In California water news today …
Flash floods inundate homes and overturn cars in San Diego as heavy rains sweep through much of US
“Flash floods inundated homes and overturned cars in San Diego on Monday as torrential rain swept through a large swath of the U.S., toppling trees and overflowing streets across California. Early morning flooding hit the town of Guerneville, north of San Francisco, where a creek overflowed after more than 4 inches (10 cm) of rain fell in 24 hours. The local school district canceled classes for the day. Later, the weather system unleashed a severe punch on the south end of the state in the second major rain event of the winter. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
Impressive rain and snow totals from series of atmospheric rivers
“A series of storms this weekend produced multiple inches of rain and impressive snow totals statewide. Although isolated rain and snow showers will continue throughout Monday, the storm is over for most Northern Californians. The region will dry out the rest of the day Monday and Tuesday before another storm system brings more rain and snow to Northern California late Tuesday night and into Wednesday. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
SEE ALSO: Map shows California rain totals from recent storms, from the San Francisco Chronicle
California snowpack grows significantly since beginning of the New Year
“While still behind the overall average, the California snowpack has made significant gains since the beginning of the year. On December 31, the snowpack was measured at just 26 percent of the average for that time of year, with 2.5 inches of average snow water equivalent. The latest readings from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) put the statewide summary in a much better position. As of January 22, the California snowpack was measured at 55 percent of the average for this date. The measurement represents an average snow water equivalent of 8.2 inches. So far, California has amassed 30 percent of the overall April 1 average. … ” Read more from Ag Net West.
‘Snow drought’ darkening California’s water outlook
“Despite a spate of recent storms, scientists say California needs more winterlike weather to bolster its water supply and avoid another drought. Daniel McEvoy of the Western Regional Climate Center at the Desert Research Institute said in a panel Monday that much of California and Nevada have seen below average rainfall since the water year began on Oct. 1. Both are still reeling from severe drought, particularly in Nevada’s Colorado River basin. “We have a snow drought underway across the Sierra Nevada,” McEvoy said. Much-needed large winter storms haven’t materialized, particularly in the northern Sierra, which was at 66% of average as of Jan. 18, and the southern Sierra, sitting at 40% of average. It’s also been the eighth warmest water year on record so far, with temperatures averaging around two to three degrees higher than normal across the state. And California climatologist Michael Anderson said a high pressure system off the coast has been consistently disrupting or slowing down atmospheric river events. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Coping with weather whiplash – Improving S2S precipitation forecasting
DWR’s Jeanine Jones writes, “Water Year 2023 was notable for ending the 2020 – 2022 drought, California’s driest consecutive three-year period, with one of the state’s snowiest years. This rapid change in water supply conditions was not predicted by the National Weather Service (NWS), reflecting the difficulty of forecasting precipitation outcomes at time scales longer than a weather forecast (at most, ten days to two weeks). Subseasonal to seasonal forecasts, or S2S (forecasts extending from two weeks to a year or more) would be hugely useful for managing the extremes of floods and droughts if the forecasts were skillful. The NWS has been issuing S2S outlooks since the mid-1990s, but the outlooks cannot be used for water management decision-making because their skill is too low. S2S forecasting is scientifically challenging and requires investment in research. … ” Continue reading at the California Farm Water Coalition.
Sierra Club, Delta Counties file lawsuit against Delta tunnels; DWR responds
“The deadline for filing CEQA litigation against the Delta Conveyance Project closed yesterday. Two more lawsuits were filed, bringing the total of those I know of to 7. Read on for links to the seven court filings and the response from the Department of Water Resources. … ” Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.
Why the Senate candidates are so dry on water
“The leading candidates to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein are steering clear of her signature issue. Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, and former Dodger and Republican candidate Steve Garvey, are laying low on water — one of California’s most enduringly controversial environmental issues and one that’s only getting hotter thanks to climate change, as Camille reports. It makes sense, politically: There’s little to gain, in a top-two primary, 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 and could even alienate environmental groups. … ” Read more from Politico.
‘It smells bad’: the US farmworkers grappling with unsafe water at home
“It’s easy to identify the residences of the farm workers who tend crops in the San Joaquin Valley, one of California’s agricultural hubs. They tend to be small homes. Sometimes, location is a giveaway – a trailer set between a dust-choked highway and groves of pistachio trees. Sometimes, the tell is water. “I see the difference between the green yards in east Fresno [a city in California] and the yellow yards in west Fresno,” said Leticia Compañ. The farm equipment operator is referring to the divide between the tonier, whiter part of the city on one side of Route 41 and the largely Latino, lower-income population on the other, where she lives with her family. Too little water creates more than eyesore lawns. Research, including in the journal Environmental Justice, shows farm workers across the United States – who hail mostly from Mexico and Central America – contend with consistently contaminated, unaffordable and/or insufficient water in their homes. It’s a finding echoed by farm workers themselves. … ” Read more from The Guardian.
Building a defense against extinction: Reclamation, partner agencies continue extraordinary effort to save Delta smelt
“The group of low-slung, nondescript buildings in a remote corner of San Joaquin County near Tracy are hardly noticeable and are not open to the public. Inside, scientists are cultivating a slender, silvery minnow-like fish species with the aim of staving off its extinction, and reverse the course of decline of the long-troubled Delta smelt. Those familiar with the plight of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta need no introduction to the Delta smelt. Derided by some pundits as a worthless bait fish whose existence stymies water deliveries, the once-plentiful smelt’s tale is one of the estuary’s woes. Found nowhere else on the planet, its numbers have plummeted, an indication of the many changes in the Delta ecosystem that negatively affect native fishes. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
How a lack of regulatory oversight dried up the Merced River – the State Water Board needs to protect Merced River flows now
“The Merced River, the iconic wild and scenic river flowing out of Yosemite National Park, died in the summer of 2022 upstream of its confluence with the San Joaquin River. The river was completely dewatered from July 7 to October 7. It was dead for 3 months over a nearly 5-mile stretch. It could not offer fishing, swimming or any other water-based recreation in the hot summer months. In the early fall, the Chinook salmon were unable to migrate on schedule to the Merced to spawn, and total fish return numbers for the year were dismal. Their migratory route, the river, had been transformed into a dry wash used as a raceway for off-highway vehicles. … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
Barton “Buzz” Thompson explains the freshwater crisis and what can be done
“On a recent episode of the Stanford Law School (SLS) podcast, Stanford Legal, Professor Barton “Buzz” Thompson, JD/MBA ’76 (BA ’72), delved into the subject of his most recent book, Liquid Asset: How Business and Government Can Partner to Solve the Freshwater Crisis. Thompson is a global expert on water and natural resources and has long focused his research and teaching on how to improve resource management through legal, institutional, and technological innovation. In Liquid Asset, he proposes various strategies for solving the United States’ freshwater crisis, arguing that government and water authorities can’t do it alone. … ” Read more from Stanford Law School.
California’s risk of major earthquake rises in new federal model
“An updated U.S. earthquake model showed slightly greater shaking possible in California than previously mapped. The National Seismic Hazard Model, developed by the United States Geological Survey, says that most of California has at least a 75% chance of damaging earthquake shaking in the next 100 years — with at least a 95% chance for the Bay Area. “Across California, the hazard has increased a little. It’s not an alarming level of increase but it’s something that helps us to understand more of the details of where shaking will be higher,” said Mark Petersen, USGS geophysicist and lead author of the study. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Slowing climate change by capturing carbon
“Climate change is already significantly impacting California’s water system—and those effects will only worsen in the coming years. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential, and California is set to play a major role in those efforts. In November, the nation’s first direct air capture (DAC) facility opened in Tracy, California. But what is direct air capture, and how does it fit into the state’s emissions reduction strategy? We turned to Roger Aines, who leads the Carbon Initiative at Lawrence Livermore National Labs, to tell us more. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
The largest dam removal project in US history begins final stretch, welcoming salmon home
“The Klamath River in California and Oregon is one step closer to a healthy new beginning. Officials gathered earlier this month at the Iron Gate Dam in Hornbrook, California, to unlatch a gate at the base of its reservoir. As the water flowed through, it signaled the beginning of the end of the largest dam removal project in United States history, report Erik Neumann and Juliet Grable for NPR. The gate’s opening, formerly just a crack, was extended to three feet wide. Dark brown waters rumbled through the gap, washing years of sediment buildup downriver. Over the next week, 2,200 cubic feet of water per second were expected to flow, lowering the reservoir between two and four feet per day. Eventually, the channel’s entire width—stretching 16 feet across—will allow the uninhibited passage of water and sediment. … ” Read more from Smithsonian.
Radio show: Yurok, Klamath & Karuk Native tribes celebrate historic dam removals
“On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss the historic Klamath River dam removal and its significance for Yurok, Klamath & Karuk Native tribes in Northern California and Southern Oregon. The Klamath River was once the third-largest salmon producer on the West Coast, but the construction of the dam led to a sharp decline in the salmon population. Water is now freely flowing for the first time in 100 years. Tribal activists began calling for the removal of four Klamath River dams in the late 1990s.” Listen at KALW.
Conservation groups seek a permanent flow requirement for the Shasta River
“Groups have filed a legal petition to guarantee a minimum amount of water in the distressed river. Since 1934, summer flows passing the Shasta River gauge in Yreka have regularly been below California state recommendations for a healthy salmon habitat. Drought has played a role in those low flows — but so has agriculture. Cody Phillips is a staff attorney for the California Coastkeeper Alliance, one of the groups behind the petition. He says the amount of Shasta River water used for irrigation is hurting fish. … ” Read more from Jefferson Public Radio.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Going up: Lake Shasta rises 6 feet in a week, sparking flood watch, higher water hopes
“The water level at Lake Shasta is rising and it’s expected to go higher, thanks to a series of storms that have drenched northern portions of Shasta County. So much rain fell over the weekend that the National Weather Service on Monday morning issued a flood watch for the northern Sacramento Valley, though it had expired by the afternoon. The driving rain, especially overnight Sunday and into Monday morning, was good news for the state’s largest reservoir. That’s because 90% of the water that fills Shasta each year comes from rain. As of midnight Sunday, the water level at Lake Shasta had gone up 6 feet compared with a week ago, according to the California Department of Water Resources’ Data Exchange. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight.
NAPA/SONOMA
Winter storm brings up to 7 inches of rain to North Bay, topples trees, causes minor flooding
“One of the strongest storms this winter exited the North Bay Monday after dropping more than 7 inches of rain in western Sonoma County, flooding some low-lying areas and toppling numerous trees, according to the National Weather Service. The storm wasn’t a record-breaker, but it delivered enough over three days to both stand apart from earlier rain fronts this season and push Sonoma County over its historic average for this time of year. “Some areas probably saw some of the strongest rain rates … this year,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Brayden Murdock, who works at the Monterey office. “But, as far as the rain rates go this year, it hasn’t been awful.” … ” Read more from the Petaluma Argus-Courier.
CENTRAL COAST
Heavy rain leads to fallen trees, mudslides in Santa Cruz Mountains
“Heavy overnight rains in the Santa Cruz mountains brought mudslides and downed trees leading to road closures, power outages, and forcing drivers to take alternate routes. “I just now came home Highway 9 and it was closed had to come up Redwood Gulch to get onto highway 9 to come home because it was closed going towards Saratoga,” said Boulder Creek resident Susan Barth, who commutes over the hill to San Jose for work. A large redwood tree fell on Highway 9 near Paradise Park leading to a full road closure. Another road closure happened on Felton-Empire Road after a tree snapped a power pole knocking out power in the area. … ” Read more from KSBY.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Porterville relies on flood plan to preserve winter storms
“How did Porterville, where a then raging Tule River cuts through the town, stay dry while so many other San Joaquin Valley communities got flooded out last spring? Planning, coordination and permits. Sounds simple, but it took officials from the city, irrigation district, Tulare County and federal offices years to establish. It paid off as the small south San Joaquin Valley town stood out among many of its neighboring communities for staying mostly dry. “It’s a very difficult answer,” said Michael Knight, director of Public Works for the City of Porterville. “I give all the praise and credit to my staff.” … ” Read more from the Sun-Gazette.
Tehachapi: Water district planning for 2024 operations with lots of banked water
“Planning for 2024 operations is underway, and Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District expects to present information about water reserve account balances, recharge balances, Cummings basin allocations and voluntary banking availability at its next regular Board of Directors meeting on Feb. 21. At the board’s Jan. 17 meeting, General Manager Tom Neisler provided a review of 2023 operations and said that even though the initial State Water Project allocation is only 10%, conditions are more favorable statewide than they were a year ago — even with the state’s snowpack less than average. Water needs in the greater Tehachapi area are met with a combination of groundwater and imported surface water. Since November 1973, the district has imported water from Northern California via the California Aqueduct. The availability of that water varies. … ” Read more from the Tehachapi News.
Tehachapi: Grand jury: Stallion Springs wastewater treatment plant ‘may be on the brink of disaster’
“Complaints from residents resulted in an investigation of Stallion Springs Community Services District by the Kern County grand jury. A report detailing concerns about the district’s wastewater treatment plant, increased operational costs and other matters was released Monday morning. General Manager Laura Lynne Wyatt said Monday that she was not employed by the district at the time of the grand jury’s inquiry and needs time to become familiar with the report. … ” Read more from the Tehachapi News.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Salton Sea Authority hopes to begin reconciliation process with IID
“Salton Sea Authority Directors held a meeting to discuss ongoing updates on Salton Sea proceedings,Thursday, January 18th. The first matter discussed, item B, was to review the fiscal year Audited Financial Report ending on June 30, 2023. Shannon Ayala from CPA / Partner, Davis Farr, LLP reported on the audit results an unmodified opinion on financial statements dated December 13, 2023. No material weaknesses in internal control and journal entries were detected as part of the audit procedures. Government auditing standards opinion recommended two practices to update the accrued vacation policy to include the executive directors, accrued vacation information, and to obtain a reimbursement agreement related to the salary and benefits of the executive director. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
SAN DIEGO
Solana Beach and Encinitas launch $32 million beach restoration project
“Crowds gathered at Fletcher Cove Sunday to watch as a large pipe sprayed sand along Solana Beach, with bulldozers spreading it around. This beach restoration project aims to combat years of erosion caused by storms and high tides. “I think it’s great. It needed to happen,” said Eric Richey, an Encinitas resident. “There has not been much beach for the locals or the tourists.” “This is to protect public safety, but also public infrastructure,” said Mayor Lesa Heebner of Solana Beach. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Emergency declared in San Diego as wettest January day on record brings widespread flooding
“Winter storms for relatively dry San Diego are hit-or-miss, but mostly miss, so the wallop of a Pacific front Monday stunned California’s second-largest city even as it was expecting rain. It was the third of three Pacific storms to strike the West Coast since Friday, with the first bypassing the region and the second producing only about one-third of an inch of relatively warm rain. A city that walked it off was then punished by the third storm, which had been forecast to be stronger. It was the wettest January day on record in San Diego, the National Weather Service said. … ” Read more from NBC News.
Along the Colorado River …
Are dams good or bad?
“The latest forecast has arrived for the West’s largest reservoir — and, stop me if you’ve heard this one, it’s not great. Federal scientists are projecting that Lake Mead — created by Hoover Dam, which interrupts the Colorado River not far from Las Vegas — will fall close to its lowest level ever by the end of 2025, as the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Alan Halaly reports. That could mean additional water cutbacks for cities and farms in California, Nevada and Arizona. The future’s not set in stone. Even as the world continues to warm, it’s hard to predict exactly how hot or dry each year will be. There’s still plenty of short-term uncertainty and variation. Maybe we’ll get a lot more rain and Lake Mead will rise. We’ll have to wait and see what happens — for the water in our reservoirs, and for the electricity that water generates. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
