On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Delta Conservancy Board from 9am to 1pm. Agenda items include updates on grant programs, Delta Interagency Invasive Species Coordination Team Update, Delta Conservancy 2023 Implementation Plan Status Update and Consideration of 2024 Implementation Plan, Update on the Reorienting to Recovery: Central Valley Salmon Recovery Project, EcoRestore update, and Delta agency updates. Click here for the agenda and remote access instructions.
- SYMPOSIUM: Indicators of Climate Change Symposium: Bridging Science and Action from 9:15am to 5:00pm. The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is convening a symposium as part of its efforts to track and report on climate change and its impacts on California. The symposium will provide a forum to review and discuss new scientific knowledge and observed trends, highlighting disproportionate impacts on communities and ecosystems, and to promote engagement and integration of diverse knowledge and perspectives to better understand climate risks and develop equitable, sustainable options to address them. The symposium will feature speakers from academia, state and Tribal governments, and community organizations. Please complete this form to register. For more information, contact answers@oehha.ca.gov
- WEBCAST: How did Americans use water in 2023? from 10am to 11am. Flume, the company that brings connectivity and intelligence to residential water usage, is excited to present the Flume Household Water Data Index. During the hour, we will review indoor and outdoor residential water use patterns throughout the United States in 2023. This webcast will have a special focus on the unique water conditions of the past year and their impact on residential water use and water management. We will also explore the latest indoor and outdoor water use trends for the top 15 Metropolitan Service Areas including: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Washington DC, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Phoenix, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, Riverside, Detroit, and Seattle. Click here to register.
- SoCAL WATER DIALOG: A Chance to Do It Right from 12pm – 1:30pm. Join the Southern California Water Dialog as we look back at the challenging conditions wrought by 2023’s multitude of atmospheric rivers. Last winter delivered 141 percent of the average rainfall with the snowpack at the deepest level recorded in at least 40 years. Yet only 34 percent of the state’s wells had a significant increase in groundwater. As the rainy season for 2024 gets underway, the Water Dialogue will examine lessons learned and strategies that can be implemented to better capture, store, and distribute water. Specifically, how could we have captured more water, is there enough flexibility within the system, and could more water have been moved to southern California? Click here to register.
In California water news today …
California ranks high worldwide for rapidly depleted groundwater
“In a sign of the ongoing threats to its precious groundwater stores, half a dozen regions in California rank among the world’s most rapidly declining aquifers, according to research published today. Globally, lack of local water drives migration, poverty, starvation and violence — while in California, it drives decades-long regulatory battles over how to stop over-pumping by growers. Aquifers in Spain, Iran, China and Chile top the list of the 100 most rapidly dropping groundwater levels. In California, California’s Cuyama Valley, north of Santa Barbara, ranked 34th worldwide. Its underground basin has been dropping almost 5 feet a year, and residents, farmers and even the school district are locked in a court battle with carrot growers who sued them over groundwater rights. Four other basins in the San Joaquin Valley and one in northeastern San Diego also netted spots in the top 100, with water levels falling up to almost four feet a year, according to the study, which was led by University of California and Swiss researchers and published in the journal Nature. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Groundwater levels around the world are dropping quickly, often at accelerating rates
“Groundwater supplies are dwindling in aquifers around the world, a groundbreaking new study found, with the rates of decline accelerating over the past four decades in nearly a third of aquifers studied. Many agricultural centers face an uncertain future as a warming climate threatens water availability around the world. Groundwater has long acted as a climate buffer, providing a source of freshwater for communities with unreliable rainfall. But human activity has unleashed a feedback loop that is placing this crucial resource at risk: decades of uncontrolled combustion of fossil fuels has caused more frequent and severe droughts, which in turn has led to increased reliance on groundwater. In California, growers treated underground aquifers as unlimited sources of water until the state finally started to regulate groundwater a decade ago. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
SEE ALSO:
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- Groundwater levels are falling worldwide — but there are solutions, from Grist
- Where Groundwater Levels Are Falling, and Rising, Worldwide, from the New York Times
- Humans are depleting groundwater worldwide, but there are ways to replenish it, from The Conversation
How a state-funded drought program was converted to help farmers take on flood water and permanently cut groundwater pumping
“When farmers fallowed thousands of acres during the recent drought, most didn’t expect they would be flooding those lands months later. But that’s what happened during last year’s historic floods after the state adapted LandFlex, a drought program, to take on some of the deluge from valley rivers. “Our original intent with fallow land was for those farmers to put cover crops on it to mitigate dust,” said Teji Sandhu, integrated watershed management program policy advisor for the state Department of Water Resources. “In order to protect communities and cities down south of the rivers, we thought, ‘Why not allow these guys to recharge that land and be able to pull flood waters off onto that fallow land?’” … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Atmospheric river brewing for next week
“An atmospheric river is expected to make landfall in California next week, bringing more gloomy days to the capital city. Starting next Tuesday and lasting through at least Friday, the system is forecast to bring rain, snow and wind across the state. Early predictions are in, but it’s still unclear exactly how much precipitation residents can expect. The atmospheric river storm “looks like it may be similar in nature and track to what we experienced this past weekend,” said Jeffery Wood, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
California reservoirs get boost from recent storms. Here’s what experts say we still need
“Our recent wet trend has brought a boost to our state’s water supply, and we may be heading into another stretch of wet weather in February. So how are our reservoirs doing? As of Tuesday, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) reports most of Northern California’s reservoirs have added 3% to 5% more water than they had on Jan. 18. “Right now, statewide reservoirs storage is at 114% of average,” said Jeanine Jones, DWR’s interstate resources manager. Each location surrounding Sacramento is reporting at least 50% of capacity. … ” Read more from CBS News.
Central Valley Water Board expands innovative safe drinking water program to eight more geographic zones
“Three years after the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board launched a novel program that has brought replacement drinking water to more than 1,200 households with nitrate-impacted wells in designated areas of the Central Valley, the regional board is expanding the program to new areas in eight groundwater basins.The Central Valley Water Board recently mailed 938 Notices to Comply to permit holders in these areas, known as Priority 2 management zones within its Salinity Alternatives for Long-Term Sustainability (CV-SALTS) program. Collectively, these notices affect dischargers – growers, dairies, industrial facilities and wastewater plants – in the following basins: Delta-Mendota, Eastern San Joaquin, Madera, Merced, Kern County (Poso), Kern County (West-side South), Tulare Lake and Yolo. … ” Read more from the Central Valley Water Board.
State nitrate program expands but public participation is still lacking
“After three years, more of the Central Valley is being folded into the state’s nitrate control program. But program managers and environmental justice advocates say there are still serious problems with outreach. The state’s nitrate control program launched in 2021. It offers free well testing and water deliveries for residents whose wells test over the limit for nitrates. The program is mandated by the State Water Resources Control Board and funded by nitrate polluters throughout the valley. Nitrates can be harmful to pregnant women and infants. Nitrates have infiltrated drinking water supplies in the valley from farming fertilizers, septic tanks, dairies and other wastewater sources. … ” Continue reading from SJV Water.
DWR assistance program helps counties prepare for future dry conditions
“No matter what weather California is experiencing, the State is taking action to prepare for the possibility of more extreme storms while increasing our climate resilience for the next drought. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is partnering with counties to ensure that communities statewide have the resources they need to proactively plan for future dry conditions. Designed to help counties meet requirements set by Senate Bill (SB) 552, DWR’s County Drought Resilience Planning Assistance Program offers counties the choice between hands-on technical support or financial assistance up to $125,000 to establish a standing drought and water shortage task force and develop a county drought resilience plan. … ” Read more from DWR.
Local agencies need more than “words on paper” from the state to help fight drought and flood
“A Tulare County official who’s faced multiple droughts and devastating floods over the past decade appreciated the California Water Commission’s latest “policy paper” on how best to respond to such calamities but she had some advice of her own for the state: Locals need resources – money, equipment, personnel – not just “words on paper.” Beyond immediate response needs, valley communities need state help to build more water storage and conveyance, said Denise England, water resources director in Tulare County. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SEE ALSO: Water Commission presents statewide strategies for protecting communities, fish and wildlife during drought, from the Tahoe Daily Tribune
New assessment of OpenET accuracy points to expanding, vital role of satellite-based water management tools
“The satellite-based water data platform OpenET demonstrates considerable accuracy in measuring evapotranspiration in agricultural settings according to a new study in Nature Water. Evapotranspiration—the amount of water lost to the atmosphere through soil evaporation and plant transpiration—is a key measure of water consumption in agriculture and has previously been difficult and expensive to monitor accurately at scale. A public-private collaboration led by NASA, California State University Monterey Bay, Environmental Defense Fund, Desert Research Institute, and HabitatSeven, OpenET uses publicly available data produced by NASA and USGS Landsat and other satellite and ground-based systems to calculate evapotranspiration rates at the field level. The study shows OpenET’s results are particularly reliable for arid regions like California and the Southwest and for annual crops like wheat, corn, soy, and rice. … ” Read more from the Environmental Defense Fund.
Delta water tunnel project faces another lawsuit
“There is another delay in the process to build a tunnel to transport water under the Delta. This time, another lawsuit has been filed against the state’s controversial Delta Conveyance Project. The plan to build a tunnel or tunnels under the Delta has been controversial for decades. Just last month, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released a new environmental impact report acknowledging the significant impacts the project would have on the environment. In response, the group Restore the Delta, filed a lawsuit. “We have partnered with other nonprofits and tribes that work on water advocacy in the Delta in filing a CEQA lawsuit against the Department of Water Resources,” said Cintia Cortez, with Restore the Delta. … ” Read more from ABC 10.
New renderings and details emerge for California Forever, the $800 million city proposed [by] Silicon Valley
“When California Forever—the $800 million venture to build a city on rural land in Silicon Valley—was first unveiled in September, it was light on specifics. Now, a filing with the Solano Registrar of Voters, and a new set of renderings, the vision for a speculative community that’s twice the size of San Francisco has become a little bit clearer.Phase one of the project seeks to house about 50,000 residents across an 18,600-acre site in Solano County, California between San Francisco and Sacramento, just outside the Travis Air Force Base. While most of the acreage will be used for housing, schools, office, and commercial use, about 4,000 acres will be used for parks, trails, urban ecological habitat, community gardens, and other types of open space, California Forever said. Renderings even show jovial factory workers within a manufacturing hub to demonstrate the full range of blue- and white collar jobs California Forever is looking to create and foster. … ” Read more from Architect’s Newspaper.
In commentary today …
Gov. Newsom is accelerating California’s extinction crisis
By Jon Rosenfield, PhD, SF Baykeeper science director; and Eric Buescher, SF Baykeeper managing attorney, write, “California is at the forefront of a global crisis known as the Anthropocene extinction. This rapid eradication of living diversity is not caused by meteor strikes or volcanic eruptions, but by human activity. No animal group is more at risk than fishes. Researchers recently concluded that our state is a world leader in the number of freshwater fishes likely to become extinct by the end of the century. Governor Newsom’s water policies are accelerating this race to oblivion. Many of California’s imperiled native fishes live in San Francisco Bay, including five species that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Baykeeper recently sued the US Fish and Wildlife Service to add the Bay’s population of longfin smelt to that list. And, late last year, we and our partners petitioned state and federal agencies to protect the Bay’s white sturgeon population as threatened after decades of decline. … ” Click here to read this commentary.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Court approves $1.75 million settlement for cannabis cultivator’s environmental violations
“A Humboldt County Superior Court judge approved a settlement that requires a cannabis cultivator to pay $1.75 million for building and diverting water from illegal onstream reservoirs without first obtaining permits required by the California Water Boards and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The settlement, which was reached after a lengthy investigation, resolves violations by Joshua Sweet and his companies, The Hills LLC and Shadow Light Ranch LLC, that include: the owner’s destruction of wetland habitat and stream channels; conversion of oak woodland to grow cannabis; and failure to work with the State Water Resources Control Board, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and CDFW to satisfy permitting requirements. … ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Storm drops snow across the Sierra, including at ski resorts. Will it stave off the snow drought?
“The latest storm dumped about a foot of snow in the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe regions, including at major ski resorts, alleviating the threat of a “drought” resulting from a depleted snowpack. Between Sunday and Tuesday morning, Mammoth Mountain got 10 inches at the base and 13 inches at the summit, according to the National Weather Service. Chairlift openings may be delayed while ski patrol conducts avalanche mitigation, resort officials said. The storm also dropped 12 inches on Boreal Mountain Resort, near Donner Summit, and Bear Valley; 11 inches on June Mountain, Sugar Bowl and Kirkwood; and 9 inches on the Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs. Northstar, near Truckee, Mt. Rose and Tahoe Donner, near Lake Tahoe, received 6 inches, while Heavenly saw about 3. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Lake Tahoe litter: plastics polluting the Jewel of the Sierra
“A new study into plastic litter in Lake Tahoe reveals trouble lurking beneath the clear blue water of the Sierra Nevada’s largest freshwater lake. A study of five sections of Lake Tahoe found hundreds of pieces of plastic litter from a variety of sources, according to a paper published in September in the journal “Applied Spectroscopy” by the Desert Research Institute and UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. On average, Lake Tahoe contained 83 pieces of plastic litter per kilometer, or 133 pieces per mile, the researchers found. … ” Read more from the Reno Gazette-Journal.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Shasta Lake is filling up fast, could the spillway be used at some point?
“The recent rainfall has further boosted the outlook at Shasta Lake this year. Water levels have risen nearly 10 feet in just the past week. Currently, California’s largest reservoir is only 43 feet from capacity and over 40 feet higher than it was at this point in 2023. Highlighting the recent climb in water levels: the dam’s ‘drum gates’ have been raised to protect water from possibly seeping over. With more rainfall expected in the weeks ahead, the Bureau of Reclamation is still not concerned about too much water, yet. … ” Read more from KRCR.
SEE ALSO: Going up: Lake Shasta rises 6 feet in a week, sparking flood watch, higher water hopes, from the Redding Record Searchlight
BAY AREA
San Geronimo Tributaries see record breaking numbers of spawning salmon
“As the spawning season for critically endangered Central Coast California Coho Salmon winds down, record numbers of coho have been documented in the tiny headwater streams of San Geronimo Watershed, a preferred habitat for this species. Especially good news was recorded in Larsen Creek, which runs through a road culvert under Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, through the Lagunitas School grounds and up through the “back nine” of the former San Geronimo Golf Course. “At least 4 coho redds (nests) have been documented so far this year in Larsen Creek, the second highest number recorded in nearly a quarter century, said Ayano Hayes, Watershed Biologist with Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN). … ” Read more from the Turtle Island Restoration Network.
Sprawling Bay Area ranch will become a major new nature preserve, with hiking trails
“A 3,654-acre ranch near San Jose is slated to be converted into a major new nature preserve that will open new footpaths to hikers and serve as a critical link along the enormous Bay Area Ridge Trail. On Monday afternoon, the Conservation Fund, a national environmental nonprofit, closed on a $16 million deal to purchase Richmond Ranch in Santa Clara County from Chinese corporation Z&L Properties, which had bought the site from a generational cattle family in 2016 and left the land largely untouched. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
CENTRAL COAST
An aquifer storage project is an example of a creative, workable solution to a problem.
“David Schmalz here. I never thought much about water growing up—Sierra snowmelt largely fed the municipal water system in the East Bay. It wasn’t until I moved to Monterey County a decade ago that water scarcity—and fiefdoms of different water interests—became something I had to reckon with. … And the more I learn about water locally—and for as much as I know, I’m always learning—I’m impressed by the creative solutions on display in Monterey County to make the most out of not very much. Case in point is the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery project (ASR), which went online in 2002 … ” Read more from Monterey Weekly.
Lake Cachuma overflows for the first time in a decade following heavy rainfall in California
“Lake Cachuma, a vital reservoir located in the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County, is overflowing for the first time in a decade. The Bradbury Dam, which provides most of the county’s water supply, is spilling over due to heavy rainfall in California. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has scheduled the dam release to accommodate the anticipated water flows in the coming days. With the National Weather Service forecasting more rain, the reservoir must have enough room to accommodate the rainfall. … ” Read more from Newsbreak.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Atmospheric river could hit California next week. What’s in store for Stanislaus County?
“An atmospheric river event is expected to sweep through California next week — and Stanislaus County residents should brace for heavy rain and strong winds. The atmospheric river event will move south along the West Coast from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, the National Weather Service wrote in a post on X, formerly called Twitter. “There is a 60% to 80% chance of above-normal precipitation across much of the West Coast, Southwest and Intermountain West,” the weather service said, lasting through Feb. 5. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee via Yahoo Voices.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Why our water right history matters
Brett Miller writes, “The Imperial Valley is likely on the cusp of a massive Colorado River water deal, potentially lasting for the next few decades, and has the potential to alter the way of life for many here in our community. At the negotiating table are water managers from various states, some of whom have gone on the record saying that the laws and rights on which the Imperial Valley claims its water are “outdated” now that the West is facing a drought and argued that a new way of allocating water without regard to the priority of water rights must be adopted. Their solution? The Imperial Valley takes the biggest cut out of all the water users on the river, and everyone else with the oldest, strongest, and most senior rights to the water get put in the same category as a junior user who asked for an allocation decades after us. Apparently, those junior users view this as an “equitable” path forward. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
SAN DIEGO
‘Thousand-year storm’ leaves San Diego reeling from punishing rainfall, floods
“In a matter of minutes Monday morning, communities across southeastern San Diego were transformed into disaster zones: Families fled their homes in chest-deep floodwaters; vehicles were swept downstream as roads became rivers; residents cried for help from their rooftops. A deluge of rainfall from what city officials are calling a “thousand-year storm” forced hundreds of rescues, flooded an untold number of homes and businesses and caused millions of dollars in estimated damage. The floodwaters had mostly receded by Tuesday afternoon, revealing the devastating aftermath of California’s latest climate emergency — and leaving hundreds without housing and transportation, and with ruined valuables and personal belongings. “The damage and the impact was absolutely devastating,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said at a Tuesday news conference. “Entire lives changed in just a few minutes.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO: San Diego just saw its rainiest day in January history as officials warn of the “fragile state” of the city’s infrastructure, from CBS News
Flooding, contaminated water ransacks ranches along Tijuana River Valley
“Monday’s torrential downpour across San Diego County could not help but force some longtime South Bay residents to draw comparisons to flash flooding chaos back in 2008. FOX 5 was able to join horse and ranch owners along the Tijuana River Valley on horseback as our team chugged through deep contaminated water. “It happened over the course of 20 minutes,” said one local. Horse after horse was led out to dry ground as water from the Tijuana River turned stables, roads and corrals into pools of sewage at Driftwood Ranch along Hollister Road. … ” Read more from Fox 5.
Along the Colorado River …
‘We need to get good partners’ to secure water for AZ, agency says
“The head of a state agency that’s looking for new water sources for Arizona is unhappy with the governor’s budget proposal. Two years ago, then-Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona lawmakers agreed to invest $1 billion in a desalination plant, among other projects to augment Arizona’s water supply. The money was to be allocated over three years. But last year’s budget included roughly half of the $333 million expected for the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority, or WIFA. And Gov. Katie Hobbs has proposed just $33 million for the agency in her plan for the upcoming fiscal year. All of that has Chuck Podolak concerned. He’s WIFA’s director, and has been speaking out about the need to fully fund his decades-old agency. He joined The Show to talk more about it and the conversation began with where the authority is in the area of trying to find new sources of water for the state. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Arizona might start regulating groundwater pumping in farming area
“Arizona is considering ushering in regulation of groundwater pumping in the Gila Bend area that officials say is suffering some of the worst water level declines in the state. The Arizona Department of Water Resources will hold a public meeting Tuesday, Jan. 30 in Phoenix as a first step toward deciding whether to create a state-run active management area to control groundwater pumping in the Gila Bend Basin. If one were to be declared, it would be the seventh of its kind in the state. Before that could happen, the department would have to formally propose creating it and to hold public hearings. … ” Read more from the Arizona Daily Star.
New Audubon study will guide bird habitat restoration in Colorado River Delta
“A new tool will better support habitat in the Colorado River Delta through identifying key areas for restoration, according to a new study published in the Journal of Environmental Management. This significant scientific contribution will allow for optimizing limited water and financial resources in the Colorado River Delta, which, because of significant restoration efforts, is coming back to life with birds and other wildlife. “We’re really pleased that we can remove the guess work for identifying the best sites in the Delta for restoration in one of the world’s most important bottle necks for birds,” said Joanna Grand, Audubon’s Director of Spatial Conservation Planning and lead author for the study. “This tool allows us to select for bird abundance and diversity, and with proper investments on the ground, will help restore an ecosystem that was on its way to disappearance due to upstream water development.” … ” Read more from Audubon.
