On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: California-Nevada January 2024 Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar from 11am to 12pm. The California-Nevada Drought Early Warning System Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar is part of a series of regular webinars designed to provide stakeholders and other interested parties in the region with timely information on current drought status and impacts, as well as a preview of current and developing climatic events (i.e., El Niño and La Niña). Click here to register.
In California water news today …
How’s California’s water year developing? – January 2024
Dr. Jay Lund writes, “The first few months of California’s water year, which started in October 2023, have been pretty dry. We never know what to expect of California’s wet season until it ends, usually in late March. This year is no exception. Precipitation in California is almost uncorrelated from year to year (even with El Nino), so last year’s rain, snow, and streamflow doesn’t help much in predicting this year or next year’s water availability. More aggravating, there is also very little precipitation correlation from month to month during the wet season, so what we know about this year’s water availability is essentially, “How much precipitation have we gotten so far this year?” California’s 2024 Water Year could still be quite dry and/or bring floods, but it seems unlikely to become among California’s wettest years, if only because the water year’s first months have been dry. … ” Read more from the California Water Blog.
A soggy pattern continues for California
“Another system in this wet pattern is working its way across the Golden State, bringing heavy rain and much-needed, high-elevation snow. Here’s a look at the timing: This potent system is prompting flooding concerns for much of California. Heavy rain and high-elevation snow will last through Monday with lingering showers exiting by Tuesday morning. After a brief break in the precipitation Tuesday, another wave of moisture will work its way into Northern California by early Wednesday with showers lingering into Thursday afternoon. … ” Read more from the Weather Channel.
How reservoir water levels changed after atmospheric rivers
“One reservoir in northern California rose by 5 feet after two atmospheric rivers supplemented the water levels. An atmospheric river began across much of the Pacific Northwest, including Oregon and Northern California, on Friday. An atmospheric river is a “long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last year, more than a dozen atmospheric rivers battered California, largely eliminating the state’s drought but posing problems such as flooding and mudslides. … ” Continue reading at Newsweek.
Water: The one issue no one wants to talk about in the California Senate race
“Water is the third rail of California politics — and the state’s Senate candidates are carefully steering around it. Water is a perpetual problem in California, with bitter fights over scarce resources even in rainy years. But the leading candidates to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat have made almost no moves to differentiate themselves or highlight their records on one of the state’s most intractable political issues. The candidates’ relative silence less than two months before the primary election is a sign that they see little to gain from wading into an issue that’s the top priority for the state’s massive agricultural industry and the Republican-leaning Central Valley, but carries little weight in the Democrat-dominated urban centers. … ” Read more from Politico.
Commentary: Why are top California Democrats ducking Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Delta tunnel project?
Sacramento Bee opinion columnist Tom Philp writes, “The three top Democrats seeking to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the United States Senate managed to clearly answer every question California’s McClatchy opinion team recently managed to pose. Except for one. It happened to deal with one of Feinstein’s signature issues: Water. Opinion Here was the question: “Climate change is requiring California to adapt its water management and develop new supplies. What is your position on Governor Newsom’s Delta Conveyance Project…?” One said yes. Two said they were studying the matter. Asked the identical question, our incumbent Senator, Alex Padilla, said he was analyzing a recently-published environmental document. Three out of four of California’s leading Democrats are flunking a key leadership test. … ” Continue reading at the Sacramento Bee.
Bill Maher, Gavin Newsom tee off on almond farmers over water use
During an interview on Saturday’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO, Gov. Gavin Newsom and host-comedian Bill Maher took a moment to knock California’s almond production for its excessive use of water. (Thank you, San Joaquin Valley Sun.)
Raw sewage in creeks? Sunnyvale and Mountain View argue in court the Clean Water Act should not apply to them
“When it comes to the environment, Sunnyvale and Mountain View have a pretty green image, spending millions on bike lanes, solar energy and electric vehicle charging stations. But their tactics in an ongoing court case — in which their lawyers claimed major Bay Area creeks should not be protected from pollution under the federal Clean Water Act — are raising eyebrows among environmentalists. “It’s disappointing,” said Eric Buescher, an attorney for San Francisco Baykeeper, a nonprofit group that works to reduce pollution in San Francisco Bay. “We think the cities should be better stewards of the streams and creeks they are charged with protecting.” … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
Journal article: The cost-effectiveness of using rebates to incentivize groundwater recharge
“Managed aquifer recharge has emerged as a popular supply-side management tool for basins facing groundwater overdraft. We studied the effectiveness of an incentive structure similar to net energy metering that subsidizes private parties who conduct recharge on their land. A pilot program in the Pajaro Valley demonstrates that the strategy is more cost effective than many other groundwater management options.” Read the full journal article at California Agriculture.
Solano County billionaires’ utopia: Seeking support but picking fights
“The company pursuing a controversial plan to build a new city on bucolic Solano County farmland insists that public approval is crucial to the success of its for-profit utopia. But California Forever’s leaders have been making adversaries from the get-go. Nearly every step of the Silicon Valley billionaire-backed development has met resistance. In response, California Forever has been picking fights — with landowners, concerned citizens and even the Solano County Land Trust, a high-profile conservation group. “The first time they encounter a problem, they pull out their sword and they start waving it around — it’s not a good look,” said Sam Singer, a prominent public relations and political consultant who has smoothed the way for other major Bay Area redevelopments, including Treasure Island and the Hunters Point and Mare Island naval shipyards. “Whoever advised them from a political and public relations perspective gave them some of the worst advice we’ve ever seen.” … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
SEE ALSO:
- The farmers had what the billionaires wanted, from the New York Times
- ‘We’ve lost the art of city building’: can the planner behind a tech-funded metropolis win over the skeptics?, from the Guardian
Most states could see earthquake damage in the next century. See those at most risk.
“Nearly three-quarters of U.S. states could experience damaging shaking from earthquakes in the next century, according to the government’s latest National Seismic Hazard Model, which is used to inform policies, building codes, risk assessments and earthquake preparation plans. The greatest risks are in southern Alaska, California and Hawaii, which largely have above a 95 percent chance of feeling shakes from an earthquake in the next century. These are areas located near geologic features that can frequently trigger earthquakes, but the new model predicted more intense shaking than previous models. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
In commentary today …
Clean drinking water is a human right. Why are so many California communities without it?
Author Miriam Pawel writes, “Barely a month after he took office in 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom journeyed to a rural school in the Central Valley and stood by chance against a backdrop more prescient than he had planned: a classroom whiteboard that posed the “Essential Question — How do you respond to challenges?” The governor had chosen Riverview Elementary School, in Parlier, to dramatize his first bill-signing, an interim fix to provide tens of millions of dollars to buy bottled water for communities with contaminated wells. “We can’t even provide basic drinking water to a million-plus Californians?” Newsom said, before posing for photo ops where drinking fountains had been sealed for more than a year. “Pathetic.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Commentary: Why are top California Democrats ducking Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Delta tunnel project?
Sacramento Bee opinion columnist Tom Philp writes, “The three top Democrats seeking to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the United States Senate managed to clearly answer every question California’s McClatchy opinion team recently managed to pose. Except for one. It happened to deal with one of Feinstein’s signature issues: Water. Opinion Here was the question: “Climate change is requiring California to adapt its water management and develop new supplies. What is your position on Governor Newsom’s Delta Conveyance Project…?” One said yes. Two said they were studying the matter. Asked the identical question, our incumbent Senator, Alex Padilla, said he was analyzing a recently-published environmental document. Three out of four of California’s leading Democrats are flunking a key leadership test. … ” Continue reading at the Sacramento Bee.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
About a half a ton of trash is regularly pulled from Lake Tahoe; nonprofit asks for help sorting it
“Are you free on Friday, Jan. 26? Clean up the Lake is looking for volunteers to help sort litter they’ve collected from dives around Lake Tahoe. The sort takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Clean up the Lake is an organization that regularly conducts dives to collect trash in Lake Tahoe and other Sierra lakes. Since 2018 the nonprofit has collected over 61,000 pounds of litter. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
NAPA/SONOMA
Flood advisory issued for part of North Bay with standing water near homes
“The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office issued an advisory early Monday morning asking residents in northern areas of Guerneville to prepare to evacuate if needed amid localized flooding. The advisory was issued just before 2 a.m. as flood waters were rising in small creeks and streams in northern areas of Guerneville amid heavy rain.The flooding is not coming from the Russian River, the sheriff’s office said. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
BAY AREA
A big storm is hitting the Bay Area. Here’s when and where rain will be heaviest
“The biggest of three weekend storm systems is hitting the Bay Area on Sunday night, with rain and flooding impacts lasting into Monday. Rain showers Sunday afternoon are transitioning to widespread heavy rain with breezy winds in the evening. The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory along the coast for gusts up to 40 mph between 10 p.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. On Sunday evening the agency also issued a flood advisory for Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Marin Municipal Water District sets new hearing date for strategic plan
“The Marin Municipal Water District will hold a public hearing Tuesday on its draft five-year strategic plan. The plan was set to be aired Jan. 30, but that meeting has been canceled, the district said Friday. The strategic plan divides district goals into five major focus areas as part of its mission to provide reliable service and clean water through 2030. The focus areas include reliable water supply, a resilient water system, watershed stewardship, fiscal responsibility and organizational excellence. The district’s board has been meeting since September to draft the plan and fine-tune the objectives. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Delano water bottling plant prompts concerns over aquifer
“News of the new Niagara Bottling plant going up in Delano hit the local groundwater agency with surprise and alarm. The plant is permitted to use 1.6 million gallons of groundwater per day, according to a will-serve letter issued by the city in August 2022. That works out to 1,788 acre feet per year, assuming full operation for 365 days. Even with downtime, the plant will create a substantial pull on the already overdrafted aquifer, said Roland Gross, General Manager of the Southern San Joaquin Municipal Utility District (SSJMUD), which also acts as the area’s groundwater sustainability agency (GSA). … ” Read more from the Sun-Gazette.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Heavy rain, thunderstorms bring potential for flooding in Southern California
“Heavy showers moved into Southern California Monday morning, bringing “blanket rain” to the region. This final wave from a weekend of stormy weather will also bring the bulk of the moisture with it, according to the National Weather Service. “Through the morning hours anticipate the widespread heavier blanket rain,” KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said. “By the afternoon we’ll see more pockets of clearing and maybe a few sun breaks.” Some showers, especially inland, are expected to linger into the afternoon hours. … ” Read more from KTLA.
SoCal water officials test cloud seeding in effort to increase region’s water supply
“Southern Californian water officials are looking to squeeze more water out of passing storms by cloud seeding. “The idea is to use particles, in this case, silver iodide, and have them generate or enhance more precipitation in clouds so it falls as snow and ends up augmenting our water supplies,” said Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority General Manager Josh Mosher. The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority is comprised of five water districts in the Inland Empire and Orange County that are jointly involved in the project. … ” Read more from KABC.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
The water crisis is a California environment issue, not just a Coachella Valley Issue says some visiting elected officials
“On the second day of a water tour hosted by the Water Education For Latino Leaders or WELL, leaders see the valley’s water crisis for the first time, are stunned, and learn what they say is a lack of water infrastructure. They toured the Coachella Canal, Salton Sea, and Polanco Park to see the lack of clean water and infrastructure in the eastern Coachella Valley. “The smell is noticeable, and it’s not terrible, but it’s like, hey, I wonder what that is,” says Celeste Rodriguez, the mayor of San Fernando. … ” Read more from KEYT.
SAN DIEGO
Critical San Diego aqueduct rehabilitated in limited time frame
“The San Diego County Water Authority recently rehabilitated sections of three large-diameter concrete tunnels within its aging First Aqueduct water conveyance system. Because the critical aqueduct could only be shut down for repairs for a limited time, traditional rehabilitation methods were not possible. Instead, the design-build team hired by the Water Authority used an innovative combination of two methods — sprayed-in-place geopolymer mortar to reline the pipes and sliplining using fiberglass-reinforced polymer mortar pipe — to rehabilitate sections of the tunnels within the available 240-hour time frame. … ” Read more from Civil Engineering Source.
Long-awaited sand replenishment project begins in Solana Beach
“A long-awaited project to restore the beaches along Solana Beach and Encinitas’ coastline has officially started. It is called the Solana Beach and Encinitas Coastal Storm Damage and Reduction & Beach Replenishment project. It began on Wednesday with the closure of the Fletcher Cove parking lot, the nearby overlook — both of which have reopened — and the public beach access ramp. “The overall project in Solana Beach is expected to be done in 45 to 60 days,” Lesa Heebner, the mayor of Solana Beach, told NBC 7. “It’s worth the wait. You’re going to have a very nice, wide, sandy beach come this spring.” … ” Read more from NBC 7.
Along the Colorado River …
Aridity could dry up Southwestern mine proposals
“One by one, leaders from across Arizona gave speeches touting the importance of water conservation at Phoenix City Hall as they celebrated the announcement of voluntary agreements to preserve the declining Colorado River in November. When Tao Etpison took the mic, his speech echoed those who went before him. Water is the lifeblood of existence, and users of the Colorado River Basin were one step closer to preserving the system that has helped life in the Southwest flourish. Then he brought up the elephant in the room: Arizona’s groundwater protection was lacking, and mining companies were looking to take advantage. “The two largest foreign-based multinational mining companies in the world intend to construct the massive Resolution Copper Mine near Superior,” said Etpison, the vice chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
Arizona proposals to import water are dominated by desal plants
“Detailed plans for seawater desalination, mostly from Mexican coasts, dominate a list of more than 20 project ideas sent to an Arizona agency for importing water into this increasingly thirsty state. The desalination projects, submitted to the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona, are proposed for all over the region’s map. The locations range from Baja California’s Pacific Coast to Southern California’s coastline to near biosphere reserves in northern Sonora to that Mexican state’s western coastline. … ” Read more from Arizona Republic.
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
In California water news this weekend …
Environmental groups sue to block Delta tunnel project- DWR: Delta Conveyance Project can help protect water supply reliability looking decades ahead, modeling shows
- Delta Tribal environmental coalition files comments on the Bay-Delta Plan
- CSPA submits comments on proposed Bay-Delta Plan update
- Friends of the River calls upon State Water Resources Control Board to prevent the Merced River from running dry again
- Clusters of atmospheric rivers amp up California storm damages
- California just released a major new report on sea level rise. Here’s how bad it could get
- Trends in California farmland sales prices and the impacts of drought
- Dairies in Tulare and Kings counties still struggling with damage in wake of last year’s flooding
- Delta Protection Commission comments on Twitchell Island Wetland Project: Mitigate for loss of agriculture
- Having a mix of tree heights enhances drought resilience in Sierra Nevada forests
- Half-baked climate bond
- And more …
Click here for the weekend edition.
