Water Board presents options
“The feud over the flow of water in California is as old as the state itself. The regional debate continues over whose needs for the precious resource should take priority. The latest exchange will take place in the upcoming State Water Resource Control Board (SWRCB) hearings on Phase 2 of the Bay Delta Plan. SWRCB will be considering updates to its Plan for the Bay-Delta over the next year or so. State Water Board staff released a series of documents in September that describe the process to evaluate alternatives and other supporting documents. The public will have the opportunity to comment over the next several months. It is anticipated that the SWRCB will consider those comments and adopt the Bay-Delta Plan Update in late 2024, after considering the alternatives and their environmental effects. … ” Continue reading from the Livermore Independent.
A tangle of rules to protect America’s water is falling short: How the 50 states manage groundwater
“America’s stewardship of one of its most precious resources, groundwater, relies on a patchwork of state and local rules so lax and outdated that in many places oversight is all but nonexistent, a New York Times analysis has found. The majority of states don’t know how many wells they have, the analysis revealed. Many have incomplete records of older wells, including some that pump large volumes of water, and many states don’t register the millions of household wells that dot the country. Even states that do try to count wells or regulate groundwater use often have other problems: Some carve out exemptions for powerful industries like agriculture, one of the nation’s biggest users of groundwater. And every state relies to some extent on well owners self-reporting their water use, the Times analysis found. That policy raises the risk of under-reporting or deception by users big and small. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
New underwater robot launches to aid removal of cars from Delta in San Joaquin County
“The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office launched its new underwater drone robot Tuesday to start finding and removing more cars from the delta. In July, ABC10 told you about underwater junkyards, where cars were dumped across the delta, and what the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office was doing to remove them, solve crimes and bring closure to the families of missing people. Three months later, the new technology is helping the sheriff’s office keep their commitment to the community. It’s an underwater robot is called SARS, or Search and Rescue. It’s controlled by an X-box controller, with buttons specially programed to the robot, which was described as an underwater drone. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
House passes Valadao’s WATER Act
“The House has recently passed a bill that will ensure residents of the Central Valley have continued access to a clean and reliable water supply. The House of Representatives approved the bill, H.R. 4394, on Oct. 26. Congressmember David Valadao, 22nd District, authored the Working to Advance Tangible and Effective Reforms (WATER) for California Act, which – at Valadao’s insistence – was included in H.R. 4394. According to Valadao’s office, WATER guarantees that Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) water stakeholders, including Friant Water Authority, Westlands Water District, Kern County Water Agency, San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, will receive the water they contract and pay for. … ” Read more from the Foothills Sun-Gazette.
Five success stories of regenerative agriculture in practice
“Industrialized agriculture can be attributed to about 25-30% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year. As one of the largest sources of emissions, industrial agriculture is the focus of many policy makers, researchers and activists seeking ways to make it more sustainable into the future. Regenerative agriculture, agroecology, sustainable agriculture — however you may phrase it — are practices that combine traditional farming methods with new research in order to address the emergent problems created by modern food systems. In the past five decades, humanity has become extremely dependent on pesticide use, expending about 2.6 million tons of pesticides each year, with a market value of around $25 billion. About 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021, rising to about 9.8% of the world’s population in the following years. …. ” Read more from the Daily Californian.
These are California’s mega-landowners and maps of what they control
“Who are California’s biggest landowners? According to a Chronicle analysis relying on 13.2 million property records obtained from property data company Regrid, the state’s seven largest owners of private land share something in common: All are in the forestry or agriculture industries, ranging from long-standing logging companies to a nut tycoon. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Humboldt Bay: Where to dump the stuff we dredge from the bay? Federal agencies are going to try dumping it nearer to the shore, and community members are invited to a town hall discussion Thursday
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been hard at work in recent years looking for an eco-friendly and efficient way to get rid of the sand and silt that clogs the shipping channels and harbors of Humboldt Bay. For the last 30 years, that place has been HOODS – the Humboldt Open Ocean Disposal Site, a square-shaped patch of sea located approximately three miles offshore. The EPA expanded the site a few years back to accommodate more dredged material, with hopes to establish a secondary site a little closer to shore in the near future. The Humboldt Nearshore Pilot Placement Project seeks to divert sandy, dredged material found in the entrance channel to Humboldt Bay to a nearshore site off the North Spit, rather than disposing of it way out in the ocean. … ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Monitoring aquatic weed control methods to preserve, restore, and enhance the Tahoe Keys lagoons
“While Lake Tahoe’s crystalline azure has lasted for eons, the changes wrought by past land uses in the basin have transformed its blue from merely a color into a cause—to protect this designated Outstanding Natural Resource Water. ESA is playing a quiet but key role in support of that cause—protecting the lake’s extraordinary clarity and overall ecological health by helping tackle one of its greatest threats, the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive weed species. While invasive weeds have established in several locations around the lake, one location that is of greatest concern is the Tahoe Keys residential development in South Lake Tahoe, California. Built in the 1960s in a portion of a former marsh area where the Upper Truckee River flows into the lake, most homes in Tahoe Keys front on shallow artificial channels that allow residents to dock boats and enjoy direct access to Lake Tahoe through a channel. … ” Read more from ESA.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
City to treat Ellis Lake this month: Marysville plans first herbicide treatments in effort to improve water quality
“Now that the required permitting process is complete, the city of Marysville is ready to begin treating Ellis Lake on what may be an ongoing basis to combat the weeds and algae that have noticeably affected the lake’s water quality over recent months. Either on Nov. 15 or shortly after, the city will make a “focused effort” to kill the weeds in the lake through the use of an aquatic herbicide called Diquat, officials said. “Diquat is a fast-acting herbicide that works by disrupting cell membranes and interfering with photosynthesis,” according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “It is a non-selective herbicide and will kill a wide variety of plants on contact. It does not move throughout the plants, so will only kill parts of the plants that it contacts. Following treatment, plants will die within a week.” … ” Read more from the Appeal Democrat.
Opening of American River salmon ladder postponed due to ‘water management issue’
“The Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Sacramento County has delayed the annual opening of its salmon ladder. The fish hatchery, which had scheduled the ladder opening for a Halloween event Tuesday, said it would announce a new date soon. “We anticipate the delay will only be a few days and will provide an updated opening date as soon as we have one,” the hatchery said on its Facebook page. The post said the delay is due to a “water management issue beyond (the hatchery’s) control.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento, San Joaquin counties offering free sandbags to help residents prepare for winter storms
“The City of Stockton and Sacramento County are offering free sandbags to help community members and businesses prepare for future storms. If your home or business is in an area that experienced flooding during the 2022-2023 winter storms, or you have experienced high water during heavy rains, this is an opportunity to be prepared for a potential rainy season. Below is a list of locations where you can pick up a sandbag. … ” Read more from Fox 40.
Local federal officials urge Army Corps to allocate Delta levee funds
“A letter has been sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging the agency to allocate sufficient resources to repair levees within the San Joaquin Basin, Sacramento Basin and Delta region. The letter was signed by U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and seven members of Congress, including Solano representatives John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, and Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento. “Many regions in California are critically dependent on the California State Plan of Flood Control, a network of levees in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds. These levees have proven to be vital in mitigating flood risks and ensuring the safety of our residents and businesses,” the letter states. “However, the relentless storms of 2023 caused extensive damage to this network, leaving numerous communities susceptible to potential levee failures during the upcoming flood season. … ” Continue reading at the Daily Republic.
NAPA/SONOMA
Sonoma County water managers shift focus from drought to groundwater sustainability
“It was just over a year ago that all of Sonoma County was experiencing severe drought or worse, with nearly 34 percent experiencing extreme drought, according to national drought monitors. One year later, that scenario has dramatically changed, but the threats to groundwater due to climate change persist. “Today our reservoirs are incredibly healthy due to the atmospheric rivers that came through in early 2023,” said Andrea Rodriguez, spokesperson for Sonoma County Water Agency. They are cautiously hoping for more rain this winter. “You’ve got a full reservoir. How do we make sure that lasts?” … ” Read more from MSN News.
BAY AREA
San Mateo County schools’ drinking water contaminated with nitrate: ‘It’s disgusting’
“Drinking water is contaminated with nitrate at two San Mateo County schools. It’s a decades-old problem that resurfaced in a local science classroom. “It’s horrible looking right now,” said Cullen Rose, the high school science teacher. “I knew just looking at it, I can’t drink this.” Pescadero Middle and High School has periodically seen high levels of nitrate for decades. It’s a fertilizer chemical that’s known to contaminate drinking water in agricultural areas. Because of the chemical, the school’s drinking faucets are shut off and students have relied on shipments of bottled water for the past 25 years. But recently, teachers say those shipments have been unreliable. … ” Read more from KGO.
East Bay Parks tackles fire-fuel reduction with ‘biochar’ project
“Pull a burning log out of a campfire and it will send a smoky plume of carbon and ash into the air. Place that log in a 1,500-degree fan-blown kiln and the carbon and ash will lock down inside the coal. That’s the mechanical principle behind the Tigercat 6050 Carbonator being used by the fire fuel reduction team in the East Bay Regional Park District this year. District fire officials unveiled the machine that creates “biochar” on Oct. 24 ahead of the fuel reduction season. Anthony Chabot Regional Park is the site of the largest eucalyptus reduction project in Northern California and is the largest in park district history. According to the district, the use of the new carbonator to break down biomass is directly benefiting the communities of Oakland and Castro Valley by reducing truck traffic as well as the risk of forest fire. … ” Read more from Pleasanton Weekly.
Nested plans neck and neck with rising bay
“Like Russian dolls, Bay Area preparations for sea level rise finally began fitting together this fall. In September, state legislators passed SB 272 (introduced by Senator John Laird), requiring coastal jurisdictions to make plans for the inevitable advance of the ocean. In October, Bay Area shoreline planners held their first public workshop on the development of a regional adaptation plan to minimize flooding. And in the same month, one of the region’s most impacted counties, San Mateo, went so far as to float the idea of an offshore barrier with operable doors — showing the way for other counties not as far along in planning for Bay creep. “The state legislation is a game changer is some ways, but not in others,” says Dana Brechwald, Assistant Planning Director for Climate Adaptation with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), which has been laying the groundwork via vulnerability assessments, flood mapping, and adaptation planning around the Bay for more than ten years. “Before we were trying to get this done on the basis of collaboration, engagement, and goodwill; now it is legislatively mandated.” … ” Read more from Knee Deep Times.
CENTRAL COAST
Trash on Monterey Bay shoreline threatens ecosystem: NOAA
“A report released on Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, revealed just how much garbage can build up within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The shoreline, which spans 267 miles, saw 37,000 volunteers collect over one million pieces of trash over five years, ranging from cigarette butts to household appliances. The report also outlines how much of the garbage was tied directly to smoking and food waste. From 2017 to 2021, plastic fragments accounted for more than 25% of the trash while cigarette butts represented 23% of what was found. Add in wrappers, and those three main contributors created 59% of all the debris collected, according to NOAA. … ” Read more from The Patch.
Noll Inc. wants the regional water board to take accountability for wrongfully accusing it of contaminating groundwater
“In the last four years, the Nolls have spent almost half a million dollars on consultants, investigatory reports, water bottles and filtration systems, well testing, and more. Starting on July 31, 2019, the family lived under constant threat from the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board: a fine of $5,000 a day for not complying with a cleanup and abatement order for pollution that the Nolls maintained from the beginning wasn’t their fault. Janice and John Noll, whose father founded Noll Inc. on Thread Lane near the San Luis Obispo airport in the early 1960s, did the groundwork they thought they needed to do to prove their company wasn’t responsible for seeping TCE (trichloroethylene), a carcinogen, into the water table. … ” Read more from New Times SLO.
Supervisors approve new study for Paso basin water-blending project
“The ongoing search for a solution to groundwater sustainability in the Paso Robles Basin received new life following the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors’ Oct. 31 meeting—but not without conflict. The board voted 3-2—with 5th District Supervisor Debbie Arnold and 1st District Supervisor John Peschong voting no—to approve and authorize a contract with Water Systems Consulting Inc. to perform a study on water-blending in the basin. “I am concerned about who is going to benefit from this,” Arnold told the board at the Oct. 31 meeting. “This is like putting the cart before the horse.” … ” Read more from New Times SLO.
Reviewing the Carpinteria Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan
“A 20-year Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for Carpinteria is now open for public comment. The purpose of the Carpinteria GSP is to ensure there is enough water in the basin to meet local needs now and in the future. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the 2014 state law requiring the Carpinteria GSP, cited groundwater level declines and reduced groundwater storage when identifying Carpinteria as a high-priority basin. As a result, the Carpinteria GSP sets an important objective: to raise groundwater levels in Carpinteria to be at or above sea level in 20 years. … ” Read more from the Coastal View.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Can land conservancy close the book on failed Madera water bank?
“After decades of plans to convert the coveted Madera Ranch into a water bank for farmers to draw from in dry years, the Madera Irrigation District finally found a purpose for it — turning it over for conservancy. On Oct. 24, Madera Irrigation District optioned the 11,000 acres of grassland east of Firebaugh to the Trust for Public Land for $58 million. It’s the same scenic expanse of land that the federal government once sank $20 million into for a controversial underground water bank that never materialized. Project manager Alex Size with TPL is confident in their ability to raise the funds, which if completed, would close a long chapter for the land once envisioned for underground water storage. If completed, the 16 square miles of land would be a haven for multiple endangered species and provide space for birdwatchers and researchers alike, said Size. … ” Read more from GV Wire.
Kings County supervisors appoint Boswell employees to 10 water boards
“At their Tuesday meeting, the Kings County Board of Supervisors approved 27 appointments to water district boards — with 21 of the seats going to employees of the J.G. Boswell Co. Mark Unruh, a Boswell Water Department manager who also runs the Tulare Lake Canal Co., was appointed to seven water boards, while Dominic Sween, a Boswell engineer, was appointed to nine water boards. Other Boswell employees appointed include: Gabe Cooper, Beau Howard, Justin Spellman and Carlo Wilcox. … ” Read more from Fresnoland.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Cadiz signs agreement with San Bernardino County and water project agencies to reserve water supply for desert communities
“Cadiz, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI/CDZIP) announced today that the Company entered into a binding agreement with San Bernardino County , Santa Margarita Water District (“SMWD”) and Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company to provide priority rights to water supply from the Cadiz Water Conservation and Storage Project (“Cadiz Project”) to public water systems serving San Bernardino County communities. The new agreement, approved first by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on October 24, 2023 , amends the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between Cadiz, the County and SMWD governing groundwater management for the Cadiz Project in the eastern Mojave Desert. The amendment requires Cadiz to offer binding agreements for water supply from the Cadiz Project to public water systems serving San Bernardino County residents prior to exporting water for beneficial use outside of San Bernardino County. … ” Continue reading from Investors Observer.
SAN DIEGO
How Imperial Valley spends San Diego’s cash for water
Mackenzie Elmer writes, “I traveled to Imperial County last month to see what this desert farming community built with the cash San Diegans pay for some of its water. The latest thing is a small lake, eight times the length of an Olympic lap pool, built into the harsh, flat landscape. The hot wind whipped at the new reservoir’s surface so hard, waves of it almost breached the bare dirt rims of its chamber. Dozens of spectators squeezed beneath a nearby tent, the only respite from the glaring sun, to dedicate that pool in memory of Lloyd Allen. Allen was a controversial figure who, 20 years ago, spearheaded the sale of a large amount of Imperial Valley’s precious irrigation water to feed San Diego’s urban demand – known as the quantification settlement agreement, the biggest transfer of water from agriculture to urban use in California’s history. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Rain barrel rebates timed for rainy season
“With climatologists predicting the potential for above-average precipitation in the months ahead due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, it’s an ideal time to take advantage of the County of San Diego’s upcoming rainwater harvesting workshops and rain barrel rebates. The County’s Waterscape Rebate Program will host free rainwater harvesting workshops in Fall and Winter 2023. Workshops help residents learn how to capture rainwater to supplement their irrigation needs, save money on water bills, and protect our region’s environment by preventing pollutants from spilling into regional watersheds. … ” Read more from the Water News Network.
Along the Colorado River …
Model to illustrate scenarios for the Colorado River water use
“The Colorado River is a lifeblood for the U.S. Southwest that provides tap water for some 40 million people and irrigation for 2.6 million acres of crops in seven states and Mexico. But as water flows decline with climate change and a century-old water rights accord becomes unsustainable, federal, state, and local policymakers with competing interests find themselves in a political cauldron with nothing but tough choices. UC Riverside public policy scholars, however, are bringing clarity to a fraught debate. They have created a hydro-economic model that can illuminate the future impacts of major water use changes by answering prompts and clicking a mouse. UCR’s School of Public Policy has published a working paper describing the framework of the model, which is expected to be publicly available online early next year. … ” Read more from UC Riverside.
Column: Lake Mead has a 1-in-4 chance of going low again by 2026, if we don’t do more now
Opinion columnist Joanna Allhands writes, “Now that we’re knee-deep in the long-term process to save the Colorado River, almost no one is asking whether we’ve done enough to stabilize it for the next few years. A wet winter and billions of dollars in funding already solved that problem, right? Well, in theory. The federal Bureau of Reclamation has released Take 2 on a separate but related effort to decide how we keep Lake Mead and Lake Powell — the nation’s largest reservoirs — from reaching dangerously low levels in the short term. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic.
How snowfall will change Lake Mead’s water levels
“An El Niño winter snowfall map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted more good news for Lake Mead. After years of drought the lake, located in Nevada and Arizona, reached drastically low levels in the summer of 2022. However, water levels have since started to recover because of above-average precipitation and snowpack that melted throughout this year. As of Wednesday afternoon, its levels were at 1,065 feet, 20 feet higher than this time last year. The water level likely won’t increase much until next spring, when snow melts in the Rocky Mountains and flows into the Colorado River, which then feeds into Lake Mead. However, the previously drought-stricken reservoir could see another big leap in its water levels beginning in the spring, according to a snowfall map from the NOAA. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
Colorado River Crisis: Into the Wild West
“In the sun-split desert of the Coachella Valley, life here is only possible with water from elsewhere. The water that grows our food, the water we drink and the water we exist around come from the special aquifers below the valley and the Colorado River. But the river is now in crisis, and as environmentalist and Colorado Riverkeeper John Weisheit puts it, we are on a train — headed for a cliff. To understand how we got here, News Channel 3 traveled to Colorado, tracking the river’s path and talking to a multitude of experts along the way. … ” Read more or watch video from Channel 3.
Changing circumstances, public input and new Colorado River operating guidelines
“For those who follow water issues in the Southwest – a cohort that is rapidly expanding to include “everybody” – the news in late October about the Bureau of Reclamation’s release of a new “draft management plan” for the Colorado River was hard to miss. Reflecting some rare good news about river conditions, the story dominated environmental news coverage for nearly a week. For the first time in years, the focus was less on the immediate, precarious condition of the vital river system and more about the evolving long-term plan for managing the Colorado River sustainably. As readers saw from most of the countless news reports on the new draft of a “Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement,” or draft SEIS, the recent good news has given river managers some breathing room. … ” Read more from the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
In national water news today …
Dangerous ‘fill and build’ floodplain policy should be scrapped, experts say
“Federal rules allowing developers to use fill dirt to elevate new houses in high-risk flood areas should be changed because the practice can exacerbate damage to nearby homes, according to an advisory board to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Technical Mapping Advisory Council (TMAC) said the widespread use of “fill and build” in floodplains, which has drawn fire from environmental groups in low-lying neighborhoods, can be environmentally harmful. The practice “can create a false sense of security” for property owners, especially new buyers who believe they are safe from flooding, the council said in an interim report obtained by E&E News last week. “The placement of fill for this purpose reduces the carrying capacity of the floodplain, leading to increased flood risk over time.” … ” Read more from Scientific American.
Expanded drought.gov tool visualizes historical drought conditions by county, state
“The “Dust Bowl” drought of the 1930s brought nearly a decade of dry conditions to the Great Plains, causing many farmers to flee their lands and livelihoods. Looking further back, tree-ring and lake-sediment records indicate that “megadroughts” have occurred in North America over the last thousand years. By looking back at historical data, communities can get a better understanding of how current droughts compare to past events and drought and extreme weather threats to be prepared for. The U.S. Drought Portal’s Historical Data and Conditions Tool allows users to visualize historical drought data for their state or county through an interactive map and time series graph. Recently, NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) partnered with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) to expand and improve this interactive tool—making it easier to visualize and share historical data for use in communications, research, or decision-making. … ” Read more from NIDIS.
