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On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: Chronicles from Nature’s Phoenix, Episode 1: Unraveling the Climate-Fire Nexus from 12pm to 1pm. Join us for the launch of our exciting new webinar series celebrating the release of the second edition of Nature’s Phoenix. Authored by Dr. Dominick DellaSala of Wild Heritage and Dr. Chad Hanson of the John Muir Project, with contributions from renowned field experts, this series will delve into various chapters of the book, each exploring different facets of fire science, policy, biodiversity, and ecological impacts. In this first installment, we focus on Chapter 8: “What’s Driving the Recent Increase in Wildfires?” co-authored by Dominick A. DellaSala and Chad T. Hanson. This chapter explores the historical context of wildfires and how climate change is influencing their frequency, size, and severity. The authors discuss the use of foresight and forecasting techniques to understand the past, present, and future of fire activity and its confluence with climate change. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Central Valley farmers like Donald Trump on water. On California’s Kamala Harris, less so
“Central Valley farmers feel former President Donald Trump more aligns with their water needs than Vice President Kamala Harris, a former U.S. senator and attorney general for California. “The reason I say that is I have not seen anything positive in supporting farmers — supporting water supply for farms, for food security — from the Democratic administration, whoever’s in charge,” said Tom Barcellos, a lifelong farmer and president of the Lower Tule River Irrigation District. “We get lip service, but we don’t get results.” Barcellos, who lives in Porterville, owns Barcellos Farms and is a partner in a dairy. He, like many others in the agriculture-dominant region home to a conservative stronghold in its south, support Republican policies and are frustrated with the Democratic super-majority in Sacramento and federal government for more reasons than water. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
BlueTriton says order to shut down operations in US forest “has no legal merit”
“US-based packaged water major BlueTriton has filed a complaint against members of the Forest Service in San Bernadino county, California, after having been asked to shut down operations in an area of federal land in San Bernadino national forest (SBNF). According to a recent case filing, at the end of July, BlueTriton received a letter from the Forest Service that denied the renewal of its special use permit (SUP), which allows the Arrowhead water maker to use a “4.5-mile long right-of-way crossing a 4.51 acre area of Forest Service-managed land”. “As a consequence of this denial, BlueTriton’s current permit terminates, and it must cease operations on SBNF lands”, the letter said. … ” Read more from Just Drinks.
PRESS RELEASE: Resounding agreement from the public: Do not rush the Delta tunnel water rights process
“[Yesterday], Friends of the River (FOR) alongside an unique and unparalleled coalition of Tribes, nonprofits, and local governments that together represent a broad array of public interests, pushed back against the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Water Board) rushed and unreasonable schedule for permitting the proposed Delta Tunnel. Under the Board’s current proposal, the Tunnel water rights proceedings will begin on January 16th, 2025, with parties to submit testimony by December 4, 2024. The Delta Tunnel is a water export project that would take about a third of the average Sacramento River flow at the point of diversion (up to 6,000 cubic feet of water per second) near Hood, CA, and send it south to be pumped to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness and southern California cities. Taking more water will further devastate the crashing Bay-Delta ecosystem. … ” Read more from Friends of the River.
Bureau of Reclamation seeks public input at meeting on Central Valley Project
“A public meeting was held in downtown Redding at the Veterans Memorial Building Tuesday night to provide an overview of proposed changes to the Central Valley Project and State Water Project by the Bureau of Reclamation. It’s one of six meetings the Bureau will hold this month in order to try to get the public’s input on the long term project. Manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Bay Delta office Dave Mooney explained the purpose of the meeting to the Northstate’s News Tyler Van Dyke. “We’re here to share the outcome of our public draft environmental impact statement that looks at different alternatives for how we would operate the project, it evaluates the various impacts on different resource areas like our fisheries, our water, our groundwater, all the different types of human and environmental effects,” Mooney continued, “We’re hoping to share information with the public to help educate folks on what we’re looking at and perhaps most importantly to get input from folks who rely on us to make good decisions about how we operate these projects.” … ” Read more from KRCR.
REPORT: Water Study provides a detailed overview of the legal and factual status of California Indian water rights
“California Indian Legal Services has completed a Water Study. The purpose of this Study is to provide a current review of the factual and legal status of water rights possessed by California Indian tribes as well as individual Indians (allottees) with interests in allotted trust lands (allotments). This Study will present a framework for analyzing California Indian water rights and offers suggested strategies for California tribes and allottees on how to protect and secure their rights. The Study also covers new features of California state law that tribes, including unrecognized tribes, may want to participate in, for example, Tribal Beneficial Uses, Integrated Regional Water Management projects, and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. … ” Continue reading from California Indian Legal Services.
California is approaching ten years of Sustainable Groundwater Management
“This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). In 2014, the signing of SGMA created the first major change to California water law in a century. The legislation established a statewide framework to protect groundwater resources over time and gave local agencies control to manage their groundwater basins for long-term sustainability. Groundwater is water that exists in the pores or cracks in soils and rocks underground. It is the largest source of fresh water on Earth and it’s important that this key resource is protected for future generations. … ” Read more from the Department of Water Resources.
Science stories: Striped bass – The founding father of Delta fish monitoring
“Pop quiz – what are the three longest-running monitoring programs in Sacramento Delta? The Summer Townet Survey started in 1959 to monitor young-of-year striped bass, the Fall Midwater Trawl survey started in 1967 to monitor juvenile striped bass after the Summer Townet finished for the year, and the Adult Striped Bass Survey started in 1969 to monitor adult striped bass (males reach sexual maturity at 2 to 4 years old, when they are about 11 inches long, and females at 4 to 8 years old, when they are 21-25 inches long). Data from Summer Townet and Fall Midwater Trawl have been used for tons of other projects, and are now used to monitor many species of native and non-native pelagic fish (Kimmerer 2002, Mac Nally et al. 2010, Sommer et al. 2011, Bever et al. 2016, Mahardja et al. 2021, Smith et al. 2021, Tempel et al. 2021), but not many people know about the Adult Striped Bass Dataset – and it’s just recently been published online. Why has so much of the monitoring in the Delta started for striped bass? … ” Read more from the Interagency Ecological Program.
The American West’s megafires are silencing birds
“Wildfire smoke, which contains harmful particulate matter and toxic gases, is widely understood to be an acute threat to human health. As wildfires become more frequent and intense with worsening climate change, this knowledge has only become more widespread. This is particularly true for North Americans who have recently lived through some of the most devastating wildfire seasons in living memory — as in 2020, for example, when so much smoke blanketed the California Bay Area that it blocked out the sun and transformed the midday sky into a dull shade of orange. But wildfire smoke harms so much more than just human lungs. For example, poor air quality can also cause trees to close the pores from which they release oxygen. Bird watchers have reported that landscapes teeming with birds are often eerily quiet during smoky days, underscoring that what’s harmful to humans is bad for the rest of the animal kingdom as well. … ” Read more from Grist.
In commentary today …
It’s time to add water to the sustainability conversation
Ann Torres and Chris Blower with Synapse write, “As extreme weather events unfortunately become more common, more media coverage is addressing the links between greenhouse gas emissions (GGEs) and climate instability. Curbing GGEs as quickly as possible is critical for preventing the worst projected impacts of global warming, but there’s another key component to climate change and GGEs that’s sometimes overlooked in the conservation efforts: freshwater. Even a slight rise in average global temperatures requires more water for irrigating food crops, running climate-control systems in buildings and using public and personal transportation solutions, and keeping people, and animals, alive and healthy. This increase in water demand also requires more energy, which can produce more GGEs. In many places, water systems are already under stress, and although there are positive actions that both organizations and individuals can currently take, the rising temperatures will continue to increase the stress on water in the years ahead. Here are three factors we all need to consider. … ” Continue reading at Environment & Energy Leader.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Live — and dead — trees help restore Klamath River
“More than native plants are being planted where reservoirs created by the Klamath River dams once stood. As part of the years-long restoration, crews are planting thousands of live trees. And they’re also using dead trees, which are referred to as “large wood” in river restoration jargon by the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which is overseeing the removal of the dams and restoration. Dead trees are being placed in tributaries to the Klamath. The tree planting will happen November through January 2025, then resume in November 2025. Helicopters placed about 60 large wood trees in the Spencer Creek area south of Keno in the footprint of the John C. Boyle Dam on Monday and in the Beaver Creek tributary below the former Copco 1 Dam on Tuesday. Placing of the large wood trees at other tributaries to the Iron Gate Dam and areas exposed by the now free-flowing river is expected to be completed this week. … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
TRPA employs ‘fire, aim, ready’ approach to managing Tahoe, say critics
“The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, which is failing, by its own admission, to meet the milestones of its plan to reduce automobile traffic, is spending $24 million in federal funds to add 1.7 miles of trail to the lake’s remote and undeveloped east shore, a move destined to bring more visitors to the area – primarily by car. An initial three-mile stretch of trail connecting Incline Village and Sand Harbor, once considered an impossible feat, cost more than $40 million and opened five years ago. “The narrow, two-lane Nevada State Route 28 is the only road around Lake Tahoe’s eastern shore and is critical for everything from emergency vehicles to tourists – on an average summer day over 2,000 people access this area for recreation,” Nevada’s U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, who helped secure the funding, said in news releases last month. “The lack of parking and connecting paths has created serious congestion and safety concerns.” … ” Read more from the Nevada Current.
State-funded stormwater project boosts water quality for disadvantaged foothill communities
“The State Water Resources Control Board and the Twain Harte Community Services District recently celebrated the completion of a stormwater project that uses nature-based solutions to protect water quality and reduce the flood risk for disadvantaged communities in Tuolumne County. The project was funded in part by a $3.7 million grant from the State Water Board’s Stormwater Grant Program, which administers funding from Proposition 1. Stormwater improvements at four separate sites, including a 5,000-gallon rain tank at an elementary school and a rain garden at a new community park, will help keep sediment, nutrients and heavy metals out of Twain Harte Creek and Phoenix Lake, primary sources of drinking water for several disadvantaged communities including Twain Harte, Sonora, Jamestown and Columbia. “This is a great example of a low-impact, nature-based stormwater project that can produce benefits for water quality, flood control and even recreation,” said Joe Karkoski, deputy director of the State Water Board’s Division of Financial Assistance. “The Twain Harte project was the ideal candidate for support from the Stormwater Grant Program, which focuses on changing the perception of stormwater as a contaminant source into a valuable resource.” … ” Read more from the State Water Resources Control Board.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Water rate increase under consideration in Corning
“A public hearing will held Tuesday to discuss a proposed water rate increase for residents. The City Council is considering two separate annual 10 percent water rate increases, which will amount to a $2.26 per month increase in the first year and $2.49 in the second year for residential users who use up to 4,000 gallons per month. For usage above the 4,000 gallons per monthly allotment per residence, an additional cost of $1.95 in the first year and $2.14 in the second year will be charged. The first increase would become effective Sept. 1, and the second on July 1, 2025. … ” Read more from the Daily News.
BAY AREA
OpenRoad episode highlights Trout Unlimited’s restoration in San Geronimo Commons
“On each episode of OpenRoad, journalist Doug McConnell visits beautiful and inspiring places across Northern California and the Bay Area. He does so to learn more about the region’s natural, historical and cultural treasures. McConnell places a special emphasis on the parks and protected open spaces that provide access to the public and key protections for fish, wildlife and California’s unique ecosystems.In a recent episode, OpenRoad visited one of California’s newest parks, the San Geronimo Commons, to learn about how a former golf course is being transformed into a hub for the local community. He took time to interview two TU staff members, project manager Katie Robbins and associate scientist Troy Cameron, to learn more about TU’s work to monitor endangered coho and steelhead populations in a key coldwater stream flowing through the park and TU’s plans to restore the stream’s habitat along the corridor. … ” Read more from Trout Unlimited.
Sausalito secures crucial funds for Marinship flooding study
“The federal government has awarded $614,400 to Sausalito to study flooding in the Marinship area. The grant from the Economic Development Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, will help fund a vulnerability study on Gate 5 Road. The area is not only susceptible to severe flooding, but is also a key source of revenue for the city. The grant will provide funding over the next two years for city staff to look into storm pumps, drainage systems and other flood-related infrastructure issues on Gate 5 Road to Harbor Drive. Catie Thow Garcia, the city’s sustainability manager, said the study will delve into subsidence mapping, flooding vulnerability information, storm drainage systems and sea-level rise saltwater intrusion modeling. The next steps could be a feasibility study or a design to improve the problem. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
CENTRAL COAST
Elkhorn Slough, other natural areas, receive $71M grant for climate resilience
“Elkhorn Slough, the vast natural area south of Watsonville that serves as a transition zone between land and sea and is home to myriad species of birds—as well as water and land animals—got a boost last week with a $6 million award. The money from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) includes $4.2 million to the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve’s (ESNERR) Tidal Wetland Program for one 1.5-acre marsh restoration, 35 acres of marsh/upland transition habitat, and planning for 200 additional acres to protect critical transportation infrastructure and public access. Conservation specialists consider ESNERR a priority because it hosts the greatest extent of tidal wetlands on more than 600 miles of coast between San Francisco and Mexico. … ” Read more from the Pajaronian.
Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency seeks members for subbasin implementation committees
“Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) is accepting applications for its six subbasin implementation committees through Aug. 20. These positions are ideal for people who have an interest in groundwater and local governance. The subbasin implementation committees for SVBGSA discuss, debate and deliberate on matters that focus on the implementation of the groundwater sustainability plans of the subbasins that the SVBGSA manages. Committee members must live or work in one of the subbasins, and collaboration and leadership skills are valued. … ” Read more from the Salinas Tribune.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
One Tulare County groundwater agency charges full tilt into recharge
“Farmers and water managers in the Kaweah subbasin are charging headlong into recharge as a key strategy to both keep the state’s hands off its pumping and position growers to better withstand drought years. Fifteen recharge projects have been completed, are in progress or are in the design phase in the East Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) alone. And some farmers have begun building sinking ponds on their own land as well. The goal is to catch as much wet-year water as possible to stock up for dry years that are only as far away as the next water year. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
SCV Water completes Earl Schmidt Filtration Plant
“SCV Water recently completed construction of the Wash Water Return and Sludge Systems Project at its Earl Schmidt Filtration Plant, located near Castaic Lake. The additions will improve treatment plant operations, ensure regulatory compliance and reduce staff maintenance activities. “The completion of these modifications enhances the operational reliability of the wash water return system and the maintenance of the sludge collection system,” said Rafael Pulido, SCV Water’s water treatment manager. “And overall, this project has increased the resiliency of our water treatment system.” … ” Read more from SCV News.
LA Kings and SoCalGas partner with Friends of the LA River to support Los Angeles River restoration
“Once the primary water supply for the greater Los Angeles basin, the 51-mile Los Angeles River has been impacted by years of neglect and urban development that today threatens the water quality and wildlife habitats. To help with the City of Los Angeles’s restoration efforts, on August 5, 2024, AEG’s LA Kings and SoCalGas joined forces with Friends of the LA River to revitalize native habitats for plants and animals Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve. Employee volunteers from the LA Kings and SoCalGas were guided by the California Native Plant Society in the removal of invasive plants from the upper Los Angeles River area to restore the natural balance of the ecosystem and support the native plant and wildlife species that live there. “This revitalization project reflects both the LA Kings and SoCalGas’ commitment to making an environmental impact in our city,” said Celia Garth, Community Relations Coordinator at the LA Kings. “Our collective actions today helped transform a flood control channel into a healthy and thriving ecosystem and new habitat. We are proud to partner with Friends of the River and California Native Plant Society to support this vital community effort to rejuvenate and restore the river.” … ” Read more from AccessWire.
Billionaire accused of stealing sand from Malibu’s Broad Beach, lawsuit says
“California’s beaches are public, but on the sands of Malibu, one billionaire has been accused of stealing a slice of paradise — or at least a few scoops of it — for himself. A lawsuit filed last week alleges that Mark Attanasio, billionaire businessman and owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, has been using excavators to dig up sand from Broad Beach and carry it back to his house as part of an ongoing construction project. “This case is about a private property owner using a public beach as their own personal sandbox and the disturbing conversion of a public natural resource (i.e., sand from Broad Beach) for a nearby homeowner’s personal, private use,” the lawsuit says. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via AOL News.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Can art save the “post-apocalyptic” Salton Sea?
“Dusk at the Salton Sea turns the Chuckwalla Mountains rosy shades of sepia and gold. A warm breeze lifts the spicy scent of creosote off the desert floor. At the nearby community of East Jesus, an array of outdoor installations, art cars from Burning Man, and smaller assemblage artworks twinkle in the fading light. This idyllic scene near California’s largest lake belies its darker image as an alleged wasteland and a portent of environmental catastrophe. The Salton Sea, located in Southern California’s Imperial Valley, has long been a cautionary tale of climate disaster, corporate greed, and political inaction. The plight of its residents has historically been ignored or erased from broader political discourse. Press releases, news articles, and blogs describe the Sea’s communities as “tired,” “dilapidated,” “abandoned,” and even “post-apocalyptic.” … ” Read more from Sapiens.
SAN DIEGO
Mystery water flow flooding backyards in Rancho Peñasquitos
“A waterfall has been flowing in the backyard of Ron White’s home on Wescott Court in Rancho Peñasquitos just below Black Mountain for the past year. “The big rains happened, and by this time last year in August, we thought it would go away, and it did not,” said White. To prevent flooding in his home, White resorted to digging trenches across his backyard by hand, and pumping the water out to the street. It flows along the curb into a storm drain, and also collects in a nearby canyon. And White is not alone. The backyards of two neighbors on either side of White are flooded, too. They dug holes and installed pumps. “I’ve got, right now, seven pumps running,” said White. … ” Continue reading from Channel 8.
Along the Colorado River …
Massive cuts to Colorado River supply for Imperial Irrigation District begin
“Less than 12 hours after the Biden Administration and the Imperial Irrigation District approved an unprecedented deal to conserve 700,000 acre feet of Colorado River water through 2026, the flow of river water to the rural valley three hours south of Los Angeles slowed. District personnel moved out before sunrise to install more than 1,600 locks on gates to canals supplying hundreds of farm fields, cutting off water deliveries for up to 60 days this year. The process will be repeated over the next two summers. In exchange, the powerful agency and farmers who volunteer to not receive the water and hold off on growing hay in hot summer months will be paid nearly $700 million in federal funds — by far the largest of numerous agreements struck with water agencies and tribes to prop up the overused, drought-ravaged river and its reservoirs. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun.
SEE ALSO:
- IID approves 700,000 acre-feet of water conservation agreement, from the Imperial Valley Press
- IID Inks New 700K AF Water Conservation Deal with Feds, from the Calexico Chronicle
As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans
“The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River, the powerhouse of the U.S. West. The Interior Department announces water availability for the coming year months in advance so Western cities, farmers and others can plan. Behind the scenes, however, more elusive plans are being hashed out: how the basin will share water from the diminishing 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river after 2026, when many current guidelines that govern it expire. The Colorado River supplies water to seven Western states, more than two dozen Native American tribes, and two states in Mexico. It also irrigates millions of acres of farmland in the American West and generates hydropower used across the region. Years of overuse combined with rising temperatures and drought have meant less water flows in the Colorado today than in decades past. … ” Read more from ABC News.
The next ‘Phoenix is running out of water’ stories will be worse. Let’s stop them
“GOP lawmakers have grown impatient with Gov. Katie Hobbs’ 2023 “pause” on new subdivisions in areas of metro Phoenix that rely on groundwater. And they’re not at all happy with the governor’s vetoes on efforts to get that growth moving again. It’s a good bet that if the House and Senate remain in Republican control next year, they’ll be back with even more legislation to ditch the governor’s pause. And if past is prologue, they’ll look for ways to get it into law, without the governor’s approval. But this fight doesn’t just have political implications. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic.
