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On the calendar today …
- PUBLIC HEARING: Delta Conveyance Project water right hearing beginning at 9am. The State Water Resources Control Board Administrative Hearings Office will hold a Public Hearing on the pending Petitions for Change of Water Right Permits for the Delta Conveyance Project. Interested members of the public who would like to watch this hearing without participating may do so through the Administrative Hearings Office YouTube channel at: bit.ly/aho-youtube. Click here for the meeting notice.
In California water news today …
From beaches to streams: Sunscreen’s impact on water quality
“Today’s beach outing is not the same as your grandparents’ beach outing: With intense summer heat waves now the norm due to climate change, and with the ozone layer still not fully healed, people need more and better sun protection when outdoors. Sunscreen offers proven protection from sunburn and skin cancer — but it’s also often comprised of a cocktail of ingredients including chemicals that scientists warn are a growing source of environmental pollution. Much of this concern focuses on a variety of ingredients known as ultraviolet (UV) filters. Sunscreens typically come in two forms: organic (using chemicals to absorb solar radiation), or inorganic (using zinc oxide and titanium oxide to reflect away solar radiation). An estimated 6,000 to 14,000 metric tons of UV filtering chemicals are released annually into coastal regions with coral reefs. And in recent years, scientific evidence of sunscreen chemicals harming sensitive marine ecosystems has accumulated, resulting in a series of local, regional and national bans of some chemical ingredients to protect living reefs. Experts now underline that these concerns go far beyond coral reefs. … ” Read more from Mongabay.
Bay Area biomaterials engineers say time’s up for plastic foam
“On a summer Friday in Santa Cruz, a trio of surfers descended the sea stairs to the beach with waxed-up longboards under their arms. Stepping through seaweed on their way to the waves, they bantered about the benefits the sea greens might offer their industry. The surfers — Cole Quinlan, Hudson Soelter and Amanda Vasconselos — are engineers at Cruz Foam, a startup that has developed biodegradable packing and shipping materials out of green pea starch. As the state grapples with how to implement a landmark plastic pollution act signed into law in 2022, the company is producing cost-competitive biofoam at a scale it hopes will eventually rid the Earth of single-use plastics. … Cruz Foam has figured out alternatives to two fossil fuel-derived plastics that linger for eternity in tiny fragments called microplastics. Scientists say these have contaminated the soil, filled our oceans, disrupted food chains and penetrated most people’s organs and bones. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
State unveils Bay-Delta Plan updates for public comment
“On July 24, the State Water Resources Control Board released proposed updates to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan and opened it for public review and comments. Proposed changes focus on portions of the Plan relevant to the Sacramento River watershed, Delta eastside tributaries, and Delta for the “reasonable protection of fish and wildlife beneficial uses.” The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed — Bay-Delta — encompasses the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, as well as numerous other tributaries to those rivers, the Delta and tributaries, Suisun Marsh, and San Francisco Bay. The State Water Board has previously adopted water quality control plans and policies regarding the uses of the Bay-Delta and periodically reviews this plan to ensure it provides reasonable protection for the designated beneficial uses. … ” Continue reading from Valley Ag Voice.
Proposed Bay Delta water plan impacts supplies
“The California State Water Resources Control Board distributed a draft of a plan to update regulations relating to flows and water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the watersheds that feed into it. That is, the plan proposes regulations for the entire Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds. State Board staff believe there are insufficient in-stream flows to sustain native fish populations in the rivers, their tributaries, and in the Delta itself. Efforts to increase populations of native fish, particularly salmon, in the Central Valley have not been successful. State Board staff initially proposed that 40% of the unimpaired flow stay in the rivers to bolster flow from February through June. That would divert water from water rights holders to environmental uses. However, the State Constitution includes the following language: “the water resources of the State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable,” and “(t)he right to water or to the use or flow of water in or from any natural stream or water course in this State is and shall be limited to such water as shall be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served.” That is, it is unconstitutional to use more water to benefit fish than is necessary. … ” Read more from Valley Ag Voice.
Bay Delta Plan: Conservation groups request additional hearing dates and the comment deadline moved back to December
“Defenders of Wildlife, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Friends of the River, Golden State Salmon Association, and San Francisco Baykeeper, (“NGOs”) write to request an updated comment deadline of December 19, 2025, as well as the scheduling of additional hearing days before the State Board between November 3 and 21, 2025 to offer input on the State Board’s misguided draft July 2025 Bay-Delta Plan proposal. Given the amount of information released by the State Board on July 24 and supplemented on August 22, 2025, the current comment deadline and hearing schedule are inadequate for public participation in the adoption of a new San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed Water Quality Control Plan (“Draft Plan”). The requested extension and additional hearings would provide the necessary opportunity for meaningful engagement. … ” Read the letter here.
CSPA: Water rights hearing for Delta Conveyance Project continues
The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance writes, “The Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) hearing continues this monthThe August hearings were limited to presentations by witnesses representing the State Water Contractors and the cross-examinations of these witnesses. Not surprisingly, these witnesses said the contractors they represent would like the water supply benefits of the proposed tunnel under the Delta. Most witnesses framed these benefits as offsets to potential future water supply reductions due to climate change. The remaining witnesses in this phase of the hearing will be witnesses for the parties protesting the petition of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to add a 40-mile tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to the State Water Project. The first three expected witnesses are Dr. Susan Paulsen, Dr. Jeffrey Michael, and Dr. Jon Rosenfield. … ” Continue reading from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science Journal: State of Bay-Delta Science 2025, plus endangered smelt indices and freshwater inflows
“The latest issue of San Francisco Estuary & Watershed Science (Vol. 23, Issue 2) highlights strategies for advancing science-based decision-making amidst climate change and extreme weather, explores the impacts of catastrophic wildfires on water quality, and examines the role of atmospheric rivers in California’s evolving hydroclimate and flood risks. Additionally, the issue features research on protecting endangered smelt species through hydrodynamic and ecological modeling and reconstructs historical freshwater inflows to the San Francisco Estuary during the post-Gold Rush era.” Access the articles here.
CalTrout launches new statewide science program
“CalTrout is thrilled to announce that we have launched a new statewide Science Program. This initiative identified as a top priority in our Strategic Plan, demonstrates our enduring commitment to build our conservation, restoration, and policy work on a strong scientific foundation, a commitment that will fortify our mission to revitalize waters for resilient wild fish and a better California. CalTrout has a strong foundation of scientific monitoring and science-informed restoration work already in place across the state, and this new initiative will enable us to dedicate further resources to enhance our existing portfolio of projects. The urgency of this new initiative cannot be overstated, as the threats to California’s treasured freshwater ecosystems and our iconic salmon, steelhead, and trout populations multiply and magnify, and as California’s natural resources experience unprecedented pressures from climate change, drought, habitat degradation, and competing demands from a growing population. In addition, as we witness our federal government’s environmental priorities shift, it is for crucial for CalTrout to maintain our focus on the science that is fundamental to our conservation work. This work isn’t just about the fish — it’s about healthy watersheds which sustain all Californians, both animal and human. … ” Read more from CalTrout.
‘The forgotten forest’: how smashing 5.6m urchins saved a California kelp paradise
“On an overcast Tuesday in July, divers Mitch Johnson and Sean Taylor shimmy into their wetsuits on the back of the R/V Xenarcha, a 28ft boat floating off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes, south of Los Angeles. Behind them, the clear waters of the Pacific are dotted with a forest of army-green strands, waving like mermaid hair underwater. We are here to survey the giant Pacific kelp, a species that once thrived in these ice cold waters. But over the past two decades, a combination of warm ocean temperatures, pollution, overfishing and the proliferation of hungry sea urchins that devour the kelp has led to an 80% decline in the forest along the southern California coast. In recent years, scientists have staged a comeback – mounting one of the largest and most successful kelp restoration projects in the world. To do so, they’ve recruited an army of hammer-wielding divers to smash and clean up the voracious urchins. Today’s trip is a chance to see that success up close. … ” Read more from The Guardian.
Bill to “Trump-proof” California wetlands will not move forward this year
“A California Democrat’s proposal to enshrine Biden-era water quality rules in state law to backstop potential rollbacks under the Trump administration will not move forward this year amid continued opposition from farmers and water agencies. What happened: Assembly Appropriations Chair Buffy Wicks announced on Friday that Sen. Ben Allen’s SB 601 will be a two-year bill, meaning it won’t be voted on this year and has until next fall to win passage. Sean Bothwell, executive director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, which is sponsoring the bill, said its backers decided they needed extra time to finalize the language amid continued opposition.“It’s a big bill and we didn’t want to rush it,” he said. … ” Read more from Politico Pro (sorry, subscription required).
McClintock pushes wildfire and forest maintenance bills
“Rep. Tom McClintock (R–Elk Grove) is pushing two bills that would require better maintenance for national forests, as well as another bill to give law enforcement and firefighters better access to national parks. McClintock spoke to The Sun about his current bills for a podcast interview on Sunrise FM, among other topics. The Put out the Fire Act, H.R. 178, will require the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to put out wildfires when they occur, returning federal policy to what the government followed decades ago. … The Proven Forest Management Act, H.R. 179, will expand forest management operations that are already in place for the Tahoe Basin throughout the National Forest System. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
Industry-managed forests more likely to fuel megafires
“The odds of high-severity wildfire were nearly one-and-a-half times higher on industrial private land than on publicly owned forests, a new study found. Forests managed by timber companies were more likely to exhibit the conditions that megafires love—dense stands of regularly spaced trees with continuous vegetation connecting the understory to the canopy. The research, led by the University of Utah, University of California, Berkeley, and the United States Forest Service, is the first to identify how extreme weather conditions and forest management practices jointly impact fire severity. Leveraging a unique lidar dataset, the authors created three-dimensional maps of public and private forests before five wildfires burned 1.1 million acres in the northern Sierra Nevada, California. … ” Read more from the University of Utah.
In commentary today …
Your grocery cart depends on California’s water — and right now, it’s in trouble
“If you’ve strolled through the produce section, you’ve seen California’s handiwork. Fresh strawberries in January. Crisp lettuce in March. Pistachios, tomatoes, grapes, lettuce — the list goes on. What most shoppers don’t realize is that much of this abundance comes from one place: the San Joaquin Valley. And that bounty depends on one thing above all else — water. After three straight years of healthy Sierra Nevada snowpack and full reservoirs, you might assume farmers here are finally getting the water they need. They’re not. Many San Joaquin Valley growers who depend on the Central Valley Project (CVP) or State Water Project (SWP) are getting only about half of the water they’ve contracted for — in some areas, even less. It’s not because there’s no water. It’s because of outdated infrastructure and rigid, decades-old environmental rules that limit how much can actually be delivered to farms. In wet years, these policies prevent us from storing enough for the dry ones. That gap between supply and need is more than a headache for farmers — it’s a looming threat to your grocery basket. … ” Read more from the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley.
Who controls California farmland? The hard-to-find answer is disturbing
Meredith Song, a master’s student at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and a student fellow with the Human Rights Center at Berkeley Law, and Adam Calo, an assistant professor of environmental governance and politics at Radboud University in the Netherlands, write, “Within the next decade, 40% of U.S. farmland is expected to change hands, a statistic often interpreted as an opportunity for a new generation of farmers. In reality, it masks a troubling reality: Farmland is being snapped up by investment firms, corporate agribusiness and opaque holding companies, leaving farmers who could deliver a truly sustainable and resilient food system competing with Wall Street. With colleagues at the University of San Francisco, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, and I have combed through thousands of parcel records to answer a simple question: Who controls California’s farmland? What we found makes it clear that if we want a resilient food system, we need public tools to bring transparency to land ownership and to act on that information. Today, ownership of the land that feeds us is increasingly hidden behind layers of shell companies and trusts, making it nearly impossible to know who controls these resources. Access to transparent land ownership information has long been a goal of small farm advocates. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
To solve the wildfire crisis, we have to let the myth of ‘the wild’ die
““On this site President Theodore Roosevelt sat beside a campfire with John Muir on May 17, 1903,” reads a wooden marker, not far from Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite Valley. I stumbled across it last November, alongside other bundled-up tourists enjoying the valley’s autumn shades of green, orange and red and snapping photos of the chiseled, carefully painted all-caps lettering that sanctify the moment the founder of the Sierra Club inspired the president to protect Yosemite National Park. But to me, the sign tells a darker story. … Muir sold the president on a uniquely American myth of the wilderness — that if we work hard enough to isolate our beautiful public lands from our influence, we can preserve a landscape essentially “untouched” by man. According to virtually all of the ecologists, fire scientists and Indigenous fire practitioners I have spoken with over the last year, this myth created our growing wildfire crisis in California. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Ground breaking on water monitoring system for Klamath Drainage District
“The Klamath Drainage District (KDD) marked a significant milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) project Thursday. The event celebrated the installation of advanced monitoring equipment aimed at modernizing KDD’s infrastructure. The SCADA project is funded by $5 million secured by Sen. Jeff Merkley in the Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Bill. The Farmers Conservation Alliance (FCA) is coordinating the installation of the system, which will improve efficiency by allowing automated control of water levels. “This has been a long time coming,” said KDD Manager, Scott White. “Sometimes it feels like we spend too much time analyzing, but I’m not complaining today. Today, we’re celebrating.” … ” Read more from Channel 12.
Regulating water use in Klamath tributaries
“Now that four dams previously blocking anadromous fish migration on the Klamath River are down, state and local agencies are negotiating the next stage of river restoration. They are acting to regulate the beneficial uses of water in overallocated Klamath River tributaries as equitably as possible. The Shasta River historically produced more salmon per unit of flow than any tributary in the Klamath system. Due to their exceptional conditions for anadromy, the Shasta and Scott Rivers were featured in Gov. Newsom Administration’s 2024 report “California’s Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future.” This report called for the establishment of instream flow requirements in the Shasta and Scott. It also encouraged locally-driven solutions and incentives for reducing diversions and groundwater pumping. … ” Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
A look inside the ambitious restoration project bringing outdoor recreation and restored tidal wetlands to Ferndale
“The Russ Creek and Centerville Restoration Project will see 1,500 acres of the Eel River Estuary in Ferndale restored to tidal wetlands. The preserve will be free to the public and will provide miles of kayaking and hiking opportunities to residents. “The Wildlands Conservancy is California’s largest nonprofit nature preserve organization. We have 25 preserves across the state, as well as a preserve in Oregon and Utah,” said Emily Afriat the North Coast Regional Director for Wildlands Conservancy. The Wildlands Conservancy owns much of the property in the project and have been working towards tidal wetland restoration in Ferndale since 2008. “So the Russ Creek and Centreville Restoration Project is the largest tidal restoration project entirely on private land in California,” said Afriat. … ” Read more from Channel 3.
Endangered mountain beaver habitat safeguarded in Mendocino County donation
“Mendocino County land believed to house several federally endangered animals and plants will forever be protected from development thanks to a donation of conservation easements to the Mendocino Land Trust, the organization said. In July, PG&E donated the conservation easement on 30 acres of grasslands and wetlands, known as Windy Hollow, to the trust. Windy Hollow sits in an unincorporated area near Point Arena. According to the California Council of Land Trusts, a conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement in which the property owner restricts what types of activities can take place on their land. In this case, Windy Hollow will be forever protected from any form of development. … ” Read more from Local News Matters.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Meadow restoration and fuels reduction work underway at Lake Tahoe’s west shore
“Mechanical thinning is in progress at Mayála Wàťa, also known as Meeks Meadow, located on the west side of Lake Tahoe. The work is part of a collaborative restoration project led by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, the California Tahoe Conservancy, and the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. According to the Washoe Environmental Protection Department and the Forest Service, the project aims to remove encroaching conifer trees from sensitive meadow habitat and reduce hazardous fuels. Thinning work began in early August on the south side of the 283-acre meadow and is expected to continue on the north side later this fall. Crews plan to remain on site through the end of October. … ” Read more from Channel 2.
Why San Francisco still owns a California town with just 63 people
“At the base of a steep grade in the Sierra Nevada off a highway that leads into Yosemite National Park is an unincorporated community with 63 people and not much else. There’s no grocery store or gas station in Moccasin, but it has a stately pink powerhouse and a quaint row of Spanish Colonial-style cottages topped with red-tiled roofs. The lawns are lush and the air smells of mountain pine. When a neighbor drives by, usually in a white utility truck, it’s all but guaranteed they’ll flash you a wave. Although it’s approximately 140 miles east of the Golden Gate Bridge, Moccasin is perhaps the safest, cleanest and quietest part of San Francisco. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Audio: Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in the era of climate change
“For the last 102 years, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park has supplied millions of Bay Area residents with some of the cleanest water in the country. But climate change has made it harder to manage the reservoir.” Listen at KQED.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Tehama County Major Crimes Task Force seizes more than 5,000 marijuana plants, hazardous chemicals from illegal marijuana grow site
“Authorities in Tehama County have disrupted a major illegal marijuana grow operation. On August 26, the Tehama Major Crimes Task Force, along with the Tehama County Sheriff’s Helicopter AirRescue-1, executed a search warrant in a rural area of northwestern Tehama County. The operation targeted an large illegal outdoor marijuana grow linked to an organized drug trafficking group. During the operation, agents seized 5,419 marijuana plants and discovered hazardous chemicals used in the cultivation process that posed risks to both local wildlife and waterways. … ” Read more from Action News Now.
Restoring habitats: Sacramento Valley’s help for migratory birds
“Over the past century, about 95% of the central valley’s riparian areas and wetlands have been lost. Those habitats are vital for migratory birds, and the loss has caused sharp declines in their population. However, a patch of land in the Sacramento Valley is helping change that. Dos Rios Norte is a 1,600-acre future floodplain restoration site located where the Sacramento and Feather Rivers meet in lower Butte Creek. The land is owned by the non-profit River Partners, an organization focused on restoring habitats for endangered species across California, including shorebirds. About 50 acres are being used as temporary habitat for migratory birds. … ” Read more from Fox 40.
Yolo County Supes adopt 45-day moratorium on ag-water well permits
“On Tuesday, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a temporary 45-day moratorium on the approval of new agricultural water well permits in the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency’s focus areas. District 4 Supervisor Sheila Allen attended the meeting via video conference. On Oct. 7, a public hearing will be held by the board to consider whether to extend the 45-day moratorium. According to county counsel Phil Pogledich, the next extension could be for 10 months and 15 days. … ” Read more from the Davis Enterprise.
BAY AREA
Can S.F.’s weather measurements be trusted? One expert says the city’s record is ‘contaminated’
“In 1983, San Francisco’s notoriously mild temperatures suddenly spiked. The average daily high that summer was measured at 71.6 degrees, smashing the city’s previous record. But it wasn’t just the balmy weather that triggered the new high mercury mark. That spring, officials moved San Francisco’s “downtown” weather station from Civic Center to the Mission Dolores neighborhood — the warmest part of the city. Fourteen years later, when the station moved again, to Duboce Park, temperatures dropped. Since 1874, the U.S. government — first the Army then the National Weather Service — has recorded temperatures at nine different locations across the city, from the Financial District to Pacific Heights to the Mission District. In January 2007, the official weather station was relocated to the U.S. Mint building at the corner of Hermann and Buchanan streets, where it remains today. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Editorial: MMWD must keep pushing to increase water storage capacity
“What had looked like a possible cost-efficient way to bolster Marin Municipal Water District’s capacity evaporated under revised estimates and community opposition. Building MMWD’s resiliency still must be a top priority for the district’s leadership, but increasing the capacity of Nicasio Reservoir is an option that’s been knocked off the table by skyrocketing cost estimates. A project originally predicted to cost $10 million to $15 million has grown potentially more than three fold. Neighbors’ staunch opposition, fueled by worries about flooding, wasn’t going to reduce the cost. In response, board members moved quickly to scuttle the plan, before completion of the costly environmental review needed for the project. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
Popular Bay Area park is hiding ‘literal tons of waste’
“Last month, the California Coastal Commission delivered a sobering presentation about one of the state’s most pressing environmental challenges: the former Mussel Rock landfill on the Daly City-Pacifica border. The site operated as a municipal dump from 1957 to 1978 but has since become a popular park — especially for dog walkers and hang gliders. It’s also what officials describe as “extremely problematic.” Julian Honey, a coastal planner at the California Coastal Commission, painted a stark picture of the 150-acre site, where 1.4 million cubic yards of waste lie precariously close to the ocean. Pointing to a photo that showcased the natural beauty of the site he revealed a dirty secret. “You can’t see what underlies it, which is literal tons of waste left without many easy solutions,” Honey explained to the commissioners. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Chief of one of the San Joaquin Valley’s largest water agencies to work from Arizona
“Jason Phillips, Friant Water Authority’s chief executive officer, is leaving his Fresno home and relocating to Scottsdale, Ariz. to be closer to family. He will continue working remotely for the authority as CEO, where he earned $493,747 in salary and other pay plus $82,675 in benefits in 2024, according to the nonprofit public employee pay tracking website Transparent California. Phillips’ move was unanimously approved during Friant’s Aug. 28 meeting under a modified employment agreement, which also deleted his monthly automobile allowance. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Moisture surging into Southwest US: Will SoCal see any rain?
“Southern California will have an increased chance for drenching downpours this week as moisture surges into the Southwestern United States, AccuWeather forecasters say. Drought levels across the Four Corners and Southern California range from severe to exceptional, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. There has been little relief in terms of drought across this corridor over the last few months, given the dry conditions in place. “Arizona residents have reported a rather dry summer with the monsoon failing to materialize in this part of the Southwest. Phoenix is experiencing its 19th driest summer on record,” noted AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
SEE ALSO: Monsoon moisture is back, bringing threat of showers and thunderstorms, from the LAist
Federal judge grants residents ‘partial victory’ over Chiquita
“Castaic and Val Verde residents have claimed at least a partial victory in what’s expected to be a yearslong legal fight against Chiquita Canyon Landfill. Residents near the landfill have been plagued for years by a “noxious reaction,” a public nuisance residents say is forcing them to move. Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction on their behalf in December. The county’s complaint sought $4,000 a month for relocation funds for almost 950 households for about six months, which comes to a little over $22 million. Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered both sides to meet file a joint plan aimed at “more narrowly tailoring the injunction with respect to: the households to be included; the availability of relocation versus home hardening; and the duration of any relocation,” according to a ruling released late Friday afternoon. … ” Read more from The Signal.
Eight months after Eaton fire, Pasadena continues extra oversight of drinking water
“Pasadena Water and Power officials said late last week that ongoing monitoring continues to show safe drinking water throughout the utility’s service area, including neighborhoods affected by the Eaton Fire. Testing is being conducted across the system under additional guidance from the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water. General Manager David M. Reyes said the department remains committed to maintaining safe water quality in the aftermath of January’s wildfire. Recent results from key sites and reservoirs in fire-impacted zones confirm the water meets state standards. … ” Read more from Pasadena Now.
LADWP’s New Ratepayer Advocate — Meet Tim O’Connor
“Tim O’Connor, newly appointed Executive Director and Ratepayer Advocate for the Office of Public Accountability (OPA) at LADWP, outlines his vision for modernizing the role to meet today’s affordability, climate, and infrastructure challenges. He emphasizes balancing ambitious clean energy and water goals with strategies to control costs and protect ratepayers, while drawing on his experience and background in environmental policy and private-sector strategy. Tim, what motivated you to take on the role of Executive Director and Ratepayer Advocate for the Office of Public Accountability (OPA) at LADWP? A: Over the next 10 years, Los Angeles is going to see remarkable change—probably greater than anything we’ve experienced before. If you look at the past decade, the pace of change was significant, but it’s only going to accelerate. With that change comes big choices and even bigger impacts. We’ll see a massive push for electrification, the deployment of a new generation of renewables, and huge investments in infrastructure — all of which come with real costs. … ” Read more from The Planning Report.
LA’s most iconic beaches are disappearing. A new project will try to save them.
“Los Angeles County’s most iconic beaches are shrinking. Zuma Beach in Malibu is losing about 3.6 feet of shoreline each year, and about 30 miles south, the popular Dockweiler State Beach near LAX is losing about 4.5 feet each year. While beach erosion occurs naturally over time, in Southern California (and elsewhere), the process is speeding up due to climate change, which contributes to sea level rise and intensifies storms and waves along the coast. Now, the county plans to spend $5.1 million in an attempt to slow the disappearance of popular coastlines at three beaches through “living shoreline” projects. The projects will “use native plants to restore dunes and shoreline habitats that naturally protect the coast from rising seas and stronger storms,” according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Newport Beach’s largest nature restoration project is nearing completion
“Newport Beach’s largest-ever nature restoration, at Big Canyon Park in Upper Newport Bay, is just weeks from entering its last and most interesting phase. The park is already becoming a more scenic hiking area, with habitats that are increasingly vibrant and healthy as the restoration effort continues, city officials said. At its completion, Big Canyon Park will become an inviting place for hiking, biking and birdwatching, they said. It will likely also be a great area that can be used as an outdoor classroom for the public and environmental and research groups. The project, which began in 2016, is restoring the nearly 60-acre Big Canyon Park to its original state, as it might have been 100 years ago, said Bob Stein, assistant city engineer, who has helped oversee the project. “This next phase is the most exciting and important,” he said. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
SAN DIEGO
A milestone for ending the cross-border sewage crisis is met
“On May 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) promised to increase the capacity of a wastewater treatment plant at the border in 100 days instead of two years. On Wednesday, federal officials announced they had met the deadline. “Just four months after I personally surveyed the environmental devastation in San Diego, seeing the polluted waterways, closed beaches, and smelling the foul air, we’ve delivered this critical expansion years ahead of schedule,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. “Protecting human health and the environment is our first priority at EPA, and no American should have to worry if the air they breathe or the beaches they visit are safe.” … ” Read more from KPBS.
Sewage flows prompt officials to extend Coronado beach closures to city’s entire shoreline
“A beach-closure order issued by county health officials on Sunday for the waters off the U.S.-Mexico border all the way north to Coronado Shores was extended on Labor Day to include the entire shoreline of the tony island community. “The water contact closure previously in place for Tijuana Slough and Imperial Beach Shorelines and Coronado Avenida Lunar is being extended to include the entire Coronado Shoreline,” county health officials said later in a news release issued Monday afternoon. “The Tijuana River is flowing and reaching recreational waters. Beach-goers are advised that the ocean water contains sewage and may cause illness.” The closure will last until testing and field observations confirm it’s safe to get back in the water, officials said. … ” Read more from NBC 7.
Along the Colorado River …
Nevada warns of tough choices as Colorado River deadline approaches
“There’s around a year left for the seven states utilizing Colorado River water to finalize new rules on how to manage it, but the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Colby Pellegrino said Thursday morning that negotiations were in a difficult spot. “I don’t think there’s anyone at the negotiating table that disagrees over the magnitude of the problem,” said Pellegrino, SNWA’s deputy general manager of resources. “What’s challenging is how can we all move forward together with a really complex set of laws … and ensure the viability of the 40 million people that rely on the Colorado River,” she continued, adding that there was some consensus among fellow Lower Basin states. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Genetic divide in the Grand Canyon
“Research has revealed differences in habitats, behavior, growth, and migration among humpback chub in the Grand Canyon, prompting questions about whether these groups represent distinct genetic subpopulations. Humpback chub are a native warm-water fish that are endemic to the Colorado River basin. Historically, they ranged throughout warm-water sections of the Colorado, Green and Yampa rivers, but now remain in just a few populations due to river alterations and predations from nonnative fish. The populations outside of Grand Canyon National Park are persisting, but population abundances are lower and geographic ranges smaller than they were historically. Following the construction of Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s, year-round cooling of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon caused humpback chub habitat to shrink to just a few areas. Their overall population plummeted to only several thousand individuals. … ” Read more from the USGS.
Western states seek to end long-running water dispute over dwindling Rio Grande
“A simmering feud over management of one of North America’s longest rivers reached a boiling point when the U.S. Supreme Court sent western states and the federal government back to the negotiating table last year. Now the battle over waters of the Rio Grande could be nearing resolution as New Mexico, Texas and Colorado announced fresh settlement proposals Friday designed to rein in groundwater pumping along the river in New Mexico and ensure enough river water reliably makes it to Texas. New Mexico officials say the agreements allow water conservation decisions to be made locally while avoiding a doomsday scenario of billion-dollar payouts on water shortfalls. Farmers in southern New Mexico increasingly have turned to groundwater as hotter and drier conditions reduced river flows and storage. That pumping is what prompted Texas to sue, claiming the practice was cutting into water deliveries. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
In national water news today …
Map shows thousands more areas where groundwater could be contaminated
“A new study revealed there could be tens of thousands more groundwater sources contaminated with high concentrations of carcinogenic chemicals than previously found. The researchers at the PFAS Project Lab predict there are 79,891 additional groundwater sites—up from the 57,412 sites initially reported—likely to have levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as forever chemicals) higher than the Environment Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant level. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
Legal Corner: PFAS legal update – What water systems need to know
“If you haven’t heard, there’s still a lot going on with regulatory and legal action related to PFAS and other “forever chemicals.” To get an update, we sat down with Ken Sansone, senior partner at SL Environmental Law Group, to discuss recent activity. Sansone focuses exclusively on representing public entities in litigation over the contamination of public resources including water, land and other natural resources. Water Finance & Management: Can you give us a general update on where legal action against “forever chemical” manufacturers 3M, Dupont and others stands? Are drinking water systems and other entities still filing claims as part of the ongoing multi-district litigation? Ken Sansone, SL Environmental Law Group: Legal action against PFAS manufacturers 3M, DuPont, and others is still in progress, and entities continue to file new claims in the AFFF MDL. Utilities that qualified for funds under Phase I of the 3M and DuPont drinking water settlements – the largest of their kind in U.S. history – are now receiving their first payments. … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management.
Scientists denounce Trump administration’s climate report
“More than 85 American and international scientists have denounced a Trump administration report that calls the threat of climate change overblown, saying the analysis is riddled with errors, misrepresentations and cherry-picked data to fit the president’s political agenda. The scientists submitted their critique as part of a public comment period on the report, which was to close Tuesday night. The five researchers who wrote the July report were handpicked by Chris Wright, the energy secretary, and they all reject the established scientific consensus that the burning of oil, gas and coal is dangerously heating the planet. The report acknowledged that the Earth is warming but said that climate change is “less damaging economically than commonly believed.” The administration used the report to justify its recent announcement that it would repeal limits on greenhouse gas emissions that stem from burning fossil fuels. … ” Continue reading at the New York Times.
SEE ALSO: Trump team’s contentious climate report ‘makes a mockery of science’, experts say, from The Guardian
Climate.gov will re-launch under new URL thanks to a secret team of web ninjas
“A small group of about 10 writers, researchers and web development ninjas are launching an ambitious effort to preserve key climate data that the Trump administration has taken offline, including a landmark, congressionally mandated report and the contents of the climate.gov website. The data, writings and reports will be hosted at climate.us, according to Rebecca Lindsey, a former project manager for climate.gov, and will focus on information that is readily understandable by the public. Lindsey was fired last winter along with other probationary employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, while other climate.gov contributors’ contracts were canceled. … “This information is valuable,” Lindsey said of climate.gov. “Our team is valuable. We’ve been working together for more than a decade. We have deep experience serving the public with information and explaining climate and climate change, and the government has already made a huge investment in this content. It’s ridiculous. It’s absurd to think that they’re going to just take it all down and hide it away.” … ” Read more from CNN.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER RESTORATION PGM 2025 Restoration Flow Schedule Update
