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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.
- LEG HEARING: Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife beginning at 9am. Click here for the agenda.
- WEBINAR: Emerging Climate Science Symposium: Walk-through of Summary of Select Documents from 12pm to 12:45pm. A Summary of Select Documents is being used to inform the Delta Independent Science Board’s Emerging Climate Science Symposium from September 16-17, 2025. This document synthesize the current understanding of climate stressors and hazards associated with the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from publicly available documents. This document was created with the assistance of Google’s artificial intelligence tool, NoteBookLM, which is a platform that enables users to upload source documents to generate summaries or ask questions. Notably, these summaries include in-line citations that link directly to the original sources. A 15-minute walk-through followed by 30-minute Q&A session will be hosted virtually by Dr. Anna Michalak of the Delta ISB to showcase the use of NotebookLM to create the Summary of Select Documents. Join the session here. View the Summary of Select Documents here.
- WEBINAR: California: The Biodiversity King – Discover the Incredible Life that Thrives in the Golden State from 12pm to 1pm. California is one of 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world, with exceptional richness of life across our varied lands and waters. Join us in celebration of California Biodiversity Week as we geek out with experts on some particularly colorful forms of life that call our state home. There’s never been a more important time to get inspired and energized to protect our natural world! Click here to register.
- WEBINAR: The Abundance Agenda and Moving California Forward from 12pm to 1:30pm. Join #1 New York Times bestseller Ezra Klein and a panel of sensational experts for a special discussion about the abundance agenda for California’s economy, policy reform and dispute resolution. Are you interested in building what California needs, political governance and current affairs? This lunchtime webcast is for you. This complimentary CLE webcast is presented by ADR Services, Inc., and co-sponsored by CA FWD, Kearns & West, Hanson Bridgett, The Association for Conflict Resolution Environment and Public Policy Section (ACR EPP), and Berkeley Law CLEE. Click here to register.
- PUBLIC MEETING: Draft Subsidence Best Management Practices (Delano) from 1pm to 3pm. DWR is soliciting public feedback by hosting a series of public meetings across the state focused on a newly released DRAFT Subsidence Best Management Practices (BMP) document. The DRAFT BMP describes activities, practices, and procedures to support Groundwater Sustainability (GSP) implementation and to meet SGMA’s intent to avoid or minimize subsidence. The DRAFT BMP introduces fundamental concepts of subsidence and clarifies how to avoid new subsidence and minimize subsidence where already occurring. The DRAFT BMP provides guidance and examples to help Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) develop or update sustainable management criteria and management actions. Public comments can be provided in-person at the meetings and in writing to sgmps@water.ca.gov throughout the 60-day comment period. Registration is encouraged for planning purposes, but is not required. Walk-in registration will also be available for those who wish to partake. Click here to register.
- IN-PERSON: Hydroclimate, Paleoclimate, and Long-Term Weather Forecasting Research in CA and Beyond… from 5:30 to 8:30pm. California’s hydroclimate is as diverse as its geology and is known for its spatial and temporal variability. Paleoclimate information tells us that the observed historical record is only a sample of the possible. Water management benefits from accurate weather and climate forecasting, but present forecasting ability is limited by observational and modeling capabilities, not unlike groundwater characterization. Present weather forecasting ability deteriorates drastically after the first week and longer-term outlooks that could support water management decision-making have essentially no useful skill. Pending congressional legislation could help improve forecasting but would not be a quick fix given the lengthy transition period from research to operations. SPEAKER: Jeanine Jones, PE, Interstate Resources Manager for the California Department of Water Resources. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
One of the largest marine heat waves in decades is impacting California weather
“A vast marine heat wave recently arrived to the California coast after slowly migrating across the Pacific Ocean. A buoy just off the coast of San Francisco measured 64 degree ocean water Sunday, the warmest measurement there in three years. Sea-surface temperatures are as much as 7 degrees above normal in parts of the northeast Pacific. It’s the fourth-largest marine heat wave since 1982 in a region extending from just north of Hawaii to California and Alaska, according to Andrew Leising, a research oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “It’s hot out there!” Leising said in an email. “Pretty much the entire coast is a heat wave now.” … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump Administration slams Eel River dam removal plan, but Huffman is confident the project can’t be stopped
“Suddenly, the Trump administration has opinions on PG&E’s dam removal plans on the Eel River. On Sunday evening, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins published a broadside on social media platform X in which she accused the investor-owned utility of “cutting water flows and pushing to tear down the Scott and Cape Horn Dams which have been lifelines for farmers and over 600,000 residents for more than a century.” Of course, we already knew that various Russian River-adjacent farm bureaus and the Lake County government had made direct appeals to the Trump administration in hopes of salvaging the Potter Valley Project, an antiquated and expensive hydroelectric project that diverts water from the Eel to the Russian River. What we didn’t know was whether the administration would take the bait. … ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost.
SEE ALSO: PG&E lays out plan to pull Potter Valley dams, from MendoFever
State Water Contractors applaud broad support for Delta Conveyance Project, pledge to push for streamlining in next legislative session
“The State Water Contractors (SWC), who deliver water to the homes, farms and businesses of more than 27 million Californians, applaud the broad legislative, labor, business, social justice, and water agency support and dedication shown in recent months to advance the Delta Conveyance Project permit streamlining bill. The Project represents California’s most important climate adaptation strategy, protecting water supplies against sea level rise, earthquakes and other climate-driven threats while maintaining strong environmental protections. The bill itself would have helped save our customers $500 million through reductions in delays caused by the opposition. Although the Governor’s proposal to streamline administrative review and reduce project costs for the DCP was caught up in the crush of high-profile legislative activities at the end of the 2025 legislative session, and will now need to be heard in the next legislative session, the momentum of support from across the state demonstrates the urgent need to continue moving forward, which we plan to do. … ” Read more from the State Water Contractors.
SEE ALSO: CALIFORNIANS FOR WATER SECURITY statement on Gov’s trailer bill/Delta Conveyance, press release
Water: the overlooked nutrient in dairy farming
“Water is the most important nutrient in dairy farming, yet it often goes unnoticed. Vern Osborne, a professor emeritus from the University of Guelph, highlights its significance in a recent episode of “The Dairy Podcast Show.” Throughout the podcast, Osborne delves into the critical yet often overlooked role that water plays in dairy herd health and performance. He shares insights and advice from nutrient supplementation through water to improving water quality and facility design. Osborne affectionately refers to water as the “mega molecule,” emphasizing its fundamental role in every cell function within a cow’s body. “Cows are incredibly sensitive to water quality, detecting elements at parts-per-million levels,” he says. … ” Read more from Dairy Herd.
California’s water crisis is being caused by a man-made drought
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 40% of California is facing drought. But California farmers say the bigger issue is the state’s man-made drought, and now California’s water crisis is coming at a cost to both farmers and consumers.
Wildfire threats to California water resources demand attention, group warns
“As wildfires become increasingly intense and frequent in California, particularly near reservoirs, experts say threats to water resources will require more proactive preventative measures. Massive swaths of land have burned annually across the state, and rebuilding can take years after the ashes have been swept away. Toxic chemicals linger in the scorched soils even longer, and can make their way into water sources, said Ann Willis, California regional director with American Rivers, a nonprofit focused on protecting clean water resources. Those toxins – including heavy metals such as lead, zinc and copper – could be harmful if consumed, said Willis, a scientist who’s led a program seeking to implement stream conservation strategies across California. “We really want people thinking about not just the immediate impacts of wildfire or when the immediate rebuilding will be complete and out of mind, but that these can be persistent problems that can show up for years and the health impacts are considerable,” Willis said. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Restoring Resilience: Leveraging nature-based solutions for wildfire protection and carbon storage in Sierra-Cascade forests
“Over the last 21 years, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) has funded and supported essential projects that drive nature-based solutions (NBS) across the Sierra-Cascade region. California’s NBS climate targets are organized around seven land types. Although the SNC supports projects across all the different terrain in its service area, two decades of focused work in forests have built region-specific expertise and strong partnerships. Working collaboratively with partners in the Sierra-Cascade uniquely positions SNC to continue to advance forest-focused and wildfire risk-reduction NBS climate targets. Restoring resilience to California’s forests through NBS enhances the region’s ability to durably and sustainably store carbon. The SNC region is mostly forested and contains 50 percent of the state’s forest lands. That’s why investing in forest restoration, conservation, and wildfire risk reduction in the Sierra-Cascade is essential. … ” Continue reading from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.
California’s farmland program offers water-saving lessons for the Mountain West, experts say
“A new approach to addressing water scarcity is underway — one that turns farmland into projects that benefit both people and the environment. Researchers say parched Mountain West states could learn from it. California’s Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program helps farmers transition irrigated land into new uses, such as wildlife habitat, groundwater recharge areas, or even solar farms. The idea is to save water while strengthening rural communities. This offers a more sustainable path forward than simply leaving fields unplanted, which is a common “business-as-usual” strategy, said Gopal Penny, a researcher with the Environmental Defense Fund who co-authored a study about California’s new approach in the journal Frontiers. … ” Read more from KNPR.
The plan dividing California—turning the Mojave Desert into a green hydrogen giant with groundwater and thousands of solar panels
“The Mojave Desert already has renewable aircraft of the future. RIC Energy and the American company Cadiz Inc. have signed an agreement to build a self-sufficient green hydrogen production plant. The goal is to generate up to 50 tons of hydrogen per day. This is expected to be the largest green hydrogen facility in California, United States. This translates into a project of immense scale. Cadiz Inc. will provide land and 600 cubic meters of water to RIC Energy for the creation of green hydrogen. To achieve this, they will use solar energy to supply hydrogen to markets beyond Southern California. The goal is to deliver this energy in the form of fuel for trucks and cars, and ultimately, generate zero-emission electricity.Continuing along these lines, plans call for a self-sufficient, integrated, off-grid green hydrogen production facility utilizing photovoltaic (PV) energy for its supply on up to 1,200 acres of Cadiz Ranch. … ” Read more from Pedirayudas.com.
Lightning to spark more wildfires in western US in coming decades
“Lightning will ignite more wildfires in the western United States in the coming decades as temperatures increase due to climate change, according to a new study that combined predictions for fire-friendly and lightning-friendly weather conditions. In the western United States, lightning is responsible for more than two-thirds of the area burned by wildfires, and that number is only going to grow. Starting as early as 2031-2060, the study found essentially all of the western United States, or 98%, will see an increase in days posing a risk for lightning– started wildfires. Areas that are already at high risk for wildfires started by lightning, such as Oregon, Idaho and Montana, are expected to see the largest increase in overall lightning days, with up to 12 more days per summer by 2060. Some areas, particularly in the U.S. Southwest, like Arizona, are expected to see a smaller increase as they will simply see less lightning. … ” Read more from AGU.
We take clouds for granted
Gavin Pretor-Pinney writes, “I love the way clouds billow above your head, drift lazily across blue skies and cast fleeting shadows on the ground below. These ever-shifting sculptures of vapor and light are among nature’s least appreciated marvels. That’s why 20 years ago, I started the Cloud Appreciation Society, to remind people to look up. Now climate science is catching up, revealing that clouds aren’t just poetic; they’re pivotal in helping to regulate Earth’s temperature. And their influence on the climate is evolving in ways we’re only beginning to understand. How exactly cloud cover will shift in a warming world is anyone’s guess; it’s one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate science. But it should also be everyone’s concern. What happens to our clouds as the planet warms is so important that we need a renaissance in the study of clouds. … ” Continue reading from the New York Times.
In commentary today …
Let’s seize opportunity to fix CEQA
Elizabeth Reid-Wainscoat, a campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, writes, “Sacramento gets a bad rap for its slow bureaucracy. But when it comes to dismantling environmental protections, it can operate at lightning speed. Early this summer a proposal to gut the California Environmental Quality Act was publicized on a Friday morning and by Monday Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law. Behind closed doors, legislative leaders struck a deal to allow polluting manufacturing facilities and developments in endangered species habitat to skip thorough environmental reviews. Most Californians didn’t know about it. For others like me, who follow legislative news closely, there wasn’t time to fight Senate Bill 131. Now lawmakers are back from recess with an opportunity to fix a bad bill. The price of inaction is staggering. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Klamath River Renewal Corporation points to positive impacts of dam removal
“Positive impacts of the removal of the four Klamath River dams are being touted by the Klamath River Renewal Corporation. According to KRRC, the removal of the Iron Gate, J.C. Boyle and two Copco dams “had an almost immediate positive impact on temperatures in the Klamath River. The reservoirs acted as huge heat sinks, creating abnormally cool conditions in the spring and abnormally warm conditions in the fall. “Temperatures regulate almost all chemical and biological processes in a river and is one of several cues that can affect when salmonids migrate upstream, spawn, and out-migrate.” … ” Read more from the Herald & News.
Some forage farmers exempt from state ag order program
“In a major regulatory shift years in the making, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board voted last month to amend a general order and exempt agricultural operations in Northern California’s Pit River subwatershed from a state program that regulates farm runoff. The state’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program was established to prevent agricultural runoff from polluting surface and groundwater. Surface water monitoring data collected since 2004 from growers in the Pit River subwatershed—located in portions of Lassen, Modoc, Shasta and Siskiyou counties—have consistently demonstrated low levels of nitrates, pesticides and other pollutants. As such, the regional board voted unanimously to exempt growers in the Pit River subwatershed from having to enroll in the regulatory program. “This has been a long time coming,” said Kari Fisher, senior counsel and director of legal advocacy for the California Farm Bureau. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
‘It elevates the rural community voice’: El Dorado Water Agency joins Wildfire Solutions Coalition
“The El Dorado Water Agency (EDWA) joined the Wildfire Solutions Coalition late last week, aiming to provide more advocacy, funding and preservation for the upper American River watershed. EDWA has supported partners in the Tahoe Basin and done research on the multimillion dollar impacts of the Caldor and Mosquito fires, showing the need for more wildfire prevention funding in rural and recreational communities. EDWA provides county-wide water resource planning, with a birds-eye view spanning local, state and federal resources. “We want to ensure reliable and affordable water for everyone,” said EDWA general manager Rebecca Guo. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
NAPA/SONOMA
Napa vineyards helped douse Pickett Fire
“In recent years, wildfire smoke has caused major losses for the renowned wine region. In 2020, fires cost California’s wine sector an estimated $3.7 billion, with smoke from that year’s Glass Fire and other blazes tainting entire crops in Napa Valley. In comparison, the Pickett Fire was less damaging. It helped that winds carried the fire east over Howell Mountain, away from the heart of Napa Valley, that it largely burned within the footprint of the Glass Fire, limiting the fuels in its path, and that Cal Fire had more personnel and resources available to fight the fire. A yearslong effort by the wine industry and community groups to better prepare for wildfires also made a difference, according to farmers and fire officials. “A lot of people have been proactive about trying to minimize their fire exposure,” said Peter Nissen, who grows winegrapes in Calistoga. Since 2020, farmers and wineries reduced wildfire fuels around their properties and installed sprinkler systems to deter flames. They were motivated to protect their assets, Nissen said, especially as many lost access to property insurance. But the effort extended to protecting Napa Valley as a whole. … ” Read the full story from Ag Alert.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Southern California landlords are saying goodbye to grass
“Southern California landlords, facing looming deadlines to cut water use, are swapping grass for poppies, succulents and other drought-resistant plants at office campuses and apartment complexes across the region. And they’re getting paid to do it. The region’s Metropolitan Water District, an importer of water for the 19 million people across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties, has doubled the amount of money — to at least $7 per square foot — it will give owners of commercial buildings to swap grass for native shrubs and rock gardens. “Looking around you still see … grass that isn’t played on, or picnicked on, or even walked on except when it is being mowed,” said a statement from Michael Camacho, vice chair of Metropolitan’s board. “This rebate helps these properties comply with the new state mandates while also switching to an alternative that is water-efficient, beautiful and supports our local ecosystems.” … ” Read more from Costar.
Pilot project at Port of LA generates clean energy using the ocean’s waves
“You can’t generate solar power at night. And wind power is limited on days without a breeze. But what if you could create energy with ocean waves, which are always in motion? That’s what Eco Wave Power wants to demonstrate. On Tuesday, it launched a two-year pilot project at the Port of Los Angeles, becoming the United States’ first on-shore wave energy program. It’s a simple model: Seven blue floats that look like little boats are attached to the side of a dock. They bob with the waves, pushing a hydraulic cylinder that sends fluid through pipes into bright red tanks housed in a converted shipping container. Pressure builds in the tanks, turns a motor and powers a generator. Right now, it’s enough energy to power 100 households, said Inna Braverman, co-founder and chief executive of Eco Wave Power. … ” Read more from the LAist.
SEE ALSO: First onshore wave energy project in the U.S. launches in Los Angeles, from the LA Times
Sand trucked in from desert to help protect rail line, address beach erosion in San Clemente
“Sand is being shipped from a quarry in Palm Springs to San Clemente’s North Beach, a test case to see how the desert grains hold up at the shore. The Orange County Transportation Authority’s initial deposit will be 3,400 cubic yards of sand hauled to North Beach as part of efforts to protect the coastal rail line that has been damaged in recent years by landslides and ocean erosion — a small amount compared to the 250,000 cubic yards it hopes to place down on the north stretch of the beach town in the long run. For now, because of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers restrictions on placing sand below the mean high tide line, that’s all that can be brought in, said Fifth District Supervisor and OCTA board member Katrina Foley. “It’s making it difficult for us to solve the problem of expanding the beaches, because of that rule,” she said. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
The rotten egg smell at the Salton Sea isn’t just a nuisance. It can make people sick.
“Residents around the Salton Sea have long complained of respiratory ailments from particulate pollution that wafts from its shoreline. Now UCLA researchers have identified another air pollutant that could be sickening people in communities near the inland lake: hydrogen sulfide. That’s a gas from decaying, organic matter that produces a rotten egg smell and is associated with eye irritation, headaches, nausea and other symptoms. In a pair of reports released last week, the Latino Policy & Politics Institute at UCLA described how algal blooms produce the gas in the water, and how it wafts across nearby neighborhoods. “Communities that live next to the shore or within a mile of the shore experience exposure to hydrogen sulfide,” said Consuelo A. Márquez, who authored the reports with Alejandra López, and Isabella B. Arzeno-Soltero. “We hear stories: ‘my child faces chronic nosebleeds and have had asthma their whole life.’” … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
‘It’s just study after study’: Salton Sea residents fed up with lack of action on pollution
“Dan Daher rolled out at 5 a.m. from the shaded parking lot behind the Torres Martinez Tribal Community Hall in Mecca, as he does every Sunday through Thursday. By day’s end, he’ll have logged nearly 300 miles in his Kia Niro hybrid, crisscrossing Southern California highways, dust-caked towns and badly potholed roads encircling the Salton Sea and the rural Imperial and east Coachella valleys. He’s driven through a cloud of tractor smoke on Highway 86 so thick he couldn’t see the road, and swarms of butterflies that coated his windshield in Westmoreland. “Everyone thinks I’m Google,” he laughs. Not exactly. He and other drivers in specially equipped cars are measuring air pollution block by block, microscopic fleck by fleck, around the clock near the contaminated and fast-drying Salton Sea, California’s largest water body. The aim is to give regulators and community members the information they need to push for cleaner air. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun.
Radio show: Research calls for better protections from Salton Sea pollution
“New research from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute is raising questions about the response to toxic air and water from the Salton Sea, and for the communities who live near it. The research highlights gaps in how pollution is measured and addressed, and how it is impacting the health of residents around the Salton Sea. Guest: Isabella B. Arzeno-Soltero, assistant professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA. Listen at KPBS.
SAN DIEGO
Blowing up the Water Authority isn’t off the table at LAFCO
“Dismantling San Diego’s biggest water broker could be what local boundary referees recommend later this year in the face of ever-rising water rates. That’s just one of a menu of options that San Diego’s Local Agency Formation Commission, known as LAFCO, will analyze in what’s known as a municipal service review of the San Diego County Water Authority. Reviews like this can inspire further action by the commission, endowed with legislative powers to break up or consolidate cities and government services. “The commission has to weigh in … on agency’s level of accountability to its constituents present and future,” said Keene Simonds, executive officer of San Diego’s LAFCO. “And, as a part of that, does LAFCO believe restructuring, whether in the form of governance or boundaries, is appropriate?” … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
Rancho Bernardo council supports raising Lake Hodges water level
“The Rancho Bernardo Community Council has added its support to a local effort to get the water level in Lake Hodges raised by 13 feet above its current maximum to decrease the potential for wildfire. A majority of the council agreed at its Sept. 4 meeting to send a letter to the San Diego County Water Authority board expressing strong support for not only restoring the Lake Hodges Dam, but maintaining the lake at a 293-foot operating level “to reduce wildfire risk.” The lake has been kept below 280 feet due to a 2023 state order from the Division of Safety of Dams, which expressed concerns that if the lake is allowed to go higher, the dam that needs to be replaced due to deteriorating concrete could fail if there is a 7.0 or higher earthquake. If that happens, homes and people downstream could be endangered, officials said. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
‘Nanobubbles’: Why the fed’s experimental plan to clean the Tijuana River is sounding alarms
“A private company may soon be using federal dollars to launch an experimental project it hopes will reduce toxic gas from the air in the polluted Tijuana River valley. But scientists who have been carrying out years of research in the watershed are raising alarms that the technology is untested and could make matters worse. Last month the International Boundary and Water Commission, which oversees a wastewater treatment facility along the U.S.-Mexico border, awarded Ohio-based Greenwater Services an estimated $2.5 million to test their “nanobubble technology” method to capture contaminants in the Tijuana River. The process involves pumping ozone bubbles into water. Ozone is a gas that reacts with and can break down contaminants. … ” Read more from iNewsSource.
San Diego County OKs more studies, money to fix South Bay sewage crisis
“The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a policy package Tuesday that aims to study and alleviate the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis, even as a recent pact between the Trump administration and Mexico vows a “permanent 100% solution” by 2027. Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, who has prioritized expanding the county’s role in the sewage crisis, had pushed the measure to put more teeth, including funding, toward a multi-point plan supervisors passed earlier this year. The legislation accelerates county efforts to commission studies of the public health and economic impacts of the pollution, in addition to hiring a lobbyist for $130,000 to represent the county’s interests in Washington, D.C. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
Dwindling water adds pressure for including tribal voices in future Colorado River water plans
“Tribes are seeking to flex whatever legal muscle they have to secure Colorado River water protections, just as forecasts show the resource to continue to disappear in the foreseeable future. The tribes are hoping to gain whatever leverage they can as policymakers negotiate new water plans. More than 30 tribes and seven states utilize water from the Colorado River, which has been experiencing record low water levels from a decades-long drought. Stakeholders are having to rethink their water use and flex their legal claims to the resource as existing water use plans are set to expire. In one case, the Colorado River Indian Tribes are pursuing their own declaration, giving the river the same rights as a person. Tribal advocates say it could better protect the important lifeline that carves through several tribal lands in the arid Southwest. … ” Read more from Indianz.
Colorado: Delta County ranchers want state action on conservation
“As reservoir levels continue to plummet at the end of another dismal water year, some agricultural water users are asking Colorado lawmakers to consider a bill next session that would make it easier for them to get credit for conserving water. It would be the next step in creating a conservation pool in Lake Powell that the Upper Basin states could use to protect against water scarcity. Over the past decade, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming have dabbled in programs that pay willing participants to use less water on a temporary basis. But so far, that saved water has flowed downstream unaccounted for. Changes to state laws would be needed to allow state officials to shepherd conserved water into a Lake Powell pool. … ” Read more from Aspen Journalism.
Efforts underway to return greenback cutthroat trout to headwaters of Colorado Rivers
“13 years ago, Colorado’s state fish could only be found in a single stream in the entire state. Today, a coalition of agencies and experts are working to change that. The Poudre Headwaters Project is a 10 to 12-year effort led by Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, among other organizations, to restore the greenback cutthroat trout to its native waters — about 40 miles of streams in parts of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Arapaho National Forest. “When it’s all said and done, it’ll be the largest native trout restoration in Colorado,” said Chris Clatterbuck, the natural resource program manager for Rocky Mountain National Park. … ” Read more from Ski Hi News.
New Audubon science doubles estimates of shorebird use in the Colorado River Delta
“On an average day during migration, some 250,000 shorebirds can be found in the wetlands of the Colorado River Delta—twice previous estimates. This is according to new science from the National Audubon Society and Pronatura Noroeste, published today in Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology. The study found that, for at least 10 shorebird species, the number of birds in the Delta on a typical day during migration was at least 1 percent of their entire hemispheric population, a key benchmark for designating a site as a Landscape of Regional Importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. For some shorebird species, the total percentages across an entire migration season are staggering. Factoring in the occasional turnover of migrating individuals, it is possible that the Delta supports 12 percent of the global Western Sandpiper population, 20 percent of the world’s American Avocets, and an astonishing 24 percent of Long-billed Dowitchers and Long-billed Curlews. … ” Read more from Audubon.
In national water news today …
Planning for PFAS: Compliance challenges ahead
“As municipal water systems across the United States confront new PFAS regulations, utilities face a complex mix of technical, financial and operational decisions. We caught up with Sarah Johnson, vice president of engineering at AqueoUS Vets® who shared some practical insights on PFAS treatment design — from the differences between groundwater and surface water projects to media selection, energy considerations and long-term maintenance. Johnson has 19 years of experience in the water treatment and infrastructure industry, specializing in municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment systems, water infrastructure, distribution systems, and environmental water issues and well as air treatment. … ” Continue reading from Water Finance & Management.
Inside EPA’s analysis for killing the endangerment finding
“EPA said it determined the country would save hundreds of billions of dollars a year by revoking the endangerment finding and scrapping rules to limit climate pollution from vehicles. But to reach that conclusion, the agency skipped basic practices it routinely uses when projecting the effects of new regulations. It did not do any new modeling that would have informed its projections about how repealing the rules would impact the economy, pollution levels, public health and employment, according to environmental advocates and former EPA officials. Instead, the agency made the case in its written analysis that the nation would be enriched by the administration’s moves to cancel the regulations — the opposite finding of the Biden EPA, which estimated that the rules would lower climate pollution, reduce illness and prevent premature deaths among Americans. … ” Read more from E&E News.
Orange rivers signal toxic shift in Arctic wilderness
“In Alaska’s Brooks Range, rivers once clear enough to drink now run orange and hazy with toxic metals. As warming thaws formerly frozen ground, it sets off a chemical chain reaction that is poisoning fish and wreaking havoc on ecosystems. As the planet warms, a layer of permafrost — permanently frozen Arctic soil that locked away minerals for millennia — is beginning to thaw. Water and oxygen creep into the newly exposed soil, triggering the breakdown of sulfide-rich rocks, and creating sulfuric acid that leaches naturally occurring metals like iron, cadmium, and aluminum from rocks into the river. Often times, geochemical reactions like these are triggered by mining operations. But that is not the case this time. “This is what acid mine drainage looks like,” said Tim Lyons, a biogeochemist at the University of California, Riverside. “But here, there’s no mine. The permafrost is thawing and changing the chemistry of the landscape.” … ” Continue reading from UC Riverside.
Can filtering seawater provide for a thirsty world?
“The drought has held its grip for seven years and counting. Scorched vegetation crinkles underfoot. The color has drained almost entirely from Morocco’s agricultural heartland, with one exception: inside vast mesh-covered agricultural enclosures, where lush tomatoes grow on vines, destined for supermarkets in Europe. These man-made oases are being sustained not by rainfall but by seawater — filtered of salt and piped in from a plant on the coast. For decades, the process known as desalination had been the purview of the oil-rich Persian Gulf. But as droughts intensify, it is booming as a last-ditch solution for countries that had once depended on — and built civilizations with — natural rainfall. The coastal plant here, the first in a wave of megaprojects, is Morocco’s bet that desalination can help preserve a way of life, including water-hungry activities like large-scale agriculture. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
