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In California water news today …
Hot, inland California cities face the steepest water cuts with new conservation mandate
“Facing a future of shortages, California is entering a new phase of water conservation: Cities and towns must meet new mandates ramping down use over the next 15 years — and some will be hit harder than others. Approved two weeks ago, the new state rules require 405 cities and other urban suppliers serving 95% of Californians to meet individualized water budgets. Suppliers serving roughly a third of Californians won’t need to cut water use to meet the 2040 mandates. Coastal California is expected to escape relatively unscathed with its cool climate, while hot, inland communities will face far steeper conservation requirements. Of a dozen water systems projected to face cuts of 40% or more over the next 15 years, seven are located in the Central Valley, where many suppliers already struggle with water availability and quality, according to preliminary state data. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Lithium critical to the energy transition is coming at the expense of water
“Lithium needed for batteries that power electric vehicles and store electricity from renewable energy projects is likely to deplete—and in some cases, contaminate—local water supplies, according to a new paper published this week. From mining the mineral to processing it for battery use, water is essential for producing the soft, silvery metal with superior ability to hold a charge. With lithium demand rising as the world pivots away from the fossil fuels warming the climate, researchers are increasingly scrutinizing the environmental impacts of extracting and using the mineral critical to the energy transition. The new paper, titled “Lithium and water: Hydrosocial impacts across the life cycle of energy storage,” is designed as a primer for community members, activists and other researchers about lithium’s impact on water supplies. It makes the situation clear—lithium products, across their entire life cycle, will have “impacts on both the quantity and quality of water resources” that will primarily affect communities already on the front lines of climate change. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
SEE ALSO: Billions in US funding boosts lithium mining, stressing water supplies, from Energy News Network
The science that transformed a dry streambed into an oasis
“Laura Norman stood by the trickling stream and let the enchantment of her surroundings wash over her. The landscape was verdant, lush even, but Norman wasn’t standing in a tropical paradise. In fact, her oasis was in one of the driest, hottest regions in the world, and only a handful of years ago, this gully was virtually barren of plants. In the arid and semi-arid southwestern United States, where Norman has studied watersheds for over 20 years, land use changes and climate change are causing increasing desertification. And yet where she stood, as if by magic, permanent wetlands had sprung up. But it wasn’t a spell or a massive feat of engineering that caused moisture to seep into the land, allowing plants to grow and creating habitat for aquatic animals. It was simple technology that when carefully applied, allowed the laws of nature to transform the land. … ” Read more from the USGS.
Is drought returning to California?
Is California at risk of pivoting back into drought? Meteorologist Vianey Arana takes a look.
Invasive swamp rat poses big threat to wildlife in California’s Central Valley
“Nutria, a giant rodent also called the swamp rat, is continuing to invade California’s Central Valley, according to the US Department of Fish and Wildlife. This invasive species can destroy not only habitats but also critical levees agricultural lands need. Officials are trapping them and getting rid of them. They say it is the best thing they can do right now, but these Nutria keep coming back and in high numbers. For officials at the local and national level, this is a big priority. “I had to bring a taxidermic rodent into the halls of Congress,” said Congressman Josh Harder. … ” Read more from CBS News.
Tribes and community organizations fight to improve Delta ecosystem with Yale Law School representation
“The newly formed Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School is partnering with the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC) to restore and protect the Delta – a resource that is intrinsically connected to the livelihood and traditions of their communities. The coalition consists of the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising and Restore the Delta. The Yale Clinic represents community-based organizations, Tribal Nations, and non-profit coalitions, providing high quality legal services for issues at the intersection of environmental, social, and Indigenous justice concerns. The Clinic aims to tackle issues such as inequitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, exclusion of impacted communities from environmental decision-making processes and repair for communities that have been alienated from environmental resources and governance. … ” Read more from Restore the Delta.
New report finds progress toward California groundwater sustainability, but drought poses challenge
“As the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) approaches its 10th anniversary, California is making progress towards implementation—but the 2020–22 drought shows that much work still lies ahead, a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shows. The policy brief details how drought poses a particular challenge for SGMA compliance in many farming regions. Increased groundwater use keeps crops irrigated when surface water is scarce, but it can cause undesirable impacts such as dry wells, infrastructure damage from land subsidence (sinking lands), and increased rates of seawater intrusion. … ” Read more from Cal Chamber.
Paper highlights how climate change challenges, transforms agriculture
“As the climate continues to change, the risks to farming are only going to increase. That’s the key takeaway from a recent paper published by a team that included UC Merced and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources researchers. The paper dives into what those challenges are, how farmers are working to address them, and what should come next. “Climate Smart Agriculture: Assessing Needs and Perceptions of California’s Farmers” was first authored by Samuel Ikendi, academic coordinator, with Tapan Pathak, UC Cooperative Extension climate adaptation in agriculture specialist, as a corresponding author. Both are based at UC Merced. … ” Read more from Fresh Plaza.
Hydro power and de-risking climate change
“At HYDROVISION International this week, there was the acute awareness that hydroelectric power globally is facing climate change-induced challenges. California is a prime example, said Lindsay Aramayo, who is an economist with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The Golden State was facing its third straight drought year in 2022, and less water was flowing. That year, she said hydropower represented 8% of California’s generating mix, where it normally makes up 15% during a good year. “There are bad years, there are also good ones and they seem to fluctuate a lot,” said Aramayo. Aramayo joined other panelists at a HYDROVISION mega session to discuss the impacts of climate change on hydro infrastructure and the tools available for operators to adapt. … ” Read more from HydroReview.
Judge pauses state fees in Kings County water war
“Kings County Superior Court Judge Kathy Ciuffini issued a restraining order to temporarily halt state-mandated probationary groundwater monitoring and reporting requirements for all water users in the Tulare Lake Groundwater Subbasin. The order was issued Monday, July 15. The order is the first handed down in a lawsuit filed by the Kings County Farm Bureau (KCFB) against the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The suit is an attempt by the bureau to prevent the state from implementing probationary measures it ordered in April that apply to all water users in the subbasin. … ” Read more from Valley Voice.
California may list ancient, iconic white sturgeon as threatened
“The Bay’s white sturgeon—huge, slow-to-reproduce “living fossils” that have hardly changed over their approximately 200 million years on Earth—are now facing such peril that the state of California has closed fishing for them under emergency regulations while it considers listing them as a threatened species. White sturgeon lurk in the murky bottom of San Francisco Bay and the Delta, stealthily making their way upriver to spawn and slurping up clams. Of San Francisco Bay’s two sturgeon species, white sturgeon are the homebodies (in contrast to anadromous green sturgeon, which spend much of their lives at sea). But adult white sturgeon numbers have been in decline for two decades, says UC Davis fish biologist Andrea Schreier. “Changes to the Bay-Delta system and changes to our climate are happening too quickly for them,” Schreier says. … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
New research shows giant sequoia seedlings are growing under new climate conditions
“Extreme wildfires have killed up to 20% of the world’s mature giant sequoias since 2015, according to researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Ecological Research Center (WERC). Researchers also found that some areas affected by recent megafires may not have enough seedlings to grow the next generation of millennia-aged trees. “What we used to call high-severity fire does not compare to the unprecedented scale and severity of the wildfires we’ve experienced in recent years in the Sierra Nevada,” said one of the paper’s lead authors, Nathan Stephenson. “Giant sequoias are the largest trees in the world. They’re fire-adapted and rely on fire to reproduce. But recent fires have killed thousands of mature trees and, in some cases, their seeds too.” … ” Read more from the Visalia Times-Delta.
In commentary today …
California’s water economy: The three biggest choices
Edward Ring, Director, Water and Energy Policy for the California Water Policy Center, writes, “If water strategy in California had to be distilled down to just three projects with the greatest impact, the answers might vary a great deal depending on who was asked. But in terms of quality of life impact, the ongoing implementation of State Water Resources Control Board to “Make Conservation a Way of Life” is the clear winner. In terms of financial impact, it’s the proposed “Delta Conveyance.” And in terms of potential to actually increase California’s water supply by a significant, game-changing quantity, it’s the San Joaquin County Blueprint’s “Fish Friendly Diversions” proposal. Let’s consider these one at a time. … ” Read more from the California Policy Center.
The future of Central Valley farming depends on more reliable water supplies
Rebecca Kaser, the owner of Avellar-Moore Farms in Fresno County, writes, “As a fourth-generation grower, I am familiar with the challenges associated with managing my water supply. However, this year’s low water allocation from the Central Valley Project (CVP) has pushed our resilience and resourcefulness to the brink. As a grower in Westlands Water District, we receive our water annually through the CVP. This year, our initial allocation was 15 percent. Then, after some mid to late February storms, our allocation increased to 40 percent. More storms came and our hydrology continued to improve. Finally in June, our allocation increased to 50 percent. Although 50 percent is much better than 15 percent, this final allocation is not sufficient for our agricultural needs. Furthermore, the lateness in this allocation made it exceedingly difficult to plan for the rest of our crop year. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
U.S. seeks to propel action on groundwater
Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance, writes, “The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recently established a working group to examine America’s groundwater risks, building on a December 2023 PCAST meeting. Some of the discussion at that meeting refers to agriculture as “the elephant in the room” and “the culprit” of depleted aquifers. Our experience suggests that federal water management policies that redirect water once used for decades by agriculture towards environmental purposes may be a more realistic cause for concern. For example, in the absence of once reliable surface water supplies provided by the federal Central Valley Project, many of California’s farmers over the past 15 years have been forced to rely on pumping groundwater from underlying aquifers. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
ACWA priorities connect with water stewardship and affordability
Ernie Avila writes, “ACWA member agencies are stewards of the communities they serve. In this capacity, they are responsible for the reliability of their communities’ water supplies, the infrastructure required for their delivery on a 24/7/365 basis, the protection of its water quality from the headwaters to the tap, and for cost-effective delivery of these services, particularly to those with fixed incomes or limited means. ACWA must continue to engage and advocate effectively for our members’ interests, especially as new state and federal standards, combined with aging infrastructure and inflationary issues, drive up the cost of service to our ACWA member agency communities. … ” Read more from ACWA’s Voices on Water.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Copco 1 Dam almost entirely removed
Protecting the source waters of California’s largest spring creek
“The Medicine Lake Highlands complex of public lands, some 30 miles northeast of Mt. Shasta in California’s Cascade region, is a truly remarkable place. In particular, the waters absorbed and released by this rugged landscape are, where they emerge from the ground, incredibly pure and visually appealing. This area has been called Sáttítla for time immemorial by the Pit River Tribe. It is remote and hardly a blip on most people’s radar. Yet it is on the radar of resource developers. The Pit River Tribe has been fighting for three decades to safeguard this landscape and the waters, cultural values and habitats it provides from proposed development. Last November, the Tribe launched a new initiative to permanently protect the Sáttítla region as a national monument. … ” Read more from Trout Unlimited.
Save California Salmon hosts Trinity River rafting and clean-up
“Last Sunday, in Hoopa, at least 65 people joined together to play, swim, and raft in the Trinity River while also cleaning it up. It was the 2024 Trinity River Clean-up, an on-river and land effort to clean up the Trinity River and share information about how to protect the river, according to the organization Save California Salmon. The Rios to Rivers 2024 Paddle Tribal Waters cohort and Warrior Institute were there, along with many local youths. Together they collected over two truckloads of trash while swimming and rafting. Joseph Marshall, founder and director of the Warrior Institute and a new Hoopa Valley Tribe councilman, said “The river clean-up was a great success. It gave our community an opportunity to take pride in our valley and keep our rivers clean.” Marshall and Warriors Institute have supported Save California Salmon’s on-water clean-up for years. … ” Read more from KRCR.
Rio Dell’s water system, damaged by earthquake, to be rebuilt
“Rio Dell’s crumbling 75-plus-year-old water system — in bad shape even before the earthquakes in late 2022 and early 2023 — will be almost entirely rebuilt on the state’s dime. On Wednesday, local elected officials and North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire lauded the state’s $12.9 million grant allowing the city to build nearly three miles of new water pipes, construct a new water tank, install 30 new fire hydrants, update 279 service lines and erect five new highway crossing segments. “This community came together like never before, to take care of neighbors in need following the devastating earthquake in 2022,” McGuire said. “No need went unmet. If a neighbor needed food or water, they needed emergency shelter, or comfort, this community, the county of Humboldt, they stood strong, and they responded and they delivered for those who needed help the most.” … ” Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Sewage leak reaches Lake Tahoe and forces beach closure
“A Lake Tahoe beach in Placer County will be closed for an undetermined amount of time after a sewage spill on Thursday night, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. At 8 p.m., a contractor working in Carnelian Bay hit a main sewer export line operated by the North Tahoe Public Utility District. The leak forced the closure of Highway 28, North Lake Boulevard, for nearly 12 hours as environmental waste clean-up crews cleaned the area and repaired the pipe. … ” Continue reading at Fox 40.
Phase 2 of habitat construction at Rose Bar begins
“On Monday July 15th, the Rose Bar spawning habitat project began in water restoration work, placing spawning gravel in the Yuba River at Rose Bar. The new spawning riffles will be built made up of sorted gravel and cobble from on-site, which will be anchored in place with larger rock. We will also be lowering the floodplain adjacent to the spawning riffles for rearing habitat. The allowable in water work window lasts from July 15th through September 1st with work occurring Monday through Friday between roughly 6am to 4pm. However, contractor estimates suggest work will be done on this project before the end of August. While the in water work is occurring, SYRCL staff are on site all day, monitoring water quality closely and keeping a close eye out for salmon to ensure regulatory standards and fish safety are upheld. … ” Read more from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Upper Sacramento River restoration project provides habitat for juvenile salmon
“About 60 miles north of Chico, CA is Anderson River Park which sits along the Sacramento River, downstream from Shasta and Keswick dams. In 2015, this site became the target of a multi-pronged effort to restore 15 side channels along the Sacramento River to support native fish such as Chinook salmon. Side channels are important components for rearing fish, because the main channel of a river is too deep, and the water moves too fast, and predator species are abundant. Because of this, fish go into the side channels to find cover and protection. However, overtime, dams and other actions have greatly reduced this habitat for small fish in the Sacramento River. In 2010, a partnership was formed between the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Yurok Tribe, Sacramento River Forum, CSU Chico, and River Partners. The goal was to increase juvenile fish habitat in the river by completing 15 projects along the river around Anderson River Park. … ” Read more and watch video from DWR.
After peaking in May, Lake Oroville levels trickling back down
“Lake Oroville’s water level peaked nearly a month earlier than last year but has steadily decreased since mid-June. By May 2, the lake had almost reached its 900-foot capacity and began to drop off on June 10 whereas it hit capacity in 2023 on June 20. As of Tuesday, the lake had fallen to only 873 feet. Molly White, the water operations executive manager for the California Department of Water Resources, said the inflows from the snowpack that fed the lake in recent months have dropped off. “Outflows from Lake Oroville are currently exceeding inflows into the reservoir as runoff has significantly dwindled,” White said. “DWR would expect reservoir levels to continue to drop through the summer, as they do every year, as we meet downstream Delta flow and water quality requirements, local water supply needs, and deliver water to the 29 state water contractors that supply water for 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.” … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Community meeting planned for Sites Reservoir development
“The Colusa County Community Development Department will hold a second meeting for the Maxwell Community Plan on July 24 to gather input from residents regarding potential issues from the Sites Reservoir development. “We are very interested in hearing directly from the community, and invite Maxwell residents to join us again for this important meeting,” Greg Plucker, Colusa County’s Community Development director, said in a statement. “More than 100 community members attended our June meeting, many of which provided important input on possible traffic impacts, public service impacts, potential retail opportunities, access to grant funds, community character and much more. It is our goal to develop a community plan for Maxwell that best meets the needs of the Maxwell community’s residents and businesses.” … ” Read more from the Appeal-Democrat.
Sacramento will resume delivering water to one homeless camp. What about the other 33?
“With Sacramento County facing backlash for ending water delivery to about three dozen homeless camps amid a record-breaking heat wave, the city of Sacramento will resume delivery to at least one camp. Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced Thursday the city will pay for water delivery to resume for the rest of the summer at Camp Resolution in North Sacramento, where about 50 people live in city-issued trailers. “It’s the right thing to do,” Steinberg wrote in a statement on X Thursday. “We made our first two deliveries last week and this morning, and will continue regular drop-offs of water for every resident.” The deliveries will cost $2,000 for the rest of the summer, coming out of the mayor’s staff budget. It is possible because the mayor’s office has a few staff vacancies right now, said Chief of Staff Mary Lynne Vellinga. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
BAY AREA
Marin Municipal Water District details conservation plan
“The Marin Municipal Water District has set conservation benchmarks for the next five years that are projected to reduce water use by hundreds of millions of gallons annually. District staffers presented the final 2024 Water Efficiency Master Plan to the board of directors on Tuesday. The plan is a playbook that outlines how water is used today in the county, and how the district can help its 191,000 customers in central and southern Marin cut back. The plan aims to reduce water use districtwide by more than 1,000 acre-feet a year starting by 2025, with even greater incremental reduction targets beyond that. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons of water. If the district is successful in implementing the plan, there could be a cumulative savings of about 28,000 acre-feet of water by 2045, said Carrie Pollard, the district’s water efficiency manager. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
Corte Madera to embark on multimillion sewer revamp project
“Corte Madera will launch a $3.9 million sewer rehabilitation project in the Madera Gardens neighborhood this year. The Sanitary District No. 2 board voted unanimously on Tuesday to release requests for bids on the project, which would rehabilitate the sanitary sewer system on several streets, including Lakeside Drive, Birch Avenue, Ash Avenue, Blue Rock Court, Mohave Court, Arrowhead Lane, Cheyenne Way, Navaho Lane and Apache Road. The work is expected to last through 2025. Sanitary District No. 2 is a subsidiary district to the town whose board members are also the members of the Town Council. The vote was taken as part of a consent calendar during a regularly scheduled meeting following the Town Council session on Tuesday. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
Regional plan to fight sea-level rise underway
“A plan to unite the Bay Area’s shoreline cities in preparing for sea-level rise and climate change is underway — and San Mateo County environmental agencies have suggestions. A recent state law mandates cities on the shoreline, both ocean and Bayside, create substantial plans to prepare for inevitable sea-level rise. On the Bayside, these plans will be guided and approved — or denied — by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the regulatory agency currently developing a substantial regional strategy designed to lead upcoming shoreline adaptation. The agency is focused on developing these guidelines so Bay Area cities have a road map for their individual plans — with goals for a published draft by mid-September of this year, Dana Brechwald, BCDC Climate Adaptation assistant planning director, said. … ” Read more from the San Mateo Daily Journal.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Financial incentives to save water during the summer Bakersfield heat
“The City of Bakersfield’s Turf Program looks to save water during the summer heat, and has financial motivators to get people to take part. 23ABC spoke with The City of Bakersfield who says that the City of Bakersfield’s Turf replacement program is seeing growth. The City of Bakersfield is seeing 12.25% savings in 2024 in the Turf replacement project. Plants in some areas of Bakersfield have been replaced with drought resistant ones, another way to save water. In the state of California there have been many droughts over the years. Due to that, the city of Bakersfield wants to ensure people continue to save water. … ” Read more from Channel 23.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Commentary: A stormwater project makes too much sense
Opinion columnist Joe Mathews writes, “The Verdugo Wash is a flood-control channel that starts rain water on a 35-mile journey from the foothills above L.A. to the Pacific Ocean. When you visit the wash, you can see the massive chasm between rhetoric and reality in California water. Since 2017, the Crescenta Valley Water District has pursued the sort of project that California water officials say they want. Crescenta Valley, which serves 35,000 people in mostly unincorporated neighborhoods between Glendale and La Cañada-Flintridge, wants to capture ocean-bound rainwater from the Verdugo Wash and use it to recharge local groundwater supplies. Verdugo Wash doesn’t carry much water, but capturing some of it would provide one-sixth of the small district’s water supply for the small district. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star.
SAN DIEGO
Bird nerds take war against Mission Bay fireworks to councilmembers
“San Diego Councilmember Joe LaCava said the city Council Environment Committee would look into the alleged deaths of seabirds following Fourth of July fireworks in Mission Bay. “We’ll talk with subject matter experts to better understand what was so different about this year,” LaCava said before the committee on Thursday in response to multiple public commenters who showed up to speak on the issue despite it not being on the committee’s agenda. Many speakers said nesting seabirds need more protection from disturbances in Mission Bay, some adding that fireworks were also bad for human health. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
U.S. Rep. Vargas: Mexico and United States finally working in tandem to fix Tijuana sewage crisis
“Congressman Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Mexico was doing its part to repair a major sewage plant in Tijuana as part of a binational plan to fix an environmental crisis that has existed for decades. “I’ve been touring the plant for some time. They believe they will be done with the construction aspect by late September,” Vargas said. “That’s a very aggressive schedule. So, I’m not sure they are going to make that, but they will be close.” The congressman, with sewage pumps churning behind him, held about a 30 minute press conference at the South Bay International Treatment Plant at the border on Thursday. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
SEE ALSO: Tijuana River sewage flows last year broke all records since 2000. It’s on track to do it again, from the San Diego Union-Tribune
Along the Colorado River …
The 2024 runoff season comes to an end – how did we do?
“Total basin-wide reservoir storage is an appropriate metric to describe the status of the regional water supply and its year-to-year changes. Reclamation provides data on the storage contents of 46 reservoirs in the basin that are primarily managed by the Bureau of Reclamation but also by municipal water agencies and water conservancy districts. Whether destined for within-basin use or for trans-basin diversion, the total amount of water in these reservoirs is the carryover storage available to sustain use during dry times. Accumulation of storage in those reservoirs occurred between mid-April and early July 2024, and basin-wide storage increased by 2.5 million acre feet. This amount is only 30% of the increase in storage that occurred during the same period in 2023. … ” Read more from the Inkstain blog.
Colorado River 2023 water use: An optimistic narrative
Jon Fleck writes, “Preparing for A Thing I’m doing next week, I updated the Crazy Fleck Spreadsheet this morning of data from Reclamation’s annual Lower Basin decree accounting reports. Amid all the angst and rhetoric, it is easy to miss the salient fact made clear by this graph: Lower Basin water users have reduced their take on the Colorado River substantially since the early 2000s. Nevada’s use was the lowest since 1992. Arizona’s use was the lowest since 1991. Records that far back in time are tricky*, but California’s take on the river in 2023 was appears to have been the lowest since the late 1940s. To be clear, the use in the late 1990s and early 2000s was unsustainably large. Praise is due for shrinking Lower Basin use, but the praise should be tempered by the fact that that they didn’t do it until the reservoirs had dropped to scary low levels. But – crucially – everyone’s economy is doing fine. … ” Read more from Inkstain.
Nevada: How the nation’s driest state is using cash to free up water
“Denise Moyle was a no. Her sister Dusty was a no. Their father was against the idea, too. None of them wanted a part of Nevada’s first-ever proposal to buy farmers’ water rights in parts of the state where people are draining the aquifers. Nevada officials expected it would draw skepticism. In a state known for being the driest in the nation, selling your water has historically meant quitting agriculture. It meant letting your land go dry, inviting erosion, dust storms and invasive weeds. It meant being a bad neighbor. … But Deanne Moyle-Hicks, the eldest Moyle daughter, thought differently.“Step back and look at it from a business perspective,” she told Denise. “What would you do with the land if you couldn’t farm it?” … ” Read more from the Washington Post (gift article).
Growers wary of fallout from Ariz. land decision
“Farmers in Arizona are wary of implications from Gov. Katie Hobbs’ decision earlier this year to cancel a Saudi company’s leases of state land in La Paz County after neighbors’ complaints over its unfettered use of groundwater. Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Almeria, was paying about $50,000 a year for rural land to grow alfalfa for its dairy herds without having to worry about how deep the straw dipped into limited groundwater supplies. By contrast, the state could make at least $1.2 million annually by selling that same water to thirsty Phoenicians, a Washington Post political analysis observed. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
An Arizona farmer says even in drought, it’s not a waste to use water on agriculture
“There’s a much-cited statistic we often hear when we’re talking about the Colorado River water and drought in Arizona: Most of it — about 70% — goes to agriculture. And a whole lot of that goes to grow things like alfalfa to feed cattle. It’s been the subject of much ire over one Saudi Arabian-owned company that used Arizona water to feed cattle halfway across the globe. The Show caught up with one of the Arizona farmers who grows alfalfa in the state. Nancy Caywood is the co-owner of Caywood Farms in Casa Grande. Her grandfather purchased the farm in 1930, and it’s been passed down through her family since. She told me, when she was a kid they used to watch their well to make sure it didn’t get hit by lightning. But in recent years, water has become a much more serious problem. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Arizona: Tribes sign historic water rights settlement agreement
“Navajo leadership, along with Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute leaders, signed the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement that, at least, signifies the seriousness of the three tribes’ intent to settle their water rights. The Navajo Nations Arizona water rights is coming a step closer to acquiring about 60 billion gallons of water annually, in its decades-long fight for it. The only obstacle left is convincing lawmakers in Washington, D.C., that this water rights agreement needs to be approved. The approval and signing of the agreement would secure the tribe’s water rights and allow the Navajo Nation to move water around the Nation to where it’s needed. … ” Read more from the Navajo Times.
In national water news today …
Why the election may slow plans to replace lead pipes
“With the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest — and strictest — plan to minimize the risk of Americans drinking lead-contaminated water on the horizon, the debate over whether the rules go too far or not nearly far enough is reaching a tipping point. Although lead was banned from new water service lines in 1986, it’s estimated that more than 9 million such lines still carry drinking water to homes and businesses throughout the country. Under the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements proposal, water utilities would be required to replace all lead-containing lines within 10 years. The proposal from the Biden administration builds on different rules put out in the waning days of the Trump term that allowed up to 30 years for service line replacement, triggered only when lead levels test higher than 15 parts per billion. The new proposal, which would largely supplant the Trump rules, calls for stricter monitoring, enhanced public education, and the 10-year pipe replacement mandate regardless of lead levels. An October deadline looms for the new rules to be adopted; otherwise, enforcement of the less-stringent Trump administration rules will begin. … ” Read more from Silicon Valley.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Central Valley Project Conservation Program and Central Valley Project Improvement Act Habitat Restoration Program now available
