On the calendar today …
- WORKSHOP: Central Valley Flood Protection Board beginning at 10am. Staff will provide an overview of the Board’s projects and programs advanced in calendar year 2023. Program managers will discuss specific projects, programs, and accomplishments. Staff will present priorities for advancing projects and programs in 2024 and beyond. The Board’s proposed calendar for 2024 will be presented for review. Click here for the full agenda and remote access instructions.
In California water news today …
Q&A with Amanda Frye: She took on California’s famous Arrowhead bottled water brand — and won
“Amanda Frye of Redlands took on the company that owns California’s famous Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water over water rights to Strawberry Creek in the San Bernardino National Forest. She was among a number of local residents, community groups and non-profits, and everyone took actions like boycotting the company, signing petitions and donating money to organizations fighting Arrowhead’s water take in the San Bernardino National Forest. Last month, the State Water Resources Control Board agreed that BlueTriton — the company that owns Arrowhead — doesn’t have rights to the water in the national forest and issued a Cease and Desist order for the headwater springs, significantly reducing water withdrawals and leaving the door open for further action. Arrowhead bottled water dates back to 1909, when the historic Arrowhead Hot Springs hotel bordering the national forest land at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains began selling spring water from its private property. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
How a strong El Niño winter could impact California mountain snow
“The upcoming winter season is set to be marked by strong El Niño conditions, which typically bring wetter-than-average weather to the West Coast and could deliver significant snowfall to parts of California’s Sierra Nevada. El Niño conditions are expected to steer the jet stream farther south than usual by the New Year, resulting in waves of moisture arriving on the West Coast for long stretches of time. These so-called Pineapple Expresses can bring storm systems and heavy precipitation to California’s mountains, particularly in the southern tier of the state, but there have been years when winter storms just don’t take off, despite a strong El Niño pattern. Looking at past strong El Niño winters offers hints of what might be in store for Tahoe and the Sierra, but where snow will pile up and how much is far from certain. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
State Water Board celebrates over 100 water system consolidations since 2019
“Marking the completion of over 100 consolidations that have given 90,000 Californians reliable access to safe drinking water, the State Water Resources Control Board is leading a celebration today at Riverside County’s Westside Elementary, one of many places across the state that have benefited from consolidation. The State Water Board is joined by U.S. EPA Region 9, the Coachella Valley Water District, the Coachella Valley Unified School District, the SAFER Advisory Group and elected officials. Before its consolidation into the Coachella Valley Water District, Westside Elementary relied on contaminated well water. This consolidation, and many others throughout the state, are made possible by the State Water Board’s Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program, established after Governor
Newsom signed SB 200 in 2019. … ” Continue reading this press release from the State Water Board.
Tracking California’s water supplies
“The American Southwest recently experienced its driest period in 1,200 years. Storms in the winter of 2023 eased some of California’s extreme drought conditions, but officials stress that conservation should remain a way of life. This page tracks hydrological conditions, urban water use and water storage in the Sierra snowpack and reservoirs serving the state. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
US touts new era of collaboration with Native American tribes to manage public lands and water
“The U.S. government is entering a new era of collaboration with Native American and Alaska Native leaders in managing public lands and other resources, with top federal officials saying that incorporating more Indigenous knowledge into decision-making can help spur conservation and combat climate change. Federal emergency managers on Thursday also announced updates to recovery policies to aid tribal communities in the repair or rebuilding of traditional homes or ceremonial buildings after a series of wildfires, floods and other disasters around the country. With hundreds of tribal leaders gathering in Washington this week for an annual summit, the Biden administration is celebrating nearly 200 new agreements that are designed to boost federal cooperation with tribes nationwide. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
Climate change will increase wildfire risk and lengthen fire seasons, study confirms
“Wildfires are some of the most destructive natural disasters in the country, threatening lives, destroying homes and infrastructure, and creating air pollution. In order to properly forecast and manage wildfires, managers need to understand wildfire risk and allocate resources accordingly. A new study contributes scientific expertise to this effort. In the study, published in the November issue of the journal Earth’s Future, researchers from DRI, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, teamed up to assess future fire risk. They looked at the four fire danger indices used across North America to predict and manage the risk of wildfire to see how the risk correlated with observed wildfire size between 1984 and 2019. Then, they examined how wildfire risk changed under the projected future climate, finding that both fire potential and a longer wildfire season are likely under climate change. … ” Read more from the Desert Research Institute.
As California’s redwoods recover from fire, an astonishing fact emerges
“Raging wildfires in 2020 transformed Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz County from a towering forested cathedral into a standing boneyard with some of the oldest trees on the planet seemingly burned beyond survival. But soon after the flames were gone, California’s coast redwoods began calling upon a remarkable energy storage system helping these trees survive even after fires burned away every life-sustaining green needle. Scientists now have an idea about just how far back these reserves go. Researchers studying a stand of severely burned old growth Big Basin redwoods found the trees fed ancient buds that had been hiding underneath thick bark for more than 1,000 years using carbon transformed into sugars with sunlight that shone more than a half-century ago. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
At least a foot of snow falls on Tahoe-area ski resorts in 24 hours
“The first significant snowfall of the year lived up to the hype as more than a foot of snowfall was recorded across much of the Central Sierra Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area in the first days of December. Palisades Tahoe shared a video at 12:04 a.m. on Thursday, of one of their grooming supervisors working on the upper mountain and described the storm as “nuking” snow. After the storm cleared, the ski resort measured its fresh powder and found 15 inches of snow had fallen over the last 24 hours. … ” Read more from Fox 40.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Anderson-area homeowners recover from flooding as officials plan repairs to leaky canal
“The chronic flooding that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to Susan and Ora Sherwood’s Anderson home and property has finally subsided. She only needs to look out into her yard to see the destruction wrought from six months of water that she said leaked out of the nearby Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation District Canal. The landscaping around her house was inundated with water from the canal, her drinking water well was swamped, trees were killed, the underside of her home was damaged and her driveway is “wasted,” she said. “I don’t want to nitpick about things, but it has been a terrible, a terrible experience,” Tracy Sherwood said. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight.
BAY AREA
Marin Municipal Water District details goals for supply
“The Marin Municipal Water District outlined several targets this week to improve its supply reliability and to ensure responsible management of taxpayer dollars. “Our goal really as a water agency, I think, is about having a reliable water supply,” Paul Sellier, the water resources director for the district, said at its board meeting on Tuesday. Sellier said the task is to create “a water supply that we can rely upon, our customers can rely upon, and that means through any future conditions.” The presentation was a second update to the district’s draft five-year strategic plan. Goals around water supply and fiscal responsibility are being packaged in the plan, along with goals for watershed stewardship, creating a resilient water system and organizational excellence. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
San Mateo County’s Crystal Springs Dam receives National Historic Engineering Landmark status
“Two major earthquakes and 130 years later, the Crystal Springs Dam has finally been honored with a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark designation, recognizing the nation’s largest concrete structure of its era for its innovative construction. “Civil engineers are not always in the spotlight but the Crystal Springs Dam is an exception. The dam has not only influenced dam construction over the past 100 years but also shaped the future of civil engineering. This landmark stands as a testament of human innovation that will be recognized for generations to come,” Feniosky Peña-Mora, American Society of Civil Engineers president elect, said during the ceremony. … ” Read more from the San Mateo Daily Journal.
An overview of Valley Water’s annual Capital Improvement Program
“Every year, Valley Water updates its plan for funding the agency’s critical infrastructure projects required to meet the needs of Santa Clara County. The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Five-Year Plan is a comprehensive document that provides a roadmap for funding the planning, design and construction of water-related infrastructure. In May 2023, the Board of Directors adopted the CIP Fiscal Year 2024-2028 Five-Year Plan, which included 63 projects to help Valley Water meet its mission to provide Silicon Valley with safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment, and economy. The CIP includes water supply, flood protection, water resources stewardship, buildings and grounds and information technology projects. … ” Read more from Valley Water.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Manteca ground water use down 40% since 2014
“Manteca uses 40 percent less groundwater today than it did in 2014. And that is despite currently having 90,000 residents – 16,700 more than nine years ago. That means the city is ahead of the curve when it comes to fully implementing groundwater substantially as the state is requiring by 2042 despite being part of one of the most critically over-drafted water basins in California. … ” Continue reading at the Manteca Bulletin.
Should the state take over groundwater management in Kings County? The clock is ticking to have a say
“Members of the public have just a few more days to let the state know whether they think groundwater management in Kings County should be taken over by the State Water Resources Control Board. A draft report by Water Board staff is recommending the Tulare Lake subbasin, which covers Kings County, be put on probation under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. That could have serious consequences, such as imposing strict pumping allotments, fees and fines on area farmers. … ” Read more from SJV Water.,
EASTERN SIERRA
Commentary: What’s so unique about the Indian Wells Valley GSA?
writes, “The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires groundwater sustainability agencies to develop and implement groundwater sustainability plans to avoid undesirable results and mitigate overdraft within groundwater basins. Throughout California over 260 such agencies have developed plans to responsibly manage local basins. But the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority, which governs our massive groundwater basin resource, has diverged from accepted management practices adopted by other regions of the state by approving its plan without input from local water users and playing favorites by allocating water to IVWGA board members; pre-determining industrial and agricultural users were inferior and would be excluded from any entitlement to the basin’s sustainable yield … ” Continue reading at the Ridgecrest Independent.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Advocacy groups recommend targets for LA County clean water program
“Three water advocacy organizations in the Los Angeles region have shared a new report with L.A. County decision makers overseeing the Safe, Clean Water Program, detailing proposed goals for the program. The report, Vision 2045: Thriving in a Hotter and Drier LA County through Local Stormwater Capture and Pollutant Reduction, was developed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Heal the Bay, and Los Angeles Waterkeeper. The organizations say that the report is intended to catalyze county efforts to ensure the Safe, Clean Water Program reaches its goals more quickly and definitively. … ” Read more from Stormwater Solutions.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Salton Sea restoration projects get $72 million boost from feds, a historic first
“Officials gathered in a small metal hangar at the south end of the Salton Sea on Thursday to celebrate $72 million in funding for restoration efforts at the Salton Sea, marking the first major investment by the federal government in restoration efforts at the sea. The $72 million is part of a total of $250 million in funding for the Salton Sea approved as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Local, state, and federal officials traveled from the Coachella and Imperial valleys, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., and further afar – California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot was fresh off a trip to Dubai for COP28 – to tout the historic agreement between local water agencies and the feds that brought the funding to the Salton Sea. … ” Read more from The Desert Sun.
SEE ALSO: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $72 Million from Investing in America Agenda to Restore the Salton Sea, from the Bureau of Reclamation
SAN DIEGO
San Diego Planning Commission hears passionate public input on De Anza Cove’s future
“Public discussion on the potential future of De Anza Cove began Thursday at San Diego City Hall. The “De Anza Natural” proposal will determine what will happen with the cove, as part of the larger Mission Bay Park Master Plan. The San Diego Planning Commission meeting drew a large turnout on Thursday, with many of the attendees wearing yellow T-shirts that read “Campland Forever.” The meeting started off with a review of the environmental impacts of De Anza Natural and how the land is primed and ready for an array of opportunities. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
SEE ALSO:
- Mission Bay future takes shape: Planning commission OKs plan, from the San Diego Union-Tribune
- City of San Diego moves forward with plan for De Anza Cove, from Channel 5
Along the Colorado River …
Lake Mead water levels hit a rare milestone
“After steadily climbing all year, Lake Mead’s water levels have hit an unexpected milestone. Lake Mead, which is in Nevada and Arizona, reached drastically low levels last summer after years of drought, but water levels have since started to recover because of above-average precipitation and snowpack that have melted this summer. Stunning photos comparing this year’s levels to those of 2022 have abounded on social media, including how the rising levels again submerged a previously sunken boat that was revealed during the drought. The lake has blown past 2022 water levels by more than 20 feet, and last Saturday, Lake Mead reached another milestone when it surpassed 2021 levels for the first time this year, a feat AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Houk previously told Newsweek was unlikely to happen given forecast trends. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
‘So far, so good’ for the Colorado River Watershed in 2023
Jack Schmidt writes, “Reservoirs are the ultimate buffer between water use and a water crisis, especially during extreme dry spells, such as occurred in 2002-04 and 2020-22. Although the runoff in 2002-04 was worse than the later event, the later one caused relatively more alarm, as reservoir storage was already low. Then the exceptional water year in 2023 provided the second largest runoff of the 21st century and restored some lost storage in the reservoirs. We still have a long way to go to return the reservoir system to full conditions (see blog post, Water Year 2023 in Context: a cautionary tale). There is an imperative to retain as much of the 2023 runoff as possible to create a buffer, especially if another dry spell occurs. The last time the basin’s reservoirs were completely full (in fact, a bit overfull) on July 15, 1983, they held 63.6 million acre feet (af) of water, as reported in Reclamation’s basin-wide reservoir database. Today, the maximum capacity of the reservoir system is a bit extended, due to completion of few new reservoirs (e.g., McPhee and Nighthorse). … ” Read more from the Inkstain blog.
In national water news today …
November wrapped up 6th-warmest autumn on record for U.S.
“Last month wrapped up a remarkably warm meteorological autumn across the U.S., with the season ranking as the sixth-warmest autumn on record for the nation, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). A busy Atlantic hurricane season also came to a close, ranking fourth for the most-named storms in a year since 1950. Below are highlights from NOAA’s U.S. climate report for November 2023 … ” Continue reading at NOAA.
