A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
Future extremes: New models zoom in on California snowpacks and storms
“When it comes to water, winter is a time of promise and peril in California. Our fate is uncertain―and can swing wildly―from year to year. Will mountain snowpacks be plentiful enough to get us through the dry season? Will they melt so fast in the spring that we’re down to a trickle by summer? Will too many atmospheric river storms in a row cause devastating floods like those we suffered last year? To help us prepare for what is to come, researchers are developing new models that zoom in on the Sierra Nevada snowpack and on individual atmospheric river events. Snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada provides, on average, about one-third of California’s annual water supply, and atmospheric rivers provide about half of the rain and snow statewide. Until recently, historical records helped state water managers and planners know what to expect for a given year. But this approach is no longer reliable as the world warms. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
A new tool can help protect California and Nevada communities from floods while preserving their water supply
“At the dawn of the new year in 1997, the Truckee River transformed. The winter season had thus far been great for snow, but when a subtropical storm from near the Hawaiian Islands rolled in, it carried with it unseasonably warm rain. The warm rainfall combined with snowmelt to swell the rivers, with the Truckee burying much of downtown Reno under water. Two people were killed amidst the nearly $1 billion disaster, and it wasn’t the first nor the last time that warm rains triggered severe flooding in the area. These types of storms, called “rain-on-snow” storms, can produce river flows 50-80% higher than typical spring snowmelt. Nevada cities nestled against the dramatic peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains are at particularly high risk from these storms: Reno and Carson City have records of flooding linked to these storms as early as 1862 and as recent as 2017. Despite the repeated challenge, predicting when these storms will occur and the risk of flooding remains challenging for scientists. DRI’s Anne Heggli, Ph.D., is on a mission to change that. … ” Read more from the Desert Research Institute.
California reservoir managers could sharply limit water to farms and cities this year
“Even after all the rain and snow in California this month, state and federal water managers announced Wednesday that they’re planning to limit deliveries from the state’s biggest reservoirs this year because seasonal precipitation has lagged. Their plans, however, don’t fully account for the recent storms. The State Water Project, with Lake Oroville as its centerpiece, expects to ship 15% of the water that was requested by the mostly urban water agencies it supplies, including many in the Bay Area. The estimate is up from 10% in December but still low. The federally run Central Valley Project, which counts Shasta Lake among the many reservoirs it operates primarily for agriculture, expects to send 15% of the water requested by most irrigation agencies in the San Joaquin Valley and 75% to most in the Sacramento Valley. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
SEE ALSO:
- DWR increases State Water Project allocation to 15%, press release from DWR
- Reclamation announces initial 2024 water supply allocations for Central Valley Project contractors, press release from the Bureau of Reclamation
February’s storms doubled California snowpack, March could bring more wet weather
“At the start of the year, the California snowpack sat at an abysmal 25% of average, but after a series of storms, the Sierra is glittering white — over the last week, storms added up to 4 feet of snow to the range. “We were in pretty, pretty bad circumstances earlier this year, and we’ve come a long way,” said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist with the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. “We’ve kind of clawed our way back into being a decent year.” Statewide, the snowpack is now 86% of normal for this time of year. And 70% of the April 1 average, which is the end of the water year and the typical height of the state’s frozen reservoir. Storms over the last month more than doubled the size of the snowpack. … ” Read more from KQED.
DWR submits change in point of diversion petition for the Delta Conveyance Project to State Water Board, appeals bond validation decision
“The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has submitted a Change in Point of Diversion Petition for the Delta Conveyance Project to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). The State Water Board will now review the petition for accuracy and completeness and then issue a public notice detailing their public review process. … The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has filed an appeal in California’s Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, in response to the January 16, 2024, Sacramento County Superior Court ruling denying the department’s request for an order validating bond resolutions to finance the Delta Conveyance Project. … ” Read the full article from DWR.
Restore the Delta and San Francisco Baykeeper respond to DWR submitting petition for Delta Conveyance Project
“The Department of Water Resources (DWR) under the Newsom Administration announced today that it has submitted a petition to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to change water rights for implementation of the Delta Conveyance Project, also known as the Delta tunnel, despite the SWRCB being under investigation by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a Title VI Civil Rights complaint. The complaint, filed by the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC), comprised of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Buena Vista Rancheria, Restore the Delta, and Little Manila Rising, was accepted by the EPA in August 2022. … ” Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.
For Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta farmers, the only certainty is change
“At the stroke of midnight, January 1st, 2023, the winds came. Tom Slater, a wine grape grower near Clarksburg, California, was sitting in his house “when all heck broke loose for the whole state…” He continues, “I’ve never seen winds as bad as it was.” After a drought-stricken 2022, the New Year’s Eve storm of 2023 came out swinging, inundating the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with 10 to 15 inches of rain over two and a half weeks. Along with the rain came gale force winds that knocked over trees and powerlines, leading to a weeks-long power outage. Luckily, Slater’s neighboring rivers, the Sacramento River and Elk Slough, were low, reducing the chance of flooding. But when the power went out, the electric pumps stopped. Normally, these were responsible for draining the fields in times of high water. Though flooding wasn’t an immediate concern, it could have quickly become one as the storm rolled in. … ” Read more from & the West.
Experts urge California to avoid pitfalls in water deals in the Delta
“Some of the thorniest debates over water in California revolve around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where pumps send water flowing to farms and cities, and where populations of native fish have been declining. State water regulators are considering alternatives for new water quality standards that will determine how much water may be taken out, and how much should be allowed to flow through the delta. And one alternative has been especially controversial: a proposal to rely on negotiated “voluntary agreements” in which water agencies pledge to forgo certain amounts of water while also funding projects to improve wetland habitats. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration have touted this voluntary path as a solution to break away from the traditional conflict-ridden regulatory approach, but some leading water experts have raised a number of concerns. They say that to be effective and improve the delta’s deteriorating ecological health, the proposed agreements need to come with a list of ingredients. And they warn that without the right measures in place, California faces serious pitfalls, including risks that the delta’s fish populations and ecosystem could continue to decline. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Still reeling from pandemic, Sacramento Delta residents eye major land, water management deals
“The watershed of California’s Sacramento delta — officially known as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — is the largest freshwater estuary on the West Coast and one of the Golden State’s most prized natural zones. A National Heritage Area, it offers a variety of wetland habitats and also serves as “California’s cornucopia” and “one of the most fertile agricultural regions in the world,” according to the National Park Service. … Still, for those who live and work along the 57,000 acres of waterways, controversy over how to manage the delta’s levees, land and ecosystems has long been a part of this area’s legacy. That’s particularly true now, amid big proposed changes to the area’s land and water use. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
For the sixth year in a row, no Delta Smelt were found in CDFW fall midwater trawl survey
“For the sixth year in a row, no Delta Smelt were collected in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fall Midwater Trawl (FMWT) Survey in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta from September through December 2023. Once the most abundant species in the entire estuary, the Delta Smelt has declined to the point that it has become virtually extinct in the wild. The 2 to 3 inch fish, found only in the Delta, is an “indicator species” that shows the relative health of the San Francisco Bay/Delta ecosystem. When no Delta Smelt are found in six years of a survey that has been conducted since 1967, the estuary is in a serious ecological crisis. … ” Read more from Dan Bacher at the Daily Kos.
NOW AVAILABLE: DWR Releases First Paper on Depletions of Interconnected Surface Water: An Introduction
“To help Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) appropriately address depletions of interconnected surface water (ISW) in their Groundwater Sustainability Plans, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) today released the first in a series of three papers that will discuss the technical aspects of ISW and quantification of depletions of ISW due to pumping. These three papers will form the basis for a guidance document that DWR will publish for GSAs to consider when establishing ISW sustainable management criteria to manage depletions in their groundwater basins. Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, GSAs must provide their best estimate of the location, quantity, and timing of depletions of ISW and decide the conditions where depletions of ISW, due to groundwater pumping, become significant and unreasonable (i.e. an undesirable result). Further, the GSA must set minimum threshold(s), which are quantitative value(s) that indicate an undesirable result may be occurring. … ” Read more from DWR.
State report identifies future desalination plants to meet statewide water reliability goals
“As California continues to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate, the State must work to identify future sources of safe, reliable water for all. This week, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released a report identifying future planned desalination projects to help meet the brackish water supply goals identified in California’s Water Supply Strategy: Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future. As a key strategy in the Water Supply Strategy, desalination is the process of removing salts and minerals from brackish water and seawater to produce water suitable for drinking water, irrigation and other supply needs. Brackish water is a mix of freshwater and saltwater and occurs in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. In 2020, over 100,000 acre-feet of brackish water was desalinated for drinking water, which was two-thirds of the desalinated water produced and used in California. … ” Read more from DWR News.
Air pollution hides increases in rainfall: As aerosol emissions diminish, average and extreme rains may ramp up
“We know that greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide should increase rainfall. The emissions heat the atmosphere, causing a one-two punch: warmer oceans make it easier for water to evaporate, and warmer air can hold more water vapor, meaning more moisture is available to fall as rain. But for much of the 20th century, that increase in precipitation didn’t clearly show up in the data. A new study led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) finds that the expected increase in rain has been largely offset by the drying effect of aerosols – emissions like sulfur dioxide that are produced by burning fossil fuels, and commonly thought of as air pollution or smog. The research is published today in the journal Nature Communications. “This is the first time that we can really understand what’s causing extreme rainfall to change within the continental U.S.,” said Mark Risser, a research scientist at Berkeley Lab and one of the lead authors for the study. … ” Read more from Berkeley Lab.
The Williamson Act: How the law that protects California’s farmland works
“In the decades between the two World Wars, California’s population grew—but at a reasonable, steady rate. In 1920, two years after the end of World War I, there were 3.4 million people living in the state. By 1940, the year before the United States entered the Second World War, there were 6.9 million. Then the explosion came. … The mid-century population boom may have been good news for industry, and the state’s economy overall. But it was definitely bad news for what was then and now one of the largest sectors of the California economy—agriculture. In the mid-1960s, California’s legislature attempted to address that problem by passing a landmark law that became known as the Williamson Act. … ” Read more from California Local.
In commentary this week …
State Water Resources Control Board counters big lie from Big Ag
“Despite receiving the lion’s share of water from the massive state and federal projects that pump from the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, Central Valley corporate growers have long complained that the enhanced flows needed to maintain essential ecosystems and valuable fisheries amount to “water wasted to the sea.” They insist they need every drop of available water, and that any reduction in their allocations will result in food scarcity and economic catastrophe. But a draft report from the State Water Resources Control Board undercuts this specious argument. Among the findings in a recently released 6,000-page environmental assessment of the San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary are data on the impacts to agriculture resulting from different flow regimes. The conclusion: even under the scenarios that provide the greatest river flows, the consequences for Central Valley agribusiness will be minor. … ” Continue reading from C-WIN.
Why California faces an uphill battle to get rid of plastic
“Given its green bona fides, it’s no surprise that California was the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags 10 years ago. Many were hopeful that would make a dent in the plastic pollution crisis, one canvas tote bag at a time. But if you’ve been to a California supermarket recently, you may have noticed that plastic bags aren’t gone — they’re just thicker. What happened? The plastic bag companies got a caveat in the legislation allowing grocery stores and large retailers to sell plastic bags for a minimum of 10 cents each if they are reusable and recyclable in California. The problem is that the terms “reusable” and “recyclable” were bendable. Manufacturers just swapped low-density polyethylene (LDPE) for high-density polyethylene (HDPE), making the bags heftier, and stamped the chasing-arrows recycling symbol on the bottom. (Polyethylene is a hormone disruptor and environmental pollutant.) But few people reuse these bags in practice, and recycling centers in the state don’t typically accept them. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times.
Why California’s water glass is half-empty after rain and Arizona’s is full
Jon Gabriel, editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com, writes, “If it bleeds, it leads.” So goes the old maxim explaining why media outlets focus on the negative. As an Arizona State University editing professor told me back in the day, traffic flowing smoothly won’t impress readers; it takes a seven-car pileup to do that. But reporters can carry this pessimistic tendency to excess. When issues can be framed as a “glass half-full,” they’re often cast as “depleted container raises worries about thirst, death, experts say.” I’ve seen this most recently from our friends in California, especially at the leading Los Angeles daily. For years, the LA Times has focused on the state’s drought with headlines nearly apocalyptic in tone … ” Continue reading at Arizona Central.
Is the restoration of California’s cutest keystone species worth it?
David Helvarg, executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean policy group, writes, “Sea otters are terminally cute critters and a delight to view rolling and diving in the kelp canopy of Monterey Bay, where some 3,000 endangered southern otters play an essential role in maintaining the marine kelp forest. But to crabs, clams, abalone, urchins and some fishermen, sea otters are voracious marine weasels that can eat 25% of their body weight a day — a perceived threat to life and livelihood. That’s why some lively debates were launched at 16 open houses put on by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year to get public input on, as the invitation put it, the “potential reintroduction of sea otters to their historic range,” including Oregon and Northern California, a decision that is expected to be made this year. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news this week …
As massive California dam-removal project nears completion, who gets the once submerged land?
“The nation’s largest dam-removal project, the dismantling of four hydroelectric dams near the remote California-Oregon border this year, may be the end of one story. But it’s the beginning of another. The native Shasta people, who were exiled from the banks of the Klamath River more than a century ago, in part because of dam construction, are expected to acquire a stretch of ancestral land that is emerging along the river as the dams come out and the reservoirs behind them dry up. Tribal members envision a revival of their age-old community on the property, which the state is looking to hand over as acknowledgement of their enduring hardship. The displaced Shasta people never found a place to regroup after the forced diaspora. Many of their descendants, now scattered across California and beyond, hope to come live, work and worship on the riverfront they still call home. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. | Read via MSN News.
Fish loss, sediment flows were expected after dam removal, Klamath River Renewal Corporation leaders say
“The massive deaths of non-native fish and the deluge of sediments resulting from the drawdown of reservoirs as part of the Klamath River dam removals was expected and is predicted to result in long-range benefits. Public concern has been expressed following because of the recently completed initial drawdown of reservoirs created by the John C. Boyle, Copco 1 and Irongate hydroelectric dams. Copco 2, a diversion dam, was removed late last year because it would have interfered with the Copco 1 drawdown. The dam removal project is the largest in U.S. history. During a Thursday video news conference, Mark Bransom, chief executive office for Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which is overseeing the dam removal project, and Dave Coffman, the habitat restoration as program manager for RES (Resource Environmental Solutions), briefly discussed the ongoing project and impacts of the recently completed initial drawdown. … ” Read more from Herald & News.
Commentary: Klamath Dam removal: ‘it’s an environmental disaster’
Katy Grimes writes, “The removal of dams along the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, Northern California was sold as necessary to save salmon – specifically, “to restore habitat for endangered fish.” The dams are part of the Klamath project, a series of seven dams built in the 1910’s and 1920’s in the Klamath Basin to bring electricity and agricultural water mitigation for Southern Oregon and Northern California, the Globe reported in 2020. However, in recent years, concerns over the dams’ effect on the wildlife and fishing industry have been raised, especially regarding claims of fish facing extinction because the dams. In 2018, plans were released to destroy the dam system. However, those plans halted in 2019 because of data errors and issues over who owns the dams. The Bureau of Reclamation swiftly issued a study on the dams’ effects through 2024, leading to California to again push for destruction of the dams. … ” Continue reading at the California Globe.
Nevada County rejects controversial gold mining project
“After years of controversy, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors unanimously struck down a Grass Valley gold mining project. “It’s clear that this community wants to move forward to a cleaner economic future and not go back to mining,” said Heidi Hall, a member of the board, during the meeting last week. “And notwithstanding past board decisions, this board has the obligation to look at what the community needs and wants today and in the future.” Rise Gold first submitted an application to resume gold mining operations at the Idaho Maryland Mine, which is in Grass Valley, in 2019. The site had been inactive since its closure in the 1950s, but Rise Gold said it had untapped potential. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio.
Newly rebuilt Friant-Kern Canal still sinking from overpumping, Tulare farmers not paying their share for the fix, lawsuit alleges
“Farmers in Tulare County are being allowed to continue pumping so much groundwater that it is endangering a newly constructed portion of the Friant-Kern Canal that had to be rebuilt because overpumping had sunk a 33-mile section of the canal, according to a lawsuit filed Friday. Land around the new canal section has continued to sink at a much faster rate than initially envisioned, said Johnny Amaral, chief operating officer of Friant Water Authority, which filed the lawsuit along with the Arvin-Edison Water Storage District. “To make matters worse,” Amaral continued, “there are new cones of subsidence upstream and downstream of the realigned canal that are causing concern.” A new canal had to be built next to the existing canal, which had sunk from about Pixley in Tulare County to the Kern County border. That “sag” reduced the canal’s carrying capacity by nearly 60 percent. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SEE ALSO: Friant Water Authority and Arvin-Edison Water Storage District file lawsuit against the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency for breach of settlement agreement and interference with contract for water deliveries, press release from the Friant Water Authority
Friant Water Authority (FWA) seeks more money from local groundwater pumping, while demanding that land subsidence cease
Press release from the Eastern Tule GSA: “FWA and Arvin Edison Water Storage District have filed a complaint against the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (ETGSA) for breach of contract in the Tulare County Superior Court. The complaint seeks damages from ETGSA, along with a declaration from the Court that ETGSA must collect and pay funds to FWA for subsidence along the Middle Reach of the Friant-Kern Canal, while also avoiding or minimizing additional subsidence. The ETGSA Chairman and Tulare County Supervisor Dennis Townsend commented, “It is unfortunate to see resources, both time and money, expended on litigation matters versus collaborative and solution-oriented approaches. The ETGSA was formed in 2017 to improve groundwater management in the context of significant legacy challenges, including overdraft and land subsidence. The Agency will continue honoring the terms of the settlement agreement and will continue on its path to sustainability.” … ” Continue reading this press release from the ETGSA.
For Sale: Water Authority’s de-salted ocean water
“In its bid to become a water dealer across the West, the San Diego County Water Authority is exploring selling off some of its most expensive supplies to a small Orange County water district. Dan Denham, the Water Authority’s new general manager, got unanimous approval from his board Thursday to pursue selling some of the region’s de-salted ocean water to Moulton Niguel Water District. Moulton Niguel serves 172,000 customers to six cities in southern Orange County including parts of Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano. The agency is mostly dependent on imported water from places like the Colorado River and the Sierra Nevada snowpack and it’s looking to diversify its sources. “I see no harm in exploring this. If anything, we’ll learn whether this could be a great deal for both regions,” said Joone Kim-Lopez, general manager at Moulton Niguel Water District. Her board will consider the agreement next week. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
REGISTER NOW: Join DWR During Groundwater Awareness Week March 10-16 as We Celebrate the Upcoming 10th Anniversary of SGMA
NOW AVAILABLE: Racial Equity Action Plan 2023 Annual Update
