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On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Delta Independent Science Board from 9am to 5pm. Agenda items include Delta Lead Scientist Recruitment Update; presentation by Margot Mattson, the new California Sea Grant State Fellow at the Council; Discussion of Food webs review, Delta Conveyance Project Final EIR, Subsidence review, and Decision-making under deep uncertainty review; and Postdoctoral Scholar Reflections. Click here for the full agenda.
- WEBINAR: Office Hours with Ann Hayden and Sonia Sanchez: The Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program from 12pm to 1pm. The Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program was launched in August 2022 with the objective of finding shared solutions for landscapes facing an uncertain groundwater future. Since then, the program has seen significant progress toward program and block grantee goals. Join us for Office Hours with Ann Hayden and Sonia Sanchez from the state support entity for the program, who can answer your questions about the program and how the lessons they have learned can be applied in other basins. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
How a different type of atmospheric river storm saved California this winter from another drought
“Atmospheric river storms are like punches in a boxing match. A flurry of weak ones are OK. But it’s best to avoid the big knockout blows. That’s exactly what happened in California this winter. Scientists say that from Oct. 1 to April 1, the state actually received more atmospheric rivers, the famous moisture-laden meteorological events that are critical to the water supply, than it did last year — 44 this winter compared to 31 last winter. But the intensity made all the difference. Statewide, California had just 2 strong atmospheric rivers this winter, compared with 7 last year. Many of the biggest this winter hit Washington and Oregon instead. The result was, for the most part, a remarkably, blissfully average rainy season for California. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
On Earth Day, climate activists press for CA bond measure
“Today, in honor of Earth Day, climate advocates are asking California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to rally around a plan to put a $15 billion bond measure on the November ballot. If passed, the bond measure would fund a range of climate resiliency measures.Sam Hodder, president and CEO of the Save the Redwoods League, said March was the tenth month in a row to break monthly heat records. “I think Earth Day is a terrific opportunity for the broader public to recognize how nature is critical for resilience, for our quality of life, for our mental and physical health, and for our communities more broadly,” Hodder outlined. Two similar bills to put a bond measure on the ballot are under consideration in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 1567 and Senate Bill 867, but they have been stalled since last summer. … ” Read more from the Public News Service.
Voices urging federal disaster declaration grow; salmon restoration efforts continue
“More voices are urging President Joe Biden to declare a national fishery disaster in California, where salmon have largely vanished and the commercial and recreational salmon fishing seasons likely cancelled for a second year in a row. That’s as a few hopeful signs appear on the horizon. This week North Bay Congressman Jared Huffman and 20 other federal lawmakers joined Governor Gavin Newsom in urging the federal declaration. Such a move would provide financial aid to idled salmon fishers, tribal nations, charter boat operators and others depending on the industry. … ” Read more from Northern California Public Media.
Millions of California trees were lost to drought. Will two wet winters help repair our forests?
“Over the past decade or so, California’s forests took a beating as more than 170 million trees died, many weakened by drought and extreme heat, and killed off by beetles and disease. Others were destroyed by fires. Now that we have two wet winters on the books, soils are saturated, the snowpack is sufficiently dense and we may start to see some decent recovery. “I expect to see a pretty dramatic decrease in fir mortality and conifer mortality overall this year due to nice precipitation years back to back,” said Jeffrey Moore, who’s been documenting California’s tree mortality from the air since 2009, as the aerial detection survey program manager for the U. S. Forest Service. He’ll begin performing the 2024 survey in July. … ” Read more from the LAist.
Ocean waves mist decades-old PFAS into the atmosphere
“A group of toxic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, slough off from household goods into local watersheds, eventually making their way down streams and rivers into the world’s oceans. But instead of staying locked underwater, ocean waves rerelease these PFAS into the atmosphere via sea spray. The amount of PFAS entering the atmosphere this way may be comparable to or greater than the contributions of other sources such as industrial plants, according to a study published in Science. “Even if we completely stop the use of PFAS right now, we will still have this circulation between the air and seawater,” said Bo Sha, an environmental chemist at Stockholm University and lead author of the study. “And we will still have low-level exposure to these PFAS for a relatively long time.” … ” Read more from EOS.
With historic targets, California will use millions of acres of land to fight the climate crisis
“California is taking unprecedented action to strategically harness the equivalent of more than half of its land to fight the climate crisis. As called for by Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Climate Commitment, the state unveiled 81 targets for nature-based solutions today that will help California achieve its world-leading climate goals, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. Nature-based solutions support the ability of lands to absorb more carbon than they release – a critical tool in the state’s climate arsenal. Since 2020, the Newsom Administration has invested approximately $9.6 billion in nature-based solutions that combat the effects of climate change. … ” Continue reading this press release from Governor Newsom.
California wants to harness more than half its land to combat climate change by 2045. Here’s how
“California has unveiled an ambitious plan to help combat the worsening climate crisis with one of its invaluable assets: its land. Over the next 20 years, the state will work to transform more than half of its 100 million acres into multi-benefit landscapes that can absorb more carbon than they release, officials announced Monday. The so-called nature-based solutions will span natural and working lands such as forests, farms, grasslands, chaparral, deserts and other types of ecosystems and urban environments. The first-of-its-kind plan — part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California Climate Commitment geared toward helping the state reach carbon neutrality by 2045 — includes 81 targets that will help harness the power of millions of acres across the Golden State. “We’re setting aggressive and ambitious new targets to use California’s lands to fight the climate crisis,” Newsom said in a statement. “This scale of action is unprecedented, and yet another example of California punching above its weight. From restoring and conserving lands to greening our urban spaces and treating more acres to prevent wildfires, we’re protecting nature and allowing it to work for our communities.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study finds
“As a massive heat dome lingered over the Pacific Northwest three years ago, swaths of North America simmered — and then burned. Wildfires charred more than 18.5 million acres across the continent, with the most land burned in Canada and California. A new study has revealed the extent to which human-caused climate change intensified the extraordinary event, with researchers theorizing the heat dome was 34% larger and lasted nearly 60% longer than it would have in the absence of global warming. The heat dome, in turn, was associated with up to a third of the area burned in North America that year, according to the study, published in Communications Earth & Environment. “What happens is you get a stagnated weather pattern — it’s very hot and very dry,” said study author Piyush Jain, research scientist with Natural Resources Canada. “And it dries out all the vegetation and makes whatever is on the ground extremely flammable.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
New scientific interventions are here to fight climate change. But they aren’t silver bullets
Behind a chain-link fence in a nondescript corner of San Joaquin County sits one of California’s — and perhaps the world’s — best hopes for combating climate change. Here at the nation’s first commercial direct air capture facility, towering trays of limestone mineral powder are working round-the-clock to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Robots skitter and whir around the 40-foot tall columns, which are part of a multi-step process that will ultimately convert the CO2 to concrete, rendering the planet-warming compound into nothing more harmful than a stone. “We need to do this all around the world,” said Vikrum Aiyer, head of public policy for Heirloom, the California-based company that owns and operates the facility. The good news, he said, is that “CO2 removed anywhere is CO2 removed everywhere.” … ” Continue reading from the LA Times.
In commentary today …
California desperately needs water reform. San Francisco is standing in the way.
Peter Drekmeier, Policy Director for the Tuolumne River Trust, and Scott Artis, the Executive Director of the Golden State Salmon Association, write, “The recently announced closure of the salmon fishing season delivered yet another devastating blow to the thousands of families that depend on commercial and recreational fishing for their livelihoods. For the second year in a row, fishing boats at Fisherman’s Wharf will remain mothballed. The recent drought contributed to the salmon decline, but the larger problem is archaic water policies that allow too much water to be diverted from our rivers and the Delta. As a result, salmon experience manmade droughts almost every year, and the droughts we notice become mega-droughts for fish. Frontline communities in the Delta also suffer from inadequate freshwater inflow. Warm, nutrient-rich water fuels toxic algae blooms that can kill pets and wildlife and make people sick. So much for taking a plunge on a hot summer day. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Examiner.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
As salmon are released into the Klamath River, tribal leaders see a ‘symbol of hope’
“While work crews continued dismantling dams on the Klamath River, leaders of four tribes gathered on a riverbank last week to watch and offer prayers as a valve on a tanker truck was opened. From a chute, a stream of water filled with wriggling fish poured into the river. Over two days, workers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released 16 truckloads of juvenile salmon that were raised in a newly built hatchery. About 500,000 salmon swam downriver, and tribal leaders said they expect these fish will flourish when they migrate back upstream in a few years to spawn in a free-flowing river. “They’re a symbol of hope,” said Phillip Williams, a member of the Yurok Tribal Council. … ” Read more from the LA Times.| Read via AOL News.
SEE ALSO: New hope for salmon: 500,000 released into Klamath River, from the San Francisco Chronicle
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Sickened by litter left by holiday revelers, Lake Tahoe musician writes song to inspire change
“Local musician Liz Broscoe has released a song that features Lake Tahoe and the challenges to keep it blue, and it could become the next battle cry to protect the lake. Liz has been working on a new album for over a year and she wrote “Mother Earth” as one of the songs for that album. She had finished writing the song when she saw the videos of the thousands of pounds of trash left on Zephyr Shoals on the 4th of July. “It made me sick just like everyone else that saw it,” Liz said of the viral video. Within a day of sitting with that image, Liz had an inspirational thought to make a public service announcement (PSA) and music video out of “Mother Earth.” … ” Read more from Carson Now.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Mt. Shasta’s shrinking glaciers face an uncertain future as climate change intensifies
“For the past two years, Mt. Shasta has emerged from winter covered in thick blankets of white snow that conceal what decades of drought have done to the Northern California mountain’s ancient glaciers. The seasonal snows come and go on the 14,179-foot peak. For hundreds of years, the glaciers have clung to the mountain’s steep slopes, slowly changing and moving over time. But for the past few decades, droughts and periods of abnormally warm weather have caused the glaciers to shrink. Scientists have studied the glaciers and documented their demise as climate change — with its warmer temperatures and dearth of snow — has slowly caused Mt. Shasta’s glacial masses to dwindle, especially during the 2020-22 drought. … ” Read more from the Redding Record-Searchlight.
People urged to be wary of waterways as temperatures rise in Sacramento County
“More people will be cooling off in the waterways as the temperatures warm up. However, safety officials have a warning. Officials are calling on people to wear a life jacket on the river, use heavy duty rafts or raft rentals, be careful of hidden objects in the river and avoid getting hypothermia as the river runs colder. “We are fully prepared and fully staffed for whatever happens,” said Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn, with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. Mostly small crowds enjoyed the American River this weekend. However as the weather warms up, Wilbourn knows the crowds will only get bigger, and it’s important to listen to your body. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
NAPA/SONOMA
Commentary: Diversion won’t guarantee a healthy Russian River
Don McEnhill and Ed Burdett with the Russian Riverkeeper write, “When PG&E announced that it would remove Scott and Cape Horn dams on the Eel River as part of the Potter Valley hydroelectric project decommissioning, it put a continuing water diversion to the Russian River in question. A Press Democrat editorial praised Eel and Russian River stakeholders coming together to endorse the possibility of a new fish friendly diversion from the Eel River (“Progress toward water security,” March 27), and we at Russian Riverkeeper concur. However, a continued diversion from the Eel River is not a solution in and of itself when it comes to ensuring long-term water reliability in the upper Russian River watershed. A continued diversion will not solve all the region’s water issues. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
BAY AREA
Rising groundwater, higher seas may threaten downtown San Francisco
“Long before rising seas wash over San Francisco’s shores and flood its streets, rising groundwater mixed with salt water from the bay could touch and degrade underground structures like sewage lines and building foundations. That’s the implication of a study released this week by scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. They compiled research from around the globe showing that as sea levels rise, coastal groundwater is lifted closer to the surface while also becoming saltier, more corrosive and potentially more destructive to subterranean systems. “Depending on how elevated a city is, it could be a problem today or decades out. It’s a problem before it reaches the surface,” said Shellie Habel, a coastal geologist with the university and the paper’s lead author. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Examiner.
CENTRAL COAST
‘Unbearable’ smell in Hollister neighborhood, city takes legal action
“For months people in a Hollister neighborhood along South Street have been complaining about an ‘unbearable’ odor coming from sludge ponds located steps away from their homes. The smell is from tomato waste that sits in concrete basins behind locked gates, according to City Manager David Mirrione. That organic waste is from a local cannery owned by San Benito Foods. It sits in pretreated water, and is eventually dried and hauled away to be used as soil amendments for crops. In a memo sent to the city on March 26, San Benito Foods’ contracted operator, Sunnyslopes County Water District, said the drying process typically takes five days. This year the process and smell lasted longer because of weekend rain. … ” Read more from KSBY.
SAN DIEGO
Late water bills hit $75 million and counting for San Diego, 1 customer owes more than $2 million
“While thousands of San Diegans don’t get their water bills on time, the city has another problem — massive late payments. Team 10 has uncovered that unpaid bills later than four months have skyrocketed to $75 million in 2023, while four customers currently owe more than $1 million to the city. One of them owes more than $2 million. However, the city will not turn off the taps to make customers pay, nor will officials release the names of those who are not paying what they owe. That’s because San Diego adopted a no shut-off policy in 2018 because of problems at the city over whether bills were accurate. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
San Diego may dramatically scale back Pure Water project
“With San Diego more than half done with the first phase of its Pure Water sewage recycling system, city officials say they are considering major changes to how they will handle the second, larger phase. Construction of the first phase continues to overcome hurdles like flooding at pump stations and impenetrable boulders at tunnel sites to stay on course for completion by the end of 2027. But plans for the second phase, which were mostly put in place 13 years ago, could change significantly based on new state regulations and new information about how much purified water the city is projected to need. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
Meet the Las Vegas teens facing Western drought head on
“The West has experienced what’s been called “mega-drought” for longer than they’ve been alive. Each year brings new record-hot temperatures, lower water levels at Lake Mead, state in-fighting on the Colorado River and more uncertainty about the longevity of their hometown. And yet, with limited lessons available at their schools, these Gen Z Las Vegans have taken it upon themselves to learn about the water crisis in its entirety, no holds barred. These students are the centerpiece of a lesser-known initiative of the Southern Nevada Water Authority — the Youth Conservation Council, a 16-week program for high school students that helps expand young people’s understanding of water. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review Journal.
In national water news today …
House bill aims to shield water systems, ratepayers from PFAS costs
“Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide a statutory shield for water systems under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for PFAS, and help ensure that polluters, not the public, pay for PFAS cleanup. The bill, H.R. 7944 – the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act – was introduced by Reps. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) in April, and is a companion bill to Senate legislation introduced by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) last year, according to NACWA. The bill would provide statutory protection for water utilities in light of the designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under CERCLA. Water groups like NACWA have said a CERCLA designation for PFAS exposes drinking water and wastewater utilities to potential litigation from the manufacturers of PFAS. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
Biden-Harris administration launches Conservation.gov, showcasing and supporting the rapid acceleration of locally led efforts to conserve, protect and restore lands and waters across America
“Today, as part of President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative, the Biden-Harris Administration launched Conservation.gov, a new website that will help connect people with information, tools, resources, and opportunities to support land and water conservation projects in communities across the country. With more than 41 million acres already conserved, President Biden is on track to conserve more lands and waters than any president in history. In addition, through the President’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration invested more in conservation and restoration in the first two years of the administration than in any other. … ” Continue reading this press release from the White House.
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
In California water news this weekend …
Reservoirs-plus-snowpack water storage in the Sierra Nevada- DWR DELTA CONVEYANCE UPDATE: Schedule, Charts Permitting Pathway + Other Project Updates
- City of Fairfield offers template letter opposing Bay Delta plan
- State Board puts Tulare Lake Subbasin into probation
- From California to Greece to China, excessive water use and urbanization is collapsing the ground
- The EPA is cracking down on PFAS — but not in fertilizer
- Ocean spray emits more PFAS than industrial polluters, study finds
- Tall flowers, dead shrubs, ephemeral lake: Death Valley has become a picture of climate whiplash
- Welcome to Salmon Country: California’s Central Valley
- Yuba River flowing high and cold with broken pipes unable to divert water
- From failed housing development to long-awaited groundwater bank, McAllister Ranch saga continues
- Imperial Irrigation District applauds Garcia Bill to support water conservation efforts
- Warmest weather since 2023 to build over Southwest into the new week
- And more …
Click here for the weekend digest.
