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Southern California wildfires …
POLICY
Trump blames Newsom for Southern California wildfires, governor’s office pushes back on facts
“President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed the massive wildfires burning homes in Southern California on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s water policies, claiming in a jab on his Truth Social media platform that Newsom put the needs of “essentially worthless fish” over “the people of California.” “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump’s post said. “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California,” continued the post, one of several he wrote on the California fires. “Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!” But local officials blamed infrastructure for hydrant failures, and Newsom’s office quickly pushed back on the facts in Trump’s posts. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Trump seizes on California wildfires to roast endangered fish, Dems
“President-elect Donald Trump took to social media Wednesday to blame massive wildfires in the Los Angeles area — sparked by dry winds, warm temperatures and eight months of near total drought — on efforts to save a tiny endangered fish. In comments posted to Truth Social, Trump criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over state and federal efforts to bolster water flows for “an essentially worthless fish called a smelt.” Trump has long begrudged efforts to protect the tiny delta smelt — a 3-inch fish that lives in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in California — siding with critics who argue that flows from a major state water source would be better used by farmers and major cities, rather than for environmental needs including wildlife habitat. “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump wrote, in an apparent intentional misspelling of the governor’s last name. … ” Read more from E&E News.
SEE ALSO:
- Fact check: Why is Trump blaming the LA fires on Newsom’s water policies?, from Cal Matters
- Trump seizes on Los Angeles infernos to reopen his feud with Newsom, from CNN
- Trump Blames California’s Governor, and His Water Policy, for Wildfires, from the New York Times
- As L.A. burns, Trump blames Newsom — and California governor pushes back, from the Washington Post
- Trump, Musk unleash on California Democrats over wildfires, from Politico
- Trump blames Newsom for California’s raging wildfires, from the Hill
- Trump blames Newsom for wildfires over water management, protecting Delta smelt, from ABC 10
HYDRANTS/LACK OF WATER
Dry hydrants. Grounded aircraft. How L.A. struggled to get enough water to attack fires
“Firefighters in the Los Angeles area faced a severely overtaxed water system as they attacked four separate blazes to the north and west of the city. Los Angeles authorities said fire hydrants began to run dry early Wednesday morning as the Palisades Fire raged, and compounding the problem, water-drop aircraft were also grounded by high winds until this morning. Municipal systems “are not designed to fire wildfires,” Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said at a press briefing Wednesday. “A firefight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable.” Pestrella urged residents to conserve water, or turn it off before evacuating, to help make more water available for fire suppression. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
What really happened with the Pacific Palisades water hydrants?
“It’s a headline no one would want to see: Fire hydrants being used to fight the Palisades Fire were running dry. The blaze tested the L.A. Department of Water and Power’s municipal system: The final tank used to maintain water pressure in the area ran dry by 3 a.m. Wednesday, according to officials. The news drew ire both on social media and from prominent figures like Rick Caruso. The former mayoral candidate and Pacific Palisades landowner went on local TV news stations to complain about the situation, telling Fox 11 it was an “absolute mismanagement by the city.”But how exactly did this shortage happen, and what, if anything, could have been done to prevent it? LADWP’s explanation for the shortage comes down to three nearby water tanks, each with a storage capacity of about a million gallons. These tanks help maintain enough pressure for water to travel uphill through pipes to homes and fire hydrants — but the pressure had decreased due to heavy water use, and officials knew the tanks couldn’t keep up the drain forever. … ” Read more from the LAist.
Fire hydrants ran dry as Pacific Palisades burned. L.A. city officials blame ‘tremendous demand’
“As wildfires raged across Los Angeles on Tuesday, crews battling the Palisades blaze faced an additional burden: Scores of fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades had little to no water flowing out. “The hydrants are down,” said one firefighter in internal radio communications. “Water supply just dropped,” said another. By 3 a.m. Wednesday, all water storage tanks in the Palisades area “went dry,” diminishing the flow of water from hydrants in higher elevations, said Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the city’s utility. “We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades. We pushed the system to the extreme,” Quiñones said Wednesday morning. “Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SEE ALSO:
- Fire hydrants ran dry in Southern California just when they were needed most, from the Associated Press
- No, Los Angeles didn’t refuse to fill water reservoirs prior to fires, from CBS News
- After ‘tremendous demand’, water tanks used for fighting LA wildfires ran dry early, from the Guardian
WEATHER WHIPLASH
The ‘weather whiplash’ fueling the Los Angeles fires is becoming more common
“It’s supposed to be the rainy season in Southern California, but the last time Los Angeles measured more than a tenth-inch of rain was eight months ago, after the city logged one of the soggiest periods in its recorded history. Since then, bone-dry conditions have set the stage for the catastrophic wildfires now descending upon the metropolis from multiple directions. This quick cycling between very wet and very dry periods — one example of what scientists have come to call “weather whiplash” — creates prime conditions for wildfires: The rain encourages an abundance of brush and grass, and once all that vegetation dries out, it only takes a spark and a gust of wind to fuel a deadly fire. That’s what happened in Los Angeles County this week, when a fierce windstorm fueled the Palisades and Eaton fires, which as of Wednesday night had killed at least five people, destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. … ” Read more from Grist.
The unusually strong force behind the apocalyptic fires in Los Angeles
“Sustained powerful winds reaching nearly 100 miles per hour are driving fast-moving wildfires near Los Angeles, spewing smoke, destroying homes, closing roads, and forcing thousands of people to evacuate. … These blazes are stunning in their scale and speed, jumping from ignition to thousands of acres in a day, but they’re hardly unexpected. Fire forecasters have been warning since the beginning of the year that conditions were ripe for massive infernos, particularly in Southern California. “For January, above normal significant fire potential is forecast across portions of Southern California,” according to a National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) bulletin on January 2. “This was an exceptionally well-predicted event from a meteorological and fire-predictive services perspective,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Los Angeles, said Wednesday during a livestream. … ” Continue reading at Inside Climate News.
Winds, drought, climate change: the factors fueling LA’s historic wildfires
“Southern California is experiencing it’s most devastating winter fires in more than four decades. Fires don’t usually blaze at this time of year, but specific ingredients have come together to defy the calendar in a fast and deadly manner. Start with supersized Santa Ana winds whipping flames and embers at 100 mph — much faster than normal — and cross that with the return of extreme drought. Add on weather whiplash that grew tons of plants in downpours then record high temperatures that dried them out to make easy-to-burn fuel. Then there’s a plunging and unusual jet stream, and lots of power lines flapping in those powerful gusts. Experts say that’s what is turning wildfires into a deadly urban conflagration. … ” Read more from KQED.
It’s not really the right time for nasty California fires. What are the factors that changed that?
“Southern California is experiencing it’s most devastating winter fires in more than four decades. Fires don’t usually blaze at this time of year, but specific ingredients have come together to defy the calendar in a fast and deadly manner. Start with supersized Santa Ana winds whipping flames and embers at 100 mph — much faster than normal — and cross that with the return of extreme drought. Add on weather whiplash that grew tons of plants in downpours then record high temperatures that dried them out to make easy-to-burn fuel. Then there’s a plunging and unusual jet stream, and lots of power lines flapping in those powerful gusts. Experts say that’s what is turning wildfires into a deadly urban conflagration. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
OTHER SOCAL FIRE COVERAGE
Trump revives threats to withhold disaster aid for political foes
“The deadly Los Angeles area wildfires were turned into a political conflagration on Wednesday as President-elect Donald Trump rekindled past threats to withhold disaster aid to Democratic opponents in California. It came as howling Santa Ana winds pushed flames through palm-studded neighborhoods in explosive bursts that left more than 1,000 homes, businesses and schools in chars, with no end in sight as firefighters in some areas struggled to find enough water to combat the surging flames. At least five people had died as of Wednesday night. Trump put the blame on President Joe Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom in a broad political attack aimed at everything from environmental protections for delta smelt — which Trump described Wednesday as a “worthless fish” — to Biden’s handling of disaster aid. It could be a preview of his second term, during which Trump has pledged to withhold wildfire aid from California unless Newsom gives in to his policy demands. … ” Read more from E&E News.
LA fires underscore how much California has to lose if Trump withholds disaster aid
“As wildfires erupted in Southern California, so did a years-long feud between incoming president Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly threatened to cut off disaster funding for California. He stopped short of that on Wednesday, but in a social media post, he called Newsom “Newscum” and blamed his water policies for the three fires that have destroyed hundreds of homes, killed at least five people and displaced tens of thousands of Californians. Trump said that due to Newsom’s environmental regulations, not enough water has reached Southern California and that fire hydrants went dry as a result. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Dan Walters: Los Angeles County wildfires underscore California’s growing threat of disaster
“Hollywood thrives on depictions of desperate battles against overwhelming forces of destruction. A real life version, the equal of any cinematic disaster film, is raging today. Wildfires, driven by fierce Santa Ana winds blowing off the desert, are sweeping through Los Angeles County neighborhoods, most prominently and destructively in Pacific Palisades, home to many film industry stars. Thousands of residents have fled as thousands of acres of lavish, multimillion-dollar homes and lush foliage have been scorched, with at least five deaths reported so far. As of noon, the fires were uncontrolled and firefighters were reporting that many water hydrants were unusable due to a shortage of water. “We woke up to a dark cloud over all of Los Angeles, but it is darkest for those who are most intimately impacted by these fires,” said LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
“Not enough firefighters”: Historic wildfires rage unabated in Southern California
“Two people have died and more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed in wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. Approximately 80,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, and thousands of structures are at risk. The Palisades Fire has burned over 11,800 acres in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood and is continuing to grow, with zero percent containment. The Eaton Fire, burning in the Angeles National Forest and in Pasadena, is now over 10,000 acres and continuing to grow, with zero percent containment. The Hurst and Woodley fires have burned over 500 and 30 acres, respectively. Although the hurricane-force winds (which reached up to 100 mph) were expected to die down by midday, even the moderately high winds expected to continue through Wednesday evening will continue to make containment a challenge. … ” Read more from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Why Northern and Southern California face drastically different wildfire risks right now
“As fire crews battle major blazes in the Los Angeles area, Northern California remains largely free of wildfire risk thanks to a stark contrast in weather patterns. Recent months have brought normal to above-average rainfall to much of Northern California, while Southern California has entered an exceptionally dry period. Combine that dryness with an unusually strong Santa Ana wind event, and the fires quickly erupted. “The lack of rain and anomalous warmth and dryness that we’ve seen in the past six months, we haven’t seen it in the record going back to the 1800s,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. “Winds are the driver, but the real catalyst is this incredible antecedent dryness.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
Unsafe water advisory issued as Eaton and Palisades fires affect water supply
“Unsafe water alerts have been issued for areas near the Eaton and Palisades fires on Wednesday, Jan. 9 as the firefighting efforts have resulted in low water pressure and debris in the supply. An unsafe water alert was sent out Wednesday evening for those in the Eaton fire evacuated areas of Pasadena, stating that the water is unsafe until further notice due to potential impact from the Eaton fire. The Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) drinking water system potentially has debris and elevated turbidity, which is a measure of how cloudy water is. No one in the evacuated area should drink tap water and should instead use only bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, washing dishes, making ice, preparing food or feeding pets or other animals until further notice. … ” Read more from the Pasadena Star News.
Commentary: No, the L.A. fires are not the wrath of God. What that biblical comparison says about our politics
Justin Ray , a Los Angeles-based journalist, writes, “For the five years I’ve lived in Los Angeles, I’ve witnessed the city suffer from devastating wildfires. … On Wednesday, I was scrolling through social media, looking for updates and images of the destruction. As I sifted through the posts, I saw that “Sodom and Gomorrah” was trending on X. Intrigued by a biblical story becoming a topic of discussion in 2025, I clicked. It turned out that the wildfire crisis had sparked a strange and pointed comparison. Conservatives on the platform were drawing parallels between the fires sweeping across California and the biblical destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The argument, in short, was that California’s progressive values, particularly its embrace of LGBTQ+ rights and the protection of women’s rights, had angered God, and in response, He was punishing the state with fire. The comparison immediately struck me as absurd, not only because of its unsubstantiated religious implications but because it ignored the complex reality of wildfires, especially in a state like California. But more importantly, it made me wonder: If California’s progressive stances really had invited divine wrath, what about the conservative states that were also suffering from natural disasters? … ” Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle.
AND EVEN MORE …
- Wildfire tracker, from Cal Matters
- Harrowing photos emerge following apocalyptic wildfires in Southern California, from AccuWeather
- California mobilizes additional water tenders to Los Angeles fires, from the Office of the Governor
In other California water news today …
Los Vaqueros Reservoir expansion officially dead
Statement from Los Vaqueros JPA Chair Anthea Hansen: “Today, the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Joint Powers Authority (JPA) approved the resolution to officially dissolve the JPA and directed staff to proceed with all actions to support this decision. Without question, this is a significant and somber day for the JPA and the Phase 2 Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project (Project). As we move forward with the dissolution process, it is important to document the contributions and lessons learned from this effort. The Phase 2 Expansion Project brought together diverse partners representing urban, agricultural, and environmental entities to work together to maximize broad public benefits and regional resilience. … ” Continue reading at the Los Vaqueros JPA.
January 2025 update: La Niña is here
“La Niña conditions emerged in the tropical Pacific in December. There’s a 59% chance La Niña will persist through February–April, followed by a 60% chance of neutral conditions in March–May. Read on for the recent observations that led us to declare the (long-awaited) onset of La Niña and lots of details for current and potential upcoming conditions. A quick briefing, if you’re just joining us—La Niña is one phase of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a pattern of sea surface temperature and atmospheric changes in the tropical Pacific Ocean. La Niña’s signature is cooler-than-average surface water in the east-central Equatorial Pacific, while its counterpart, El Niño, features warmer-than-average surface water. The atmospheric circulation over the tropical Pacific, called the Walker circulation, exhibits characteristic changes during La Niña and El Niño, so we call ENSO a “coupled” ocean-atmosphere system. ENSO is a seasonal phenomenon, meaning it lasts for several months in a row. The atmospheric changes of ENSO are communicated all around the world, changing temperature and rain/snow patterns in known ways. … ” Read more from the ENSO blog.
Biden-Harris administration invests over $500 million in western water projects, with $129 million for California’s Sites Reservoir
“The Biden-Harris Administration has announced a $514 million investment aimed at ensuring clean, reliable drinking water for communities across the Western United States. The Department of Interior says this funding is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and will support five major water storage and conveyance projects. These initiatives are designed to address long-term water scarcity issues in the West, where communities and ecosystems have been facing increasing challenges related to water availability. A significant portion of the investment will go to California, including $129 million earmarked for the highly anticipated Sites Reservoir Project. This off-stream storage project, located on the Sacramento River system near Maxwell, California, will develop up to 1.5 million acre-feet of new water storage capacity. … ” Read more from Action News Now.
In commentary today …
C-WIN: Bay-Delta Plan is against the law
“The draft State Water Resources Control Board Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay / Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed (WQCP) is both illegal and morally indefensible, said water policy experts from the California Water Impact Network. “The draft plan would illegally delegate responsibility for maintaining healthy rivers and vibrant communities to water contractors serving corporate agriculture,” said Max Gomberg, a C-WIN board member and the former Climate and Conservation Manager for the State Water Resources Control Board. “It is morally indefensible for the Water Board to rubber stamp backroom deals that deliberately exclude tribes, environmental justice communities, and scientific experts.” Gomberg also noted that the WQCP specifically violates Water Code Section 13241, which requires economic considerations for protecting the “beneficial uses” of water resources. … ” Read more from the California Water Impact Network.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Restoration at former John C. Boyle Dam featured in talk
“Ongoing efforts to revegetate areas along the Klamath River in the former John C. Boyle dam’s “footprint” were among items discussed during a Monday night meeting of the Native Plant Society’s Klamath Basin Chapter. Robert Roninger, a fish biologist with the Bureau of Land Management’s Klamath Falls Field Office, presented two publicly available videos about the dam removal and multi-year plans to restore about 2,500 acres of land that had been created as reservoirs by the Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2, and Boyle dams. … ” Continue reading from the Herald & News.
The makers of the new Baduwa’t documentary want people to get mad about the river
“It’s December 1849, and explorer and naturalist Josiah Gregg is alone. He is furious. He is hungry. His buddies absconded to get a meal at a nearby Wiyot village, leaving him stranded at a river they were resting at while he drew up a map of the area they explored. He crossed the river and found his crew. “His cup of wrath was now filled to the brim,” a later recount of the expedition would put it, “but he remained silent until the opposite shore was gained, when he opened upon us a perfect batter of the most withering and violent abuse.” After a minute everyone relaxed, but the incident remained fresh in Gregg’s mind. He christened the river he crossed in pursuit of bread and revenge the “Mad River” on his map. … But there were people living near that river thousands of years before Gregg’s tantrum, and they called it a different name: Baduwa’t, “free-flowing river.” Almost two centuries after the river was given the Mad moniker, people are trying to change it back. … ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
‘Great conditions’: Mild weather ahead for Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada ski resorts
“So far this winter, most storms have veered north, brushing through Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile, in Southern California, ski resorts have been mired in record-breaking drought, not seeing any snowfall for months. That narrative flipped this week. While sunny days are ahead for the Sierra Nevada, in Southern California, Big Bear saw its first snowfall since November. Big Bear Mountain Resort, a ski area outside of Los Angeles, received 5 inches of snowfall on Tuesday night. A low pressure system moving south into Mexico pushed cold air and precipitation to the San Bernardino mountains this week, said Adam Roser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in San Diego. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
BAY AREA
Deal announced to end most ranching in Point Reyes National Seashore, manage park’s free-roaming elk
“Nearly three years after environmental groups sued the National Park Service, most of the ranches in Point Reyes National Seashore have agreed to shut down and stop farming as part of a landmark settlement, the park service announced late Wednesday. The park will phase out farming at 12 out of 15 ranches operating within the seashore over a period of 15 months, said park spokesperson Melanie Gunn. Two other ranches are seeking to continue under new long-term lease extensions, she said. The deal was brokered by The Nature Conservancy in closed-door talks involving the ranches, the environmental groups and the park service. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
SEE ALSO: Historic change coming to Point Reyes as environmentalists buy out ranchers, from the San Francisco Chronicle via MSN News
CENTRAL COAST
Monterey One Water is upgrading its infrastructure so it can sell renewable natural gas.
“As the Monterey Peninsula becomes increasingly dependent on recycled water, the cost of water is going to rise, and already has. Although recycling water is cheaper than desalinating it, it’s still energy intensive. Add to that, energy from the grid can be unreliable – Monterey One Water, which treats wastewater and recycles some of it for potable use, lost power in 2022 for a total of 65.2 hours at its treatment plant in Marina, as the PG&E substation supplying energy to the plant experienced interruptions. While generators were able to keep things humming, it’s not an ideal scenario for the facility – wastewater is constantly flowing, and needs to be treated before being discharged out to sea. So in 2022, M1W created a Renewable Energy and Electrical Reliability Program, the first step of which was to provide a report to M1W’s board about how to solve that problem. … ” Read more from Monterey Now.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Column: A healthy plan to restore a Stockton river
Michael Fitzgerald writes, “Numerous streams used to flow right through downtown Stockton. If these had been stewarded properly, Stockton would have a unique Delta-city character. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Sigh. One stream does remain. Mormon Slough, dry and desolate for decades, is now the focus of a plan to restore it to a flowing urban waterway and green space with native plants, trails, parklets, restored wetlands, fish, homes, and businesses new and old. “We’re champing at the bit to do this,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta. “It’s going to be fun.” Restoring the slough — which runs 9 miles from the Bellota Weir east of town, skirts downtown’s southern edge, and ends where it reaches the Delta near the Port of Stockton — is being undertaken by the Mormon Slough Restoration Association, a group of local agencies and tribal governments, and managed by Artie Valencia, RTD’s flood and restoration manager. … ” Read more from Stocktonia.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Newport Beach trash interceptor nearing completion
“During a storm, garbage carelessly discarded in the street in Lake Forest or Irvine doesn’t stay there. Each year, between 100 to 300 tons of trash winds up flowing up to 15 miles downstream along San Diego Creek, ultimately polluting the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve. “We’re the end of the pipe, right?” John Kappeler, a senior civil engineer in the Newport Beach Public Works Department told the Daily Pilot Tuesday. The accumulation of that much refuse in the nature preserve alone poses a threat to the rare species calling it home. And fishing out disposable bottles, food wrappers and other items from the preserve can be just as problematic. “We actually do more harm than good by going out and picking up that trash because we’re stepping on native plants and wildlife,” Kappeler said. That’s why the Newport Beach City Council approved construction of a garbage interceptor at the end of San Diego Creek in July 2023. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
SAN DIEGO
San Diego County water supply is stable despite dry start to rain season
“Even in San Diego, it’s typical to get some rain in the winter. Except this year, the San Diego County Water Authority said it’s the third driest start to the rainy season in 150 years. “Typically, we should have about three to four inches of precipitation around the county, and we’re at around less than a quarter of an inch,” Senior Water Resource Specialist Efren Lopez said. This doesn’t mean we’re in trouble. The Water Authority said we have plenty of water in our reservoirs. The Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir in Escondido is at full capacity. It stores emergency water and water imported from the Colorado River, plus it collects rain. … ” Read more from Channel 8.
Is push for Tijuana River Valley Superfund designation dead? County weighs options
“The push to explore a potential Superfund designation for the Tijuana River Valley hit a snag Wednesday when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told San Diego County leaders that the federal agency’s priority is to control the flows of sewage and trash that spill over from Mexico. Investigating potential contamination in the border region was best left to the state, they said. Last week, the federal agency denied a petition to review whether a six-mile stretch of the lower river valley qualifies as a Superfund site, a determination it made based largely on data from 2018 and 2019. That data, collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the International Boundary and Water Commission, found concentrations of hazardous chemicals in water and sediment, but not at levels that exceeded the EPA’s regional screening levels for human health concerns. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Wastewater treatment plant operator likely to dodge Tijuana River sewage suit
“A federal judge indicated Wednesday that he’ll allow a company operating a dysfunctional federally funded wastewater treatment plant that dumps sewage and toxic chemicals into the Tijuana River and the Pacific Ocean to duck a lawsuit brought by environmental groups in San Diego. In a massive 637-page lawsuit filed last year, San Diego Coastkeeper and the Environmental Rights Foundation claim that Veolia Water North America-West and the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission have discharged billions of gallons of raw sewage, pesticides, sediment and heavy metal industrial pollutants like DDT and PCBs into southern San Diego County in violation of both the Clean Water Act and the sewage treatment plant’s operating permit. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Along the Colorado River …
Can “Floating Pools” be the template for future management of the Colorado River?
“The press coverage of the December 2024 Colorado River Water Users Association (CRWUA) meeting mostly focused on the ongoing stalemate between representatives of the Upper and Lower Division States over their competing proposals for how the Colorado River Systems’ big reservoirs will be operated after the 2007 Interim Guidelines terminate in 2026. The headlines included words such as “turbulent”, “bitter”, “bluster”, and “spar”. Indeed, there was tension in the air, and the potential for interstate litigation was a topic of much discussion both on the formal agenda and in the hallways where, traditionally, progress is often made between competing interests. While the press focus on the tension and divisiveness was unavoidable, I believe that there were good reasons for some guarded optimism. For the ongoing effort to renegotiate the post-2026 operating guidelines, a consortium of seven environmental NGOs has also made a detailed proposal. Their proposal is referred to as the “Cooperative Conservation” proposal. … ” Continue reading from Inkstain.
New irrigation head design shows promise
“Arizona farmers may excel at irrigation efficiency, but can they do more while addressing challenges surrounding natural salt levels in the desert soil and Colorado River water? The desert soil is naturally salty. So too is the Colorado River, to a degree. Natural soil salinity and Colorado River water can create deadly levels of salt for produce and other crops, according to Robert Masson, an Extension advisor with the University of Arizona. This is why farmers are forced to use more water than the plants need. Flushing salts below the root zone is necessary. “Our challenge to water conservation here is salinity buildup in the soil,” Masson said. “We can easily reduce the amount of water that we use to get it to every single drop is exactly what the crop needs, and no more. But the problem is that when you do that, salt builds up in the soil.” … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
Judge: Arizona can’t be forced to regulate pumping along San Pedro River
“Environmentalists’ efforts to force quick state action to regulate groundwater pumping along the imperiled San Pedro River were quashed by a court this week. A Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity and other parties that sought a court order to start state proceedings toward designating the Upper San Pedro River Basin as a state-run Active Management Area. Creation of an AMA in the basin would have required the Arizona Department of Water Resources to set goals and a detailed management plan for reducing pumping along the San Pedro, in the face of declining river flows and dropping well levels. An AMA would also have the power to impose water conservation requirements on homeowners, farmers and other businesses in the area. … ” Read more from the Arizona Daily Star.
In national water news today …
President signs nature-based water infrastructure package
“The Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 passed the House on December 10, 2024, and the Senate on December 18, 2024. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) is typically passed every two years. The bill authorizes funding for water infrastructure projects carried out across the country by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The bill helps the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintain and improve the country’s inland waterways infrastructure, ports, harbors and flood and storm protections. According to Congress’ website, the bill authorizes, deauthorizes and modifies various water resources feasibility studies and projects. … ” Read more from Stormwater Solutions.
New research shows a quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction
“Nearly a quarter of animals living in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources are threatened with extinction, according to new research published Wednesday. “Huge rivers like the Amazon can appear mighty, but at the same time freshwater environments are very fragile,” said study co-author Patricia Charvet, a biologist at Brazil’s Federal University of Ceará. Freshwater habitats – including rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, bogs and wetlands – cover less than 1% of the planet’s surface, but support 10% of its animal species, said Catherine Sayer, a zoologist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in England. The researchers examined around 23,500 species of dragonflies, fish, crabs and other animals that depend exclusively on freshwater ecosystems. They found that 24% were at risk of extinction – classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered – due to compounding threats from pollution, dams, water extraction, agriculture, invasive species, climate change and other disruptions. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
NOW AVAILABLE: Making Conservation a California Way of Life Regulation FAQs, from the State Water Board
NOTICE: Due Date Extended: Public Comments on Delta Adapts Draft Adaptation Plan, from the Delta Stewardship Council
