On the calendar today …
- PUBLIC HEARING: Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan, Sacramento/Delta update, 2 of 3 beginning at 9:30am. The State Water Resources Control Board has released a draft Staff Report/Substitute Environmental Document (Staff Report) in support of possible updates to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Delta. The updates are focused on the Sacramento River watershed, Delta eastside tributaries (including the Calaveras, Cosumnes, and Mokelumne Rivers), interior Delta, and Delta. The Board will hold a public hearing over three days during the comment period to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment. This is the second of three public hearings. Click here for the full notice.
In California water news today …
Are atmospheric river storms coming to California soon? Here’s the forecast
“California’s weather pattern this December is set to be a mixed bag of rain and shine. The first week of December is set to bring some wet conditions, primarily impacting the northern region of the state. Weather models and recent trends with El Niño are favoring equal chances of above- or below-average temperatures and precipitation through the end of the month. While low pressure systems are expected to frequently march toward the West Coast in early December, the bulk of their rain and snow is more likely to impact the Pacific Northwest. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
SEE ALSO: Here’s a timeline of snowfall at Sierra Nevada ski resorts this week, from the San Francisco Chronicle
Future of water: Improved monitoring to lengthen ageing Californian dam’s life
“Digital twin technology is being used to monitor the structural health of a 50 year old concrete dam providing flood protection and water security in Northern California. New Bullards Bar Dam in the Yuba Valley of northern California is now more than 50 years old, having been completed in 1969 and put into operation in 1970. The double curvature concrete arch dam stands 197m tall and approximately 700m wide, forming a reservoir holding 1.19km3 of water. The dam is the second tallest in California and the fifth tallest in the United States. The reservoir’s main purpose is to provide the population of Yuba County with flood protection and a sustainable water supply. It is also used for recreational activities, hydropower and fish habitat enhancement. With resilience becoming ever more essential in a world facing the impacts of climate change, the dam’s owner and operator Yuba Water Agency decided to implement Bentley Systems’ digital twin technology to collect detailed real-time data on its health. … ” Read more from New Civil Engineer.
The Yuba River and the Bay Delta: A vital connection for salmon and our communities
“The Yuba River and the Bay Delta are connected by more than water. They are also linked by the migration of salmon, which depend on both habitats for their survival. These fish provide food, recreation, and cultural value for millions of Californians. The water that is crucial to these ecosystems also grows the food we eat and powers our homes. Balancing the demands on California’s limited water supply is a complex challenge. The Bay Delta is a large natural estuary that consists of two water systems: the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Two major rivers in California, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, meet and merge at the Delta. That freshwater flows into the Delta, eventually mixes with the salt water in the Bay, and then moves into the Pacific Ocean. Juvenile salmon from the Yuba River make an approximately 110-mile journey through the Bay Delta to the ocean every year. Returning adults hold in the Delta waiting for the right moment before making the 110-mile return journey to spawn in the Yuba. … ” Read more from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
Hostility slaps Silicon Valley bigwigs trying to build a new city
“Jan Sramek has spent the past several months in restaurants and conference rooms pitching politicians, environmentalists and labor unions on a plan to erect a new California city on open farmland in an eastern corner of the San Francisco Bay Area. The project is backed by a host of big Silicon Valley names, including the venture capitalists Michael Moritz and Marc Andreessen, the LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman, and the Emerson Collective founder, Laurene Powell Jobs. At an event Wednesday evening, Mr. Sramek, the chief executive of a company called California Forever, took his case to the Solano County voters. The crowd was not convinced. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
SEE ALSO: California Forever opens 2 offices where residents can preview ‘new walkable city’, from ABC 7
How does El Niño influence winter precipitation over the United States?
“After the last three winters of La Niña conditions (weren’t we all ready for a change!), the tropical Pacific is looking much different this year, with a strong El Niño likely this winter (1). Historically, how has El Niño shaped precipitation (rainfall + snowfall) over the U.S.? Let’s dig in and find out!For the 7 strongest El Niño events since 1950, wetter-than-normal conditions occurred along the West Coast and southern tier of the U.S., especially in the Southeast. This is expected because El Niño causes the jet stream to shift southward and extend eastward over the southern U.S. However, there are clearly some differences among the events if you look at the details in the maps. For instance, the 2015-16 and 1957-58 strong El Niños were not as wet as expected over the southern U.S. and were even dry in some locations. What is the story there? … ” Read more from Climate.gov.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
A push to drink Tahoe tap water
“An effort to keep single use plastic bottles out of Lake Tahoe will soon go into effect and a campaign is gaining traction to get more people to drink tap water. The Drink Tahoe Tap campaign from Take Care Tahoe is encouraging people to drink the tap water from Lake Tahoe instead of going to the grocery store and buying plastic bottles. Over the years Lake Tahoe has been impacted by trash, and the most damaging to its environment is those plastic bottles. When single-use plastics are disposed of, they are often larger pieces of plastic waste, known as macroplastics. Over time, these macroplastics can break down into tiny, harmful particles called microplastics that can end up in the lake. … ” Read more from Channel 8.
2023 SYRCL’s invasive weed crew takes on the challenge
“Since 2019 the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) has built a partnership with the US Forest Service (USFS) to confront the challenges posed by invasive weeds in the Yuba River Watershed. Non-native invasive plants (NNIP) present significant concerns, including their capacity to outcompete native plants and escalate the risk of high-severity fires by acting as ground and ladder fuels. Unlike native plants which are more selective and sensitive in an ecosystem, NNIPs thrive where there’s disturbance and lack biological control to keep them at bay. Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), one of our target invasive weeds, is particularly problematic due to its high flammability and dense growth that forms an impenetrable barrier for wildlife. Moreover, it boasts a long-lived seedbank, with seeds remaining viable for up to 30 years. … ” Read more from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Rise in Chinook salmon population at Feather River
“The California Department of Water Resources completed construction for another project in the Feather River. The project was meant to improve existing spawning habitat sites, which the salon relies on. They placed about 9,000 cubic yards of gravel in habitat locations to do so. The female salmonids will eventually lay their eggs in nests using the gravel. According to the DWR, we see an increase in Chinook Salmon returning to the Feather River this year. And locals are happy about that. “I think any improvements have got to be good. As opposed to all the years that we have gone backward, it is nice to see things going forward for a change,” Butte County resident Joey Lewis said. … ” Read more from Action News Now.
Planning continues for new Orland water tank
“The city of Orland is nearing the completion of a new water tank capable of storing one million gallons of water in preparation for its new Glenn County customers. Glenn County, among other valley jurisdictions, took an especially hard hit from the longstanding California drought. Residential wells dried up and many households faced water insecurity. The California Department of Water Resources began allocating dollars to programs such as water delivery, both potable and nonpotable, but the largest projects are still to come. In 2021, DWR and the North Valley Community Foundation partnered to determine if there was any local interest from those on well water to connect to Orland’s water system. The response came in the form of packed conference rooms and a long list of people expressing interest in signing on. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record.
NAPA/SONOMA
Taking the dirty out of stormwater
“After the first few rains, our Sonoma County landscape transforms from parched golden brown to rich hues that host a world of vibrant new growth. As we notice the abundance of stormwater filling the creeks and rivers and appreciate the beauty we are immersed in, we don’t typically delight in the thought of stormwater or the infrastructure that is needed to treat or hold it so that we have less flooding and clean healthy water pulsing through these precious local waterways. What is the meaning of stormwater infrastructure to you? Does it bring to mind giant unseen concrete pipes, outfalls flowing under roadways dropping turbid water into nearby creeks? Does it look like uninhabitable surface water, or just plain dirty runoff? … ” Read the full story at the Community Voice.
BAY AREA
With climate change, what will happen to the Bay Area’s fog?
“Any San Franciscan knows the complex relationship between the city and its pervasive companion — fog. “I both love and get frustrated by the fog,” said long-time resident and Bay Curious listener Lily Drexler. “I appreciate how it freshens the air and changes things up. But when there is fog for weeks on end with no break, that does get frustrating.” “Is it going to get more foggy as the sun bakes the ocean and creates the moisture, if that’s how fog works? Or is the heat and the warming of the planet going to decrease the fog?”Where should a fog-averse city dweller choose to settle down? And, more broadly, what would a future look like with less fog? How do we rely on fog now in the Bay Area and how might its absence change us? … ” Read more from KQED.
SFO to San Mateo Bayside flood barrier plan sparking worry
“Millbrae Mayor Ann Schneider has expressed worry a proposed Bayside flood barrier from SFO to San Mateo would have a detrimental affect on her city’s Bayfront, despite assurances by project leadership that a barrier would be the most effective way to protect against sea-level rise. It would also reduce or remove residents from federally required flood maps, which require costly insurance, proponents contend. A natural barrier like a retention pond would work better, according to Schneider, who also believed the proposal could limit Bay access and has not received adequate community input. … ” Read more from the San Mateo Daily Journal.
Valley Water receives federal grant funding to benefit the expansion of recycled and purified water
“Valley Water was recently awarded $680,429 in grants from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for two planning efforts aimed at expanding Santa Clara County’s use of recycled and purified water. The funding will be used to help prepare feasibility studies for projects designed to create and expand new water supply sources that are less vulnerable to drought and climate change. Here is a summary of the two Valley Water efforts that received grants from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. … ” Continue reading at Valley Water News.
CENTRAL COAST
Crews work to prepare Carmel lagoon for rainy season, mitigate flooding risk
“State, federal and county agencies worked together on Wednesday to mitigate the risk of flooding at the Carmel River Lagoon. Work was done to create what’s called a “pilot channel” which will connect the lagoon to Monterey Bay — alleviating pressure from the lagoon. The surrounding neighborhood was hit hard in 2021 following storms and rising water levels, with homes being completely flooded. The county says they’ve learned from past years floods spilling from the lagoon. … ” Read more from KSBY.
Project to preserve Santa Maria Valley Water Basin kicks off in Oceano
“A project that aims to help revitalize the Santa Maria Valley Water Basin and reduce flooding has kicked off in Oceano this month. It’s meant to capture about 12 acres of stormwater runoff from 19th street, which borders Oceano Elementary School. Previously, stormwater would run down the street into the Arroyo Grande Creek and into the ocean. But– this project would capture that water and reroute it into an infiltration gallery built under the elementary school. … ” Read more from KCBX.
Temporary fix: Guadalupe residents, Santa Barbara County want a more permanent solution to the Santa Maria River’s wandering ways
“Heavy rains in January caused the Santa Maria River to veer off its natural course and onto Pioneer Street—flooding homes and the church with water and debris. “It looked terrible,” Leon told the Sun. “In the church, we had to almost remodel the whole thing on-site. We had to take out everything that was in there. We had to put in a new platform and we had to scrape the flooring, put a new floor in there. It was a lot of work.” This is not The Apostolic Church’s nor Pioneer Street’s first time flooding during severe storms. Guadalupe Mayor Ariston Julian estimated that the river flooded the community four times in the last 30 years. … ” Read more from the Santa Maria Sun.
Boavista Farms, E&A Farming pay penalties for failing to report nitrate use
“The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board issued penalties against four Central Coast growers, with two in Santa Barbara County, for failing to report the amount of nitrogen used in their operations. Nitrates are inorganic compounds containing nitrogen that are often used as fertilizers, but they have potential to cause health problems like cancer and thyroid disease if they move into the groundwater or surface water. “When fertilizers containing nitrate are applied to crops to make plants grow, and the plants don’t use up all the nitrate in the fertilizer, the nitrates in the fertilizer have the potential to move through the soil and into the groundwater,” Thea Tyron, assistant executive officer for the Central Coast water board, told the Sun in an email. “This can cause the nitrate levels in groundwater to get too high and become unsafe to use and/or drink.” … ” Read more from the Santa Maria Sun.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Sprawling San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex is 700 plus square miles of haven on Pacific Flyway
“Ten miles south of Manteca as the sandhill crane flies is the northern most tip of the 7,500-acre San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. It’s nestled against the southern banks of the Stanislaus River across from Caswell Memorial State Park and rural homes off Division Road that starts where South Manteca Road — the continuation of South Main Street — ends. To access a public viewing platform from October to March, you need to drive to the western end of Beckwith Road out of Modesto. Why go now? … ” Read the full story at the Riverbank News.
Tulare County land trust embarks on projects to protect groundwater and farming
“A unique land trust in southwestern Tulare County that aims to preserve farming by strategically fallowing land for habitat is moving forward on several projects. The Tule Basin Land & Water Conservation Trust was formed in 2020 by area farmers and water managers intent on finding solutions to the region’s groundwater woes that didn’t include a massive and random shuttering of productive farmland. How is it possible to save farming through fallowing? The trust’s ongoing Capinero Creek and Lower Deer creek projects are two examples. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
EASTERN SIERRA
Mono Basin ASO flights get off the ground
“In the spring, the Mono Lake Committee helped Mono County secure emergency funding from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) LiDAR flights that gave us a crucial understanding of the record snowpack. ASO-derived data and model output is the new standard for snowpack assessment and watershed modeling because it provides highly accurate snowpack data for most of the watersheds forecasted by the California Department of Water Resources. ASO surveyed Mono County’s snowpack on May 27, June 15, and July 2. The results provided an important check on ground-based snowpack measurements, some of which were higher than what ASO indicated. … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Local water districts tap into new sources of supply
“Millions of Southern Californians who were required to dramatically reduce their water use last year will have increased access to water under two projects recently announced by the Metropolitan Water District. Metropolitan—a water wholesaler and the sole water provider to the local Las Virgenes and Calleguas municipal water districts— approved a $9.8-million contract for the Sepulveda Feeder Pump Stations Project that will bring additional water from the Colorado River as well as water stored at Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County to the two local districts. SoCal communities, home to some 7 million people, heavily depend on water delivered through the State Water Project in Northern California. When supplies from the north were severely limited during the 2020- 22 drought, residents faced mandatory water reduction of more than 35%. … ” Read more from the Acorn.
Along the Colorado River …
How Lake Mead, Lake Powell water levels will change after atmospheric river
“A moisture-laden atmospheric river is approaching the West Coast, but Lake Mead and Lake Powell might have to wait a little longer before they benefit from the winter storm. After years of drought, the two lakes in Nevada, Arizona and Utah reached concerningly low levels in the summer of 2022. However, water levels have since started to recover because of above-average precipitation and snowpack that melted throughout this year. As of Friday morning, Lake Mead was at 1,064 feet, and Lake Powell was at 3,571 feet. An incoming atmospheric river is forecast to saturate much of the Pacific Northwest over the next week but likely won’t benefit either of the lakes until next spring after snowfall associated with the storm melts. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
Solving the Colorado River crisis requires leadership, innovation and long-term investment
“Water is at the heart of climate change. From wildfires fueled by long-term drought to increasingly severe storms and flooding, Western states are experiencing climate change either by being inundated with water or deprived of it. With conditions often swinging wildly between these two extremes. In Phoenix, groundwater shortages have led the state government to halt new construction in some areas. California has seen entire towns leveled by catastrophic wildfires. And the major reservoirs on the Colorado River – a critical water source for 40 million people in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California – have fallen to dangerously low levels. To find solutions that work for people and nature, we need to look for the best ideas from everyone. That includes business leaders. … ” Read more from the Walton Family Foundation.
Peoria plans to build water wells as drought, cuts to Colorado River water continue
“Call it a sign of the times. Roughly seven acres of undeveloped land near the Loop 303 and Lake Pleasant Parkway, where you can find native plants and animals, will likely become home to five new water wells in Peoria. City leaders say the goal is to be able to store and release water for what it calls a “worst-case scenario.” “This is where the water is. And we need to ensure that everybody in our city has water,” said Daniel Kiel, the engineering manager with the city of Peoria Water Services Department. Arizona’s Family took our drone to the potential construction site with Kiel and Brett Fleck, the water resources advisor with the city. “The wells are about 1,000 feet deep, give or take. And they’re going to be accessing water that’s under our feet that we’ve put there,” Fleck explained. … ” Read more from Arizona Family.
CAP wants input on a new Water Education Center via 3 open houses, online survey
“The Central Arizona Project brings Colorado River water to Phoenix and Tucson through a massive canal system. And the agency wants to help more Arizonans understand the state’s critical water issues. So CAP is planning a new Water Education Center. Plans show a sleek building that will bridge the canal near CAP’s Phoenix headquarters. It’s meant to be a space for school groups and visitors to learn about water and for water agencies to hold large meetings and events. “We really want to be creating a space that will inspire our next generation so we can continue to have people that care enough about water to spend their careers and spend their time making sure that we continue to have water here in the desert,” CAP Board Vice President Karen Cesare told KJZZ News. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Comparing Utah’s water use against other states is unfair representation, experts say
“Various news outlets have outed Utah’s Dixie region as the greatest consumer of water anywhere in the country. Reports from Bloomberg and HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” have made the claim, using data calculated by measuring water in gallons per capita per day, a number that has for decades appeared in statewide and federal reports. St. George uses between nearly 300 and 391 gallons per capita per day, depending on the year and report. This figure is consistently among the highest in the nation. However, KSL.com interviewed multiple water authorities across the western United States, who confirmed that St. George’s gallons per capita per day appear artificially high because of how different communities calculate water usage. … ” Read more from KSL.
Western states are demolishing dams. This observer says Glen Canyon Dam’s days are numbered
“Demolition of the first of four dams set to be taken down on the Klamath River in California finished up earlier this month. All four dams are set to be removed by this time next year. Richard Parker says that more across the country could follow. Parker is an author and journalist, and recently wrote in the LA Times about proposals to demolish even more dams, and the role nature is playing in that. He joined The Show to talk more about it. … ” Listen to radio show or read transcript from KJZZ.
In national water news today …
EPA unveils plan to replace all lead water pipes within 10 years
“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled a proposal on Thursday that would require most U.S. cities to replace lead water pipelines within 10 years. Why it matters: The EPA estimates that 9.2 million lead pipelines bring water to people across the U.S. The pipes can corrode over time when water has high acidity or low mineral content. Exposure to the extremely toxic heavy metal can have dangerous health effects. This risk was highlighted by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where approximately 99,000 residents were exposed to lead. … ” Read more from Axios.
SEE ALSO: EPA proposes biggest changes to lead pipe rules in more than three decades, from the LA Times
Google’s ‘A Passage of Water’ brings NASA’s water data to life
“As part of the long-standing partnership between NASA and Google, NASA worked with Google Arts & Culture and artist Yiyun Kang to create an interactive digital experience around global freshwater resources titled “A Passage of Water.” This immersive experience leverages data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites and new high-resolution data from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to illustrate how climate change is impacting Earth’s water cycle. A digital version of “A Passage of Water” will be released online on Thursday, Nov. 30, ahead of the beginning of the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP 28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Google also will host a physical installation of the visualization project in the Blue Zone at COP 28. … ” Read more from NASA.
How fast, cheap fashion is polluting the planet
“The business model known as fast fashion has proved wildly successful. Apparel makers churn out new styles on an ever-shorter cycle, offering them at prices so low — like $5 for a shirt or $20 for jeans — that consumers buy more and more items, sometimes getting only a few wears out of them. But there’s a dark side: The boom in the production of garments has increased carbon emissions and other ecological harms, and generated enormous clothing waste. Some consumers say they would prefer to buy clothing made with less injury to the environment, and brands in the $1.5 trillion fashion industry are starting to commit to producing so-called sustainable fashion. Even so, fast fashion continues to grow unabated. … ” Continue reading from Bloomberg.
Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
” … In the Paris agreement, 196 countries pledged to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.” Meeting those targets would require every country to implement climate policies to significantly curb their emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. And though most countries are not yet on track to meet their Paris commitments, they have nevertheless implemented policies to make progress toward those targets, like the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. As a result of that progress, global emissions are on a substantially better track today than they were in 2015. … ” Read the full story from Yale Climate Connections.
