Several news sources featured in the Daily Digest may limit the number of articles you can access without a subscription. However, gift articles and open-access links are provided when available. For more open access California water news articles, explore the main page at MavensNotebook.com.
In California water news this weekend …
A gold mining company wants to destroy a remote, wild expanse of Calif. Locals are fighting it.
“Environmental advocates and local tribes in Inyo County are rallying against a proposed gold mining project that threatens to upend an expanse of California’s high desert near Death Valley National Park. Nestled in the Inyo Mountains, east of the Sierra Nevada and near the storied ghost town of Cerro Gordo, Conglomerate Mesa is a rugged stretch of land that boasts a thriving desert ecosystem and rich cultural history. Much of the 22,500-acre mesa has been a sacred ceremonial and harvesting ground for the Paiute and Shoshone tribes of the Owens Valley for thousands of years, and the area also acts as a climate refuge for sensitive plant species like Joshua trees and the vulnerable Inyo rock daisy, according to Olivia Tanager, director of the Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter. “As climate change worsens, we’re going to need to rely on places at higher elevations like Conglomerate Mesa to make sure Joshua trees don’t go extinct,” Tanager told SFGATE. “So it’s both a climate refuge and a sacred landscape.” … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Historic 400-mile journey launches in Klamath River
“A historic trip has launched on the Klamath River, marking the first journey since the removal of the Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2 and JC Boyle dams. In a Facebook post, Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services said this event celebrates the river flowing freely for the first time in over 100 years. Youth from the Klamath, Karuk, Yurok and Hupa tribes, along with others, have joined the Chilean Kayakimün program and the Paddle Tribal Waters Program for this ‘undammed’ paddle and celebration. The paddlers will travel more than 400 miles over 30 days, aiming to reach the ocean at Klamath, Calif. Aisha Wilson coordinated the start of the journey at Kimball Park near Fort Klamath and Chiloquin, Ore., highlighting the significance of this event for the local community. This effort represents decades of hard work and determination to restore the river and its salmon population. … ” Read more from Channel 12.
After a century of logging, lands along California’s Klamath River returned to tribe
“Along the Klamath River in Northern California, where logging companies once cut ancient redwood trees, vast tracts of land have been returned to the Yurok Tribe in a years-long effort that tribal leaders say will enable the restoration of forests and the protection of a watershed that is vital for salmon. The effort, which unfolded gradually over the last 23 years, culminated in May as Western Rivers Conservancy turned over 14,968 acres to the Yurok Tribe. It was the last portion of 47,097 acres that the nonprofit group acquired and transferred to the tribe in what is thought to be the largest “land back” deal in California history. Members of the tribe say they are celebrating the return of their ancestral lands along Blue Creek, a major tributary that meets the Klamath about 40 miles south of the Oregon border. Blue Creek holds cultural and spiritual significance for the Yurok, and its cold, clear waters provide a refuge for salmon. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
If it wasn’t for water plus SSJID securing & developing it, Manteca would be wide spot in the road like Milton
“Milton is what today might generously be called a wide spot on the road — if that. It was founded in 1871 — more than 20 years before Manteca became more than a collection of farms across the sandy plains of South San Joaquin Valley when Joshua Cowell opened the creamery to serve as a shipping point for milk headed for Bay Area markets. Milton is located north of Highway 4. It is accessible “the back way” from Manteca by taking Lone Tree Road east from Five Corners where French Camp and Jack Tone roads meet amid Van Groningen Farms and the old Atlanta church. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin.
OC sewage spills declining, but more work must be done
“In 2024, Orange County reported 71 sewage spills, with only three leading to beach closures. That’s a major drop from the 25-year average, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. This is a promising sign of progress, one that reflects decades of advocacy and action from Orange County Coastkeeper. In the late 1990s, Coastkeeper founder Garry Brown saw a much different picture. Annual spills numbered in the hundreds, sometimes over a thousand. That crisis drove Garry to establish Coastkeeper in 1999 to push for long-overdue system change and reduce pollution in our waters. Since then, our advocacy has helped drive major improvements, including the switch to full secondary treatment at OC San and securing OCTA Measure M funds for urban runoff upgrades. … ” Read more from the OC Coastkeeper.
City of San Diego to pay record penalty for massive sewer collection system overflow
“The City of San Diego will pay a $11.4 million penalty for a Jan. 16, 2023, failure at its pump station caused by a combination of inadequate maintenance, an equipment breakdown and high storm flows that resulted in a spill of an estimated 9.8 million gallons of untreated wastewater at multiple locations. The fine – which is the largest amount ever assessed by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board – was approved by the board at its regular meeting Wednesday. “Sewage spills continue to be one of the largest human and environmental health threats in our region,” said San Diego Water Board Chair Gary Strawn. “Our actions today, and the amount of the penalty, reflect the magnitude of the overflow and the importance of hardening our sanitary sewer collection systems against storm events, which are becoming more extreme and problematic.” … ” Read more from the San Diego Regional Water Board.
Lake Mead’s shrinking waters spark boat problem
“As water levels at Lake Mead keep dropping, officials are actively removing abandoned boats, describing them as “eyesores” on the landscape, says Fox 5. Lake Mead provides essential water to millions across Nevada, Arizona, California, and parts of Mexico. But falling water levels may threaten municipal water supplies, agricultural irrigation, and hydroelectric power generation. Many boats have since been removed as levels drop, officials describing the task as a priority, the outlet reported. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
In people news this weekend …
Promotions, passings, profiles – submit people news items to maven@mavensnotebook.com.
Hap Dunning, champion of the Public Trust
“In March, the Mono Lake community lost Harrison “Hap” C. Dunning—a renowned legal scholar and professor, steadfast advocate of the Public Trust, and insightful thinker who sought a balanced and sustainable approach to water rights law. Starting in the 1970s, Hap became a leading voice for California water law reform. In 1980 he organized a law conference on the Public Trust that would later prove incredibly influential for the future of Mono Lake. Broadly speaking, the Public Trust is the concept that certain lands and resources belong to all people, and that the government has a continuing duty to manage these natural resource commons for the benefit of current and future generations. Hap’s writings helped frame the legal understanding of the Public Trust as a dynamic and evolving obligation—a living principle that required the state to act as a guardian of natural resources. His work provided both intellectual legitimacy and moral grounding to the idea that nature’s intrinsic value could, and should, be recognized in the legal system. … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
Remembering Professor Hap Dunning
“UC Davis Professor of Law Emeritus Harrison (“Hap”) Dunning based away at the end of March 2025 at the age of 86. You can read the details of his life in the Davis Enterprise Obituary, including the story of his extensive work in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, but he is best known in the UC Davis community for his work on water law and the public trust doctrine. From serving on the Governor’s Commission to Review California Water Rights Law in the 1970s to his work on the California Water Commission and the Bay Delta Advisor Council, he lived a life of service to the California water community. California’s public trust doctrine is built in part on Prof. Dunning’s legacy of scholarship, which includes a foundation public trust conference at UC Davis that resulted in several papers cited in the California Supreme Court’s Mono Lake decision. He received the Mono Lake Committee’s 2014 Defender of the Trust award “for his extraordinary work defending the public trust and protecting the public’s natural heritage at Mono Lake and its tributary streams.” The University of California flag at the Memorial Union flew at half-staff for three days to recognize Professor Dunning’s passing. … ” Read more from the California Water Blog.
Meet the controversial activist who has shaken Colorado’s water world and made 2025 a banner year for its rivers
“On a cool, damp morning in May, attorneys in suits and shiny dress shoes, and Boulder County residents in rain jackets and hiking boots streamed into a federal courtroom in downtown Denver. Once everyone was seated, Senior Federal District Judge Christine Arguello convened the hearing. To her right was an elderly, rumpled dam engineer and a tall public interest lawyer from Washington, D.C. The duo represented a small, fiery nonprofit— Save The Colorado — which halted, at least temporarily, one of the largest dam projects in Colorado history, the Gross Reservoir Dam expansion. On her left were more than a dozen attorneys and representatives of the dam’s owner, Denver Water, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing about whether the construction stop should continue. If it looked as if the balance of power was out of whack, it was. But despite the disparity in head count and legal muscle, and the judge’s decision to let the dam-building continue, Save The Colorado and its cofounder, Gary Wockner, had won a breathtaking, if short-lived victory. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
Podcasts …
DELTA FLOWS: Featuring Jon Rosenfield
We’re joined by Dr. Jon Rosenfield from San Francisco Baykeeper to talk about all things related to the State of Water and Science for California, particularly the Bay-Delta. For example, how do freshwater flows dictate the health of the Bay-Delta? What about when to use the best available science for water-related management? This interview highlights the relevance of how water is inherently intertwined with science and how that affects our waterways. Find out more on this intricate episode of Delta Flows.
WATER IS A MANY SPLENDOR’ED THING: The Salton Sea
When I think of big lakes in California, I think of Lake Tahoe. But there is a much larger lake than even that! Adding water to an otherwise dry and barren desert has made life come alive at the Salton Sea. Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life. Produced by Stephen Baker, Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, water@operationunite.co 530-205-6388
ECONEWS Report: Stopping the spread of golden mussels
Before enjoying Ruth Lake this summer, be sure to clean, drain and dry all gear, boats and trailers to prevent the spread of the invasive golden mussel. The golden mussel, native to East and Southeast Asia, was first documented in California in 2024. Like quagga and zebra mussels, the golden mussel is capable of rapidly spreading, wreaking ecological health and threatening water infrastructure and water quality. Thomas Jabusch of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Michiko Mares of the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District join the program to golden mussels, their threat, and what you can do to stop the spread of this invasive species.
