In California water news today …
Solano County ready to sue state over Delta tunnel EIR
Paul Hames / DWR
“Solano County will be working with three other counties and a couple of water districts to “initiate litigation challenging the final environmental impact report and project approval for the Delta Conveyance Project.” The Solano County Board of Supervisors, on a unanimous vote taken during a closed session Tuesday, approved the action. County Counsel Bernadette Curry reported that the county will be coordinating with outside counsel on the litigation: Osha Meserve, from the Soluri Meserve firm; Tom Keeling, from the Freeman law firm; and Roger Moore, from the Law Office of Roger Moore. No formal budget has been set but the county is anticipating a cost of $75,000. The county, in its most recent letter to the state Department of Water Resources, called the impact report “inadequate” in its response to the county’s concerns and how the project will mitigate a host of potential impacts. … ” Read more from the Daily Republic.
Tunnel to collect freshwater flows
“Plans for a massive water tunnel received approval from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) last month, despite environmental concerns over the project’s impact on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Part of the State Water Project (SWP), the 45-mile Delta Conveyance Project will draw water from the Sacramento River, at a point about 15 miles south of Sacramento, and carry it to the Bethany Reservoir, near Mountain House, for storage before integration with the rest of the SWP. The Tri-Valley relies heavily on the SWP for its water. At full capacity, the tunnel will be able to move 6,000 cubic feet of water per second, a capability that the DWR said is necessary to take advantage of higher river flows brought about by increasingly larger storms, before the water runs out to the ocean. DWR said that the additional collected water will help carry the SWP through longer droughts. … ” Read more from the Livermore Independent.
Zone 7 mulls Sites Reservoir share
“Sites Reservoir, California’s first major reservoir in 45 years, recently took a crucial step forward despite opposition from environmental groups. The Sites Project Authority has certified its final environmental impact report and approved the project. … The 1.5 million acre-foot reservoir operates on a “beneficiary pays” system, in which some 30 agencies across California — such as the Coachella Valley Water District, the Desert Water Agency and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California — have contributed funds in return for a commitment to receive blocks of reservoir water delivered through the State Water Project (SWP). To date, the Tri-Valley’s Zone 7 has contributed $4.3 million to the Sites Project as part of the reservoir’s planning process and expects reservoir water rights of 10,000 acre-feet per year. Zone 7 General Manager Valerie Pryor said the Sites Reservoir will bolster Tri-Valley water supplies through longer droughts. … ” Read more from the Livermore Independent.
SEE ALSO: The Joint Benefits of the New Water Projects Are Questionable, editorial from the Livermore Independent
An atmospheric river storm is approaching California. Here’s when rain could return
“Winter storms have taken aim at the West Coast this week, bringing rain to the North Coast and Bay Area, and heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada. After a break from wet weather, another storm is expected to arrive this weekend. On Thursday, skies will clear, and a frost advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. for large swaths of the Bay Area, including the North Bay, East Bay interior valleys, Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley. Dry, cold weather will continue in the Bay Area on Friday, before an atmospheric river-fueled storm is forecast to bring downpours to Northern California, from Friday night through Saturday. This storm is expected to drop heavy rain in the North Bay and dump multiple feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Stronger cold storm this weekend in NorCal, then warmer and quieter weather to follow. Plus: seasonal outlook and El Niño update…
Dr. Daniel Swain writes, “December was an extraordinarily warm month globally and nationally (the warmest December on record both globally and generally across the United States). All of California experienced a much warmer than average month, and some regions (particularly in central CA, including the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast region) also experienced their warmest December on record. Precipitation was much more of a mixed bag, ranging from drier than average across the Sierra to wetter than average along the Central Coast. Notably, extreme thunderstorm downpours from a slow-moving cut-off low pressure system, characterized by unusually unstable air (aided in part by unusually warm near-shore ocean temperature) and a robust subtropical jet (perhaps thanks to El Nino and other tropical goings on) produced some of the heaviest hourly rainfall ever observed in non-mountainous California: over 3 inches in a single hour in and near Ventura. … ” Read more from Weather West.
SEE ALSO:
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- CW3E Seasonal Outlook: 9 January 2024, from the Center for Western Weather & Water Extremes
- January 2024 El Niño update: for the birds, from Climate.gov
What are snow droughts and is climate change making them worse?
“Scientists distinguish among an expanding variety of droughts. There are droughts when it doesn’t rain. There are droughts when soil is too dry, when rivers and groundwater levels fall, and when water storage can’t meet society’s needs. Increasingly, researchers also are talking about snow droughts, which a new study in the journal Nature links to climate change. There are also connections between snow droughts and wildfires. Is “snow drought” a new term? The term is old, with use peaking in the late 1970s, according to the Google Books Ngram viewer. It bubbled up again during the 2010s as regions that depend on snowpack for water saw their bounties thin, and it began to climb in 2017. That’s when three US researchers wrote an essay titled “Defining Snow Drought and Why It Matters,” which kicked off a global effort to document trends around the world and explain them. … ” Read more from Bloomberg (gift article).
Snow drought current conditions and impacts in the West
“In early January, snow water equivalent (SWE) observations at some SNOTEL stations in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington were at record low values. The highest concentration of record low SWE is in the northern Rocky Mountains across Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Storms over the next week will improve conditions in the Pacific Northwest, Great Basin, and northern Rockies, but are unlikely to completely erase existing deficits. … ” Read more from NIDIS.
The West’s winter is off to a dry start, raising concerns for the nation’s largest reservoirs
“Even as winter arrived in the East this week, with treacherous snow and an impending Arctic cold snap, much of the West and its major river basins are still entrenched in warm and dry conditions. It’s a sluggish start to what should be the region’s wet season and is raising concerns about the future of the water supplies that depend on it. The weather through early January was “great for outdoor activities like beach volleyball but not great for water supply,” Bill Hasencamp, manager of Colorado River Resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to Los Angeles, told CNN. Although meteorologists and Western water experts caution it’s still early in the winter and a lot can change between now and April, the warm, dry weather is notable for how far-reaching it has been. … ” Read more from CNN.
Climate change is shrinking snowpack in many places, study shows. And it will get worse
“River basins around the world that were once regularly snowbound are increasingly seeing their snowpack shrink and climate change is to blame, a new study found. “Many of the world’s most populous basins are hovering on the precipice of rapid snow declines,” concluded the study of snow amounts since 1981 in Wednesday’s journal Nature. That’s because the study found a key threshold for the future of snowpacks in the Northern Hemisphere: 17.6 degrees (-8 degrees Celsius). In places where the winter temperature average is colder than that, the snowpack often survives because it’s cold enough. But areas warmer than 17.6 degrees for a winter average tend to see their winter wonderland dreams melt like the wicked witch of the west. And it’s happening fast. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
SEE ALSO:
Assemblymember Connolly passes clean water protections for rural communities and endangered wetlands
“Today, Assemblymember Connolly passed Assembly Bill (AB) 828 out of the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee, which allows managed wetlands and small disadvantaged communities to use their average annual water usage without being subject to excessive fines by Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) as part of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Several GSAs are proposing groundwater allocations that are unworkable for rural communities and endangered wetlands. AB 828 will protect small communities’ access to safe and affordable drinking water and keep some of the state’s last wetlands from going dry. “Wetlands are a critical natural resources for our state, and small, rural communities are being hit the hardest by the state’s depleting groundwater resources,” said Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael). “These disadvantaged communities usually depend on a single source for their water supply, leaving them vulnerable to drought and affordability challenges. AB 828 brings California closer to protecting safe and clean water accessibility for all California communities. ” … ” Read more from Assemblymember Damon Connolly.
Governor releases budget proposal. Here’s the detail on water and climate spending
“Governor Gavin Newsom today introduced his 2024-25 state budget proposal, a balanced funding plan that maintains the state’s fiscal stability while preserving key investments for education, public safety, addressing homelessness, mental health care reform, climate action, and other priorities. Using some of the unprecedented budget reserves built up over the years and other tools, this budget responsibly closes a projected $37.86 billion shortfall. … ” Note: There is no funding in the Governor’s budget for the Delta Conveyance Project, nor is there any funding for groundwater management. Here are the details on the water and climate spending in the Governor’s budget proposal.
SEE ALSO:
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- Newsom unveils plan to cut California climate funding, from Cal Matters
- The biggest losers in Gov. Newsom’s budget, from Cal Matters
- Newsom’s Proposed Budget Affects Funding in Water Categories, from ACWA News
- Governor Newsom’s Budget Proposal Cuts Vital Climate Resiliency Funding but Preserves Investment in Environmental Conservation, press release from the Sierra Club
- California Budget Keeps Drinking Water Funds, from the Community Water Center
- Governor unveils 2024 California budget as $16+ billion Delta Tunnel project moves forward, from Dan Bacher at the Daily Kos
In commentary today …
Water rationing is the worst way to build resiliency
Edward Ring, senior fellow with the California Policy Center, writes, “When a public policy decision is flawed, and the reasons it is flawed are simple and obvious, and the consequences are huge and costly, the appropriate response for a concerned observer is to call attention to the looming debacle. Not just once, but over and over and over again. An example of an impending economic and environmental disaster is the special interest driven mad rush to deploy floating wind turbines off the California coast. It’s insane, and we must return soon to the topic of offshore wind in the context of California’s overall energy strategy. In the meantime, let’s take yet another look at an equally distressing policy disaster, the flawed implementation of a flawed piece of legislation, SB 1157 by Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Los Angeles), otherwise known as urban water rationing. … ” Continue reading at the California Globe.
Who is to blame for California’s budget woes? Try Mother Nature
“California has officially entered the era of climate-driven economic insecurity. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out his new budget, facing a nearly $38-billion shortfall. That missing money is mostly due to lower-than-expected tax revenue on capital gains — the stock and investment earnings of the Golden State’s wealthiest folks weren’t quite what were expected. But, unlike most years when state officials have a grasp by April, when taxes are usually filed, of how much money California can responsibly spend, last year was different. … Our weather was so volatile and devastating that even the IRS had mercy, delaying the deadline for the majority of the state’s residents to file taxes first to October and then to November. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
2023 Klamath Dam Removal Science Collaboration Workshop Summary Report
“Historically, the Klamath River was the third largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast of the continental United States. The river’s rich resources and surrounding watershed have sustained native people since time immemorial. The health of the Klamath Basin ecosystem is intertwined with the well-being and identity of native people throughout the watershed, including the Yurok and Karuk people. Agricultural development, water diversions, resource extraction, over-fishing, and dams have degraded the river ecosystem and caused dramatic declines to native fish populations. The Indigenous people of
the Klamath Basin have suffered greatly as the river’s health and fisheries have declined. In a historic effort to restore ecosystem function and fisheries, four Klamath River hydroelectric dams are being removed , representing the largest dam removal in US history. … ” Read the full summary report.
Audio: Dams are coming down on rivers across the West. Why many tribes are all for that
“Dams were first built along many major rivers in the country to control the flow of water, to create reservoirs, or generate electricity. But now, as the environmental and cultural impacts of many of those dams are coming to the fore — they’re starting to come down. That’s the story that’s playing out on one river in Northern California called the Klamath. And Debra Utacia Krol spent a long time reporting there — from the tribal concerns about the four dams along the river to how taking them down will bring salmon back to its shores. Krol is an Indigenous affairs reporter for the Arizona Republic and The Show spoke with her about what’s happening.” Listen at KJZZ.
Ukiah Valley groundwater agency to discuss fees, budget Thursday
“At the next meeting of the Ukiah Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s board of directors Thursday afternoon, a draft five-year implementation budget and fee schedule will be discussed. According to the board packet prepared for the Jan. 11 meeting, the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) is “currently funded through member agency contributions, (but) GSA member contributions are not guaranteed beyond the end of FY 2026. And while the GSA has received grants in the past, grant funding is not guaranteed, (and) being financially self-sufficient and sustainable will help maintain local control over the groundwater basin and avoid state intervention. State intervention is estimated to cost more than what’s being considered in the fee study.” … ” Read more from the Ukiah Daily Journal.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Wirewalker going under Lake Tahoe’s waves
“This spring the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center plans to commission the next element of its Autonomous Realtime Lake Observatory ― the Wirewalker. TERC scientists note the Wirewalker is a wave-powered, water quality profiling system, capable of taking measurements of Lake Tahoe’s properties from the lake bottom to the lake surface every 20 minutes― 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Wirewalker will join the existing TERC observatory components that include nearshore stations, underwater gliders and deep-water temperature and oxygen stations, that currently operate in the lake. … ” Read more from the Mountain Democrat.
Lake Tahoe area sees heavy snowfall overnight following deadly avalanche
” Just hours after an avalanche claimed the life of a 66-year-old man at an iconic Lake Tahoe ski resort, more snow moved into the region making road conditions ‘treacherous’ on what would be a popular weekend for skiers, according to area forecasters. … Operations at Palisades Tahoe will be “significantly delayed” on Thursday, the famous ski resort announced, as crews lost road access to the KT-22 lift amid the avalanche and ensuing snowfall. Thursday was expected to remain dry after heavy snowfall moved through the region on [Wednesday], but road conditions remained “sketchy to downright dangerous” throughout the Sierra Nevadas as snow and ice covered roadways, according to the National Weather Service. … ” Continue reading at the Mercury News.
BAY AREA
Triumph or insult? The complicated legacy of the Bay Area’s water temples
In Redwood City, there’s a round, open-air rotunda that looks like it was plucked right out of ancient Rome. It has stone columns, an ornate dome and even a reflecting pool. It’s called the Pulgas Water Temple, and there’s another one just like it in Sunol, about 40 miles away. Bay Curious listener Will Hoffknecht enjoys photographing unique places around the Bay Area. These classically styled temples make for some great shots, so he’s visited a few times. “I’m just trying to better understand the history of those,” Hoffknecht said. “It seems like an odd thing that there’s these multiple temples around.” The story of these temples begins back in the 1770s. … ” Read/listen at KQED.
Audio: A rare salmon went extinct in a California creek. People are trying to bring it back
“Decades ago, salmon in the Pescadero Creek along the California coast went extinct. Now conservationists, farmers and federal money for addressing human-caused climate change are helping them return.” Listen at NPR.
CENTRAL COAST
Grover Beach City Council members threatened with recall attempt
“Upset at the Grover Beach City Council for voting to raise water and wastewater rates to help fund the city’s portion of a water reclamation project, a group of residents is organizing a repeal of the vote and wants to recall three council members. A Grover H2O spokesperson, former city Mayor Debbie Peterson, told New Times that the group is made up of city residents who are passionate about their water rights. “We will circulate a petition for a ballot measure to repeal the rate increase, manage recalls, and run candidates who we feel are going to be more responsive to the people of Grover Beach,” Peterson said. … ” Continue reading at New Times SLO.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority begins first year of cloud seeding pilot program to increase local water supply
“The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) conducted the first cloud seeding events of the Santa Ana River Watershed Weather Modification Pilot Program during recent storms in late December and early January. The Pilot Program, launched in November 2023, is intended to evaluate the effectiveness of enhancing local water supplies through cloud seeding in the region. If shown to be effective, cloud seeding can enhance the watershed resilience of the Santa Ana River Watershed by increasing snow and rainfall from storms by 5-15 percent in targeted areas. The Santa Ana River Watershed, spanning portions of Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties, plays a vital role in supporting diverse ecosystems, providing water resources, and offering recreational opportunities to millions of residents. Recognizing the importance of enhancing and preserving this valuable natural resource, SAWPA initiated the Pilot Program to provide an additional source of water supply to adapt to the impacts of climate change risks and help sustain the health of the watershed. … ” Read more from the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.
State water contractors partner to protect water surplus
“San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency (SGPWA) will preserve excess water for later use under a one-time water exchange with Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency (AVEK). The historic partnership marks the first time SGPWA has ever stored water outside of the area to secure future supplies. After an exceptionally wet year, SGPWA delivered more than 20,000 acre-feet locally in 2023, setting a regional record. The Agency’s overall water portfolio is currently around 37,500 acre-feet, after a 100 percent State Water Project (SWP) allocation and more than 5,000 acre-feet of Article 21 water, available to contractors when there is ample extra supply due to wet weather. “With more than 15,000 acre-feet of carryover water going into 2024, collaborating with AVEK was key to our ability to take full advantage of all the water available in 2023,” said SGPWA General Manager Lance Eckhart. … ” Read more from the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency.
Layers of issues impacting San Clemente dredging project
“A landmark sand replenishment project that started in San Clemente last month is up and running again after it was halted for two weeks due to the holidays, equipment issues and big swells caused by King Tides. Residents like Mike Pavick have been keeping a close eye on the project. “We’re thrilled to see the project come here because we don’t like to see the beach eroding, obviously,” said Pavick. “To think that they’re going to fill in sand from Linda Lane to T Street is pretty cool, pretty fantastic. It’s going slower than I thought and there’s a lot of rock in this that they’re digging up, so that’s a bit of a concern.” … ” Read more from KABC.
SAN DIEGO
Winter storms delay start to Solana Beach-Encinitas sand replenishment project
“In 2000, Solana Beach and Encinitas reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers for help with their eroding coastline. Decades of human development have interrupted the natural flow of sand onto the beaches there, causing a gradually shrinking coastline. In Solana Beach, sand loss means that waves are encroaching on the bluffs, threatening homes and public infrastructure. After more than two decades of planning, environmental studies and the infusion of federal money, the sand replenishment project is now ready to start. … ” Read more from KPBS.
Along the Colorado River …
Commentary: Arizona and others may have a revolutionary plan to fix the Colorado River
Opinion columnist Joanna Allhands writes, “A new proposal from the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada would base future Colorado River cuts on how much water is in the system, not just how low Lake Mead may be. At first glance, this might seem like it wouldn’t make much difference. Sort of like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. But there’s more to it. Everyone knows the river, which feeds reservoirs that provide water for 40 million people, isn’t producing the kind of water that it used to.And that’s a problem, because we’ve got a century of inflexible laws and court rulings that guarantee more water to users than the river now reliably produces. … ” Read more at the Arizona Republic.
Nevada: Nye County Commission rebukes lithium mining, solar development
“Growing industrial development in Nye County is facing pushback after public opposition to projects residents fear may harm the county’s limited water resources. Last week, the Nye County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve letters opposing mining activities near the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and solar developments within one of the most over-appropriated basins in the state. Nevada’s vast public lands have become a magnet for energy developers and mining companies looking to cash in on the clean energy transition. Nye County is now at the center of those interests after thousands of acres in Nevada’s Amargosa desert was leased for solar development last year, resulting in the highest-yielding onshore renewable energy auction in Bureau of Land Management history. … ” Read more from the Nevada Current.
Lake Powell is still in trouble. Here’s what’s good and what’s alarming about the current water level
Dan Gearino writes, “What do you call a situation that remains a crisis, but has ever so slightly improved? I’m asking myself this as I look at the latest water level data for Lake Powell, the reservoir in Arizona and Utah that feeds the Glen Canyon hydropower plant and is a conduit for drinking water for parts of several states. The level on Monday was 3,568 feet above sea level, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that manages the reservoir and the power plant. On the same day last year, the water was at 3,525 feet—a difference of 43 feet. That was close to the reservoir’s lowest level since it was initially being filled in the 1960s. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
In national water news today …
Interior’s people to watch in 2024
“Personnel is policy. It’s a well-known truism in political circles, and for the Interior Department in 2024, some changing personnel lineups could make for intriguing policy moves. The personnel worth watching include some longtime agency veterans, such as the National Park Service’s deputy director, Mike Reynolds. Some are political appointees shifting sideways or upward from another spot, like Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis, who will be charged with keeping the departmental trains running smoothly for Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. And some are entering from the outside, like Sharon Buccino, who’s coming from Wyoming to lead the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Here are some of the Interior Department people to watch in the coming year. … ” Read more from E&E News.
