In California water news today …
Big year of rain means big budget hole at Metropolitan
“California’s biggest water supplier is hurting for cash this year as the recent record-breaking rainy winter means its customers need to buy less water. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is facing a more than $300 million budget shortfall – about a quarter of its normal revenue from selling water. The agency, which provides drinking water for 19 million people including San Diego, is drawing money out of its cash reserves and taking out a $100 million loan to make up the shortfall. But long term, its leaders are talking about changing the way they charge for water, realizing that decades of conservation policies in California and diversification of water supplies with desalination and wastewater recycling means water sales will continue to drop. Except, selling water is the main way Met, and other water agencies like the San Diego County Water Authority, make money. “Water goes up, revenues are down. It’s critical to remind ourselves that this is the relationship and how we manage our funds,” said Katano Kasaine, assistant general manager at Metropolitan. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Video: Stewarding California’s wet years
“When it comes to water, California has been—to put it mildly—going through it. The PPIC Water Policy Center’s senior fellow (and former director) Ellen Hanak summed up the situation nicely at our annual fall conference on November 14: “If you think our weather’s getting crazier, the data agree with you.” While the state’s average precipitation hasn’t changed, she said, volatility has increased dramatically. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
Sites Reservoir Project moving forward after environmental review
“In a noteworthy development for California’s water management, the Sites Project Authority, functioning as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act, has officially certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) and given the go-ahead to the Sites Reservoir Project. This approval represents a significant stride towards fortifying the reliability of statewide water supplies. The project is said to cater to the needs of diverse stakeholders including urban areas, farms, and the environment. During the six-year-long environmental analysis, Fritz Durst, Chair of the Sites Project Authority Board of Directors, shared insights into the project’s design philosophy. “Sites Reservoir is conceived as an innovative approach to water management, crafted to provide adaptability and dependability in response to our evolving climate,” Durst explained. … ” Read more from Ag Net West.
The surprising power of wastewater wetlands
“At the Fernhill Wetlands along the Pacific Flyway in suburban Forest Grove, Oregon, dedicated birders have documented more than 240 avian species. Uncommon birds like the American bittern and Virginia rail have appeared more frequently on the 90 acres of marshland since it was constructed in 2014. Human visitors have flocked to the picturesque park as well, to sit, walk, watch, and even wed. Not bad for a wastewater treatment plant. Fed by five million gallons of treated wastewater every day, Fernhill’s constructed waterfalls add oxygen back to the flow. One million reintroduced native plants representing about two dozen species (plus other species returning on their own) remove excess nitrogen, phosphorus, chemicals, and suspended solids, while providing the shade needed to cool the water before it reaches the nearby Tualatin River. During construction, workers installed 180 logs and snags, and even varied the topographies of wetland basins to mimic the region’s aquatic habitats and offer more diverse niches for marsh birds, shorebirds, and other wildlife. … ” Read more from Yes!.
California environmentalists sue to stop replanting of sequoia groves
“This fall, the National Park Service embarked upon a colossal effort to replant six groves of giant sequoias that burned in wildfires in California’s southern Sierra Nevada, an endeavor that park officials say is necessary to ensure a future for the climate-threatened trees. On Friday, a handful of conservation groups filed suit to stop the work. The groups contend that the project, which entails planting tens of thousands of sequoia seedlings on charred hillsides in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, is inappropriate because the burned areas are designated “wilderness,” where human intervention is prohibited. Contrary to what park officials say, the litigants assert that replanting trees is not needed for the groves to successfully regenerate. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Researchers still hazy on effect of intense wildfires on California wildlife
“Wildfire season is notoriously bad in California, but 2020 to 2021 was particularly awful. At the end of year, almost 10,000 different fires killed dozens of people and burned over four million acres of land, including the habitats of a number of protected animals. According to new research published Monday, each species whose habitats were destroyed responded to the fire differently. Focusing on the wildfires in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the eastern and northeastern parts of California and the Klamath Mountains in the northwest, researchers studied how the devastating fires affected the habitats of 100 species of animals that live in the area. Some 16 of those animals affected by the fires, including gray owls, southern rubber boas, Pacific martens and wolverines, are listed as threatened species. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
In commentary today …
Without a statewide water supply target, California’s future is at risk
“If you don’t already know, it will surprise you to learn that for all the attention that our state’s water supply receives in California – for all the worry and effort it takes to make sure there’s enough for our 40 million residents, 24 million acres of farmland, countless acres of natural environment, and status as the world’s fifth-largest economy (of which its agriculture and environment are huge parts) – no statewide goal exists to ensure a sustainable water supply for California’s future. What big, bold vision has ever been achieved without first setting a goal? Without such a goal, we have no clear path forward, and we don’t know which direction and how far we need to go to achieve a reliable water supply. In a state always preoccupied with fears of drought and the impacts of climate change, we have not determined how much water will be needed in the short- and long-term to address these existential threats. … ” Continue reading at Capitol Weekly.
Column: This water project is expensive, wasteful and ecologically damaging. Why is it being fast-tracked?
Columnist Michael Hiltzik writes, “Noah Cross, the sinister plutocrat of the movie “Chinatown,” remarked that “politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.” He might have added public works projects to that list: If they get talked about long enough, sometimes they acquire the image of inevitability. That seems to be the case with the Sites Reservoir, a water project in the western Sacramento Valley that originated during the Eisenhower administration. The project’s long sojourn on the drawing board should have been taken as a signal of its manifest flaws, which include its immense cost and its uncertain ability to contribute to the state’s water supplies — a contribution that has only become more dubious with the intensification of global warming. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Underground water storage is needed in California
The Southern California News Group 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. News reports point to a $211-million underground storage facility in the Mojave Desert that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is currently building. The district this month completed the first phase of the High Desert Water Bank. … ” Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Spring run salmon collapse 2023
“The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in an August 2023 Assessment, provided a status review of spring-run Chinook salmon in California’s Central Valley. The Assessment found that salmon are declining, but primarily as part of a short-term trend, under the burden of climate change. The conclusions of the August Assessment stand in stark contrast to October’s condor-like effort to preserve remaining wild spring-run salmon in a conservation hatchery at UC Davis. This contrast demonstrates the limitations of the federal and state resource agencies’ focus on climate change and the ocean as the cause of the salmon declines and the reason to shut down fisheries.1 The resource agencies need to direct more attention to controllable elements: water operations. On that level, they must take immediate action, before another one of California’s most important public trust resources is lost. … ” Read more from California Fisheries.
Column: Solving climate change will have side effects. Get over it
Sammy Roth writes, “When I wrote a column two weeks ago urging the Biden administration to approve a lot more solar and wind farms on Western public lands, I knew I would get flak from critics of large-scale renewable energy — and indeed I did. On social media, conservationists blasted me for what they described as my failure to understand that sprawling solar projects and towering wind turbines tear up wildlife habitat and destroy treasured landscapes. They called me a shill for money-grubbing utility companies and suggested it’s obvious that we should rebuild our energy systems around solar panels on rooftops. In an ideal universe, I’d support building renewable energy exclusively within cities and on previously disturbed lands such as farm fields and irrigation canals. In an ideal universe, I’d support only climate solutions that don’t cause other problems. But we don’t live in an ideal universe. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
PG&E to remove Eel River dams as early as 2028
“Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) could remove two major dams on the Eel River as soon as 2028, according to an initial draft plan released by the utility company last week. This comes after PG&E decided not to renew its license for the project in April 2022. Since then, environmental organizations like Friends of the Eel River have been advocating for the decommissioning and removal of the dams, which they allege harm important fish species like the summer steelhead and chinook salmon. “We just want things to be simple and easy so our fish can get into those hundreds of miles of cold water habitat that are behind Scott Dam,” Friends of the Eel River Executive Director Alicia Hamann said. … ” Read more from KRCR.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Two of Tahoe’s biggest ski mountains will finally open this week
“After a short delay, two of Tahoe’s biggest ski areas will open to skiers and riders this week. Heavenly, in South Lake Tahoe, and Northstar, in Truckee, were slated to open for the winter season last Friday, but warm temperatures in the mountains had hampered the resorts’ ability to make snow and keep it on the ground. Both ski areas, which are owned by Colorado conglomerate Vail Resorts, announced they were pushing back their openings. Now, after several cold days and nights, the resorts have laid down enough snow to open limited ski runs this week. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Large-scale, multi-benefit floodplain restoration project transforms part of the lower Yuba River
“After five years of construction, a 157-acre, multi-benefit habitat restoration project that directly benefits native fish like salmon and steelhead in the lower Yuba River is complete. The Hallwood Side Channel and Floodplain Restoration Project includes nearly two miles of restored side channels and alcoves and more than six miles of seasonally flooded side channels – areas that are essential for fish where they can hide from predators, rest, eat and grow. Recent fish surveys show that steelhead and salmon are already using the new habitat. “The project has already shown an increase of juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead using the site, as well as adult fish that are spawning in the channels,” said Chris Hammersmark, director and ecohydrologist for cbec eco engineering. … ” Read more from The Union.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Watering up a major piece of the Pacific Flyway
“In the shadow of the Sutter Buttes in the northern Sacramento Valley, the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area is an oasis of more than 9,000 acres of habitat that is a haven for millions of migrating waterfowl. When they flock to Gray Lodge for the winter, the cacophony of the collective honking and squawking is hard to ignore. Neither is the sheer number of birds present. Gray Lodge is special because it represents a remnant of what used to be in the valley. Long before the Sacramento and Feather rivers were developed for flood control and water supply, the valley would regularly be turned into a vast inland sea as the rivers spilled their banks and dumped floodwater into the low-lying floodplain. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Oroville Dam spillway receiving routine maintenance, DWR says
“Workers could be seen Friday walking and driving along the mostly dry main spillway of the Oroville Dam conducting concrete work. The California Department of Water Resources, which oversees the dam as well as Lake Oroville, announced Friday that the work consists of joint sealant repair work as well as laying concrete. While this work has been ongoing, the timeframe of the project has been extended until Dec. 1. According to the update by DWR, the spillway has been up to par throughout 2023 with considerable outflows as a response to heavy storms and the highest lake level in years, reaching capacity in spring. In total, the spillway passed 2.37 million acre-feet of water which is 67% of Lake Oroville’s capacity. … ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury-Register.
DWR awards $7.9M to Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency to support water resilience plan
“On Monday, California’s Department of Water Resources presented the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency with a grant for $7.9 million to improve its water sustainability practices. The grant is part of DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Grant program, which has funded more than 100 different sustainability projects across the state for a total of $187 million in 2023. Each project aims to reduce dependence on groundwater while increasing water storage capabilities. At an event this morning, the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency’s executive officer, Kristin Sicke, highlighted plans for its funding, including increasing agricultural groundwater recharge practices and improving groundwater monitoring and modeling. … ” Read more from KCRA.
BAY AREA
Are the Bay Area’s sewage systems ready for El Niño?
“This year, scientists are forecasting what could be another wetter-than-normal winter for California. “Watersheds are already more saturated; reservoir levels are already running higher,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said. “So the background conditions are more favorable for a quicker development of flooding.” The world is warmer than in recorded history, so the atmosphere can hold more water vapor. “The storms that are out there are progressively more juiced-up than they used to be,” said Swain. The Bay Area’s aging wastewater systems were not built for that volume of rain. Last winter, they spilled tens of millions of gallons of raw or partially treated sewage into waterways and streets. Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of the environmental group Baykeeper, said cities need to upgrade their infrastructure. … ” Read more from KQED.
Community organizations turn to rain gardens to prevent flooding in East Palo Alto
“Last winter, residents experienced the second largest flood in East Palo Alto history. Now Bay Area nonprofits are installing gardens designed to soak up stormwater and mitigate future flooding. On Nov. 11, Climate Resilient Communities (CRC), Fresh Approach, and Grassroots Ecology broke ground on the first of 25 rain garden systems to be installed for homeowners at no cost. CRC received nearly $1 million in funding for the project from Coastal Communities, an organization working to reduce water pollution. “To date, there isn’t anything else like this in the county,” said Reid Bogert, stormwater program director for the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention program. He said he’s excited to see it used as a model elsewhere. … ” Continue reading at The Almanac.
CENTRAL COAST
Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency launches strategic plan
“Next year will mark 40 years of the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. In anticipation of the agency’s ruby anniversary, it has launched its Strategic Plan 2024+, which highlights the plans, goals and vision of the organization moving forward. The 18-page document outlines the history of the agency, its mission, vision and values and provides in-depth goals. The first goal is to operate and maintain a reliable water supply through facilities and infrastructure by developing and implementing a Health and Safety Plan for all of Pajaro Valley Water’s projects, collaborating with partners to improve operational efficiencies, strengthening the partnership between the agency and city of Watsonville and developing and implementing a Condition Assessment, Vulnerability Assessment and Asset Management Plan. … ” Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
NOAA reports over 1 million pieces of trash collected along Monterey Bay shoreline over 4 years
“Food wrappers. Plastic bottle caps. Cigarette butts – 231,735 cigarette butts, to be precise. These are just a few of the more than 1 million items collected by over 37,000 volunteers along the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary between 2017 and 2021, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association report released in October. The report from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program combined five citizen science datasets to analyze the trash collected in cleanups throughout the marine sanctuary over four years. Organizations that run local cleanups, such as Save Our Shores, the Surfrider Foundation and Downtown Streets Team, supplied the data. Marine debris washes up on beaches from the ocean, is left by beachgoers or migrates downstream when it rains. Some debris makes its way to Monterey Bay from distant locations through tides and ocean upwelling. … ” Read more from NOAA.
A conversation with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper on the legal battle against nitrate pollution
“Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, an organization with the mission of protecting and restoring local water resources, has joined a broad coalition of environmentalists, fishing organizations and Latinx and farmworker community groups in a lawsuit against the California State Water Resources Control Board, challenging their decision to deprioritize nitrate pollution. This past September, a regulatory order which included various measures to protect against nitrate pollution, known as Ag Order 4.0, was repealed and remanded by the Water Board after undergoing legal pressure from a number of agricultural organizations in early October. The Daily Nexus spoke to the executive director of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper (SBCK), Ted Morton. … ” Read more from the Daily Nexus.
Inside the two companies that dominate the U.S. carrot crop
“It sounds weird to say that carrots are having a moment, but social media has catapulted the humble root to a status resembling stardom. Anecdotal evidence suggests online carrot recipes trail in popularity only those for potatoes and brussels sprouts among vegetables, and Pinterest numbers support that: recipe searches for honey balsamic carrots on the platform are up 75% this year, while queries for roasted parmesan carrots skyrocketed 700%. Fresh carrots are an expanding $1.4 billion U.S. market, and Americans are expected to consume 100 million pounds this Thanksgiving — roughly five ounces for every human being in the country. At least 60% of those carrots are produced by just two companies, Bolthouse and Grimmway, both of which were acquired by buyout firms, in 2019 and 2020 respectively. “There’s only two sources,” Adam Waglay, cofounder and co-CEO of Bolthouse owner Butterfly Equity, told Forbes. “We joke around — it’s kind of like the OPEC of carrots.” Cartels are less funny for neighbors of the two producers in Southern California’s Cuyama Valley, who are calling for a boycott of Big Carrot over the amount of water their farms are sucking out of the ground. … ” Continue reading at Forbes.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
‘It’s long overdue.’ After massive floods, Planada residents await plan for $20M in disaster relief
“As Merced County prepares to distribute $20 million in state flood relief for Planada, residents who endured losses earlier this year are bracing for a fight ahead over who will get a share of the funding. County officials are scheduled to present a draft spending plan to Planada residents Tuesday and the final plan on Dec. 5. Officials estimate after the application process opens, residents will begin receiving money in spring. Since the floods, Merced County has spent $5 million in response and recovery efforts. The state spent another $13 million on debris removal. But for Planada residents who lost their homes, possessions and – in some cases – months of work, to the flood 10 months ago, they worry the state money that’s on its way won’t meet all their needs. … ” Read more from KVPR.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
JB Hamby announces re-election bid for IID Board of Directors Division 2
“IID Director JB Hamby has officially announced his candidacy for re-election to the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors in the March 5, 2024 primary election. Elected to the board with 66% of the vote in 2020, Hamby represents Division 2, which covers parts of El Centro, Heber, Holtville, and Seeley. “Together, we’re working to make Imperial Valley a better place to call home for our families,” said Hamby. “As your IID Director, I work for you. With your trust, we’re ending the broken ways of the past and bringing real change to IID with bold actions.” Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz and Senator Steve Padilla have both endorsed Hamby for re-election, with Ruiz stating, “I’ve represented our area in Congress for more than a decade, and in that time, I’ve learned the difference between hollow political figures and hard-working public servants who are willing to do what it takes to improve people’s lives. JB Hamby is exactly the type of dedicated champion the people need and deserve.” … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
RELATED: Yulil Alonso-Garza announces bid for Imperial County Board of Supervisors District 4, from the Desert Review
Along the Colorado River …
Metropolitan Water District forges partnerships to secure Colorado River water in Lake Mead
“In a pivotal move addressing California’s water conservation goals and reinforcing partnerships in the face of the ongoing Colorado River drought, the Metropolitan Water District is seeking authorization for its General Manager to establish agreements with the Coachella Valley Water District, Imperial Irrigation District, and San Diego County Water Authority. These agreements aim to facilitate the addition of water to Lake Mead under the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program for the year 2023. The proposal comes as a response to the Colorado River Board of California’s letter from October 5, 2022, outlining ambitious objectives for California agencies to conserve 400,000 acre-feet (AF) per year in Lake Mead between 2023 and 2026. It also underscores the financial benefits for both Metropolitan and the San Diego County Water Authority, exemplifying the potential advantages of collaborative multi-agency efforts aimed at bolstering the Colorado River. The sought-after authorizations revolve around specific agreement … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
Feds are flooding water market
“Who could forget last May, when Arizona, California and Nevada made a three-year pact to conserve water from the Colorado River? Many thought it couldn’t be done, but with Lake Mead reservoir levels at a historic low, and the federal government poised to wrest control of the process, the states agreed to conserve 10 percent of their water — nearly a billion gallons — between now and 2026. The deal, greased by an unusually wet winter, was made possible by $1.2 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act that would pay water users to conserve. But those payments, whose contracts are being finalized, may come with a heavy toll over how much the feds are prepared to shell out. … ” Read more from Politico.
Solar panels will cut water loss from canals in Gila River Indian community
“In a move that may soon be replicated elsewhere, the Gila River Indian Community recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to put solar panels over a stretch of irrigation canal on its land south of Phoenix. It will be the first project of its kind in the United States to actually break ground, according to the tribe’s press release. “This was a historic moment here for the community but also for the region and across Indian Country,” said Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis in a video published on X, formerly known as Twitter. … ” Read more from US News & World Report.
Arizona Senate president critical of key requirement set in 1980 Groundwater Management Act
“Projections of water shortages have halted development on the fringes of the Phoenix metro area. And Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, who is also a real estate broker, is no fan of a regulation at the heart of those projected shortages, a requirement for residential developers in urban areas to show they have a 100-year-water supply. “You have to have a 100-year water certificate for your house. Why wasn’t it 105 years? Why wasn’t it 95 years? Do you know what the highest water supply requirement in the nation is outside of Arizona? It’s California. And it’s 25 years,” Petersen said. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
New climate report shows hazards of drought to human health in the Southwest
“The arid West is getting drier, and shrinking water supplies pose a boatload of risks to human health throughout the region. Those findings come from a new federal report on climate change that also covers a broad range of hazards brought on by changing climate patterns due to human activity. Those hazards span from flooding to wildfires, from drought to rising sea levels. The Fifth National Climate Assessment identified drying in the Colorado River basin as one of the greatest climate risks facing the Southwest, a s well as the region’s biggest area for future climate mitigation and adaptation. … ” Read more from KNPR.
In national water news today …
The U.S. has a controversial plan to store carbon dioxide under the nation’s forests
“In recent years, lots of American companies have gotten behind a potential climate solution called carbon capture and storage, and the Biden administration has backed it with billions of dollars in tax incentives and direct investments. The idea is to trap planet-heating carbon dioxide from the smokestacks of factories and power plants and transport it to sites where it is injected underground and stored. But the idea is controversial, in large part because the captured carbon dioxide would be shipped to storage sites via thousands of miles of new pipelines. Communities nationwide are pushing back against these pipeline projects and underground sites, arguing they don’t want the pollution running through their land. Now the U.S. Forest Service is proposing to change a rule to allow storing this carbon dioxide pollution under the country’s national forests and grasslands. … ” Read more from US News & World Report.
