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In California water news today …
La Nina winter setting up, NOAA says. Here’s what that means for US
“The astronomical start of fall is just days away, arriving on Sunday. Before we can fully embrace the crisp autumn air and colorful foliage, let’s cast our eyes toward the winter months ahead. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center recently released its updated winter outlook, which provides a glimpse of what Americans can expect from December through February. The forecast suggests a typical La Niña pattern. The influence of La Niña is expected to dominate weather conditions from December through February, according to NOAA. This often translates to wetter conditions in the northern tier of the country, while the southern tier may face drier-than-average weather. … ” Read more from Fox Weather.
California already drier than a year ago as La Niña risk looms
“California’s land is significantly drier than it was last year, posing further risks for wildfires and agricultural production across the state. More than 71% of California’s land is abnormally dry and almost 11% is locked in drought, according to the US Drought Monitor’s weekly update. … ” Read more from BNN Bloomberg.
Trump’s big vendetta against the tiny delta smelt
“There are certain things former President Donald Trump vehemently dislikes: Taylor Swift. Low-flow toilets. And a 3-inch-long endangered fish that lives in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in California. Although it draws less attention than his other annoyances — Swift for her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid and water-efficient toilets for requiring repeated flushes — Trump is unusually dedicated to his nearly decadelong grudge against the tiny delta smelt. Last week, Trump once again took aim at the delta smelt at a press conference near Los Angeles, garnering headlines for promising California voters he would curb environmental protections in the frequently drought-stricken state in order to “give you more water than almost anybody has.” … ” Read more from E&E News.
Lawmakers urge feds to change plans for Calif. water
“A bipartisan group of California lawmakers is urging the federal government to reconsider its long-term operations for the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. Representatives Jim Costa (D–Fresno), John Garamendi (D–Walnut Grove), David Valadao (R–Hanford), John Duarte (R–Modesto) and Vince Fong (R–Bakersfield) wrote a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA Fisheries and the Fish and Wildlife Service asking for a change. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
Ten years after the law known as SGMA changed California’s water world, what’s next?
“Monday marked the 10-year anniversary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, (SGMA) which aims to bring severely over pumped aquifers back into balance by 2040. Even with more than $1 billion already spent, two groundwater subbasins on probation and enforcement actions being challenged in court, some state officials say the hard part is just beginning. And the San Joaquin Valley is ground zero for what’s coming. SGMA was passed in 2014 during a devastating drought that left thousands of domestic wells dry in the San Joaquin Valley. The law seeks to regulate groundwater pumping through local control. To that end, it mandated the creation of a new layer of government, groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) to create and impose plans for regulation. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Tulare Lake GSAs win in court as Tule Subbasin GSAs join them on probation
“Two big battles are unfolding right now in the ongoing Central Valley Water Wars. Last Thursday, a Kings County judge again ruled in favor of the Kings County Farm Bureau in its lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The judge extended an injunction issued in July that halted costly and difficult-to-implement probationary demands issued against the region’s water users. The injunction is in effect until the matter goes to trial. The judge’s decision came days before the SWRCB struck again on Tuesday. This time the board – following a 10-hour-long meeting in the state capital – placed the Tule Subbasin GSAs on probation as well. The vote to intervene in the Tule Subbasin imposes nearly identical requirements as those now under suspension in Kings County. … ” Read more from the Valley Voice.
Sites Reservoir Authority steering course
“A half-century ago, the Sites Reservoir Project was just a concept that residents said would never come to fruition. Today, the threat of serious drought, the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Act, declining reliability of state and federal water projects, and the uncertainty of climate change has cleared the way for public agencies to invest in a multi-benefit 1.5-million-acre-feet water storage project that will increase flexibility, reliability and resiliency of California’s water supply, Sites Project Authority officials said at a Sept. 12 community meeting in Maxwell. … ” Read more from the Gridley Herald.
Sites Reservoir project hits roadblock as permits are denied by state, federal agencies
“The Sites Reservoir Project is facing some setbacks. The State Water Resources Control Board and the Army Corps of Engineers have denied permits for the project. The State Board told the Northstate’s News their denial of a water quality certification request is because of procedural inadequacies, as well as the need for additional information. They said they’re asking for more information to make sure the project will meet water quality requirements at both the state and federal levels. … ” Read more from KRCR.
State breeches levee for Lookout Slough
“In terms of land, Solano County is a little bit smaller — and a whole lot wetter — than it was last week. On Wednesday, the Department of Water Resources breached a levee to officially open their Lookout Slough project, which they hope will provide years of flood relief and sea level rise mitigation to the surrounding areas. The department noted that the project was the largest delta restoration for environmental reasons in decades and will build considerable habitat for local species of fish and migratory birds. “Protecting people from flooding doesn’t have to be at odds with the environment – it can actually work with it,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “More intense droughts and floods require these solutions. Congratulations to our local, state, federal, tribal, private, and non-profit partners who made this happen.” … ” Read more from the Vacaville Reporter.
Location, location, location: Snowpack storage and runoff timing in burn scars depend on site and terrain
“Increasingly severe wildfires at high elevations are impacting snowpack – an important reservoir for the U.S. West. The altered landscape makes it more challenging to predict when snow will melt and how much water will be available for use. Colorado State University researchers studied the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire’s effects on snowpack across mountainous terrain and found that location is key to melt rate and timing. Snowmelt rates vary from slope to slope, based on how much sun the slope receives and vegetation. Snow generally melts faster on south-facing slopes, which get more sun. The researchers found that the amount of water in the snow on a burned south aspect peaks earlier in the season than other snowpack locations, and south aspect snow melts sooner. … ” Read more from Colorado State University.
California ballot asks voters to invest in climate solutions
“Following yet another year of brutal heatwaves and devastating wildfires, Californians have the chance to tell elected officials they support urgent climate action by voting for a $10 billion climate resilience bond on the November ballot. During an unprecedented budget surplus two years ago, California earmarked $54 billion to forge “an oil-free future” and protect residents from the extreme effects of climate change. That surplus morphed into a multibillion-dollar deficit within a year, after rosy projections of rising revenues from income taxes failed to materialize, forcing Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to cut and defer billions from their ambitious climate spending plans. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
Attorney General Bonta issues revised legal guidance to water providers and consumer alert on protections for residents facing water shutoffs
“California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a revised legal alert reflecting recent changes in the Water Shutoff Protection Act that expands that law’s protections to reach more California tenants and homeowners that are facing water shutoffs. In 2023, the Legislature adopted Senate Bill 3 (SB 3, Dodd), which expanded the protections of the 2022 Water Shutoff Protection Act by applying the Act’s requirements to smaller water systems. Previously, the Act only applied to 200+ residential service connections. In today’s legal alert, Attorney General Bonta also reminds water providers of the Act’s requirement to provide alternative payment options to all customers who are unable to pay their water bill, not only customers who meet certain medical and financial criteria. Attorney General Bonta also issued a consumer alert today issued in English, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean, advising Californians on steps they can take if they are behind on their water bill. … ” Read more from Attorney General Bonta.
What scientists have learned from 20 years of microplastics research
“Twenty years ago, a team of U.K. scientists sounded the alarm on a then-underappreciated problem: the breakdown of plastic litter into small, even microscopic, fragments. While many previous reports had documented the buildup of plastic bottles and bags in the natural environment, much less attention had been paid to what the scientists dubbed “microplastics.” Due to “the rapid increase in plastic production, the longevity of plastic, and the disposable nature of plastic items,” the researchers concluded that there was “considerable potential” for microplastic pollution to become a major problem for the environment and human health. It turns out, they were right. Over the past two decades, the rate of plastic production has roughly doubled, to more than 400 million metric tons per year, about the weight of 1,200 Empire State Buildings. In the same time period, microplastics — defined as particles with a diameter less than 5 micrometers, about the width of a human hair — have exploded into the public consciousness, riding on a wave of research into the particles’ prevalence across ecosystems and in humans’ bodies. … ” Continue reading from Grist.
Scientists discover molecular predictors of toxic algal blooms that pose health risk, ecological and economic harm
“A team of researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, and collaborators, have published a groundbreaking study on predicting harmful algal blooms (HABs) that contain high levels of the neurotoxin domoic acid. The study provides new insights into the mechanisms driving this type of HAB and offers potential solutions for predicting and mitigating their impacts. In 2015, the largest recorded HAB occurred in the Northeast Pacific, causing nearly $100 million in damages to fisheries and killing many protected marine mammals. … ” Read more from Fox 5.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Water for wildlife: A shared responsibility, a collective effort
“Shortly after sunrise on Saturday, Aug. 17, staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath Drainage District, and Tulelake Irrigation District made a series of gate changes at two major canal systems in the Klamath Project, initiating water deliveries to Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges. For over three weeks, water flowed into the two wildlife refuges, helping maintain habitat for fledgling birds and stemming in part an ongoing outbreak of avian botulism. Approximately 6,000 acre-feet of water in total was delivered to the refuges. For context, that is enough water to supply many of the smaller districts in the Klamath Project for an entire year. Amidst another challenging year for water management in the Klamath Basin, this collective decision to make these deliveries was a sign of progress and potential hope. … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
Mendocino County rated one of California’s most at-risk counties for drought impacts
“During a public workshop on Sept. 5 of the group producing Mendocino County’s Drought Resilience Plan (DRP), two consultants tag-teamed to present a grim picture of the county’s ability to survive prolonged drought. The group was formed to satisfy 2021’s state Senate Bill 552, which requires all counties to plan and respond to drought and water emergencies. As Laura Garza, a University of California water and climate change advisor pointed out, the first part of creating a plan is understanding the lay of the land — or in this case, the state of the county’s groundwater. … ” Read more from the Mendocino Voice.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Tiny threat, big impact: Invasive snails thrive in Lake Tahoe
“Lake Tahoe, renowned for its crystal-clear waters, is facing a new threat from an unlikely source: tiny New Zealand mud snails. These invasive species, no larger than a grain of rice, have spread rapidly throughout the lake, posing a significant risk to its delicate ecosystem. “We’re concerned it’s a new aquatic invasive species,” said Dennis Zabaglo, invasive species manager for the bi-state Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. “From an ecological standpoint, [invasive species] are bad. But also from a tourism and recreation experience, they’re very bad as well.” … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Lake Tahoe gets the lead out
“Eight miles of defunct, lead-sheathed telecommunication cables will be removed from the bottom of Lake Tahoe by the end of this year. The cables — copper wires coated in lead — were first found in the lake more than a decade ago by scuba divers. The cables span from Baldwin Beach to Rubicon Bay along the West Shore and are estimated to weigh 63 tons. The oldest cable dates to 1929 and was installed by Pacific Bell, a telephone company now owned by AT&T. … ” Read more from the Nevada Independent.
SEE ALSO: Lead-leaking abandoned cables to be removed from Lake Tahoe, from KTVN
California Tahoe Conservancy celebrates 40 years at its board meeting
“The California Tahoe Conservancy board meeting celebrated 40 years of its existence at their board meeting this Thursday, among other items such as the Tahoe Livable Communities project, cross-country skiing in the Dollar Property, signs for the Upper Truckee River, and the Racial Equity and Community Engagement update. Marlon Charneau, who was hired in May of this year as the supervisor of the Tahoe Livable Communities (TLC), spoke at the board meeting to update the conservancy on their plans and progress. Since 2014, TLC has aimed to acquire aging develop properties, restore environmentally sensitive lands, as well as focus development on town center development. There is a capacity for 4148 residential allocations left in the Basin, but TLC wants to redefine the development patterns due to the environmental sensitivity of the area. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Nonprofit metamorphoses into indigenous-led organization for Sierra Nevada
“The Sierra Fund, a respected regional organization, proudly announces their board of directors has elected six new Indigenous Board Members from around the region (making the board 75% Indigenous members) and hired a visionary Indigenous leader as their new Chief Executive Officer – transforming the nonprofit into an Indigenous-led new force for the Sierra Nevada. By centering the voices of the Sierra’s first nations, The Sierra Fund seeks to blend traditional ecological wisdom with western science to restore and protect Sierra lands, waters, and communities through practices that have sustained it for generations. … ” Read more from Tahoe Daily Tribune.
NAPA/SONOMA
Public or private? A battle roils over who can access beaches along the bucolic Russian River
” … In his capacity as executive director of Russian Riverkeeper, a nonprofit that works to protect the public’s right to clean water, Don McEnhill monitors a whole range of activities along the river’s meandering 110-mile course, from floodplain restoration to the health of the salmon to permit compliance from the area’s many wineries. But this summer, like a lot of people in western Sonoma County, he has also been wading into a pitched battle over public access to the sometimes rocky, sometimes muddy strips of beach that sit at the water’s edge. According to state and federal law, many of those beaches are public. But the people who have purchased riverfront property do not always see it that way. Skirmishes have ensued, battles big and small involving private security guards, aggressively lobbed golf balls, surveillance cameras, bolt cutters, beach chairs and reams of legal filings, among other weapons. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times.
SEE ALSO: Newly crowned ‘coolest beach’ in Calif. closes in two weekends, from SF Gate
BAY AREA
A new park in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood
“Below looming high-rises, the new five-acre China Basin Park provides urban green space and views of San Francisco Bay in the rapidly developing Mission Bay neighborhood. A new snippet of Bay Trail wraps around the park’s edge, contributing to the vision of a greenway along San Francisco’s southeastern waterfront. Open as of April 2024, the park was created by the Mission Rock Partners development team, a collaboration between the Tishman Speyer real estate development company, the San Francisco Giants, and the Port of San Francisco, which owns the property. The park is part of the greater Mission Rock development project, 14 years in the making, which includes two commercial buildings and two residential towers on what was previously a parking lot. … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
Llagas Creek project is fully funded after 70 years
“Local agencies finally have enough money to complete the Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project, about 70 years after the massive infrastructure project was initially planned. Valley Water celebrated the milestone Sept. 13 at the construction site in south Morgan Hill for the final phase of the flood protection project. That milestone is the allocation of $80 million in federal funding that will allow Valley Water, local agencies and contractors to complete the project. U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) helped secure the latest and final round of federal funding through the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, and made remarks at the Sept. 13 press conference. Also attending the Morgan Hill event were representatives of the NRCS, Valley Water staff and board members, and city officials. … ” Read more from the Morgan Hill Times.
Commentary: Moving forward on purified water
Tony Estremera, member of the Valley Water board, writes, “The Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a leader in water innovation in the region. Over the past decade, the center has provided purified water to enhance recycled water quality for non-potable uses such as irrigation and cooling towers. Looking ahead, Valley Water is focused on expanding purified water for drinking. In the face of growing water challenges caused by climate change, local partnerships will be crucial to the success of purified drinking water. … ” Read more from the San Jose Spotlight.
CENTRAL COAST
Monterey One Water pump station in Sand City catches fire, causing no apparent damage
“At around 2:10pm Wednesday, Sept. 18, a contractor for Monterey One Water, which treats sewage from the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas, accidentally started a small fire in the surge tank at M1W’s Seaside Pump Station (which is actually in Sand City) while doing retrofit work. Officials don’t believe there is any structural damage created by the fire, which was caused by the contractor cutting bolts on a tank hatch, the sparks of which ignited off-gassing methane that had been trapped within it. First responders came from Seaside and Sand City police departments and Seaside and Monterey fire departments, and they closed off Sand Dunes Drive while tackling the fire at M1W’s facility at the end of West Bay Drive, just a stone’s throw from the beach. … ” Read more from Monterey County Now.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Lindsay addresses proposed water rate hike
“City administration recently held a town hall to answer some common questions and concerns about a potential water rates increase. During the meeting at Lindsay City Hall on Sept. 18, city staff, council members and a handful of community members reviewed the most important information about the city’s water system. There, Neyba Amezcua from QK – a consulting group that contracts Lindsay’s engineers – explained that a water feasibility study done last year identified many deficiencies in the town’s water system. “It identified the projects that are needed to fix those problems,” Amezcua said. “We don’t meet fire flow (water pressure) requirements due to the pipe size that was installed back in the 40s and 50s.” … ” Read more from the Foothills Sun-Gazette.
EASTERN SIERRA
Organism new to science found in Mono Lake’s water
“Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley discovered a new organism living in Mono Lake’s water—a species of choanoflagellate they named Barroeca monosierra. Choanoflagellates are single-celled, microscopic organisms that primarily feed on bacteria. Scientists have found that B. monosierra is unique because instead of only consuming bacteria, the organism forms large colonies that contain live bacteria and form a stable relationship with them. “To our knowledge, this is the first report of such an interaction between choanoflagellates and bacteria,” reads the researchers’ paper, which was published in the American Society for Microbiology. … ” … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority disputes IWVWD’s claim that valley has extra water
“At the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority board meeting on Sept. 11, IWVGA legal counsel Phil Hall disputed the Indian Wells Valley Water District’s claim that a new study proves the valley has far more water than previously thought. He stated that the study is unfinished, not truly independent, and that the claim of extra water conflicts with observable decline in water levels. The California Department of Water Resources classified the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin as being in critical overdraft based on the annual amount of water that recharges it naturally compared to the amount of water pumped out of it in the IWV. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Rare September rain slated for Southern California, with some areas under flood watch
“An unseasonable shift in weather is bringing the chance of showers and thunderstorms across Southern California, prompting some concerns about flooding as temperatures also drop well below average for mid-September. In much of the Los Angeles area, the system is expected to bring only light rain or drizzling Thursday and Friday, but there is a possibility for pockets of thunderstorms that could bring heavier rain. The greatest chance for thunderstorms is in the mountains, including along the Interstate 5 corridor and across the San Gabriels, according to Bryan Lewis, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Imperial Irrigation District sued over Colorado River conservation plan
“The Sierra Club is suing the Imperial Irrigation District over its latest Colorado River water conservation agreement, arguing the plan would accelerate shrinking of the Salton Sea and harm neighboring communities’ health. Announced last Friday, the lawsuit against the district and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, contends that a plan to temporarily forgo hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water from the depleted river failed to adequately consider its impact on the largest lake in the region. With the suit, the Sierra Club is seeking to halt the plan over what it argues are violations of state environmental law by approving the plan that they say would harm the fragile Salton Sea ecosystem as it teeters on “the brink of collapse.” … ” Read more from Fox 5.
SAN DIEGO
San Diego cleans storm channels ahead of rain season, Southcrest residents worry about flooding
“On Thursday, the City’s Stormwater Division was seen in Southcrest removing plants, trash, and other debris from the storm channel that Beta Street dead ends on. In January, the same storm channel flooded surrounding homes, destroying many Southcrest resident’s property. That same storm channel, which the City refers to as the Alpha One Channel, is the same one that Southcrest residents tell ABC 10News they begged the City to clear out for years. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Scientists may transform border sewage crisis into air pollution crisis with enormous stakes
“For years, San Diegans understood the environmental disaster that is sewage spilling from Tijuana into South Bay as a water quality problem. Experts in the emerging field of detecting how polluted water transfers bacteria, viruses and other bad stuff into the air have made it their mission to investigate the Tijuana River estuary. Whatever’s in the water can make its way into your mouth, lungs and gut, these scientists are saying. In other words, the stink that South Bay residents so intimately know could make you really sick. Now it seems the stakes of the border sewage crisis are incredibly dire. The environmental disaster was bad already for swimmers, surfers, public servants, tourism and sea life when it seemed contained to the coast. If the public sees this materialize as a toxic air pollution crisis as well, they’ll start to wonder: Is it even safe to live and work nearby? … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Along the Colorado River …
Lake Mead projections higher despite long hot summer; Las Vegas water use up 2%
“A hot summer in Las Vegas pushed water consumption in August to the highest it has been all year, but the 2-year outlook for Lake Mead continues to improve. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month study, updated each month with projections that guide how dams along the Colorado River are managed, shows continued stability for Lake Mead for the rest of the year and through 2025. Currently, Lake Mead is at 1,063.77 feet, about the same as it has been since mid-June, give or take a foot. Lake levels are expressed as feet above sea level — altitude, not depth. Lake Mead is the nation’s largest reservoir, and it’s currently about 165 feet down from “full pool” level — 1,229 feet. It’s down to a third of its maximum capacity. … ” Read more from KLAS.
Dive into the journey of Colorado River water
“Arizona’s monsoon season is coming to an end, having brought a bit of welcome rainfall to our arid climate. But CAP is more focused on a different water source – Colorado River water that starts as snowpack in the Rocky Mountains. Arizona’s Family recently spoke with CAP Colorado River Programs Planning Analyst Nolie Templeton, PhD, about why this snowpack matters to desert dwellers and how it makes the journey down the Colorado River and into the CAP system where it is delivered to six million living in central and southern Arizona. Templeton covered not only the importance of snowpack to CAP’s Colorado River supply, but she also explained how her work is driven by data and modeling, described the journey of the water to the CAP system, and have an update on shortage conditions now and into the future. … ” Read more from Know Your Water News.
