On the calendar today …
- MEETING: State Water Resources Control Board beginning at 9am. Agenda items include consideration of a proposed Resolution reapproving the Final Initial Biological Goals for Lower San Joaquin River Flow Objectives; Consideration of a proposed Resolution to adopt the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters portion of the 2024 California Integrated Report; and a discussion on yearly Strategic Work Plan and Board Priorities. Click here for the agenda and remote access instructions.
- ONLINE EVENT: Central Valley Salmon Recovery Project Forum to review modeling results of blended recovery scenarios from 9am to 5pm. This forum will review modeling results of blended recovery scenarios. The “Reorienting to Recovery: Central Valley Salmon Recovery Project seeks to engage interested parties across teh salmonid landscape in an inclusive, collaborative, and structure process to identify a suite of implementable and impactful actions that will advance the recovery of the four distinct runds of California Central Valley salmon and steelhead throughout their life cycle; and establish broad support and buy-in for these preferred actions by making trade-offs transparent and balancing particiapnts’ diverse values, perspectives, and priorities. Zoom link: https://kearnswest.zoom.us/j/86301064516?pwd=0gbx4SCBifbJftzisW8qgLYD20QaFJ.1#success
- WEBINAR: Saving Salmon: State Actions Needed to Recover Salmon Populations in California from 12pm to 1pm. Salmon are iconic to California, a keystone species that has returned to California’s rivers for thousands of years. They have deep cultural meaning and economic importance and help define the ecosystems they inhabit. Today though, climate change, warming water and human-created stressors threaten the very future of salmon in our state. Join us to unpack the just-released California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future: Restoring Aquatic Ecosystems in the Age of Climate Change. We’ll discuss this Newsom Administration strategy, important work underway to recover salmon, and where we need to concentrate efforts to bring back salmon across the state. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Not over yet: Historic atmospheric river won’t be the last of the rain in California
“As California residents reel from the lingering effects of a deadly storm that prompted a state of emergency, AccuWeather meteorologists are tracking the next storm expected to swing through the state this week. While less intense than its predecessor, the storm will bring additional rain and wind to the region that can slow cleanup efforts and the recession of floodwaters. Over Sunday and Monday, downtown Los Angeles received 7.03 inches of rain, marking the third wettest two-day span in the city’s history, as well as back-to-back days of a daily rainfall record being broken. To put this event in perspective, the 30-year historical average seasonal rainfall for the downtown area is 14.25 inches. … On Tuesday morning, the historic storm that brought devastation to Southern California was slowly pivoting inland across the southwestern United States. Meanwhile, a new storm began to drop southward off the coast of western Canada. By later Wednesday, this next storm will bring a resurgence of wet and windy weather to storm-weary California. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
After record rains, California storm shifting east. What happened and what’s next?
“After record-shattering rains poured over swaths of California, the potent atmospheric river continues to sweep through the state and move eastward. Rainfall totals as high as 10 inches or more brought widespread severe flash flooding and triggered more than 300 landslides within just the greater Los Angeles area. … Flood watches have been dropped in Northern and Central California, where rains have at last wound down. Southern California, meanwhile, is facing another inch or so, with locally greater amounts where thunderstorms pivot ashore Tuesday afternoon. There’s even a remote chance of small hail or an isolated funnel cloud with any thunderstorms that form. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
How California’s torrential, life-threatening storms got so bad
“A brutal winter storm is battering the West Coast with torrential downpours in the south, blizzards in the north, and winds gusting up to 160 miles per hour. The severe weather has killed at least three people. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Sunday for eight counties in the southern part of the state. The 14 million residents of the region are facing a high risk of excessive rainfall. Further north, more than 150,000 electricity customers lost power as of Tuesday morning. And more severe weather is in store: The National Weather Service reports heavy rain will continue in parts of California through at least Wednesday, fueling “locally catastrophic flash and urban flooding” in cities like Los Angeles while snow will create “whiteout conditions and near impossible travel above 5,000 feet” in the Sierra Nevada mountains. … ” Read more from Vox.
Here’s how much water Sunday’s storm added to California’s snowpack.
“Sunday’s powerful storm brought a big boost to the Sierra snowpack. Here’s a look at some weekend totals and an update to the snowpack water content. On Monday morning, ski resorts in the Tahoe Basin and along the Sierra Crest were reporting two to four feet of snow since Saturday morning. Mammoth Mountain in Mono County reported 46 inches of snow in 72 hours. Heavenly, Dodge Ridge and Sierra-at-Tahoe each measured more than two feet of fresh powder. The snow level throughout Sunday’s storm was at or above 5,000 feet most of the time, although there were some flakes as low as 3,500 feet first thing Monday morning. Heavy snow fell along the entire Sierra Sunday and Monday, and as a result, the snowpack numbers got a big boost. … ” Read more from KCRA Channel 3.
MORE STORM COVERAGE:
- See Where Heavy Rainfall Deluged California, from the New York Times
- How a ‘bomb cyclone’ helped fuel California’s deadly storm, from the LA Times
- Historic rainfall and heavy snows bring flooding, mudslides to California, from the Washington Post
- California storm causes as much as $11 billion in damages, from the San Jose Mercury News
The science behind California’s atmospheric rivers
“A powerful atmospheric river is carrying a band of water into California and lashing the state with heavy rain and intense winds. Southern California has been hit particularly hard by the storm, which began on Saturday. A large part of California’s annual precipitation comes from atmospheric rivers, creating a dangerous situation in the state as soil loosens and causes mudslides. California has been slammed by dozens of atmospheric rivers in recent years. The weather event often targets the West Coast after carrying water from the Pacific Ocean and the tropics. Here is what to know about the science behind atmospheric rivers … ” Continue reading at the Wall Street Journal (gift article).
What are atmospheric rivers? Why do they hit California especially?
“Winter storms that strike the US West Coast can dump rain non-stop for days, in the worst cases triggering floods and mudslides. The strongest of these are usually a phenomenon known as atmospheric rivers, weather patterns notable for their shape and the sheer volume of water they can deliver. While they can strike anywhere, California typically gets the planet’s most punishing atmospheric rivers and is currently being doused by a version known as the Pineapple Express. The storms aren’t new, but they’ve been getting more attention in recent years as researchers learn more about how to track them and climate change potentially makes them stronger. … ” Continue reading from Bloomberg.
How climate change contributes to the atmospheric rivers slamming the West Coast
“The California coast is currently getting pummeled with heavy rain from atmospheric rivers, essentially rivers in the sky that collect moisture from tropical areas and redistribute the water to higher latitudes. The current El Niño pattern is also favoring multiple rounds of heavy rain and an overall period of unsettled, rainy weather, forecasts show. Climate change and a strong El Niño event could both play a role in the intensity of impacts that atmospheric rivers bring when they hit the West Coast, according to scientists. While it is not possible to say that a specific weather event is due to climate change as it unfolds, research shows that climate change is making the impacts from naturally occurring events, like atmospheric rivers, more intense. … ” Read more from ABC News.
SEE ALSO: Researcher says climate change is driving the mega storms and prolonged droughts hitting California, from KCLU
Explainer-California rains: Good for drought, fuel for wildfires
“The atmospheric river that has inundated California is a mixed blessing, at once easing drought conditions and promoting threatened fish species while also nourishing the growth of vegetation that will eventually fuel future wildfires. Here’s a look at the environmental implications … ” Read more from US News & World Report.
Newsom’s salmon strategy gets mixed reviews
Last week, the Newsom administration released its salmon strategy aimed at aimed at protecting and restoring salmon “amidst hotter and drier weather exacerbated by climate change.” Here’s what Cal Trout, Trout Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, the Golden State Salmon Association, Northern California Water Association, and Restore the Delta have to say. Read this post from Maven’s Notebook.
California salmon disaster funding falls far short, say fishing advocates
“The $20.6 million allocated for federal relief to California’s Chinook salmon closure is just two-thirds of the state’s aid request, and threatens the survival of fishing businesses, California commercial anglers and for-hire recreational groups said Monday. In a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Golden Gate Fisherman’s Association, and the Northern California Guides and Sportsmen’s Association called for “immediate full funding of salmon disaster funding assistance” in the $30.7 million figure sought by state officials. “The State’s economic analysis already falls short of expected needs, and the federal disaster assistance package add insult to injury,” leaders of the fishing groups wrote in their joint letter. “Additionally, nearly a year after the declaration of the complete season closure, not one dollar of relief funds have been made available to affected businesses or their employees.” … ” Read more from National Fisherman.
YOUR INPUT WANTED: Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan Released for Public Comment
“The Delta Protection Commission today released a public-comment draft of the Management Plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area (Delta NHA). All interested parties are encouraged to view the plan here, and submit comments on the Plan by 5 p.m. March 6, 2024. Comments can be emailed to submit@delta.ca.gov, or mailed to the Delta Protection Commission, 2101 Stone Blvd., Suite 200, West Sacramento, CA 95691. In addition, members of the public may attend one of two scheduled meetings to comment in person: Feb. 21 in Walnut Grove and Feb. 22 in Antioch, both 6-8 p.m. An additional virtual meeting will be scheduled as well. “We’re excited and pleased to be at this juncture – a critical point in the development of this National Heritage Area,” said Commission Executive Director Bruce Blodgett. … ” Read more from the Delta Protection Commission.
Warming climate pushes rain to higher elevations, raising flooding risks
“A new study co-authored by UC Merced researchers assesses the effect of a warming climate in pushing the elevation of snow to rain higher during a storm, increasing runoff and the risk of flooding. The study also shows the importance of spatially representative ground measurements of hydrologic variables, an effective, accurate way to forecast runoff and inform decision making. That’s according to a study published in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies , which uses the American River Basin in California’s central Sierra Nevada, a region historically prone to flooding, as the study area. Using hydrologic modeling and widely accepted climate-warming scenarios, and with support from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Federal Bureau of Reclamation, researchers at UC Merced examined how uncertainty in the elevation of the rain-snow transition affects runoff forecasting. … ” Read more from UC Merced.
In commentary today …
The glaring omission in the State Water Board’s Bay-Delta Plan Update
The California Water Impact Network writes, “A not-so-funny thing happened when the State Water Resources Control Board decided to update its Bay-Delta Plan, the document that authorizes protective temperature ranges and flow requirements for the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their shared Delta. Dubbed Phase 2, the proposed plan inexplicably omits protection for a major source of water for the Bay-Delta system: the Trinity River. The Trinity is the largest tributary to the Klamath River and is critical habitat for some of the state’s last wild salmon – fish that are essential to the food supply and culture of some of California’s largest Native tribes and a lynchpin of the commercial fishing and sport angling industries. While it is not in the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed, the Trinity contributes on average over 600,000 acre-feet of water annually to the Sacramento River via three reservoirs and two tunnels. … ” Read more from the California Water Impact Network.
Column: Hate the storm? Then start getting serious about climate change
Sammy Roth writes, “You know how oil and gas pollution is supposed to bring not only hotter heat waves, drier droughts and bigger wildfires, but also more intense storms? Well, that’s what we’re experiencing in Los Angeles and across California this week, as an atmospheric river wallops the state with record rainfall, dangerous floods, major mudslides and power outages — with more to come. Although it’s too soon to say exactly how much responsibility global warming bears for the storm — let’s hope scientists conduct an attribution study before too long — this is exactly the kind of thing climate researchers have long predicted. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Historic dam removals in California’s Klamath aim to revive salmon
“The largest dam removal in United States history is currently taking place in the Northern California Klamath region. Crews will work to take down all four dams in the Klamath River by this summer. Copco 1 and Iron Gate dams have already been removed and the effect are noticeable, as water has dried out from the lake substantially. The reason behind the dam removal is to restore the salmon population. Salmon breeds, such as the Chinook and Coho, are native to the area but have been declining in population size. … ” Read more from KRCR.
Radio: Scientists find two previously unknown species of lamprey in California
“It’s not like lampreys showed up yesterday. They’ve been around in the water of our region for something like 350 million years. But the eel-like fish have not gotten the attention of the more glamorous fish, like, say, chinook salmon. California scientists recently put some work into researching lampreys, and found two distinct species–in California–that scientists had not previously noted. It’s important because lamprey are so important to ecosystems, that it really helps to know what’s out there. Grace Auringer, a PhD candidate at the University of California-Davis led the study team. She visits to further illuminate the findings.” Listen at Jefferson Public Radio.
NAPA/SONOMA
Break in storm eases Russian River flood threat as reservoirs rise
“A break in the storm is allowing swollen creeks and waterways to begin receding, reducing flood threats after days of a drenching rains closed several roads and kept residents hunkered down inside. Though the lower Russian River was not forecast to crest until 10 p.m. Monday, it was not expected to reach even 28 feet in Guerneville, well below flood stage of 32 feet. River levels farther upstream already have reached their peak and began falling around midmorning, though Highway 175 in Hopland remained closed due to river flooding, according to the CHP. The river also reached minor flood stage in the Geyserville area. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
Atmospheric river wallops Sonoma County over the weekend
“The sun’s starting to peek out, but this weekend’s storm hit the North Bay hard. The weekend storm front delivered over six inches of rain in a few spots, and brought even more destructive winds, giving maintenance crews and first responders a tall order to start the week, said Karen Hancock from the Sonoma County Fire District. “We’re no longer seeing the winds and sideways rain, but our crews are still out there working alongside County Roads [crews], CHP, Caltrans, utility crews, to help clear those roadways,” Hancock said. “There still are a lot of trees down and a lot of power lines down and a lot of debris in the roadway.” … ” Read more from NorCal Public Media.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
“Now rain is like a curse.” Storms rekindle the trauma of last year’s floods for many Tulare County residents
“Residents of Woodlake in Tulare County, traumatized by the devastation of last year’s floods, watched in fear last week as storms dumped water on their town, flooding streets. When his street flooded last week, Joshua Diaz got word while he was at work teaching at Porterville High School. He rushed home to blockade his home with sandbags. Even though his home wasn’t damaged again, the experience was too close for comfort. “I honestly thought it was going to be a repeat of last year,” said Diaz. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
L.A.’s flood-control system survived epic storm. But it’s losing battle with climate change
“Amid hammering rainfall, viscous mud flows and multiple state emergency declarations, Los Angeles County’s Byzantine flood control system has thus far absorbed near-record precipitation — a feat that officials say was made possible by extensive preparations, including the massive dredging of key debris basins and clearing of storm drains in areas deemed most susceptible to flooding. But as the most intense period of rain passed into history Monday, the concern among local engineers and officials was whether flood infrastructure built over the last 100 years and based on 20th century hydrologic records can continue to keep up with increasingly frequent extreme weather events propelled by climate change. “The system can handle multiple atmospheric rivers, as long as they have some spacing between them,” said Dena O’Dell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “When they are back-to-back without a break, the system could be tested.” … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via AOL News.
Normally at a crawl, the Los Angeles River threatens to overflow during torrential rains
“It’s easy to forget that a river runs through the heart of Los Angeles. Normally flowing at a crawl, much of it through nondescript concrete channels, the Los Angeles River picks up speed during the rainy season. By Monday, fed by a slow-moving atmospheric river dumping historic amounts of rain, the river was raging and even threatened to overspill its flood-control barriers in some sections. In a dramatic river rescue Monday afternoon, an LA Fire Department helicopter crew pulled a man from the turbulent water after he jumped in to save his dog when the animal was swept away by the current. The man was hoisted to safety and flown to a hospital. The dog was able to swim to safety. … ” Read more from KTLA.
Storm pummels L.A. hillsides and canyons: Mud, boulders and a baby grand piano
“Downed tree limbs and palm fronds, shingles blown off of roofs and debris littering the street are common sights after a storm in Southern California. An upside-down piano? Not so much. Although many California residents were reeling from the biblical rains falling Sunday and Monday, the effects in Los Angeles County may have been most acute in the slide-prone canyons. One example was the baby grand piano splayed out on its back on Caribou Lane off Beverly Glen Boulevard. The piano’s former home was pushed off its foundation around 2 a.m. Monday, sliding down the slope and into another house, according to neighbor Travis Longcore. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via AOL News.
So. Much. Rain. Southern California’s two-day total is expected to be among top 5 in its history
“Beyond evacuations, mudslides, outages and road flooding, the atmospheric river that drenched Southern California over the last few days brought eye-popping rainfall totals to the region — with still more to come Tuesday. Rainfall topped 11 inches in some areas of Los Angeles County in three days, easily surpassing the average amount recorded for the entire month of February, according to the National Weather Service. “And February is our wettest month,” said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. He noted this storm is “significant.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO:
- Mudslides, drowned highways, upended homes: Scenes from Southern California’s atmospheric river, from the LA Times
- Here’s the science behind the ‘phenomenal’ rain in Southern California, from the San Francisco Chronicle
- Record California storm fueled by bomb cyclone, El Niño, climate change, from the Washington Post
Burbank Water and Power: ‘There’s still more water we can save’
“Climate change and California’s dwindling water supply has officials statewide and at home rethinking urban water use amid a multistate battle for rights to the Colorado River’s stock, as drought patterns indicate that another dry season could be coming soon. Burbank water officials are workshopping new rules for residential and commercial users that would lead to expanded water savings. BWP’s focus is on consistently conserving water by limiting outdoor watering on a scale depending on times where water is particularly scarce. The agency also plans to levy fines for overuse which would scale in cost depending on how many violations an offender has, officials told the Leader. … ” Read more from the Burbank Leader.
5 million gallon sewage spill closes San Pedro’s Cabrillo Beach, all Long Beach waters
“Approximately 5 million gallons of untreated sewage has spilled into the Dominguez Channel — which discharges at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro and the Port of Long Beach — prompting widespread beach closures. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced the sewage spill on Monday, Feb. 5. DPH, in its announcement, said that Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro would be closed until further notice. The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, later that same afternoon, also announced that all swimming areas in the city — about seven miles of waterfront — would be closed as a result of the spill. … ” Read more from the Long Beach Telegram.
SAN DIEGO
San Diego is short $4.8B for stormwater, key infrastructure
“San Diego has less than a quarter of the money it needs to complete crucial taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects planned during the next five years, a new report shows. City officials estimate they will have $1.5 billion to tackle $6.29 billion in projects — leaving yawning funding gaps in areas like flood control, road paving, parks, streetlights and firefighting facilities. The shortfall for flood control upgrades and other storm water projects is $1.6 billion, a gap city officials say they must shrink in the wake of recent severe flooding in some southern neighborhoods. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
Atmospheric rivers bring rain and snow, but will they feed the Colorado River?
“The attention is on Southern California right now, but an atmospheric river’s path will extend inland with potential flooding — and possible drought relief. If you’re watching the weather, it’s still a little early to tell whether these storms will go where they can hope Las Vegas the most. That’s anywhere in the Upper Colorado River Basin, where there’s a chance they could produce snow to help the river that supplies 90% of the water used in Southern Nevada. When it rains in Las Vegas, officials remind residents to turn off their outdoor sprinklers and rely on nature instead. Those water savings make significant contributions to conservation efforts. … ” Read more from KLAS.
How Lake Mead water levels will change after atmospheric river
“As a moisture-laden atmospheric river makes its way through California and into inland Western states, meteorologists expect the storm could bring up to an inch of rain to drought-stricken Lake Mead in Nevada. Urgent weather warnings have been issued across California since the atmospheric river made landfall on Sunday, when it brought torrential rains that threatened floods and mudslides across the Golden State. On Monday, the storm continued its eastward trek into Las Vegas. A National Weather Service (NWS) radar showed that some of the rain from the storm was expected to fall near Lake Mead. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
National monuments in the West boost local economies and ecosystems, report finds
“A new report highlights how states in the West benefit from national monuments, which are waters and lands that are permanently protected. In 2022, more than 300 million people visited public lands in the national park system, which includes many national monuments. That contributed over $370,000 jobs and $50 billion to local economies, according to the Mountain Pact, a coalition of elected officials across the West advocating for more national monuments. … ” Read more from KUNR.
In national water news today …
EPA takes next step in PFAS regulations – Proposing adding nine PFAS as hazardous constituents
“On January 31, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is proposing to list nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This action represents another significant step in the regulation of PFAS. … This regulation is a part of President Biden’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. President Biden’s EPA has been active in instituting the roadmap, with other actions including proposing an enforceable maximum contaminant level (which is expected to be finalized any day), proposing listing two PFAS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law (CERCLA) (which is expected to be finalized early this year), and finalizing reporting requirements. … ” Read more from Nossaman.
FBI director warns of CCP cyber attacks days after CISA guidance issued
“Last week, testifying before the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Chinese hackers are preparing to “wreak havoc” on critical U.S. infrastructure. In his remarks, Wray specifically mentioned water as a critical system that could be vulnerable to attack.
“There has been far too little public focus on the fact that PRC [People’s Republic of China] hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure — our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems — and the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now,” Wray said in his opening statement. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
As use of A.I. Soars, so does the energy and water it requires
“Two months after its release in November 2022, OpenAI’s ChatGPT had 100 million active users, and suddenly tech corporations were racing to offer the public more “generative A.I.” Pundits compared the new technology’s impact to the Internet, or electrification, or the Industrial Revolution — or the discovery of fire. Time will sort hype from reality, but one consequence of the explosion of artificial intelligence is clear: this technology’s environmental footprint is large and growing. A.I. use is directly responsible for carbon emissions from non-renewable electricity and for the consumption of millions of gallons of fresh water, and it indirectly boosts impacts from building and maintaining the power-hungry equipment on which A.I. runs. … ” Read more from Yale e360.
