On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: Restoring Rivers in a Changing Climate – Update on Efforts to Improve Conditions in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the Bay-Delta from 12pm to 1:30pm. The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers are important sources of water supply and critical habitat for California’s biodiversity, draining into the largest estuary on the West Coast. In 2022, after years of negotiations with several state agencies, water agencies committed to improve conditions in these rivers, the Delta, and San Francisco Bay by restoring flows, expanding habitat, and improving scientific monitoring. These proposed improvements, summarized as “voluntary agreements,” are now taking shape. Join key state water leaders for an update on progress, current challenges, and the road ahead to improve environmental conditions in these critical river systems. Click here to register.
- WEBINAR: Max Gomberg: An insider’s perspective on Governor Newsom and the State Water Board from 12pm to 1pm. Max Gomberg’s resignation last year sparked controversy as he publicly criticized Governor Gavin Newsom’s inaction on climate change and water resilience. Max pointed to the Governor’s dismissal of Water Board President Felicia Marcus after she led the adoption of Phase 1 of the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan as a primary reason for leaving the agency. Regarding his colleagues at the Water Board, Max wrote: “The way some of you have simply rolled over and accepted this has also been difficult to watch.” During this conversation, Max will share his unique insights into the inner workings of the State Water Board and the challenges he faced during his tenure. He’ll shed light on the reasons behind his resignation and the difficulties he encountered in advocating for strategies to make California more water resilient. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
When will California see its next major storm?
“Northern Californians have been waking up to freezing temperatures the last few days, a trend that will continue Tuesday morning before a pattern change ushers in milder morning temperatures and increased precipitation chances. Sacramento Executive Airport reached the freezing mark on both Sunday and Monday, dropping to 32 and 30 respectively. Sunday’s freeze was the first of the season, putting the location ahead of scheduled compared to the first average freeze date of December 3. Another cold, much below average morning in on tap for Tuesday. NWS Sacramento extended the freeze warning through Tuesday morning with widespread temperatures near or below 32 degrees expected. By Wednesday, an approaching system will keep low temperatures above the freezing mark thanks to increased cloud cover. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
New survey of Delta residents aims to boost quality of life and equity
“The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta seems like one of the most scrutinized places on Earth, with decades of data on everything from fish populations to water flows, temperatures and salinity. But key indicators of the region’s health are missing. The Delta, like many estuarine areas, is a lived-in landscape yet little is known about the well-being and priorities of the people living there. A new survey of Delta residents is a first step toward filling this social science data gap. The findings illuminate resident’s concerns and attitudes on the biggest environmental issues in the region, which could help decision-makers enhance the quality of life for local people. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
To avoid potential state takeover, Court upholds county groundwater management role in dispute between competing Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
“With two groundwater sustainability agencies (“GSAs”) competing for power to regulate intake wells for a hotly contested desalination plant proposed on Monterey Bay, an appellate court has embraced the preservation of local groundwater management authority as a touchstone for resolving disputes over the implementation of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”). On November 13, 2023, the California Court of Appeal for the Sixth Appellate District held that where two GSAs claim overlapping jurisdiction, the county may serve as the GSA for the disputed overlap area to avoid the potential for the state to take over groundwater management. … ” Read more from the Kronick Law Firm.
Why environmentalists are suing the National Park Service to prevent it from planting trees
“The National Park Service wants to replant sequoia groves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, where wildfires in 2020 and 2021 inflicted lasting damage on the iconic sequoia forests. Environmentalists in California say it’s a huge mistake. Four groups filed suit against the NPS on November 17, saying the agency’s effort violates the law as it includes planting in designated wilderness areas, where human involvement in the ecosystem is explicitly prohibited. The NPS announced the seedling-planting project earlier this fall, saying it was “concerned that natural regeneration may not be sufficient to support self-sustaining groves into the future, particularly as the fires killed an unprecedented number of reproductive sequoia trees in the groves themselves.” … ” Read more from CNN.
SEE ALSO: NPS wants to plant sequoias. Environmentalists sue, say there’s no need to butt in, from the LA Times
600 years of tree rings reveal climate risks in California
“An interdisciplinary collaboration used 600 years of tree rings from the San Joaquin Valley to reconstruct plausible daily records of weather and streamflow scenarios during that period. Modeling based on those scenarios revealed the region has experienced vast variability in climate extremes, with droughts and floods that were more severe and lasted longer than what has been seen in the modern record. This new approach, combining paleo information with synthetic weather generation, may help policymakers and scientists better understand – and plan for – California’s flood and drought risks and how they will be compounded by climate change. … ” Read more from the Cornell Chronicle.
In commentary today …
The logjam in Biden’s $50 billion dollar wildfire plan
Paul Koberstein and Jessica Applegate, co-authors of “Canopy of Titans: The Life and Times of the Great North American Temperate Rainforest, write, “On Maui, a solitary beachfront home, unscorched by the wildfire that devastated the town of Lahaina in August, stands amid the ashes of dozens of incinerated homes. And in Northern California, a large, mostly unscathed forest mysteriously surrounds the devastated town of Paradise, lost five years ago to another wildfire. These puzzling scenes illustrate a difficult truth about wildfires. Many structures in these towns were destroyed by firebrands — hot burning embers that can be carried by strong winds over many miles — not by flames from the original fires. Nearly 200 people perished in the Lahaina and Paradise fires combined. Several other communities in the American West have been lost this same way. The scenes also point to an obvious way to protect people from wildfire. The Lahaina home was recently remodeled, which unintentionally hardened the structure — making it resilient to fire. … ” Read more from Undark.
In regional water news and commentary today …
BAY AREA
Here’s how much rain the Bay Area can expect tonight
“Rain is back on the menu for the Bay Area this week. After a dry Thanksgiving week, an approaching weather system is expected to bring widespread rain showers Tuesday night into Wednesday. The low-pressure system is what meteorologists refer to as “mature,” meaning it has reached maximum strength. Still, this system is relatively weak and rainfall totals will vary, but at least a tenth of an inch of precipitation is expected for most of the Bay Area. High clouds will gradually increase along the coast Tuesday as the system slowly moves toward California. By the evening, a few light sprinkles may begin to pop up near Monterey Bay and in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Light to moderate rain showers will spread into the rest of the Bay Area between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. and continue throughout the night. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
It’s looking like a banner year for baby newts in the North Bay
“In the past two weeks, iNaturalist users have recorded over 2,000 observations of the California newt, and another 400 of the similar-looking rough-skinned newt—signaling the start of a busy breeding season for the golden-eyed amphibians that travel to and from water bodies. But for Sally Gale, the founder of the Chileno Valley Newt Brigade, a North Bay volunteer group, the real surprise has been that nearly all the observations her team made were babies: newts just one or two inches long, likely making their life’s first forays outside of their birthplace of Laguna Lake. “We’ve had twice the number of baby newts this year than we had last year,” Gale says—so far, that’s 9,387—“and last year we already thought we had an incredibly large amount.” Baby newts are also known as efts, to biologists and crossword enthusiasts. … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
Experts explain why salmon run seeing record numbers, sizes in parts of Bay Area
“Bay Area waterways are seeing incredible numbers and sizes of Chinook salmon. Some of them are being seen in areas right by homes and major roads. The fish can be seen just under a bridge on Branham Lane in San Jose. The South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition has been tracking them in South Bay waterways for more than 10 years. ABC7 News tagged along with Steve Holmes, the coalition’s founder and executive director as he worked to track down carcasses. … ” Read more from Channel 7.
Stormwater fee up for vote in San Mateo
“While upgrading San Mateo’s stormwater infrastructure garners widespread support, some concerns have emerged over whether the city should foot the bill or share the cost with property owners. Proponents of the fee, however, say the city is already paying to ensure the city stays flood free and that a dedicated funding stream is necessary for long-term improvements. The city mailed ballots to property owners on Nov. 1 asking them to vote on whether to implement a monthly fee, up to $11 for residential properties, which would fund key stormwater infrastructure initiatives, including Marina Lagoon dredging. … ” Read more from the Daily Journal.
Valley Water making progress at Anderson Dam
“It has been just over two years since Valley Water broke ground at Anderson Dam with the promise to protect the public and secure Santa Clara County’s water supply. Since then, our agency has made tremendous progress on this vital public safety and water supply project. Currently, our work at the site is focused on building a new, larger outlet tunnel next to the dam. As of mid-October, contractors excavated more than 1,000 feet of the 1,736-foot-long tunnel, which will provide greater control over reservoir water levels. We anticipate the work on the outlet tunnel will take another two years to finish, and once that is done, Valley Water will begin rebuilding the dam and spillway. Rebuilding Anderson Dam is Valley Water’s top priority. This project will help ensure public safety, protect our regional water supply and provide environmental benefits for generations to come. … ” Read more from Valley Water News.
CENTRAL COAST
One of Santa Cruz County’s largest water sources is ‘critically overdrafted’; fixes are on the way
“More than 50,000 residents of Santa Cruz County are reliant on a single water source: the dwindling Mid-County Groundwater Basin, which the state deemed “critically overdrafted” nearly a decade ago. Now local agencies are embarking on efforts to boost the ability of the basin to capture more rain during the wet months along with an ambitious plan to replenish the basin’s drinking water supply with recycled wastewater. A number of agencies — including Soquel Creek Water District, the City of Santa Cruz Water Department, the Central Water District — and several thousand private well owners share the underground basin, a reserve made up of a group of linked aquifers, in an area that encompasses the Eastside of Santa Cruz, Live Oak, Soquel, Aptos and Capitola. That’s a lot of sources for one basin to supply. … ” Read more from Lookout Santa Cruz.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Westlands recharges 200,000 acre-feet of groundwater
“Last winter’s abundant surface water supply gave Westlands Water District the boost it needed to initiate a goal of replenishing 200,000 acre-feet of groundwater into District aquifers. Thanks to the commitment of landowners embracing climate-resilient farming practices, this ambitious target was not only achieved early but also prompted the District to set an even higher goal of 275,000 acre-feet of groundwater by February 29, 2024. “This outstanding achievement demonstrates the District’s dedication to ensuring a long-term water future in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley’s prime farmland,” Westlands Water District General Manager, Allison Febbo said in a statement. “This year farmers and the District went from drought to abundance of water supply and quickly pivoted to capture as much water as possible. With over 434 projects approved and a handful more coming online in the next few weeks, the District is in a great position to take advantage or another wet year.” … ” Read more from Ag Net West.
Stallion Springs CSD continues work on proposed water blending project
“Further work on a water blending project to help improve the water supply in Stallion Springs Community Services District was approved on Nov. 21 by district directors. General Manager Vanessa Stevens said the board approved moving forward with a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) evaluation for the project at a cost not to exceed $20,400. She said the CEQA report is needed to assist the district in receiving funding for the proposed project from the state Water Resources Control Board. Provost and Pritchard Engineering is preparing the CEQA documentation. … ” Read more from the Tehachapi News.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
SCV Water to discuss lawsuit over contaminants
“The governing board of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency is meeting in closed session Friday to discuss a 36-page complaint against manufacturing giant 3M and more than a dozen other businesses in October 2020, accusing them of poisoning the state’s water supply with their products. The lawsuit claims that from the 1960s through the present, the company has manufactured and distributed “fluorosurfactant products” — known to the average consumer as chemicals that create Teflon coating, “Scotchgard,” stainproofing compounds, waxy surfaces and aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”), a firefighting agent used to control and extinguish Class B fuel fires. … ” Read more from The Signal.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
The Salton Sea has even more lithium than previously thought, new report finds
“Want to produce a huge amount of lithium for electric vehicle batteries — and also batteries that keep our homes powered after sundown — without causing the environmental destruction that lithium extraction often entails? Then the Salton Sea may be your jam. Companies big and small have been swarming California’s largest lake for years, trying to find a cost-effective way to pull out the lithium dissolved in scorching hot fluid deep beneath the lake’s southern end. Now a new federal analysis suggests even more of the valuable metal is buried down there than we previously understood. The new analysis — led by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and reported here for the first time — finds we may be able to extract 18 million metric tons of “white gold” from the heated underground pool, which is not connected to the surface lake. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SAN DIEGO
Water Authority freezes up again on providing records
“It’s Beef Week at Voice of San Diego which means our journalists are unpacking some of the biggest battles in the region. I wrote about the recent divorce between two North County water agencies from the San Diego County Water Authority and you can read it here. But now I’ve got a beef of my own with the Water Authority. The region’s water supplier dropped a 360-page lawsuit on San Diego’s boundary referees – the Local Agency Formation Commission or LAFCO – just weeks after it said Fallbrook Public Utilities District and Rainbow Municipal Water District could ditch the Water Authority. But the Water Authority won’t tell me how much it spent suing everybody. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Along the Colorado River …
Study seeks to explore future of water sustainability for Yuma farming
“It may be hard to be-leaf, but during the winter months, 90% of vegetables come from fields in Yuma, Arizona. With 230,000 acres of land used for agriculture, Yuma county ranks third in the nation for vegetable production, according to Visit Yuma. But with drought conditions and water shortages in the West, agriculture is at risk. To help address these issues, researchers in Arizona evaluated water efficiency and salt balances for 14 common crop varieties in the Winter Lettuce capital, coordinated by the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture. The study took place over seven years and the results were published in a paper in November 2023. … ” Read more from the Daily Wildcat.
Tensions are bubbling up at thirsty Arizona alfalfa farms as foreign firms exploit unregulated water
“A blanket of bright green alfalfa spreads across western Arizona’s McMullen Valley, ringed by rolling mountains and warmed by the hot desert sun. Matthew Hancock’s family has used groundwater to grow forage crops here for more than six decades. They’re long accustomed to caprices of Mother Nature that can spoil an entire alfalfa cutting with a downpour or generate an especially big yield with a string of blistering days. But concerns about future water supplies from the valley’s ancient aquifers, which hold groundwater supplies, are bubbling up in Wenden, a town of around 700 people where the Hancock family farms. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
Arizona Corporation Commission to consider long-term Rio Verde water fix
“The Arizona Corporation Commission will consider green lighting a long-term solution Wednesday for residents of the unincorporated Rio Verde Foothills community who lost access to their water supply earlier this year. After the city of Scottsdale cut Rio Verde residents off from a city-owned standpipe in January, state legislators passed a law that temporarily restored water through an agreement that ends in 2025. At the same time, private utility EPCOR has been in discussions to provide long term water service to the area, but the utility first needs approval from the Corporation Commission. According to Corporation Commission filings, EPCOR has considered four options, including a plan to spend around $1 million to use Scottsdale’s existing standpipe and other infrastructure to deliver Epcor water to users. It could also build its own standpipe and connect that into Scottsdale’s system, which the utility estimated would cost between $1 million and $1.5 million. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
CA WATER COMMISSION: Public comment period open for Water Commission’s Draft White Paper on Drought Strategies
