WEEKLY WATER NEWS DIGEST for Dec. 8-13: AR triple-threat bringing rain, snow; Metropolitan approves continued Delta tunnel funding; Newsom urges completion of Sites Reservoir; The impacts of non-native fish on salmon populations in the San Joaquin River; and more …

A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …

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In California water news this week …

Atmospheric river triple-threat bringing rounds of rain, mountain snow across West

“A series of three atmospheric river storms has already started bringing rounds of rain and mountain snow across the West Coast, most notably in northern California, through Monday.The first atmospheric river moved in Wednesday night and brought rain and mountain snow to northern and central California on Thursday. Up to 4 inches fell in northern California, with less to the south.The second and strongest atmospheric river of the group will move into the West Coast later Friday and continue through Saturday, according to the FOX Forecast Center. … ”  Read more from Fox Weather.

Coming storms could buoy California snowpack after late start

“The winter snowpack started accumulating later than usual in California, but a series of early-season storms have pushed totals above average for this time of year. With multiple storm fronts forecast to sweep through Northern California in the coming days, the northernmost regions of the Sierra Nevada have already seen snowpack levels well above what is typical for this time of year. The range’s regions further south, meanwhile, are around or below average, in a pattern that aligns with a developing La Niña.  As of Thursday, the California snowpack was 101% of the Dec. 12 normal, according to data from the statewide cooperative snow surveys. The northern Sierra Nevada and Trinity alps were at 156% of the Dec. 12 normal, while the central (70%) and southern Sierra Nevada (104%) were at or below average. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Examiner.

Giant SoCal water district approves continued Delta tunnel funding, asks “Where’s Kern County?”

The Clifton Court Forebay is a key part of the State Water Project (SWP) and serves as ground zero for the starting point of the California Aqueduct. Photo taken May 11, 2023 by DWR.

“California’s largest water contractor agreed Tuesday to spend another $141 million on the latest version of a long proposed tunnel that would bring water under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to farms and cities in the southern part of the state.  But the directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California had lots of questions and caveats along with their approval to fund the planning and preconstruction phases of the so-called Delta Conveyance Project. The project is expected to cost $20 billion at full build out, according to estimates released by the Department of Water Resources earlier this year.  A recurring question the Met board had Tuesday was whether the Kern County Water Agency, the state’s second largest water contractor, was on board to pay its share of costs, $3.3 million, for this phase of the project.  Questions to the agency about its participation level weren’t answered in time for this article. But several local districts were discussing the project this week, according to their meeting agendas. … ”  Read more from SJV Water.

Metropolitan board approves $142 million in additional funding for remaining planning of Delta Conveyance Project; Restore the Delta and State Water Contractors respond

“Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors voted today to provide additional funding for planning costs for a project that could modernize statewide infrastructure that delivers water to 27 million Californians.  Metropolitan’s 38-member board approved $142 million to fund its share of environmental planning and pre-construction costs for the Delta Conveyance Project in 2026 and 2027.  The project is an initiative to increase the long-term reliability of the State Water Project and make it more resilient to climate extremes, sea level rise and earthquakes. The State Water Project delivers water from the northern Sierra to communities across California, providing about 30% of the water used in Southern California.  “After careful consideration, our board took this step because it allows us to gather critical information about the project’s benefits and costs that will allow us to evaluate whether we will participate in the full construction of the project,” said Metropolitan board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr. … ”  Read more from Metropolitan Water District; includes statement by Restore the Delta and the State Water Contractors.

Delta Counties Coalition responds to Metropolitan Water District Board’s approval of $141 million for Delta tunnel

“In response to Metropolitan Water District Board’s (MWD Board) approval of $141 million in additional funds to continue planning for the controversial and harmful Delta Tunnel Conveyance Project (DCP), Pat Hume, Chair of the Delta Counties Coalition (DCC), made the following statement on behalf of the five jurisdictions that would be most negatively impacted:  “This proposal is as inconsistent with the goals and priorities of the Bay Delta Plan as its twin tunnel predecessor. The DCC will continue to reject a project that deprives the area of origin protections promised when the State Water Project was authorized. It is disappointing that we continue to throw good money after bad on an ill-fated boondoggle, rather than work together on forward-thinking solutions.  … ”  Read more from the Delta Counties Coalition.

DELTA CONVEYANCE PROJECT: Public hearing for appeal of DWR’s consistency determination for geotechnical activities scheduled for December 19

In October, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) filed a certification of consistency with the Delta Plan for the geotechnical activities associated with the Delta Conveyance Project.  The draft certification only concerns certain geotechnical activities related to data collection (cone penetration tests, soil borings, and water quality sampling within soil borings), and not for the project in its entirety.  Four appeals by about eighteen local agencies, conservation groups and Tribes were filed before the deadline.  The Delta Stewardship Council has scheduled a public hearing for the appeal on December 19. … ”  Continue reading from Maven’s Notebook.

California’s State Water Project continues under new incidental take permit and new litigation

“On November 4, 2024, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (“CDFW”) adopted Findings of Fact and issued Incidental Take Permit Number 2081-2023-054-00 to the Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) in connection with long-term operation of its State Water Project. The permit, which is in effect until 2034, allows for continued water diversion and storage, and operation of power plants and conveyance systems that make up the State Water Project, which provides a water supply to 27 million Californians. On November 27, 2024, certain environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging DWR’s approval of the project and alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), the California Endangered Species Act (“CESA”), and the public trust. On the same date, various Central Valley Project (“CVP”) water users that obtain water supplies through contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (“Reclamation”) also filed suit under CEQA, alleging that DWR’s approval would negatively impact their contract supplies.  … ”  Read more from Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud, & Romo.

Gov. Gavin Newsom urges completion of California’s largest new reservoir project in 50 years

Sites, Colusa County. Photo by Tom Hilton.

“Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday reaffirmed his support for building Sites Reservoir, a proposed $4.5 billion project that would be the largest new reservoir constructed in California in 50 years, as a way for cities and farms to better prepare for droughts made worse by the warming climate.  “We are going to continue to do everything we can to put the pressure on to get this project done,” Newsom said.  “We are going to continue to advocate for federal resources,” he added. “Donald Trump, this is your kind of project.”  Sites would be California’s eighth largest reservoir, a 13-mile-long off-stream lake that would divert flows from the Sacramento River during wet winters to provide water to 500,000 acres of Central Valley farmlands, and 24 million people, including residents of Santa Clara County, parts of the East Bay and Los Angeles. … ”  Read more from the San Jose Mercury News. | Read via MSN News.

Tribal and environmental groups slam Sites Reservoir project as Governor promotes it

“Governor Gavin Newsom continued his “California Jobs First” tour today with a press event at a farm in Colusa in the Sacramento Valley where he promoted his Administration’s efforts to build Sites Reservoir, a water project strongly opposed by a broad coalition of Tribes, environmental justice groups and fishing organizations. … The Governor’s stop today was just miles away from where construction of the controversial Sites Reservoir is planned. The Governor’s Office claimed that Sites Reservoir “is critical to California’s ​​Water Supply Strategy and meeting California’s goal of expanding above and below ground water storage capacity by 4 million acre feet. “  Late last year, the Governor certified the project for so-called “streamlining, saving the project from years of litigation delays.” … In response to Newsom’s praise for Sites, opponents of the reservoir note that Sacramento River water is “already over-allocated by five times its availability and that the reservoir will add to climate change emissions.” They say the Tribal, water supply quality, and environmental impacts would be “devastating” as Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations move closer and closer to extinction. … ”  Read more from the Daily Kos.

The impacts of non-native fish on salmon populations in the San Joaquin River

At last week’s ACWA Fall Conference, one of the sessions highlighted studies on predation and fish populations in the lower San Joaquin River and south Delta that the fisheries and environmental consulting firm FishBio has been conducting with funding and support from several San Joaquin Valley water districts.  “The reason we’re bringing this to you is even though this study is in a smaller geographic area, the results that you will hear about today infer that this is an issue of non-native species populations being so large that they’re impacting the native species and an issue greater than our focus area,” said David Weisenberger, General Manager of the Banta-Carbona Irrigation District.  The way we manage fisheries, particularly salmon, mainly revolves around providing additional flows for fish.  “That means that the burden for this management is largely placed on water users,” said Dana Lee, a fisheries biologist with FishBio.  “But we haven’t seen the benefits of that approach.  In fact, most of the salmon species are in decline.  This is the second year in a row, the second time in history, that we’ve had a multi-year closure of the salmon season. So I think the mechanisms behind providing that flow are not particularly well understood.” … ”  Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.

The longfin smelt joins the celebrated ranks of the federal ESA – but can it recover?

Photo: Karl Menard, UC Davis

“Federal wildlife officials formally listed the San Francisco Estuary longfin smelt as an endangered species in July. Whether the action is a first step toward recovery or just an administrative milestone on the path to extinction is too early to say, but one thing is already clear: The longfin smelt is ominously close to vanishing. Now, as its existential clock ticks, scientists are hustling to better understand the species’ biology and environmental requirements and, with luck, safeguard its future.  The estuary’s population of longfin smelt—Spirinchus thaleichthys, a species that can live in saltwater and ranges as far north as Alaska—has been declining for several decades, with an accelerated dip starting around the turn of this century. Once plentiful enough to be a target for commercial fishers, it now shows a feeble presence in annual sampling programs. The longfin smelt was listed by the state as a threatened species in 2009. The same year, the federal government rejected a petition for formal protection. Since then, the longfin smelt’s slip toward oblivion has continued, becoming too dire to ignore last decade. Its new status on the federal Endangered Species List—which specifically applies to the San Francisco Bay-Delta population—ushers it to the apex of protective regulations. … ”  Continue reading at Maven’s Notebook.

‘It’s horrible.’ Fresno’s record-breaking settlement highlights region’s larger drinking water problem

55 gallon drums at Shell’s Emeryville lab in 1941, circa when DD and TCP were first created. Photo credit: Emeryville Archive

“The San Joaquin Valley has reached a dead end in its fight to clean up a toxic contaminant from its drinking water, with residents now facing the prospect of footing the bill for a mess created by Shell and Dow products.  Fresnoland reviewed internal Shell and Dow memos, court records, and state documents and interviewed key officials to uncover a decades-long environmental crisis enabled by both corporate greed and bureaucratic neglect.  The documents show how the companies’ products contaminated nearly 20% of San Joaquin Valley drinking water with a substance the EPA rates as toxic as Agent Orange’s deadliest dioxin.  The companies sold pesticides laced with 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP), a manufacturing waste from gunpowder and plastics production. Shell marketed the farming products as pure – a scheme that saved them millions in disposal costs. Over 25 years since discovering the contamination, state water officials have failed to even map how far and deep the cancer-causing chemical had spread into the Valley’s aquifers. … ”  Read more from Fresnoland.

‘More widespread’: Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ now found in rural California drinking water

“Juana Valle never imagined she’d be scared to drink water from her tap or eat fresh eggs and walnuts when she bought her 5-acre farm in San Juan Bautista, Calif., three years ago. Escaping city life and growing her own food was a dream come true for the 52-year-old. Then Valle began to suspect water from her well was making her sick.  “Even if everything is organic, it doesn’t matter if the water underground is not clean,” Valle said.  This year, researchers found worrisome levels of chemicals called PFAS in her well water. Exposure to PFAS, a group of thousands of compounds, has been linked to health problems including cancer, decreased response to vaccines, and low birth weight, according to a federally funded report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Valle worries that eating food from her farm and drinking the water, found also to contain arsenic, are to blame for health issues she’s experienced recently. … ”  Read more from the KFF Health News.

Examining City and County of San Francisco v. EPA

“A recent Clean Water Act case, City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, has the potential to impact policy around CWA enforcement and could be significant for water quality regulation across the United States. To learn more about the case and its significance, we asked Melissa Reynolds, associate at Holland & Hart, for some perspective. Reynolds works with clients to provide counsel on water quality and environmental compliance issues that may arise during project development, operation and closure. Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Reynolds worked for the Utah Attorney General’s Office’s Natural Resources Division, where she acted as general counsel to the State Engineer, and developed a comprehensive understanding of water rights statutes in Utah.  Q:  Can you briefly summarize the recent City and County of San Francisco v. EPA case and the general arguments on both sides regarding Clean Water Act enforcement?  A: This case challenges the ability of EPA and states with delegated CWA programs to impose vague narrative standards in discharge permits issued for sewer overflows.  EPA issued a combined sewer overflow permit to the City of San Francisco for its sewage system, and among other things, the permit prohibited discharges that “cause or contribute” to violations of water quality standards. … ”  Read more from Water Finance & Management.

Four Pacific salmon and steelhead retain threatened status in reviews of recovery progress

York Creek flows free after removal of York Dam reopened the upper reaches of the creek to Central California Coast steelhead after nearly a century. Photo by Brian Meux/NOAA Fisheries.

“NOAA Fisheries has completed 5-year reviews of the recovery progress and prospects of four salmon and steelhead species in Northern California and Southern Oregon. We found that all four should remain threatened under the Endangered Species Act. They are the latest reviews completed for the 28 Pacific salmon and steelhead species listed under the ESA. NOAA Fisheries is required to assess their status every 5 years.  The habitat of the species begins in the dense metropolis of the San Francisco Bay Area and the redwood forests of Northern California and Southern Oregon. It ranges north to the vast agricultural lands of the Central Valley and the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains. The four species are Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon, California Coastal Chinook salmon, Central California Coast steelhead, and California Central Valley steelhead. … ”  Read more from NOAA Fisheries.

Tag, you’re it! Reclamation supports cooperative effort to track Central Valley steelhead

“The fish along this stretch of the Stanislaus River practically jump on the line, and that’s a good thing for the people that have gathered here on a recent fall morning.  The species in question, Oncorhynchus mykiss, the rainbow trout, are well-known to angling enthusiasts – a feisty fish that punches above its weight when caught. Rainbow trout are one of nature’s oddities. In one life history iteration, they remain in the cold, fresh water of Central Valley rivers such as the Stanislaus. Some fish, however, choose the anadromous life. These fish, referred to as steelhead, make the arduous journey to the Pacific Ocean before returning home to spawn.  The Central Valley steelhead, a distinct population segment listed as threatened by the Endangered Species Act, is why Reclamation and its partner agencies are investigating the details of how the fish live and survive.  On the chilly and surging Stanislaus, the process unfolded – fish were pulled from the river with the aid of an expert fly fisherman, tagged and then released back to the water, none the worse for the experience. … ”  Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.

Meeting of Colorado River users wraps with focus on Mexico and tribes

“The Colorado River Water Users Association concluded its three-day conference at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas on Friday with the needs and desires of Colorado River tribes and Mexico taking center stage.  Over 40 million people use the river, including the most vulnerable people, and the conference was geared toward finding solutions to conserving water for future generations.  “We face two challenges: water scarcity and getting to a consensus,” said David Palumbo, deputy commissioner of operations for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. “We have 30 Native American tribes, seven states and two countries to work with.”  The Colorado River watershed is divided in two — the lower basin consists of Arizona, California and Nevada and the upper basin includes Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Mexico also gets a share of the water from the drought-stricken river. … ”  Read more from the Courthouse News Service.

Seven states’ Colorado River negotiators, all at same conference, didn’t meet together

“The 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River will continue to wait for a long-term plan for its management as negotiations between the seven states in the river basin remain stalled.  One illustration of that impasse: The seven negotiators did not meet during this week’s three-day Colorado River Water Users Association annual conference, despite representatives from each state spending that time in the same windowless Las Vegas hotel.  “All seven of us have been in this city, yet we were not able to meet,” Colorado’s negotiator, Becky Mitchell, said during a panel discussion. “That is a lost opportunity.” … ”  Read more from Denver 7.

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In commentary this week …

Farmers should brace for new state water rules, fees

Alexandra Biering, director of policy advocacy for the California Farm Bureau, writes, “California farmers and ranchers who divert water and violate orders or reporting requirements from the California State Water Resources Control Board may feel sticker shock when new increased penalties take effect Jan. 1.  The state water board’s powers to issue fines for water rights violations were first established in the 1980s and have remained mostly unchanged. In 1980, the California Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown approved a law that gave the state water board the authority to issue cease-and-desist orders when the board has evidence that a diverter has violated an order.  Such an incident occurred in August 2022 with a group of diverters along the Shasta River. After several consecutive drought years, the diverters were placed under an emergency curtailment order to protect salmon. U.S. Geological Survey stream-flow gauges that year showed that the Shasta River water level dropped by more than half in less than a day, and the individuals were found by the state to be in violation of the order. … ”  Continue reading from Ag Alert.

A drought-resilient Central Valley Project is critical for our shared future

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland writes, “Over the past three and a half years, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has directed historic investments to California to address the climate crisis, build drought resilience, and strengthen the Golden State’s aging infrastructure. The resilience of the Central Valley Project, with its importance to California’s agricultural industry and drinking water deliveries to major urban centers in the Greater Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas, has been a central focus of our mission since day one. …  Protecting the functionality and resilience of this critical resource has never been more important for the Californians and wildlife alike who depend on it every single day. Now, with funds committed to the Central Valley Project from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are ensuring the future of critical water supplies for wildlife refuges and Northern California cities, saving crops from being fallowed in drought years, and keeping water in the San Joaquin River – California’s second largest. … ”  Read the full commentary at the San Joaquin Valley Sun.

First, do no harm

Geoff Vanden Heuvel, Director of Regulatory and Economic Affairs at the Milk Producers Council, writes, “I had the privilege of being a panel member at the 10-year anniversary event of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which was sponsored by the California Department of Water Resources last month. The moderator of my panel asked this question: “In the next 10 years, what is it that the State needs to focus on to support the implementation of SGMA? What do we need to get right?”  In my opinion, the first answer to that question needs to be do no harm. And yet, doing more harm is exactly on the agenda of the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) as they consider updates to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed (“Bay-Delta Plan”).  … ”  Continue reading at the Milk Producers Council.

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In regional water news this week …

Settlement payment by Martinez Refining Company to fund environmental projects

“The Martinez Refining Company has agreed to pay $4.48 million to settle allegations of federal Clean Water Act violations tied to its Contra Costa County refinery, and the money will go to environmental projects, according to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.  Owned by PBF Energy Inc., the refinery produces a variety of petroleum products.  Between 2022 and 2023, the company allegedly discharged millions of gallons of wastewater from its oil refinery operations, causing harm to water quality and aquatic life in the large undeveloped marshes connected to the Carquinez Strait.  The penalty was calculated by the State Water Resources Control Board and issued in October. … ”  Read more from Danville-San Ramon.

Elected officials are watching idly as seawater intrusion continues advancing down the Salinas Valley. If only someone could do something.

“David Schmalz here, wrestling with a conundrum: Seawater intrusion is advancing in the northern Salinas Valley—heading toward Salinas from the coast—which has forced growers to drill deeper wells, but that’s only made the problem worse.  Why does that matter? The drinking water supplies of more than 150,000 people, and the viability of highly productive ag land, hang in the balance.  Last Wednesday, Dec. 4, county staff presented the Board of Supervisors a report about the state of the groundwater situation in the Salinas Valley Basin. The report is not new—it was published in 2023, but it was started in 2015.  None of its findings are surprising to anyone paying attention: Groundwater levels continue to fall, though the lettuce, strawberries and artichokes are still getting all the water they need to thrive. … ”  Read more from Monterey Now.

Water is on the way for  the MontereyPeninsula, new construction may follow

“Next week could spell the beginning of the end, at least in part, of a building moratorium that has plagued the Monterey Peninsula for the better part of 15 years.  On Monday the governing board of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is set to approve an ordinance establishing how much water each jurisdiction in the district will receive when the Pure Water Monterey expansion project comes online late next year. Called a “first reading,” the ordinance process will be followed by a “second reading” on Jan. 27, and then 30 days after that the ordinance becomes effective.  The project is expected to deliver an additional 2,250 acre-feet of water to the Peninsula that would enable the construction of thousands of new houses and multifamily units. Once the expansion comes online, it will bring the Peninsula’s water supply up to 12,116 acre-feet from all sources. … ”  Read more from the Monterey Herald.

More entities fleeing embattled Tulare County groundwater agency

“The embattled Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) may soon have only one member entity left.  The City of Porterville and Porterville Irrigation District are set to vote Dec. 17 and Jan. 9, respectively, on a draft joint powers agreement to form their own groundwater agency.  The Saucelito and Terra Bella irrigation districts have also begun discussions to leave Eastern Tule form their own GSAs.  The Kern-Tulare Water District left Eastern Tule in February. And the Tea Pot Dome and Vandalia water districts left last summer.  All those exits would leave Eastern Tule, which covers land where farmers are almost entirely groundwater dependent, with one member entity – the County of Tulare. … ”  Read more from SJV Water.

High desert groundwater basin in Kern to get $50 million in federal funding; announces settlement with pistachio grower

“The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority meeting Wednesday kicked off with two major pieces of news: The authority will receive $50 million in federal funding that it will use to help build a pipeline to import water from the California Aqueduct into the high desert basin and it settled a protracted lawsuit with Mojave Pistachios.  “I can’t stress enough how important this development is,” authority chairman and Kern County supervisor Phillip Peters said of the federal funding. “It provides the community assurance that this basin’s overdraft will be addressed in a positive manner. It allows the Navy to continue its mission and expand. And it allowed this board to move forward with the settlement with Mojave Pistachios.” … ”  Read more from SJV Water.

San Diegans can drink their tap water. Many pay more at the vending machine anyway.

“On a May afternoon, customers fill empty five-gallon jugs at vending machines beside the front door of the Aqua Bar water store in Escondido. Inside, the store’s owner chats with regulars turning the faucets at two large metal sinks. Customers come and go, wheeling carts full of newly-filled containers out to the trunks or flat-beds of waiting cars.  Aqua Bar is roughly in the middle of a neighborhood that could be the water vending machine capital of San Diego County.  The ratio of water vending machines to people is about eight times the county average in this corner of Escondido.  Demand for vended water does not appear to be related to municipal water quality.Social science researchers have seen the same patterns in other places and said consumers learn to distrust their tap water after seeing other government services fail. … ”  Read more from the Voice of San Diego.

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