A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
Note to readers: Sign up for weekly email service and you will receive notification of this post on Friday mornings. Readers on daily email service can add weekly email service by updating their subscription preferences. Click here to sign up!
In California water news this week …
The hunt for water is causing this region to sink. Now, California is weighing a historic crackdown
“A stretch of California that’s considered one of the fastest-sinking areas in the nation, where farms have pumped so much water from the ground that the land has slowly collapsed, is on the verge of state intervention. In a first-ever move, California regulators are looking to step in and monitor groundwater pumping in the Tulare Lake subbasin, an 837-square-mile hydrological region flush with cotton, hay and almonds between Fresno and Bakersfield. Because of heavy pumping, some places here are sinking a foot a year, causing roads to buckle and canals to crack. Growers and government officials in this farm belt, who don’t always take kindly to policies in Sacramento, are urging the state to stay out for fear of losing control of their water, the region’s lifeblood. But state regulators say local leadership has failed to act to protect groundwater and that oversight may be what’s needed to shore up over-drafted aquifers, keep wells from going dry and halt land subsidence. Subsidence occurs because water helps prop up the land, and when so much water is gone, so is the support. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Here’s why California is drought-free for a second straight year
“A late-season storm is swinging into California this weekend, bringing heavy rain, mountain snow and strong winds. It’s the latest in a stormy season in which 51 atmospheric rivers — jets of moisture from the Pacific — struck the West Coast, fueled in part by the strong El Niño climate pattern. While California did not see the eye-popping rain and snow totals that it did last year, the storm door opened in January and has stayed open well into spring. “This year had many weaker storms, but so many more of them that we are pretty much normal across the state,” said Chad Hecht, a research meteorologist at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. “It’s abnormal to be this normal — we tend to be either really wet or really dry.” Though El Niño is rapidly weakening, experts say this winter bore the signs of the climate pattern, both in California and nationally. … ” Read more from the Washington Post (gift article).
Chance of La Niña developing is high. Here’s why that’s rare and how it could impact U.S. weather
“The El Niño winter, which delivered above-normal precipitation to much of California, is drawing to a close. But as quickly as El Niño emerged, it is expected to fade even faster. Signs of La Niña have already appeared in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures recently emerged off the coast of Ecuador and Peru, according to a Climate Prediction Center report published Thursday. By June, there’s only a 15% chance that El Niño will persist, with an 85% chance of “neutral” or near normal sea-surface temperatures. By August, La Niña is favored, with odds increasing to 80% or more by October. This transition could significantly impact U.S. weather patterns. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
Storm set to soak parts of California, ending warm stretch of weather. Here’s what to expect
“The Bay Area’s warmest stretch of weather so far this year is over, as another rainmaker is poised to soak parts of California this weekend. A low-pressure system will skirt past Oregon on Friday on its way toward Central California. The system is expected to slow down and stall near San Francisco on Saturday, spiraling rain showers and thunderstorms around its center. San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose and Santa Barbara are forecast to receive a half-inch to an inch of rain from Friday night through Sunday afternoon, with up to 2 inches of rain in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Big Sur coast. Los Angeles could receive around a quarter- to half-inch inch of rain, while San Diego is not expected to pick up more than a tenth of an inch. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
California salmon fishing banned for second year in row
“In a devastating blow to California’s fishing industry, federal fishery managers unanimously voted today to cancel all commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast of California for the second year in a row. The decision is designed to protect California’s dwindling salmon populations after drought and water diversions left river flows too warm and sluggish for the state’s iconic Chinook salmon to thrive. Salmon abundance forecasts for the year “are just too low,” Marci Yaremko, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s appointee to the Pacific Fishery Management Council, said last week. “While the rainfall and the snowpacks have improved, the stocks and their habitats just need another year to recover.” … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
It’s Official: California Salmon Fishing Closed Again This Year!
““At its March 2024 meeting, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) voted on and approved public review of three alternatives for salmon fisheries along the California coast,” wrote Chuck Bonham, CDFW Director, in a letter to the PFMC. “The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recommends the Council to close ocean salmon fisheries along the California coast and otherwise constrain salmon fishing in Council managed areas to minimize impacts to Sacramento and Klamath origin Chinook salmon stocks,” urged Bonham. The state blames the salmon collapse on the “drought and climate disruption,” while fishing groups, Tribes and environmentalists point to the government’s complicity in the collapse. “At this point we can’t put the blame solely on drought when Governor Newsom’s water policies are devastating to thousands of families that rely on salmon to pay their rent and mortgages, put food on the table and keep their businesses going,” said Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA). “It’s simple: when the state’s water policies kill off all of the baby salmon, 2 to 3 years later you don’t get many returning adults in the rivers. This is Governor Newsom’s legacy.” … ” Read more from Dan Bacher at the Daily Kos.
California water agencies broke own rules, possibly killing thousands of endangered fish
“Pumping plants in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta severely harmed or killed almost double the legal amount of Chinook salmon and Steelhead trout in recent months, dealing yet another blow to the struggling endangered species. An estimated 3,030 winter-run Chinook and 2,919 Steelhead were caught by water pumps that capture supplies for farms and cities from the delta between December and March, according to state and federal water agencies. That’s well beyond the agencies’ own ceilings for permissible fish harm under the Endangered Species Act — referred to as “take.” Those numbers are 1,776 Chinook and 1,571 for Steelhead annually, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “I continue to be shocked by the lawlessness and neglect of federal and state management agencies with regard to species that are on the brink of extinction,” said Jon Rosenfield, science director at San Francisco Baykeeeper. “You expect regulators to regulate and follow their own regulations.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee. | Read via AOL News.
New National Academies study tackles the wickedest of problems: Can California have its water and save its fish too?
“The San Francisco Bay-Delta is already among the most intensively studied ecosystems in the world. Now 18 experts are scrutinizing this system afresh in a committee convened by the National Academies at the request of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The stakes are high. The Bay-Delta system drains about half of California’s surface water. Even so, there’s still not enough to meet the demands of water users―including farmers and hydroelectric power agencies―and the needs of salmon, Delta smelt, and other fish protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. “Species aren’t doing well, and water deliveries and power generation aren’t doing well,” Mario Manzo, deputy manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Bay-Delta Office, told the National Academies committee at its first public meeting in January 2024. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
Delta Tunnel supporters, opponents respond to Newsom’s updated water plan
“Gov. Gavin Newsom last week announced the release of the state’s updated water plan, which garnered both support and criticism. As he stood in the snow-packed Sierra Nevada for a press conference during the April snow survey at Phillips Station, Newsom said the new reality of climate extremes requires a new approach and elevated sophistication in terms of managing the water system. “The water system in California was designed for a world that no longer exists,” he said, referring to the drastic weather events that have occurred over the last decade, compared to 50 or 60 years ago. “California is the size of 21 state populations combined. And as a consequence, there’s no one size that fits all … However, many felt that the state’s updated water plan supports problematic infrastructure projects that will harm the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary. … ” Continue reading at Pleasanton Weekly.
Newsom’s Delta tunnel pitch: It’s for the climate
“Gov. Gavin Newsom has a new sales pitch for a tunnel to move more water south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that past governors have tried and failed to build for five decades. “The Delta conveyance is an adaptation project,” he said last week in a snowy field in the Sierra Nevada, where a winter that started out dry eventually delivered a just-above-average snowpack that will soon melt into the Sacramento River and its tributaries. It was a pretty good backdrop for his pitch: that not only will climate change make precipitation “flashier,” with bigger storms and floods, but it’ll make it scarcer overall — reducing the state’s water supply by up to 10 percent by 2040. Building a new tunnel to reroute water deliveries through the state’s main water hub will help maximize scant supplies, Newsom argued, while running it only during wet weather will minimize harm to local communities and endangered fish like the Delta smelt and salmon. … Long-skeptical Delta lawmakers aren’t convinced by the latest rationale. … ” Read more from Politico.
The Delta Conveyance Project: key for California’s water security?
“In the Golden State most precipitation falls in the northern and eastern parts, whereas most of the water demand is in the central, west and south parts. Moreover, California faces extreme variability in precipitation, which is expected to worsen with climate change. California’s Water Resilience Portfolio is the state’s roadmap to prepare the state’s water systems for a warmer, more variable climate, including actions to maintain and diversify water supplies, protect natural ecosystems, and improve infrastructure to store, move and share water. A key part of the portfolio, an essential for climate adaptation according to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), is the Delta Conveyance Project, which the DWR started planning in 2020, and after extensive environmental review, received approval last December. The project has thus moved forward to a phase of further engineering, design and permitting. … ” Read more from Smart Water Magazine.
State hears from the public on potential take over of groundwater pumping in the Tule subbasin
“The Tule subbasin is next up to face the state in a groundwater probation hearing. Staff from the state Resources Water Control Board held a public workshop on Friday to go over its recommendations and hear from the public prior to the hearing on September 17. Subbasins put in probation could face pumping restrictions handed down from the state and will have to pay fees for every acre foot pumped as well as face steep fines for going over their allotted amount. The hearing is the outcome of the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which mandates that over drafted subbasins bring aquifers into balance by 2040. Regions were allowed to come up with groundwater plans locally but the Tule subbasin plan was twice found inadequate and now faces state enforcement. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
A Tulare County groundwater agency on the hot seat for helping sink the Friant-Kern Canal holds private tours for state regulators
“As the date of reckoning for excessive groundwater pumping in Tulare County grows closer, lobbying by water managers and growers has ramped up. The Friant Water Authority, desperate to protect its newly rebuilt – yet still sinking – Friant-Kern Canal, has beseeched the Water Resources Control Board to get involved. Specifically, it has asked board members to look into how the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) has, or has not, curbed over pumping that affects the canal. Meanwhile, the Eastern Tule groundwater agency has been doing a bit of its own lobbying. It recently hosted all five members of the Water Board on three separate tours of the region, including the canal. Because the tours were staggered, there wasn’t a quorum of board members, which meant they weren’t automatically open to the public. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
A water wrongdoer’s revenge: A California lawmaker wants to dismantle the Clean Water Act protections that he was fined for violating
“After being sanctioned by federal regulators for plowing up protected wetlands on his California farm, a U.S. lawmaker is now spearheading an effort to roll back federal water protections — including the very same provisions that he once paid penalties for violating. If the scheme is successful, environmental groups say industrial polluters could more freely contaminate wetlands, rivers, and other waters, harming both the nation’s water resources and the communities depending on them. It could also benefit the lawmaker spearheading the attack, since he still owns the farm where he was found to be destroying wetlands. In 2017, before he was a lawmaker, Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) was fined $1.1 million by federal regulators for disturbing wetlands and streams on a 500-acre plot of land owned by his business, Duarte Nursery. … Since taking office last year, Duarte, who sits on a key House committee that oversees water policy, has become a vocal supporter of efforts to roll back clean water standards and other environmental protections, including a 2023 attempt by Republican lawmakers to redefine what bodies of water are federally protected. … ” Read more from The Lever.
‘Forever chemicals’: Water supplies throughout California will exceed new national limits
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today unveiled the first nationwide limits on dangerous “forever chemicals” in drinking water, setting standards that will have sweeping, costly effects throughout California. Several thousand water systems around the country are expected to exceed the new limits for the chemicals, which have been linked to an array of diseases — including cancer and heart disease — and have contaminated people and animals worldwide, including newborns. In California alone, traces of the compounds have been detected in water systems serving more than 25 million people, nearly a third in disadvantaged communities, according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council. A CalMatters analysis of 2023 state data found 214 water systems in California with 796 public wells that exceed the new federal drinking water standards. That’s more than half of the California systems that tested their water and reported their findings to the state. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Water pollution is fueling ocean acidification. Environmentalists urge California to act
“As the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities continue to increase the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the ocean is absorbing a large portion of the CO2, which is making seawater more acidic. The changing water chemistry in the ocean has far-reaching effects for plankton, shellfish and the entire marine food web. And here’s one important fact about ocean acidification: It’s not happening at the same rate everywhere. The California coast is one of the regions of the world where ocean acidification is occurring the fastest. And researchers have found that local sources of pollution are part of the problem. In particular, effluent discharged from coastal sewage treatment plants, which has high nitrogen levels from human waste, has been shown to significantly contribute to ocean acidification off the Southern California coast. These nitrogen-filled discharges also periodically contribute to algae blooms, leading to hypoxia, or oxygen-deprived water that is inhospitable for marine life. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
RELATED: Nutrients from wastewater treatment plants may threaten coastal marine life―should California regulate them?, from Maven’s Notebook
The Central Valley Project water supply allocation forecast: What factors into Reclamation’s determination?
“Following back-to-back wet winters bringing torrential rainstorms and record-breaking blizzards, water users throughout California may have cause for optimism when it comes to their water supply for 2024. After an initial conservative Central Valley Project (CVP) water allocation forecast in February, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) recently announced an additional increase in CVP water deliveries. The CVP is a federally owned and operated water project that supplies approximately 7 million acre-feet of water per year to millions of people throughout the state. CVP water is delivered to users that have contracts with Reclamation to meet municipal, industrial, or agricultural water demands. The major groups of CVP contractors include water rights contractors or settlement contractors (Sacramento River Settlement Contractors and San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors), North of Delta and South of Delta water service and repayment contractors, and Central Valley Refuge contractors. … ” Continue reading at Somach Simmons & Dunn.
The atmospheric rivers of Water Year 2024: April summary
PRESS RELEASE: California adopts health-protective goals for forever chemicals in drinking water
“Today, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted public health goals (PHGs) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water, providing important guidance to the State Water Resources Control Board to inform future drinking water standards. A PHG is the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant risk to health with lifetime exposure from all uses of tap water. The final public health goal for PFOA is 0.007 parts per trillion (ppt), and 1 ppt for PFOS, reflecting the best current science on their cancer-causing potency. “We know PFOA and PFOS can be harmful at low levels, and California is leading by adopting these scientifically rigorous and health protective goals to inform how water suppliers treat these chemicals in drinking water,” said OEHHA Director Lauren Zeise. … ” Read more from the OEHHA.
Coalition of water agencies and business interests send letter to lawmakers regarding 2024 resources and climate resilience bond priorities
The below-signed entities recognize and appreciate the challenging policy and fiscal trade-offs required to address California’s current budget constraints. Among the competing priorities for limited state resources is a potential climate resilience bond on the 2024 general election ballot. With this letter, it is our intent to share with you our priorities and perspectives for a climate resilience bond, should you decide to move forward with placing one on the 2024 general election ballot. California’s water infrastructure needs cannot be met by ratepayers alone. Necessary maintenance and repair of legacy water systems and rising costs to purchase, treat, and distribute water have, in recent years, increased the cost of water across California. The rising costs have left more Californians struggling to keep up. As a resources and climate resilience bond package is considered this year, it is imperative that there is robust water-related infrastructure investment to ensure California can continue to strengthen its resilience to drought and floods. … ”
Clean air, water, environment amendment passes first hurdle in California Assembly
“California lawmakers want to establish the state’s position on environmental health, taking a first step Monday in their proactive approach to ensure processes for the state’s environmental management remains secure, regardless of any federal changes. “In California, we’re a national leader on addressing climate change and injustice,” Assemblymember Isaac Bryan said Monday when addressing the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. “We’re a global leader in addressing climate change and injustice.” The Los Angeles Democrat is propositioning a constitutional amendment that would enshrine into law the Californian’s right to clean air, water and the environment. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 16, authored by Bryan, passed Monday out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and into his chamber’s Appropriations Committee. It must pass both houses by at least two-thirds and then secure a majority vote at the polls. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
In commentary this week …
New legislation would prevent old policies from undermining Newsom’s “Salmon Strategy”
Russell “Buster” Attebery, chairman of the Karuk Tribal Council, writes, “Salmon are a cornerstone of my Karuk culture and the loss of salmon for my people cannot be overstated. Salmon are intertwined with our cultural identity and religion — what it means to be Karuk. Our ceremonies celebrate the annual migrations of salmon, and the harvest and preservation of salmon is central to community activities that have persisted for generations. In late January, Gov. Gavin Newsom released a strategic plan aimed at helping restore California’s dwindling salmon population. For Tribal Nations like the Karuk, the “Salmon-Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future” is a multi-year plan to help recover native salmon and steelhead. It includes removing obsolete dams, restoring riparian habitat and increasing flows to provide more water when fish need it most, and is a welcomed step toward species recovery. But absent common-sense legislation that deters harmful water use, the strategy is likely to fail. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Why this year’s average California snowpack is no reason for celebration
Ned Kleiner, a scientist and catastrophe modeler at Verisk, writes, “Wearing snowshoes and aviator sunglasses, Gov. Gavin Newsom stood in a field near Lake Tahoe recently and listened as an engineer from the Department of Water Resources announced the results of California’s April snow survey, which is conducted every year when snow depths in the Sierra Nevada reach their maximum. The news was good: the manual survey, conducted by driving blue metal tubes into the ground, had measured 64 inches of snow — 13% above average for the location and time of year — all but guaranteeing that the state would not see severe drought this summer. This marked the second year in a row with above-average snowfall and was a huge turnaround from conditions at the beginning of 2024, when the snowpack across the state was barely a quarter of the historic average. But despite the cheerful tone, everyone assembled in that field — the governor, the engineers, the director of the DWR who declared that “average is awesome!” — was likely mindful of the long, dry years of the recent past and the worrying fact that the future of California’s mountain snowpack looks grim. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
If raised, Shasta Dam could have been filled to capacity this year, and last year
Edward Ring, director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center, writes, “So far this year I had the privilege of attending two water oriented events. The first, in February, was at the annual CalDesal conference in Sacramento. The second, in March, was at the Kern County Water Summit in Bakersfield. I sensed there is a growing recognition among the participants in both of these events that not only is California’s state water policy fundamentally broken, because it still prioritizes rationing instead of more projects to increase supply, but also that there is more potential today than ever for regional interests to work together to demand a new approach. Specifically, there is potential for water agencies and water users in California’s rural, agricultural San Joaquin Valley, to stand alongside water agencies and water users in Southern California’s megacities to promote a shared list of water supply projects that will eliminate water scarcity in the state forever. … ” Read more from the California Globe.
Reducing water loss requires upgrading aging ag water infrastructure
Gillian Roy, a 2023 Schneider Fellow from Stanford University, writes, “California owes much of its success as the nation’s leading agricultural producer to the vast systems of irrigation that supply water to the state’s agricultural land. Every year, California irrigates an average of more than nine million acres of agricultural farmland using roughly 34 million acre-feet of water–roughly 80% of all water used for homes, businesses, and agriculture in California. However, climate change is fueling more severe and longer-lasting droughts in California, threatening the economic and environmental viability of the state’s irrigation-reliant agricultural sector. To address this challenge, state and federal government grant programs (such as NRCS’s EQIP WaterSMART Initiative and the CDFA SWEEP grant) incentivize California’s farmers to install technologies that improve water use efficiency on their farms, like drip irrigation systems and advanced irrigation scheduling. While these on-farm upgrades are important, they alone are not enough to ensure the entire agricultural sector uses water efficiently during drought periods. To maximize the state’s water use efficiency, irrigation districts must invest in upgrades to their water management systems and services to complement farmers’ investments in their on-farm irrigation systems. … ” Read more from the NRDC.
In regional water news this week …
FERC requests more information before final approval for Iron Gate Dam
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is asking for more information before giving final approval for the removal of Iron Gate Dam along the Klamath River. Douglas Johnson, a Regional Engineer with FERC says the letter is in response to documents related to the decommissioning of the dams within the Lower Klamath Project submitted by Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corp. Following a review of said documents, Johnson indicates six issues that need to be addressed prior to FERC’s authorization of the Iron Gate Dam removal. Those include submitting an updated schedule after removal methods and/timelines changed, a proposed design for the headwall/wingwall with a detailed description of how they will be installed, as well as a detailing the penstock intake tower removal procedure. … ” Read more from KOBI 5.
Klamath Reservoir drawdowns: Short-term costs for much larger long-term gains
“The Klamath dam removal process is well underway and has received a lot of attention – both positive and negative. In some cases, outright misinformation has been spread by opponents of dam removal. As this massive restoration project unfolds, it is a great moment to provide an update and highlight how extensive project planning has mitigated the temporary impacts to water quality. Of the four dams that are slated for removal in the Klamath River, the smallest one (Copco 2) was deconstructed last year. Below the former site, the river has returned to a 1.7-mile-long canyon that was dewatered when Copco 2 was built. The reservoirs behind the remaining three dams (JC Boyle, Copco 1, and Iron Gate) were drained in a ‘drawdown’ process that began in January. … ” Read more from Trout Unlimited.
Counties request ‘adequate’ water for agriculture, Klamath Project irrigators head to D.C.
“Klamath, Modoc and Siskiyou County leaders are asking for an “adequate water supply” on behalf of local irrigation. A news release from Klamath Water Users Association this week said a letter has been sent to the Bureau of Reclamation requesting the full water allocations on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators. The letter, sent to Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton, bases the request for increase water flows in congruence with “favorably hydrology” this year in the Klamath Basin. “Given … the actions already taken to avoid flooding on the Klamath River and the projections showing ‘excess’ water this year, Reclamation must make every effort and should be able to provide full water supplies for farms and ranches of the Klamath Project,” the Tri-Counties’ statement reads. … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
Marin Municipal Water District narrows Sonoma-to-Marin pipeline options
“Aiming to boost the county’s water supply, the Marin Municipal Water District is exploring the idea of connecting pipelines in Petaluma and Cotati to its reservoirs. District staff presented three main potential projects — narrowed from 13 — at Tuesday’s board of directors meeting. “It’s getting exciting every time we whittle that list down,” board member Matt Samson said. The pipelines would transport water from the Russian River into Marin reservoirs. Treated Russian River water is transported to Marin through a 9-mile aqueduct along the Highway 101 corridor from Petaluma to North Marin Water District in Novato. The district then sends the water directly to the Marin Municipal Water District’s water distribution system. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal (gift article).
New wetland monitoring guidelines in San Francisco Bay leverage data to improve science and restoration
“Conservation partners, including NOAA Fisheries, have created new guidelines for monitoring fish and habitat in wetlands throughout the San Francisco Bay Estuary. They will improve scientific understanding and apply lessons learned to make future restoration even more successful and cost-effective. The guidelines were developed for the San Francisco Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program, San Francisco Bay includes the sprawling estuaries of numerous rivers that provide nursery habitat for salmon and many other species that depend on the Estuary for habitat, food, and much more. About 85 percent of the Bay’s original vegetated tidal wetlands have disappeared. The remaining wetlands face further development pressures as well as rising sea levels and other impacts of climate change. … ” Read more from NOAA Fisheries.
Making a marsh out of a mud pile
“The water in California’s San Francisco Bay could rise more than two meters by the year 2100. For the region’s tidal marshes and their inhabitants, such as the endangered Ridgway’s rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse, it’s a potential death sentence. Given enough time, space, and sediment, tidal marshes can build layers of mud and decaying vegetation to keep up with rising seas. Unfortunately, upstream dams and a long history of dredging bays and dumping the sediment offshore are starving many tidal marshes around the world of the sediment they need to grow. To keep its marshes above water, San Francisco Bay needs more than 545 million tonnes of dirt by 2100. Yet for restorationists looking to rebuild marshes lost to development and fortify those that remain, getting enough sediment is just one hurdle: the next challenge is figuring out a way to deliver it without smothering the very ecosystem they’re trying to protect. … ” Read more from Hakai Magazine.
UC Santa Cruz researchers value salt marsh restoration as a crucial tool in flood risk reduction and climate resilience in the San Francisco Bay
“Salt marsh restoration can mitigate flood risk and bolster community resilience to climate change in our local waterways, according to a recent study published in Nature by a postdoctoral fellow with UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR). The study, titled “The value of marsh restoration for flood risk reduction in an urban estuary,” explores the social and economic advantages of marsh restoration amidst the growing threats of sea level rise and storm-driven flooding. Climate change will put many communities at risk. In California, some of the study co-authors from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have shown that 675,000 people and $250 billion in property are at risk of flooding in a scenario with 2 m of sea level rise combined with a 100-year storm. Flooding due to sea-level rise is amplified by storms, which drive higher coastal water levels via surges, waves, and increased river discharge, along with increasing coastal population density. … ” Read more from UC Santa Cruz.
Metropolitan board adopts two-year budget, funding work to reliably provide water to Southern California; LA Waterkeeper says it’s a step in the right direction
“Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors voted today to adopt a two-year budget that will allow the agency to continue delivering safe, reliable water supplies to Southern California, while managing challenges brought by climate change and rising costs due to inflation. To ensure the continued sustainability of Metropolitan’s water system, the $2.4 billion annual budget includes rate increases of 8.5% on Jan. 1, 2025 and Jan. 1, 2026, charged to its 26 member agencies. For treated water, the rate increase will be 11% in 2025 and 10% in 2026. It also anticipates a small increase to the voter-approved property tax Metropolitan levies, amounting to an average increase of $2-3 a month for the median value home. “We understand the impact rate increases can have on businesses and residents, so we have taken great steps to limit our increase as much as possible. But it is critical that we continue to fund investments and programs that bring safe water to our communities, with no one left behind,” Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said. “The difficult reality is, our costs have risen while revenues have dropped, so we need to take the fiscally responsible step of adjusting our rates.” … ” Continue reading this press release from Metropolitan Water District (followed by LA Waterkeeper).
Claremont residents sue cities, agencies and county over groundwater seepage that led to flooding
“A group of Claremont residents are taking legal action Monday against multiple cities, local water agencies and Los Angeles County, alleging all share liability for groundwater seepage that damaged their homes after the heavy 2023 rain season. Victor Asemoto and his family are among the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit who are suing such entities as the cities of Claremont, La Verne, Pomona and Upland as well as the Pomona Valley Protective Association, Six Basins Watermaster and Pomona College. The suit alleges negligence, trespass, inverse condemnation and both public and private nuisance. The residents, most of whom live on New Hampshire Avenue or Moody Place, seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. … ” Read more from the Pasadena Star News.
Colorado River states get a wet winter, but Lake Powell will get below-average runoff, forecast says
“Spring storms brought more snow to mountains across the Western U.S., bringing water for struggling Lake Powell with them. The National Weather Service Colorado Basin River Forecast Center on Friday estimated that Lake Powell will receive 5.7 million acre-feet of water between April and July as snow melts off the mountains. An acre-foot is roughly enough water to sustain two houses for a year. That volume is 89% of the normal runoff for that time period recorded between 1991 and 2020. Facing extreme drought and climate change since the turn of the century, Lake Powell dropped to a historic low of 22% full in Feb. 2023. The reservoir currently stands at about 32% full. … ” Read more from the Salt Lake Tribune.
Officials brace for ‘uncertainty’ in water transfers to Lake Mead
“Key backup tubes inside the Glen Canyon Dam might be damaged, potentially threatening the delivery of water to Lake Mead in the future if water levels ever dip too low in Lake Powell, according to a Bureau of Reclamation memo. Below 3,490 feet, water releases from Lake Powell are wholly dependent on “river outlet works,” which water managers now feel are not functional and could threaten the water supply downstream. … Activists like Kyle Roerink, executive director of Great Basin Water Network, have long been concerned about the dam and how it was designed. Many have called for the dam to be decommissioned, though no formal plan has gained traction. Roerink said he was surprised that the Bureau of Reclamation didn’t address the dam’s engineering issues in environmental impact statements prepared about the management of Lake Mead and Lake Powell. The flaws in the design are something he expects to complicate river negotiations and the future availability of water to Lower Basin states like Nevada, he said. … ” Read the full story from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE of Proposed Adoption of a Maximum Contaminant Level for Hexavalent Chromium and certifying final Environmental Impact Report
