DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Golden Mussel invades the Delta, first time in North America; Key wildlife returning to Yuba River for the first time in nearly a century; Early measurements of Klamath fish health post-dam removal promising; Climate and choice in the Colorado River Basin; and more …

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On the calendar today (Friday) …

• WEBINAR: Restorative justice: Reclaiming the Klamath River for indigenous peoples from 11am to 12pm.  The removal of the Klamath River dams, the result of a decades-long Tribally-led campaign, is restoring the natural river flow, fish populations, and indigenous spiritual and cultural practices associated with the river. Traditional food sources and sacred sites, negatively impacted for almost a hundred years, are being revitalized by this landmark effort.  Click here to register.

In California water news this weekend …

‘Immediate threat’: Mussel invades California’s Delta, first time in North America

“From the glittery bling of its name, the golden mussel sounds like it could be California’s state bivalve.  Unfortunately, the creature’s only connection to the Golden State is the fact that it is California’s most recently identified invasive species — and it’s a bad one, with the capacity to clog major water supply pipes.  On Oct. 17, the tiny freshwater mollusks, which have already laid siege to waterways of southern South America, were found at Rough and Ready Island, near Stockton. Since then, state officials said, it has been in at least one other location, O’Neill Forebay, in Merced County.  Its appearance in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the mussel’s first confirmed detection in North America, according to a news release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.  It’s also very possibly just the beginning of a long battle ahead to slow its spread. The top concerns at the moment include potential impacts to the environment and to the Delta pumping stations that send water to 30 million people and millions of acres of farmland. … ”  Read more from Cal Matters.

SEE ALSO:

• Invasive mussels threaten California’s water supply, biodiversity, from the Courthouse News Service
• Invasive Non-Native Golden Mussel Discovered in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, press release from the Department of Fish and Wildlife

Key wildlife returning to Northern California river for the first time in nearly a century

“Standing knee-deep in one of California’s famed Gold Rush rivers, a scientist gingerly held up a cheesecloth sack carrying 5,000 pink salmon eggs, each slightly smaller than a marble, with a big eye incubating within. A series of dams have long arrested the natural flow of water on the North Yuba River in the Tahoe National Forest, blocking the salmon from these spawning grounds for more than 80 years. State officials are trying to bring the threatened spring-run chinook salmon back, starting this week with 300,000 eggs planted in the streambed.  “Bye bye, little guys,” said Aimee Braddock, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, as she poured the eggs into a wide tube leading down to a hole she’d dug in the gravelly streambed.  … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).

Early measurements of Klamath fish health post-dam removal promising

“At a Thursday presser, scientists working on Klamath River restoration following dam removal shared preliminary results on their river health analysis, which appear to be promising.  Colder water temperatures and increased flows helped salmonid populations travel upstream and spawn; and while juvenile salmon haven’t begun migrating to the ocean yet, environmental scientists expect to see a change in their health relative to how it was when they contended with warmer and slower water resulting from the four removed dams stretching from Northern California into Oregon.  “We’re in a period right now where days are much shorter, nights are longer, it’s cooling off, the river is a lot cooler and that’s really good for fish,” Toz Soto, the Karuk Tribe’s Fisheries Program manager said. “Salmon are really influenced by water temperature. All in all, the fish that came up this year were really healthy. I didn’t see fish with bacterial infections and things like that.” … ”  Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard.

Dan Walters:  A century later, salmon again spawning in Klamath River after dams removed

“Sixty years ago, I was a reporter for the Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News and with my family lived in a small house on the Link River, which flows out of Upper Klamath Lake, draining a large portion of the Cascade mountain range.  Link River, just 1.5 miles long, is the beginning of the Klamath River, which meanders through 257 miles of sparsely populated, mountainous land in Southern Oregon and Northern California before flowing into the Pacific Ocean.  Although situated on the edge of downtown Klamath Falls, the Link River was, and probably still is, a little patch of semi-wilderness, teeming with wildlife such as huge pelicans which patrol its waters in search of food.  At the time, Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River were primarily seen locally as sources of water for expansion of the Klamath Basin’s agricultural industry, particularly alfalfa and potatoes. … ”  Read more from Dan Walters.

SEE ALSO:  Pro dam removal groups say all goes well on salmon’s return to Klamath, from KRCR

Will California get heavy rain this winter? Here’s the latest outlook from forecasters

“After a long summer of relentless heat waves, winter weather is finally on the horizon for California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its U.S. Winter Outlook on Oct. 17, with its Climate Prediction Center anticipating a gradually developing La Niña weather pattern to shape winter conditions across much of the country — including California. “This winter, an emerging La Niña is anticipated to influence upcoming weather patterns, particularly in terms of precipitation,” said Jon Gottschalck, chief of the Operational Prediction Branch at the Climate Prediction Center.  For California, this could mean notable La Niña conditions from December through February. … ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee.

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In commentary this weekend …

A giant rodent threatens the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It’s time for Whac-A-Mole

Tom Philp, opinion columnist for the Sacramento Bee, writes, “Hollywood would have difficulty inventing a rodent as scary as the South American swamp beast that has gained a toehold in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Imagine a rat-looking creature weighing about 20 pounds and dragging a tail up to 18 inches long. Its open mouth would reveal two hideously orange buck teeth. Every day it can eat five pounds of vegetation and destroys 20 pounds in the process. Its ferocious burrowing can threaten the stability of an entire levee. The females are basically either pregnant or giving birth, producing up to 30 offspring in a year. Known by a deceivingly healthy-sounding name —nutria — its eating and burrowing ways can literally destroy natural wetland systems if left unchecked. … ”  Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee.

In the face of wildfires, water issues, Prop. 4 is the right answer for Central California

Bridget Fithian, Executive Director of the Sierra Foothill Conservancy, and  Sharon Weaver, Executive Director of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, write, “With each passing year, we see how a changing climate affects our lives. For most Californians, two issues stand out – bigger and more destructive wildfires along with prolonged drought threatening our water supply.  There are proven solutions to these challenges. We urge Californians to vote YES on Proposition 4 to deploy them at scale across California.  By making smart investments now, we can prevent suffering in the years ahead and protect the California we love for our kids. The longer we wait, the greater the costs and consequences on our health, lives, and jobs. … ”  Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.

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In regional water news this weekend …

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES

Divers pull over 200 pounds of litter from Marlette Lake

“Two organizations joined forces on Oct. 24-25 to give Marlette Lake diver assisted attention. A clean up organized by Clean Up The Lake and funded by Travel North Tahoe Nevada surfaced litter from the depths of the alpine reservoir that rests on the north-east slopes above Lake Tahoe.Colin West, founder and CEO of Clean Up The Lake, says his team found more litter than they had expected to pull from the lake. The team of divers, kayakers, paddlers, shore support, as well an honorary dive dog extracted over 200 pounds.  “Being so hard to access,” West says, “I would have expected less, but we definitely had a little bit more than I thought.” Marlette Lake is closed to vehicles and only accessible by hiking or biking, often from Spooner Lake which is a five mile trek. … ”  Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Lessons learned from the Caldor Fire

“The sound of Caldor Fire embers falling from the sky and landing on windshields made a familiar noise. “It was almost like it was sprinkling, but it was sprinkling embers,” Chris Anthony remembers, then assistant deputy director with Cal Fire. He described the scene to a tour group on Oct. 11 as part of the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force’s Sierra Nevada Regional Meeting.  The multi-day meeting brought regional leaders and the public together to discuss wildfire topics. On this tour, participants stopped at numerous sites where the Caldor Fire burned while fire experts explained the successes and lessons learned from the fire.  While standing within the footprint at the Christmas Valley overlook, Anthony explained that the Caldor Fire began on Aug. 14, 2021 in Grizzly Flats, over 60 miles away. Around Aug. 30, 2021, the fire had crested the Sierra Nevada summit and dropped into the Tahoe basin. … ”  Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

NAPA/SONOMA

Sonoma water officials say reservoirs in good shape heading into rainy season

“While the month of October has been warm and dry, water officials in Sonoma County said reservoirs are in good shape after the two previous wet winters.  Up from Cloverdale, Ken has been fishing on Lake Sonoma as long as the lake has been here.  “Since the lake was built,” Ken said, pulling his boat toward the dock, “So, yeah, that’s in the 80s sometime.”  With four decades of experience on the lake, Ken said the reservoir is in a very healthy state on this late October day.  “Yeah they filled it pretty full last winter,” he said. “That makes it fuller now.” … ”  Read more from CBS News.

BAY AREA

Richardson Bay ‘eelgrass protection zone’ goes into effect

“The Richardson Bay Regional Agency has officially launched the “eelgrass protection zone,” a milestone in a long effort to restore the ecological resource.  The move is part of an initiative to remove the number of illegally anchored vessels that have damaged the plants. The agency will begin enforcing the zone, which comprises more than 700 acres, next week.  Agency representatives and various officials gathered at the Bay Model Visitor Center on Wednesday to mark the occasion.  “Celebrating the environment wins is an interesting challenge, because success is often defined by the thing that didn’t happen, the species not lost, the habitat not destroyed, water not polluted,” said agency consultant Rebecca Schwartz Lesberg, president of Coastal Policy Solutions. “We get to stand here today and celebrate something that did happen, a community coming together and saying the environment matters and we will do what we need to protect it, to save it.” … ”  Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.

Sea-level rise, shoreline in focus for Redwood Shores

“In an informational forum about shoreline conditions and sea-level rise, Redwood Shores residents were given a broad understanding of the ecology and regulatory framework in which a massive life-science campus development proposal would operate.  Regional organizers from the city, county and state level spoke to efforts underway to address sea-level rise and how policies should be considered amid developments near the shores.  Longfellow Real Estate Partners, the developer behind the Redwood LIFE project, proposes to redevelop an 84-acre site between Belmont Slough and Marine Parkway from a 970,000-square-foot, 20-building office park into a more than 3.3-million-square-foot life science campus with 15 larger buildings. … ”  Read more from the Daily Journal.

CENTRAL COAST

Paso Robles launches new water meter upgrade project

“Most customers in Paso Robles will not experience any water service interruption during the upgrade, city says.  The City of Paso Robles has begun upgrading its water metering system as part of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Water Meter Retrofit Project. This project, launched in partnership with the contractor Professional Meters, Inc. (PMI) in September, aims to upgrade water meters throughout Paso Robles, with an expected completion by the end of spring 2025. … ”  Read more from the Paso Robles Daily News.

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Challengers seek seats on Tulare County irrigation district boards

“Board seats on four Tulare County irrigation districts will be on the ballot this election.  At least one of the districts has been in the news recently for its connection to a groundwater agency being sued for allegedly not doing enough to stem sinking beneath the Friant-Kern Canal.  The Porterville Irrigation District is within the boundaries of the Eastern Tule Groundwater Agency,  which is being sued by Friant Water Authority. A Porterville board member typically also serves on the board of Eastern Tule.  Friant Water Authority sued Eastern Tule earlier this year for not paying what Friant says it owed for its share of repairing the canal. Friant also recently hit several irrigation districts, including Porterville ID, with hefty fees to pay for the canal repairs that it says Eastern Tule has shirked. Some of those districts are appealing that fee. … ”  Read more from SJV Water.

EASTERN SIERRA

Water exports from the Mono Basin begin

“This year, in a significant change of operations, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) is moving less water out of the Mono Basin than the maximum allowed. Existing California State Water Resources Control Board rules allow for 16,000 acre-feet of water export due to 2023’s dramatic lake level rise, but DWP has planned—for one year—to keep its export at the 4,500 acre-foot amount allowed last year. … ”  Continue reading at the Mono Lake Committee.

State agencies file court brief favoring Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority

“Two state agencies have filed an amicus letter in the ongoing litigation between the Indian Wells Valley Water District and the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority, stating that the appellate court should review and rule on the case, and do so in favor of the IWVGA and the Groundwater Sustainability Plan rather than a court adjudication of water rights.  The California Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board submitted the letter via the California Department of Justice on Oct. 17, stating that the state agencies are concerned that two parallel undefined and competing processes to determine how much water can be pumped could frustrate the purposes of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. … ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

LA’s new river: LA’s bold step toward recycling all its wastewater begins at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant

“The history of Los Angeles is written in water. To grow from a small pueblo into a metropolis of four million people, LA has tapped faraway rivers with the help of hundreds of miles of aqueducts. They’re a testament to the City’s resourcefulness and innovation—qualities it now needs to face the challenges and uncertainties brought on by climate change.  To start addressing those challenges, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has its sights set on a new river that’s been quietly flowing beneath the city for decades largely untapped: wastewater. Every day, the City of LA releases roughly 275 million gallons of treated wastewater into rivers, streams, and the ocean.  With help from Hazen, LADWP is partnering with another city agency, Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment (LASAN), to take a big step towards this goal with the Los Angeles Groundwater Replenishment Project (LAGWR). The initiative will transform the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant (Tillman) in Van Nuys into a facility capable of turning wastewater into purified recycled water: water that’s clean enough to replenish underground aquifers that supply a portion of LA’s drinking water. … ”  Continue reading from Hazen.

L.A. County sues Pepsi and Coca-Cola over their role in ongoing plastic pollution crisis

“Los Angeles County has filed suit against the world’s largest beverage companies — Coca-Cola and Pepsi — claiming the soda and drink makers lied to the public about the effectiveness of plastic recycling and, as a result, left county residents and ecosystems choking in discarded plastic.  The suit is the latest in a series of high-profile legal actions California officials have taken against petrochemical corporations and plastic manufacturers. In September, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and a group of environmental organizations sued Exxon Mobil, accusing the company of falsely promoting plastics as universally recyclable when, in reality, the vast majority of these products cannot be reused. … ”  Read more from the LA Times.

IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS

Groups blast greenlighting of lithium extraction at Salton Sea

“Mining lithium from the drying Salton Sea could bring jobs and much-needed tax revenue to one of California’s poorest counties, boosters say.  But when Imperial County approved permits for a company to do just that, officials failed to thoroughly analyze impacts on nearby communities, two environmental said in a petition filed in Imperial County in March.  At a hearing in the case on Thursday, Los Angeles lawyer Jordan Sisson, who’s representing the environmental groups, outlined their concerns over the project.  Imperial County used outdated data to determine how much Colorado River water the project would need, Sisson said. He said officials also failed to meaningfully consult locals about the project — and in particular, to ask local Indigenous groups about the impact it would have on sacred sites. … ”  Read more from the Courthouse News Service.

Judge orders clarity on key disputes in Lithium Valley lawsuit

“An Imperial County Superior Court Judge has directed representatives for both Comité Civico del Valle and Imperial County to submit brief statements outlining the principle issues in their dispute over lithium extraction facilities planned under the Lithium Valley Specific Plan.  At a hearing held on Thursday, Oct. 31, at the Imperial County Superior Court in El Centro, Judge Jeffrey Jones instructed both parties to submit the briefs, emphasizing a need for clarity. Judge Jones requested statements “without emotional terms,” stating that “cases like these are decided with nouns and verbs, not adjectives.” The court’s direction aims to establish clear parameters on the arguments, ensuring that both sides address core points as the case proceeds through the court.  “I’m trying to pin you down so that I don’t hear in the subsequent proceedings ‘Oh, what about this?’ Well, I’ve addressed the issues you identified, so I shouldn’t hear that. That’s my goal,” said Jones. … ”  Read more from the Holtville Tribune.

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Along the Colorado River …

Climate and choice in the Colorado River Basin

“Water resources in the Colorado River Basin support over 40 million people (Wheeler et al., 2022) and growing economies across seven U.S. states, dozens of tribal nations, and a Mexican province. Conflict, competition, and co-operation between regions and uses over these limited resources has been the norm for the past century and appears unlikely to diminish, given expectations that basin water supply will decrease (Udall and Overpeck, 2017). This paper addresses choices that will confront water users and the institutions governing future allocations, emphasizing the economic consequences implicit in alternative institutional scenarios under climate change.  The Colorado River arises in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, flowing over 1,400 miles before its waters are fully exhausted in remnant delta wetlands at its mouth at the Gulf of California. Along its journey, the river’s water is diverted for irrigation, municipal, industrial, and ecological uses. Beyond the withdrawals of the basin’s water for human purposes, instream flows support aquatic communities and hydropower at dams throughout the basin. … ”  Read more from Choice Magazine.

Commentary: The Colorado River is drying up. Farmers can help revive it

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In national water news this weekend …

PFAS mixtures more toxic than single compounds, suggesting higher danger

“Mixtures of different types of PFAS compounds are often more toxic than single chemicals, first-of-its-kind research finds, suggesting humans’ exposure to the chemicals is more dangerous than previously thought.  Humans are almost always exposed to more than one PFAS compound at a time, but regulatory agencies largely look at the chemicals in isolation from one another, meaning regulators are probably underestimating the health threat.  “Our point is that PFAS needs to be regulated as mixtures,” said Diana Aga, a study co-author with the University of Buffalo, which partnered with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany. … ”  Read more from The Guardian.

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Also on Maven’s Notebook this weekend …

YOUR INPUT WANTED: Delta ISB Emerging Climate Research Symposium

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