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In California water news today …
Winterlike storm to drench California, help delay summer fire risk
“A strong and cold storm — by May standards — is set to swing through the West Coast this weekend, bringing mountain snow and soaking rains to parts of California and the Pacific Northwest. The storm, which is arriving on the cusp of the summer dry season, will also spread fierce winds across the interior West.The storm will provide welcome moisture before precipitation shuts off for months in many areas, and it could push back the threat of fires, probably until late in the summer or fall. … ” Read more from the Washington Post (gift article).
SEE ALSO: Winter weather advisory issued for Sierra Nevada ahead of late-season storm, from the San Francisco Chronicle
California’s other cloud experiment
“California’s climate-modification experiments with clouds are grabbing headlines. But the basic concept that scientists started studying last month on a ship in San Francisco Bay isn’t all that novel. Water agencies and utilities around the state have been shooting salt into clouds to change their behavior since the 1950s — and the jury is still largely out on its effectiveness. “There’s really just not much evidence that it does much of anything at all,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. It’s perhaps a cautionary parable for the techno-optimists who are hoping to increase clouds’ surface area to reflect more planet-warming sunlight back into space. … ” Read more from Politico.
State Board completes three-day workshop regarding proposed Bay-Delta voluntary agreements
“The State Water Resources Control Board’s(State Board) three-day workshop to evaluate the proposed Voluntary Agreements, held from April 24 through 26, was the latest step in the State Board’s process to update the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan). Specifically, the agreements discussed relate to the Sacramento, Feather, American, Yuba, Tuolumne and Mokelumne Rivers, Putah Creek, and the Delta. The Voluntary Agreements are proposed by a group of water users, California Natural Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency, and United States Bureau of Reclamation (Proponents). The workshop was immediately preceded by the release of critical draft components of the proposal, including Global, Implementing, and Enforcement Agreements that address accountability and enforceability. Proponents also circulated proposed protocols for flow and non-flow accounting. … ” Read more from Somach Simmons & Dunn.
Leading the way: USGBC California’s vision for sustainable water management
“USGBC California (USGBC-CA) has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative, the 50 Liter Home Coalition pilot project, aimed at significantly reducing water usage in California residences. Ben Stapleton, Executive Director of USGBC-CA, discusses the organization’s expansion to engage all of California, highlighting the opportunity to share impactful programming and advocate for green building practices statewide. … TPR spoke with Ben Stapleton, Executive Director of the new USGBC California (USGBC-CA), about the organization’s 50 Liter Home Coalition pilot project centered on how California residents can drastically reduce their water use. Ben walks readers through how a whole-home approach to water management can change usage behaviors. … ” Read more from The Planning Report.
State regulators unanimously vote to impose unprecedented fee on water pumping by farmers: ‘There has to be a backstop’
“Water scarcity as a result of human-caused global heating is an increasing concern, and California state regulators are getting ahead of the curve after voting on a probation to control groundwater supplies. As Grist detailed, in California’s Central Valley, farm owners’ overuse of groundwater has resulted in supplies running low, meaning residential wells are at risk of water contamination or may dry up completely. It could also increase water bills as demand outstrips supply. Households are already dealing with rising utility bills, although government initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act are helping homeowners install energy- and money-saving technology like heat pumps and solar panels. Additionally, excessive pumping increases the risk of sinkholes and form fissures, which can damage local infrastructure. … ” Read more from The Cool Down.
Audio: Pervasive and harmful, understanding PFAS and how you can limit exposure
“It repels water, prevents wrinkles, resists stains and makes cooking an egg over easy, well easy….But there’s also a dark side to this modern marvel that is now, just about everywhere on the planet. It’s a class of chemicals called PFAS. Recently Santa Rosa water opted out of a national legal settlement with manufacturers, with officials reasoning one couldn’t attach a dollar to a problem when its true scope isn’t quite known. To learn more about these chemicals, the potential harm they pose and how and to what extent ordinary people can protect themselves, KRCB’s Marc Albert spoke with Dr. Jessica Ray. She’s an assistant professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Ray researches new materials for removing and degrading contaminants in water.” Listen at Northern California Public Radio.
EPA announces $28.7 million for California lead pipe replacement to advance safe drinking water
“Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $28,650,000 from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to help California identify and replace lead service lines, preventing exposure to lead in drinking water. Lead can cause a range of severe health impacts, including irreversible harm to brain development in children. President Biden has committed to replacing every lead pipe in the country to protect children and families. The investment announced today, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and available through EPA’s capitalization of the state-run Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), takes another major step to advance public health and environmental justice and bolsters the Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan and Get the Lead Out Initiative. … ” Read more from the EPA.
Northern California has new national monument land. Here’s what it’s all about
“Up a long dirt road flanked by wildflower-drenched meadows and rolling green mountains, about 120 miles north of San Francisco, lies California’s newest national monument land. President Joe Biden announced Thursday, after months of speculation, that 13,696 acres of federal land along the picture-perfect ridge known as Molok Luyuk would be added to the 330,000-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. He cited the area’s “prolific botanical richness” and tribal significance. The monument, in the inner Coast Range, was created in 2015. Plans for the newly designated land in Lake and Colusa counties are not set. But a recent tour of the unpaved Walker Ridge Road revealed the many possibilities for the future of the site, inspired by its natural beauty and cultural past. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument expands by more than 100,000 acres
“President Biden on Thursday expanded San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by nearly a third in an action that was widely praised by the Indigenous leaders, politicians, conservationists and community organizers who had long fought for the enlargement of the protected natural area that serves as the backyard of the Los Angeles Basin. … Advocates say the designations will expand underserved communities’ access to open space and better preserve sacred and historic Indigenous cultural sites. The move also came as Biden has sought to boost his conservation record heading into the presidential election. “It’s a huge deal on so many levels,” said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who had introduced legislation that would have expanded both national monuments. That legislation remains active, but it lacks the Republican support in Congress to bring it to the finish line, he said. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
California adopts targets to preserve, restore coastal habitats for climate benefits
“On April 22, the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) adopted new carbon pollution reduction targets for the state’s forests, wetlands, grasslands, rangelands, deserts, urban green spaces, and agricultural lands—known collectively as “natural and working lands.” These targets will help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions while bolstering the ability of nature and people to adapt to a changing climate. The targets are also among the first in the nation to explicitly account for the carbon sequestration powers of coastal habitats, broadly referred to as “blue carbon.” Finalizing these targets marks an important milestone for implementing a 2022 state law that requires CNRA to work with the California Air Resources Board, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture on greenhouse gas reduction targets for natural and working lands. … ” Read more from the Pew Charitable Trust.
In commentary today …
CA salmon, Delta fish populations are in worst-ever crisis as pumps keep exporting water to Big Ag
Dan Bacher writes, “Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations are in their worst-ever crisis ever as California Governor Newsom forges ahead with the Delta Tunnel and Sites Reservoir projects and the Big Ag voluntary agreements while fish populations get closer and closer to extinction. California salmon fishing was closed in 2023 and will be closed this year also. The 2024 stock abundance forecast for Sacramento River Fall Chinook, often the most abundant stock in the ocean fishery, is only 213,600 adults. The return to Coleman Fish Hatchery was an absolute disaster. Meanwhile, abundance of Klamath River Fall Chinook is forecast at 180,700 adults. … ” Read more from Dan Bacher at the Daily Kos.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
The Klamath River’s Iron Gate comes down, one scoop at a time
“Deconstruction of Iron Gate dam, the lowest of the four dams along the Oregon-California border, has begun. The day began clear and chilly. By 8:00 a.m., the temperature hovered around freezing. Leaf Hillman and Lisa Morehead-Hillman, Karuk Tribal members who have spent decades advocating for dam removal, stood on the rocky overlook below the dam, waiting for the first ceremonial scoop to be removed from the 173-foot-tall earthen dam. “There were many times that no, I didn’t think I would live to see this day, but I knew this day was coming,” said Hillman. “That I’m still alive to see it is pretty awesome.” The Klamath River Renewal Corporation received authorization on Friday from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to remove the first 13 feet of the dam, starting from the top down. … ” Read more from Jefferson Public Radio.
As dismantling of largest dam begins on Klamath River, activists see ‘new beginning’
“Workers have begun dismantling the largest dam on the Klamath River, using machinery to scoop the first loads of rocks from an earthen barrier that has stood near the California-Oregon border for more than six decades. Several Indigenous leaders and activists watched as a single earthmover tore into the top of Iron Gate Dam, starting a pivotal phase in the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. As they celebrated the long-awaited moment, they shouted, embraced and offered prayers. They said they hope to see the river’s salmon, which have suffered devastating declines, finally start to recover once Iron Gate and two other dams are fully removed later this year. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Klamath water allocation disappoints irrigators
“Saying that more water should be available to irrigators, the executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association expressed his frustration with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s initial allocation of water for the region. “It’s very, very disappointing and we’re not in a situation where the number needs to be that low for any reason whatsoever. There’s water in the system,” Paul Simmons said. Farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin are set to receive a water supply of 230,000 acre-feet, about 35% less than the estimated need, according to the KWUA. The Bureau announced its allocation in mid-April. “There should be more water available, and we’re going to do what we can to improve the situation,” Simmons said. … ” Read more from the Capital Press.
The news is not good for north state salmon fishermen
“The primary and powerful advisor to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC). Last week, the 14 voting member council unanimously recommended closure of California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon fisheries for the second consecutive year, through the end of 2024, mirroring recommendations made last year. The PFMC reports Salmon stocks continue to be impacted in the Golden State from ongoing issues associated with drought and climate disruption. … The low ocean Salmon abundance forecasts, coupled with below average 2023 returns, led the PFMC to recommend full closure of commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. … ” Read more from the Del Norte Triplicate.
County of Lake receives $700,000 grant to study Scott Dam decommissioning scenarios
“The county of Lake said it has received a state grant to help it study the potential impacts of Pacific Gas and Electric’s proposed decommissioning of the Scott Dam. County officials said that the California Department of Water Resources has committed $700,000 in Water Shortage Management Program funding to support the “Lake County Resource Assessment, Impact Analysis, and Adaptation Strategy Evaluation Project.” This project will provide for analysis of the potential effects of PG&E’s proposed decommissioning of Scott Dam and impacts on Lake Pillsbury, including recreation, wildfire suppression, ecosystem, power, sediment, water supply and infrastructure such as roads. The Lake County Board of Supervisors has been steadfast in affirming that the Scott Dam remains in place as a significant matter of priority. … ” Read more from the Lake County News.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Technology being used as a partner in forest fuels treatment at Lake Tahoe
“”We’ll lose the whole forest if we don’t jump in and do work now,” said Tahoe Fund CEO Amy Berry during Wednesday’s demonstration of BurnBot in Incline Village, Nev. She said enough of talk, and now it’s up to the private sector to partner with agencies that do forest thinning projects to get the job done. The Lake Tahoe Basin is home to about 220,000 acres of forest, and according to Landtender, there are about 22,000,000 too many trees in the Basin. … While prescribed fire operations are ongoing around the Basin, only 2,000 were burned in 2023, and more has to be done on a faster pace. Enter into the picture is BurnBot, the latest tool in a forest manager’s arsenal. … Read more from South Tahoe Now.
South Yuba River Citizens League launches Phase 2 of Van Norden Meadow Restoration Project with $2.5M grant
“The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) is excited to begin Phase 2 of the Van Norden Meadow restoration work in the late summer of 2024. Phase 2 of the Van Norden Meadow Restoration Project will focus on reconnecting the Lytton Fan by completing in stream work in the upstream section of Lytton Creek and improvements to Lake Van Norden Dam Road, plus relocating & improving the Sheep Pens Trailhead. This work has been made possible through $2.5 million California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Nature Based Solutions: Wetlands and Mountain Meadows grant opportunity. Van Norden Meadow was purchased by Truckee Donner Land Trust (TDLT) in 2012 as part of an effort to save the site from development. Beginning in 2022, in partnership with the Tahoe National Forest, TDLT, and other partners, SYRCL became the lead organization in this large restoration project. … ” Read more from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
How water levels in California’s largest reservoir could change after storm
“Lake Shasta’s water levels could rise after a late-season winter storm brings rain and snow to the region this weekend. Some water officials are considering upping releases from California reservoirs to prepare for the anticipated influx of water associated with the incoming storm. Up to 24 inches of snow is forecast for the Sierra Nevada mountains, and lower-elevation areas are anticipating up to 3 inches of rain. The incoming storm could affect water levels at Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville—California’s largest and second-largest reservoirs, respectively—as the dry season begins. The storm could serve as one last boost to the major reservoirs before dry weather takes hold. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
‘Oh heck yeah:’ As Trinity Lake fills up, fishing, boating already in full swing
“Trinity Lake was 85% full this week and that’s just fine with Raine Harrison. The Trinity Center resident, “who lives where people vacation,” said that compared to the past few years, she is happy the water level in Trinity Lake is nearing the high water mark and is more accessible. Last year at this time, Trinity Lake was less than 40% full, and getting down to the water for boating or fishing meant walking or driving a half a mile in some places to get to the water, Harrison said. But not this year. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight.
Understanding water use in the Sacramento Valley: A closer look
“Water management is a critical aspect of life in California, especially in regions like the Sacramento Valley where agriculture, fish and wildlife conservation, urban and rural communities, hydropower and recreation all rely heavily on water resources. In 2023, the Department of Water Resources revised the California Water Plan which sheds light on the intricate balance of water use throughout the state. Today, we delve deeper into the insights provided by this plan, focusing on how applied water is used to serve multiple benefits in the vital region of the Sacramento Valley. … ” Read more from the Northern California Water Association.
Groundwater continues to be a hot topic in Tehama County
“As the Tehama County Groundwater Commission and the Tehama County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Board, serving as the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), continue to work on the county’s state-required Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), it was deemed necessary to form a Demand Management Working Group. The demand management working group, according to the GSA, will serve in implementing projects and management actions necessary to achieve and maintain sustainable groundwater conditions during the GSP 20 year implementation period. During the April 24 Tehama County Groundwater Commission meeting, three commissioners, Todd Hamer, Hal Crain, and Michael Ward were appointed to the demand management program working group. … ” Read more from the Corning Observer.
NAPA/SONOMA
101-year-old Sonoma County family dairy closes after costly court fight with environmental group
“There’s something almost eerie about a dairy so quiet the loudest sound is birdsong. Normally, a constant mooing would bellow above the clanging that cows make when they rub against steel gates. The rush of tractors and delivery trucks would fade in and out all day. For the past 101 years, the cows on this farm near San Pablo Bay were milked twice a day. In recent years, that meant you’d hear the loud hum of vacuum pumps running from midnight to 7 a.m. and again from noon to 7 p.m. “You normally don’t hear the birds,” said Mike Mulas, who served as Mulas Dairy president for the past 13 years, after his father and uncle before him and his grandfather before that. It is now a ghost town of empty barns and corrals. The only cows left are a pair of marbled statues on either side of the driveway off Carneros Highway. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
BAY AREA
Here’s how horizontal levees protect shoreline projects in San Francisco Bay
“If you live around the San Francisco Bay, you’re probably familiar with cement sea walls and sturdy levees. But, increasingly, a nature-based design is providing an alternative — one with significant benefits in the face of sea level rise. When we first met Jessie Olson, she was in the middle of a multiyear project, to create what’s known as a horizontal levee, alongside a newly opened tidal marsh in Menlo Park. Joined by volunteers and colleagues from Save the Bay, the team installed hundreds of plants that will help clean the bay waters as the tides surge in and out. “A horizontal levee is not what you think of when you think of a traditional levee, something created out of concrete or riprap or human-made structures. A horizontal levee is a green space. It’s a gently sloping levee that comes out into the bay. It provides green habitat, it provides wave attenuation, shoreline protection, erosion control, many more benefits than what you would get from a traditional hardened levee structure,” Olson said. … ” Read more from KGO.
EPA suit alleges San Francisco discharges sewage into bay and onto beaches
“The federal government and the state of California sued the city of San Francisco on Wednesday over the city’s aging combined stormwater-sewer systems, which they allege can release raw sewage into the bay and onto beaches when overwhelmed during heavy rain, as first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. (SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) Federal officials said the sewage threatens aquatic life and also puts swimmers, surfers and anyone in the waters at local beaches at risk of coming into contact with pathogens and high levels of enterococci and E. coli bacteria that can cause illness if ingested. The suit was filed Wednesday in federal court by the Department of Justice and the California attorney general, on behalf of federal and state water quality regulators. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Scotts Valley Water District well replacement project restarts
“The new well, located on Sucinto Drive, replaces 30-year-old Well 3B, which has been in decline for several years and is located on the same site. The new well has a design capacity of 400-plus gallons per minute and will enhance operational efficiencies for the District, which relies solely on local groundwater supplies. Water produced from this well site will be conveyed to the Orchard Run Water Treatment Plant for filtration and disinfection before it is pumped into the distribution system. Construction on the well began in May 2023 but was halted in fall 2023 after the driller’s work was unsuccessful. The District’s Board of Directors selected a new driller through a public process, with construction restarting in March 2024. … ” Read more from the Press Banner.
CENTRAL COAST
Free water quality testing program available for Santa Cruz County residents
“A free water quality testing program has been launched for residents of Santa Cruz County. It is estimated that 21,000 residents in the county consume water from household wells and smaller water systems that are not regulated and have never been fully tested for safety, per the County of Santa Cruz Health Service Agency. This is a concern for residents in the southern part of the county, whose water has high levels of contaminants. This program will provide point-of-use treatment and drinking water replacements for those who rely on household groundwater wells for their drinking water. … ” Read more from KSBY.
Salinas Valley Basin water use, resource management workshop comes to Greenfield
“Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) is hosting workshops this spring to provide residents and businesses of the Salinas Valley with an opportunity to learn about water use and management in the region, and this Friday’s event will be in Greenfield. The “Our Water Future in the Salinas Valley: Planning for Uncertainty” workshops provide valuable information for the community about how water is managed in the Valley, the efforts residents and businesses have taken toward more efficient water use, and the wide range of options for residents and businesses to consider for minimizing water waste, improving efficiencies and reallocating resources to ensure continued availability of water for the Salinas Valley Basin. … ” Read more from the Salinas Valley Tribune.
City of Santa Barbara proposes annual rate adjustments to support and maintain critical water and wastewater systems
“The City of Santa Barbara has proposed rate adjustments to water and wastewater rates that will affect customers’ utility bills over the next four fiscal years. These recommendations are based on the cost to provide water and wastewater utility services, guaranteeing that future rates are sufficient to cover costs needed to operate and maintain over 600 miles of pipes, four treatment plants, and other essential facilities; invest in critical improvement projects, including replacing old pipes and infrastructure that have reached the end of their useful lives; and recover from inflationary increases that have far outpaced planned costs built into current rates. … ” Continue reading from the Santa Barbara Independent.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles: a proving ground for effective stormwater management
“Though many associate Los Angeles with its idyllic weather and think of it as far removed from the risk of hurricanes and other dramatic weather events, this region in fact presents significant – and in many ways, unique – water management challenges. Here, the juxtaposition of drought and sudden, extreme rainfall highlights the problem of how to maintain a safe and reliable water infrastructure in the face of changing weather patterns. What is resilient water infrastructure? Resilient water infrastructure refers to systems and processes designed to effectively manage water resources in a manner that ensures sustainability, reliability and durability under a wide range of conditions, including climate change impacts, population growth and urbanization pressures. This concept encompasses the capacity to plan for, recover from, and successfully adapt to adverse events such as droughts, floods and other environmental stressors. … ” Read the full story at Storm Water Solutions.
Metropolitan celebrates four innovative, water-saving projects
“Four Southern California projects in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties that showcase the latest in water efficiency and together will save more than 200 million gallons of water annually were recognized today by the Metropolitan Water District. Held on Tap Water Day and as part of California’s Water Awareness Month, Metropolitan’s second annual One Water Awards ceremony at the California Endowment in downtown Los Angeles honored projects in Carson, Perris, El Cajon and Tarzana funded by Metropolitan’s Water Savings Incentive Program and Turf Replacement Program. The projects feature major improvements to water management operations and equipment such as reusing condensation from air conditioning and heating systems, recycling irrigation runoff, switching to sustainable landscaping, and installing more efficient irrigation systems. … ” Read more from the Metropolitan Water District.
What are the blue blobs washing up on SoCal beaches? Welcome to Velella velella Valhalla
“The corpses are washing up by the thousands on Southern California’s beaches: a transparent ringed oval like a giant thumbprint 2 to 3 inches long, with a sail-like fin running diagonally down the length of the body. Those only recently stranded from the sea still have their rich, cobalt-blue color, a pigment that provides both camouflage and protection from the sun’s UV rays during their life on the open ocean. These intriguing creatures are Velella velella, known also as by-the-wind sailors or, in marine biology circles, “the zooplankton so nice they named it twice,” said Anya Stajner, a biological oceanography PhD student at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SAN DIEGO
Rincon del Diablo water district launches solar power generating project
“The Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District launched its first solar power generating project this week, it announced Thursday. The project generates 40 kilowatts of solar power at the district’s Rockhoff pump station, which supplies water to 800 customers, Rincon Water said. The system consists of 159 solar panels which are meant to operate the pump station during the day, and it will also provide enough power to continue operations overnight when there is no sunlight available. According to the district’s general manager, Clint Baze, the Rockhoff pump station uses more than $150,000 of electricity each year and is currently the biggest consumer of power in the water system. The hope is that the new project will lower power consumption and create a more efficient system for water distribution. … ” Read more from Fox 5.
Sewage crisis creating challenges, safety concerns for Imperial Beach lifeguards
“The sewage crisis in Imperial Beach is raising health and safety concerns for lifeguards. Imperial Beach has dealt with raw sewage flowing across the border from Mexico into San Diego for years. The polluted water has changed how lifeguards operate. Now, they spend more time encouraging people to stay out of the water instead of getting in. “Now we talk to every single person that comes on the beach and basically describe the conditions they’re going into,” Marine Safety Captain Jason Lindquist said. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Along the Colorado River …
More than half of the Colorado River’s water goes to agriculture, less than 20 percent goes to cities
“For over a century, the Colorado River has been a political beast. And a difficult one to understand. Roughly 250,000 miles of land feed into a mighty flow that more than 40 million people depend upon. Cities drink from its water. Crops wither without it. Hydroelectric dams harness it to keep the lights on. With seven states and 30 Native tribes connected to its basin, nearly all of the American Southwest has a stake in the Colorado River. As such, cataloging the usage of that water was a Herculean task. … ” Read more from Channel 12.
‘If you are not at the table, you are on the menu:’ Tribes submit ideas to manage Colorado River
“Tribes that use the Colorado River want a say in negotiations that will reshape how the river’s water is shared. Eighteen of those tribes signed on to a letter sent to the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that will finalize new rules for managing the river after 2026, when the current guidelines expire. In the memo, tribal leaders urge the federal government to protect their access to water and uphold long-standing legal responsibilities. The letter comes as other groups have also been sending the feds their ideas for managing a river that supplies 40 million people across the Southwest but is shrinking due to climate change. Reclamation is considering input from different Colorado River users, including competing proposals from two camps within the seven states that use its water. … ” Read more from KUNC.
New study warns Arizona uranium mine could put water at risk, but state officials say it’s unlikely
“A recent study by the University of New Mexico says the Pinyon Plain uranium mine near the Grand Canyon could risk contaminating the area’s groundwater, and that uranium mining in the region requires better monitoring. The 27-page report looked at the complex flow of water below the surface and how it moves from one aquifer to another using a vertically connected network of faults. “It showed I think to the surprise of many people that the water could move laterally through these aquifers and fault systems tens and over 30 kilometers in one to two seasons,” said Laura Crossey, an earth sciences professor at University of New Mexico. That’s fast for groundwater. Crossey’s group applied that understanding to area mining. “We think it’s going to be a very risky endeavor with what we understand now about the aquifers and faults in the Grand Canyon area,” she said. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Northern Water, Grand County team up to boost Colorado River flows
“Grand County and Northern Water have struck a deal that will send more water running down Western Slope streams to benefit farmers, boaters and the environment. Grand County in northern Colorado is home to nearly 16,000 people, part of Rocky Mountain National Park and the headwaters of the Colorado River. Each year, four major diversion tunnels take up to 350,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water out of the county and push it east to the Front Range. Now, the county and the water provider are agreeing to release water in the opposite direction, to the west. “We’re the epicenter of transmountain diversions in Colorado. No other county is diverted more than Grand County,” Ed Moyer, Grand County manager, said. “Every drop of water that we can negotiate and partner on to flow west to better our streams and rivers is a good thing.” … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
In national water news today …
Biden Administration’s final Endangered Species Act regulations set to take effect on May 6
“On March 28, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the “Services”) finalized revisions to regulations that implement Section 4 and Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Additionally, FWS reinstated its “blanket rule” under Section 4(d) that applies the ESA’s “take” prohibition to threatened species. The final rules conclude the Biden Administration’s review of the previous revisions to the ESA regulations completed in 2019. The final rules include no changes to the proposed revisions for the Section 7 consultation process published in June 2023; the Services did make changes in response to comments on the proposed rules that implement Section 4. The final rules become effective on May 6, 2024. … ” Read more from Somach Simmons & Dunn.
A streak of record global heat nears one-year mark
“April marked an 11th consecutive month of record global heat, the latest sign that humans are in uncharted climate territory. But there is reason to predict planetary temperatures could moderate soon, though they would remain far above old normals because of human-caused global warming. “If 2024 continues to follow its expected trajectory, global temperatures will fall out of record territory in the next month or two,” Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist with the payments company Stripe, wrote in a newsletter. For now, the spate of unprecedented global heat continues to be felt around the world. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
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