On the calendar today …
- EVENT: Stewarding California’s Wet Years from 9am to 12:30pm. California has made great strides in preparing for a drier, hotter future, but it remains a challenge to harness the bounty of wet years while also reducing flood risk. How did California’s water sector manage the unusually wet conditions of the 2023 water year—and what lessons can we glean for the future? We will speak with three panels of experts to find out. Click here to register.
- EVENT: California Financing Coordinating Committee Virtual Funding Fair from 1pm to 4pm. The California Financing Coordinating Committee (CFCC) conducts free funding fairs statewide each year to educate the public and offer potential customers the opportunity to meet with financial representatives from each agency to learn more about their available funding. CFCC members facilitate and expedite the completion of various types of infrastructure projects by helping customers combine the resources of different agencies. Project information is shared between members so additional resources can be identified. Presentations will be held from 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and participants can visit virtual booths from 11:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. to meet with representatives. Click here to register.
- VIRTUAL PUBLIC WORKSHOP: Draft emergency flow regulation for Scott, Shasta Rivers from 3pm to 5pm. In ongoing efforts to provide information, answer questions and solicit public comment about potential changes to an emergency regulation for minimum instream flows in the Scott and Shasta River watersheds, the State Water Resources Control Board will host a virtual staff workshop. Staff’s preliminary changes to the emergency regulation include updates to the following provisions: (1) clarification to Scott River flow requirements noting the need to maintain natural flows when the minimum flow requirements are not otherwise satisfied; (2) modifications to the human health and safety exception that provide an alternate means of submitting/requesting the exception; (3) changes to the groundwater local cooperative solutions, including potential additional options; and (4) changes to the prohibition on inefficient livestock watering. Additional information regarding the watersheds and the emergency regulation is available on the board website. Click here to join meeting. Click here for more information.
- GRA SoCAL: Advanced Decision Support Tool Applications in Water Resources Planning from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. In the realm of Advanced Decision Support Tool (DST) Applications in Water Resources Planning, innovations contribute to the efficient management of water resources, provide decision-makers with accessible tools for evaluating operational alternatives, and facilitate compliance with evolving regulations. The user-friendly nature of these tools and their adaptability make them valuable assets for addressing the challenges associated with water resources planning and management. This presentation will introduce two DST applications designed to offer innovative solutions to water agencies. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Storm hitting California isn’t an atmospheric river. What is it?
“Early weather forecasts suggested California may see a super-soaking atmospheric river this week. Last week’s forecast doesn’t hold. Meteorologists are no longer using that label to describe the system that’s bringing a chance of rain to the Golden State Tuesday through Sunday. “It’s not an atmospheric river,” said Brian Garcia, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. “This is a classic Gulf of Alaska low.” This means the storm will be dropping down from the Gulf Alaska, rather than pulling in moisture from the subtropics, the southern Pacific Ocean that includes the Hawaiian Islands. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Rain or fizzle? California preps for first storm of season — maybe
“California may see the first widespread rain event of the water year, although how much rain and snow will actually fall — and where — is a question that has so far eluded forecasters. A low pressure system moving south from the Gulf of Alaska will bring cooler temperatures and moderate rain Tuesday through Friday throughout the Golden State, forecasters say. But the atmospheric river they once thought would set up shop off the coast of California appears to have fizzled. For the central and northern coast, the National Weather Service Bay Area predicts periods of moderate rainfall starting Tuesday morning. However, the area will likely see 1.5 inches of rain or less during the week as the system has slowed down and weakened. Coastal mountain areas have a better chance of seeing closer to 2 inches of rain this week, particularly Sonoma County and parts of Big Sur on the Central Coast. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
SEE ALSO:
- Rain, wind and snow in the forecast for Northern California ahead of ‘super El Niño’ winter, from the Sacramento Bee
- California faces first fall rains in what could be a stormy season, from the Washington Post
BAY DELTA PLAN UPDATE: A deep dive into the staff report for the for the Sacramento Delta update: How do the voluntary agreements stack up?
“On Friday, the State Water Resources Control Board will hold the first day of a three day public hearing on the draft staff report for the Sacramento Delta update to the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan. The Board is accepting public comments on the report through December 15. The report examines the potential economic, environmental, and other impacts of various options for updating the Bay Delta Plan, including the proposed voluntary agreements. Curious to know how the staff proposal and voluntary agreements compare? In a workshop held on October 19 workshop, the State Water Board staff delved into the details of the report, discussing the background, key components, and modeling results for both the staff proposal and the voluntary agreements. This is essentially a transcript of the staff presentation. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
Sites Reservoir Project certified for ‘cutting red tape’
“The Sites Reservoir Project has been certified by Governor Gavin Newsom as being an eligible project under Senate Bill 149. Signed by Governor Newsom earlier in the year, the legislation seeks to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation delays related to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). If ultimately approved, the project would establish an additional 1.5 million acre-feet of water storage capacity. Qualifying the Sites Reservoir Project under SB 149 means that CEQA challenges will need to be decided within 270 days, if feasible. “We’re cutting red tape to build more faster,” Newsom said in a press release. “These are projects that will address our state’s biggest challenges faster, and the Sites Reservoir is fully representative of that goal.” … ” Read more from Ag Net West.
My wild, wet, and (sometimes) miserable paddling trip through the heart of California
Brandon Borell writes, “The sun had risen above the asthmatic haze of California’s San Joaquin Valley, and the disaster tourists would soon be arriving at the edge of Tulare Lake to take their selfies. It was a Saturday, two days before Memorial Day. County health authorities had warned the public to stay out of the contaminated water, an unwholesome brew of pesticides and animal waste. As for the Kings County sheriff, during media interviews he had informed would-be gawkers that the lake bottom—a vast depression at the southern end of the nation’s breadbasket—was private property. Trespassing rules would be strictly enforced. Our shuttle driver, Vincent Ruiz—a 360-pound trucker, originally from Guadalajara, who owned a 13-acre farm a few blocks from the flood zone—steered around a ROAD CLOSED sign without a care. “Damn, I hadn’t seen this,” he said with quiet awe as we gazed upon acres of flooded pistachio trees. All goners. … ” Read more from Outside.
Column: Want people to understand climate change? Pay the experts
Sammy Roth writes, “UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain is tired of working for free. In a series of posts last week on the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Swain — who has been quoted in The Times and other media outlets hundreds of times over the last decade — lamented how hard it is to make a living sharing information about the climate crisis with the public. He said it’s nearly impossible for climate scientists to get paid for communications work — even though that work is badly needed in an era of rampant carbon pollution. “The status quo is not sustainable,” Swain wrote. His posts went viral. They were shared by dozens of scientists and journalists who lamented the lack of public and private funding dedicated to improving public understanding of ever-deadlier heat waves, fires, droughts, storms and more. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times.
California’s scientist union plans to stage the first-ever strike by state civil servants
“Scientists in California state government plan to walk off the job next week in what would be California’s first-ever civil servant strike. After three years of fruitless bargaining, followed by an impasse declaration and mediation talks, the California Association of Professional Scientists will stage a rolling three-day strike Nov. 15-17, the union announced Thursday in an email to members. The union has asked for significant, double-digit raises — which some experts have previously characterized as unrealistic. After reaching impasse in late October, CAPS’s bargaining team met with the state and a mediator on Wednesday. Their next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 28. … ” Read more from Yahoo News.
In commentary today …
California wants to rollback environmental rules for cannabis. That won’t help ailing growers
Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, a senior fellow at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and a professor of health policy, economics and law at USC, and Michael Sutton, the former president of the California Fish and Game Commission, write, “Legalizing recreational cannabis in California was supposed to bring illegal growers out of the shadows and into a robust, safe and regulated market. When voters approved Proposition 64 in 2016, the measure promised to end the damage to our lands and water that had long been part of the illegal marijuana industry. Instead, while some of the small growers who characterized the illegal business have been licensed, the new market has quickly become dominated by a handful of huge corporate farmers. Hoping to save the small growers from extinction, the California Legislature is considering rolling back some of the very environmental guardrails that were supposed to make the legal industry more sustainable. This is a big mistake. While the intent of proposals like Senate Bill 508 may be laudable, removing environmental safeguards would set a bad precedent, and it won’t save the beleaguered growers who are struggling to survive in the new market. In fact, it will probably hasten their demise. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Fishery on Elwha rewards tribe’s long push for river restoration
“Members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula harvested about 200 coho salmon from their home river in October. That marked a milestone for river restoration a decade after two dams on the Elwha River were dismantled. It could also offer a window into the future of the Klamath River, as four dams there are being removed. The banks of the Elwha sprawl and meander now. Just up from the river mouth west of Port Angeles, there are braided channels that crisscross the river basin. Soft sediment is underfoot on the walk through the water in waders, crossing sandy islands that didn’t exist before dam removal. “Yeah, I mean, the river is completely different than we remember it — than I remember it,” said Vanessa Castle, who grew up on this river with her extended family. … ” Read more from Jefferson Public Radio.
NAPA/SONOMA
Sonoma County crop report for 2022 shows losses due to drought
“Showing the stark difference in weather swings from one year to another, most Sonoma County crops were plagued with drought effects in 2022 that led to a loss for the year overall. “We were down, due to drought. And feed hay was way too expensive,” Santa Rosa’s Beretta Dairy owner Doug Beretta said. Some North Bay dairy farmers drove as far as Idaho to get hay to feed their cows. Others took more drastic measures, selling cows or closing down operations. The just-released 2022 Sonoma County Crop Report shows an almost 2% loss in the total dollar value of crops from the previous year. Dwindling water supplies affected a variety of agriculture segments from dairy farms like Beretta’s to commercial fishing. … ” Read more from the North Bay Business Journal.
BAY AREA
It’s raining in the Bay Area today. Here’s how long it will last
A much-anticipated storm is spinning hundreds of miles off the California coast, sending clouds and precipitation toward the state this week. The first batch of showers is expected to impact the Tuesday morning Bay Area commute, resulting in a quarter to half inch of rain to San Francisco and Oakland, and even higher amounts to the North Bay. Shower chances will decrease by the afternoon, with pockets of blue sky emerging. Dry conditions will persist through Wednesday morning before another round of rain moves toward Central California by the afternoon. Some instability in the atmosphere will accompany the weather system, meaning occasional lightning strikes are possible as the rain approaches. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Anderson Dam: Cost to rebuild major reservoir rises to $2.3 billion, tripling from two years ago
“The cost to bring Anderson Dam, which holds back the largest reservoir in Santa Clara County, up to modern earthquake standards has increased to $2.3 billion, water officials said Monday. That’s double what was estimated a year ago, triple the price tag from two years ago, and nearly certain to drive water rates higher next year across Silicon Valley. “It’s very disturbing,” said John Varela, chairman of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, a government agency based in San Jose that owns the dam and is is overseeing the project. “The cost escalations are just absurd,” he added. “It’s like a taxi cab when you go inside for a cup of coffee and the meter keeps running and your $5 fare goes to $10 and you say ‘Wait a minute.’” In 2020, federal dam safety officials ordered the reservoir along Highway 101 between San Jose and Morgan Hill drained and its dam rebuilt to modern seismic standards. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
California Ports hear sea level defense could cost SF Bay $110 bn
“California ports heard a report that the cost of defending the San Francisco Bay from sea level rise could cost $110 billion while the City of San Francisco may need an additional $13 billion to defend itself. Even more ominously Brian Garcia, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that ice sheet losses in Antarctica and Greenland will add 13-14 feet to global sea level rise and is a certainty to occur. The only question is how soon. The reports were presented at the Storms, Flooding & Sea Level Defense 2023 conference, a co-production of the Propeller Club of Northern California (PCNC) and the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). … ” Continue reading at the American Journal of Transportation.
Marin County supervisors give green light to proposed house on Stinson Beach’s last vacant beachfront property
“The Marin County Board of Supervisors has denied efforts to block a proposed house on the last vacant beachfront property in Stinson Beach. The supervisors voted unanimously to uphold the Marin Planning Commission’s approval of a one-story 1,296-square-foot house with a septic system at the end of Calle Del Onda in a meeting last week. The proposed house has been assessed at a value of $3.6 million. The owners of the 15,200-square-foot property, which has been in their family for almost 90 years, hope to build the vacation home on the site of a cottage that burned down in the 1980s. But in the intervening decades, concerns about environmentally sensitive habitat and sea level rise have made development more difficult. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
San Jose officials urge residents to prepare for incoming rainfall with possible flooding in the months ahead
“As the season’s first intense smattering of rain descends upon the Bay Area Tuesday, San Jose officials are advising residents to keep their curbs free of debris and to call 311 in the event of heavily backed-up storm drains. The National Weather Service’s latest forecast predicts rain to start around midnight on Tuesday morning, with nearly an inch of water expected to fall on San Jose, a storm that is being described as a “typical winter” system as opposed to the atmospheric rivers that barreled through the region this past winter. Even so, San Jose’s Mayor Matt Mahan and Valley Water CEO Rick Callender on Tuesday said agencies were preparing for the worst by ordering outreach teams to make contact with homeless residents who reside along the area’s rivers and closely watching the most flood-prone parts of the city. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Acampo neighbors look ahead to winter nearly a year after flooding
“In January, hundreds of homes in the San Joaquin County town of Acampo were underwater due to historic rain that led to flooding. Now, not even a year since homeowners were evacuated, neighbors are already looking ahead to winter and the rain that will come with it. At Arbor Mobile Home Park in Acampo, which runs along Highway 99, most homeowners used FEMA funds to fix storm damage. Melissa Youdall fixed the bottom panel of her home in August, eight months after she said water flooded her rain boots and she was forced to evacuate. “Every time it rains, I have PTSD,” Youdall said. FEMA funds paid for her home to be fixed, and although it took months, Youdall said she is relieved that most of the damage has been taken care of — but there is still work to do on her home. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Rain is coming to Southern California: How much and when?
“A strong weather system driven by a moisture-rich atmospheric river is expected to bring significant rain across Southern California later this week, with 1 to 3 inches likely over the span of four days. Forecasts for the storm, coming early in the rainy season, call for on-and-off showers across the region through at least Saturday, without particularly intense or extreme downpours that can bring flooding or storm damage, said David Sweet, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. “We could still, over time, collect 1 to 3 inches, but [the region] doesn’t look to be receiving any threatening rain,” Sweet said. He expects “moderate amounts of rain without too much collecting, too quickly.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SAN DIEGO
Complaints, billing mistakes prompt San Diego water overhaul
“Years of complaints about billing mistakes and hours-long customer-service hold times have prompted San Diego officials to make sweeping changes to the city’s Water Department. The changes include a new billing system, switching customer service software, new call routing, more payment options and a new policy alerting customers when their bill is being withheld for a leak investigation. The city is also hiring more customer service workers, paying them more, expanding their training and putting new leaders in charge of their efforts. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Nature-inclusive shoreline protection installed in San Diego
“Ports are at the forefront of environmental challenges associated with climate change and coastal development. To adapt and build climate-resilient infrastructure, ports require innovative technologies and novel design considerations beyond the mandatory industry standards. In recent years, there has been a growing interest among coastal stakeholders and engineers to integrate nature-based structural solutions into the designs of port infrastructure — exploring how natural processes and engineered technology can provide solutions to reduce a port’s ecological footprint. In 2019, under the framework of the Blue Economy Incubator Program, the Port of San Diego approved a pilot project with ECOncrete, an ecological engineering company developing bio-enhancing concrete for concrete-based coastal and marine infrastructure. … ” Continue reading at the Source.
Sea level rise imperils South San Diego County sewers
“Sewage overflows from Tijuana have been contaminating Imperial Beach for many decades. The problem recently reached crisis levels, with city leaders calling on the state and federal governments for more funds to fix the aging sewage infrastructure on both sides of the border. By causing sea levels to rise, climate change also plays a role in compromising the sewage infrastructure of Imperial Beach, according to a new study in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society. Led by Yousef Sangsefidi (Ph.D., engineering ‘23), San Diego State University researchers teamed up with scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography to examine how rising sea levels impact sewer pipes in the city and what this means for the future. “When sea level is rising, it also shifts the groundwater table up,” said Hassan Davani, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and principal investigator of the study. Groundwater is the water that lies beneath the surface of the Earth. … ” Read more from San Diego State University.
Along the Colorado River …
Commentary: Demonizing hay producers in the U.S. Southwest
Dan Keppen, executive director of Family Farm Alliance, writes, “Earlier this month, an article was released by ProPublica that “exposes” Imperial Valley family farms for using water to grow food. The article estimated how much Colorado River water 20 farm families were using on their lands, comparing that amount to other competing uses, and then listing each family’s water us … by name. This is truly frightening, given the polarized nature of today’s society. The consumptive water use estimates were derived from data generated through a program called “OpenET”, which makes satellite-based estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) publicly accessible. All of the families are located in a region that provides 90% of the leafy green vegetables consumed in the U.S. during winter months. This region also supplies alfalfa hay, an extremely important crop due to its rich nutritional value as feed for animals, particularly dairy and beef cattle, horses, and sheep. … ” Continue reading at the Western Farm Press.
In national water news today …
National Climate Assessment predicts growing threats to society, economy
“A long-awaited federal climate report, released Tuesday, delivers a blunt warning: Rapidly curb planet-warming emissions or face dire consequences to human health, infrastructure and the economy. The fifth installment of the National Climate Assessment presents the most comprehensive evaluation to date of U.S. climate science, impacts and action. Dozens of authors, including representatives from multiple federal agencies, contributed to the congressionally mandated report. The assessment details how climate change is already battering the nation with extreme heat, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, floods and swiftly rising sea levels. It estimates that “billion-dollar disasters” are happening every three weeks on average — up from every four months in the 1980s. … ” Read more from E&E News.
No place in the US is safe from the climate crisis, but a new report shows where it’s most severe
“The effects of a rapidly warming climate are being felt in every corner of the US and will worsen over the next 10 years with continued fossil fuel use, according to a stark new report from federal agencies. The Fifth National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated report due roughly every five years, warned that even though planet-warming pollution in the US is slowly decreasing, it is not happening nearly fast enough to meet the nation’s targets, nor is it in line with the UN-sanctioned goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius – a threshold beyond which scientists warn life on Earth will struggle to cope. This year’s assessment reflects the reality that Americans can increasingly see and feel climate impacts in their own communities, said Katharine Hayhoe, a distinguished climate scientist at Texas Tech University and contributor to the report. … ” Read more from CNN.
SEE ALSO:
- Report Charts Climate Change’s Growing Impact in the US, While Stressing Benefits of Action, from Inside Climate News
- Climate change affects your life in 3 big ways, a new report warns, from Capital Public Radio
- ‘Every bit matters’: Six key takeaways from the latest U.S. climate report, from the LA Times
