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In California water news this weekend …
California storm to bring thunderstorms, increased flood risk
“April may quickly be approaching, but March is going out like a lion, not a lamb. A strong low-pressure system is anticipated to nudge toward the California coast and stall about 100 miles west of San Francisco on Friday. The proximity of the system will result in a period of gusty wind, heavy rain and possible thunderstorms in the Bay Area during the afternoon and evening. The system is expected to move south Friday night, raising the chance of significant rain and localized flooding in Southern California on Saturday. Elevations above 5,000 feet could measure 1 to 2 feet of snow by the time the storm wraps up Sunday. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
Major storm to hit California with flash flooding, strong winds, heavy snow
“Numerous weather alerts have been issued for California, Nevada and Arizona, including a flood watch for Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego, with a significant storm on its way to the West Coast. After a storm brought 10 to 13 inches of snow from California to Utah earlier this week, a bigger storm is on its way to Southern California with flash flooding, strong winds and heavy snow. The heaviest rain will move into the San Fransisco Bay area late Friday morning into early afternoon before moving down the coast into Santa Barbara and Los Angeles by the evening and into Saturday morning. … ” Read more from ABC News.
California-Nevada Drought & Climate Outlook: March 25, 2024
The March Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar provided updates on snow and rangeland conditions in California and Nevada. Slow start to the water year in California-Nevada as precipitation picked up mostly at the end of January through March. Most recently, snowpack has reached near-normal levels. For variable regions, it seems likely that conditions will be relatively close to normal. Minimum temperatures have been about 2–6 degrees higher this water year than normal, but March has been cooler. Reservoir plus snowpack tracking indicates that water storage is slightly above normal for the Western Sierras and much above normal for Lake Tahoe. Last year’s wet conditions started the water year with regional reservoir storage above normal. … ” Read more from NIDIS.
In commentary this weekend …
Stark Reality: Unpacking the 35% water allocation’s impact on Calif. agriculture
William Bourdeau, executive vice president of Harris Farms, director of the Westlands Water District, and more writes, “The recent announcement from the federal authorities allocating only 35% water to Central Valley Project users is not just disappointing; it’s a stark misjudgment that threatens the lifeline of California’s agriculture and, by extension, the nation’s food supply. As a voice from the San Joaquin Valley, I must express not only our collective disappointment but also our grave concern for the future this decision foretells.Last year, in a show of foresight and commitment, our westside community stored nearly 400,000 acre-feet of water, a buffer against the hard years, a testament to our stewardship, and a pledge to our nation’s food security. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
In people news this weekend …
Promotions, passings, profiles – submit people news items to maven@mavensnotebook.com.
Karrigan Börk’s award-winning water rights solution
“Karrigan Börk, UC Davis professor of law and Associate Director at the Center for Watershed Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious $10,000 Morrison Prize for his paper on water rights. The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University recognizes Börk’s paper as “the most impactful sustainability-related legal academic paper published in North America” for 2023. Börk’s winning paper, “Water Exaction Rights,” published in the Harvard Environmental Law Review, proposes a solution to address current and future water crises in the US: an exactions framework. “When you turn on your tap and you get water, you pay for the delivery of that water, for the infrastructure, and for the business to run. But there’s no cost associated with the actual water itself,” said Börk. “We don’t pay for the damage that water use does to public resources.” … ” Read more from UC Davis.
George Rose: An Exploration of California’s Water Story
“The first publication by the newly renamed California Nature Art Museum in Solvang (formerly the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature) builds quite nicely on the institution’s vision to “be recognized as an exceptional and innovative leader in inspiring our communities and visitors to value wilderness and other natural areas through the lenses of a diversity of artists.” Featuring text and stunning photography by George Rose, California’s Changing Landscape: The Way of Water is an expansive large-format documentation of California’s vast terrain, complicated weather, and extensive biodiversity — particularly as they relate to water and, as naturally follows, climate change. “Climate change is an indisputable fact,” writes Executive Director Stacey Otte-Demangate in the book’s introduction. “California’s water systems have always been complicated, but the recent severe drought, no doubt made more severe due to climate change, has shone a bright light on those systems and raised new concerns and questions.” … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
Podcasts …
WE GROW CALIFORNIA: It’s a grape day in Temecula!
This week JD Harkey, CEO of Drake Enterprises and Vice President of Rancho California Water District, joins Darcy and Darcy. JD farms and manages over 450 acres of wine grapes, avocados, citrus, and olives in the greater Temecula Valley. Elected to the Rancho California Water District Board of Directors in November of 2022, JD shares his challenges regarding the cost of water to Southern California AG and the direct impacts rising rates have on local family farmers, the community, as well as to the $2 billion local economy. Darcy V. and JD compare farming notes, they all join in some common water talk, and overall, it’s a Grape Day in Temecula.
WHAT MATTERS: Wastewater to wonder: California’s charge to advanced purified water
Picture a world where wastewater transforms into drinking water like a fairytale glass slipper. California’s water regulator is leading the charge towards a future where purified wastewater becomes clean, delicious drinking water for all. But people have questions about how advanced water purification will work, and we’re here to get some answers from the people who are turning wastewater into wonder. In Episode 18 of What Matters Water TV + Podcast, we are diving deep into how we can squeeze every last drop of use out of our water resources. In this episode, we’re exploring Direct Potable Reuse or DPR (also known as advanced water purification). Whatever you want to call it it, this is California’s groundbreaking solution to water scarcity.
THE SCUUP: The journey of water quality
On this episode of The SCUUP Podcast, Water Quality Manager, Albert Magallon, takes us through his journey in the industry and the importance of water quality, sampling, relationships with neighboring agencies, and challenges from where he started in the industry as a temporary employee, to becoming a manager at Western Water.
WATER IS A MANY SPLENDOR’ED THING PODCAST: Reflections of a Dairyman II
The importance of water is really understood when its presence in your life is threatened. The Washington state Dairy Federation knows. They have been faced with losing their water supply that traditionally has been supported by groundwater. Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life. Produced by Steven Baker, Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, water@operationunite.co 530-205-6388
In regional water news this weekend …
NORTH COAST
Radio: Klamath River makes news even without the reservoirs
“The rain fell, and the water flowed. Which is normally a good thing, but there is currently concern about the water in the Klamath River, since it is carrying sediment from the reservoirs drained prior to the removal of three dams. Poor water quality in the river led Siskiyou County supervisors to declare a state of emergency.” Listen at Jefferson Public Radio.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Flows on South Yuba River to increase soon
“The dam at Spaulding Reservoir is expected to begin spilling water between April 3 and 8, which will significantly increase flows on the South Yuba River. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) urges those recreating in and near the river to exercise caution. In addition, the flows are cold due to snow melt. Due to PG&E’s ongoing emergency repair work at Spaulding 1 powerhouse, spill from Spaulding Reservoir into the South Yuba River is anticipated to start earlier this year and flows could potentially be greater and more dynamic than previous years. … ” Read more from YubaNet.
BAY AREA
With $369M in wastewater upgrades, Palo Alto hopes to help stem algal blooms
“The concrete tank that overlooks the Palo Alto Baylands from Embarcadero Way resembles an industrial-sized Jacuzzi where ducks float through murky, bubbly water, seemingly oblivious to the lightly pungent, industrial scent of the processed sewage. It is one of four aeration basins that are arranged in a giant square at the city’s Regional Quality Control Plant, a sprawling industrial complex that receives and treats sewage from Palo Alto and its partner agencies of Mountain View, East Palo Alto Sanitary District, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Stanford University. Three tanks are currently filled, while the fourth basin sits empty as construction workers fortify its concrete base as part of $369-million upgrade to the treatment plant on Embarcadero Road — the city’s most expensive and most complex ongoing infrastructure project. … ” Read more from Palo Alto Online.
Redwood City’s Bair Island gets investment for critical restoration efforts
“Once an unprotected wetland on the verge of housing multiunit residential developments, Bair Island is now part of a $2 million federal funding boost meant to stimulate ecological restoration efforts and stave off dangerous effects of sea-level rise. The news came directly from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who made the announcement at the 3,000-acre Redwood City island Wednesday, March 27, stating the investment in the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge aims to combat threats to biodiversity and local communities as a result of climate change. … ” Read more from the Daily Journal.
EASTERN SIERRA
Indian Wells Valley Water District achieves positive outcome in Basin Adjudication Hearing
“The Indian Wells Valley Water District (Water District) is pleased to announce a significant development in its ongoing commitment to securing a sustainable water future for our community. In a recent hearing regarding the first substantive phase of the basin adjudication proceedings, the Water District received a favorable ruling on its motion. The outcome of the hearing, which occurred on March 22, is an essential step forward in ensuring fair and sustainable water supply solutions in the Indian Wells Valley. One of the key decisions made by the Court was to grant the Water District’s request to set a Phase 1 trial. The judge has set the first substantive phase of trial to determine the US’s Federal Reserved water rights claim, marking a significant milestone in the adjudication process. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles faces weekend flooding threat as another atmospheric river takes aim at Southern California
“Another soggy chapter is about to be written in what has been yet another wet start to a year in Southern California as an atmospheric river storm aims at the region, threatening potential flooding rainfall. An area of low pressure is developing as it races in off the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, spinning up into a rather potent storm by the time it nestles in off the Northern California coast on Friday. Steady rain will swing through the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California valleys during the day Friday, bringing periods of rain and gusty winds that could reach up to 45 mph along the coast and hills. … ” Read more from Fox Weather.
Santa Clarita: Water board hits landfill with another violation
“The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has found Chiquita Canyon Landfill in violation of 11 terms of the 2010 stormwater-discharge permit the facility is operating under, which are related to the ongoing leachate problems at the landfill. The latest violations are connected to allegations that Chiquita Canyon continually failed to employ “best management practices” in containing the facility’s leachate, a toxic blend that results from stormwater being filtered through rotting garbage and landfill gases. Leachate occurs as a regular occurrence at every landfill, but the massive amount of leachate being produced at the landfill, which is estimated at close to 1 million gallons a month, has caused a crisis at the facility impacting the community. … ” Read more from the Santa Clarita Signal.
Santa Clarita: SCV Water lays out goals of strategic plan
“Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency officials touted the cleanliness and abundancy of water in the SCV during a Zoom presentation of the agency’s five-year strategic plan on Monday evening. The plan includes eight goals that SCV Water’s board of directors wanted to focus on: customer service and stakeholder engagement; reliable infrastructure; a sustainable water supply and resources; high-quality water; financial resiliency; a high-performance team; environmental stewardship; and a safe and secure workplace. Those goals were then detailed by Ed Means, president of Means Consulting, who helped the staff and board to create the plan. He wanted people to know, though, that while the plan is currently constructed, it can be adjusted depending on what challenges arise in the future. … ” Read more from The Signal.
Significant rainfall a boost for Mojave Water Agency
“After more than a decade of drought, California saw a significant amount of rainfall last year, allowing the Mojave Water Agency to import a record amount of water. The Apple Valley-based water agency doesn’t deliver water directly to homes. Its mission is to manage groundwater basins, import water, and address risks proactively using science, according to agency officials. All water supplied to businesses, homes, and farms throughout the High Desert is pumped from local groundwater aquifers, which are replenished, or recharged, by either natural runoff from local mountains or water imported from the State Water Project. … ” Read more from the Victorville Press.
North Edwards Water District issues Safe Water Notice to residents
“The North Edwards Water District has announced that the water supplied to the district has met all state and federal drinking water quality standards according to a notice that was given to residents dated March 19th. According to the notice signed by Dan Demoss who is the executive director for SUSP; on March 18th, the drinking water violation for high arsenic was officially lifted by the California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water in District 19. … ” Read more from Mojave Desert News.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Desert Pup-Fish has say on Colorado River negotiations
“Imperial Irrigation District had planned a conservation program with Valley farmers in April to meet promised obligations with Colorado River draws, scaling back again from its priority allotment of 3.1 million acre-feet. IID General Manager Jamie Asbury told the AP that those plans won’t start until at least June so water and wildlife officials can devise a way to ensure the endangered desert pupfish and other species are protected. The proposal to pay farmers to temporarily stop watering feed crops such as alfalfa this summer has environmentalists concerned that irrigation drains could dry up, threatening the fish that measures the length of an ATM card, according to a report from Patch. … ” Read more from the Desert Review.
SAN DIEGO
How San Diego’s reservoirs are faring after rainy winter
“San Diego’s nine city reservoirs have already captured enough rainwater since the beginning of the year to serve all of the city’s 1.4 million water customers for 56 days with no imported water, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The amount of rain collected this winter and last is so much higher than normal that San Diego is on track to have local water make up a full 25 percent of the city’s water supply this year — more than double the usual 10 percent. Collectively, the city’s nine reservoirs have 42 percent more water than they did two years ago, on March 28, 2022, said the spokesperson, Arian Collins. And the National Weather Service is predicting much more rain this weekend. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Toxic Tide: South Bay wastewater treatment plants still need hundreds of million$ for repairs
“Two hundred million dollars. That’s about how much the International Boundary and Water Commission needs to finish fixing and expanding its broken South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in San Ysidro. “Our plant is currently not in compliance,” said IBWC commissioner María-Elena Giner. “This is a federal plant managed by the federal government that’s not meeting federal law.” The plant is supposed to clean 25 million gallons of raw sewage from Tijuana every day. It’s not. It’s one of the reasons why the Tijuana River Valley floods with trash and raw sewage. The plant was a large part of NBC 7’s special report “Toxic Tide: The Sewage Crisis at the Border.” … ” Read more from NBC 7.
Along the Colorado River …
More than half of Colorado River’s water used for agriculture: Study
“The 1,450-mile-long Colorado River runs through four states — it brushes past Arizona — and 11 national parks. It provides drinking water for 40 million people, irrigates 5.5 million acres of farmland and produces 12 billion kilowatt hours of electricity every year. It has been called “American’s Nile” and one of “the most controlled, controversial and litigated rivers in the world.” Every drop gets used. That is to say, the river doesn’t actually make it to its delta, the gulf of California, where it once emptied out into the sea. All the water from the Colorado River is accounted for, by either humans or the surrounding environment. In fact, the river is over-consumed by about 20%, meaning water usage in the Colorado River basin is draining the major reservoirs of Lake Mead and Lake Powell. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Hay grown for cattle consumes nearly half the water drawn from Colorado River, study finds
“With chronic water shortages afflicting the Colorado River, discussions about how to cut usage have increasingly focused on a thirsty crop that consumes an especially large share of the river’s water: hay that is grown to feed cattle and produce beef and dairy products. In a new study, researchers found that alfalfa and other cattle-feed crops consume 46% of the water that is diverted from the river, accounting for nearly two-thirds of agricultural water use. The research also shows that agriculture is the dominant user of Colorado River water, accounting for 74% of the water that is diverted — about three times the combined usage of all the cities that depend on the river. The study presents the most detailed analysis of its kind to date, including extensive data on where the river’s water goes across seven Western states and northern Mexico. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO: Where is the Colorado River going?, from Northern Arizona University
No, the Saudis haven’t stopped pumping Arizona groundwater
“Last fall, Governor Katie Hobbs announced that Arizona was terminating the farmland leases of Fondomonte – a subsidiary of the Saudi-owned dairy giant Almarai – on about 3500 acres of the Butler Valley State Land Trust. At these sites, Fondomonte was growing alfalfa, which it shipped back to Saudi Arabia as cattle feed for its dairy industry – helping to deepen Arizona’s water crisis on the state’s dime. In early March, various news outlets celebrated the end of the leases, carrying an Associated Press article with the headline, “A Saudi business is leaving Arizona valley after it was targeted by the state over groundwater use.” … But these headlines are misleading: the Saudi dairy company has not left Arizona. … ” Read the full story at the Arizona Capitol Times.
St. George gets water project funding to meet needs of rapidly growing area
“An important water project for St. George Utah will get about $7 million in funding announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The money will add to $4.7 million announced for the project last year. Overall, the $94 million Ash Creek Project is a plan to pipe water from Ash Creek Reservoir to a new reservoir nearly 19 miles away — the Chief Toquer Reservoir, under construction about 20 miles northeast of St. George on Interstate 15. The new reservoir will store reuse water for outdoor irrigation, according to Karry Rathje, Communications & Government Affairs Manager for the Washington County Water Conservancy District. The district is working to ensure the water supply for one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. … ” Read more from KLAS.
In national water news this weekend …
Biden administration restores blanket protections for threatened species
“The Biden administration has restored so-called blanket rule protections for threatened species after the Trump administration in 2019 abolished those rules under the Endangered Species Act. The blanket rule provides newly listed threatened species that are at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future with the same broad protections as endangered species that are at risk of becoming extinct. The rule avoids the need for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to formulate specific protections for each species that it lists as threatened. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Say hello to biodegradable microplastics
“Microplastics are tiny, nearly indestructible fragments shed from everyday plastic products. As we learn more about microplastics, the news keeps getting worse. Already well-documented in our oceans and soil, we’re now discovering them in the unlikeliest of places: our arteries, lungs and even placentas. Microplastics can take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to break down and, in the meantime, our planet and bodies are becoming more polluted with these materials every day. Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. … ” Read more from the University of California.
Inching toward a global treaty on plastic pollution
“Our world is increasingly plastic. Back in the 1950s, humanity produced just 5 million metric tons of plastic per year; today it’s 400 million metric tons. Since plastic can take hundreds or thousands of years to biodegrade, pretty much all of it is still around, except for the roughly 20 percent that’s been burned. By some estimates, there are now eight gigatons of accumulated plastic on Earth — twice as much as the weight of all animal life. … Delegates are working now on the world’s first plastic pollution treaty, which is due to be completed by the end of this year. That treaty might cap plastic production, phase out problem chemicals and regulate how waste is managed — but how ambitious this treaty will be is yet to be seen. … ” Get the full story from Knowable.
