A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
Note to readers: Sign up for weekly email service and you will receive notification of this post on Friday mornings. Readers on daily email service can add weekly email service by updating their subscription preferences. Click here to sign up!
In California water news this week …
30-foot waves and widespread rain: West Coast braces for more storms
“Rain, coastal flooding and waves as tall as 30 feet were expected along parts of the West Coast on Friday, a day after giant waves pummeled the California shoreline and prompted some evacuation warnings. More than six million people in coastal areas of California and Oregon were under high surf warnings overnight as breaking waves posed an “especially heightened threat to life and property,” according to the National Weather Service. “Dangerously large” waves about 28 to 33 feet tall, and potentially up to 40 feet tall, were forecast overnight in some coastal spots in the San Francisco Bay Area and for some parts of Central California, where a few communities in Santa Cruz County had received evacuation warnings a day earlier. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
SEE ALSO: California storm: Heavy rain, gusts expected ahead of holiday weekend, from the San Francisco Chronicle
More monster waves will collide with the California coast after injuring onlookers and causing serious flooding
“A series of powerful storms in the Pacific Ocean are driving towering waves into the California coastline, triggering flooding and posing a significant risk to people and structures along the coast. Monstrous, 20-foot-plus waves on Thursday crashed over seawalls and swept away and injured several people, forced rescues and sent a damaging surge of water through coastal California streets. A brief dip in wave heights may occur in some locations along the California coast during the daytime Friday as one storm pushes ashore, but the danger will quickly ramp back up later Friday and Saturday as another system develops behind it. … ” Read more from CNN.
How America’s diet is feeding the groundwater crisis
“America’s striking dietary shift in recent decades, toward far more chicken and cheese, has not only contributed to concerns about American health but has taken a major, undocumented toll on underground water supplies. The effects are being felt in key agricultural regions nationwide as farmers have drained groundwater to grow animal feed. … Today alfalfa, a particularly water-intensive crop used largely for animal feed, covers 6 million acres of irrigated land, much of it in the driest parts of the American West. These transformations are tied to the changing American diet. Since the early 1980s, America’s per-person cheese consumption has doubled, largely in the form of mozzarella-covered pizza pies. And last year, for the first time, the average American ate 100 pounds of chicken, twice the amount 40 years ago. … ” Read more from the New York Times (gift article).
“Surprised and overjoyed” groundwater managers in Madera rejoice at state’s approval of their plan to stabilize the region’s aquifer
“The Madera subbasin’s groundwater plan was approved by the state on Thursday much to the surprise of water managers and others throughout the valley. It was an unexpected win for groundwater agencies in light of the state’s rejection of six other San Joaquin Valley plans, which has put those subbasins on a trajectory for possible state action. That includes the Chowchilla subbasin, which is just to the northwest of of the Madera subbasin. “I suspected that (Madera’s plan) might be rejected immediately, but it was not,” said Stephanie Anagnoson, director of water and natural resources for Madera County. “I was surprised and overjoyed.” Her concerns stemmed from the refusal of one of the subbasin’s seven groundwater sustainability agencies’ (GSA) to sign on to the overall plan. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
State hearing for Tule Subbasin pushed back until September
“The Tule Subbasin, which includes the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency, has received a reprieve of sorts when it comes to meeting the state’s requirements for groundwater use. At Tuesday’s State Water Resources Control Board meeting, staff officials announced they were pushing back the schedule for probationary hearings to be held for groundwater sustainability agencies, GSAs, that have been determined to be inadequate when it comes to their plans meeting the requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which mandates the reduced use of groundwater. The Tule Subbasin is among six Valley subbasins whose plans have been deemed inadequate by the state. The Tule Subbasin includes several GSA, including the ETGSA, which covers Southeastern Tulare County. Each of the agencies have collaborated on one plan for the entire Tule Subbasin to be submitted to the state. … ” Read more from the Porterville Recorder.
Strawberry case study: What if farmers had to pay for water?
“The strawberry, blackberry and raspberry fields of the Pajaro Valley stretch for 10 miles along the coast of California’s Monterey Bay, jeweled with fruit from April through early December. The valley’s 30,000 acres of farmland are also ruffled with emerald lettuces, brussels sprouts and varieties of kale, bringing in roughly $1 billion in revenue to the region each year. All that abundance doesn’t come cheap. While American farmers elsewhere have watered their crops by freely pumping the groundwater beneath their land, growers in Pajaro must pay hefty fees for irrigation water — making it one of the most expensive places to grow food in the country, if not the world. The cost: Up to $400 per acre-foot, a standard measurement equal to water covering one acre, one foot deep. The fees bring in $12 million a year, which is used to recycle, restore and conserve the region’s groundwater. … ” Continue reading from the New York Times (gift article).
Their land is sinking. But Tulare Lake farm barons defy calls to cut groundwater pumping
“Earlier this year, as floodwaters rushed toward the San Joaquin Valley city of Corcoran — home to roughly 20,000 people and a sprawling maximum-security state prison — emergency workers and desperate local officials begged the state for help raising their levee. Corcoran had been sinking, steadily, for years because of persistent overpumping of groundwater by major landowners in the Tulare Lake Basin that has sent the valley floor into a slow-motion collapse. And the levee raises made in 2017 — a multimillion-dollar effort funded by local property tax hikes and the prison system — were no longer up to the job. Ultimately, the state agreed to pour $17 million into another round of levee engineering in an effort to save the town. … Lost in the chaotic scramble was the fact that just months before the water began rising in the ancient Tulare lakebed, the local agencies responsible for managing groundwater pumping had insisted that subsidence — and the subsequent flooding and destruction it might cause — was not an immediate problem. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Extinction Watch: No Delta Smelt collected in CDFW fall survey for sixth year in a row
Dan Bacher writes, “For the sixth year in a row, no Delta smelt have been collected in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fall Midwater Trawl Survey in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta from September through November 2023. Once the most abundant species in the entire estuary, the Delta smelt has declined to the point that it has become virtually extinct in the wild, due to massive water diversions from the Delta to agribusiness oligarchs and water brokers, combined with toxics, water pollution and invasive species. Disparaged as a “little minnow” by agribusiness oligarchs and right wing talking heads like Sean Hannity, the important role this fish plays in the ecosystem can’t be overemphasized. … ” Read more at the Daily Kos.
State certifies Delta tunnel EIR Solano calls ‘inadequate’
“The state on Thursday certified the Delta Conveyance Project Environmental Impact Report. The county, in comments sent to the state, argued that the report “is inadequate” in its mitigation of potential impacts. Supervisor Mitch Mashburn in an earlier interview noted that nothing has changed about the state’s intent, and said the plan will destroy Delta communities, harm fish and wildlife habitats, and gives no regard to Native American cultural protections. “In this EIR, they have made it clear they will not be able to mitigate all the impacts this project will cause,” Mashburn said. He has gone so far as to say the project “threatens national security” due to increased traffic in Solano and its possible impacts on Travis Air Force Base. But the certification news was welcomed by others. … ” Read more from the Daily Republic.
SCV Water shares support for major state water plans
“The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency pledged its support this week for the approval of a massive statewide infrastructure project intended to increase the water supply and reliability for millions of people throughout California. The Department of Water Resources certified the final environmental impact report, or EIR, Thursday for the Delta Conveyance Project, a modernization of the infrastructure system that’s part of a plan several decades in the making. In broad strokes, the project is expected to help the state capture and move more water during wet seasons to better weather the state’s dry seasons and protect against earthquake disruptions to the state’s water supply. … ” Read more from The Signal.
San Francisco Baykeeper sues federal agency for failing to meet endangered species act requirements
“San Francisco Baykeeper late last week filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service for violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The agency proposed listing the SF Bay-Delta population of longfin smelt as an endangered species in 2022, but failed to meet a deadline established by Congress in the law to make a final listing determination and to designate what counts as critical habitat for the imperiled fish. Baykeeper put the agency on notice October 11 that it would take legal action unless the agency issued the required rulings. These rulings were required by statute on October 7, but the agency has failed to meet its legal obligations. The agency initiated its now delinquent proposal to list longfin smelt following a series of legal actions by Baykeeper and allied organizations dating back to 1992. The most recent monitoring data for longfin smelt in San Francisco Bay shows that populations have crashed more than 99 percent since 1967. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Baykeeper.
The Yuba River and the Bay Delta: From source to sea — the journey of Yuba water to the Golden Gate
“The Golden Gate Bridge is a critical landmark for the migration of salmon in the region. Salmon are anadromous—they start their lives in freshwater, journey to the ocean, and then make their way back to freshwater to reproduce. The Golden Gate Bridge serves as the gateway and departure point for these fish as they navigate between the Pacific Ocean and the Yuba River, where they spawn. Under this iconic bridge is the original “Golden Gate”—a 1-mile wide and 3-mile-long strait that connects the Bay to the ocean. Think of this as the finish line in a Yuba salmon’s 110-mile odyssey to the sea. Two-thirds of California’s salmon pass through the Golden Gate. … ” Continue reading from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
Spying on beavers from space could help save California
“For the first time in four centuries, it’s good to be a beaver. Long persecuted for their pelts and reviled as pests, the dam-building rodents are today hailed by scientists as ecological saviors. Their ponds and wetlands store water in the face of drought, filter out pollutants, furnish habitat for endangered species, and fight wildfires. In California, Castor canadensis is so prized that the state recently committed millions to its restoration. While beavers’ benefits are indisputable, however, our knowledge remains riddled with gaps. We don’t know how many are out there, or which direction their populations are trending, or which watersheds most desperately need a beaver infusion. Few states have systematically surveyed them; moreover, many beaver ponds are tucked into remote streams far from human settlements, where they’re near-impossible to count. “There’s so much we don’t understand about beavers, in part because we don’t have a baseline of where they are,” says Emily Fairfax, a beaver researcher at the University of Minnesota. But that’s starting to change. … ” Read more from Wired Magazine.
Who pays to get forever chemicals out of drinking water? It could be you
“Forever chemicals have shown up in drinking water across the country. Now they are appearing in homeowners’ soaring utility bills. Water systems are spending millions of dollars to filter out PFAS, the long-lasting compounds commonly known as forever chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and other health problems. Earlier this year 3M, DuPont, and two other companies agreed to proposed class-action settlements of contamination claims for up to $13.7 billion, but some water providers are already passing the cleanup cost on to customers. Communities including Hawthorne, N.J., Wellesley, Mass., and Wausau, Wis., have boosted their water rates by 13% to more than 50% after the discovery of PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, led them to build new filtration systems or buy water from other sources. … ” Read more from the Wall Street Journal (gift article).
Story Map: Water Year 2023 Summary: A review of a historic year in California and Nevada
Water Year (WY) 2023 was truly historic across California and Nevada. Two periods of extreme winter precipitation and a rare landfalling tropical storm broke numerous records, ended three years of persistent drought, and revived long-dry Tulare Lake. Temperatures through much of year were below climatological normal. Notable departures from that trend are July and August, both of which recorded average temperatures in the upper quartile of the historical record across both states. December (2022), January, March, May, June, August, and September posted above average and often top-10 historical statewide precipitation totals for both states. February remained above average in California. This story map aims to highlight the antecedent conditions leading into Water Year 2023 as well as the major events and impacts therein. … ” View the Story Map.
The secret foreign roots of tech titans’ new California city
“When the backers of a secretive effort to amass nearly $1 billion worth of land in California finally unveiled their vision this past summer, they did so in great detail. They announced plans to build a new city near San Francisco. They listed the Silicon Valley titans involved. California Forever, as the project was called, described itself as “a California company backed by California investors.” What California Forever didn’t highlight was its foreign roots. Its creator is a Czech-born entrepreneur who became an American citizen midway into the land-buying venture. His right-hand man in the project for much of the time is South African. Foreign involvement in deals like California Forever’s is a potential trigger for a U.S. government national security review, and Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, and Thomas Mather, who manages investments for the family of a South African billionaire, took steps to play down their central roles, according to a Wall Street Journal review of legal documents, property and corporate records, publicly available data and interviews with people involved. … ” Read more from the Wall Street Journal (gift article).
In commentary this week …
The price of scarcity
Edward Ring, contributing editor to the California Globe and senior fellow with the California Policy Center, writes, “”How much water does $7 billion buy? In so many ways that it almost defies description, California’s lawmakers have relied on flawed logic to justify recently passed laws that will impose punitive urban water rationing. Rather than undertake the Sisyphean task of enumerating them, let’s just focus on one critical factor: the opportunity cost. California’s urban water consumption is already down from over 9 Million Acre-Feet/year in the 1990s to only around 7.5 MAF/year today despite adding 8 million people to the state’s population over the past 30 years. Practical conservation measures have already been taken, so now the state Legislature wants us to kill “nonfunctional” lawns (and the trees that depend on lawn irrigation), and limit indoor water use to 42 gallons per day. The cost to implement these destructive, draconian edicts is estimated at over $7 billion. The benefit? An estimated savings of around 400,000 acre feet per year (this Dept. of Water Resources study estimates total savings of 340,515 acre feet per year – ref. page 61). … ” Read more from the California Globe.
The Delta Conveyance Project: Either we survive together or perish together
Sarah Vardaro writes, “On December 8th, 2023, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) for its proposed Delta Conveyance Project, informally called the Delta tunnel. During the required comment period following DWR’s release of its Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR), the public, native tribes, and non-governmental organizations submitted 700 letters and 7,000 comments. Many of these letters and comments raised substantive concerns about the Project’s potential negative impact on the environment and on communities who live within the Delta region and watersheds. DWR claims that its Final EIR “responds to all substantive comments.” Chris Shutes, executive director of California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) said DWR simply affirmed that its Draft EIR “was right on just about everything,” but was (perhaps unintentionally) candid in recognizing that “[i]ncreased flow through the Delta is not consistent with the project purpose” of the Delta tunnel. … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
Supporting the Delta Conveyance Project helps ensure a sustainable future
Gina Dorrington, GM of Ventura Water; Michael Flood, GM of Casitas Municipal Water District; Mauricio Guardado, GM of United Water Conservation District; and Tony Goff, GM of Calleguas Municipal Water District, write, “Ventura County’s mountain ranges, river valleys, and expansive plains provided an ideal setting for the dynamic towns and abundant agricultural operations we know and love. But we quickly outgrew the water resources our geography could provide, and sustainable water management — the delicate balance of maintaining our ecosystem and supporting the economic and social fabric of our region — has been a regional priority ever since. As a state, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance the sustainability of one of our critical regional supply sources, the State Water Project, via the Delta Conveyance Project. As a county, we need to stand united in our support. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star.
California’s antiquated water laws need updating to make use of flood flows
Tom Holyoke, Cordie Qualle and Laura Ramos with the California Water Institute at CSU Fresno, writes, “As we reflect on the past year before we move into the next, one thing is clear — the historic number of atmospheric rivers that slammed the area in the first quarter of 2023 caught us off guard. The unexpected deluge from these storms served as a reminder that traditional weather patterns can no longer be relied upon for future planning. It is time for California to adopt a proactive approach, preparing for every wet season with the proper permits, equipment, and infrastructure to mitigate the potential impact of unpredictable wet weather events. Although we’ve had a dry start to the current wet season, recent weather patterns bring hope to the San Joaquin Valley for rain and snow at higher levels. While this storm series doesn’t appear that it will bring any severe flooding impacts to the Valley floor, the possibility still looms. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee. | Read more from Yahoo News.
California Courts foil Westlands Water District’s Grinch-like water grab
Richard Frank, Professor of Environmental Practice and Director of the U. C. Davis School of Law’s California Environmental Law & Policy Center, writes, “While there’s a great deal that’s dysfunctional and downright wrong about water law and policy in California, occasionally there are positive developments to report. So it’s most satisfying to end 2023 with some good news regarding water in the Golden State. This is the saga of how the Westlands Water District tried to privatize a permanent supply of massive amounts of California water from a government-operated water project; the remarkable coalition of interests that joined together to foil Westlands’ efforts; and the California trial and appellate courts that soundly rejected Westlands’ Grinch-like plan. … ” Continue reading at the Legal Planet.
Let’s make 2024 a ‘groundwater year’
Columnist Thomas Elias writes, “California has had drought years and wet years. It’s had several “years of the woman,” and the last few years might well have been called “years of housing increases,” at least when it comes to making new laws. Fully 56 such laws passed in 2023. But there’s never been a “groundwater year.” Yet, few resources are as important or as diminished as the unseen aquifers that sustain everything from apricots to avocados, almonds and asparagus, just to name a few items. Not to mention what they do for millions of city dwellers, who also get substantial parts of their water from underground basins. … “ Continue reading from the Petaluma Argus-Courier.
In regional water news this week …
Returning to the river: Tribal nations see hope for homelands as Klamath River dams are removed
“Jenny Creek burbled cool and clear under a leafy canopy, and dragonflies flitted about the lively little waterway. But a few hundred feet away, the dreamy little creek drains into Iron Gate Reservoir and an ecological nightmare. Scummy algae-topped water exudes a putrid odor that causes some visitors to gag. At certain times of the year, it’s not safe to fish or jump in the reservoir. … For people who lived along the river, the solution seemed obvious: Take down the dams. And now, after years of legal wrangling, the failure of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, shuffling the dams to several owners and finally, signoff from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in November 2022, the nation’s largest dam removal project has commenced. … ” Continue reading at USA Today.
Manual breach of Navarro River sandbar raises issues bigger than traffic
“On Dec. 13, State Route 128 had been closed for six days due to flooding over the roadway. Sheldon Schultz and son Zalmon Schultz loaded up their kayak and went out to pull the plug. The seasonal sandbar blocking the Navarro River had already begun to fail. The two men had gone to have a look two days before, and they realized it was close to flowing naturally. Why not be there to see it blow? They dug a trench across the bar and watched while water flowed in as a trickle. Then the trench plugged up with driftwood and blobs of weeds and balls of roots. They went back to the kayak and got shovels and did it again. … This time there was a fast movement of water, then faster and baboom! The river quickly fell off the highway and back into its banks. So wasn’t that a good thing? Not so, as the act was likely illegal. … ” Read more from the Mendocino Beacon.
‘Unacceptable’: 21 hazardous materials releases, spills recorded at Martinez refinery
“2023 was not a good year for Martinez Refining Company, according to county health officials. Anna Roth, director of Contra Costa Health, wrote a letter to the refinery’s managers on Thursday, stating, “In the past year, CCH has documented 21 releases or spills of hazardous materials at the Martinez refinery. The number of incidents at the refinery over the past year is unacceptable for a facility operating in Contra Costa County.” A high number of hazardous materials releases from the refinery, including three incidents involving metallic coke dust, compromised health and safety in nearby communities, according to county officials. Coke dust is a byproduct of oil refining. … ” Read more from KRON.
Porterville: Development of infamous Akin Well continues
“Development of the infamous Akin Well – the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to providing water for the area particularly East Porterville, is turning into a project that’s approaching 20 years. One step in the ultimate completion of the project has been completed as the water lines for the well have been connected to the city’s water system. The Porterville City Council accepted that work as completed, the Akin and Central Mutual Water System Improvement Project, as part of its consent calendar at its December 19 meeting. But now the work of actually equipping the well could take another 18 months, which would put completion of the project sometime in 2025, said City of Porterville public works director Michael Knight. … ” Continue reading at the Porterville Recorder.
Judge limits Bakersfield’s take of Kern River water and orders all sides to the drawing board over fish flows
“Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp issued a modified injunction on Kern River flows Wednesday that curbs the City of Bakersfield’s take and orders all rights holders to consult on how much water is needed for fish. On Nov. 14, Pulskamp had ordered 40% of the river’s flows be kept in the stream bed for fish as part of an earlier injunction that requires Bakersfield to keep fish in “good condition” from about Hart Park to Enos Lane. The new modification does not retain that 40% flow requirement, nor list a new one. Instead, it orders all parties – including agricultural districts with rights to the river – to consult in “good faith” to agree on a fish flow, also called a “public trust” flow. If they can’t agree, any one of the parties can request the court step in and impose flow rates. … ” Read more from SJV Water..
The last working orange grove in the San Fernando Valley to give way to homes
“Part of what sold Setmir and Aida Qose on the World War II-era home they bought last April was something even older: a century-old orange grove across the street. “Summertime, you can smell the oranges,” said Aida Qose, 49 years old. “It feels like you are living in the middle of the country.” Yet her home and the Bothwell Ranch in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills sit only blocks from the busy Ventura Freeway, and the surrounding San Fernando Valley is carpeted with suburban development. A developer plans to build homes and in the process remove most of the trees from the 14-acre farm, which contains the remnants of the valley’s last working citrus grove. The plans have prompted sadness, and an outcry from some. “We would prefer it stay the way it is,” Qose said on a sunny day in early December, gazing at trees brimming with fruit. … ” Read more from the Wall Street Journal (gift article).
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE: Streamlined Water Transfer Process Available
