A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
Is a new plan for delivering Delta water worse than Trump’s rules? Environmentalists say yes.
“When the Trump administration presented a new plan exporting more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta five years ago, state officials and environmentalists objected that the new rules would increase the chances that salmon, smelt and steelhead would go extinct. Now, state and federal agencies are nearing the finish line on a replacement plan that could boost water supplies for cities and some growers but, according to a federal analysis, could be even more harmful to the estuary and its fish. The Trump administration rules, critics say, fail to adequately protect endangered fish, while increasing Delta water exports to some Central Valley farms and Southern California cities. But the new proposal from the Biden and Newsom administrations — developed mostly by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Water Resources — does not fix what environmentalists considered deal-breaking flaws in the Trump rules. Rather, they say, it worsens them, and could lead to lower survival and accelerated declines in fish listed as threatened or endangered. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
The tunnel vision: A look at California’s $20 billion solution to its water crisis
“California has one of the most ambitious and highly engineered water delivery systems on the planet, and it’s being eyed for a new extension. The Delta Conveyance Project is Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal for a 45-mile underground tube that would tap fresh water from its source in the north and carry it beneath a vast wetland to users in the south. The Delta is the exchange point for half of California’s water supply, and the tunnel is an extension of the State Water Project, which was built in the 1960s. It’s a 700-mile maze of aqueducts and canals that sends Delta water from the Bay Area down to farms and cities in Central and Southern California. This is a local story about a global issue, the future of water. In a three-part series of field reports and podcasts, Bay City News reporter Ruth Dusseault looks at the tunnel’s stakeholders, its engineering challenges, and explores the preindustrial Delta and its future restoration. Ruth is joined by Felicia Marcus, the Landreth Visiting Fellow in Stanford’s Water in the West program and former chair of the California Water Resources Control Board.” Read more at Local News Matters.
NOTEBOOK FEATURE: Fixing California Aqueduct subsidence: A multi-billion dollar problem
In California, 80% of the usable fresh water is located far from where it’s actually used, so water conveyance infrastructure is vital to the state’s existence. Spanning 444 miles, the California Aqueduct is a vital component of the State Water Project, serving as a crucial source of water for 27 million Californians, providing water for agriculture and municipalities. Unfortunately, land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley has drastically diminished its capacity to deliver water, with reductions reaching up to 46% in some places. Addressing this problem will require a substantial investment of billions over the next 20 years. Given the importance of water supply reliability to the state, the California Aqueduct Subsidence Program is a priority for the State Water Project. At the October meeting of the California Water Commission, the Commission received a briefing on the California Aqueduct Subsidence Program by Program Manager Jesse Dillon. … ” Continue reading from Maven’s Notebook.
California’s floodplains at the heart of landmark agreement: State and federal agencies unite to address climate resilience through landscape-scale investment
“Federal and State of California government agencies, overseeing water, agriculture, fish and wildlife, public lands and flood control, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance collaboration on landscape-scale, multi-beneficial floodplain water projects in the Sacramento River Basin. The purpose of this agreement is to elevate the opportunity for landscape-scale funding and to streamline planning, design, implementation, monitoring, and information sharing of projects located on the floodplains that enhance flood protection, restore fish and wildlife habitat, improve groundwater aquifer recharge, provide water supply reliability, and sustain farming and managed wetland operations. … “We are deeply grateful for this commitment to floodplain restoration with so many conservation leaders in the Sacramento Valley,” said Paul Souza, Pacific Southwest Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Floodplains provide rich habitat for birds, fish, and so many other species, and this partnership again shows how agriculture and species conservation can work hand in glove to benefit people and communities, foster a healthy environment, and adapt to a changing climate. We are committed to this restoration action.” … ” Continue reading this press release.
SEE ALSO: California joins federal partners to enhance flood protection and wildlife habitat in Sacramento River Basin, from the Office of the Governor
Fall Chinook Salmon returns to date are shockingly low on Upper Sacramento River
“After discussing the return of the first Klamath River salmon to Oregon last week for the first time in 114 years just a few weeks after the completion of the river’s dam removal project, we are faced with this week with news of shockingly low numbers of fall-run Chinook salmon returning to spawn to date at the Coleman National Fish Hatchery. Coleman is located on the upper stretch of the Sacramento River on Battle Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River below Redding. The hatchery, after opening its gates to spawning salmon on the first Saturday of October, has taken only 1.68 million eggs as of October 19, 2024. This is only a small fraction of the typical 20 million eggs harvested during the spawning season, according to Scott Artis of the Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA), who described the hatchery as a “salmon ghost town” in a statement. … ” Read more from the Daily Kos.
CA WATER COMMISSION: Update on the Water Storage Investment Program projects
“The October meeting of the California Water Commission included an update on the seven projects progressing through the Water Storage Investment Program. Program Manager Amy Young gave the update. Proposition 1 of 2014 dedicated $2.7 billion for investments in water storage projects, which the California Water Commission administers through the Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP). Seven water storage projects were selected and must complete the remaining requirements, including final permits, environmental documents, contracts for the administration of public benefits, and commitments for the remaining project costs, before they receive the final funding award. … ” Continue reading from Maven’s Notebook.
RIP, Los Vaqueros
“With cities and farmers across the state trying to secure water supplies in an age of climate change extremes, the expansion of Los Vaqueros Reservoir was supposed to be a slam dunk. Water agencies looking to it as a beacon of what’s still possible as supplies dwindle and costs rise are still scratching their heads at its unexpected demise last month. “This is not the classic story of city water supply people versus environmental water supply people,” said Jay Lund, an engineering professor at UC Davis. “There’s some worries, I think, that if this is a signal event, we’re now in a political era where people are just less agreeable.” Los Vaqueros was a rare species, seemingly bred for threading the gauntlet of California water politics that’s held up other new storage projects for decades: It would have expanded an existing project, rather than starting from scratch, which meant fewer permitting hurdles. … ” Read more from Politico.
Farms face ruin as groundwater law takes its toll
“Last month, on the final day of his almond harvest, Amrik Singh Basra sat outside his Madera County farmhouse, cradling a heavy folder. The documents, sent by his bank during the past several months, were an ultimatum: Pay up or lose the farm. Originally from India, Basra came to California in 1980. He worked in trucking for several years before using his savings to buy a small farm plot. In 1997, he bought the house in Madera and the surrounding ranch, where he has lived with his family ever since. About one-fifth of the San Joaquin Valley’s irrigated farmland—Basra’s land among it—lies in “white areas” that receive no surface water from an irrigation district. So, like other farmers, he pumped water from the ground to sustain his 100 acres of almonds and 200 acres of winegrapes. Decades of unchecked groundwater pumping across the San Joaquin Valley yielded a bounty of fruits and nuts matched by few, if any, places on Earth. But it depleted the aquifers, drying up domestic wells and causing sections of land to sink. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
Kings County groundwater managers ‘flying blind’ with zero input from State Water Board
“Water managers in Kings County have heard nothing but crickets from state Water Resources Control Board staff for more than a month. While they would like feedback on how to best revise their groundwater sustainability plans, managers in the Tulare Lake subbasin instead are operating in separate silos, tailoring those plans to their own groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) boundaries. “We’re trying to move forward, but we’re also somewhat flying blind,” said Johnny Gailey, general manager of the South Fork Kings GSA. The subbasin was the first of six San Joaquin Valley regions to face scrutiny by the state Water Board, the enforcement arm of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. That law requires that overdrafted aquifers reach sustainability by 2040. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
King County Farm Bureau’s SGMA defense efforts are changing history
Dusty Ference, Executive Director of the Kings County Farm Bureau, writes, “While KCFB’s SGMA Defense efforts are active and affecting change throughout California, few exciting updates are available to the public. After the judge issued a preliminary injunction (PI) in favor of KCFB, work on the effort has not stopped. It is just not out in the open. KCFB’s legal team is preparing for a hearing. On Jan. 10, 2025, KCFB is in court for its second case management conference. At the conference, the judge will receive updates from both sides and set a trial date for later in the year unless more time is needed, in which case a third case management conference can be called. In the meantime, KCFB encourages groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) to continue updating their groundwater sustainability plans (GSP). Updated GSPs should work to address the deficiencies identified by the Department of Water Resources (DWR). … ” Read more from the Hanford Sentinel.
One Tulare County groundwater region setting the standard for protecting residential wells
“At least one Tulare County groundwater region is doing things right when it comes to protecting residential drinking water wells, according to two advocacy organizations. The Kaweah subbasin, which covers the northern half of Tulare County’s flatlands, earned important endorsements this month from the Community Water Center and Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. Both organizations confirmed to SJV Water that Kaweah’s domestic well mitigation program is “the standard” for other subbasins to follow and will recommend to the state Water Resources Control Board that Kaweah not be placed on probation at its January 7 hearing in Sacramento. “If they follow through on their commitments, I don’t think they have to go to probation,” said Tien Tran, senior policy advisor at Community Water Center. “They have a really robust drinking water mitigation program that is the standard right now.” … ” Read more from SJV Water.
San Joaquin Valley well drillers say they are struggling to meet state air regulations
“Well drillers are having a hard time updating expensive equipment to meet state air quality regulations. Some are giving up the business while others are moving their trucks at night to avoid run-ins with any potential regulators. It’s a situation that has added further pressure to the drilling business which is already suffering because of the hurting agricultural economy in the San Joaquin Valley. About a decade ago, well drillers were feeling pretty safe as they worked to meet clean air requirements, said Tom Krazan, manager of Kings River Drilling in Fresno County. “We invested almost two million bucks in all the equipment,” Krazan said of his company. “We all felt safe in our equipment.” But regulations changed over the years and soon, Krazan and others found themselves out of compliance with expensive equipment that had been okay to use a few years earlier. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Relatively dry and warm autumn pattern likely to continue into early November
“Record-breaking heat did indeed occur across much of California and the Southwest in early October, as predicted. And the heatwave that occurred was ultimately both more intense and more prolonged than even the rather severe event that was originally anticipated. But even California’s hot autumn to date doesn’t compare to what unfolded in Arizona during the same period: Phoenix experienced what was arguably one of the most extreme heatwaves on record (in terms of duration and magnitude of deviation from seasonal norms) in North America–experiencing three consecutive weeks during which *every single day* brought record high temperatures. And, despite false commentary to the contrary, this is not due to the presence of jet engine blasts on the tarmac at Sky Harbor airport or primarily caused by the “urban heat island effect” (which is quite real in big, sprawling cities like Phoenix–but simply not the cause of sustained and widespread record-breaking heat like this). Indeed: records fell by similarly huge margins elsewhere in the lower deserts of AZ and in rural areas in more mountainous, northern parts of the state. In short: it represents just the latest in a very long series of increasingly extreme heat events in the southwestern United States. … ” Read more from Weather West.
In commentary this week …
How protecting Central Valley communities from flooding can help restore the Bay-Delta and salmon
Rick Frank, Professor of Environmental Practice at the U.C. Davis School of Law, and Julie Rentner, President of River Partners, writes, “The San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem is in deep trouble. Salmon runs are declining. Salmon fishing has been completely closed in 2023 and 2024 for only the second time ever. A growing list of fish are in danger of extinction. Harmful algae blooms are proliferating. All evidence points to a lack of freshwater flows as a primary cause. We need to take action to protect the largest estuary on the West Coast, as well as those who suffer as the environment declines, including Delta communities, Tribes, and salmon fishermen. But the two traditional pathways to leave more water in our declining rivers are struggling. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly.
Early lessons drawn from the Klamath Dam removal effort
writes, “Dam removal on America’s rivers large and small is lauded in the conservation community as some of the most impactful of environment restoration projects, reversing efforts to tame nature by generations past. So, when the removal of four dams on the lower Klamath River in northern California and southern Oregon was recently heralded by Governor Newsom as “the largest river restoration project in American history,” the press promptly joined in with praise. While the jury is still out with respect to the effort’s success when measured in terms of increased salmonid abundance, there are lessons to be learned now regarding characterization of science pertaining to policy both by scientists in the decision-making process and by the press when reporting the costs and benefits of dam removal and other major water infrastructure projects. … ” Read more from the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management.
Californians must step up pressure to ensure a full cleanup of toxic Santa Susana lab
Shawn Rostker, research analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, writes, “Nuclear cleanup efforts across the U.S. have revealed a grim reality: the nation’s toxic nuclear waste legacy continues to endanger communities while those responsible evade accountability. At Los Alamos in New Mexico, newly exposed plutonium contamination poses long-term risks, while the ongoing cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington remains a decades-long symbol of nuclear waste mismanagement. These national failures resonate deeply in Southern California, where the Santa Susana Field Laboratory increasingly represents that same neglect. Despite an opportunity for California leaders to champion a thorough cleanup at Santa Susana, they’ve instead allowed toxic waste to linger, putting their constituents’ health and safety at risk. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
California’s environmental regime is untenable
Zachary Faria writes, “California’s surrender to the governing whims of environmentalists has put the state in a stranglehold. Actual progress is unattainable, and the arbitrary whims of activists and political partisans reign supreme. The California Coastal Commission is one such example, having recently entered into the news due to its public feud with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The U.S. Air Force had planned to allow SpaceX to launch up to 50 rockets per year from Vandenberg Air Force Base, which sits between the cities of Lompoc and Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County. In rejecting this request, the CCC cited Musk’s political rhetoric, with the commission’s chairwoman citing Musk taking a position in the presidential election as reason enough to block this plan. … “ Read more from the Washington Examiner.
Yes on Prop 4: A brighter future 4 everyone
“This November 5th, all Californians will have the opportunity to vote for a brighter, cleaner, healthier future for our communities, by voting Yes on Prop 4 (the Climate Bond)! This historic bond would be the single largest investment of public funding for climate resilience in California history. The need for action is urgent—according to Audubon’s science, nearly two-thirds of North American bird species could face extinction by the time someone born today in the U.S. reaches their average life expectancy of 76 years, by the year 2100. … ” Read more from Audubon.
Here’s why Central Valley farmers should champion this California climate proposition
Don Cameron, president of the California State Board of Food and general manager of Terranova Ranch, Inc, writes, “If California voters pass Proposition 4, we can secure a sustainable, prosperous future for our state’s agriculture sector while safeguarding the natural resources we all depend on. I’m calling on farmers to lead the way in this effort, ensuring that both the land and the livelihoods we support are protected for generations to come. The future of California’s agriculture depends not just on the health of our crops, but also on the health of our environment. Farmers have long known that the two are inseparable, and many of us have already experienced the challenges of cultivating crops in a changing climate. This November, Prop. 4 offers an opportunity to ensure the future of both agriculture and the environment by making vital investments in climate resilience. These investments can protect the fields we cultivate as well as help us pursue a future we hope to harvest — where the land, water and communities we depend on can thrive together. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee.
White House must redirect the Forest Service to preserve old forests
Dominick A. DellaSala, chief scientist at Wild Heritage, writes, “The world is grappling with the rapidly accelerating global climate and biodiversity crises, as greenhouse gas emissions exceed atmospheric safety margins and forests are cut down. From supercharged hurricanes causing untold damage in the southeast to climate-driven wildfires that burn down western towns, we need a moon shot to thwart disastrous climatic consequences. The presidential debates barely mentioned climate change, with former President Donald Trump espousing “drill, baby drill,” and Vice President Kamala Harris reversing position on fracking. As President Joe Biden leaves office, he can build on his climate legacy by protecting the nation’s mature and old-growth forests (“older”), as part of the White House’s road map on nature-based solutions and its global commitment to end forest losses via the Glasgow Leaders’ Forest Pledge. The Forest Service will not protect a single acre of old forest without presidential direction despite their inadequate old-growth amendment process. … ” Read more from the Seattle Times.
In regional water news this week …
Klamath River Chinook salmon reoccupying historic habitat, spawning above former dam locations
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is excited to announce that adult fall-run Chinook salmon have begun occupying and spawning in newly accessible habitat behind the former dam locations on the Klamath River. These are the first observations of anadromous fish returning to California tributaries upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam since 1961. On Oct. 15, spawning fall-run Chinook salmon were observed in Jenny Creek, a Klamath River tributary 4.3 river miles upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam location, the southernmost barrier of four dams removed from the Klamath River . Additionally, adult fall-run Chinook are starting to return to CDFW’s newly rebuilt Fall Creek Fish Hatchery on Fall Creek, a formerly inaccessible tributary about 7.5 miles upstream of the old Iron Gate Dam. In addition to returning fall-run Chinook, an adult Pacific lamprey was observed swimming through CDFW’s fish counting station in Jenny Creek on Oct. 1. … ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
State to consider Scott and Shasta river flows rules
“California water officials last week directed staff to create a report that outlines the scientific basis for development of permanent instream flow requirements on the Scott and Shasta rivers in Siskiyou County to aid salmon and steelhead trout. In addition to developing the scientific basis report, the California State Water Resources Control Board asked staff to assess the economic impacts of baseline minimum flows and to continue modeling and developing information that could be used in the future to evaluate water year-specific minimum instream flows. The board also directed staff to obtain input on whether to extend the December 2023 emergency flow regulations for another year or implement a locally preferred alternative if it becomes available. Farmers from the region called for a science-based approach to guide the requirements for river flows. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
California’s salmon strategy includes tribal quest led by the Winnemem Wintu
“More than 100 years ago, wild winter-run Chinook salmon from the icy cold McCloud River near California’s Mount Shasta ended up in the glacially cold mountain waters of New Zealand, where they continue to thrive today. The quest to bring these ancestral fish back home continues, thanks to a $3.3 million grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Since 2016, an annual pilgrimage has taken place that is led by the Winnemem Wintu tribe and its chief and spiritual leader Caleen Sisk. The 300-mile journey traces the ancestral path of the winter-run Chinook salmon from the McCloud River to the Pacific Ocean. The tribe has never wavered from a core belief. … “ Read more from CBS Sacramento.
Anderson Dam tunnel completed in South Bay
“The Anderson Dam tunnel project hit a major milestone on Wednesday in the effort to protect the South Bay from the next major earthquake. The last boring machine parts have now been pulled out of the Anderson Reservoir in Morgan Hill, signaling the end of the major tunneling part of the project. It took nearly two years for them to dig more than 1700 feet next to the dam. “Driving a drilling machine from inside of a tunnel, a lake. There were a lot of things we were anticipating could go wrong, and it all went pretty smoothly,” said Ryan Mccarter, Andersom Dam’s project manager. … ” Read more from NBC Bay Area.
Owner of Bay Area island won’t get new trial over illegal levee ‘repair’
“A federal judge denied a request by the owner of Point Buckler Island in the greater San Francisco Bay for a new trial in an almost eight-year dispute with the U.S. Justice Department over his illegal “repair” of the levee surrounding the island. John Sweeney argued that the 2020 ruling that, after a bench trial, had found him liable for violating the Clean Water Act was no longer sustainable in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which had curtailed the federal government’s authority to regulate wetlands. In that decision, the nation’s top court found that the reach of the Clean Water Act extends to only those “wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their own right, so that they are ‘indistinguishable’ from those waters.” In his bid for a new trial, Sweeney claimed that the wetlands on Point Buckler Island weren’t regulated because they weren’t indistinguishable from the surrounding waters. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
California’s first floodgate aims to remove hundreds of Stockton homes from flood zone
“A floodgate that will try to bring thousands of Central Valley homes out of a 100-year flood zone is now complete. But some homeowners are hesitant to say it’s worth it just yet. The nearly $100 million project in Stockton is the first of its kind in California and on the West Coast. After four years of construction, the Smith Canal floodgate is now open. “Overall about $100 million between construction, design and permitting,” said Christopher H. Neudeck, construction manager and president of Kjeldsen, Sinnock & Neudeck, Inc. Funded through federal, state and local dollars, the floodgate runs from the tip of Louis Park to the Stockton Country Club’s shore. To the north is a 50-foot-wide barrier between the San Joaquin River and thousands of homes in central Stockton that are in flood-prone areas. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento.
The fight for fish & flows: Tuolumne River Trust organizes around new instream flow plan
“This fall, TRT and a coalition of partner organizations are turning our advocacy focus to the water-challenged Hetch Hetchy Reach, a 12-mile stretch of the Tuolumne just downstream of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Our new campaign, launched alongside Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, Natural Heritage Institute, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Friends of the River, and Fly Fishers International, focuses on the 1987 Kirkwood Agreement—named after the Kirkwood Powerhouse downstream of Hetch Hetchy. The Kirkwood Agreement required the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to conduct a fish study to identify how they might improve river flows along this stretch of the Tuolumne River—an agreement that is unfulfilled to this day, thirty-seven years later. Excessive diversions along this stretch of the river heat the Tuolumne’s water, making it too hot for salmon and rainbow trout during the low-flow months of summer. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission recently released its draft Instream Flow Management Plan. We are poised to ensure this Plan acts in accordance with the Kirkwood Agreement and that our public agencies support the environmental needs of the river and the fish that rely on its healthy flows. … ” Read more from the Tuolumne River Trust.
Turlock Irrigation District is placing solar panels atop canals. And the world is watching
“The state granted $20 million to the Turlock Irrigation District in 2022 to test the idea of solar panels atop canals. The project was delayed by design challenges, but installation finally started in May on a small canal stretch southwest of Keyes. It could be generating power by year’s end, to be followed next summer by a second test site east of Hickman. While increasing the supply for TID’s electricity customers, the panels also could reduce evaporation. Taking the concept statewide could be a key step against climate change, the University of California reported in 2021. UC Merced researchers will monitor the systems for power output, evaporation savings and whether the panels interfere with canal operations. TID will retain them after data collection ends in June 2026. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee.
SEE ALSO: Turlock Irrigation District tests solar panels over canals, video from the Modesto Bee
Monterey County, SLO water agencies tussle over Nacimiento
“While the dust-up between water districts in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties over access to water in Nacimiento Reservoir won’t qualify as a water war, it’s fair to call it a skirmish. At issue is a pair of applications filed with the state Water Resources Control Board, or simply Water Board, by a water district from Monterey County’s southern neighbor – the Shandon-San Juan Water District and its Groundwater Sustainability Agency. That water district is asking the state to approve applications to take additional water from Nacimiento Reservoir. In a written report to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 8, Ara Azhderian, the general manager of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, or WRA, explained that the Shandon water district is asking the state for permission to appropriate 14,000 acre-feet at Santa Margarita Lake on the Salinas River southwest of Atascadero in San Luis Obispo County, and from Nacimiento Reservoir, also in San Luis Obispo County, or SLO. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald.
EPA lead ruling unlikely to resolve water contamination issues in L.A. public housing
“Days after the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency visited a Los Angeles public housing project with lead-contaminated water, the agency ordered drinking water systems nationwide to replace every lead pipe within 10 years. “We’ve known for decades that lead exposure has serious long-term impacts for children’s health. And yet, millions of lead service lines are still delivering drinking water to homes,” EPA Director Michael Regan said. But in Los Angeles — where the discovery of contaminated water in public housing in Watts has shocked officials — the EPA mandate is unlikely to result in immediate change. When Regan joined Mayor Karen Bass on a visit to the 700-unit Jordan Downs complex this month, he suggested the brain-damaging element could be from household plumbing — a critical risk in older homes. It’s a possibility that highlights the difficulty of eliminating the threat of lead in California drinking water. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
Orange County water agencies hail final ruling in Irvine Ranch Water District V. Orange County Water District
“East Orange County Water District, Golden State Water Company, Mesa Water District (Mesa Water®) and Yorba Linda Water District hailed the California Court of Appeal’s decision in Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) v. Orange County Water District (OCWD) et al., which will prevent unfair pumping from the Orange County Groundwater Basin (Basin) and protect millions of residents from higher rates. Throughout the multi-phase litigation brought against OCWD in 2015, OCWD successfully defended its management of the Basin – and from an unfair attempt at a water grab – with favorable court rulings on 16 of 17 claims asserted by IRWD. OCWD is the groundwater wholesale agency responsible for managing and protecting the Basin, a vital local resource that provides 85% of the drinking water supply to 19 cities and retail water suppliers (“Groundwater Producers”), who serve a collective 2.5 million people in north and central Orange County. … ” Continue reading this press release.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE: Stormwater Capture Volumetric Assessment and Inventory – Data Gathering Webinars
NOTICE of 180-Day Temporary Water Right Permit Application to Appropriate Water from the Shasta River in Siskiyou County
NOW AVAILABLE: Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Blooms Monitoring Strategy
NOTICE: Urban Water Use Objective Reporting Template Posted
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER RESTORATION PROGRAM: Draft Channel Capacity Report for the 2025 restoration year available for review
