In California water news this weekend …
Environmental groups sue to block Delta tunnel project
“Environmental groups on Friday sued the California Department of Water Resources for approving a plan to divert water from the environmentally sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta to Central and Southern California. The lawsuit says the water agency failed to consider ecological and wildlife harms in giving the go-ahead for the giant tunnel known as the Delta Conveyance Project taking water from Northern California. Advocates say the project will modernize the state’s aging water system, which is currently not equipped to capture water amid climate change conditions. Opponents say the tunnel would divert billions of gallons of water from the Sacramento River, harming delta smelt, Chinook salmon and other imperiled fish.”The last thing California needs while fighting the climate emergency is a gigantic tunnel wreaking havoc on a sensitive ecosystem and the communities that rely on it,” said John Buse, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
SEE ALSO: COURT DOCS: Four lawsuits filed, challenging the Delta Conveyance Project Final EIR, from Maven’s Notebook
DWR: Delta Conveyance Project can help protect water supply reliability looking decades ahead, modeling shows
“California’s water delivery infrastructure needs modernization. The system was built in the 20th century based on the certainty that snow would fall in the winter, be stored in the mountains as snowpack, then melt in the spring into our rivers and reservoirs. While rain and snow amounts may have been erratic in decades past, that pattern of precipitation was fairly reliable. Those patterns are no longer happening. With climate change, we are seeing a new weather pattern with more precipitation falling as rain and less as snow, and more water flowing through the rivers in the winter months. Because this water is not available to be captured in the spring, water managers must find a way to catch it in the winter for use later in the year or risk losing it altogether. This is what the Delta Conveyance Project will do: capture and move the water when it is available. … ” Continue reading from the Department of Water Resources.
Delta Tribal environmental coalition files comments on the Bay-Delta Plan
“Today, Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising, and Restore the Delta, collectively known as the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC), filed an administrative comment with the California State Water Resources Control Board. The comment responds to the Board’s Draft Staff Report for the Phase II Update of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (Bay-Delta Plan). The Coalition is represented by the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic. The coalition urges the State Water Board to expeditiously update water quality standards sufficient to protect Delta tribes and communities. The longer the Board delays, the more Bay-Delta tribes, communities, and ecosystems suffer. DTEC will continue to press the Board to fulfill its obligations to protect the Bay-Delta and its residents. … ” Read more from Restore the Delta.
CSPA submits comments on proposed Bay-Delta Plan update
“On Friday, January 19, 2024, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and AquAlliance submitted comments on the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Board’s) proposed changes to the Bay-Delta Plan. The State Board proposed these changes in a Draft Staff Report (Report) released on September 28, 2023. The stated objective of the Plan update is to provide for “the reasonable protection of fish and wildlife in the Sacramento River and its tributaries, Delta eastside tributaries (including the Calaveras, Cosumnes, and Mokelumne Rivers), and Delta.” The release of the Report is welcome. As stated in the comments, “The status of the aquatic ecosystem and fisheries of the Bay-Delta estuary and its greater watershed is dire and worsening. We urge the State Water Board to act urgently on the Report with an update to the Bay-Delta Plan that supports restoration of the ecosystem.” … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
Friends of the River calls upon State Water Resources Control Board to prevent the Merced River from running dry again
“After providing the previously undisclosed story of the Merced River secretly running dry in 2022 for a bombshell piece written by Raymond Zhong of the New York Times, Friends of the River (FOR) is now calling upon the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt permanent dry season baseflow regulations on the Merced River. In late 2022, the Merced River, the 14th biggest river in California, ran completely dry for four months near its confluence point with the San Joaquin River. The river, which serves essential habitat for listed species including spring-run Chinook salmon and steelhead, was impassable. This issue ended up buried in bureaucratic correspondence, so this story of a major California river running dry was never told to the public. That was until FOR uncovered it and stepped up to deliver the public the truth. “The story of the Merced River running dry is as much about poor policy decisions as it is about climate change,” said Keiko Mertz at FOR. “We need to systemically change how we allocate water in the state through water rights reform so that these issues don’t occur again.” … ” Continue reading from Friends of the River.
Clusters of atmospheric rivers amp up California storm damages
“Early in 2023, a series of storms dumped record-breaking amounts of rain and snow across California. Flooding, power outages, and mudslides from the deluge resulted in 21 deaths and over $3 billion in losses. The deluge resulted from streams of water vapor in the sky known as atmospheric rivers, which paraded over California one after another. In all, nine atmospheric rivers hit California between Dec. 26, 2022, and Jan. 17, 2023. New research from Stanford University suggests back-to-back atmospheric rivers, which are likely to become more common because of climate change, bring particularly severe damages. The study, published Jan. 19 in Science Advances, shows that atmospheric rivers arriving in rapid succession cause three to four times more economic damage than they would have individually by drenching already-saturated soils and increasing flood risks. … ” Read more from Stanford News.
California just released a major new report on sea level rise. Here’s how bad it could get
“A new scientific model provides more certainty about how much ocean levels could rise in California in the next 30 years and predicts slightly less rising in some scenarios than previously thought. But the predictions still show grave threats to California, where 70% of the population lives near the coast. Statewide, sea levels are due to rise by an average of 0.8 feet (9.6 inches) by 2050 compared to a baseline of 2000, according to the draft report. That is for what is considered “intermediate” level sea level rise, based on what is known now about likely levels of global warming in that period. Predictions become more difficult through the end of the century, when they are expected to rise by 3.1 feet at intermediate levels and up to 6.6 feet in a worst case. By 2150, they could go up by 6.1 feet or as high as 11.9 feet, though the authors say it’s difficult to have much certainty after 2100. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
SEE ALSO: YOUR INPUT WANTED: State of California Sea Level Rise Guidance: 2024 Science and Policy Update, from the Ocean Protection Council
Trends in California farmland sales prices and the impacts of drought
“This paper describes the trends in the California farmland market across counties and crop types over the past two decades. We explored the trends in farmland sales transactions and farmland values during drought events. The number of parcels sold and farmland value increased following the major drought periods in California between 2001 and 2021. Land has many uses, with agriculture being one of the most important. Monitoring changes in the farmland market can improve our under-
standing of the performance of the agricultural sector and the financial well-being of agricultural producers. … ” Read more from California Agriculture.
Dairies in Tulare and Kings counties still struggling with damage in wake of last year’s flooding
“When flood water swamped dairies in Tulare and Kings counties last spring, it destroyed equipment, drowned crops and left a trail of salt-laden muck that farmers are still grappling with. The ongoing damage is so bad, some dairies may never recover. The biggest problem is the loss of crops and cropland. Farmers lost an entire year’s worth of wheat, used for feed, that was submerged as the Tule River and other creeks swelled and water gushed over thousands of acres. That lost crops and cropland, led to a chain of other problems, said Anja Raudabaugh, CEO of Western United Dairies. The price of wheat skyrocketed, but one of the bigger challenges was where to put all the cow manure. … ” Continue reading at SJV Water.
Delta Protection Commission comments on Twitchell Island Wetland Project: Mitigate for loss of agriculture
The Delta Protection Commission has requested that the proponents of a 185-acre project to enhance and restore wetlands on Twitchell Island (PDF) and mitigate impacts on agriculture. The Commission supports habitat restoration projects in the Delta but expressed concern about the loss of agricultural land. “The conversion of agricultural to non-agricultural use will displace agricultural operations to other locations, possibly outside of the Delta, and decrease the economic benefits of agriculture for Sacramento County and the Delta,” the Commission wrote in a December 28 letter. The letter was addressed to Reclamation District 1601, which is proposing the project in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources. “These effects are heightened when considered with the cumulative impacts from other habitat restoration projects in the region.” The comment letter was submitted under the Commission’s statutory authority to enforce its Land Use and Resource Management Plan.” Click here to read the letter.
Having a mix of tree heights enhances drought resilience in Sierra Nevada forests
“In a paper published in Nature Communications, UC Merced Professor Roger Bales, collaborating with an international team, found that the height of neighboring trees strongly influenced whether a given tree survived California’s record 2012-15 drought. Using high-resolution maps developed from aircraft flights before and after the drought, the team determined the fate of more than 1 million conifer trees in the southern Sierra. They found that trees overshadowed by taller neighbors were less likely to suffer drought stress and die, mostly due to reduced sunlight and thus lower growth and water demand. A forest with a similar number of trees, but of more-uniform height, whether large or small, lacks this shading by neighbors, and is more vulnerable to competition for water and drought stress. … ” Read more from UC Merced.
Half-baked climate bond
“Gov. Gavin Newsom’s punt last week on the climate bond is complicating environmental groups’ political calculus. Organizations that hoped Newsom would provide clarity on the potential size and content of a bond to backfill slashed climate spending are facing a tightening window for negotiations between the three main parties: Newsom, the Senate and the Assembly. They’re now not expecting Newsom to weigh in until his May budget revision, which would give them a little over a month to hash out a deal before the November ballot deadline. That leaves lawmakers as the main fulcrum. … ” Read more from Politico. … ” Read more from Politico.
In people news this weekend …
Promotions, passings, profiles – submit people news items to maven@mavensnotebook.com.
Dr. Laurel Larsen’s stint tackling with the wicked problems ends
John Hart writes, “Since the turn of the century, there has been a Delta Lead Scientist. Created in the year 2000 under the bygone program CALFED, the post signaled a new resolve: to give science a voice in the circles governing Delta affairs. Since 2009 the role has been a function of CALFED’s successor, the Delta Stewardship Council. Sam Luoma, the first Lead Scientist, recalls a heady time, full of discovery and improvisation, when money flowed freely and large decisions about the Delta seemed just around the corner. His immediate successors had a more sobering experience as the CALFED energy waned. The fourth Lead Scientist, Peter Goodwin, consolidated the job in its new slot under the Stewardship Council, getting an ambitious Delta Science Program up and running. The fifth, John Callaway, had notable success in putting the program’s funding on solid ground. The sixth, Laurel Larsen, has just ended her stint. On her last day on the job, I asked her what she has learned about the role she played and the amazing place that is its focus. … ” Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.
Appointments …
Meghan Hertel, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Biodiversity and Habitat at the California Natural Resources Agency.
Hertel has been North American Director for Land Life Company since 2022. She held multiple positions at Audubon California from 2010 to 2022, including Director of Land and Water Conservation. Hertel was Conservation Program Administrator at the Resources Legacy Fund from 2007 to 2010. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Florida. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $175,008. Hertel is a Democrat.
Sandra Matsumoto, of Davis, has been reappointed to the California Water Commission, where she has served since 2022.
Matsumoto has been Director for the California Water Program at the Nature Conservancy since 2020, where she was Associate Director from 2015 to 2020 and Project Director from 2004 to 2015. She was Project Manager at the Los Angeles Community Design Center from 2003 to 2004 and a Project Analyst at Mintz Levin from 1997 to 1999. She is an advisor to the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center, a board member of the Water Education Foundation and a board member of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Matsumoto earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Matsumoto is a Democrat.
Kate Moulene, of Agoura Hills, has been appointed to the California Water Commission.
Moulene has been CEO of River LA since 2021. She was Founder and CEO of Capian Enterprises from 2002 to 2018. Moulene was Founder and CEO of Global Creative Forum from 2010 to 2015. She was West Coast Bureau Chief with Time Warner/InStyle Magazine from 1995 to 2002. Moulene was a Journalist at the International Herald Tribune from 1980 to 2012. Moulene earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Vassar College. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Moulene is a Democrat.
Sean Maguire, of Carmichael, has been reappointed to the State Water Resources Control Board, where he has served as a member since 2018.
Maguire held multiple positions at the State Water Resources Control Board from 2015 to 2018, including Supervising Water Resources Control Engineer and Senior Water Resources Control Engineer. He held multiple positions at Kennedy Jenks Consultants from 2003 to 2015, including water Resources Practice Leader, Senior Associate Engineer and Senior Staff Engineer. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $175,578. Maguire is a Democrat.
Podcasts …
GOLDEN STATE NATURALIST: Mythologizing place with Obi Kaufmann
Author, artist, poet, and eco-philosopher Obi Kaufmann doesn’t want to craft a better argument. He wants to tell a better story. But what does that kind of story look like? How do we begin to convey the incredible complexity of a place like California? How do we avoid unproductive divisiveness, embrace a better worldview, and move forward together in healing the land? Join me and Obi in a field of wildflowers on Mt. Diablo as we discuss humanity’s relationship with the earth, Mt. Diablo daisies, ways in which meaning is co-constructed, biodiversity, what a myth really is, very quiet lions, how we relate to place, and how telling a better story about this land we love, this place now known as California, might just help humans come together to care for it.
ECONEWS REPORT: Coho salmon in downtown Arcata?
Are there Coho salmon in small urban streams like Jolly Giant and Janes Creek? If so, how often, and how far upstream do they go? Our guests, fisheries biologists Colton Dixon and Darrren Ward, are studying these streams and have some answers that might come as a surprise. Tune in to learn more about these streams and the fish that call them home for a fairly brief but critical time in their life cycle.
STANFORD LEGAL: Droughts, Failing Infrastructure, and Water
Drinkable water is a precious commodity. But as population growth, aging infrastructure, drought, and climate change pose challenges to freshwater quality and quantity in America, the safety and amount of water in parts of the U.S. is in question. With more than 140,000 separate public water systems in the country, how can federal, state, and local governments, along with the various water authorities, take on this challenge alone? In this episode we hear from global water and natural resources expert Barton “Buzz” Thompson, about this new book: Liquid Assets: How Business and Government Can Partner to Solve the Freshwater Crisis —and his recommendations for how to solve the freshwater crisis in the U.S.
TALKING UNDER WATER: The intersection of water & food processing
In this episode of Talking Under Water, the hosts talk about the announcement from U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator to the Office of Water Radhika Fox that she is leaving EPA in February, the re-adoption of an emergency regulation for minimum flow of some river in California, Illinois EPA funding availability and how to apply, and the entrance of Aqualia to the U.S. Market. Finally, the interview this episode is with Andy Hanacek, senior editor for Food Processing, a Endeavor Business Media brand covering the food processing industry. Hanacek spoke with host Bob Crossen about trends in food processing related to water and larger tends that overlap with the water industry such as sustainability, decarbonization and water reuse.
WATER IS A MANY SPLENDOR’ED THING: Water on Mars
There has been quite a lot of hoopla over a planet that has been over 35 million miles away from Earth. Mars can be seen, at times, as a brilliant red spot in the night sky. With a moderate size telescope, you are likely to see the polar icecaps of this distant planet. Why has there been such a desire to explore Mars and do the ice caps suggest water is present on this planet. Water is a Many Splendor ’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life. Produced by Steven Baker, Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, water@operationunite.co 530-205-6388
In regional water news this weekend …
NORTH COAST
Klamath River drawdown moving forward
“The drawdowns of reservoirs behind the three remaining Klamath River dams are continuing to go as planned. Mark Bransom, CEO for the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which is conducting the dam removal process, said a second 10- by 10-foot culvert was successfully blasted Thursday at the John C. Boyle Dam. Located near Keno, the Boyle is the most upstream of the three dams. “Everything went exactly to plan,” Bransom said. The Boyle Reservoir, which is located upstream from the Boyle Dam, was almost completely dry before the culvert was opened. After blasting open the second culvert, he said sediment that had partially blocked water flowing from the reservoir escaped downstream, noting, “We’re getting some good sediment flow.” … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
The RiverArc Project
“The majority of the Sacramento area’s water resources come from the American River, a sensitive state- and federally-designated Wild & Scenic tributary of the Sacramento River. The RiverArc Project, a partnership of water agencies in the region, will shift a significant portion of that demand to the much larger Sacramento River. This diversification of the water supply is critical to the entire region’s future sustainability and prosperity. “The Sacramento River is about six times the size and flow of the American River, yet in the Sacramento region, 80 percent of our reliance is on the American River,” says Tony Firenzi, Director of Strategic Affairs for Placer County Water Agency. “We must look to the Sacramento River for the future of a growing economy and to protect the lower American River ecosystem.” … ” Read more from Comstock’s.
BAY AREA
Thunderstorms Sunday? There’s a chance. More heavy rain forecast for Bay Area, feet of snow for Lake Tahoe
“More wintery weather is on tap across Northern California, with heavy rain forecast to drench the Bay Area — including a possible thunderstorm Sunday night — and a snowstorm set to blanket the Lake Tahoe region into the coming week. “This is one of the stronger storms for this year,” said Crystal Oudit, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office. The first wave of rain arrived in the Bay Area on Friday and Saturday morning, slickening roads but leaving only a fraction of an inch of precipitation across most inland areas, up to a half-inch along the coast and as much as an inch in the North Bay Mountains and Santa Cruz Mountains, according to the National Weather Service. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
CENTRAL COAST
El Estero project in Monterey would recycle water
“The search for viable sources of water continues in Monterey with City Council approving the next steps for diverting excess water from El Estero and adding it to the city’s water supply. During its meeting Tuesday, City Council approved a $377,470 engineering contract to design a project at El Estero and accepted $500,000 in state grants to design the Olivier Street Stormwater Diversion Project. The Monterey Peninsula has been dealing with tight water restrictions for years due to state-imposed restrictions on pumping from the Carmel River. Right now, when the water level at El Estero Lake gets too high, the water is pumped out and drained into the ocean to help prevent flooding. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
FRESNO COUNTY MEETING NOTES: Westlands approves transfers and hears updates on water conditions
“At its January 18 board meeting, Kristin White, deputy regional director for the Bureau of Reclamation, spoke about current conditions. The board received updates about groundwater sustainability and board members voted on multiple water transfers. The Bureau received new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act but White did not specify how much. The Bureau will decide how those funds are dispersed in the spring. White noted that conditions are much drier so far than everyone had hoped considering it is an El Niño weather pattern year. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
KERN MEETING NOTES: Desert groundwater agency approves bids for initial work on a 50-mile pipeline to import water
“The Indian Wells Valley in eastern Kern County is critically overdrafted with only 7,600 acre feet of natural water inflow every year and 28,000 acre feet of annual demand. In order to bring the aquifer back into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the groundwater agency has opted to buy water and pipe it up to the valley. To do that, it plans to extend an existing line owned by the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency in California City. Stetson Engineers Inc. and Provost and Pritchard Consulting Group (P&P) presented the release of request for bids for the utility potholing services for the imported water pipeline. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
16 Latino elected officials have plans to tour the Salton Sea
“A group of sixteen Latino elected officials from across California will tour the Salton Sea to witness the polluted, shrinking body of water and be in the presence of arsenic-infested waters. Some elected officials have never seen the Salton Sea or smelled of hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs. The environment and conditions have plagued the area where farm workers and other low-wage families reside and work. An organization that aims to educate Latino leaders about California’s water crisis will host a Salton sea tour tomorrow. The nonprofit is called Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL). … ” Read more from KEYT.
SAN DIEGO
Why a Mexican sewage treatment plant is sparking hope in Southern California
“California’s southernmost surfers are breathing a cautious sigh of relief because Mexico’s military begins the long-awaited reconstruction of a defunct wastewater treatment plant near Tijuana. The Mexican federal infrastructure project, which broke ground last week, aims to minimize the amounts of raw sewage that has for years been spilling into the Pacific Ocean and contaminating beaches on both sides of the border — sickening thousands of residents and forcing temporary closures at local businesses. “I can’t surf Imperial Beach. I have to drive like 25 miles each way to go to the cleanest beach,” Paloma Aguirre, mayor of the San Diego County city, told The Hill. … ” Read more from The Hill.
Along the Colorado River …
Are we headed for the first Colorado River compact tripwire?
“The Bureau of Reclamation’s January 2024 “Most Probable” 24-month study forecasts that annual releases from Glen Canyon Dam for both Water Years 2025 and 2026 will be 7.48 million acre-feet per year (maf). If this happens, the ten-year total flow at Lee Ferry for the 2017-2026 period will drop to about 83.0 maf, only about 500,000 acre-feet above 82.5 million acre-feet, the first 1922 Compact hydrology “tripwire.” That line – 82.5 maf feet of Lee Ferry deliveries over a ten year period – has become a dividing line between two contending interpretations of the most important unresolved question in the century-old Colorado River Compact: How much water must the Upper Basin deliver to the Lower Basin? What happens if it doesn’t? … ” Read more from the Inkstain blog.
Projection shows bleak 2-year outlook for Lake Mead water levels
“Lake Mead, the source of almost 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s water, is expected to near 2022’s historic low by the end of 2025, this month’s Bureau of Reclamation projection shows. Based on the most likely scenario for Colorado River inflow, federal scientists predict the reservoir will dip to 1,044 feet in December 2025 — just 4 feet higher than the lowest level seen since it was first filled, which was about 1,040 feet in July 2022. Forecasts that go out further in the future allow for a larger margin of error, and climate conditions largely dictate Colorado River flows. In addition to an estimate on the most probable inflow scenario, the agency releases estimates for a maximum and minimum inflow into the reservoir. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In national water news this weekend …
Does Sackett clip EPA’s wings on permits, water rules?
“Months after the Supreme Court stripped federal protections for over half the nation’s wetlands, scientists and legal experts are raising new concerns about how the ruling could affect permits for pollutants in rivers and streams. In a major shift in federal regulations for water, the high court ruled last year that only wetlands with a continuous, visible connection to a “relatively permanent” body of water are protected by the Clean Water Act. While the Sackett v. EPA ruling cleared the way for developers and property owners to drain millions of acres of wetlands without a permit, it could have a secondary effect on how states regulate nutrients and toxic chemicals, including PFAS, that spill into waterways. … ” Read more from E&E News.
