A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
California’s second-largest reservoir is full — again. How high is the water at others?
“This week, California’s second-largest reservoir reached full capacity, guaranteeing a stable water supply across the state. Lake Oroville in Butte County is filled to the brim, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Its capacity is 3,537,577 acre-feet, sitting at 128% of its average for early May, according to reservoir data from the state water department, last updated at midnight on Wednesday. One month prior, the reservoir was measured at 89% capacity. “This is great news for ensuring adequate water supply for millions of Californians (and) environmental needs (and) we continue to manage both while maintaining flood protection for downstream communities,” the state water department wrote Monday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee. | Read via AOL News.
SEE ALSO: Lake Oroville completely full for 2nd year in a row thanks to wet winter weather, from ABC 7
State’s soaring temps could make California snowpack melt sooner
“Rainfall and snow storms boosted California’s groundwater supplies and replenished the Sierra Nevada snowpack, but scientists say dry conditions in the summer — and starting as soon as this weekend — could reverse that progress. … An early May storm dumped more than two feet of snow onto the Sierra snowpack, refilling one of the state’s most crucial water supplies. But temperatures in California — including in San Francisco — are forecast to climb over their usual seasonal highs. That could accelerate the rate at which the state’s snowpack melts, according to Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and station manager at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, following “pretty ordinary and average conditions” for snowmelt during May. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Examiner.
Friant lawsuit over sinking canal altered but moving forward
“One of multiple charges in a lawsuit that pins blame for the perpetually sinking Friant-Kern Canal on a single Tulare County groundwater agency was recently removed. The Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (ETGSA) hailed the move as vindication. But plaintiffs, the Friant Water Authority and Arvin-Edison Water Storage District, said the change was simply meant to narrow the complaint in order to get faster action against Eastern Tule. The stakes could not be higher as the entire Tule subbasin, which covers the southern half of Tulare’s valley portion, is looking down the barrel of a possible pumping takeover by the state Water Resources Control Board. The Water Board, the enforcement arm of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, has scheduled a “probationary hearing” for the subbasin Sept. 17. If it’s put on probation, that could be the first step toward state bureaucrats, not local water managers, setting pumping limits, requiring well meters and issuing new fees and fines. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
State Water Board to hold probationary hearing for critically overdrafted Kaweah subbasin
“To ensure the long-term viability of groundwater supplies in portions of Tulare and Kings counties, the State Water Resources Control Board today released a public notice for a Nov. 5, 2024, hearing to determine if the Kaweah Groundwater Subbasin should be placed on probationary status under the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). This is the third probationary notice the State Water Board has issued to groundwater basins since last October as it continues to carry out its state intervention responsibilities under SGMA. The previous notices were issued to the Tulare Lake and Tule basins, respectively. At the Kaweah basin hearing, the board will decide if a probationary designation is warranted after a robust public input process. … ” Continue reading this press release from the State Water Board.
Third San Joaquin Valley groundwater basin recommended for state probation
“Subsidence has reared its head again as a key factor cited by state Water Resources Control Board staff for recommending that the Kaweah groundwater subbasin be placed on probation – the first step toward possible state takeover of groundwater pumping. The recommendation was contained in a draft report released May 6, which set Nov. 5 for Kaweah’s hearing before the Water Board. Subsidence was listed as a major factor in similar staff reports for the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins. Tulare Lake was, indeed, placed on probation by the Water Board April 16 and the Tule subbasin comes before the board Sept. 17. The Kaweah report identified additional challenges for water managers in the subbasin, which covers the northern half of Tulare County’s valley portion into the eastern fringes of Kings County. Those challenges include the need to better protect domestic wells from lowered groundwater levels; reduce impacts to wetlands and rivers; and improve water quality, among others. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Historic 2023 Water Year delivered big boost to California’s groundwater supplies
“The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the latest Semi-Annual Groundwater Conditions report, and the data show that California achieved 4.1 million acre-feet of managed groundwater recharge during Water Year 2023, which is nearly the water storage capacity of Shasta Lake. The report also details an increase in groundwater storage of 8.7 million acre-feet. Water Year 2023 is the first year since 2019 that there has been a reported increase in groundwater storage. A significant reduction in groundwater pumping in 2023 also led to favorable groundwater conditions, including a decrease in land subsidence, or sinking of the land. Some areas that had previously experienced subsidence actually saw a rebound (uplift) in ground surface elevation from reduced pumping in the deeper aquifers and refilling of groundwater storage. The groundwater report released today includes, for the first time, groundwater sustainability plan Annual Report data reported by local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) across 99 groundwater basins which make up over 90 percent of the groundwater use in the State. … ” Read more from the Department of Water Resources.
Understanding costs, benefits, funding and financing for the Delta Conveyance Project
“The Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Delta Conveyance Project will soon reach an important milestone with the release of an updated cost estimate and a benefit-cost analysis. In advance of this milestone, DWR has prepared an FAQ that covers common questions on how the project will be funded and how costs and benefits will be assessed.” Read the FAQ sheet from DWR.
Multiple motions filed for preliminary injunction against the Delta Conveyance Project
“Today the County of Sacramento and Sacramento County Water Agency (County and SCWA) filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the State of California to stop geotechnical drilling and other exploratory activities related to the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). The State’s own environmental documents identify such activities as a component of the DCP and concede the DCP constitutes a “covered action” within the meaning of the Delta Reform Act of 2009 (Act). The Act, which was enacted to protect and enhance the Delta, requires the State to file a written certification of consistency with the Delta Stewardship Council (Council) prior to initiating implementation of the DCP. The certification of consistency must be supported with detailed findings as to whether the DCP is consistent with the Delta Plan. Once the State files the certification of consistency for the DCP, any person may file an appeal with the Council, which would automatically stay implementation of the DCP until resolution of the appeal. … ” Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.
The State Water Project, Restore the Delta and the Delta Tunnel in the age of climate change
“Perhaps no environmental topic is as controversial in California as the Delta Tunnel. It was once proposed as a pair of tunnels by Governor Jerry Brown, the current project under Governor Gavin Newsom is a single tunnel, larger than the English Channel tunnel. The tunnel is a key part of the State Water Project’s new risk-informed strategic plan. That strategic plan is known as Elevate to ’28. It lists five goals that it says will help to make the State Water Project (SWP) “the most reliable, sustainable, and resilient water provider for the people and environment of California, now and for future generations.” To learn more about the plan, ABC10 Meteorologist Brenden Mincheff invited Tony Meyers, the Principal Operating Officer for the State Water Project for a conversation. Here are some key takeaways from that. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Jennifer Pierre wants more water
” Jennifer Pierre is disappointed. Despite this year’s deep snowpack, record-setting rainstorms and consequently full reservoirs, the 27 water agencies she represents as general manager of the State Water Contractors are getting just 40 percent of their contracted deliveries, as we reported earlier this week. We wanted to go a little deeper on how Pierre — one of the most seasoned observers of California’s perpetual water conflicts — sees this year’s supply, the longer-term economics of big water projects and whether she sees any end in sight for some of the state’s most intractable knots. … ” Read the interview at Politico.
Water risks to agriculture: Too little and too much
“Water is among the most precious resources on the planet. Some areas don’t get enough; some get too much. And climate change is driving both of those circumstances to ever-growing extremes. Two UC Merced experts in civil and environmental engineering took part in a recent report by the Environmental Defense Fund examining the issue and potential solutions. Associate Professor of Extension Tapan Pathak and Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara co-authored the report, “Scarcity and Excess: Tackling Water-Related Risks to Agriculture in the United States,” and wrote the section pertaining to California. In addition to climate change, disruptive human interventions such as groundwater over-extraction, sprawling drainage networks and misaligned governance are driving up water-related agricultural costs, particularly in Midwestern and Western states, the researchers found. The problem is magnified in California, which hosts the largest and the most diverse agricultural landscape in the United States, Pathak and Medellín-Azuara wrote, with gross revenues from farms and ranches exceeding $50 billion. … ” Read more from California Agriculture.
California wine is in serious trouble
“Megan Bell felt certain that her winery was going bankrupt. When she released a new batch of wines in August, only three of her 19 distributors agreed to buy any. She was running $65,000 over budget on opening a tasting room in Santa Cruz. And she owed $80,000 to grape growers. Sales in the second half of the year were the worst Bell had seen since starting her small business, Margins, eight years ago. “2023 was a disaster,” she said. And she knows she wasn’t the only winemaker feeling it: “If anybody’s not telling you that, they’re lying.” The entire $55 billion California wine industry is, like the wine industry worldwide, experiencing an unprecedented downturn right now. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Lethal cyanobacteria are creeping into rivers—no one knows exactly why
“In the clear shallows of Utah’s Virgin River, a slimy brown glob clings to the streambed. Hannah Bonner stands shin-deep in the water, eyeing the goo. It looks like Microcoleus, a toxic genus of cyanobacteria that was first detected in the river four years ago. … That worst-case scenario hasn’t happened yet. But in Utah and other states, managers are worried, as detections of toxic cyanobacteria continue to rise. In California, the Santa Rosa regional water board has reported growing concerns along the Russian, Snake, and Eel rivers since 2015, with incidents, most often dog deaths, as far back as the early 2000s. At least 19 nations worldwide now report at least one detection … What’s odd is that Microcoleus and other toxic river cyanobacteria are not turning up in polluted waterways, notes ecologist Joanna Blaszczak at the University of Nevada, Reno. Indeed, the reasons for the uptick in sightings are still a matter of some debate—and concern. … ” Read more from PNAS.
The science behind why the world is getting wetter
“Deadly dam bursts in Kenya and Brazil, a highway sliding down a mountainside in southern China, desert airport runways underwater in Dubai, mining pits flooded in Australia: Large parts of the world are awash. Extreme rainfall and killer floods that have struck around the globe in recent weeks have been unexpected both in their location and power. Combined with infrastructure unprepared for such deluges, the intense rains have caused death, destruction and mass evacuations on several continents. The powerful downpours are the result of natural weather patterns being supercharged by a record-breaking year for global temperatures. As the globe gets hotter, it is getting wetter too. Simply put, the warmer the air, the more water it can hold. Scientists still don’t know whether this yearlong record global heat—and the downpours that accompany it—amounts to a statistical blip, or requires a recalibration to a warmer, wetter future that will test national infrastructure, raise insurance premiums and complicate global food production. … ” Read more from the Wall Street Journal (gift article).
In commentary this week …
Calif. had plenty of rain. Farmers, Valley cities are getting stiffed on water supplies anyway.
Wayne Western Jr. writes, “On April 24, the United States Bureau of Reclamation updated water allocations to Central Valley Project (CVP) water users. South of Delta (SOD) agricultural contractors received an increase of 5 percent, now sitting at a 40 percent allocation of their water to irrigate crops this season. Despite that, political and bureaucratic tyranny and ignorance stands at 100 percent as does media misinformation. There’s nothing new about the latter but one thing is for certain: pending Biological Opinions and Voluntary Agreement should remain pending until something makes a lot more sense than these allocations given current snowpack percentages and reservoir levels. … ” Continue reading at the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
Water czars ignore solutions to scarcity
Edward Ring, senior fellow and co-founder of the California Policy Center, writes, “The Delta Tunnel proposal exemplifies California’s political dysfunction. It will probably never get built, but it promises to dominate all discussions of major state and federal spending on water infrastructure for the next decade, preventing any other big ideas from getting the attention they merit. Like the bullet train and offshore wind, it is a grandiose megaproject that checks all the political boxes while flunking any reasonable cost/benefit analysis. But it creates jobs for California’s construction trades union members at the same time as it manages to keep California’s environmentalist lobby neutral if not actually supportive. Why would anyone take on the state’s all powerful environmentalists if they didn’t have to? And thanks to the remaining environmentalist groups that will oppose the Delta Tunnel no matter what, expect endless litigation. … ” Continue reading from What’s Current.
Water bond would benefit farmers and rare San Joaquin Valley grasslands area
State Sen. Anna M. Caballero and Ric Ortega, is the general manager and director of governmental and legislative affairs for the Grasslands Water and Resource Conservation District, write, “Last year, California experienced weather whiplash. After years of severe drought, 2023 saw heavy rainfall and snowpack that flooded the state, recharged groundwater and filled our reservoirs. While desperately needed, we cannot pretend that the good times are here to stay. Increasingly dry years are in our future, and it will not be long until we find ourselves facing drought conditions once again. The time to prepare our water infrastructure for the future is now. Currently, lawmakers in Sacramento are working to close a $37.9 billion deficit. While we have made progress at the state level in recent years — including allocating $8.6 billion in state funding for water projects — pulling back on water infrastructure funding now could jeopardize further federal and local funding sources for key projects already underway. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
In regional water news this week …
Klamath River dam removal: Where restoration stands after initial drawdown phase
“It’s the largest salmon restoration project in the world and its happening in our backyard. In the past few months, four dams on the Klamath River have been disabled and the river is flowing freely for the first time in more than a century. In January, a tunnel was blasted through the JC Boyle Dam near Keno, Oregon, and the reservoir behind the dam was released. “Step one was draining all the water held back by the dam. We initiated drawdown at this dam on January 16. This reservoir was pretty small compared to the others, so it drained pretty quickly — in about 17 hours, which is what was expected,” said Ren Brownell, Klamath River Renewal Corporation Public Information Officer. “We immediately got to work disassembling associated infrastructure and habitat restoration got underway.” … ” Read more from Central Oregon Daily News
Lake Tahoe expected fill for first time since 2019
“For the first time in nearly five years, Lake Tahoe is expected to fill this spring. Although the water year continues through September, The Natural Resources Conservation Service is already confident about this year’s positive outlook. “It is a already a safe bet to pencil in a win on this year’s report card, especially for northern Nevada,” their report says. This is good news since once full, Lake Tahoe can typically provide enough water to meet demand for three years, even if consecutive snowpacks are below normal, according to their statement. The service expects most key reservoirs in northern Nevada and eastern Sierra will fill this spring as well. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Northern California dam flood control operations found to harm endangered salmon
“A federal judge ruled Monday afternoon that a California dam harms endangered salmon when it conducts flood control operations. Coyote Valley Dam, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, protects the city of Ukiah from flooding from nearby Lake Mendocino. In 2022, fisheries biologist Sean White sued the Corps claiming the dam’s flood control operations kick up sediment in the water, increasing turbidity and harming endangered Central California coast steelhead, coho and Chinook salmon. White’s previous requests for injunctive relief were denied in 2023, yet he was granted summary judgment on his claims on Monday after providing more data. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, a Joe Biden appointee, wrote in her 18-page opinion that it was beyond dispute that the dam’s operations harm the fish. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
From tunnel muck to tidal marsh, BART extension could benefit the bay
“The massive infrastructure project to extend BART through Downtown San José and into Santa Clara is inching closer to getting underway. Valley Transportation Authority officials expect the $76 million tunnel boring machine ordered from Germany to be ready to start digging around 2026, making way for two side-by-side tracks along with three underground stations in San José’s Little Portugal neighborhood, Downtown and at Diridon Station. Between the tunneling of nearly 5 miles and other excavation work, officials said the project overall will remove roughly 3.5 million cubic feet of dirt from the ground. But it’s not just potential riders, politicians and transit advocates who are anxiously waiting for the major work to begin; environmentalists working for years to restore historic marshlands in the San Francisco Bay are set to receive a major portion of that dug up earth to support their efforts. … ” Read more from KQED.
Judge in major water lawsuit delays ‘pulling the ripcord’
“The judge in the Santa Barbara Channelkeeper case has ordered a further six-month stay in the litigation so that structured mediation can continue. In Los Angeles County Superior Court, Judge William F. Highberger on May 3 extended the stay, the sixth so far in the case, to Nov. 27. He granted the original six-month stay on March 29, 2022. Judge Highberger also set a hearing on an order to show cause why the stay should not be extended further to Nov. 13. Eleven major parties involved in the mediation process, including newcomers to the negotiations the State Water Resources Control Board and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, had jointly asked the court to continue the stay to Jan. 31, “to allow the structured mediation a realistic period of time to reach its conclusion.” However, in a tentative ruling he issued this week, Highberger proposed only extending the stay to Sept. 3. He stated that the court was “inclined to ‘pull the ripcord’ and get this case set for trial by January 2025.” … ” Read more from the Ojai Valley News.
Steelhead protections could bring new water restrictions
“A state determination that Southern California steelhead trout merit additional protections could mean tighter water restrictions, according to agricultural groups and water districts. California Farm Bureau environmental policy analyst Justin Fredrickson said strengthening protections for the Southern California steelhead under the California Endangered Species Act “is going to ratchet things up regulatorily for affected water users.” Though actions to protect steelhead will vary for different affected watersheds, Fredrickson said, “the state endangered listing will be used to maximize flows in the rivers and minimize or restrict diversions and groundwater pumping.” The California Fish and Game Commission April 18 unanimously agreed with a staff recommendation that listing the Southern California steelhead as endangered under the state ESA is warranted. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
Seismic waves used to track LA’s groundwater recharge after record wet winter
“Record-setting storms in 2023 filled California’s major reservoirs to the brim, providing some relief in a decades-long drought, but how much of that record rain trickled underground? Shujuan Mao of Stanford University and her colleagues used a surprising technique to answer this question for the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. They analyzed changes in the velocity of seismic waves traveling through the LA basin, tracking these changes in space and time between January and October 2023. As Mao reported at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)’s 2024 Annual Meeting, their study found that groundwater levels almost completely recovered at very shallow depths—about 50 meters below the surface. However, only about 25% of the groundwater lost over the past two decades was replenished at about 300 meters and deeper, likely because it is more challenging for stormwater to percolate into deeper layers of the earth. … ” Read more from the Seismological Society of America.
San Diego: East County planning group wants to tap brakes on Muslim cemetery in remote Pine Valley
“It’s a tale as old as the American West: folks fighting over water. This time, however, the battle brewing in a remote California community is one you’ve likely never heard before. The clash is centered in the normally sleepy community of Pine Valley, which, according to most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures, has a population of 1,645. Although you don’t have to live in town to sign, that figure is close to how many people signed a petition boasting 1,800 signatures that was circulated to Stop SD Crescentwood Cemetery. … The problem with locating the cemetery there, though, argue some local residents and the voting members of the Campo/Lake Morena Community Planning Group, is that “effluvium” from decomposing human bodies could leach into the ground, eventually making its way down and contaminating the aquifer. … ” Read more from NBC 7.
Here’s what you need to know about proposals to save the Colorado River
“The Colorado River is in trouble. More than two decades of megadrought fueled by climate change have sapped its supplies, and those who use the river’s water are struggling to rein in demand. Now, with current rules for river sharing set to expire in 2026, policymakers have a rare opportunity to rework how Western water is managed. The river is shared across seven states and parts of Mexico. It’s an area that includes about 40 million people, a multibillion-dollar agriculture industry, 30 federally-recognized native tribes and countless plants and animals. Satisfying the needs of such a diverse group is proving difficult, and the policymakers tasked with shaping the river’s next chapter are stuck at an impasse. … ” Read more from KUNC.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
ANNOUNCEMENT: Delta Conservancy Seeking Farmers: Get Paid to Provide Habitat
NOTICE of Water Right Petitions for Temporary Urgency Changes for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
NOTICE of Revised Draft Municipal Stormwater Cost Policy and Staff Report now available
NOTICE of Extension of the Public Comment Period for the Proposed Rulemaking for Delta Plan Ecosystem Regulations
NOTICE: CDFA and CalEPA Regulatory Alignment Study Informational Webinars and Workshops
