On the calendar today …
- WORKSHOP: California Water Plan Update 2023 – Urban Stormwater RMS from 9am to 11am. The California Water Plan describes and updates a broad set of resource management strategies (RMSs) that help local agencies and governments manage their water and related resources. Every RMS can be a technique, program, or policy that can be used to meet water-related management needs of a region and the state as a whole.During this workshop, the Water Plan Team will gather comments on the draft Urban Stormwater Runoff Capture and Management RMS. Click here to register.
- PUBLIC WEBINAR: SAFER: Overview of Proposed Updates to the Drinking Water Cost Assessment Model from 1pm to 2:30pm. The State Water Board will hold a public webinar to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to learn about and provide feedback on the overview of the proposed Drinking Water Cost Assessment Model updates. Click here for the notice.
In California water news today …
California approves rules that turn sewage into drinking water
“In a milestone for creating a major new source of drinking water, California has approved its first standards for turning sewage into potable water supplies delivered to homes and businesses. The State Water Resources Control Board, In a unanimous vote today, outlined for the first time how water suppliers can treat recycled water and send it directly to taps. Currently recycled water is mixed into aquifers or used for irrigation and other non-drinking purposes. The new rules — which have been more than a decade in the making and were mandated by a state law — outline a slew of requirements aimed at ensuring that germs and chemicals are scrubbed from treated sewage. Often dubbed “toilet-to-tap,” the process is actually much more extensive and complex, requiring multiple treatment steps overseen by 63 pages of detailed rules. The new rules also call for extensive monitoring to ensure the treatment is working. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
STATE WATER BOARD: Regulations approved for converting wastewater to high quality drinking water
“Further advancing the Administration’s all-of-the-above Water Supply Strategy to make California more resilient to hotter, drier conditions, the State Water Resources Control Board approved regulations today that will allow water systems to develop treatment protocols to convert wastewater into high quality drinking water. The board’s unanimous vote gives California the most advanced standards in the nation for treating wastewater to such an extent that the finished product meets or exceeds current drinking water standards. Known as direct potable reuse, the process will enable water systems throughout the state to generate a climate-resilient water source while reducing the amount of wastewater discharged to rivers and the ocean. In fact, recycling water allows water systems to add millions of gallons of additional drinking water to their supplies over time while avoiding costlier and more energy intensive water supplies. … ” Continue reading this press release from the State Water Resources Control Board.
SEE ALSO:
- Californians could soon be drinking toilet water, sort of, from the Associated Press
- New California water rule allows sewage to be recycled into tap water, from the San Francisco Chornicle
- Would you drink toilet water? California approves wastewater for human consumption, from the Guardian
Farmers, water districts to weigh in on flows plan
“California water officials are working on an updated plan to improve conditions for declining fish populations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The state is also seeking input from farmers, water districts, environmentalists and other water interests on a water-quality control plan for the delta and the San Francisco Bay. As part of a legally required process, the California State Water Resources Control Board is accepting public comments related to a Sept. 28 draft environmental report by staff that evaluates approaches under consideration. The draft report evaluates strategies that set minimum amounts of unimpaired flow of water in rivers and tributaries that would require water users to cut usage. It also analyzes a voluntary-agreement approach that recommends targeted flows be paired with habitat restoration, scientific monitoring and hundreds of millions of dollars for implementation. “Restoring flows is critical, and the voluntary agreements propose to do that in all water year types,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot told board members last week during a third public hearing on the draft report. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
California is re-examining decades-old claims to its water
“California’s water supplies are doled out in a way that can seem haphazard. The rules that determine who receives how much water date back more than a century, and form a confusing patchwork across the state. For all its complexity, the system worked well enough for decades and allowed California to develop an enormous agriculture industry that fuels its economy and feeds America. But with strains from climate change and extreme drought increasing, the state is being forced to take a hard look at its water supplies. Regulators approved new rules on Tuesday that allows wastewater to be purified into drinking water, making California the second state to do so. (Colorado was first.) My colleague Raymond Zhong, a climate reporter, recently investigated California’s water woes, and how the state is re-examining water rights after decades of scant oversight. … ” Continue reading at the New York Times.
Solano County not happy with state’s response to its Delta tunnel concerns
“Solano County told the state Department of Water Resources that the agency’s response to the county’s comments regarding the 2023 Delta Conveyance Project final environmental report was “inadequate.” “The (Final Environmental Impact Report) fails as an environmental document because DWR has failed to properly analyze and mitigate the project’s impacts. The project would result in significant impacts in a number of resources, including to agriculture, biological resources, groundwater and traffic that DWR failed to properly disclose, analyze, and mitigate,” states the county letter signed by James Bezek, assistant director of the Department of Resource Management. … ” Read more from the Daily Republic.
How can California solve its water woes? By flooding its best farmland.
“The land of the Central Valley works hard. Here in the heart of California, in the most productive farming region in the United States, almost every square inch of land has been razed, planted, and shaped to support large-scale agriculture. The valley produces almonds, walnuts, pistachios, olives, cherries, beans, eggs, milk, beef, melons, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic. …There is one exception to this law of productivity. In the midst of the valley, at the confluence of two rivers that have been dammed and diverted almost to the point of disappearance, there is a wilderness. The ground is covered in water that seeps slowly across what used to be walnut orchards, the surface buzzing with mosquitoes and songbirds. Trees climb over each other above thick knots of reedy grass, consuming what used to be levees and culverts. Beavers, quail, and deer, which haven’t been seen in the area in decades, tiptoe through swampy ponds early in the morning, while migratory birds alight overnight on knolls before flying south. … ” Read more from Grist.
Chinook salmon returning to urban streams in record numbers, but poachers are on the prowl
“As if fall-run Chinook salmon didn’t have enough challenges already with dismal escapement numbers resulting in the closure of commercial and recreational salmon season in 2023 and most likely in 2024, salmon returning to urban streams are facing another hurdle, poaching. The combination of high water conditions, trucking salmon to release at the Golden Gate, and stream conservation are possible factors in the return of spawning salmon to small creeks in urban areas. Bay Area waterways are experiencing a resurgence of large Chinook salmon in creeks stretching from San Antonio in Oakland, Walnut Creek, Marsh Creek in Oakley, Alameda Creek in Fremont, Pixley Creek north of Stockton, Los Gatos Creek, and the Guadalupe River in San Jose. Cleanup efforts from various organizations have created improved conditions, attracting salmon to spawn, and there is increasing evidence that the spawning fish originated in the small streams. … ” Read more from Western Outdoors.
A river runs above us
“In mid-November 2021, a great storm begins brewing in the central Pacific Ocean north of Hawai‘i. Especially warm water, heated by the sun, steams off the sea surface and funnels into the sky.A tendril of this floating moisture sweeps eastward across the ocean. It rides the winds for a day until it reaches the coasts of British Columbia and Washington State. There, the storm hits air turbulence, which pushes it into position—straight over British Columbia’s Fraser River valley. Clouds gather and darken. Below, a patchwork of farms and subdivisions sprawls along the Fraser River from its mouth, south of Vancouver, to the eastward mountain slopes, and southeast across the US border. At the center of the valley lies Abbotsford, a city of around 150,000 people nestled in a fingerprint-like depression between two mountains. As the stream of humid air rises toward the peaks, it cools, condenses, and bursts. … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
California flood risk: Map shows high-risk zones
“Storms wreaked havoc across California last winter. Rains beginning on New Year’s Eve triggered multiple levee breaks along the Cosumnes River in Sacramento County, flooding farmland and killing at least three. Downpours a week later raised waters of the San Lorenzo River eight feet above the flooding threshold, ruining homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains and prompting water rescues. Subsequent months brought historic flooding in places like Allensworth and Pajaro, drowning tens of thousands of acres in muddy waters. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Year in review: Climate change and flooding hit home in California
“California was deluged with storms and floods at the beginning of 2023, bringing home the severity of impacts from climate change, particularly in the low-income communities of Planada in Merced County and Pajaro in Monterey County. Despite the deluge, California’s longstanding groundwater crisis continued. With hundreds of wells in the Tulare Lake groundwater basin at risk of going dry under new groundwater plans, state water officials for the first time moved to crack down on local groundwater managers. The year opened with California at an impasse with other Western states as they negotiated allocation of the Colorado River’s overtapped supplies. But it closed with the federal government poised to greenlight a historic pact by California, Arizona and Nevada to use less water through 2026. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
And lastly … The people have spoken: These are the winners of South Lake Tahoe’s snowplow naming contest
“It’s a Fast and Flurryous announcement sure to ward off those winter blues. … Catch My Drift? On Monday, the city of South Lake Tahoe announced the winning names of its inaugural snowplow contest. According to officials in the Northern California city, residents cast 1,194 votes within three weeks to choose between 36 snowplow names. … ” Read more from Yahoo News.
New podcast …
SCIENCE IN SHORT: Going ultra-local with Delta data: Looking back to see the future
For as long as humans have been upright, we’ve been digging, logging, and building along waterways. Over time, these alterations change the ways that water flows in and out of spaces. Our understanding of this movement is ever more imperative as sea levels rise and human development continues. Computers have expanded our understanding of water management in an exponential sense. But we shouldn’t forget that before computers, people were putting in the time to do the work manually. Instead of digital data, there were notebooks filled with handwritten, daily entries. Stefan Talke, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, is bringing together these two worlds of information for the Delta. His work, merging historical and digital data and computer modeling , will help inform local scientists and water managers about what to expect in their part of the Delta in the future.” Listen to the podcast or read transcript.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
State report on grasshopper damage shocks farmers in Klamath County
“The Oregon Department of Agriculture released its annual Grasshoppers and Mormon Cricket Survey Summary. It shocked many farmers in the Klamath Basin. The Klamath Water Users Association and farmers in that area, reported high numbers of grasshoppers for three straight summers now. And they say it’s had devastating impacts on the economy. But they say the ODA’s report did not accurately portray the damage done by grasshopper populations. … ” Read more from KOBI.
Reclamation and Trinity River Restoration Program celebrate completion of $13.6M Oregon Gulch Rehabilitation Project
“The Bureau of Reclamation and the Trinity River Restoration Program hosted a ribbon cutting event today to celebrate the completion of the Oregon Gulch Channel Rehabilitation Project. The event included participation from Tribal, federal, state, and county leadership to mark the historic restoration achievement. “This ambitious project reflects years of successful interagency partnership and coordination, extensive planning, and skilled effort,” said Reclamation Regional Director Ernest Conant. “The multi-agency project was originally identified in 2000 as a priority site in need of channel rehabilitation on the Trinity River. The successful completion of this collaborative project is a model for river restoration in the West.” … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Huffman delivers $2 million grant for Sonoma Water to study potential fish-friendly diversion to Russian River from the Eel River
“The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [yesterday] announced a $2 million grant to Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) meant to study a diversion from the Eel River to the Russian River that will have the least possible impact on salmon and steelhead. The crucial funding for this study comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Rep. Huffman helped author. Rep. Huffman personally advocated for this grant, which is a part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program to support the study, design and construction of collaboratively developed ecosystem restoration projects that provide widespread regional benefits and improve the health of fisheries, wildlife and aquatic habitat through restoration and improved fish passage. … ” Read more from the Redheaded Blackbelt.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
How much snow has fallen in Tahoe? Here are the totals so far — and what’s in the forecast
“After a bout of rainy weather, snow is expected to fall over higher elevations in the central Sierra Nevada this week, according to the National Weather Service. “There’s gonna be some periods of rain and high elevation snow through the weekend,” said Tyler Salas, National Weather Service meteorologist in Reno. Most of the snowfall during this first round of the storm has been in the higher elevations at around 7,000 to 8,000 feet, Salas said, with rain making up most of the precipitation around Lake Tahoe. “We are well below average so far to start the water year,” Salas said. The water year started on Oct. 1 and will continue through Sept. 30, 2024, according to the California Department of Water Resources. During this 12-month period, hydrologic records are compiled for the state. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Restoration on the resilient Truckee River
“The Truckee River holds a special place in my heart. What an anomaly of a river — it flows through three major cities, is highly developed, has highways following almost its entire length, is easily accessible for recreation yet continues to consistently produce exceptional quality large wild trout. It’s truly a testament to the quality of habitat and the resiliency of the Truckee River. There is oral history that tells tales of early explorers sharing meals with the Paiute, who taught them about the distinction between Lahontan cutthroat trout and salmon. At that time the Tahoe Pyramid strain of Lahontan cutthroat trout were some of the biggest trout in the history of salmonids and were known to regularly reach upwards of 50 pounds. … ” Read more from Cal Trout.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
What is essential? Thinking about population health and wellness in our communities and the vital role of our water resources
David Guy, President of the Northern California Water Association, writes, “Every year as we reach the holiday season and our final blog of the year, I like to take a few moments to reflect on the past year and think about what is important and essential in our life. Gathering with family and friends for the holidays is a special part of this season. We also appreciate the health and wellness for our families, friends, and community, which we have learned in the past several years we cannot take for granted. As a part of the water community in California, we take very seriously our responsibility to serve and manage water in a way that fosters health and wellness in our communities and we want to do our part to help people live healthier and more fulfilling lives. This includes the many efforts underway in the Sacramento Valley to advance healthy rivers, landscapes, and communities throughout the region, from ridgetop to river mouth. … ” Continue reading from the Northern California Water Association. … ” Read more from the Northern California Water Association.
Nature-like fishway in Big Chico Creek will give salmonids a chance in a warming world
“By 2027, threatened steelhead and spring-run Chinook salmon will have restored access to the entirety of their historical distribution in Ótakim Séwi, or Big Chico Creek. Currently, these fish can only swim as far upstream as Iron Canyon in Upper Bidwell Park. A fish passage barrier prevents them from reaching the high-quality cold-water habitat that awaits them on the other side. The Iron Canyon Fish Passage Project will create a path for anadromous and other migratory native fish to travel upstream of Iron Canyon to Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve and beyond, into these critical cold-water habitats. … ” Read more from Cal Trout.
Yuba Water reinvests hydropower revenue back into Yuba County through grants
“Yuba Water Agency today approved nearly $25 million in grants and one cash-flow loan for two dozen multi-year projects in Yuba County as part of its Community Impact Grant and Loan Program. The agency also approved a separate $10.4 million grant to Yuba County to help the county leverage additional external funding for several local public works projects. “Our biggest investment today is in flood control,” said Yuba Water’s general manager Willie Whittlesey. “And, while we now have the revenue from our hydropower operations to reinvest more broadly into our community in other areas like water education and water supply reliability, and we’re proud to do that, flood risk reduction is at the heart of why we are here. And these grants reflect that.” … ” Read more from Yuba Water.
BAY AREA
Consistent rain expected throughout Bay Area on Wednesday
“For perhaps the final time until Christmas Day, the Bay Area was expected to receive moderate amounts of rainfall on Wednesday as showers move across the region, according to the National Weather Service. Most population centers throughout the region could see up to one-full inch of rain on Wednesday. Forecasts showed at least one-half of an inch in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, San Jose, Livermore and Concord. The coastal regions and parts of the Peninsula could be in the upper end of that range, while the inland East Bay and rain-shadowed parts of the South Bay could top out at three-quarters of an inch, according to NWS meteorologist Brayden Murdock. … ” Continue reading at the Marin Independent Journal.
EBMUD installs in-conduit hydroelectric system
“East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) has partnered a California-based clean energy company to generate electricity from the flow of water in its water system. EBMUD said the investment supports its energy policy goal to become carbon neutral by 2030. InPipe Energy’s new in-conduit hydroelectric system works like traditional pressure regulating valves in a utility’s water distribution system but uses a turbine to reduce water pressure in the distribution pipeline while generating electricity. This creates a reliable, clean source of power, according to the company. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
CENTRAL COAST
Monterey Peninsula water district asks court to allow takeover of Cal Am
“Monterey Peninsula water officials last week filed a complaint with Monterey County Superior Court seeking a ruling that will greenlight the district’s plans to takeover California American Water Co.’s Peninsula operations. The lawsuit is asking the court to rule that the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District has the authority to forcibly takeover Cal Am’s Monterey main system. Called eminent domain, it is the right of a government to seize private property for public use, with payment of compensation. … On Oct. 10 the water district held a hearing where it took in evidence and testimony before ruling unanimously on a “resolution of necessity,” the first step in an eminent domain proceeding. Despite that, Cal Am is not flinching. “Our system is not for sale,” said Evan Jacobs, the director of external affairs for Cal Am in a press release. … ” Continue reading at the Monterey Herald.
Court rules in favor of Monterey Peninsula water district
“A Monterey County Superior Court judge has ruled a quasi-governmental body illegally denied the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District a key procedure needed for the district to acquire the main water system of California American Water Co. The water district filed the lawsuit against the Local Area Formation Commission after in January 2022, LAFCO denied the district’s “latent powers,” meaning whether the district has the operational and financial wherewithal to run a retail water distribution system. The commissioners made an initial ruling a month earlier. Typically, LAFCO is charged with encouraging the orderly formation of local governmental agencies, preserving land resources, discouraging urban sprawl and encouraging the efficient delivery of local government services. Much of its work concerns cities annexing unincorporated areas into their boundaries. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald.
Flood watch issued for Santa Barbara County as storms approach
“A flood watch has been issued for all of Santa Barbara County starting Tuesday night and lasting until Friday morning as the first atmospheric river of the season is approaching the Central Coast and heavy rains are expected over the next few days, according to the National Weather Service. The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management sent out an alert early Tuesday warning residents to “stay away from rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.” … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
State approves new rules for turning sewage into drinking water, but ‘toilet to tap’ still a ways off for Santa Barbara
“The state of California may have just approved new historic guidelines — 10 years in the making — to allow water agencies to use highly treated and recycled sewage water, but it’s not an option the City of Santa Barbara will be pursuing anytime soon. The soonest City Hall will move in that direction, said city water czar Joshua Haggmark, is the mid-2030s. According to senior water planner Dakota Corey, the city’s water department has conducted three in-depth studies on what’s called “direct potable re-use,” the first being in 2017, the second in 2020, and the last in 2022. The studies concluded the City of Santa Barbara could generate anywhere from 4,100 to 6,900 acre-feet of water a year by using highly treated and sewage water, but the infrastructure needed to treat and convey this water would be quite expensive. … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
Drinking up aid: Some Ventura County water systems get a big financial boost from the state
“Money will help some water systems link with their neighbors, to provide a backup for emergencies. Some small districts will get funding for critical upgrades. It’s something we take for granted. You turn a knob on a faucet, and there’s water. But, for some small communities in the Tri-Counties, it isn’t that simple. … ” Read more from KCLU.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Lawsuit: Assemi family’s financial teetering, chief’s failing health prompts desperate rescue attempt
“Despite last week’s major win over Stewart Resnick and The Wonderful Company over pistachios, not all is well with Fresno’s Assemi family. Kevin Assemi filed a lawsuit last Friday against his family alleging 31 civil claims, including fraud, breach of contract, unfair business practices, wrongful termination, malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. The big picture: Kevin Assemi named his father, Farid Assemi, and uncles, Farshid Assemi and Darius Assemi, as defendants in the case. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
Army Corps approves cuts to Isabella Dam releases as groups look for ways to protect Kern River fish flows and legal maneuvers expand
“The Army Corps of Engineers approved a request by operators of the power plant at the base of the dam to drastically cut water releases between Dec. 18 and Jan. 7 for a planned repair project to the plant. Under the approval, releases would drop from between 500 and 700 cubic feet per second down to 25 cfs – an amount that would devastate downstream fish populations. The owner of the power plant, Isabella Partners, has agreed to postpone the work to look for ways to protect fish flows and the Army Corps has agreed to wait for the green light from Isabella Partners before ramping down releases. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
KERN MEETING NOTES: Rosedale-Rio Bravo seeing groundwater levels come up – mostly
“Markus Nygren, engineer technician, reported to the Rosedale-Rio Bravo board that overall, water levels in district-owned wells are coming up, with the exception of one, the Mayer shallow well. Nygren said Mayer Shallow water levels seem to be coming down or remaining flat. He is unsure as to exactly why this well is the exception, but he says it may be due to its location. … ” Read the full story at SJV Water.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Pacific storm to spin heavy rain across Southern California, Southwest deserts
“The much-awaited first major rain event with ties to a strong El Niño is on deck for Southern California this week, and the storminess could cause travel problems in other parts of the West into the Christmas holiday, AccuWeather meteorologists say. The biggest rainstorm since Hurricane Hilary is brewing for the latter part of this week and this weekend. The rare hurricane dropped a general 1-3 inches of rain and local amounts to nearly 6 inches in Southern California on Aug. 20 and 21. … ” Continue reading from AccuWeather.
Los Angeles, San Diego face serious flood risk as storm threatens California with days of significant rain
“Rounds of rain are inundating California this week, raising the risk of serious flash flooding in Los Angeles and San Diego through at least Thursday. On Wednesday, the heaviest rain will target the Central Coast region, increasing the threat of flash flooding from Monterey to Los Angeles, the FOX Forecast Center said. The strong upper-level low-pressure system will slide southeastward just offshore the California coast through Wednesday night, pumping in a steady plume of moisture from the southwest. … ” Read more from Fox Weather.
OC Storm Water Management asks residents to prepare ahead of storms to mitigate runoff pollution
“Orange County Storm Water Management teams are asking residents to clean up yards of debris and animal waste ahead of storms to mitigate runoff pollution into the watershed. “We typically see more contaminants with the first rainfalls, the duration between rains also impacts that, but bacteria, metals, and pesticides are things we typically see,” said Michael Mori, an Environmental Research Specialist with OC Storm Management. Even an inch of rain can create flooding and heavy currents in waterways leading straight into the Newport Bay and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. “We typically see more contaminants with the first rainfalls, the duration between rains also impacts that, but bacteria, metals, and pesticides are things we typically see,” said Michael Mori, an Environmental Research Specialist with OC Storm Management. … ” Read more from NBC 4.
SAN DIEGO
Can rain barrels help lessen Imperial Beach’s floods? City wants residents to try
“After heavy rains, Imperial Beach floods — easily and often. Rising sea levels and Tijuana River overflows — both during storm events and after sewage spills — inundate the city’s stormwater system and impact surrounding streets. But what if some of that water went somewhere else? To help minimize the amount of stormwater that drains into streets, the city wants residents to start capturing precipitation with rain barrels. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
More sewage from Mexico expected on California beaches as treatment plant in Tijuana gets fixed
“With a storm approaching, Southern California is generating higher-than-normal surf, much to the delight of surfers going into the water despite signs warning them about dangerous bacteria levels. “It’s so hard to watch people surf right now because I know the water is contaminated,” said Bethany Case, spokesperson for the Surfrider Foundation in San Diego. Case says the Imperial Beach, California coastline is contaminated because of raw sewage flowing north from Mexico. … ” Read more from Channel 13.
Along the Colorado River …
Tribes focus on Post-2026 operation guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead
“Tribal and federal officials met for historic talks on the future of the Colorado River Basin last week in Las Vegas at the Colorado River Water Users Association, or CRWUA, annual conference. Their focus: the Post-2026 operation guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The “Sovereign to Sovereign Dialogue,” a first-of-its-kind panel held on Friday during CRWUA’s 75th meeting included discussions between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton and three tribal leaders among the Ten Tribes Partnership. More than 40 million residents living in the Southwest and Mexico rely on the Colorado River for food, water and energy, including 30 tribal communities who lay claim to a fourth of its supply. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
‘How does history feel?’ River district, Xcel agree on Shoshone water rights deal
“The Colorado River District and Xcel Energy on Tuesday signed a historic agreement for the $98.5 million purchase of the utility’s Shoshone hydroelectric power plant water rights that go far to control Colorado River flows in western Colorado due to their senior nature. The action kicks off what could be a multi-year process to meet the fundraising and other conditions that the river district and Xcel will need to meet before the acquisition can be completed. The entities inked the purchase agreement on Tuesday after the river district board approved it in a special meeting, and also authorized contributing $20 million for the purchase from district community funding partnership revenue that is generated by a property tax measure approved by voters in 2020. … ” Read more from the Grand Junction Sentinel.
Western Slope coalition strikes historic deal for Colorado River water rights
“Western Slope residents along a stretch of the Colorado River are one step closer to greater water security thanks to a historic deal signed Tuesday. The Colorado River Water Conservation District and Xcel Energy formalized the agreement that will allow the district to buy long-coveted water rights for the Shoshone Power Plant from Xcel — as long as efforts to secure $98.5 million in funding go to plan. The deal is a major step in a decades-long effort to ensure stable flows for water users and ecosystems below the power plant, from Glenwood Springs to the Utah border. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
Drought task force has big ideas for the Colorado River, but senator who convened panel questions its work
“New ideas to help the drought-stressed Colorado River, including big changes to water rights tied to coal-fired power plants in the iconic Yampa River Valley and elsewhere, and new funding for tribal water systems that could bring much-needed flexibility to river management are being offered up by a special task force. But observers aren’t sure the panel solved the tough problems it was presented with. The suggestions come as part of the final report issued by the Colorado River Drought Task Force, and were included along with eight formal recommendations that the 17-member panel approved and sent to legislators to consider Dec. 15. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
Lake Powell pipeline is moved to the backburner
“The Lake Powell pipeline project has been moved to a longer-term need as Washington County water officials focus on other measures to supply water to the fast growing region of Utah. “It is not dead. It is part of very long-term strategy,” said Zach Renstrom, the general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Renstrom confirmed the recent decision made by the district’s board during an interview with FOX 13 News at a conference in Las Vegas of the Colorado River Water Users Association. The conference kicked off a new round of negotiations between the states with a stake in the mighty river. … ” Read more from Fox 13.
In national water news today …
A record number of billion-dollar weather disasters hit the U.S. in 2023
“In 2023, the U.S. experienced a record 25 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters — three more than the previous record, set in 2020. As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, extreme events — hurricanes, severe storms, heavy rainfall, flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, and drought — are becoming ever more frequent, intense, and dangerous. Between 1980 and 2022, the U.S averaged eight billion-dollar weather disasters each year, according to NOAA. Between 2018 and 2022, it recorded 18 such disasters on average. This year saw an unprecedented 25 billion-dollar disasters. … ” Read more from Yale e360.
