On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Central Valley Regional Water Board beginning at 9am. Board training on engagement and shared expectations. Click here for the full agenda and remote access instructions.
In California water news today …
Atmospheric river storms are on the way to Northern California: Here’s what to expect
“Following a stretch of dry weather, a flip in the pattern is expected to bring widespread precipitation to California. December has started off both warmer and drier than normal but a series of warmer storms starting on Sunday will add to those lacking precipitation totals. …Beginning Sunday, a cutoff low pressure system and associated atmospheric river will take aim at Northern California. The counterclockwise rotation of the storm off the coast of California will draw in moisture from the tropics, hence the use of the term atmospheric river. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
SEE ALSO: Storm is headed to California. Here’s when to expect rain, from the San Francisco Chronicle
Fresno State
“In the face of prolonged droughts and diminishing water tables, a research report sheds light on an innovative solution that could reshape California’s water management landscape. The report examines the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of shallow subsurface artificial groundwater recharge in comparison to traditional groundwater recharge basins. The research, conducted at the Fresno State farm in 2021-22, indicates that this method outperforms traditional recharge basins in both efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Cordie Qualle, the lead researcher, stated, “The research indicates that the [shallow subsurface artificial groundwater recharge] system does not have the evaporation losses which occur with recharge basins and is approximately six- to eight-times less expensive to implement than a recharge basin of the same size.” … ” Read more from Fresno State.
Tightening water regulations in California may spur olive cultivation
“The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) estimates that 40 percent of all the state’s water is used in agriculture. As the state enacts tougher water regulations and encourages improved water use efficiency, some farmers are already betting on drought-resilient olives as a crop of the future. “Olives are not the only tree crop out there that can withstand a little deficit irrigation, but olives stand out for their drought tolerance,” Caitlin Peterson, the PPIC Water Policy Center’s associate director, told Olive Oil Times. “They can grow on very marginal land with poor soils, something that can’t be said for many of the dominant tree crops in California, such as almonds, walnuts or stonefruit,” she added. … ” Read more from the Olive Oil Times.
Why meadow restoration is important for rivers and wildlife
“If you’re reading this and are a Willow Flycatcher, beaver, or other adorable fauna of the Sierra Nevada, stop now. You already know how important mountain meadows are to river health and why we need to keep them healthy and functional. But if you’re a human who enjoys clean, abundant drinking water and breathtaking natural space, this is the blog post for you. This summer and fall American Rivers worked tirelessly alongside our project partners to restore 415 acres of mountain meadow in the Sierra Nevada mountain range that defines California’s skyline. One of the most significant roles mountain meadows play involves water storage, a burning topic for Californians in the face of drought and climate change. Meadows are like green glaciers in how they hold groundwater and release it slowly, allowing our rivers to stay hydrated during periods of drought. In a similar vein, meadows are the first floodplains our rivers encounter as they tumble down steep granite slopes into the Central Valley (where American Rivers also does a lot of work on floodplain restoration). … ” Read more from American Rivers.
State Water Contractors release annual science report
“The State Water Contractors’ (SWC) Science Program today released its Annual Science Report for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The report highlights over $3.3 million in water science and research funding – including $2.5 million for the launch of the SWC’s first-ever science solicitation. “Science is the foundation of our work. It is the common language across agencies and positions that has the power to bridge disparate perspectives,” said Jennifer Pierre, General Manager for the State Water Contractors. “For the SWC, it is our goal to fund and promote the best available science as the basis for all water management actions and decisions. Science isn’t political, it doesn’t have an agenda – it is simply a reflection of our best efforts to understand the world around us.” … ” Continue reading from the State Water Contractors.
Postfire debris flows strike in a puzzling pattern
“High in the Sierra Nevada, land across several Northern California counties still bears scars from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which raged for months and burned 3,900 square kilometers, becoming the largest single fire in the state’s history. On those ravaged slopes, even brief downpours of intense rainfall could send exposed soils and rocks careening down the mountain in destructive, potentially deadly debris flows. Forecasting when and where such flows might strike is vital to public safety. U.S. Geological Survey models suggest that burned slopes with steep grades and loose sediments are much more likely to experience postfire debris flows during intense storms. But rains in June 2023 revealed shortcomings in the models’ predictive ability. … ” Read more from EOS.
In commentary today …
Peter Gleick: The most important issue about water is not supply, but how it is used
Peter Gleick, co-founder and a senior fellow at the Pacific Institute, writes, “Floods, droughts, pollution, water scarcity and conflict — humanity’s relationship with water is deteriorating, and it is threatening our health and well-being, as well as that of the environment that sustains us. The good news is that a transition from the water policies and technologies of past centuries to more effective and equitable ways of using and preserving this vital resource is not only possible, but under way. The challenge is to accelerate and broaden the transition. Water policies have typically fostered a reliance on centralized, often massive infrastructure, such as big dams for flood and drought protection, and aqueducts and pipelines to move water long distances. Governments have also created narrow institutions focused on water, to the detriment of the interconnected issues of food security, climate, energy and ecosystem health. The key assumption of these ‘hard path’ strategies is that society must find more and more supply to meet what was assumed to be never-ending increases in demand. … ” Continue reading from Nature.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Impacts of climate change and status of redwoods discussed
“On Saturday, December 2, in a room at the Stanford Inn in Mendocino, a packed crowd in reserved their seats and listened to two speakers knowledgeable about climate change and the security of the redwoods on the California coast. Greg King is a journalist and author of the highly reviewed, thoroughly researched 2023 book The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals, and Real Estate in the California Redwoods. John O’Brien is a climate scientist and research affiliate in the Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a visitor in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. King lives in Humboldt County, and his interest in the California redwoods dates back to his active participation in the “Redwood Wars” after the 1985 Maxxam takeover of the Pacific Lumber Company and its subsequent aggressive effort to clear-cut. … ” Read more from the Mendocino Beacon.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
The Yuba River and the Bay Delta: a vital connection for salmon
“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 spring-run Chinook salmon’s life cycle is an extraordinary odyssey that begins and concludes in Central Valley streams such as the Yuba River. Once the most abundant run in California, Spring-run Chinook salmon are now listed as threatened on the federal and California state levels. This article will guide you through their life stages, spotlight key elements like temperature, nursery habitats, and water flow, as well as highlight their duration in various locales and the obstacles they encounter along the way. … ” Continue reading from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
Nevada County Board of Supervisors votes against reopening Grass Valley gold mine
“The Nevada County Board of Supervisors voted Thursday against reopening a gold mine in Grass Valley that has been closed for almost seven decades. The gold mine’s owner, Rise Gold Corp., had argued that it had a vested right to extract gold from the Idaho-Maryland Mine that closed in 1956. Rise Gold purchased it in 2017. The supervisors found that the mine was abandoned in the mid-1950s leaving the mine’s owners no vested rights. Rise Gold lawyers argued that the 67 years since gold mining had occurred was only a pause. “We’re disappointed with the decision,” said Joseph Mullin, president and CEO of Rise Gold. … ” Continue reading at the Sacramento Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
Bid to reopen one of California’s most storied gold mines shot down — for now
“A Canada-based mining company has encountered a major setback in its effort to revive one of California’s most productive gold mines. The Nevada County Board of Supervisors ruled Thursday that the company, Rise Gold, and its local subsidiary failed to prove longtime rights to extract potentially billions in gold from the 150-year-old Idaho-Maryland Mine near Grass Valley. The decision, though, came as relief for many in the community. Residents in the area, about 60 miles northeast of Sacramento, have widely opposed the return of mining to their quiet foothill community. The industry’s impact on the region still shows from the Gold Rush two centuries ago, in the form of such environmental scars as polluted water and soil. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. | Read via MSN News.
NAPA/SONOMA
Sonoma and Mendocino counties unite with Round Valley Indian tribes to preserve vital water resources
“Sonoma County, in a pivotal collaboration with Mendocino County and the Round Valley Indian Tribes, has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative to safeguard a crucial water supply for the region. This move comes as the counties join forces under the newly established Eel-Russian Project Authority. The Board of Supervisors’ recent decision to join the Eel-Russian Project Authority marks a significant step in regional water management. This new entity is tasked with the construction, ownership, and operation of a facility dedicated to continuing the century-old practice of diverting water from the Eel River into the Russian River. This diversion has been instrumental in sustaining agriculture, supporting residential needs, and maintaining aquatic ecosystems in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The urgency of this initiative has been heightened by Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) plans to decommission the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project. … ” Read more from the Mendocino Beacon.
BAY AREA
EBMUD project to generate power via drinking water delivery system
“The East Bay Municipal Utility District is installing a device designed to generate electricity by using the movement of water through its drinking water delivery system. The installation of the “in-conduit hydroelectricity” system will generate 130,000 kilowatt hours of emissions-fee power per year, according to EBMUD officials. … ” Read more from The Patch.
Coho salmon habitat restoration underway in Pescadero
“A new endangered coho salmon habitat restoration project is well underway in Pescadero, where the San Mateo Resource Conservation District has partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to restore the floodplain habitat and create flood protection and agricultural security. The project, officially titled the Butano Creek Backfield Habitat and Stream Flow Enhancement Project, was made possible through a cooperative agreement with NOAA, that provided around $4.9 million of the $6.5 million overall cost for the floodplain and nearby pond, as well as personnel and project design resources. … ” Read more from the San Mateo Daily Journal.
CENTRAL COAST
Atmospheric rivers: What they are and how they impact the Central Coast
“Atmospheric rivers can be both hazardous and beneficial, but before we get into that, you might wonder, what is an atmospheric river? “An atmospheric river is just what it sounds like. It’s really a river in the sky. But instead of running water, it’s water vapor. And so there’s these elongated plumes of water vapor in the atmosphere, and when it interacts with the mountains or other topography, or sometimes even dynamics in the atmosphere and lifts up, it can produce large amounts of precipitation, which is both rain and snowfall,” said Dr. Julie Kalansky, deputy director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. … ” Read more from KSBW.
Grover Beach raises water, wastewater rates after raucous meeting
“Grover Beach’s City Hall was packed to capacity during a Dec. 11 City Council meeting, where a public hearing discussed rising water and wastewater rates to help pay for the Central Coast Blue project. Although the rate increases passed 3-2 with Councilmembers Clint Weirick and Robert Robert dissenting, more than 20 community members spoke against it. The meeting capped the proposition 218 period, where residents could protest the potential increase, and the city didn’t receive enough protests to deny the increase. … ” Read more from New Times SLO.
Water district serving part of the Conejo Valley, tech company team up for new approach to drought
“A water district serving parts of the Conejo Valley, and a company are teaming up to test technology which may provide another approach to dealing with the global water crisis. They are trying a system intended to convert sea water to drinkable water without the large, expensive infrastructure used to operate desalination plants now. The proposed facilities would operate underwater, from the ocean’s floor. “We’re taking the reverse osmosis process and putting it into the depth of the ocean, where we are able to leverage the natural pressure (the weight of the ocean) to drive the reverse osmosis process,” said Kayln Simon, who is the Director of Engagement for OceanWell. It’s the company developing what they are calling “Blue Water Farm” technology. … ” Read more from KCLU.
Rain on the way for Ventura County: What that means for the weekend
“After weeks of dry conditions and Santa Ana winds, rain is headed toward Ventura County. A storm could show up as early as Sunday afternoon, said David Sweet, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. By Sunday night, the forecast calls for the chance of rain to reach 70%. A chance of precipitation is expected to stick around through Wednesday. In all, local areas could see a quarter-inch to a half-inch of rainfall, Sweet said. Late next week, what looks like a stronger storm could move into the area, he said. But for now, it is too soon to say whether it will show up locally or how much rain could fall. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Multi-million dollar verdicts reached in battle between farming giants in Fresno County
“A Fresno County jury reached a verdict in a lawsuit between two of California’s wealthiest growers. Four years ago, Farid Assemi, a San Joaquin Valley farmer, developer, and healthcare scion, filed a $30 million lawsuit against Stewart Resnick, America’s wealthiest farmer. Lawyers with Assemi could not be immediately reached for comment. Assemi’s lawsuit landed just days after the family held up their 2019 pistachio crops over Resnick’s alleged failures to assure the Assemi family that they would get the full value of their 2019 crop. Assemi later filed a second claim in court, arguing Resnick’s Wonderful Pistachio cooperative deliberately undervalued the family’s nuts. … ” Read more from Fresnoland.
Fish don’t care about Kern River rights kerfuffle – just the flows
“Public interest groups that succeeded in getting a court order mandating 40% of the Kern River’s flows be kept in the river to maintain fish, don’t want to be drawn into a fight over water rights created in the wake of that order. “Fish have no part in the argument between beneficial users. To a fish there is only one question: is there sufficient water to live in good condition?” concludes a motion by the public interest groups opposing an effort to overturn or reconsider the court’s fish flow order. Agricultural water districts with long held rights to the river were incensed when the City of Bakersfield used the fish flow order to increase its take of river water and jump the line ahead of other users. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
EASTERN SIERRA
A tribal officer at work in the wasteland of California’s water wars
“I sit in the passenger seat of a dusty black pickup, Kathy at the wheel. The dirt road we travel cuts through the arid heart of California, 400km from the leaning palms of Los Angeles. We drive through a place called Owens Valley that stretches remote and wind-whipped between Yosemite and Death Valley. Maps of this region are sparsely drawn, save for a few small towns, the long spines of mountains and the vast beginnings of the Great Basin Desert. This landscape is the product of heat and relentless sun and little moisture. Not a tree grows as far as I can see, just low brush with small waxy leaves. And yet, had we attempted this drive 100 years ago, we would be under 10 metres of water. We drive across a dry lakebed. The lake was once fed by Owens River as it rushed with snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada mountains, which loom above the valley to the west. … ” Read more from Fair Planet.
SAN DIEGO
Water Authority contingent wants to undo divorce settlement
“Some San Diego water leaders aren’t ready to settle with two defecting water districts leaving the county for Riverside. Five of the 36 board directors of the San Diego County Water Authority called for a special meeting to cancel peace talks with two North County communities divorcing the district to search for cheaper water elsewhere. The request came in a Dec. 11 letter to the board’s chairman. The signers were San Diego board member, and former chair, Jim Madaffer, Gary Croucher and Tim Smith from Otay, Marty Miller from Vista Irrigation and Michael Hogan Santa Fe Irrigation water districts. “There are still significant financial, operational, legal, regional and public issues that have not been fully detailed or addressed,” the letter says. It goes on to list 14 different topics like the costs of losing two water districts on the other 22 member agencies and the authority of the Local Agency Formation Commission or LAFCO – the boundary referees that OK’d Fallbrook and Rainbow’s departure. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Surf’s never up anymore at this Southern California beach
“When the swells are breaking just right, Paloma Aguirre, the mayor of this beachside town, loves to grab her bodyboard and catch some waves. She now has to drive 40 minutes north to get in the water. For the better part of the past two years, the roughly 4 miles of beachfront in the San Diego County town Aguirre leads has been closed to swimmers by environmental regulators because of constantly high bacterial contamination. Beaches all along the California coast have been periodically closed for decades due to pollution. But the situation in the San Diego area has become acute, as the combination of rain runoff and contaminated water discharges from neighboring Tijuana and the Tijuana River, which flows into an estuary along the coast just north of the border, combine to shut down some picturesque beaches for weeks at a time. “I’m a surfer. I’m in love with the beach and I can’t surf in my own town,” Aguirre said. … ” Read more from the Wall Street Journal.
Along the Colorado River …
Water pressure builds between upper and lower basins over future distribution of the Colorado River
“Water cuts are going to be painful — that’s one thing seven state representatives agreed upon Thursday at the 75th meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association held at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. Governor-appointed representatives from the lower basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona largely disagree with upper basin representatives from Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming on the thresholds of pain tolerance required to manage future sustainable use of the vital resource and reach a post-2026 operative agreement. “What often keeps me awake at night is having enough water for our children and grandchildren,” confessed Aaron Chavez, president of the Colorado River Water Users Association, in opening remarks before the 1,700 stakeholders in attendance. Hailing from the lower basin, Chavez additionally sits as executive director of the San Juan Water Commission in New Mexico. … ” Continue reading at the Courthouse News Service.
Who must give up Colorado River water? As conservation talks start, tensions rise
“The seven states that share the Colorado River’s water celebrated some conservation wins at their annual meeting here this week but quickly began sparring over who will bear the brunt of future pain that they agree a drying climate will dole out. Talk of cutbacks has long focused on the three states collectively known as the Lower Basin — Arizona, California and Nevada — and on Wednesday, representatives of California water districts and tribes signed federally funded deals to leave more water in the river’s largest reservoir over the next two years. On Thursday, interstate rivalries re-emerged as officials from the Upper Basin made clear they expect the Lower Basin to cut back much further before coming after their water. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic.4
California’s Colorado River water cuts will last a few years. Then what?
“California just agreed to significantly cut its Colorado River water use, but the deal might not be the conservation boon that it seems. On Wednesday, the Biden administration agreed to divert $295 million in water infrastructure funds to California. In exchange, California, which gets more Colorado River water per year than any other state, will conserve 643,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead through 2025. California’s water cuts are part of an agreement solidified in May between the Lower Colorado River Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — to cut their water use by at least 3 million acre-feet through the end of 2026. … ” Read more from the Salt Lake Tribune.
Expect a messy compromise on the future of the Colorado River, negotiators say in Las Vegas
“What’s one central message when it comes to how the water supply for 40 million people in the Western U.S. will be managed in coming years? It won’t be pretty. The top negotiators for the seven states in the Colorado River Basin, including Colorado, met Thursday at this year’s Colorado River Water Users Association conference in Las Vegas. The officials are in the midst of negotiating a new set of rules for how farmers, cities, industries and others will share — and cut back on — water use after 2026. Their discussion highlighted ongoing tensions in the negotiations, but several officials moderated expectations: The new rules would not be perfect or solve all of the basin’s problems, they said. “The one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is that the post-2026 guidelines will deliver a messy compromise that will be judged harshly by history. That’s the cold reality,” John Entsminger, Nevada’s top negotiator, told hundreds of water watchers, experts and officials during a panel discussion. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
New look at old study could correct Colorado River Compact flaw
“A century ago, seven men formed a commission to decide how water from the Colorado River should be divvied up, basing their allocations on estimates of 16.4 million acre-feet of flow per year. The trouble was — and continues to be — the estimate was wrong. Today, biological sciences professor Shemin Ge and her colleagues at the University of Colorado Boulder hope decisions made over 100 years ago can be looked at in new light with lesser-known information made and will talk about at a historical presentation in Colorado titled “Learning from History in Reallocating the Colorado River.” “It would be very helpful not to repeat the mistakes in the past to bring science to the table for the discussion,” she said. Ge and her team offer a historical perspective on the issue and how the over 100-year-old Colorado River Compact might have overestimated the amount of water the river could provide — estimates that were not backed by current surveys or research, she said. They presented their findings Thursday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
How an overlooked study over a century ago helped fuel the Colorado River crisis
“When it comes to the Colorado River, history often repeats itself—but it doesn’t have to. That’s the take-home message from CU Boulder hydrologist Shemin Ge, who will present a little-known piece of history from the river this Thursday at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in San Francisco. The story of hydrologist Eugene Clyde La Rue, Ge said, may help to explain the current water crisis facing many states in the American West. Ge’s presentation centers around a decision made in 1922 when the seven men who made up the Colorado River Commission came to an agreement to divvy up water on the Colorado River. This waterway winds over 1,450 miles and through seven states. The commission relied on an estimate from the U.S. Reclamation Service suggesting that 16.4 million acre-feet of water ran through the river at Lees Ferry, Arizona, every year. (An acre-foot equals the amount of water you’d need to submerge an acre of land to a depth of 1 foot). … ” Read more from CU Boulder.
Colorado River shortages drive major advances in recycled sewage water use
“After more than two decades of drought, water utilities serving the largest urban regions in the arid Southwest are embracing a drought-proof source of drinking water long considered a supply of last resort: purified sewage. Water supplies have tightened to the point that Phoenix and the water supplier for 19 million Southern California residents are racing to adopt an expensive technology called “direct potable reuse” or “advanced purification” to reduce their reliance on imported water from the dwindling Colorado River. “[Utilities] see that the river is overallocated, and they see that the climate is changing,” said Kathryn Sorensen, former director of Phoenix Water Services Department. “They’re looking at this and understanding that the river supply is highly variable and extremely uncertain in the future.” … ” Read more from Western Water.
In national water news today …
Funding gap for water sector remains despite federal assistance, Fitch says
“Despite the significant infusion of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Fitch Ratings said it estimates a funding gap in excess of $85 billion over the next five years for water and sewer utilities that will need to be covered by paygo or additional debt. According to Fitch, federal funding under ARPA and the BIL is supportive of water utility credit quality as it helps maintain and improve existing infrastructure, thereby moderating increases in Fitch’s life cycle ratio, a measure of the age of capital assets. Federal grants under these laws also offset some of the need for new debt funding and significant rate increases to address capital plans, supporting overall affordability. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
How to provide reliable water in a warming world – these cities are testing small-scale treatment systems and wastewater recycling
“A lot can go wrong in a large urban water system. Pumps malfunction. Valves break. Pipes leak. Even when the system is functioning properly, water can sit in pipes for long periods of time. Water shortages are also a growing problem in a warming world, as communities across the Southwestern U.S. and in many developing nations are discovering. That’s why cities have started experimenting with small-scale alternatives – including wastewater recycling and localized water treatment strategies known as decentralized or distributed systems. I study large- and small-scale water systems, focusing on innovative system designs that allow local use of water sources that might otherwise go to waste. As technology improves, cities are discovering something that rural communities have long known: Small-scale water treatment, properly engineered, can be cheaper and easier to maintain than a centralized system, and it can improve water security and even the environment. … ” Read more from The Conversation.
EPA goes after plastics with chemicals plan
“EPA announced it is prioritizing risk evaluations for five chemicals primarily used to make plastics, signaling a growing and concerted effort to crack down on plastics. Wednesday’s announcement marks the start of a 12-month process that EPA said will likely result in each chemical’s designation as a “high priority” substance under the Toxic Substances Control Act. With that designation, regulators can then launch the intensive, 3 ½-year review process that could lead to the agency banning or restricting uses of the chemical if deemed unsafe. Each of the five chemicals has already been tied to an increased risk of causing cancer. The review process will help EPA determine if specific uses — like vinyl chloride in PVC pipes, plastic packaging or other consumer products — pose health risks. … ” Read more from E&E News.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
NOTICE: Board Issues Response Order to Petition for Reconsideration of 2022 Curtailment Orders
NOW AVAILABLE: The California Data Collaborative (CaDC) has launched the Urban Water Use Objective (UWUO) Easy Report
