A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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In California water news this week …
Here we go again: California prepares to battle Trump over environmental policies
“We’ve been here before. Even the players are the same. When President Donald Trump took office in 2017, his favorite sparring partner was California. The state’s ambitious environmental policies often clashed with the president’s promise to “drill, baby drill for oil” and rein in California’s regulations. Now it’s California v. Trump, 2.0 — and the stakes are much the same. Candidate Trump threatened to dismantle many environmental programs and hollow out federal regulatory agencies on his first day in office. … Trump’s reelection has unnerved environmental groups that are watching over the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and its imperiled fish. At stake are the state’s massive projects that bring Northern California water south to farmers and cities. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
SEE ALSO: Newsom calls special session to ‘Trump-proof’ California, from Cal Matters
Why the election might not matter for California water
“Former President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom want you to believe they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum on California water. But their policies aren’t drastically different — and both lean toward the Republican-leaning farmers of the Central Valley. On the campaign trail, Trump has promised to force Newsom to turn on the faucet for water-strapped farmers if he is elected. Meanwhile, Newsom today finalized rules that insulate the state’s endangered fish protections from federal changes. But he’s also advancing controversial proposals to store and move around more water, a perennial ask of the agricultural industry, and easing pumping limits meant to protect an endangered fish in order to send more water south to parched farms. Newsom’s positioning has put the otherwise green-leaning governor squarely on the foe list for environmental groups and garnered him credit from unlikely sources. … ” Read more from Politico.
New California water permit seeks to balance water delivery with environmental protections
“A new operating permit issued Monday for California’s state water project is expected to help protect fish and ensure almost 30 million people can access a reliable water supply. “The new incidental take permit for the state water project issued today provides California with new tools and resources to better manage our water supply for endangered fish species and millions of Californians,” said Karla Nemeth, water resources department director, in a statement. The incidental take permit is required under state law to protect endangered and threatened fish species like the Chinook salmon. The state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife issued the permit to the Department of Water Resources after the certification of a final environmental impact report for the state water project’s long-term operation. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
SEE ALSO: New operating permit issued for California’s State Water Project to preserve water supply while protecting endangered species, press release from the Department of Water Resources
A view on the future of Delta water conveyance: A Q&A with Terry Krause
“Moving and storing water is essential across the entire water cycle. From drinking water supply to wastewater collection and wet weather management, conveyance and storage solutions like pipelines and tunnels are integral to our OneWater approach at Jacobs. These solutions are also critical as communities across the world respond to the impacts of climate change and must manage too much, or too little, water. The ability to efficiently distribute limited water supplies, safely capture urban flood waters, or store water for future use has never been more important. In this Q&A, we connect with Jacobs Program Manager Terry Krause, who has spent 50 years supporting clients with major water infrastructure projects globally. Terry discusses the future of water conveyance and his role supporting the Delta Conveyance Project in California – a major program to improve water supply resilience by modernizing State Water Project conveyance infrastructure in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. … ” Read more from Jacobs.
A dam paradox: Managing reservoirs for environmental and human uses
“The construction of dams and reservoirs has been linked to various environmental impacts. Dams obstruct access to essential upstream spawning habitat for native fish and are correlated with declines in fish biodiversity. They also significantly alter water quality and disrupt natural flow regimes. … Many management strategies use dams to regulate the amount of water released from their reservoirs to mimic natural river flows and reduce the environmental strain caused by dams. Pass-through flows are the proportion of water flowing into a reservoir that is immediately released through the dam without being retained in the reservoir. Flow regulation strategies are intended to improve water quality and sustain populations of fish and other aquatic organisms. However, diverting water for environmental reasons can constrain water resources essential for human needs like agricultural irrigation, safe drinking water, and other municipal and industrial requirements. … A publication by Null et. al (2024) addressed this conflict by looking into how water in reservoirs can be more efficiently managed to satisfy both conservation and human needs. … ” Read the full post at FishBio.
Recent developments intensify California’s groundwater management landscape
“Recent activity in California’s groundwater management landscape is marked by critical developments across Central Valley subbasins. Regulatory hearings, court rulings, and ongoing challenges highlight the pressures on groundwater users. The Tule Subbasin has become the second basin to be placed on probation by the State Water Resources Control Board at its hearing on Sept. 17. The board’s determination came after a day-long hearing with presentations from State Water Board staff, Tule Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, and other stakeholders as well as various public comments. Additional battles in the decade-long Water War between the State Water Board, SGMA, local GSAs, and the agriculture industry include a court victory for the first subbasin placed on probation — the Tulare Lake Subbasin. In September, Kings County Superior Court Judge Kathy Ciuffini ruled in favor of the Kings County Farm Bureau in their efforts to sue the State Water Board after the basin was placed on probation in April. The Farm Bureau’s lawsuit was filed in May. … ” Read more from Valley Ag Voice.
Aaron Fukuda is ready to get off probation
“Aaron Fukuda, general manager of the Tulare Irrigation District, took a gamble when he supported cracking down on his growers as wells across the arid southern San Joaquin Valley were going dry — and he’s still waiting to see if it will pay off. Fukuda said he got angry phone calls from his community for about a year after he championed a local emergency ordinance in 2022 to put pumping limits and penalties on irrigation wells across 163 square miles of prime farmland in Tulare County, where overuse and drought have been lowering groundwater levels 2 to 3 feet per year. He’s since also embraced policies to recharge more groundwater and protect domestic wells. But the specter of his region’s over-pumping is still coming for Fukuda. State officials have determined that his sub-basin still hasn’t done enough to stop groundwater levels from dropping further by 2040, as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. … ” Read more from Politico.
Atmospheric rivers are shifting toward the poles, possibly following a long-term cycle
“Against the backdrop of global warming, sea level rise and extreme weather, it’s reassuring to learn that not all climatic changes are solely due to human activities. There are still natural rhythms in the oceans and atmosphere that influence our weather patterns. Understanding how these interact with anthropogenic climate change is crucial to forecasting. A pair of researchers at UC Santa Barbara investigated major migrations in global weather patterns. “Atmospheric rivers are shifting poleward in both hemispheres,” said Zhe Li, who recently earned his doctorate, “bringing heavy rain and storms to higher latitudes, which could reshape precipitation patterns globally.” But Li and his advisor, Qinghua Ding, didn’t see this trend reflected in current climate models, so they set out to discover why it’s happening and how that will influence weather. Their results, published in Science Advances, suggest this poleward shift is part of a natural cycle in sea surface temperatures in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. This change has already brought drought and water shortages to subtropical areas. “Understanding these changes will help us make better predictions about future rainfall patterns and water availability,” Li said. … ” Read more from The Current.
Why future droughts will not be about rain
“Dry wells. Dwindling reservoirs. Parched ground. Forest fires. The American West has gotten awfully familiar with drought in the 21st century. And it wouldn’t be the same without the heat. This summer, like many before, set new benchmarks for heat, as big swaths of the West, including Arizona and California, lived through their hottest summers on record. These temperatures, even more than the amount of rainfall, are key to understanding drought in the climate change era, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances. The research found that since 2000, rising temperatures — leading to greater evaporation — have done more to contribute to the severity and extent of droughts in the West than a lack of rainfall. “This is quite different from our grandma’s drought,” said Rong Fu, a professor in atmospheric and oceanic science at UCLA who is one of the authors of the study. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
Post-fire study finds snowpack melts earlier
“As the American West warms, there’s a growing intersection between wildfires and the mountain snowpack that supplies the bulk of the water in many rivers and reservoirs. Fire is a natural and beneficial component of many Western ecosystems, but blazes are now reaching higher elevations, raising questions about how the snowpack behaves in burned areas—and how downstream users and species will be affected. If a fire torches a forest’s canopy, that change can actually let snow accumulate faster in winter since falling flakes aren’t intercepted by branches and pine needles. But without that canopy, the snowpack also loses shading from the sun and is subject to more wind, both of which can accelerate the snow’s disappearance. Moreover, soot and ash from charred tree trunks can hasten melting by coating the normally reflective snow with darker, heat-absorbing material. … ” Read more from The Water Desk.
Fluoride in water: A San Francisco judge has already ruled on removing it
“Opponents of adding fluoride to drinking water, where it can protect teeth but may also pose a threat to the mental health of newborn children, scored a recent victory in a San Francisco federal court. Now they may have gained a pair of unlikely allies — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President-elect Donald Trump. Speaking at a rally Oct. 28, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Trump said that if elected, he would give Kennedy — the late New York senator’s son, who ran as an independent presidential candidate before endorsing Trump — broad power over federal health policy. “I’m going to let him go wild on health. I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on the medicines,” Trump said. Kennedy, whose best-known position on health is an unsubstantiated claim that vaccines can cause autism, responded by saying he would counsel Trump to cleanse the nation’s drinking water of fluoride. … ” Read more from the SF Chronicle.
What the TFA! Is trifluoroacetic acid another “forever chemical” on the rise?
“A couple of months ago, our blog published an article on the exploding ubiquity of Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the environment. TFA is a breakdown product of several hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC). It is regulated under the Montreal Protocol (MP), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) used mainly as refrigerants. Trifluoroacetic acid is (1) produced naturally and synthetically, (2) used in the chemical industry, and (3) a potential environmental breakdown product of a large number (>1 million) chemicals, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and polymers. In 2016, EPA stated that the “formation of TFA derived from degradation of HCFC and HFC warrants continued attention, in part because of a long environmental lifetime and due many other potential but highly uncertain sources.” … ” Read more from Environmental Law Monitor.
In a record, all but two states are in drought
“Almost the entire United States faced drought conditions during the last week of October. Only Alaska and Kentucky did not have at least moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a record in the monitor’s history. The past four months were consistently warmer than normal over a wide swath of the country, said Rich Tinker, a drought specialist with the National Weather Service. But in June, while roughly a quarter of the country was dry to some degree, he said, now 87 percent of the nation is. “Drought in many parts of the country and the world is becoming more frequent, longer and more severe,” said Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute and a professor at Oregon State University. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
In commentary this week …
Sites Reservoir: A once-in-a-generation opportunity
Fritz Durst, Chair, Sites Project Authority, writes, “Water is a precious resource in California—and like any smart investment strategy, we need to use it wisely and plan for the future. As our climate changes, our management of water supplies needs to change, too. That’s why state and local leaders are using all of the tools available so that future generations have reliable water supplies to grow food, sustain businesses and protect the environment. And the tools we have today are more sophisticated than the solutions advanced in the early and mid-1900’s. We’ve created new and improved technology to purify and reuse, desalinate, conserve and store water. Sites Reservoir is a key part of the broad approach to ensuring Californians have enough water for years to come. It’s a 21st century solution to storing water designed with both environmental values and water supply needs in mind. … ” Continue reading this commentary.
Zone 7 should withdraw its support of voluntary agreements and set limits on diverting water from the Bay Delta
The Livermore Independent editorial board writes, “The State Water Resources Control Board is currently considering two options for its plan to preserve the Bay Delta. What the board decides will affect the Tri-Valley’s ability to secure safe water. One option, proposed by agency staff, would increase the minimum amount of water that must flow from the Sacramento River through to the San Francisco Bay without being diverted along the way for human uses. This approach is also supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Sierra Club. The other option, favored by Zone 7 and other utilities, is to enact what they call “voluntary agreements.” The name refers to plans that each of the participating agencies would create separately to restore habitat on their properties. What the voluntary agreements don’t do is set hard limits on the total amount of water diverted to our local water systems or to agricultural uses; it replaces them with wide ranges that are sometimes higher or sometimes lower than what is proposed in the staff option. … ” Read more from the Livermore Independent.
ESSAY: Water wasted to sea?
James E. Cloern, Jane Kay, Wim Kimmerer, Jeffrey Mount, Peter B. Moyle, and Anke Müeller–Solger write, “If we farmed the Central Valley or managed water supplies for San Francisco, San Jose, or Los Angeles, we might think that freshwater flowing from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers through the Delta to San Francisco Bay is “wasted” because it ends up in the Pacific Ocean as an unused resource. However, different perspectives emerge as we follow the downstream movement of river water through the Delta and into San Francisco Bay. … ” Continue reading this essay.
The problem with misrepresenting science
Scott Hamilton, President, Hamilton Resource Economics, writes, “Delta smelt has cost valley farmers, rural communities, and residents in Southern California significant quantities of water. Since water supplies have been restricted to protect delta smelt starting in 2008, no estimate of the water cost has been produced, but it is very likely that the total number exceeds 10-million-acre feet. The cost to replace that water is in the order of $5 billion. Delta smelt are a small, native fish, found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and westwards to the Napa River in salinity that ranges from slightly salty to one third that of sea water. They were listed as threatened in 1993 and the status was later changed to endangered. Since 2017, they have no longer been found in long-running fish surveys in which they were once abundant. Their protection under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. … ” Continue reading at Valley Ag Voice.
In regional water news this week …
Pit River Nation is leading the effort to establish Sáttítla National Monument
“In Northern California, nestled among tall conifers of the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Modoc National Forests, lies the water rich and culturally significant landscape known by the Pit River Nation as Sáttítla, comprising the upper reaches of the Medicine Lake Highlands. The area boasts unique geology formed by volcanoes and serves as a giant freshwater aquifer, storing snow melt that provides water for millions of Californians. … To protect the area’s geological significance and natural and spiritual value, the Pit River Nation is calling on the Biden administration to designate the Sáttítla National Monument, which would include a little more than 200,000 acres of lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties in California. Not only would the national monument safeguard irreplaceable lands and waters, it would also push President Joe Biden over the threshold of protecting more public land than any other recent president in their first term. It would also contribute to the national goal of protecting 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030. … ” Read the full story at Medium.
Napa Valley landfill dumped toxic waste into waterways for decades, workers allege in federal lawsuit
“A California landfill has been illegally dumping toxic waste into the Napa River for years, polluting waters that feed a valley known around the world for the quality of its vineyards, according to a federal lawsuit filed by landfill employees. Fifteen workers from Clover Flat Landfill and Upper Valley Disposal Service (UVDS) in Napa County, California, allege that operators of the landfill intentionally diverted what is called “leachate” – untreated liquid wastewater often containing heavy metals, nitrates, bacteria and pathogens – into the Napa River and other area waterways for decades. The actions were done to “avoid the costs of properly trucking out the toxic leachate” to facilities designated for safe disposal, the lawsuit alleges. “Defendants’ deliberate pollution of the Napa River watershed with toxic wastewater is particularly disturbing because Napa Valley contains some of the most valuable agricultural land in the country, and water from the Napa River is used by local wineries to irrigate Napa’s famous vineyards, and is a significant community water resource,” the complaint said. … ” Read more from the New Lede.
State fines Modesto for sewer spills. City to spend the money on this worthy cause
“Modesto and state officials got creative in resolving two sewage spills into the Tuolumne River in 2021. The state agreed to let the city put its $325,000 fine toward a 42-cabin project for unhoused people at Ninth and D streets. The money will go specifically to the restroom, shower and laundry buildings and their water and sewer hookups. The logic? The restrooms will serve a population that might at times relieve itself near the river or in other unsanitary places. The site, Dignity Village Modesto Interim Housing, is scheduled to open by Jan. 31 on the city-owned dirt lot. It will provide 70-square-foot homes and social services for people with serious mental illness and-or substance use disorder. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee.
Lawsuit accuses Friant Water Authority of holding secret meetings that resulted in massive fees pinned on a handful of Tulare County irrigation districts
“The legal fracas over who should pay to fix the sinking Friant-Kern Canal grew Friday when three Tulare County irrigation districts sued the Friant Water Authority for imposing steep fees on the districts approved through allegedly secret communications and serial meetings. In a suit filed Nov. 1 the Terra Bella, Saucelito and Porterville irrigation districts also seek to declare the fees, up to $295 million approved in a special meeting held in August, void. “We are hoping that Friant will go back and re-do that board meeting, and if they do, that the outcome will be different,” said Sean Geivet, general manager for the three districts. “The unlawful tactics of Friant’s leadership need to cease because my three middle-sized districts can’t continue to function on an uneven playing field.” He said the districts have documents that show the fees were approved illegally. “It’s pretty cut and dried.” … ” Read more from SJV Water.
The Mono Lake Decision turns 30: Historic State Water Board action halted ecosystem collapse, but lake is still only halfway to management level
“On September 28, 1994, the California State Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously to approve Decision 1631, amending the water licenses of the City of Los Angeles in order “to establish fishery protection flows in streams tributary to Mono Lake and to protect Public Trust resources at Mono Lake and in the Mono Lake Basin.” The crowd in the Sacramento hearing room stood in a genuine and enthusiastic ovation, a rarity for state agency decisions. Board member Marc Del Piero pronounced: “Today we saved Mono Lake.” Remarkably, not one of the parties that participated in the hearing process that led to D1631 appealed the decision—most notably, not even the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP). D1631 provided water for the lake and streams. At the same time the Mono Lake Committee had helped to secure water solutions for Los Angeles that included conservation programs and millions of dollars in state and federal funding to develop local supplies. A decades-long water battle had ended with all parties agreeing to stop fighting and move forward to implement the solution. … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
L.A. River heads towards 10 years of dredging
“This winter, the Army Corps of Engineers will begin dredging the L.A. River from Griffith Park to the 110 Freeway area. By the time the project ends, nearby third graders will be in college. About 50% of the sediment will be removed during the 10-year project, according to Stephen Baack, a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Los Angeles District. Work will begin with excavation and invasive species removal, he added. According to Baack, $18 million has been allocated for the project, though more money could come in later. The next step involves awarding a contract to the entity that will do the work. … ” Read more from the Eastsider LA.
Supervisors urge IID to engage on critical water issues
“The Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved a formal letter to the Imperial Irrigation District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, urging them to engage directly with the county on water-related issues crucial to the region’s economic and environmental health, particularly the future of Lithium Valley. While the board and IID have periodic “two-on-two” meetings, intended to address pressing topics, these sessions have not led to the focused discussions on water allocations and conservation impacts that county leaders have sought. Board Chairperson Luis Plancarte emphasized that the county’s letter aims to bring these issues to the full IID Board of Directors. “With this letter, at least my intention is to make the full board of directors at IID aware of our concern and once again invite them to sit down at the table and talk to us specifically about some of these items,” Plancarte said. … ” Read more from the Calexico Chronicle.
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE of Staff Workshop on Proposed Changes to the Water Measurement and Reporting Regulation
NOTICE: Revised Notice of Public Comment and Workshop on Draft Sacramento/Delta Updates to Bay-Delta Plan
FAQ: Update and Implementation of the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Watershed (Bay Delta Plan)
WATER CONSERVATION REGULATION: Upcoming Webinars for the Urban Water Use Objective Reporting Form
NOTICE: California Water Commission draft 2025 Strategic Plan available for review
