In California water news today …
Five guiding principles for effective voluntary agreements: A case study on VAs for water and habitat in California’s Bay-Delta watershed
“California has increasingly emphasized efforts to develop voluntary agreements (VAs) with water users as a means of achieving regulatory goals. VAs are negotiated agreements that establish pathways for regulated entities to meet regulatory requirements through alternative means. In theory, a VA can combine the protectiveness of a regulatory backstop with the creativity and flexibility of a negotiated deal to produce outcomes as good as, or better than, those achievable through strict application of regulatory requirements alone. VAs may also be able to achieve those outcomes more quickly, with less conflict and litigation. However, theory and reality do not always match. This policy paper examines the state’s pursuit of VAs for flow and habitat restoration to support native fish populations in California’s Bay-Delta watershed. … ” Read more from Berkeley Law..
DWR completes review of Groundwater Sustainability Plans: 10 plans approved, 7 deemed incomplete
“The Department of Water Resources (DWR) marked a major milestone in long-term water supply management efforts today with the completion of the review process of groundwater sustainability plans for high and medium priority groundwater basins in the state. The plans were prepared and submitted at the local level for the first time, ensuring that communities near these precious resources have a significant role in ensuring their sustainability. California’s groundwater basins, which collectively make up a massive underground reservoir, provide a critical water supply for 15.4 million people, especially during dry years when surface water supplies are lacking. As California adapts to a hotter, drier future, these groundwater supplies will become a more vital resource for local water agencies and agriculture. … ” Read more from the Department of Water Resources.
Rounds of atmospheric river storms target West Coast as flooding concerns in California rise
“Rounds of storms will target the West Coast into early next week, including several of the atmospheric river variety. An active pattern is in place across the West. The first storm and atmospheric river arrived late Thursday, bringing Oregon the third round of freezing rain this week. After that storm, California will get a fire hose of rain through Tuesday while the Pacific Northwest gets a glancing blow. Weather models show storms getting a tropical connection, which means heavier rain and snow but warmer temperatures. … ” Read more from Fox Weather.
Back-to-back winter storms to drench Northern California. Here’s the timeline and forecast
“Wet weather is knocking on Northern California’s door and it’s only a matter of time before it bursts through. Umbrella? Check. Rain boots? Check. According to the National Weather Service, back-to-back winter storms will drench the region Friday into Wednesday. Meteorologist Sara Purdue said there won’t be a substantial break between the storms, so low levels of flooding and roadway ponding are a concern in areas with poor drainage. “Quite a bit” of rainfall is expected, she added, compared to past storms this winter season. Flood risks will be highest between Sunday evening and Monday morning. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
How giant balloons are helping California prepare for intense storms
“Just before the rays of dawn on Jan. 12 paraded over the cliffs that separate Bodega Bay from the expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Adolfo Lopez Miranda and Jacob Morgan inflated a shapeless giant silicone balloon with helium. The duo worked inside a wooden gray shed. A few minutes before seven, the two men hiked to a nearby hilltop, carrying the now bulging balloon, around 3 feet long and wide. They attached a tiny red parachute with a translucent cord, added an array of weather sensors, and released it like kids at a birthday party. They watched it lift over the dark ocean toward an incoming rainstorm forced over the Bay Area by an extended, narrow region in the sky transporting moisture called an atmospheric river. Lopez Miranda and Morgan, engineers with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, are attempting to better understand these rivers in the sky, which can dump an onslaught of precipitation — several inches of rain in less than an hour — and trigger catastrophic flooding. … ” Read more from KQED.
26,000 gallons of oily water recovered from tugboat submerged in San Joaquin Delta
“An operation to remove oily water and petroleum product from a submerged tugboat in the San Joaquin delta was wrapped up Thursday. The Office of Spill Prevention and Response said the 1940s era military tugboat, the Mazapeta, sank on Sept. 4 in Little Potato Slough. It had around 1,600 gallons of diesel and engine oil onboard at the time. Ultimately, officials estimate they recovered around 593 gallons of “petroleum product” and 26,000 gallons of oily water. The city of Stockton is now working with salvage contractors to get the tugboat out of the water. The removal efforts started Jan. 17 with a dead ship tow to Vallejo for disposal. … ” Read more from ABC 10.
California court ruling could threaten key source of funding for disputed giant water tunnel project
“A California judge says a 60-year-old law does not give the state permission to borrow the billions of dollars it would need to build a large water project, a decision that could threaten a key source of funding for a controversial plan backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to build a massive underground tunnel that would reroute a big part of the state’s supply. The Department of Water Resources approved a resolution in 2020 to borrow money for an unspecified “Delta Program.” The agency said it could borrow this money without asking for permission from the state Legislature because a law, last amended in 1959, says it can make changes to a portion of the State Water Project — a complex system of dams and canals that supplies water to about 27 million people. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
SEE ALSO:
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- Flawed Delta Tunnels Project Takes Big Financial and Legal Hit, from the California Globe
- San Joaquin County Responds to Court’s Rejection of State’s Attempt to Finance Controversial Delta Tunnel Project with Unlimited Bond Money, from San Joaquin County
Quench California makes the case for infrastructure investment locally and statewide
“Water agencies adopting new rate schedules must overcome a challenge familiar to most in the ACWA community. How do you reach customers and explain what makes their water possible? How can you make clear the tremendous financial investment required to maintain the infrastructure behind what so many take for granted? For any agency, this is where successful education and outreach to customers can make all the difference, because when they understand how water infrastructure functions and what that means in terms of cost and their quality of life, they understand the nature of what’s required to keep their water supply safe, secure and reliable. There are very real consequences to how well people understand water infrastructure, and that makes the work of any water agency more effective regardless of the circumstances. Fortunately, ACWA members have a powerful educational resource devoted to creating that understanding — Quench California, our award-winning public education campaign at www.QuenchCA.com. … ” Read more from ACWA’s Water News.
This HOA lawsuit could shape the future of the California coast
“The fate of California’s coast may hinge upon the outcome of a contentious ongoing lawsuit in which a small group of homeowners is battling to build a sea wall that the state has refused to approve. Rising sea levels are threatening to eat away much of the state’s 1,100-mile shoreline, while potentially destroying many of the homes and businesses that have been built alongside it. In a case that has pitted public beaches against private property rights, the resolution of a regulator-residential rift could help clarify who is allowed to shield their properties from this encroaching danger — and in doing so, make a far-reaching impact on the future geography of the state’s bluffs, beaches and coastal communities. … ” Read more from KTLA.
Sludge compost is an increasing source of microplastics, researchers say
“A team of UCLA researchers has put a new spin on the 1970s rock classic “Dust in the Wind” — only this one is grimmer and grimier than the original hit by Kansas. They found that wind picks up microplastics from human-sewage-based fertilizers at higher concentrations than previously known, and may be an “underappreciated” source of airborne plastic bits, flakes and threads. “If you blow wind on soil with microplastics, you’d expect a similar amount of soil and microplastic to be present in the dust,” said Sanjay Mohanty, a UCLA professor of civil and environmental engineering. “But here we found less soil in the dust and a lot more microplastics. That means every time the wind blows, the particles leave the soil preferentially.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In commentary today …
Muddying the waters: State Water Board’s Bay-Delta environmental analysis falls short
The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) writes, “The State Water Control Board’s long-awaited environmental assessment of the San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary correctly describes the dire state of current affairs: keystone native fish species are nearing extinction, commercial fisheries, sport angling and recreational opportunities are disappearing, costs for domestic water services are skyrocketing, toxic algal blooms are threatening human health and wildlife, and salinity is intruding far into the Delta, threatening domestic water supplies and arable farmland. The Water Board also notes in the 6,000-page assessment that tree nuts – notoriously thirsty crops that have been the mainstay of San Joaquin Valley agribusiness for two decades – are now spreading northward into the Sacramento Valley. … ” Read more from the California Water Impact Network.
California should rethink its water conservation plan
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat editorial board writes, “In the wake of a megadrought, California is planning for a drier future. Regulators shouldn’t rush to impose conservation efforts that cost more than they’re worth. At the peak of the last drought, efforts to reduce water consumption remained mostly voluntary. The governor asked people to please stop watering lawns, washing cars, taking long showers etc. We all know the drill by now. Californians used less water, though not as much as officials had hoped. Now the state wants to prepare for the next drought and the ones after that. A 2018 law calls for urban retail water suppliers to reduce usage starting next year. How much they need to save will increase until 2035. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
We don’t know how worried we should be about nanoplastics
F.D. Flam, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, writes, “What does it mean that scientists found 240,000 million nanoparticles of plastic in a typical bottle of water? The number is big and sounds alarming, but it isn’t very informative. How many particles are needed to cause disease? What kinds of ailments are likely to result? Are there people who are dead now who’d be alive if they’d avoided bottled water? These questions need to be addressed before we can make informed decisions at the individual and societal level. Should we ban plastic bottles for water and other drinks? Require health warnings? Would doing so save lives — or would it only take attention and money from more pressing health problems? … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
With a boom, John C. Boyle Dam drawdown begins on Klamath River
“The blast rocked the room. In a warehouse just steps away from the John C. Boyle Dam, more than 50 people watched Tuesday as, seconds later, a livestream video — captured by a drone hovering over the dam — showed water bursting through the 10-by-10-foot hole the blast had opened. The group soon gathered on the walkway above the dam as water released from the upstream Boyle Reservoir surged downstream toward the Copco 1 Dam. The process, called “drawdown,” is the slow draining of water from reservoirs behind the dams. Another step in removing four dams — the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history — along the Klamath River was successfully completed. … ” Read more from the Capital Press. | Read via the Herald & News.
SEE ALSO: Yurok Tribe celebrates Klamath Dam removal, from NBC News
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Another snow dump is coming for Tahoe ski areas — but what about avalanche danger?
“A series of storms is lining up to hammer Tahoe ski areas this weekend – news that is likely to delight skiers but that could also trigger concern about avalanche danger after a deadly in-bounds slide last week. These storms, however, will be warmer than the system that dropped several feet of snow last week and elevated avalanche risk across the Sierra Nevada. The avalanche danger has dropped to moderate, but experts still warn skiers to be cautious. The forecast means skiers could find open highways with little accumulated snow at times – and some fresh, if slightly heavy, powder at the highest levels of ski resorts. But it could mean a mix of rain and snow at resorts’ base elevations and it could dampen their apres-ski experiences off the slopes. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
SEE ALSO: See What it Looks Like to Get Rescued Under an Avalanche by a Tahoe Ski Patrol Dog, from Active NorCal
Who’s protecting Tahoe? Regulatory agency enamored with development, say critics
“The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, charged since 1969 with protecting Lake Tahoe from overdevelopment, has lost sight of its mission and lacks accountability according to a number of California and Nevada residents, including Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, a member of the TRPA’s governing board. Aguilar is the only member of the 15-person board to vote last month against sweeping regional development changes designed to increase density near town centers in the name of providing housing to workers at all income levels. The TRPA says the changes could result in 40% savings on rent by allowing unlimited density, buildings up to five stories, and exemptions for standard parking requirements in certain areas. “TRPA is a complicated organization,” Aguilar said during a phone interview. … ” Read more from the Nevada Current.
NAPA/SONOMA
Atmospheric river could cause landslides, flooding in North Bay
“Shallow landslides and flooding could occur this weekend as up to 8 inches of rain pour into the North Bay during what the National Weather Service is calling a “weak atmospheric river.” Two rounds of rain, from Friday to Monday, could dump about 2 to 6 inches of rain across area valleys while coastal ranges in northwest Sonoma County, like those north of Jenner, could see up to 8 inches, said Sarah McCorkle, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Monterey office. Though not as powerful as those that drenched the North Bay last winter, the expected atmospheric river will be one of the bigger storms so far this winter. Still, it is a normal system for the time of year, McCorkle said, and should bring mostly beneficial rain to the region. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
BAY AREA
Several storms to bring heavy rain to the Bay Area. Here’s a timeline of impacts
“The storm door is now open in the Bay Area thanks to El Nino’s influence, and the parade of wet, windy weather kicks off Friday. Three separate pulses of energy will be responsible for the wet weekend, but due to the unsettled nature of the atmosphere, rain could happen at any time. Here’s what to know about the wet and windy weekend weather. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Beach loss looms for the California coast
“Even though Dan Hoover’s been rolling up and down the same stretch of San Francisco’s Pacific coast for 15 years, it never looks the same. In summer it’s wider and flatter. In winter, with the pummeling from storms and winter waves, it narrows. Hoover drives an ATV with a GPS strapped to the front, which records the elevation and extent of the shifting sands beneath his tires. With climate change, not to mention El Niño this year, scientists say the beach will erode more than ever. “El Niño is all the buzz right now,” says coastal geologist Patrick Barnard of the U.S. Geological Survey. One “nature-based” source of new materials for eroding coasts could be rivers like the San Lorenzo in Santa Cruz. Other more engineered interventions, like one planned for San Francisco’s oceanfront sewage plant, require more negotiation and management. The coast, meanwhile, is on the move. … ” Continue reading at Knee Deep Times.
CENTRAL COAST
Oceano residents receive extension on federally funded aid for utility bills
“Hundreds of Oceano residents have trouble paying their water and sewer bills on time. “Past-due bills vary each bimonthly cycle, [but] for the December 2023 billing cycle, 434 late notices to customers were generated,” OCSD Account Administrator Nicole Miller told New Times. But there’s help available—at least until March. A federal program recently extended its application deadline for people who want to apply for help paying those bills. The Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County (CAPSLO) is working with the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) to take applications for help with water and sewer bill payments. … ” Read more from New Times SLO.
California awards $1 million climate resilience grant to Cuyama Valley community
“The County of Santa Barbara, two community-based non-profits, Blue Sky Center and Quail Springs, and the Community Environmental Council have been awarded a $1 million grant to bolster climate resilience in the Cuyama Valley. The Transformative Climate Communities grant from the California Strategic Growth Council will fund a variety of activities to curb the impact of climate change in the community including County Community Services Department and Blue Sky Center will identify household improvements to increase energy efficiency, energy resilience, and home comfort that can be implemented while overcoming barriers unique to the rural community, … ” Read more from KEYT.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Hanford: Public weighs in at majority protest hearing to increase water rates
“The Hanford City Council voted to raise water utility rates despite main opposition Tuesday evening during its regular session. Alison Lechowicz of Lechowicz & Tseng Municipal Consultants provided the Council with a water utility rate study and presented the findings during the public hearing. “The water fund is a utility fund which is treated as an enterprise fund,” Lechowicz said. “It’s a self-supported business unit of the city.” The proposed rates cover a five-year period starting Feb. 1, 2024. Proposition 218 prohibits increases to fees and charges if a majority of the affected ratepayers submit written opposition to proposed increases. The Council found that there were not enough petitions submitted. … ” Read more from the Hanford Sentinel.
Tule River Tribe reintroducing beavers to Tulare County
“Some time this spring, beavers will return to the ancestral lands of the Tule River Tribe in the Southern Sierra Nevada. It will be a moment tribal leaders have spent a decade preparing for, hoping the once thriving and now missing aquatic rodent can help return the forest’s natural drought resistance.When European settlers first arrived in North America, some 100 to 200 million beavers lived in the lakes, rivers and streams here. But because their dams threatened agriculture and their pelts carried a high value, the North American beaver was hunted to near extinction. Ninety percent of the beaver population was wiped out. The consequences of the kill-off linger to this day. … ” Read more from the Valley Voice.
Utah State University-inspired labyrinth weir takes shape at California’s Isabella Dam
“How do you maximize the length of a line that fits inside a confined space? One option is to fold the line into a zigzag. Another is to curve the line. How about a combination of both? That’s the idea that started at the Utah Water Research Laboratory decades ago. Today, that concept is a concrete reality in Southern California. Many dams around the world feature a spillway structure with a weir, which allows water to flow out of a reservoir at controlled rates. When water reaches the top of the weir, it spills over and flows to the downstream side. But with a changing climate punctuated by extreme weather, civil engineers are increasingly concerned about the ability of conventional weirs to control the occasional, record-smashing outflow. … ” Continue reading from Utah State University.
EASTERN SIERRA
Groundwater Authority discusses new guidelines and timeline for water plan
“At the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority board meeting on January 10, the IWVGA discussed new guidelines for its groundwater sustainability plan. This plan is the core deliverable of the IWVGA, complying with the requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 to draft and implement a plan to bring the local groundwater basin into sustainability. Jeff Helsley of Stetson Engineers presented the updated guidelines set forth by the California Department of Water Resources regarding periodic reports DWR requires from groundwater sustainability agencies like IWVGA. He stated, “These periodic evaluations serve as an assessment of how the GSP is performing and whether modifications are necessary.” … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Showers expected through weekend; heaviest rainfall expected Monday
“Orange County residents may want to stay indoors this weekend as scattered rain showers are projected to begin Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. As of Thursday afternoon, forecasts indicate that rain is expected to roll in in waves, said Brian Adams, a meteorologist with the San Diego station. The first wave will sweep through Southern California early Saturday morning, bringing with it scattered showers all the way through evening that same day. Adams said there may be a chance for thunderstorms throughout the night into early Sunday morning, but that Sunday by and large would stay dry. Monday is predicted to see the heaviest downpour, with rain projected to last most of the day. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
LA panel urges answers to toxic algae bloom that sickened marine mammals
“A Los Angeles City Council committee approved a motion on Wednesday, Jan. 17, seeking to improve the city’s response to a toxic algae bloom, and to update protocols to help marine mammals who are washed ashore as a result of the natural phenomenon. The Neighborhood and Community Enrichment Committee voted 2-0 to move forward a motion introduced by Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents the 11th District, encompassing coastal West L.A. neighborhoods. Councilman John Lee, who sits on the committee, was absent during the vote. … ” Read more from the LA Daily News.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
How one man in a canoe found beauty in the troubled Salton Sea
“Sicco Rood didn’t know what to expect when he set out, in the last days of December, to paddle his canoe around the Salton Sea. The 300-square-mile lake in the Coachella Valley is California’s largest inland water body and one of its most forbidding, at least for a long-distance adventure with just a paddle. Temperatures around the lake can approach freezing in the winter and rise well above 100 degrees in the summer. There’s no fresh water. And much of the lake is bordered by marsh, mudflats and quicksand. While preparing for the trip, Rood, a 50-year-old photographer and research associate at UC Irvine’s Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center in eastern San Diego County, hadn’t come across any accounts of anyone ever having canoed around the lake before. “Am I going to scrape along old bombs or get stuck in the weeds?” he recalled wondering. … ” Read more from the LAist.
Salton Sea is ground zero for ‘bird’s’ eye views
“Migrating to all sides of the shoreline like their avian counterparts, dozens of people gathered at the Salton Sea to disconnect from the bustle of weekday life to enjoy some bird watching. A shrinking sea and fewer fish over time has seen a decline in the bird population that once flocked to the sea as part of its trip south on the Pacific Flyway, yet some 10 years into a diminished Salton Sea Bird Festival, visitors are still finding their tranquility and more than enough birds. … ” Read more from the Holtville Tribune.
SAN DIEGO
La Jolla man files lawsuit seeking class action status over water rates
“A La Jolla man has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego just weeks after water rates went up. The lawsuit alleges San Diego imposes “above-cost rates unilaterally” and is doing so without voter consent, both of which the plaintiff claims is a violation of Proposition 218, which is supposed to protect taxpayers from certain increases without their approval. Last September, the San Diego city council voted to raise water rates by nearly 20% over 13 months. The first rate increase went into effect December 1. In July, we’ll see a 5.2% jump, followed by an 8.75% increase next January. Several people spoke out at that meeting to oppose the rate hikes. … ” Read more from Channel 8.
Increase in sea urchin population raises concerns off California’s coast
“Scientists are taking drastic measures to rehabilitate the California coastal kelp after an extreme warm water event knocked the ecosystem out of balance. Scientists say global climate change caused a superheated Pacific Ocean, killing off sea stars which eat sea urchins. “Sea stars plummeted and urchins exploded, and they ended up over grazing the kelp forests,” explained Dr. Lyall Bellquist, a senior fisheries scientist with the California Oceans Program at The Nature Conservancy. “And that caused kelp forests in Central and Northern California to decline by over 90%, and Southern California to also decline dramatically.” … ” Read more from Channel 5.
Along the Colorado River …
‘Phenomenal progress’: Water use in Southern Nevada inches toward goal
“Water savings in the Las Vegas Valley are soaring despite population growth, largely thanks to a wetter-than-normal 2023 and persistent conservation efforts over the past 20 years. The Southern Nevada Water Authority accepted its 2024 water resource plan and budget Thursday, setting goals for the upcoming year and taking inventory of the ongoing Colorado River crisis. It also approved an increase for single-family homeowners to remove non-water-efficient grass and a near $35.2 million incentive for the Clark County School District to convert school fields to artificial turf and update its landscaping. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
