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On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Central Valley Flood Protection Board from 9am to 3pm. Agenda items include an informational presentation of the status, monitoring, and eradication of Nutria and invasive aquatic mussels within the Central Valley, and various resolutions on permits, enforcement actions, and other topics. Click here for the full agenda.
- MEETING: Delta Stewardship Council beginning at 9:30am. Agenda items include a presentation highlighting the State of Bay-Delta Science 2025 “Extreme Events” Edition, and a presentation on Metropolitan Water District Delta Smelt and Native Species Preservation. Click here for the full agenda and remote access instructions.
- MEETING: Department of Food and Ag from 10am to 2pm. Agenda items include a discussion on local foods on the global stage, a presentation on international culinary trends, and a presentation on the climate resilience strategy. Click here for the agenda and remote access instructions.
In California water news today …
Marine heatwave ‘blob’ returns in Pacific, rivaling past events in size and impact
“In 2013, scientists noticed a block of unusually warm water detected in the Pacific Ocean between the Gulf of Alaska and the Coast of Southern California. This was recognized by meteorologists as a basin-scale marine heatwave (MHW), often referred to as “the blob”. This water mass hung around from 2013-2016 before re-emerging again in July of 2019 (known as Blob 2.0) and lasting 20 months. In May 2025, the blob reappeared. Rachel Hager, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries, said this new MHW has grown “approximately the same size as the contiguous U.S.” She added it now ranks among the top three largest MHWs ever recorded in the northeast Pacific Ocean since monitoring began in 1982. … ” Read more from KATU.
How to make water conservation a habit
“Michael Kimmelman’s recent story on Los Angeles’s water needs included a surprising fact: The city has been using less water, even as its population has grown. Part of this success, Michael reported, came from adopting a culture of conservation after a series of severe droughts, starting in the 1970s, prompted “some simple, practical, boring fixes, like better plumbing, alongside larger transformations in social norms, policies and politics.” In a 2024 survey from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, 90 percent of respondents said they considered it important to conserve water daily, even when the region is not in a drought. We asked readers around the country what they thought of Los Angeles’s approach to water conservation, and whether they had taken similar actions. More than 500 wrote in to offer their thoughts. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
Worms now contributing to California’s planet-smart dairy efforts
“Worm beds are wiggling their way onto a growing number of California dairy farms. Millions of worms are being deployed to help break down and improve the recycling of manure via these vermifiltration systems. It’s a process that’s gaining traction for its value in preventing methane emissions, better managing nutrients, and improving water use and protection. Essentially, it works like this: dairy manure is added to beds of wood chips and red wiggler worms. The aerobic conditions (inclusion of oxygen) prevents the formation of methane emissions from manure storage by up to 90 percent, according to BioFiltro. The amount of nitrogen in the remaining filtered manure-water is also reduced by 40 to 80 percent. The filtered water is then available for more flexible on-farm use. … ” Read more from Dairy Cares.
California Farm Bureau’s Shannon Douglas tackles Prop 50, Farm Bill, and the future of farming
“The September 26 edition of the AgNet News Hour closed out the week with one of the state’s most important agricultural voices. Hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill welcomed Shannon Douglas, president of the California Farm Bureau, for a wide-ranging conversation on water, regulation, trade, and the survival of California’s family farms. Douglas, a former FFA member and now a proud “FFA mom,” shared her passion for youth in agriculture. She reminded listeners that FFA isn’t just for farm kids — it can spark careers in science, technology, and leadership for students from all backgrounds. “We have tremendous career opportunities in agriculture,” she said, pointing to data showing over four jobs per crop science graduate in California. … ” Read more from Ag Net West.
Agriculture is tested in courtrooms and at the ballot box
“Throughout September, agriculture has been at the forefront of both legal and legislative battles, with the ultimate winners and losers awaiting a final tally. Notably, litigation over water and animal welfare has intensified, while local Kern County officials push back against state policies that threaten to undermine California agriculture. On Sept. 5, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that irrigated agriculture remains exempt from the Clean Water Act. This ruling in “Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations v. Nickels” affirms that irrigation return flows through farm drains do not require federal permits, provided they are not commingled with non-agricultural discharges like industrial or municipal waste. … On Sept. 23, the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency lost two key motions in Tulare County Superior Court in a lawsuit filed by the Friant Water Authority and Arvin-Edison Water Storage District. … ” Read more from Valley Ag Voice.
Court ruling protects local farm drainage practices
“On September 5, 2025, a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed that agricultural drainage systems carrying irrigation return flows can operate without federal Clean Water Act permits, so long as those systems are not mixed with discharges from outside point sources. The ruling is particularly significant for farmers in the Grassland Drainage Area west of Los Banos, where thousands of acres of irrigated farmland rely on engineered drains to carry away subsurface water laden with salts and selenium. For decades, that drainage has been managed through the Grassland Bypass Project, which diverts flows away from wetlands and wildlife refuges before sending them to Mud Slough and the San Joaquin River. … ” Read more from the Los Banos Enterprise.
DWR releases new FAQ on Flood-MAR
“Flood-MAR is a water resource management strategy that uses high flows resulting from, or in anticipation of, rainfall or snowmelt for managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Flood-MAR occurs on agricultural lands, working landscapes, and managed natural lands, including refuges, floodplains, and flood bypasses. Flood-MAR can be implemented at multiple scales, ranging from individual landowners diverting flood water using existing infrastructure, to using extensive detention/recharge areas and modernizing flood management infrastructure/operations. … ” Read/download the FAQ here.
New survey and interactive tools for building climate resilience in the Delta
“In recognition of Delta Week and Climate Week NYC, the Delta Stewardship Council is pleased to share an opportunity to take a survey and two new interactive resources as part of our climate change initiative, Delta Adapts. This initiative takes a comprehensive, regional approach to climate resiliency that cuts across regional boundaries and fosters collaboration across federal, tribal, state, regional, and local partners. The Council is collecting input for the creation of a new work group to support the implementation of the Delta Adapts Adaptation Plan and identify resources to build community adaptation capacity. Please complete the survey if you are interested in learning more about, being involved with, or giving feedback to help shape a Delta Adaptation Work Group. The work group’s first meeting is being planned for 2026. … ” Read more from the Delta Stewardship Council.
Natural Resources Agency strengthens Tribal Consultation Policy
“The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) has released an updated Tribal Consultation Policy setting clear standards for early, often, and meaningful consultations with tribes in agency actions. The revised policy formalizes CNRA’s commitment to building lasting partnerships with California Native American tribes and addressing historic wrongs that excluded tribes from the stewardship of their ancestral lands and waters. For decades, state policies disrupted tribal stewardship and excluded tribes from key decisions. The updated Tribal Consultation Policy aims to correct this by providing a policy framework for all CNRA departments, conservancies, commissions, and boards. It clarifies the role of tribal liaisons, outlines mandatory training requirements, and includes a Tribal Consultation Best Practices Appendix with proven consultation models to guide staff. “California is stronger when we work in true partnership with tribes,” said CNRA Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “This policy moves us beyond symbolic commitments and into action by setting clear standards for consultation. By listening early, engaging often and respecting tribal leadership, we will build more trust and create better outcomes for people and nature.” … ” Read more from the Natural Resources Agency.
UC Santa Cruz researchers win funds to characterize makeup of Pacific coastal fog
“Researchers Peter Weiss-Penzias and Eyal Rahav at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have been awarded a five-year, $737,000 grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation to characterize the chemical and biological composition of Pacific coastal fog water. Their research will contribute to a multi-institute project that ultimately aims to enhance society’s ability to manage coastal resources and steward coastal ecosystems in a changing climate. This interdisciplinary Pacific Coastal Fog Research project will attempt to provide answers to the most frequently asked fog questions in popular discourse and the media: How will fog change as the planet warms? Will it go away? “Understanding if and how fog will change as the climate warms is critical for societal planning for climate change,” said Weiss, a continuing lecturer and faculty researcher in the Science Division. … ” Read more from UC California.
Whales are getting tangled in lines and ropes off the California coast in record numbers
“The number of whales getting tangled up in fishing nets, line, buoys and other miscellaneous rope off the coasts of the United States hit a record high in 2024, with California taking the ignominious lead. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, there were 95 confirmed entangled whales in U.S. waters last year. Eighty-seven were live animals, while reports for eight came in after the animals had died. On average, 71 whales are reported entangled each year. There were 64 in 2023. More than 70% of the reports were from the coastal waters off California, Alaska, Hawaii and Massachusetts. California accounted for 25% in 2024, most in the San Francisco and Monterey bay areas. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Unburned: An Investigation: To protect the Plumas National Forest and its communities from the next megafire, the Forest Service plans to burn it—intentionally. Can $274 million do the job?
“A white-headed woodpecker stirs the dawn quiet, hammering at a patch of charred bark stretching 15 feet up the trunk of a ponderosa pine. The first streaks of sun light the tree’s green crown, sending beams across this grove of healthy conifers. The marks of the 2021 Dixie Fire are everywhere. Several blackened trees lie toppled among the pale blossoms of deer brush and the spikes of snow plants, their crimson faded to dusky coral. Flames raged through neighboring forests, exploding the tops of trees, flinging sparks down the mountainside until, on August 4, 2021, the fire itself reached the valley below and Greenville, 90 miles north of Lake Oroville. It took less than 30 minutes to destroy a town of 1,000 residents. Yet this stand at Round Valley Reservoir survived. Years earlier, U.S. Forest Service crews had removed the brush and smaller trees, reducing the most flammable vegetation. Then they set fires, burning what was left on the ground in slow-moving spurts of flame. When Dixie arrived, the same fire that melted cars and torched 800 homes hit this stand and dropped to the ground. Here Dixie was tame, a docile blaze meandering across the forest floor with only occasional licks up the trunks of trees, says Ryan Bauer, Plumas National Forest fuels manager for the past 18 years. If only there had been more active forest management like this, laments Bauer. … ” Read more from Bay Nature.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
North Yuba Forest Partnership advances wildfire risk reduction near Camptonville
“The North Yuba Forest Partnership, nine organizations committed to collaboratively planning, funding, and implementing forest restoration across the North Yuba River watershed, announced today that wildfire risk reduction treatments will begin near the community of Camptonville and New Bullards Bar Reservoir. Following the Tahoe National Forest’s signing of the Record of Decision for Subproject Area #2 of the North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project (NYLRP), implementation is now cleared to begin within this priority area. The NYLRP spans 275,000 acres and represents one of the largest landscape-scale vegetation and fuels management efforts in the Sierra Nevada. … ” Read more from the South Yuba River Citizens League.
Snow sprinkles Mt. Rose
“We’re only three days into fall but it feels like winter. On Thursday, September 25, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe reported snow was falling at the summit. While the snow didn’t last long, it brought excitement for the upcoming winter season. The National Weather Service Reno Office is calling for precipitation throughout the day on Thursday. Another storm is on the horizon, with scattered storms hitting the basin starting Sunday. NWS’s 7-day forecast is calling for the rain to continue through Wednesday, with snow at 9500 ft on Tuesday. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Butte County completes Chico Five-Mile SAFE Project cutting flood risks
“Butte County Public Works has successfully completed the Chico Five-Mile SAFE Project, an emergency initiative aimed at reducing short-term flood risks for Chico and nearby communities. The project involved vegetation management, channel improvements and levee repairs in the Five-Mile Basin. The purpose of the work was to increase flow capacity and prevent blockages, safeguarding homes and infrastructure ahead of the winter storm season. Works began on Monday, September 15, and were initially supposed to last until October 15. However, crews were able to finish the project in just 10 days. … ” Read more from KRCR.
NAPA/SONOMA
Windsor unites with neighboring sanitation district to achieve 100% recycling of treated wastewater
“The Town of Windsor has reached a major milestone: 100% of the community’s wastewater is now recycled and reused. Since 2019, Windsor staff have been working toward long-term sustainability goals at the town’s water treatment plant. Until recently, treated water from the plant would go one of three places: “We were sending about a third of the water to the Geysers,” said Shannon Cotulla, director of public works for the Town of Windsor, referring to the world’s largest geothermal field on the border of Sonoma and Lake counties. Cotulla continued, “a third would be used for irrigation, and the other third would discharge into Mark West Creek, and Laguna de Santa Rosa, and then into the Russian River.” … ” Read more from NorCal Public Media.
BAY AREA
Autumn’s arrival brings sharp transitions to Bay Area weekend weather, significant storm to follow
“The first official weekend of autumn arrives and each day will feel a little different, thanks to a stubborn upper-level low pressure system drifting across the state. This weekend won’t bring the kind of steady, predictable weather pattern California is known for. Instead, the weather will swing in noticeable ways, in the Bay Area and statewide. Friday will be warm, with North Bay and East Bay valleys reaching into the 90s. But unlike Tuesday’s widespread heat, the coast and bayside communities will stay cooler, with San Francisco and Oakland holding in the 70s under a stronger sea breeze and marine layer. Saturday eases down another notch. Sunshine will dominate, but the 90s disappear, with most inland highs topping out in the 80s. San Francisco and Oakland stay in the 70s, slower to clear morning clouds. By Sunday, the seasonal change will be hard to miss. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Modeling flood mitigation strategies in the San Francisco Bay Area
“As sea levels rise and storms intensify, protecting coastal communities is becoming a pressing challenge—especially in places like San Francisco Bay, one of the nation’s most urbanized estuaries. A new USGS-led study explores how different flood-mitigation strategies—shoreline hardening, wetland restoration, and floodgates—affect water levels across the Bay. Using a high-resolution Delft3D hydrodynamic model for the San Francisco Bay-Delta community, the researchers tested how each mitigation strategy would perform under both current conditions and future sea-level rise scenarios. The results found trade-offs and limitations for each approach … ” Read more from the USGS.
EPA fines pipeline company over East Bay gasoline spill
“A pipeline company with a long history of Bay Area safety incidents will pay a penalty for spilling 40,000 gallons of gasoline into a Walnut Creek waterway, the U.S. EPA announced Tuesday. Kinder Morgan subsidy Santa Fe Pacific Pipeline, or SFPP, agreed to pay $213,560 in its settlement with the EPA, which claims that the company violated the Clean Water Act by discharging harmful levels of gasoline into the environment in November 2020 when its underground pipeline cracked. Kinder Morgan and SFPP previously paid a $2.5 million fine after being sued by the state for the same spill and are still cleaning it up, five years later. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
San Jose: $197 million project completed to improve flood protection along south San Francisco Bay shoreline
“Hoping to reduce flooding risk for thousands of people living in low lying areas and expand habitat for fish and wildlife, Silicon Valley’s largest water agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday announced they have completed a $197 million project to build two miles of new levees along San Francisco Bay’s southern shoreline. The new 15-foot-high clay and dirt structures stretch from Alviso Marina County Park to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center. They are designed to protect homes and businesses against the type of winter storms that have severely flooded the low-lying community of Alviso multiple times with water up to 6 feet deep and which are posing more risk as sea level rises due to climate change. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
SEE ALSO: Milestone reached in South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Phase I Project, press release from Valley Water
San José showcases solutions and challenges to reducing unsheltered homelessness and keeping creeks clean
“Last week, the City of San José hosted the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Region 2) staff to show the City’s leadership and continued progress in reducing unsheltered homelessness along its waterways. The visit highlighted how San José is meeting the requirements of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES) Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit Direct Discharge Trash Control Program (Direct Discharge) Plan that Region 2 approved in June 2024. This meeting was part of the quarterly check-in for the Water Board-approved Direct Discharge program. During the meeting, the City showcased its progress towards reducing environmental impacts on waterways and limiting biowaste discharge in storm drains. … ” Read more from the City of San Jose.
Long-awaited wastewater treatment plant for San Mateo and Foster City completed
“City leaders have officially cut the ribbon on the long-awaited wastewater treatment plan in San Mateo, a $600 million project that will serve San Mateo, Foster City, Hillsborough and parts of Belmont. The treatment plant — which is the largest infrastructure improvement project in San Mateo’s history — is part of a larger, 10-year and $1 billion Clean Water Program effort to enhance the city’s wastewater collection and treatment services. The program kicked off over 10 years ago in response to a cease and desist order from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which stipulated the elimination of “sanitary sewer overflows and unauthorized discharges of untreated or partially treated wastewater to San Francisco Bay,” according to a previous staff report. … ” Read more from the Daily Journal.
Controversial Bay Area recycling startup ‘highly likely’ to leave California
“Following loud community opposition, a North Bay plastics recycling startup announced Thursday that it would be moving its equipment out of a Sonoma County business park “within weeks” and is likely to shift its operations out of California. Resynergi has developed a method of breaking down hard-to-recycle items, such as plastic bags and yogurt containers, that often can’t be handled by most traditional recycling methods. But public notices alerting neighbors that the Rohnert Park plant could soon start recycling plastic touched off persistent protests by residents concerned the plant could subject them to harmful emissions, despite Resynergi’s assurances it would not. “We’ll be pulling our equipment out of Rohnert Park,” said Brian Bauer, a co-founder and company president. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
CENTRAL COAST
Rep. Panetta reintroduces bill for Monterey Bay National Heritage Area
“With the ultimate goal of preserving historic and environmental treasures along the Monterey Bay and surrounding areas, the Monterey Bay National Heritage Area Study Act has been authored and reintroduced by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, which could also see the designation strengthen local economies and communities. This legislation would direct the National Park Service to initiate a comprehensive study on whether the coastal communities surrounding the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary qualify for designation as a National Heritage Area. Panetta is working in tandem with the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership as the local coordinating entity for this study. “Our home is blessed with immense beauty and bounty, and it is our responsibility to preserve our cultural, historical, and environmental treasures,” said Panetta in a press release. “This legislation begins the process of exploring a National Heritage Area designation in a way that centers local voices. By taking this step, we can preserve what makes the Monterey Bay region unique while also creating opportunities that strengthen our local economies and communities for generations to come.” … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald.
Ventura floats sale of water utility; idea appears to sink. Here’s why
“The Ventura City Council doesn’t appear likely to sell its water department anytime soon. Council members gave no indication they were willing to sell the utility during a Sept. 23 regular meeting, in which city staff said a potential sale to a private company would increase water and wastewater rates even more. Privately owned water utilities in the state charged 18% more, or $67 more per year for an average household, than public utility companies, Deputy City Manager Brad “Brick” Conners said during a presentation on the item. No vote was taken on a potential sale. Council members instead voted unanimously for staff to give the same presentation to the Water Commission at a future date. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Stockton breaks ground on $17 million Groundwater Recharge Project
“San Joaquin County and Stockton officials and project executives broke ground on the $17 million project-site Wednesday morning on the Groundwater Recharge Project. The project will build three recharge basins adjacent to the treatment plant, allowing the city to capture water from the San Joaquin Delta and Mokelumne River. It’s phase two of the plant’s expansion – the facility itself, opened in 2012, already treats up to 30 million gallons a day for nearly 200,000 customers. Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi explained how the project would become crucial during a dry season with little rain. “This groundbreaking is very significant because it has to do with groundwater recharge,” Fugazi said. “When we’re experiencing a drought, we’re limited in where we can pull our water from. When our groundwater has been recharged, we’re able to pull from there.” … ” Read more from Stocktonia.
Along the Colorado River …
With reservoirs shrinking, Southern California braces for hard choices on most precious resource
“As climate change drives drier winters and shrinking snowmelt across the West, Southern California is rushing to diversify its water supply—investing in recycling, storage, and Colorado River imports to guard against another crippling drought. With fire season approaching, public officials are debating not only whether Southern California has enough water to battle potential blazes like the one in Pacific Palisades, but also whether supplies will be sufficient in the coming months and years to meet basic drinking needs. SoCal’s tenuous access to water is tethered to the California Aqueduct in the north, which provides most of the water for the local communities served by the Las Virgenes and Calleguas municipal water districts, and to the Colorado River Aqueduct in the east, which looms large as a possible new source for potable supply serving the local communities. … ” Read more from The Acorn.
Experts warn action needed to preserve Colorado River
“The Colorado River has been in decline since the turn of the 21st century – and emergency action may be required sooner than projected, experts warn. They say realistic water storage, accounting for less than half of typical Colorado River reservoir projections, could be drained within a few years if the issue is not taken seriously. “Unfortunately, if this coming winter is as bad as this past winter, we’re going to be dealing with a significant problem,” Dr. Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, told The Center Square. He added later, “If we don’t change our behavior, we will be in a water management crisis. Things will get very difficult.” … ” Read more from the Center Square.
SEE ALSO: Experts call for immediate cuts to water use from the Colorado River, from KPBS
Commentary: Feds need a different approach to the Colorado River
Greg Walcher, president of the Natural Resources Group and author of “Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How to Take it Back,” writes, “This week’s withdrawal of President Trump’s nominee to head the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) provides an opportunity, not just for a new nominee but for a new approach to the whole Colorado River management mess. It is an opportunity the White House and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum should take very seriously. The nominee’s withdrawal, due to the skepticism of Upper Basin senators, highlighted the deteriorating relationship between BOR and the states. In fact, BOR under Trump has thus far taken essentially the same tack as under Presidents Obama and Biden, namely threatening the states — including those in the Upper Basin — with a federal takeover if they don’t produce an “acceptable” plan to reduce their use of water. As negotiations between the seven Colorado River states have ground almost to a standstill, they are being reminded of a November “deadline” to submit a “preliminary assessment” of their ability to reach consensus. If the states notify BOR by Nov. 11 that a consensus agreement is unlikely, the agency says it will develop a federal plan for river management. … ” Read more from the Daily Sentinel.
Commentary: Efficiency, not water wars, can save the Colorado River
Jason Shulman, a Colorado resident and owner of Colorado CareAssist, writes, “I write as a resident of Colorado, where every drop of the river matters to our farms, families, and future. I have no fiduciary interest in water. I don’t own land around it, nor any water rights attached to it. But, simply put, I like to drink water to survive so its supply in the very dry American West has always interested me. Particularly the Colorado River and the millions of us who depend on it. The Colorado River is the lifeline of the American West, but it is dangerously over‑appropriated. Agriculture consumes the majority of its flow, and nowhere is this more concentrated than in the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) in California and Yuma. These regions supply most of America’s winter vegetables — but they also devote massive acreage to alfalfa hay, much of it exported overseas, using about six acre‑feet of water per acre each year. That fact often leads people to frame the problem as “food vs. alfalfa.” But I believe we can solve this without starving our nation of food. The answer is targeted efficiency — rewarding real, measured conservation and shifting crop mixes where it makes sense. … ” Read more from the Arizona Capitol Times.
Does the Colorado River have enough water for Arizonans?
“CAP board president Terry Goddard joined Arizona’s Morning News to talk about the 2026 Colorado River water plan and how it will affect the citizens of Arizona.”
Queen Creek looking to gain water independence with groundwater from Harquahala Valley
“The town of Queen Creek is among the only communities in the Phoenix metro region that is not considered a designated water provider. That means that its residents have to pay a fee to get water delivered and to replenish groundwater they use. This month, the Queen Creek Town Council authorized officials to negotiate a potential $240 million deal to pump groundwater from Harquahala Valley, about 70 miles west of Phoenix. That additional groundwater would help Queen Creek qualify as designated water providers. “By becoming designated, we will no longer be pumping groundwater that needs to be replenished,” said Queen Creek Water Resource Director Paul Gardner. The deal would be for up to 1.2 million acre feet of water over the next 100 years, though the final agreement could come out to half that amount. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
University of Nevada, Reno helps farmers in nation’s driest state meet water challenges
“A doctoral student and his professor at the University of Nevada, Reno spend long hours at their computers, using highly sophisticated satellite data to create a map of the underground water resources in Nevada, as part of the University’s Experiment Station research. In the Diamond Valley of central Nevada, meanwhile, a specialist with the University’s Extension unit supports alfalfa farmers with new practices that use less water while still producing abundant crops. And outside a modest office building in the heart of Reno, professional landscapers pay close attention as they master the techniques of water-smart residential irrigation in a workshop also overseen by Extension. It’s all part of efforts by researchers, students and outreach specialists with the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources to help the driest state in the nation – a state that continues to feel the effects of a shifting climate – by focusing on the discovery and implementation of practices that ensure the best-possible uses of Nevada’s limited water resources. … ” Read more from Nevada Today.
That abandoned boat at Lake Mead? It’s gone, park service says
“An abandoned boat discovered at Lake Mead during drought conditions three years ago has been removed. The clean up was part of 20,000 pounds hauled away from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, according to a report from SFGate.com. “This boat, like others before it and more still to come, was removed through our Love Lake Mead program. These cleanups are an essential part of protecting the park’s health and ensuring visitors can continue to enjoy the lake,” a representative for Lake Mead said in an email to the Review-Journal. Government Wash Road and 8.0 Mile Road has been blocked and motor vehicle access and overnight camping in the area has been prohibited for more than a year, the agency said. Hiking, biking, and shoreline access by boat for recreation within 100 feet of the shoreline remained available. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The future of Colorado water: How the fight over Shoshone water rights affects the Front Range
“A million acre-feet of water in the Colorado River — and the efforts by Western Slope water partners to keep it there — became the subject of a recent two-day hearing that could decide just who gets water and how much. One of the major points of tension is the objection by several water providers — not to the deal, per se, between a subsidiary of Xcel Energy and the Colorado River Water Conservation District and its 32 partners — to keep the water in the river that flows through the Public Service Company of Colorado’s Shoshone hydropower plant six miles east of Glenwood Springs in the Colorado River. Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), the Xcel subsidiary, would still retain lease rights for that water, according to the deal. Rather, the conflict revolves around the details of the legal agreements regarding junior water rights. … ” Read more from Colorado Politics.
In national water news today …
Some US streams and rivers facing severe declines in fish populations, new study suggests
“The composition of fish populations in streams and rivers across the U.S. has been severely altered as a result of changing water temperatures and human-driven introductions of fish, according to new research. Cold-water streams have experienced disproportionate impacts, experiencing more than a 50% decrease in fish abundance over the last three decades, according to a study published Wednesday in Nature. Some of the largest threats include climate change and fish introductions — both by invasive species or game fish stocking, scientists say. Researchers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tracked trends in freshwater fish biodiversity in streams and rivers all over the U.S. from 1993 to 2019. During that time, they monitored 389 species across 2,992 sites. They found that species abundance, or the number of individual fish, and species richness, the number of unique species, declined by 53.4% and 32%, respectively, in cold streams — where temperatures are typically below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. … ” Read more from ABC News.
DOE climate report could create problems for EPA
“Science played only a bit part in EPA’s July proposal to scrap the scientific basis for most of its climate rules. In the final version, it may barely make an appearance. The draft rule to undo the endangerment finding leaned heavily on a new legal reading of the Clean Air Act asserting that EPA has no authority to regulate greenhouse gases for their effect on climate change. But EPA also floated an “alternative” rationale — one focused on science and drawn almost exclusively from a Department of Energy report that downplayed the risks and severity of climate change. That report is now in limbo after DOE disbanded the so-called Climate Working Group that wrote it. The agency has come under fire — and a lawsuit — for the process that led to the establishment of the working group, which was staffed with five climate contrarians hand-picked by Energy Secretary Chris Wright. … ” Read more from E&E News.
Human impacts on ocean could double or triple by 2050, a new UC Santa Barbara study warns
“By 2050, the combined impacts of climate change and human activity on the ocean could be two to three times greater than they are today. Without urgent efforts to reduce these threats, a new study from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis—an independent research affiliate of the University of California, Santa Barbara—warns those forces could completely transform, or even wipe out, entire seascapes. “Huge parts of the ocean will no longer be recognizable,” said Ben Halpern, lead author of the study and the research center’s director. “There are areas that will effectively just collapse and cease to be functioning as natural systems.” … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
