DAILY DIGEST, 11/18: Bomb cyclone to slam West Coast as significant rain could cause travel issues; Empowering CA’s water future: The collaborative efforts of the California Water Data Consortium; To save more water, American homes need smaller pipes; and more …


Several news sources featured in the Daily Digest may limit the number of articles you can access without a subscription. However, gift articles and open-access links are provided when available. For more open access California water news articles, explore the main page at MavensNotebook.com.

In California water news today …

Bomb cyclone to slam West Coast as significant rain from California to Washington could cause travel issues

“A powerful bomb cyclone associated with a major atmospheric river is forecast to drench the West Coast, from Washington to California, midweek, potentially leading to flooding.The term “bomb cyclone” comes from the meteorological term “bombogenesis” or “explosive cyclogenesis.” This happens when a storm system’s central pressure drops at least 24 millibars within 24 hours.A big stream of moisture is set to arrive Tuesday night and will stick around through late in the week, possibly into the weekend, the FOX Forecast Center said. … ”  Read more from Fox Weather.

California bracing for extreme rainfall. Here’s why this atmospheric river will be different

“After a relatively tranquil, dry fall in California, this week’s weather forecast could not be more different. Extreme rainfall totals are predicted throughout parts of the Bay Area, North Coast, Sacramento Valley and northern Sierra Nevada due to an extreme atmospheric river, probably the strongest to hit the areas in several years. Mechanisms for a long-lasting atmospheric river-fueled storm are predicted to be in play in Northern California. As a result, heavy rain is expected from Tuesday night through at least Saturday morning, with possible flooding. Over the Pacific Ocean, a powerful system will develop Monday into Tuesday. The central atmospheric pressure of the storm is forecast to drop 31 hectopascals — a unit of air pressure — in 24 hours, which would meet the criteria for bombogenesis, or a bomb cyclone. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.

SEE ALSO:

Empowering CA’s water future: The collaborative efforts of the California Water Data Consortium

Water is vital to California.  Access to water and ecosystem information helps communities plan for the increasing demands caused by climate change, population growth, and other factors. This data assists in identifying areas and populations most at risk from drought, flooding, and water quality issues. To effectively manage California’s water resources amid significant changes, everyone – from the public to Tribes to local, state, and federal representatives – needs to have shared access to reliable, timely, and credible water and ecosystem data. So in 2016, the California Legislature passed the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, authored by Senator Dodd, which required state agencies to make water and ecosystem data available for widespread use.   The California Water Data Consortium (Consortium), established in 2019, is dedicated to supporting the implementation of the Act by state agencies.  Its primary objective is to serve as a credible and trusted leader in open water data access and use in California. The Consortium recently hosted an online town hall in October to provide updates on ongoing projects and discuss the latest developments in water data management. … ”  Read more from Maven’s Notebook.

Eastern Municipal Water District takes leading role in supporting modernization of Delta conveyance facilities

“Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) has placed itself at the forefront of California water planning through a unanimous resolution in support of the proposed Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), which will modernize the state’s primary water delivery system.  The resolution was approved during EMWD’s November 6, 2024, Board Meeting.  EMWD is California’s sixth-largest retail water agency and serves one of the fastest-growing regions in California. It is partially dependent on the State Water Project (SWP) to meet the needs of nearly 1 million customers. … “This is one of the most important water infrastructure projects we will see in our lifetime,” EMWD Board President Phil Paule said. “As one of California’s leading water agencies, EMWD is fully supportive of the DCP, which will provide a more secure water supply future for our region and our state.” … ”  Continue reading this press release.

This California city is fluoride-free. Dentists there worry about the trend spreading

“With President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, many Americans are wondering whether they’re in for a future without fluoridated water. Kennedy, who has widely spread falsehoods about vaccines causing autism and other false medical claims, has vowed that the Trump administration will “advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water” as soon as the 47th presidency begins.  One place in the country that can offer a glimpse of the fluoride-free life sits just outside the Bay Area: Davis. … ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee.

What is saving grace for embattled Valley farmers? People always need food

“Fresno State on Wednesday brought together economists, lenders, farmers, and industry representatives to discuss the changing landscape in California agriculture for its 43rd annual Agribusiness Management Conference.  Saying agriculture is in the midst of a drastic transition, panelists struggled to paint an optimistic picture of ag’s future. But the event’s economist assured growers, saying Americans will only want more food.  But farmers will have to overcome the after effects of an overexuberance of investment and expansion and find a price point that can pay for increasing regulations and water costs while also staying competition with rising foreign markets.  The talk comes amidst notable bankruptcies in the ag world, collapsing commodity prices, land sell offs, and high interest rates. … ”  Read more from GV Wire.

Sustainable vineyards expand in California

“Twelve vineyards in California have joined the Sustainability in Practice (SIP) Certified® program, bringing over 2,500 acres of environmentally responsible, socially equitable, and economically viable farmland into the fold. These vineyards, located across San Benito, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties, passed rigorous third-party evaluations this summer to earn certification. … ”  Read more from Ag Net West.

To save more water, American homes need smaller pipes

“Many high-performing, water-saving fixtures and appliances are designed like straws, supplying only enough water to satisfy one’s thirst. But the pipes that bring that water into Americans’ homes are sized more like fire hoses.  Oversize plumbing pipes move water inefficiently, wasting money and increasing the risk of waterborne diseases. And water efficiency is especially important as climate change makes droughts more frequent and severe. Efforts to right-size plumbing pipes to match the intake of water-saving products are slowly gaining traction, but homeowners and designers of multiunit properties who want to use these more sustainable pipes need to demand them during the project design phase.  When the current method for sizing pipes to transport hot and cold water throughout the home was created in the 1940s, it was under the assumption that every fixture had to be able to support a line of people for the bathroom, like at a sports stadium at halftime, according to Christoph Lohr, a mechanical engineer specializing in plumbing systems and the vice president of technical services and research for the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, a trade organization. … ”  Read more from the New York Times.

New study finds far-reaching impact of California’s stringent regulations: ‘It suggests a tangible public health payoff’

“California’s strict toxic chemical rules are making a difference when it comes to residents’ exposure to dozens of dangerous compounds, including cancer-causing PFAS.  Environmental Health News reported on a new study that analyzed nationwide data on the levels of 37 toxic chemicals in people’s blood before and after California introduced stringent chemical laws in 1986. The researchers found that Californians had lower levels of 18 dangerous chemicals in their bodies when compared to the rest of the country.  “Our finding … has potentially far-reaching implications,” Claudia Polsky, co-author and director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of California Berkeley School of Law, said in a statement, per EHN. “It suggests a tangible public health payoff from the state’s more stringent environmental regulations.” … ”  Read more from The Cool Down.

One in two El Niño events could be extreme by mid-century

“With the climate pattern known as El Niño in full force from mid-2023 to mid-2024, global temperatures broke records for 12 months in a row. As one of the strongest El Niño events on record, it was likely the main culprit of unprecedented heat, floods and droughts worldwide.  In a new study published Sep. 25 in the journal Nature, a CU Boulder climate scientist and collaborators reveal that the planet could see more frequent extreme El Niño events by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase.  “It’s pretty scary that 2050 is not very far away,” said Pedro DiNezio, the paper’s co-lead author and associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. “If these extreme events become more frequent, society may not have enough time to recover, rebuild and adapt before the next El Niño strikes. The consequences would be devastating.” … ”  Read more from CU Boulder.

A mythical harbinger of doom washes up on a California beach

“The legendary “doom fish” has returned to California.  A long, ribbon-shaped oarfish, rarely seen and believed to signal disaster, has washed up on California’s shores for the second time this year.  PhD candidate Alison Laferriere from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego discovered the nearly 10-foot-long oarfish on a beach in Encinitas, in southern California, last week.  Oarfish are elusive creatures that dwell in the deep ocean — often as far as 3,300 feet below the surface — in the mesopelagic zone, a dark region beyond the reach of sunlight. … Rare, monstrously-proportioned and strangely-shaped, oarfish have sparked myths and legends for centuries and are sometimes referred to as the “doomsday fish” due to their reputation as predictors of natural disasters or earthquakes. … ”  Read more from Yahoo News.

Return to top

In commentary today …

Gavin Newsom wants to protect California from Donald Trump — but only if it’s his idea

Opinion writer Tom Philp writes, “Gov. Gavin Newsom is now at his attention-getting zenith as he calls for a special legislative session to thwart the incoming Donald Trump. But it was a very different Newsom who vetoed legislation to protect California from Trump attacks on environmental and labor laws just five years ago. Newsom was so against what he is now all but demanding that he renounced the Democratic lawmaking at the time as “a solution in search of a problem.” Opinion This about-face is a notable reminder of Newsom’s two very different personas: There is the publicity-seeking side of the governor, which is now on full display in all its glory. Call him Performative Gavin. And then there is the Newsom known for diving head-first into the sausage-making in Sacramento to grind out real progress, confronting messy compromises along the way. This is Governing Gavin.  There is no greater example that has revealed the two Newsoms than one of California’s most contentious issues: Water. … ”  Continue reading at the Sacramento Bee.

Return to top

In regional water news and commentary today …

NORTH COAST

Salmon have returned above the Klamath River dams. Now what?

“The removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in southern Oregon and Northern California has been recognized as the largest dam removal in U.S. history. More notably, it’s also the largest salmon-restoration project to date.  In late September I watched an excavator take large bites out of the cofferdam at Iron Gate, the most downstream of the dams.  Just over two weeks later, a crew spotted a pair of salmon spawning in one of the tributaries above Iron Gate, where the fish had not previously been able to reach. On Oct. 16 biologists spied fall Chinook salmon at the mouth of a tributary in Oregon. This spot, 230 miles from the ocean, is above all four of the former dam sites.  The speed of the salmon’s return has astonished even the most seasoned biologists. … ”  Read more from The Revelator.

Community invited to review Mendocino’s water study

“The Mendocino City Community Services District (MCCSD) is hosting a community information event on December 3, marking the first of two public forums to address Mendocino’s persistent water scarcity challenges. This initial event will present the draft findings of the Source Water Study, conducted by GHD, with a focus on existing and potential water sources for the study area in Mendocino community.  The study, funded by the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) Program through the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), examines both current and potential water resources within a mile of MCCSD’s service boundary. Within this area, 28 public water systems, and approximately 400 wells supply water to Mendocino’s residents and businesses. … ”  Read more from Mendo Fever.

Ukiah Valley Water Authority expands to include Willow County Water District

“Willow County Water District has voted to join the recently formed Ukiah Valley Water Authority, a joint powers authority that has become the regional entity responsible for providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective water services for 9,100 connections in the Greater Ukiah Valley. The Water Authority was formed in early 2024, and already includes Millview County Water District, Redwood Valley County Water District, and the City of Ukiah.  Councilmember and UVWA Board Member for the City of Ukiah Doug Crane said, “The Greater Ukiah Valley has a broad portfolio of water rights, including our members’ surface and ground water, as well as the City of Ukiah’s recycled water system.  By integrating our collective access to water and enabling delivery of those resources across our entire community.  We can finally break down the barriers to efficient resource use that have hobbled us for so long. … ”  Continue reading this press release.

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES

Season’s turn heralds clarity and change in Lake Tahoe’s waters

“Off the shore of Homewood, the research vessel John LeConte takes regular measurements to help researchers track the status of Lake Tahoe. And as the seasons change, so does the state of the lake—its clarity, zooplankton levels, algae growth, and more shift with the weather.  “It’s like a health check or blood work for the lake,” said Brandon Berry, staff research associate at the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC). “Routine checks help us to build data and track changes more accurately.”  Berry, who captained the vessel during its most recent trip, is one of the staff members of the TERC responsible for conducting these trips, called Lake Tahoe Profiles (LTPs). They do roughly 25 LTPs per year, though there may be more or less depending on conditions—though Berry and TERC chemist Keeley Martinez both have gone out during brutally cold days to get measurements. … ”  Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Community Forum: How secure is our water supply?

“An in-depth, hour long discussion on Nevada and Placer County’s water supply as well as NID’s future infrastructure plans for securing our water will be two of the topics discussed with NID’s General Manager, Jennifer Hanson, at the upcoming Nevada County Community Forum. This free, one hour event will be held on Friday, November 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 in the auditorium, room N-12 on the Sierra College Nevada County campus. Terry McAteer, former County Superintendent of Schools and Steering Committee member for Community Forum, will serve as moderator of this month’s event. … ”  Read more from YubaNet.

Why there’s new hope for Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep to make a comeback

“Scientists say the population of endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep appears to have stabilized after suffering devastating losses during the record-breaking winter of 2022-2023.  Tom Stephenson, who leads the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, said the number of ewes, or female sheep, counted this summer is about the same as the previous summer.  Plus, he said, the abundant summer forage helped produce a “good crop” of new lambs — almost 100. And at least some ewes, which are critical for population growth, were spotted in herds that researchers previously feared might have been wiped out.  “Very small numbers,” Stephenson said of those herds. “Nevertheless, even if these populations hang on with a small number of animals, there’s a chance they can rebuild.” … ”  Read more from the LAist.

BAY AREA

Atmospheric river may hit parts of Bay Area as chances of rain increase this week, NWS says

“An atmospheric river may be approaching Northern California, bringing heavy rain, the National Weather Service said Sunday.  “Rainfall chances increase beginning Wednesday and last into the weekend as a rather impressive system sets up,” the weather service said.  Should the atmospheric river hit, the northern portions of the North Bay would likely take the brunt of the atmospheric river, according to the weather service, but those impacts could shift slightly southward closer to the SF Bay. … ”  Read more from ABC 7.

Commentary: For many reasons, streamside ordinance is more important than ever

Ken Bouley, executive director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network, writes, “Recently, there has been a spate of calls for modifications to Marin County’s streamside conservation area (SCA) ordinance.  Some of it even came from the IJ editorial board, who called for “balance” between the needs of endangered coho salmon and residents of the San Geronimo Valley in a recent editorial (“Building rules near San Geronimo Creek must strike effective balance,” Nov. 7).  The final ordinance, which took effect in July 2022, was the result of many months of discussions. Many compromises were made, including concessions recognizing that many parcels in that area are small. This resulted in a setback of 35 feet, even though the science called for a 100-foot minimum. Virtually all environmental organizations supported the long-delayed, commonsense regulation. … ”  Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.

Oakland Unified wrestles with lead in water. Most California schools are in the dark

“Oakland student Hannah Lau said she only discovered there were elevated lead levels in her school’s drinking water this year through her teacher. There wasn’t an announcement from the principal, nor was there an assembly to notify students.  “I was really shocked and scared,” the 13-year-old said. “How long have we been drinking this water? Is it really bad? Is it in my body? How poisoned am I?”  The Oakland Unified School District is one of the few districts in California that has continued to test lead levels in drinking water years after it was no longer required by state law. In 2017, an extension to the existing law (AB-746), also known as the California Safe Drinking Water Act, required districts to sample water from at least five faucets in every school and report the findings to the state by July 1, 2019.  State funding for lead testing ended after the deadline.  The law resulted in school districts getting a snapshot of lead contamination in their drinking water at that time. … ”  Read more from Ed Source.

SEE ALSO: Lead levels in California schools’ drinking water (updated 2024), from Ed Source

CENTRAL COAST

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute discovers mystery mollusc in Monterey Bay

“Undulating deep in Monterey Bay, the translucent mystery mollusc defied characterization. On Tuesday, scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) announced their discovery of these ghostly creatures as the first member of a brand-new family of nudibranchs (sea slugs) that floats through the water column instead of crawling along the seafloor.  The mystery mollusc, Bathydevius caudactylus, with its large jellyfish-like hood, snail-like body and finger-like appendages, defied expectations from the first sightings in 2000 from MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles. These custom vehicles survey the deep ocean doing everything from measuring water chemistry to looking for undiscovered species. Sightings of the mystery mollusc were rare, with 157 individuals observed over the decades.  And these individuals baffled scientists from the beginning. “It’s not very similar to anything else,” said Bruce Robison, senior scientist at MBARI. “When we first came upon it, we were all saying to each other, ‘What the heck is that?’ because we’ve never seen anything like it before.” … ”  Read more from the Monterey Herald.

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo manages monitoring efforts in Morro Bay

“California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly, SLO), has been monitoring Morro Bay for decades, and while the monitoring program has changed over the years, the dedication to monitoring the bay has remained the same.  The project started in 2006 as a Packard Foundation-funded initiative to monitor water quality flowing in and out of Morro Bay. The goal at the time was to use the data collected to develop and inform an ecosystem-based management plan in collaboration with the Morro Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP).  Since the estuary was the focus at the time, researchers were monitoring water flowing into the estuary from Chorro Creek and Los Osos Creek. Two stationary monitoring systems were installed in each creek, and temperature and salinity, as well as nutrient and sediment loads, were recorded to monitor the influx and efflux of contaminants in the estuary.  Eventually, a station at the southern end of the bay, referred to as Bay South 1 (BS1), was created to observe the impact of groundwater nutrient inputs from the town of Los Osos. A fourth station near the mouth of the estuary, appropriately named Bay Mouth 1 (BM1), was also added to the project to monitor the oceanic inputs. … ”  Read more from Environmental Monitor.

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Column: PG&E shouldn’t be permitted to endanger public safety at San Joaquin River Gorge

Columnist Marek Warszawski writes, “PG&E is only too eager to shut off the power to your house when it believes there’s a public safety threat. (Not to mention a threat to their equipment.) But when it comes to ensuring public safety in a popular recreation area outside Fresno, PG&E would rather not bother. In fact, the utility company is actively seeking a way around new safety and environmental measures in the San Joaquin River Gorge set by multiple government agencies and recommended by conservation groups designed to prevent the sudden onset of deadly high-water conditions. … ”  Continue reading at the Fresno Bee.

‘The lakes are alive again’: Rare Yosemite frogs are back from near extinction

“The jewel-like lakes of the High Sierra in Yosemite National Park are awe-inspiring sights. But for more than a hundred years they’ve also been biologically disrupted, stocked each year with non-native fish, which in turn destroyed the population of Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged frogs that once covered their shores and filled their depths.  With that loss, the entire ecosystem shifted. The frogs had once been an important part of the summer diet of not only bears, coyotes and snakes but also multiple bird species, including the Clark’s Nutcracker and the Gray-crowned rosy finch.  Then the few frogs that survived were almost wiped out by the arrival of the dreaded amphibian chytrid fungus, which killed them off in the few fish-free lakes that remained. … ”  Read more from the Stockton Record.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

McCarthy-Jacobs Joint Venture secures groundwater desalination project in Southern California

“The McCarthy-Jacobs (NYSE:J) joint venture was selected to design and build the Torrance Groundwater Desalter Expansion, a critical component of Water Replenishment District (WRD) of Southern California’s Brackish Groundwater Reclamation Program and its larger “WIN 4 ALL” initiative. The desalination expansion project will treat salt water in the West Coast Groundwater Basin and create a more resilient local drinking water supply for more than 88,000 residents in the area – eliminating the need for imported water.  The expanded desalination facility will use reverse osmosis membrane technology to remove salts from the extracted groundwater and produce high-quality drinking water – possibly a first-of-its kind nano filtration and reverse osmosis treatment for a municipal brackish water facility. … ”  Read more from PR Newswire.

Return to top

Along the Colorado River …

Officials expect steady transition from Biden to Trump for Colorado River negotiations

“Western states are mired in negotiations over future Colorado River cutbacks, but state officials agree on one point: A presidential changeover won’t derail the process.  Colorado River Basin officials have to stick to a tight, federally regulated timeline to replace water management rules that were created in 2007 and will expire in 2026. Negotiations over the new rules will overlap with leadership changes in Washington, D.C., when President-elect Donald Trump steps back into office. But new administrations have not disrupted basin negotiations in the past, and state officials don’t expect big issues this time around either.   “The deadline’s the deadline, regardless of who’s at Interior, who’s at Reclamation and frankly who’s representing the states,” said John Entsminger, Nevada’s top negotiator and general manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. … ”  Read more from the Colorado Sun.

Proposal for developing Arizona’s groundwater depleted areas faces criticism, legal concern

“Arizona’s water agency is encouraging an executive council to take action on a controversial issue around building in areas with low water supplies, due to building restrictions imposed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.  Opponents of the plan say it’s illegal.  In urban areas of Arizona, developers need to show certain planned houses will have a secure water supply before they can build.  Due to a groundwater shortage, Hobbs restricted building in the Phoenix metro area last June. Since then, developers have been advocating for options so they can continue their work in fast-growing areas on the edges of the Valley, like Buckeye and Queen Creek – which are the most affected. … ”  Read more from KJZZ.

Return to top

 

About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.

 

Subscribe to get the Daily Digest
in your email box ever morning.

It’s free!

Subscribe here.