A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
Storms headed toward California will bring heavy rain to these regions
“Parts of California are poised to receive a good soaking of rain as an atmospheric river and storms approach the Golden State over the next several days. There is a wide range of potential outcomes, with everything from light showers to heavy downpours possible as these weather systems take center stage.The first storm system arrives Friday night, belting cold, humid air on the North Coast. Residents in Eureka, Mendocino and Crescent City can look for rainfall rates up to a tenth of an inch per hour across far Northern California throughout the weekend, accumulating to 2 to 4 inches by Sunday night. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
SEE ALSO: ‘Atmospheric river’ will raise the risk of flooding in the Pacific Northwest into next week, from AccuWeather
Reclamation and Sites Project Authority finalize plans to create new water storage in Northern California
“Today, the Bureau of Reclamation and Sites Project Authority released final plans to create new off-stream water storage in the Sacramento Valley. The proposed reservoir—Sites—would be the second largest off-stream reservoir in the nation and would increase Northern California’s water storage capacity by up to 15 percent. “Investing in Western water infrastructure is a top priority for Reclamation and the Biden Administration as witnessed by the commitment of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “We are proud to support projects that will provide operational flexibility and more reliable water delivery to benefit farms, communities, and the environment. We stand in partnership with the State of California and the JPA with projects like Sites Reservoir.” … ” Continue reading this press release.
SEE ALSO: Project plans for the Sites Reservoir in Northern California finalized, from Channel 10
Central Valley chinook are getting lost on their way home
“Picture yourself: a chinook salmon, in the prime of your life. You dart through the water off California’s central coast, winding through kelp and dodging hungry sea lions. Long, sleek and silver, dappled with dark spots. Eyes wide and vigilant; 50 pounds of pure muscle. You’ve been out at sea for several years now, first voyaging north along the Oregon coastline, then westward into deeper water. As winter approaches and the days grow shorter, you’ve found your way back to California. You’ve felt the seasons turn before, but this year, it means something special. Your kind, the Central Valley chinook — what fishers call the “king” salmon — are not born at sea. For thousands of years, your ancestors began their lives in the heart of California, where tributaries and streams flow together to form the mighty Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. They fanned out across the valley, across forested streams, desert rivers and delta wetlands. … ” Continue reading at High Country News.
Arrowhead water bottler sues state board over cease and desist order
“California’s Water Resources Control Board is being sued by BlueTriton brands, the company that bottles Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water. In September, the state agency issued a cease and desist order to restrict millions of gallons of water being pumped from the San Bernardino National Forest. But, the order didn’t prevent BlueTriton brands from filing the lawsuit in Fresno County earlier this month. The company is arguing that the state water board is wrongfully expanding their authority. According to a company spokesman, the water board’s own staff reports show that they don’t give permits for groundwater. … ” Read more from KVCR.
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.
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.
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.
DAN WALTERS: Another wet winter looms. California needs to get serious about water management
“Oct. 1 is the beginning of what hydrologists call the “water year.” Historically, California’s reservoirs are near their lowest levels by this point after months of being drawn down, mostly to irrigate fields and orchards, during the state’s precipitation-free summer. This October is quite different. Last winter’s heavy rain and snow storms, generated by a series of atmospheric rivers, filled reservoirs even as dam managers fully opened their gates to send as much water downstream as possible. So much rain and snow fell in the southern San Joaquin Valley that Tulare Lake, once one of the nation’s largest natural lakes, was recreated, and threatened the town of Corcoran. … Hydrologists and meteorologists, moreover, are telling Californians that they may see a repeat in the months ahead, thanks to a phenomenon known as El Niño, and it potentially could surpass last winter’s storms. … ” Read more from Dan Walters.
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.
Extreme weather makes monitoring snowpack increasingly relevant
“What do salmon, hydroelectric power, and agriculture have in common? They all depend on snowmelt. So do floods and wildfires. “We are seeing more fires because the snow is melting earlier,” says Ana Barros, an engineering professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, recalling how swaths of the US were shrouded in smoke from the record fires in Canada this past summer. Early melt can make soil soggy at the wrong time, and less snowmelt can leave soil dry; both force farmers to change their planting strategies to successfully grow crops. The chief challenge in understanding and predicting seasonal snowmelt is measuring the snowpack. Snow accumulation varies spatially and temporally. It gets deep in mountains and remains shallower on prairies. Snow is porous, and its density varies with air, ice, and liquid-water content. Substrate, vegetation, sun, dust, soot, wind, snow grain size, and other factors affect how snow settles and melts and how sensors respond to snow. … ” Read more from Physics Today.
SGMA IMPLEMENTATION: Now available: A Guide to Annual Reports, Periodic Evaluations, and Plan Amendments
“On October 30, 2023, DWR released its Groundwater Sustainability Plan Implementation: A Guide to Annual Reports, Periodic Evaluations, and Plan Amendments, which provides guidance to GSAs preparing these documents under SGMA and the GSP Regulations. The Department also released a Frequently Asked Questions and Available Resources document that provides commonly asked questions and answers about Annual Reports, Periodic Evaluations, and GSP Amendments. These resources do not create any requirements or obligations for GSAs; the information is intended to clarify the necessary content of the documents already required by SGMA and the GSP Regulations. … ” Read more and view/download documents from DWR.
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 commentary this week …
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.
More water is coming to Valley farmers, and they can thank Joe Biden for it
Tad Weber, opinion columnist, writes, “Food grows where water flows. So goes the saying on signs I have seen in farmlands in Fresno, Tulare, Merced and Kings counties since I moved to the San Joaquin Valley 10 years ago. The signs, and others like them, are protests against cuts to water deliveries to growers in those regions. More often than not, farmers were angry with whoever was California’s governor. Since the Republican party has been stuck in super minority status, California’s governors have been Democrats, namely Jerry Brown and now Gavin Newsom. Despite persistent droughts, they often get blamed for whatever water cuts are happening, along with Fresno congressman Jim Costa and his colleague from San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi. They also are Democrats. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee.
Underground water storage is needed
The Southern California News Group editorial board writes, “Despite an unusually wet season last year and predictions for a boisterous rainy season this year, California continues to struggle to store enough water to meet the needs of its population and farms. We’ve experienced two particularly grueling droughts in the last decade, with state officials repeatedly blaming climate change for the challenges. We don’t doubt that climate change is stressing our water systems. But state policy ought to prioritize resilience by building the storage we need to adapt to whatever climate conditions we will face. Fortunately, Southern California water officials are getting the message. … ” Continue reading at the OC Register.
In regional water news this week …
Work on Copco No. 2 dam removal comes to a close
“This week, crews put the final touches on the removal of the Copco No. 2 Dam and its diversion infrastructure. Removal of the dam structure was completed in September, and crews spent the last month removing the remaining diversion infrastructure, grading the river channel, and performing erosion control. This work prepares the river canyon for consistent river flows, likely commencing within 30 days, which the canyon hasn’t seen in 98 years. Currently, flows in the canyon are fluctuating due to work being done to prepare Copco No. 1 for drawdown. “Copco No 2 is the first dam to be removed due to its small stature, location, and lack of reservoir,” noted Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC), the entity tasked with the safe and efficient removal of the four lower Klamath hydroelectric dams. “However, while Copco No. 2 was significantly smaller than the other dams slated for removal, it still had a significant impact on the river.” … ” Continue reading from the Klamath River Renewal Corporation.
SEE ALSO: First Klamath River dam removal effort complete, leaving three for next year, from Channel 12
Lake Pillsbury advocates wary of Scott Dam removal and lost water source
“Alerts about punishing loss of tax revenue and discretionary tourism spending should Scott Dam be decommissioned and Lake Pillsbury dries up came from county officials and researchers since a June 2022 Board of Supervisor meeting. This will come to pass if proponents of removing the dam have their way county officials warn. A new video documentary by Sam Euston of Digital Media Productions Inc., titled “Regional benefits of Lake Pillsbury” paint a stark picture of what could result if the valuable water resource were to disappear. The video is narrated by Frank Lynch and Carol Cinquini of the Lake Pillsbury Alliance. Near the conclusion of the video they interviewed Patrick Sullivan, treasurer-tax collector of Lake County who noted many constituents are concerned over the possible financial devastations which may result surrounding the Potter Valley Project should the dam eventually be removed. … ” Read more from the Lake County News.
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.
Northern California rice farmer and meteorologist accurately predicts winter weather
“Chico rice farmer and meteorologist Rob Doornbos kept getting asked what the winter weather was going to be like. He founded his company, Weather Tools, Inc., to let farmers and others know just that. Users can buy a subscription to the service at www.weathertools.org. “I was in a combine and entering the rice harvest, and I started thinking ‘what is it that growers ask me that I can’t answer?” Doornbos said. Doornbos’ California Annual Precipitation report reveals how much precipitation California will get in the coming water year and has been correct every year for the last several years years. Doornbos joined forces with international weather company Baron Weather to distribute the CAP report, which comes out Nov. 1. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Paradise, California, was destroyed by fire. Here’s what it looks like 5 years later
“Five years ago, before the catastrophic Camp Fire burned through Paradise, California, destroying 11,000 homes and killing 85 people, driving through the small town looked like driving through a pine grove. “There were so many trees that you really couldn’t see very far,” says Collette Curtis, the city’s recovery and economic director. “It really was like being in a forest.”Today, it looks very different. Some newly built houses are now visible on lots that were previously hidden by trees, with ample space around the homes to help prevent the spread of flames. (Without the thicket of trees, it’s also so much sunnier that some homes have solar panels for the first time.) … ” Read more from Fast Company.
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.
This SLO County town needs more water. Could a new pipeline be the answer?
“The Los Osos Community Services District is looking for a way to import a hot commodity: water. The small San Luis Obispo County community’s water source, an underground aquifer, has long been overpumped and is polluted from farming nitrates and intruding seawater. Years-long droughts haven’t helped, forcing the community’s 16,000 residents to cut back on watering plants and install water-smart appliances. Some have fought fiercely against any new developments that could tax already stressed resources. “We need water resiliency. We need a supplemental water source,” said the district’s general manager, Ron Munds. “Our engineer looked into a lot of other water sources and state water just seemed to be the best option.” … ” Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
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.
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.
IID’s Equitable Water Distribution plan gets a 2023 update
“In the ever-evolving landscape of Imperial Valley’s water distribution, the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) has been at the forefront of maintaining equitable access to this resource. Since 2006, the IID Board of Directors has been developing and implementing the Equitable Distribution Plan (EDP) to ensure that water reaches farm ground. This year marks the latest milestone in their journey with the adoption of the seventh revised EDP in July 2023, bringing about some significant changes, as explained by IID Water Manager Tina Shields at the Oct. 24 regular meeting. According to IID documentation, the IID’s commitment to equitable water distribution began back in 2006 when the Board of Directors adopted Resolution No. 22-2006, which set the wheels in motion for the development and implementation of the EDP. Over the years, the EDP has seen several modifications, including three updates in 2013 and the most recent one in 2023. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
California’s young ‘water buffalo’ JB Hamby spurs united Colorado River rescue, for now
“It was a rough debut. JB Hamby, 26 years old, had rocketed to the innermost circle of state and federal officials charged with saving the Colorado River from collapse. In mid-January, he was elected to chair California’s river board, representing Imperial Irrigation District, by far the biggest recipient of the overused river’s supply. Federal officials had bluntly threatened to impose mandatory cuts across the region if huge voluntary reductions weren’t made. But 12 days later, after contentious closed-door talks, he watched in dismay as media outlets across the U.S. published stories about six states releasing a joint plan to save the river, with only his state, California, refusing to sign on. It was a baptism by near drowning for the youngest “water buffalo,” as negotiators of Colorado River agreements have historically called themselves. But Hamby didn’t respond angrily or publicly. Instead he wrote individual thank-you notes to top negotiators in every other state, and asked if he could meet with each to discuss mutual solutions. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun. | Read via Yahoo News.
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.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE: How to participate in the upcoming public hearing on Bay Delta Plan – Sacramento/Delta Draft Staff Report
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
