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On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Delta Stewardship Council beginning at 9am. Agenda items include the Lead Scientist’s Report and Delta Plan Performance Measures: 2024 Year in Retrospect. Click here for the full agenda.
In California water news today …
Two Delta counties and other Delta agencies sue Delta Stewardship Council, alleging bias and legal error favoring controversial Delta tunnel project
“Sacramento County, San Joaquin County, the City of Stockton, Central Delta Water Agency, Sacramento County Water Agency, and Sacramento Area Sewer District (Petitioners) have sued the Delta Stewardship Council (Council) in Sacramento County Superior Court. The new suit seeks to invalidate a January 2025 Council decision regarding the controversial Delta Tunnel that also has broad consequences for other actions under the 2009 Delta Reform Act (Act). The Delta and its communities, the public interest requiring agency compliance with the Act, and the integrity and reputation of the Council all would suffer if the decision is allowed to stand. The case arises out of a 2024 lawsuit challenging the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Delta Conveyance Project (DCP or Delta Tunnel). In May 2024, the trial court stopped DWR from proceeding with geotechnical activities that DWR admitted were a key component of the Delta Tunnel project. DWR has admitted the Delta Tunnel is a “covered action” under the Act. Under the Act, a project proponent may not implement a covered action before certifying the whole project is consistent with the Delta Plan adopted by the Council. DWR had not done so. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
Sites Reservoir, Harvest Water projects could get big boost as commission mulls $500M in funding
“The California Water Commission has $526.3 million to spend on water storage. At February’s commission meeting, options on how exactly they’ll do that were discussed, and it could mean more funding for two Northern California water projects. The Sites Reservoir Project in Colusa County and the Harvest Water Project in Sacramento County stand to gain millions of dollars of additional funding to cover inflation costs thanks to the collapse of another Northern California water project. Los Vaqueros Reservoir stores up to 160,000 acre-feet of water and is the primary water storage source for Contra Costa residents. Since 2017, preparations had been underway to expand Los Vaqueros to 275,000 acre-feet. Despite receiving backing from state and local water agencies and already having been allocated some funding from the 2014 Proposition 1 Water Bond, the decision was made to end expansion of the reservoir. … ” Read more from ABC 10.
Sacramento-area rice fields could hold a key to helping struggling salmon runs
Paul Hames /DWR
“In the winter, rice fields in the Sacramento region are flooded with water. It’s a common method to prepare the field for new growth. With the help of a program led by California Trout, some farmers have opted to start flushing that water into the Sacramento River as a way to aid winter-run Chinook salmon. Researchers have found that this water is rich with zooplankton (sometimes referred to as “bugs”), which is a main source of food for young salmon. As the species’ population struggles in the face of impacts from human development and shrinking habitats, researchers say access to this water source could help them thrive. Jennifer Kronk, California Trout’s Central Valley Lead Field Technician, is leading ongoing research that investigates the full breadth of impacts the nutrient-rich water from rice farms has on the growth of these fish in the Sacramento River. She and her team observe how baby salmon, called fry, grow in areas with or without that water. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio.
Eat a nutria, save the Delta from these invasive rodents
“Federal wildlife officials are promoting a unique strategy to help eliminate nutria, the pesky critters that have invaded California’s Delta: Eat ’em. Turns out that nutria, a giant rodent that looks like an outsized guinea pig, can be a mouth-watering entree. “Their meat is lean, mild and tastes like rabbit,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says, urging the consumption of nutria and four other bothersome invasive species. Nutrias have been particularly troublesome in the Delta because they can reproduce quickly and are tearing up the marshlands. A single female can birth up to 200 offspring in a year, and their burrowing causes erosion of riverbanks. Plus, they have a voracious appetite. A single nutria can consume up to 25% of its body weight in vegetation a day. … ” Read more from Stocktonia.
SEE ALSO: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wants You to Eat These Giant, Invasive Rodents, from Smithsonian Magazine
Young salmon outsmart predators on their journey to the sea
“Young salmon swimming through the San Joaquin River make vital adjustments in their route and timing to improve their odds of surviving a perilous journey. Recent research has uncovered how these young fish exploit different parts of the river at specific times of day to avoid predators and cut down on energy costs. The study was led by Mike Gil, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder. The findings reveal the dynamics behind the adaptive behaviors of juvenile salmon. “The salmon fishery in the San Joaquin River delta area is on the verge of collapsing,” said Gil, the paper’s first author. … ” Read more from Earth.com.
Atmospheric rivers confound rain forecasting in California
“Atmospheric rivers are jets of sky-born water vapor that transport tropical moisture to higher latitudes, and they can be a blessing. In some years they provide 60% of California’s annual precipitation. But they are very hard to predict and can cause flooding, creating headaches for the people who manage the state’s water resources. Alexander Gershunov is a research meteorologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. He leads a research team that has described atmospheric rivers as great disruptors or wild cards in the effort to predict snow and rainfall in California. When those jets of water vapor arrive in California, our mountains push them upwards and squeeze rain and snow from them. The huge amounts of water in atmospheric rivers can make our winter forecasts, based on La Niña and El Niño, practically obsolete. … ” Read more from KPBS.
California’s water allocations get a boost— and why it matters for the nation’s food supply
“California’s water management is famously complex, relying on a network of reservoirs, aqueducts, rivers, and groundwater basins to meet the needs of farms, cities, and the environment. In recent years, the state has endured extended drought conditions and seen years of abundance. The surge in precipitation through February has provided a welcome boost to water supplies, and there remains time to further advance on those gains- smart management of water resources in California is critical to the people of California, and the nation. February’s storms delivered significant rainfall and substantial snowpack to many parts of California. As of February 25, reservoir levels in most key water storage facilities, such as at Oroville and Shasta, are exceeding historical averages, with only two of the state’s major reservoirs slightly below average for the year to date. … ” Read more from the California Farm Bureau Federation.
State Water Project allocations get bumped; state links need for Delta tunnel
“State Water Project allocations have been increased for the second time this year. Recent storms have allowed the Department of Water Resources to hike the allocation level from 20% to 35%, the agency reported on Tuesday. Among the 29 public agencies to receive project water is the Solano County Water Agency. It is contracted to receive 47,756 acre feet. The new allocation percentage means delivery of just shy of 16,715 acre feet. The State Water Project agencies serve about 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland across the state. “California is experiencing a winter of extremes. We’ve seen predominantly dry conditions broken up by very wet, short storm events. Those conditions mean we must move as much water when it’s available and as safely as possible,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said in a statement. “Ultimately it will require new infrastructure to move and store enough water for California as dry spells last longer and wet periods become shorter and flashier.” … ” Read more from the Daily Republic.
Trump administration releases $315 million in blocked funding for two new California reservoir projects
“The Trump administration has announced that two key California reservoir projects will receive $315 million in federal funding to help the state store more water in wet years to reduce shortages in dry years. The administration is investing the money toward the costs of constructing the massive new Sites Reservoir, proposed for Colusa County about 70 miles north of Sacramento, and to raise the height of the dam at San Luis Reservoir, along Highway 152 east of Gilroy, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said in a news release Tuesday. But there’s fine print in the deal that the agency didn’t explain. Trump isn’t providing any new federal money for either project. Instead, it’s money that was already approved by Congress before Trump took office last month, and which had been announced for the projects by the Biden administration over the past few years. After Trump was sworn in on Jan. 20, he blocked the funding as part of a sweeping, government-wide prohibition on spending billions of dollars of federal grants. Critics have called Trump’s move illegal and have sued to overturn it. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Proposed California water law would revive Clean Water Act rules
“Clean water soon could join a list of issues – smog, the minimum wage, gun control – as an area where California law goes further than similar laws in the rest of the country. But here’s the rub: The most likely path for that to happen is if lawmakers approve a new bill, SB 601, that calls for California to permanently enshrine into state law the rules of what has been, until recently, the federal status quo – the Clean Water Act of 1972. The bill’s basic premise is simple. All future water pollution laws in California will have to cover the same waterways – wetlands, creeks, streams rivers and lakes – that applied to the federal Clean Water Act as recently as the early years of Joe Biden’s presidency. Farmers and ranchers, among others, might fight it, in part because they’ve been hit hard by rising water prices. … But supporters say the new bill is the opposite of costly. … ” Read more from the OC Register (gift article).
Introducing SB 601: The Right to Clean Water Act
“On February 21, 2025, Senator Ben Allen introduced the Right to Clean Water Act, SB 601, to safeguard California’s water systems by enshrining into state law previous federal protections offered by the federal Clean Water Act. The California Coastkeeper Alliance and Defenders of Wildlife partnered with Senator Allen to present this legislation. The 2023 United States Supreme Court Sackett v. EPA decision stripped away federal Clean Water Act protections that regulated discharge pollution and quality standards for many of our streams and wetlands. These delicate water systems serve a vital role in providing clean water to our communities, foster highly productive ecosystems, and provide natural carbon sequestration benefits to aid in our climate change mitigation efforts. … ” Read more from the OC Coastkeeper.
Will there be a California superbloom in 2025? Here’s what to expect
“Recent seasons have produced abundant wildflowers across California — even a rare “superbloom” in 2023 that brought a profusion of flowers visible from space. This year is playing out differently. A news release this week announced Southern California state parks will likely experience limited blooms this spring, on account of below-average winter rainfall. But there’s still the potential for the Bay Area to experience vivid flower displays, experts say. “A bad year for Southern California flowers doesn’t necessarily mean a bad year for Northern California flowers,” said Ryan Forbes, an educator with California State Parks, with the Bay Area district. While Forbes isn’t expecting “crazy superbloom amounts” of flowers this season, he expects it to be a “pretty decent year.” Blossoms are already beginning to appear in parts of the Bay Area, though in some locations, such as oak woodlands, flowers typically arrive in early spring. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
How climate change puts the safety of drinking water at risk
“On November 8, 2018, a power line dropped into dry grass in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Sacramento, and ignited the deadliest fire in California’s history. Powerful winds swept flames through Paradise and several other small towns in the tinder-dry forest, killing 85 people, destroying 18,000 structures, and causing more than $16 billion in damage. Among the fire victims was the city’s water system, poisoned by the toxins in smoke. “Every time a home burns, it’s an open line to the atmosphere,” said Kevin Phillips, a former town manager and the district manager for the Paradise Irrigation District, which provides drinking water to more than 9,000 customers. “You are squirting water out [of lines that supply homes] at full speed and eventually [the system] depressurizes. That creates a vacuum effect and sucks in smoke with contaminants back into the system.” Smoke from burning trees, plastics — including PVC water pipes — and other materials contain benzene and other carcinogens. A year after the fire, testing revealed levels of benzene 80 times higher than the legal limit in some drinking water samples. … ” Read more from Yale e360.
Wildfires are getting worse. Democrats are divided on how to address them
“Congress is working on a bill that would change the way the government tries to combat forest fires. But in some of the states hit hardest by wildfires, Democrats are split on whether to support it. The Fix Our Forests Act, which passed the House last month, is intended to update wildfire prevention measures in federal lands while easing environmental protections. Among other proposals, it would streamline the process of cleaning dead trees and other fire-prone vegetation in federal lands — a favorite talking point of President Donald Trump’s. In the House, 64 Democrats voted in favor of the bill and 141 of them opposed it. Of those who voted, California’s Democratic House members were split 24 in favor and 15 against. The Senate is shaping up to be similarly divided. … ” Read more from Stocktonia.
In commentary today …
The easy impossible paths to water abundance
Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy at the California Policy Center, writes, “Coming up with a plan to find sufficient water to maintain 100 percent of existing irrigated farm acreage in the San Joaquin Valley the next time a multi-year drought strikes is not impossible. We can pipe water from Lake Roosevelt in Washington all the way down to Lake Mead in Nevada. From there, modest expansion of already existing canals and storage facilities can get Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, along with Imperial Valley farms and the Salton Sea, all the water they need. After all, the Colombia River has an average annual flow of nearly 200 million acre feet. So why not divert 10 million acre feet a year, a mere 5 percent of its flow? This will free up about 1.5 million acre feet per year that currently goes over the Tehachapis to Los Angeles to stay in the San Joaquin Valley for farm irrigation. While this proposal has earned ridicule every time it’s come up in recent decades, it’s a project that could have been realized back in the 1950s. … ” Continue reading this commentary at Maven’s Notebook.
What does it mean for western water management when the federal government becomes an unreliable partner?
Jon Fleck writes, “I got a text message yesterday afternoon about this, which is nuts: “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Albuquerque District announced today that an unintended water release from Cochiti Dam may increase flood risk on the Rio Grande in the river channel, riverbanks, and floodway. The cause of the unintended water release was a procedural error during routine maintenance.” Accidentally dumping 8,000 cubic feet per second into a river channel that hasn’t seen that much water since 1985 is a big deal. The gage data suggests the river level rose four feet basically instantaneously. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the stuff the federal government does in water management in the United States that we used to be able to take for granted, like, for example safely operate the dams. … ” Read more from the Inkstain blog.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Fired federal employees in Humboldt County say their unjust terminations will impact the public
“Danielle Bauman-Epstein knew there was a good chance that she’d be fired, but when it actually happened it still hurt. “Honestly, I’m just devastated,” she said in a recent phone interview. “I loved my job so much. It was really a dream job.” A program specialist living and working at the Mad River Ranger District in Six Rivers National Forest, Bauman-Epstein said her job involved formalizing agreements between the U.S. Forest Service and outside organizations — nonprofits, tribes, universities, etc. — for projects ranging from climate change mitigation and wildfire reduction to workforce development, reforestation, tribal youth stewardship and more. “These agreements help disperse federal funds into local communities,” she explained. … ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost.
After years of discussions, Board of Supervisors reject ordinance to regulate water extraction and selling
“The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday said insufficient resources were the reason to reject a proposed ordinance that sought to regulate water extraction and commercial sales by water haulers and private companies in the county. The issue has long been disputed among local homeowners, cannabis growers and local environmental organizations and led to an ordinance first sponsored by Supervisors John Haschak and Glenn McGourty in March 2022 and created by an ad hoc group of county residents – about eight to 10 people. The ordinance, which would have regulated the amount of groundwater extracted and sold by water haulers to alleviate its impact on homeowners’ water supplies, was denied by all of the supervisors except one, Haschak. “I wanted to keep working on the ordinance and figure out some sort of plan,” Haschak said in an interview. … ” Read more from the Mendocino Voice.
Commentary: Removing Scott Dam Benefits no one
Steven Elliott writes, “Farmers are fallowing millions of acres, development of wastewater use is expanding, communities everywhere are conserving, and we are forced to overuse our groundwater aquifers, a solution that will come back to bite us very soon. But we have not investigated the root of the problem. We need more surface water storage if we are to meet the unnatural release and ever-increasing use of our stored water supply for fish flows directed to the ocean for unproven and overstated expected results. PG&E is expediting the planned removal of Scott Dam and thus Lake Pillsbury, which is supposed to benefit salmon. … It benefits no one to remove Scott Dam and the 77,000-acre feet of water storage it provides. Lake Pillsbury provides a multitude of beneficial uses within four counties, serving more than 700,000 people and wildlife. Management of this precious renewable resource is vital to California. All we need is the determination, dollars, and yes, our state and federal elected officials support to press forward with the solution to keep Scott Dam in place. … ” Read more from the Mad River Union.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
California’s mountain towns crushed as Trump guts Forest Service
“Michelle Beutler cleared 67 trees off a U.S. Forest Service road in two days. It was the spring of 2023, after a record-breaking winter in the Stanislaus National Forest in California’s Sierra Nevada. Beutler, 59, worked alone with a chain saw to remove every fallen tree on a 10-mile stretch of road between the town of Long Barn in Tuolumne County and the popular Hull Creek Campground. She single-handedly finished the work so the road could open in time for Memorial Day. As a recreation technician based out of the Summit Ranger Station in the Stanislaus National Forest, Beutler’s job was to clean toilets, pick up trash and maintain recreation sites and campgrounds up and down Sonora Pass. … But last week, Beutler lost her job. The Trump administration has fired thousands of people like Beutler who work for the Forest Service, hollowing out an agency that manages 193 million acres of land across the country — roughly equivalent to the size of Texas. California’s 18 national forests alone add up to 20 million acres.Beutler was one of two recreation technicians in the Summit Ranger District. They both lost their jobs this week. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Federal funding freezes and staff layoffs stall crucial SYRCL work
“In recent weeks, SYRCL has paid close attention to the massive federal government layoffs and funding freezes enacted for public land management agencies across the nation. These actions have been abruptly enforced without due consideration of the far-reaching repercussions to land management, restoration work, and fire resilience projects across the country. With the recent cuts, the US Forest Service’s workforce has been reduced by approximately 10% (an estimated 3,400 jobs), and it is unclear if there are more reductions coming. Though public safety employees and firefighting staff have been excluded from the layoffs, other crucial positions across the Forest Service and other federal agencies that contribute to wildfire prevention have been significantly reduced. All arms of public agency work—including projects involving non-federal partners—are expected to be impacted by these reductions in capacity. … ” Continue reading from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
Lake Tahoe environmental health shows stability, improvement in new report
“More than 90% of measurable standards for Lake Tahoe’s environmental health are stable or improving, according to a draft report presented by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) to its governing board. The 2023 Draft Threshold Evaluation, which is peer-reviewed, highlights areas such as aquatic invasive species, regional wildfires, and seasonal lake clarity trends that require further attention, monitoring, or research. The report, compiled every four years, assesses 140 indicators of environmental quality in the Tahoe Basin and evaluates the progress of science-based policies and restoration programs under the bi-state Tahoe Regional Plan. “It’s incredible to see the hard work of public agencies and property owners making steady progress and making historic achievements in restoring Lake Tahoe and enhancing our communities,” said TRPA Executive Director Julie Regan. … ” Read more from NBC 4.
CENTRAL COAST
Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz water projects aim for better reliability
“As climate change ushers in more frequent droughts and wildfires, and more powerful winter rainstorms, several water-related construction projects are underway in Santa Cruz County that proponents say are vital to keep water taps flowing reliably. Unlike many areas of California, Santa Cruz County gets all of its water locally — from the San Lorenzo River watershed, a few North Coast creeks and three main groundwater basins. County residents are among the best in the state at conserving water and greater population has not increased water demand in the county since the late 1990s. Yet, the water system has become stressed in recent years by seawater intrusion, droughts and aging infrastructure. Two of the county’s primary groundwater basins have been deemed “critically overdrafted.” Authorities have responded with plans to replace pipelines and storage tanks, construct and upgrade water treatment plants, drill and renovate wells, and share resources between water districts. … ” Read more from Santa Cruz Local.
Residents raise alarm over ‘echo tanks’ in Santa Cruz Mountains
“Residents of Boulder Creek’s Echo Lane neighborhood are seeking answers as the aging wooden water tanks—commonly referred to as the “Echo Tanks” by the San Lorenzo Valley Water District—continue to deteriorate rapidly. The tanks continue to lie in disrepair despite a $4.5 million grant from the Department of Water Resources’ Urban Community Drought Relief program. In addition, $1.5 million was given by the district for repairs. The plans called for replacing the outdated wooden structures and fire-damaged plastic ones with six new 120,000-gallon bolted-steel tanks. … ” Read more from KSBY.
Moss Landing Battery Plant clean up begins
“The Environmental Protection Agency has started phase one of the clean up process at the Moss Landing Battery Plant in the wake of the days-long fire that started Jan. 16. During the county briefing Wednesday, on-scene coordinator Eric Sandusky said crews have started delinking batteries – disconnecting them from one another – in hopes of reducing the risk of large fires and flare-ups. Officials explained that delinking the batteries reduces the risk of thermal runway, when the battery heats up too quickly, because the risk is higher when the battery is damaged. “The delinking process reduces the risk of large fires, but there is always a risk that a damaged battery can heat up too quickly,” Sandusky said. The crews are also dealing with debris on the ground and the threat of what’s left of the building where the fire occurred collapsing. Sandusky said there is currently the risk of a wall toppling over and there are about 50% of the remaining batteries left to be delinked. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
It’s getting warmer in Southern California. Is winter already over? Not so fast, forecasters say
“Unseasonably warm temperatures are expected to continue across much of Southern California through at least Thursday, likely to set additional daily high records, but forecasters say this stretch of heat isn’t indicative of an early start to springtime. Several cold, wet storms are expected to dramatically flip the forecast by the weekend, pulling the Southland back into the throes of winter, with below-average temperatures likely to linger into mid-March, according to the national Climate Prediction Center’s latest outlooks. “We’re going to be really right back in winter here the next couple of days with two or three pretty cold low-pressure systems coming,” said Mike Wofford, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. “It’s going to be a pretty dramatic change.” … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Toxic runoff and rethinking water infrastructure in the wake of wildfires
“While the rains were a welcome respite from the month of destructive wildfires, they also raised concerns about contaminated runoff and questions on how to rebuild a climate-resilient city. Heavy rains after a fire can be dangerous, increasing the risk of flash flooding, mudslides and debris flows, as witnessed in Pacific Palisades and Sierra Madre. But, perhaps less obvious, is the serious threat of toxic chemicals in fire-ravaged areas that gets washed into waterways, threatening water quality, public health and the environment, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. “It’s always somewhat ironic because, in a place that is as dry as Southern California, we always like our rains,” said Bruce Reznick, executive director of the environmental nonprofit Los Angeles Waterkeeper. “But if you’re a water person, when you see the rains you realize the reason the air seems cleaner is it’s washing it all on down through our waterways.” … ” Read more from the San Fernando Valley Sun.
300 tons of hazardous waste removed in 28 days: EPA finishes first phase of Palisades, Eaton fire cleanup
“In a major milestone for Los Angeles’ fire recovery, officials said Wednesday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finished the first phase of debris removal in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades burn zones. Hazardous household items, including propane tanks and lithium-ion batteries, have been removed from about two-thirds of the buildings destroyed in the fires, the EPA said. The 9,201 buildings cleared include 4,852 homes in the Eaton fire footprint and 4,349 in the Palisades fire burn zone. The other 33% of buildings burned in January, or about 4,400 structures, were deferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for additional cleanup before the hazardous waste can be removed, officials said. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
SEE ALSO: Phase 1 of hazardous waste removal from Eaton Fire burn area completed, EPA says, from KNBC
Ash to action: Heal the Bay’s post-fire water quality investigation
“On Monday, February 24, 2025, Heal the Bay learned that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) had stated that the sand on the beaches was safe for recreation. We also learned that this determination is likely based on only two debris samples taken by Los Angeles County Public Works, one at Topanga Creek and the other at Will Rogers State Beach. These samples were collected to determine the disposal method required to remove the debris, not to determine if it is safe for people to be on the sand. It is alarming that DPH would make this proclamation based on only two data points. While preliminary debris and ocean water quality testing have not shown elevated levels of harmful contaminants attributed to burned household items, the sample size for both water and sand thus far is quite small. At this time, we simply do not have enough information to determine if the sand or water at beaches where debris is present is safe for recreation. … ” Read more from Heal the Bay.
LA housing officials now say landlords must clean up ash, contradicting earlier guidance
“Los Angeles housing officials have clarified that under the law, landlords — not tenants — are responsible for cleaning up the potentially toxic ash that spewed into rental homes after last month’s fires. The new guidance contradicts earlier statements from the city’s code enforcement director, who had said tenants were on the hook for decontaminating areas inside their own units. Housing rights attorneys said they were glad to see city officials reverse course. “We feel that it’s always been clear in the law that a landlord has to provide a safe and habitable home to a tenant,” said Sarah Rogozen, an attorney with Public Counsel. “We were surprised at the initial position that it should be the tenant’s responsibility to do this enormously expensive, toxic cleanup inside their rental home.” … ” Read more from the LAist.
Over 50 sea lions reported ill in the past week off coast of Malibu
“An outbreak of toxic algae has left as many as 50 sea lions sickened and stranded on Malibu beaches in the past week, according to wildlife officials. It is estimated that at least 10 sea lions are currently in treatment at the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles. Some of the sea lions exposed to the domoic acid toxin are in good shape, indicating they’ve been affected for just a short time, according to John Warner, CEO of San Pedro-based MMCC. But he says the size and scope of this month’s outbreak won’t be known until next week. “The worry is the toll it might have on the breeding population in the Channel Islands,” he said. … ” Read more from KNBC.
The hidden crisis of slowly sinking ground in California, and what preventative measures are in place
California’s West Basin expands water recycling capacity with advanced membrane filtration system
“West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) – a wholesale water agency that serves nearly one million people in Los Angeles County – has announced a major milestone in water recycling with the completion of the Phase II Expansion Project at the Juanita Millender-McDonald Carson Regional Water Recycling Plant (JMMCRWRP). This project includes the installation of a Custom Engineered Membrane Filtration (CEMF) system, significantly increasing the plant’s capacity and reinforcing the District’s commitment to innovative water solutions. The new CEMF system is an advanced open-platform microfiltration system capable of accommodating up to six different membranes. The design enables more effective cleaning and restoration of membrane permeability, leading to enhanced system performance by improving maintenance, water quality, and operational efficiency. … ” Read more from Smart Water Magazine.
Along the Colorado River …
Trump’s funding freeze muddies water outlook on the drought-stricken Colorado River
“An apparent freeze of funds the former Biden administration promised Arizona water users to leave water in Lake Mead has heightened uncertainty over Colorado River negotiations and led some in the state’s congressional delegation to press for the money’s release. Facing a dwindling supply that provoked emergency actions to keep the river flowing past Hoover Dam, Congress directed $4 billion to Western drought relief, most of it aimed at shoring up Colorado River water storage. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation signed deals with irrigators, tribes and other rights holders to forgo deliveries and save 1.5 million acre-feet of water over three years through 2025, with some extensions beyond this year. A second round of funds, which members of Congress say is also frozen, is intended to make long-term efficiency improvements, such as lining canals to stop losses when water is delivered to farms. Without the water or the agreements, some officials fear the ongoing negotiations among the seven river states could fall apart. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic. | Read via Yahoo News.
Trump’s spending cuts leave an uncertain future for the Colorado River
“The fate of the Colorado River is hanging in the balance after President Trump halted payments for a 4 billion-dollar program designed to keep its water flowing. It’s all tied up with one of the executive orders signed by President Trump on the first day of his second term, “Unleashing American Energy,” which aims to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources” by removing what the order refers to as “burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations.” The order sets out to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.” Part of this Biden-era plan set aside $4 billion to prevent droughts in the Colorado River Basin by increasing water conservation, improving water efficiency, and reducing the risk of reservoirs failing. … ” Read more from IFL Science.
Arizona drafts plan to conserve water, boost housing development
“Arizona’s Department of Water Resources released a draft proposal Wednesday that it says will conserve water and promote new housing construction by converting farmland into urban developments. The so-called “Ag-to-Urban,” plan would allow farmers in areas of Phoenix and Pinal County that require active management of groundwater to relinquish groundwater rights in exchange for credits of physical water availability, then sell the land and water rights to land developers to build new communities with a lower water demand than the farming operations. “We’re unlocking a large amount of water to work the way you need to,” advisor to the department director Ben Bryce told stakeholders in a public meeting Wednesday morning. By reducing large, often unreplenished agricultural groundwater use with lower-demand urban developments, the department estimates it can save millions of acre-feet of water over the next 100 years while keeping up with a growing housing demand. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Could cloud seeding ease Arizona’s drought? Lawmakers renew debate over ‘geoengineering’
“As Arizona contends with one of the most severe long-term droughts on record, scientists and water managers have considered weather manipulation techniques to increase the state’s sporadic precipitation. But Republican lawmakers have advanced a bill in the Legislature, Senate Bill 1432, that would ban geoengineering projects in Arizona, casting doubt on the efficacy and safety of such methods. If passed, the bill would prohibit geoengineering in Arizona that disseminates chemicals or substances into the air that could manipulate sunlight intensity, reflecting solar radiation back to space. The bill was revised to exclude weather manipulation and cloud seeding, a technique Salt River Project has researched that could increase precipitation and safeguard Arizona’s water supply. … ” Read more from Arizona Central.
In national water news today …
New data show widespread chemical contamination of drinking water
“A newly released trove of data reveals widespread pollution of US tap water with more than 320 chemical contaminants, including industrial chemicals and farm-related pollutants. The latest information is part of a tap water database, created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and incorporates information from nearly 50,000 water systems collected between 2021 and 2023. Though few chemicals were found exceeding the federal government’s legally mandated maximum contaminant level (or MCL), almost all US water systems nation-wide contained at least one contaminant at levels that surpassed the health guidelines developed by EWG that are based on scientific research of the harms associated with the various contaminants. “This is a wake-up call,” Tasha Stoiber, an EWG senior scientist, said in a statement. “Outdated federal regulations continue to leave millions of people at risk of exposure to harmful substances.” … ” Read more from The New Lede.
EPA would shrink to 1970 staffing levels—‘when the skies were dark with smog’—under proposed plan
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would slash 65 percent of its workforce under plans that its administrator, Lee Zeldin, has discussed with the White House, President Donald Trump said Wednesday at his first cabinet meeting. Such a severe cutback would leave EPA with a staffing level on par with its workforce in its first year of existence, 1970, when it was responsible for only a fraction of the laws it now implements and enforces on clean water, air and land. Based on budget figures on the agency’s website, a 65 percent cut would bring the agency’s 15,130-person workforce down to about 5,300 full-time employees. “I spoke with Lee Zeldin, and he thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from environmental,” Trump said at the cabinet meeting where he laid out plans for massive layoffs across the federal government. “And we’re going to speed up the process, too, at the same time,” he said, apparently referring to a plan for quicker decision-making at EPA. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
RELATED: White House says Trump meant EPA will cut 65 percent of spending, not staff, from E&E News
US Forest Service firings decimate already understaffed agency: ‘It’s catastrophic’
“On a recent Friday afternoon, Marie Richards sat in her living room in northern Michigan. She was having a hard time talking about her job at the U.S. Forest Service in the past tense. “I absolutely loved my job,” she said. “I didn’t want to go.” Richards, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, was a tribal relations specialist at the Huron-Manistee National Forests. In mid-February, she found out she was one of the some 3,400 workers who had been targeted for layoffs — an estimated 10 percent of the workforce — as part of the Trump administration’s move to cut costs and shrink the federal government. Richards watched as some of her colleagues were laid off on February 14 — the so-called Valentine’s Day massacre, when the Trump administration laid off thousands of probationary employees, generally hired within the past two years. She got a call from her supervisor that Saturday informing her that she had been let go, too. The letter she received cited performance issues, even though she, along with others in a similar position, had received a pay raise less than two months earlier. … ” Read more from Grist.
Group sounds alarm over possible Corps of Engineers firings
“The proposed firing of more than 2,000 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers federal employees, including more than 600 in the Pacific Northwest, would “dramatically” affect the Corps’ ability to execute its mission “safely and effectively,” the leader of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association says. Association executive director Neil Maunu sent a letter opposing the proposed cuts to the Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington congressional delegations, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) director Elon Musk. DOGE intends to fire more than 2,000 Corps employees nationwide who are on “probationary status,” hired in a role for less than a year, and in some cases two years, Maunu states in the letter. … ” Read more from the Capital Press.
How seriously should we take the sale of federal lands? Very seriously, experts say
“At his confirmation hearing last month, incoming Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pegged the value of America’s federal land at between $1 and $2 trillion, and suggested that developing public land is one way to pay down the estimated $36 trillion national debt. The former software executive and North Dakota governor told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that reconsidering America’s federal land as a balance-sheet asset to generate revenue could provide both short- and long-term economic security. Under-performing public land is a stranded asset in Burgum’s accounting. “When we restrict access, we don’t use [public land] for recreation, and we don’t develop the minerals sustainably and in a smart way, then we are getting super low return for the American people,” Burgum told the senators. “It’s our responsibility for getting a return for the American people.” … ” Read more from Outdoor Life.
Trump’s EPA wants to demolish the bedrock of US climate regulation. It won’t be easy.
“2007 was a pivotal year for climate regulation in the United States. The Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, because they meet the Clean Air Act’s definition of air pollutants. That ruling led the EPA to find that six key greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, endanger public health and welfare. The agency then utilized this so-called endangerment finding to issue rules limiting tailpipe emissions from vehicles during the Obama and Biden administrations — a key tool for reducing the nearly 30 percent of U.S. emissions attributable to transportation. Over the years, the EPA has depended on its endangerment finding to regulate climate-warming gases from coal plants, aircraft, and other industrial sources. The finding, which underpins several major EPA rules, is now at risk. According to reporting by the Washington Post, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has recommended that the White House strike down the endangerment finding. Trump officials do not appear to have made a decision, but the move has long been on Republicans’ wish list. … ” Read more from Grist.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
NOTICE: Public Hearing on the Petition for Long-Term Transfer filed by Yuba County Water Agency
