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On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: Planning for the Future: Groundwater Data, Tools, and Models from 12pm to 1pm. Join us on Friday during Groundwater Awareness Week to hear from DWR’s SGMO staff about DWR’s data and modeling tools that are available to support GSAs as they plan their groundwater management implementation efforts. You will learn how State and local agencies are improving the collective understanding of California’s groundwater basins and conditions through the collection of new data and enhancements of groundwater monitoring and modeling. Registration link: https://stantec.zoom.us/
webinar/register/WN_ hjYsV8PBTdSTbutzYK1uHw - WEBINAR: Safe Drinking Water for Disadvantaged Communities from 12pm to 1pm. For nearly a decade, the Office of Water Programs (OWP) at California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) has been helping small, disadvantaged, and otherwise underserved communities throughout California and the nation develop plans and access funding to address substandard drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and services. The speakers will discuss OWP’s collaboration with the State Water Board, EPA, disadvantaged communities, and Sacramento State students through technical assistance addressing funding for equity and resilience, environmental finance programs, water sector needs assessments, lead testing and remediation at child care centers, and per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) drinking water well testing. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Mystery surrounds sudden increase in steelhead trout deaths near California water pumps
“California environmental groups are urging a federal court to intervene amid a “dramatic increase” in the deaths of threatened steelhead trout at pumps operated by state and federal water managers. Since Dec. 1, more than 4,000 wild and hatchery-raised steelhead have been killed at pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, according to public data for the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. The agencies are now at about 90% of their combined seasonal take limit, which refers to the amount of wild steelhead permitted to be killed between January and March under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. A coalition of environmental and fishing groups — including the Golden State Salmon Assn., the Bay Institute and Defenders of Wildlife — are involved in ongoing litigation that seeks to challenge current federal operating plans in the delta, an estuary at the heart of the state’s water supply. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
Chances of a weather-roiling La Niña this year are now above 80%
“The odds of a weather-roiling La Niña in the coming months are rising, elevating the risk of an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season. The chances of La Niña, a cooling of the equatorial Pacific, rose to 82% for August, September and October, the US Climate Prediction Center said. Last month there was a 74% chance. “The numbers edged upwards, not dramatically, and the timing still seems to be the same as to what we were predicting last month,” said Michelle L’Heureux, a forecaster with the center. La Niña can lead to droughts in South America and California and more rain across parts of Indonesia and Australia. Currently a strong El Niño, or warming in the Pacific, is winding down. La Niñas often follow intense El Niños because of a phenomenon known as discharge, when heat on the equator migrates toward the poles and cold deep-ocean waters rise to take its place. … ” Read more from Bloomberg (gift article).
La Niña watch is on: How will it impact California’s weather?
“El Niño hasn’t even grown cold, but national forecasters say its counterpart, La Niña, is already waiting in the wings to take over. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center issued a La Niña watch Thursday, predicting the U.S. will be in a La Niña pattern by the end of summer. For the past nine months, we’ve been under a strong El Niño, which typically brings a cold, wet winter for southern states and warmer, dry weather up north. Though we are still technically in an El Niño situation, NOAA meteorologists foresee it ending sometime between now and June. Current conditions favor a switch to La Niña between June and August, NOAA said. It will likely grow stronger from there; La Niña and El Niño both tend to reach peak strength during winter. … ” Read more from KTLA.
California snow defies warming trend in U.S. Experts say the ‘lost winter’ carries a warning
“In January, the Sierra Nevada snowfall outlook was bleak. California’s snowpack sat at levels less than half of normal, and more sand than snow lined the shores of Lake Tahoe. Across the West, experts voiced concern about snow drought. But, in California, prospects turned around the following month as a steady stream of storms added to the snowpack, culminating in an epic blizzard. Things played out quite differently in other parts of the country — large swaths of the U.S., including the Midwest, lack healthy snow levels. “It hasn’t felt like winter in Minnesota at all,” said Minnesota state climatologist Luigi Romolo. “The landscape is brown.” The past season was dubbed the “lost winter” in parts of the country because of meager snow and balmy temperatures. California defied this trend. Experts say the contrast comes down to El Niño’s influence on weather patterns and unseasonable warmth. The winter carries a warning for the future, when a warmer climate could make such a rebound less likely. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
SEE ALSO: Radio show: California’s Snowpack 100% of Historical Average, from Capital Public Radio
Analysis: State Water Board’s proposal to water down urban water conservation regulation leaves Calif. at risk of shortages
“Earlier today, water experts and environmental justice advocates provided a briefing to analyze the impacts of the State Water Board’s just-released updates to its proposed urban water conservation regulation. In short, the updated draft regulation leaves California vulnerable to precipitation extremes under climate change, allowing for increases in water use in the near-term and delaying meaningful urban water conservation until 2040. With the California Department of Water Resources predicting a reduction in water supplies of 10% by 2040, the delay will likely force urban water suppliers to over-invest in more expensive new sources of water instead of advancing conservation measures, which are more affordable and more equitable. “Plain and simple, the Water Board’s updated draft regulation will make water more expensive for Californians,” said Heather Cooley, director of research with the Pacific Institute. … ” Read more from Conserve for CA Coalition.
State Water Board updates the “Make Conservation a California Way of Life” Framework, but are the changes enough?
“On March 12, 2024, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) announced updates to the “Make Conservation a California Way of Life” framework that is based on SB 606 and AB 1668 from 2018. The changes seek to identify issues identified by commenters on the framework as well as the Legislative Analysts’ Office (LAO), but it is unclear whether they will be enough to satiate critics. … The State Water Board’s recently-announced updates appear to be its attempt to respond to the LAO’s criticisms. As detailed in the press release, the updates were geared toward “extending timelines for water suppliers to meet efficiency goals, broadening their access to alternative compliance pathways and increasing the overall flexibility for how the proposed regulation can be implemented.” The comments, including those from the board’s executive director, focus on improving the process for water suppliers. … ” Continue reading at Nossaman.
California’s salmon strategy includes tribal quest led by the Winnemem Wintu
“More than 100 years ago, wild winter-run Chinook salmon from the icy cold McCloud River ended up in the glacially cold mountain waters of New Zealand, where they continue to thrive today. The quest to bring these ancestral fish back home continues, thanks to a $3.3 million grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Since 2016, an annual pilgrimage takes place that is led by the Winnemem Wintu tribe and its chief and spiritual leader Caleen Sisk. The 300-mile journey traces the ancestral path of the winter-run Chinook salmon from the McCloud River to the Pacific Ocean. The tribe has never wavered from a core belief. “You know in our traditions, whatever happens to the salmon, happens to the people,” said Chief Sisk. … ” Read more from CBS San Francisco.
Wildfires used to die down after dark. Drought has changed that
“Night was once a time of reprieve during wildfire season, when the cool air and moist ground would temporarily slow the spread of angry blazes. But that’s changing as the climate warms. Recent studies have found that nighttime burning is growing more intense across the globe, including in North America, where the annual wildfire season has already been worsening for decades. Researchers have found that rising temperatures and increases in the drying power of the nighttime air may be playing a role in a switch to 24-hour blazes that has long worried fire managers. Now a new paper, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, suggests that drought is largely to blame. … ” Read more from Scientific American.
Team of researchers find wildfire is future to saving California’s giant sequoias
“Wildfires were once seen as the downfall of the treasured giant sequoia trees in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, but a team of researchers with the John Muir Project released a recent study outlining how they could be our best shot at saving them. “We have been witnessing the slow death of these giant sequoia populations for decades, and almost no one’s been doing anything about it because we’ve been treating them like museums,” said Dr. Chad Hanson, who co-authored a recent study about the subject. “They’re not museums. They’re living ecosystems that were born in fire from an evolutionary standpoint. They thrive on it. They need it.” His team has been monitoring the giant sequoia reproduction in the Redwood Mountain Grove, impacted by the 2021 KNP Complex fire. They say regeneration is happening faster in areas where the fire burned the hottest. … ” Read more from CBS San Francisco.
Can California’s climate bond weather the storm of state deficits?
“California lawmakers are negotiating the details of two major bills that would put what they intended to be a more than $15 billion climate bond in front of voters in November. However, as the state’s deficit has ballooned, lawmakers say its bonding capacity is shrinking simultaneously. Voters have only tepidly approved a mental health bond in the form of Proposition 1. Put all this together and it all but guarantees the efficacy of a climate bond will shrink as the Legislature negotiates the details over the coming months. A group of 150 nature and environmental justice-oriented groups is pressing Gov. Gavin Newsom to consider a climate bond of at least $10 billion. … ” Read more from KQED.
California isn’t on track to meet its climate change mandates — and a new analysis says it’s not even close
In commentary today …
How a California climate win could end up destroying rainforests — and what to do about it
“Half the diesel fuel in California is made not from unsustainable petroleum but from renewable biomass such as waste and plant oils. Soon all our diesel will be biofuels. This is particularly good for the environment if the fuel is made from wastes and residues, but it’s much less so if it’s made from crops that use energy and land but don’t produce food. Unfortunately, a proposed amendment to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard threatens to put the state, the country and the world on a course toward relying more heavily on diesel produced from crops, ensuring more widespread destruction of rainforests and diversion of farmland from food to energy production. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Mountain Counties Water Resources Association adopts forest management principles to solve effects of mega wildfire
“In early February 2024, the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association, also known as MCWRA, adopted new “Forest Management Principles,” with the goal to solve the ongoing problem and severe effects from California’s mega wildfires. “Over 100 years of suppressing wildfires and changing climate have produced overgrown forests and catastrophic mega wildfires that are impacting communities, degrading California’s headwaters’ water quality, water infrastructure, and forest resources in Sierra Nevada watersheds, [ultimately] creating a toxic smoke health hazard throughout the state,” MCWRA’s website reads. “These severe mega wildfires release tons of greenhouse gases and eliminate the ability of forests to absorb and store atmospheric carbon,” the website continues. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Republican Kevin Kiley, other advocates push to extend Lake Tahoe restoration for another decade
“Against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol, Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley and other local advocates called on Congress to extend funding to support environmental preservation in the cherished Lake Tahoe region for another decade. The bipartisan group was advocating for an extension of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, which allocates federal funding to a litany of local restoration projects and is set to expire on Sept. 30. “Since its previous reauthorization 20 years ago, funds have gone to more than 700 projects in the Tahoe Basin, and waters are the clearest they’ve been in decades. Without these projects it wouldn’t be the same,” Kiley, R-Rocklin, said at a Wednesday news conference. “Lake Tahoe is a national treasure, and we must honor our commitment to preserving it for generations to come.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Folsom and other reservoir storage levels remain above yearly averages
“The effects of 2023’s wet winter and the ongoing rainfall and snowfall of 2024 have allowed reservoirs across the state and in the Sacramento region to remain at higher-than-average levels, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. Folsom Lake, a significant water storage system for the Sacramento region, is currently holding over 641,000 acre-feet of water or about 66% of the lake’s total capacity. While other reservoirs throughout Northern California are well above 80% of their capacities, Folsom Lake is still holding over 100% of its average water storage amount for this time of year. … ” Read more from Fox 40.
BAY AREA
Hard park going soft in Alameda
“On a recent drizzly afternoon, a vast paved lot on the western side of Alameda Point’s Seaplane Lagoon was flecked with bicyclists, dog walkers, and puddles. This concrete hardscape, the size of nine football fields, was once the tarmac of the old Alameda Naval Air Station. But before that, this land was a flourishing wetland that fed into San Francisco Bay. Soon, it will gain a fresh chance at life. The City of Alameda is planning to depave the defunct airfield and transform it into an ecological nature park, which will restore the shoreline to a tidal marshland and help the City of Alameda adapt to rising sea levels. The vision, says Justin Long, director of Alameda Recreation and Parks, is to create a healthy, thriving environment for the whole community, human and non-human alike, where people can not only enjoy themselves but also see a climate-resilient landscape in action. … ” Read more from Knee Deep Times.
Teaming up to tackle East Bay wet spots
“When a community engagement campaign centered around three projects designed to protect a critical swath of the East Bay shoreline from sea-level and groundwater rise kicks off this spring, it will boast an unusual feature: paid community partners will lead the effort. “This is an awesome direct benefit to our community members,” says the City of Alameda’s Gail Payne, one of more than 30 members of the Oakland-Alameda Adaptation Committee (formerly the San Leandro Bay/Oakland-Alameda Estuary Working Group), which is spearheading the three projects. All three projects focus on addressing key vulnerabilities along the Alameda Island, Bay Farm Island, and Oakland shores. Although the projects are separate they are closely linked through both hydrology and the three-year-old committee developing them. Together, they have secured $3.4 million in funding from sources that include Caltrans, the City of Alameda, and the federal government. … ” Read more from Knee Deep Times.
CENTRAL COAST
Deep clean: PG&E needs to dredge Diablo Canyon’s cove to unclog the intake system that helps the nuclear reactors stay cool
“Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is on standby to conduct the first deep clean of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s seawater intake cove in nearly 40 years. “We frequently survey the area and haven’t needed to dredge in the past,” PG&E spokesperson Suzanne Hosn told New Times. “Maintenance of the intake system is performed as required for personnel safety and plant reliability. The intent is to remove sediment to prevent circumstances that could impact the power plant’s cooling system.” … ” Read more from New Times SLO.
Goleta Water District inaugurates new well
“The Goleta Water District unveiled its new “Hope Well” on Tuesday, during a tour on Tuesday of the site with Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis, whose agency added $2 million to the $6.5 million project cost. The funding, loudly announced by a sign at the well site, comes from a portion of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to increase drought and wildfire resilience across the Western United States. “I get a lot of questions about ‘Where’s the money going; what have you seen?’” Daniel-Davis said. “So it’s so nice for me to be able to get out and see for myself.” … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
USACE shows commitment to environmental sustainability in Stockton
“Before leadership in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gives the go-ahead on any of the Sacramento District’s multimillion-dollar projects, they ensure that the district has taken proper steps to minimize the environmental impact of operations. “Environmental mitigation is a requirement of both federal and California law,” said Dave Fluetsch, senior environmental manager for the USACE Sacramento District. “California is home to more than 250 endangered or threatened species, so these must often be relocated before construction starts.” Case in point—the Tenmile Slough Levee in Stockton, California (USACE calls it TS-30L). The district is preparing to begin improvements to this levee later in 2024 starting with vegetation removal as part of the Lower San Joaquin River Project. … ” Read more from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Westlands Water District exceeds annual groundwater recharge goal
“Westlands Water District (District) has officially recharged 380,000 acre-feet (af) of surface water back into District aquifers since March 2023 – exceeding the District’s ambitious target of recharging 275,000 af of groundwater by the end of this water year on February 29, 2024. The initial target of 200,000 af of recharge was exceeded in November and updated to reflect the positive momentum. “Hats off to District farmers for their commitment and contributions to this significant achievement,” said Allison Febbo, General Manager, Westlands Water District. “Farmers in Westlands rank amongst the most productive and water-efficient in the world. Surpassing our groundwater recharge goal demonstrates that our farmers are stepping up doing their part to both ensure groundwater sustainability and aid in the long-term prospects of continuing to clothe and feed the nation with the bounty from this incredibly fertile land. Still, we acknowledge that Westlands cannot survive on groundwater recharge alone. For groundwater recharge to be truly effective, we must restore a robust and reliable surface water supply.” … ” Read more from Westlands Water District.
SEE ALSO: Westlands recharges 380,000 acre-feet of water, from the San Joaquin Valley Sun
State may take over Tule subbasin for overpumping in Tulare County
“The Friant-Kern Canal was called out specifically as one of the reasons the state should take over pumping in the Tule groundwater subbasin in Tulare County. The recommendation was contained in a recently released staff report to the Water Resources Control Board. While the report stated groundwater management plans covering the subbasin didn’t adequately address subsidence and continued depletion of the aquifer and degradation of water quality in general, it also noted the significant harm to the Friant-Kern Canal, which brings water 152 miles south from Millerton Lake to Arvin. Excessive overpumping caused land beneath a 33-mile stretch of the Friant-Kern Canal to collapse, creating a sag that reduced the canal’s carrying capacity south of Pixley by 60%. … ” Read more from the Foothills Sun-Gazette.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Dog-killing flatworm discovered in Southern California
“UC Riverside scientists confirm, for the first time, that a potentially fatal dog parasite is present in a portion of the Colorado River that runs through California. The parasite, Heterobilharzia americana, is a flatworm commonly referred to as liver fluke. Previously found almost exclusively in Texas and other Gulf Coast states, it has never been reported this far west. The worm can cause canine schistosomiasis, an illness that impacts the liver and intestines of dogs. “Dogs can die from this infection, so we are hoping to raise public awareness that it’s there,” said UCR nematology professor Adler Dillman. “If you’re swimming in the Colorado River with them, your pets are in peril.” … ” Read more from UC Riverside.
Claremont prepares for groundwater seepage claims
“The Claremont City Council approved a motion Tuesday to enter into a joint legal defense agreement with neighboring La Verne. The move allows the cities’ shared general liability insurance carrier to retain a law firm to represent them in the claims process and any potential lawsuits resulting from groundwater seepage in the Stone Canyon neighborhood in April 2023. In approving the recommendation from City Attorney Alisha Patterson, Claremont waived its potential legal conflicts and allowed the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority to retain Los Angeles law firm Kutak Rock LLP. … ” Read more from the Claremont Courier.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
California’s Salton Sea could be the Mother Lode of lithium
“If we want our transportation sector to go all-electric (and we do, desperately), we’re going to need a lot more lithium. The element is an ideal metal for EV batteries because it is light, stores large volumes of energy per unit of mass, discharges its power rapidly, and can be recharged quickly. Other battery systems just can’t compete with the popular lithium-ion ones. But lithium is hard to come by. While it’s not one of the so-called “rare earth elements,” it’s hardly common as dirt and typically present in low concentrations. … Such constricted supply lines threaten to monkey wrench the EV revolution. What’s needed is a reliable domestic source of lithium, one immune to the vagaries of geopolitics and hiccups on the global market. And as it turns out, one has been found: the Salton Sea in Southern California. … ” Read more from California Magazine.
Along the Colorado River …
Dialogue, collaboration matter most to Arizona’s water future
“Representatives from virtually every area of water research and management gathered this week at the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center’s annual conference to explore how collaboration can help solve water problems on many levels. The conference, which featured more than 50 panelists and speakers, brought together people from academia, government, environment groups and business to discuss and seek partnerships in water research and management. More than 700 people registered, attending either in person or via Zoom. These gatherings and associated partnerships are vital to solving water problems, which transcend disciplines, sectors of society and even generations, said Sharon Megdal, director of the WRRC and a professor in the UArizona Department of Environmental Science. … ” Read more from the University of Arizona.
Gov. Hobbs speaks at UA Water Resource Conference about optimism & partnerships
“On Mar. 13, Gov. Katie Hobbs gave a keynote speech on day two of the Water Resources Research 2024 Annual Conference at the University of Arizona, speaking optimistically about making partnerships for the future of Arizona water. Hobbs spoke about the recently finalized lower basin state proposal for post-2026 Colorado River management. This plan was a collaborative effort between Arizona, California, and Nevada to balance water conservation responsibilities between all three states proposed to the Bureau of Reclamation. The theme for the conference was “Implementing Water Solutions Through Partnerships”, with many of the presenters discussing collaborations to research and protect water resources. … ” Read more from the State Press.
Poll: Majority of Arizona voters fear state is running out of water
“Arizona voters remain very concerned about the future of water in the state. A recent poll from Noble Predictive Insights found 59% Arizonans believe the state is running out of water. “This is what people really want to know, not, ‘is there a water shortage?’ ‘Is there a water problem?’ One thing that people really want to know is just, ‘is there going to be enough water, bottom line?’” said David Byler, chief of research with the polling firm. “Six in 10 people are expressing a very clear worry to us about this.” Of those polled, 23% said the state was not running out of water, and 18% said they weren’t sure. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Colorado River states remain divided on sharing water, and some tribes say their needs are still being ignored
“The states that use the Colorado River have put out their latest proposals on how to manage the river’s shrinking amount of water, and the two plans reveal that there are still big differences in how upstream and downstream states want to divvy up future cuts to their water consumption. While state water negotiators say they’re committed to figuring out how they can compromise in the age of climate change when there is less water available to the 40 million people who rely on it, the Southern Ute tribal government in southwestern Colorado doesn’t believe either proposal addresses their concerns or helps them secure their water future. The Southern Ute reservation is one of the many places in Colorado that rely on the Colorado River for a significant portion of their water. About half of Colorado Springs’ supply, and half of Denver’s supply that also serves other metro area cities like Lakewood, come from the river. The Ute Mountain Ute reservation also gets water from the Colorado River tributaries. … ” Read more from Colorado Public Radio.
In national water news today …
Federal government fights to maintain control of western water rights at Supreme Court
“A decade-old water fight in the arid west will make its second Supreme Court appearance next week in a case that could determine the weight of federal authority in state water fights. The United States wants the Supreme Court to prevent Texas, New Mexico and Colorado from entering a water deal without its consent. It claims the states’ deal saddles the federal government with obligations it has not agreed to and violates a nearly century-old compact. But water law experts see the dispute as just one in the long-fraught relationship between western water law and federalism and have urged the justices to take the opportunity to rein in the federal government. “The United States should not be allowed to eat its cake and have it too,” water law experts wrote in an amicus brief. “The court, which granted the intervention, should make clear that the United States must not abuse its superior power and resources to engage in asymmetrical interstate litigation among coequal states.” … ” Read more from Courthouse News Service.
Earth just had its warmest February on record
“Last month continued the world’s record-warm streak, with February 2024 ranking as the planet’s warmest February on record — the ninth month in a row of record-warm months. What’s more, February 2024 wrapped up both hemispheres’ warmest December-through-February period on record, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Below are highlights from NOAA’s latest monthly global climate report … ” Continue reading at NOAA.
