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In California water news today …
California’s $10b climate bond breaks through political gridlock
“Days before the final deadline, California lawmakers have settled on language for a $10 billion climate bond that will be presented to voters for approval in November. The primary focus of the bond is “to respond to challenges wrought by climate change by investing in natural and built infrastructure,” according to an overview of the bond. It also includes some funding for programs cut from the state’s budget. At least 40% of the bond must help vulnerable and disadvantaged communities with a median household income of less than 80% of the area average or less than 80% of statewide median household income. “Our communities deserve to have access to safe and clean drinking water, must be protected during extreme heat and have the necessary resources to make their communities more wildfire safe,” said Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) in a statement. … ” Read more from KQED.
SEE ALSO:
- California voters likely to see historic $10 billion climate bond on November ballot, from the San Francisco Chronicle
- California voters likely to decide $20 billion in bonds for climate and schools, from Cal Matters
California heat wave: Temperatures to top 110 as July begins
“The start of July will be scorching hot in parts of California as a long-duration heat wave unfolds, sending temperatures past 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the hottest cities. A heat dome will bring record-challenging heat to many areas of the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley, starting over the weekend and gradually intensifying throughout the first week of July. An Excessive Heat Warning has been issued for the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley, and points just away from the coast from the San Francisco Bay Area through portions of Central California, for Tuesday, July 2, through Saturday, July 6, due to “dangerously hot conditions.” This includes Independence Day, a time when many people head outside for holiday festivities. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
SEE ALSO:
- Long-duration and in some cases record-breaking heatwave across much of CA in early July, from Weather West
- Map shows where PG&E could shut off power in Northern California amid heat wave, from SF Gate
Australian technology forecasting water quality in California
“Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, is working with partners in California to test and enhance AquaWatch Australia, a service to deliver national water quality updates and forecasts. Adding to seven test sites around Australia, CSIRO is working with University of California Davis, University of California Merced and USGS Water Science Laboratory, to test AquaWatch at the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an important water body for agriculture and natural ecosystems of the San Francisco Bay. CSIRO’s Dr Alex Held said testing AquaWatch in a variety of waterbodies and ecosystems helps to build and improve the system for use overseas and back home in Australia. “It’s a chance to share experiences and knowledge as we test the system and collaborate with global experts facing similar water quality challenges,” Dr Held said. … ” Continue reading from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
What happens when you keep a plot of land in permanent drought?
“In the Santa Ana foothills high above Irvine, you’ll find some small patches of land beneath hoop houses that’ve been deliberately kept in drought for the past 17 years. While the hills around them are verdant and covered in native shrubs, the vegetation beneath the structures looks scraggly, and invasive plants like black mustard are taking over. Every time a major storm comes along, researchers from UC Irvine head out into the field to extend plastic sheeting over the dirt to keep water from reaching it. The goal is to reduce rainfall by almost half, and to keep these patches of earth in drought for such a long time, we gain insight into what climate change has in store for our landscapes — especially as droughts intensify. … ” Read more from the LAist.
High Definition Stream Surveys: Informed management in local waterways
“When it comes to environmental monitoring, new stream survey methodologies have revealed a great deal about water quality and streambed conditions over time. Such information can be particularly important in leading restoration initiatives and prioritizing management decisions. Historically, stream surveys have been conducted at a single point along the stream, with data then extrapolated for miles up and downstream. However, Brett Connell, Hydrologist and Director of Sales at Trutta Environmental Solutions, started developing a more intensive stream survey format in his master’s program in 2010 at the University of Tennessee. … While Connell began developing this new way to collect stream data in college, Trutta’s R&D team has spent years transforming it into the High Definition Stream Survey (HDSS) method—an approach to rapidly gather continuous, meter-resolution GIS data in a single pass for a broad range of stream corridor metrics. … ” Read more from Environmental Monitor.
Dam confusing: Predicting the impacts of dams on fish proves challenging
“Although the major dam-building era in the United States came to an end over sixty years ago, the damming of rivers for hydropower is on the rise globally. While dams provide much-needed electricity to people, they also cause a slew of major changes to the rivers that they impede, which can dramatically impact fish populations. Though general patterns in the response of fish communities as a whole to dams have been extensively studied, how dams may specifically impact different species of fish is somewhat of a black box in fisheries science. Freshwater fish are among the most diverse group of animals on earth, and this diversity means that certain species may be able to adapt to dams, while others may not. To develop an approach to identify potential “winners” and “losers”, researchers from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst recently conducted a review of fisheries monitoring data from around the world to search for patterns in fish responses to dams (Fernandez et al. 2024). In their search for traits that might influence which species may be winners in a dammed river, they found that resilience to damming can be exceedingly difficult to predict. … ” Read more from FishBio.
Amazing Invader: American Shad
“The California Fish Commission introduced American Shad into California in 1871 via milk crates shipped on the newly built transcontinental railroad (Dill and Cordone 1997). Shad, apparently the first non-native fish species (of 50) to become established in the state, were so well suited to California that in a few years, shad supported a commercial fishery in the San Francisco Estuary and had colonized the Columbia River to the north. Now they are found in the North Pacific Ocean and inflowing rivers from Mexico to Russia, with runs numbering in the millions in major spawning rivers. … ” Read more from the California Water Blog.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
California Trout and partners release groundbreaking report to guide holistic Eel River watershed restoration and recovery
“A report released today outlines ambitious plans for the restoration and conservation of one of California’s largest and wildest rivers, the Eel River. The comprehensive report pulls together the best available scientific information to plan for native fish recovery, riparian corridor restoration, and conservation across the watershed. The Eel River Watershed Restoration and Conservation Plan is authored by nonprofit research and conservation organization California Trout (CalTrout), UC Berkeley, Applied River Sciences, and Stillwater Sciences. The effort is funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Plan recommends key recovery actions and an action prioritization framework across the seven major sub-watersheds of the Eel River basin. The Plan also proposes a management approach that is informed by a monitoring and assessment framework, all of which is built from existing restoration and monitoring efforts. … ” Continue reading from Cal Trout.
CENTRAL COAST
Ventura Pier reopens after a year-and-a-half closure caused by storm damage
“Ventura’s famous pier reopened Saturday after massive waves damaged the landmark last year. Social media posts and news video footage showed people striding onto the pier early Saturday, carrying fishing poles, coolers and folding chairs. The pier — the oldest in California — is a popular fishing and sight-seeing spot and draws tourists, families and lovebirds. “The Ventura Pier is open!” the city of Ventura announced on its X feed. High surf from a winter storm pummeled the boardwalk in January 2023. In December, another storm swept through, causing more damage to the pier’s piles and braces. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Orange County agencies set to launch hunt for new source of tap water
“The constant search for drinkable water in arid Southern California soon could tap into a new resource – the brackish ocean water that seeps into the southwestern edge of Orange County’s huge natural aquifer. A small coalition that includes two local water agencies (Mesa Water and the Orange County Water District) and two Orange County cities (Newport Beach and Huntington Beach) said on Monday, June 24 that they’d received $250,000 in federal money to look at the possibility of turning brackish water – water that’s got too much salt to be potable but not as much salt as what you’d find in the open ocean – into stuff people can drink. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
LAUSD is exempt from stormwater regulations. Environmentalists say that needs to change
“As California looks to improve its ability to capture and store stormwater throughout the state, there is at least one sizable public landowner that is exempt from such efforts: The Los Angeles Unified School District. One of the largest real estate holders in the Greater L.A. area, the school district owns more than 3,200 parcels of land that occupy more than 10 square miles combined — an area almost twice the size of Beverly Hills. Now, environmental groups are urging state water regulators to include the district’s K-12 campuses in updated stormwater regulations, saying that LAUSD could make a considerable contribution to reducing pollution and enhancing water supplies in the region. “Schools have been unregulated for runoff pollution for far too long,” a coalition of local groups wrote in a recent letter to the State Water Resources Control Board. The groups include the Los Angeles Waterkeeper, Heal the Bay, the Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Defense Council and others. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
Claremont: Groundwater runoff update
“Readers recently contacted the Courier requesting information about where the groundwater runoff along Berkeley Avenue at Pilgrim Place, the subject of our May 24 story, “Golden State: surface water from Claremont aquifer no cause for concern,” is heading. City of Claremont Public Information Officer Bevin Handel wrote in an email, “The water from the storm drains goes to the ocean. Water cannot be pumped out as it will create a vacuum effect on the well that is located at the site.” Handel was asked if the city was putting runoff water to use. “Because it is not water resulting from City infrastructure or a pipe break in the right of way, the matter is being handled by Pilgrim Place management and Golden State Water,” Handel wrote in the email. “The City’s Engineering Department has been in contact with the Pilgrim Place facility management team and Golden State Water regarding diverting the water.” … ” Read more from the Claremont Courier.
SAN DIEGO
Column: Keeping the focus on Tijuana River health hazards is a must
Columnist Michael Smolens writes, “The beach has been closed for months on end. Polluted water signs are ubiquitous. There are reports of illness and a stench that keeps people up at night. A historic surf spot is no longer a popular destination for surfers, save the few who may choose to risk it. Navy SEAL training has been disrupted. Border Patrol agents have reported rashes, illnesses — and rubber boots melting. All this from the sewage and other toxins constantly flowing from the Tijuana River into the ocean off Imperial Beach and the surrounding region. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
Here’s how much Lake Powell has risen so far this year
“As hot summer temperatures melt snow off of Western mountains, Lake Powell is rising. The second-largest reservoir in the U.S. hit its lowest point for the year in mid-April. Since then, Lake Powell’s elevation has risen about 26.6 feet, according to the federal Bureau of Reclamation. The reservoir is now 41% full, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources — exceeding projections from earlier this year, which forecasted that the reservoir would rebound to just 37% full. … ” Read More from the Salt Lake Tribune.
