In California water news today, State braces for floods, mudslides, chaos as giant storm rolls in; NWS: Northern California now on pace for ‘wettest year on record’; California’s huge storm could cause disastrous melting in the mountains; California’s snow is turning to rain; Four things to know about this weekend’s storms; Storms continue to bring heavy rain and snow to the Western US – and more is on the way; Regulatory relief sought; Meet the minds: Tom Ferguson on technology to combat the water crisis; Falcons, drones, data: How a winery is battling climate change; Health and water conservation policy: How can California’s water community consider human health while protecting against drought?; A look ahead at what’s in store for California water in 2017; 600,000 fish ready for rain in the Sacramento River; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
State braces for floods, mudslides, chaos as giant storm rolls in: “A roaring atmospheric river bearing down on California is set to deliver the type of punishing rains that only happen around once every quarter century, forecasters said. Emergency agencies and residents in the path of the fire hose are bracing for what’s expected to be disastrous weather-related chaos when the storm hits this weekend. “We’re prepared for significant flooding,” said Brad Alexander, a spokesman for the California Office of Emergency Services. “It’s a similar approach that we have with all major emergencies. Everyone is available, and we have our emergency playbooks at hand.” … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: State braces for floods, mudslides, chaos as giant storm rolls in
NWS: Northern California now on pace for ‘wettest year on record’: “After many long years of waiting, California’s drought relief may finally be here. Snow has piled up over five feet in some parts of the Sierra Nevada since the Sunday storm. And while the first snow survey of the year actually came in below average in terms of snow accumulation, there are reasons for optimism. “Right now we are on pace to have the wettest water year on record,” said forecaster Mike Kochasic with the National Weather Service in Sacramento, referencing conditions in Northern California. “The wettest was 1982-1983, and we’re on pace or even slightly better than that at this point in the water year. We still have a long way to go, though.” ... ” Read more from SF Gate here: NWS: Northern California now on pace for ‘wettest year on record’
California’s huge storm could cause disastrous melting in the mountains: “California is having a notably wet winter. Since October, a succession of weather systems has greened the Golden State’s valleys, whitened its mountains, and washed its rivers and reservoirs in rippling blue-green. The state is currently between storms. The one that just ended was cold. It dropped snow as low as 2,500 feet in California’s highlands. The successor storm, expected to hit on Saturday, will be warmer—forecasters are calling for snow levels to rise up to 9,000 feet. The temperature difference means some of the snow dropped by the former will get melted by rain from the latter. Short term, it could also be a disaster. Flooding could kill people, destroy homes, wreck roads. Longer term, the succession of storms might be a drought-buster. Or it could be the opposite, with rain melting the precious mountain snow that California relies on to survive its hot, dry summers. … ” Read more from WIRED Magazine here: California’s huge storm could cause disastrous melting in the mountains
California’s snow is turning to rain: “Drought-weary California is getting soaked this week. Most of the state is already having a wetter-than-normal rainy season, it’s been raining and snowing for the past couple of days, and on Saturday and Sunday an “atmospheric river” of precipitation is expected to arrive. That sounds like great news — California needs water, right? What it needs even more is snow, though, and that’s where this weekend may disappoint. Current forecasts estimate that the snow will move to above 9,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada on Sunday, subjecting all but the state’s tallest peaks and ridges to a downpour that will melt a lot of the earlier snowfall and possibly cause extensive flooding. ... ” Read more from Bloomberg View here: California’s snow is turning to rain
Four things to know about this weekend’s storms: “There’s been a lot of hopeful talk about the upcoming storms lifting us out of the five-year drought, but not all storms are a good thing for a parched California. … So will the rain help break the state’s drought? Marty Ralph is the director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. He spoke with Alex Cohen to give a better picture of what the rain means for California. … ” Read more from KPCC here: Four things to know about this weekend’s storms
Storms continue to bring heavy rain and snow to the Western US – and more is on the way: “A swath of the western U.S., from the California coast to Colorado and as far north as Idaho, was bracing for cold temperatures and heavy rain and snowfall as a series of storms driven by Pacific moisture and cold Arctic air continued to pound the region. A weather pattern that began this week brought pounding rainfall to the California coast, several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada and record snowfall and freezing temperatures to the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states, prompting officials to close roads and schools, open emergency warming shelters, and issue warnings of flash floods, mudslides and avalanches. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Storms continue to bring heavy rain and snow to the Western US – and more is on the way
California: Regulatory relief sought: “Farm groups in California expect to spend the next legislative session fending off more regulations while carving out benefits for their industries. Advocates for agriculture expect “an active year” in the Legislature as Gov. Jerry Brown works to cement his legacy in his final two years in office, said Kelly Covello, president of the Almond Alliance of California. The main goal for the organization is to try to minimize the effort to increase the regulatory burden on producers, who are already struggling to keep up with paperwork and other requirements, said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual. … ” Read more from the Capital Press here (note – scroll down): California: Regulatory relief sought
Meet the minds: Tom Ferguson on technology to combat the water crisis: “Tom Ferguson’s dream for California’s water sector is an ambitious one. In the next decade, Ferguson hopes the state becomes first in class when it comes to water issues. “I hope we will have led the way in showing how you combine efficiency of use, investment in technology, the deployment of sensors, upgrading of infrastructure, decentralized recycling and reuse, messaging and communication, innovation in pricing, resource recovery – all of it – to build a system that is the envy of the world,” he told Water Deeply. Ferguson is vice president of programming at Imagine H2O, a San Francisco startup accelerator that has worked with some of the most exciting and innovative water companies in California. Ferguson works with the entrepreneurs in the accelerator program and helps the organizations scale. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Meet the minds: Tom Ferguson on technology to combat the water crisis
Falcons, drones, data: How a winery is battling climate change: “On a misty autumn morning in Sonoma County, Calif., Katie Jackson headed into the vineyards to assess the harvest. It was late in the season, and an army of field workers was rushing to pick the grapes before the first rains, however faint, began falling. But on this day, Ms. Jackson, the vice president of sustainability and external affairs at Jackson Family Wines, was not just minding the usual haul of cabernet, chardonnay and merlot grapes. She also checked on the sophisticated network of systems she had put in place to help crops adapt to a changing climate. … ” Read more from the New York Times here: Falcons, drones, data: How a winery is battling climate change
Health and water conservation policy: How can California’s water community consider human health while protecting against drought? ” … California water suppliers and water districts are working to conserve water in response to 2009 state legislation (Senate Bill x7-7) calling for a 20% reduction in water use by the year 2020. Water conservation choices have impacts on human health. For example, during severe drought in Australia, delayed water conservation decisions led to landscape irrigation bans. These irrigation bans caused public green spaces to turn brown, limiting access to park spaces for activity, especially in low-income communities. The irrigation bans also impact local air quality, as the lack of green space can result in an urban heat island effect. While it may not be obvious when implementing water conservation policy, human health can be affected by the outcomes of water conservation decisions by water districts and suppliers across California. … ” Read more from UCLA IoES here: Health and water conservation policy: How can California’s water community consider human health while protecting against drought?
A look ahead at what’s in store for California water in 2017: “In the simplest terms, California’s drought has a lot to do with the weather, which is why, despite a not-too-stellar initial snowpack reading, there is still a lot of optimism about this year’s wet season. But as seasoned water veterans know, there’s a lot more to the story that just the weather. When Water Deeply started in the summer of 2015, California was in dire straits, having just had its worst snowpack year in recorded history. Warm waters were decimating salmon runs, farm fields were being fallowed and wells were going dry. A year and half later, the state has eased, slightly, out of drought, with the northern third of the state now drought-free. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: A look ahead at what’s in store for California water in 2017
In commentary today …
Quit your bellyaching and restore the San Joaquin River, says Walt Shubin: He writes, “Like other farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, I paid close attention last fall when the State Water Resources Control Board released a proposal that more freshwater flow from the Sierra stay in the San Joaquin River system on its journey to the Delta. The water board is proposing that a mere 40 percent of the flow in rivers feeding the San Joaquin – the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus – make it to the Delta. Board Chair Felicia Marcus said action was long overdue to reverse loss of water quality and salmon runs. It’s no surprise to me that Central Valley water districts, and parts of the Bay Area that get their water from the Tuolumne, raised a great hue and cry over this small step toward rational water use. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Quit your bellyaching and restore the San Joaquin River
Why Donald Trump should focus on improving water infrastructure: Jim Lauria writes, “Dear President-Elect Trump, Congratulations on your election as the 45th President of the United States. During the long campaign you ran on a platform of change and since the election you have charted a course toward improving our nation’s infrastructure. I urge you to focus some of that change and a significant portion of those infrastructure improvements on the one issue at the center of survival for all Americans, regardless of whom they voted for – water. By improving our water systems and boosting our water industry, you’ll keep your promises about putting Americans to work and bringing manufacturing back to America. You’ll be protecting our health (even before the first negotiation about insurance programs) and setting the stage for a better-educated generation. You will make us stronger and more strategic. ... ” Continue reading at News Deeply here: Why Donald Trump should focus on improving water infrastructure: Jim Lauria writes
In regional news and commentary today …
Redding: 600,000 fish ready for rain in the Sacramento River: “For most people the rains expected to hit the North State this weekend will be a cue to head indoors, or turn on the windshield wipers or open an umbrella. But to the 600,000 steelhead released into the Sacramento River this week, the muddy water and higher flows in the river from rainfall is a green light for the fish to get swimming. “The turbidity and the higher flows will help those fish migrate out to the ocean quicker,” said Brett Galyean, project leader at Coleman National Fish Hatchery near Anderson. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight here: Redding: 600,000 fish ready for rain in the Sacramento River
Turning Christmas trees into Lake Oroville fish homes: “A beautifully-decorated Christmas tree can become a fire hazard after the holidays, but there are several ways to ensure the pine in the home does more than just fill the landfill. In Chico, Oroville, Paradise and Biggs, several organizations accept trees for recycling as fuel for cogeneration plants or as habitat for fish in local waterways. … ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury Register here: Turning Christmas trees into Lake Oroville fish homes
Humboldt Steelhead Days to begin with restoration workshop: “The anticipation behind Humboldt Steelhead Days continues to grow as multiple organizations and agencies join together for a three-month celebration of steelhead trout, community and river restoration starting Jan. 13. There are more steelhead in Humboldt County between January and March than anywhere else in the state, according to Mary Burke, the co-director for Humboldt Steelhead Days and North Coast Program Coordinator for California Trout. “We moved it from three weeks long to three months long, which expands the fish competition and really captures the essence of angling,” Burke said. “CalTrout also focuses on the culture of restoration and respect for the rivers. Over the years, there has been increased consciousness about restoration within a huge network of agencies.” ... ” Read more from the Eureka Times Standard here: Humboldt Steelhead Days to begin with restoration workshop
Home demolition paves the way for Lagunitas floodplain restoration: “The removal of abandoned homes, garages and sheds along Lagunitas Creek will lead to restoration of the area, buoyed by an almost $1 million grant to an Olema conservation group. Over the summer, the National Park Service removed the structures along a 1-mile stretch of Lagunitas Creek from Samuel P. Taylor State Park to Olema in areas that were once part of Jewel and Tocaloma. Now the Salmon Protection And Watershed Network announced it will receive a $935,000 grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to restore floodplains and improve habitat for endangered coho salmon — a federally-endangered species — in the area. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: Home demolition paves the way for Lagunitas floodplain restoration
Innovation helps keep harmful stormwater from Tahoe: “Winter snow is a welcome sight at Lake Tahoe, particularly since four of the last five winters were exceptionally dry. But as much as we all enjoy skiing or riding and as much as our towns depend on winter tourists to keep our economy going, there is a hidden cost to a return to winter: stormwater, and the pollution that it transports into Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is designated an outstanding national resource water by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, affording it protections that most lakes its size don’t have. EPA, however, also lists Tahoe as “impaired” by fine sediment pollution and an excess of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. Both are carried into Lake Tahoe when rain and snow washes off Tahoe’s roads and parking lots. Unlike grains of sand, which sink, fine sediment particles — each smaller than the width of a human hair — remain suspended in the lake, reducing its clarity. Plants need nutrients to grow, but excessive nutrients fuel the growth of algae. … ” Read more from Lake Tahoe News here: Innovation helps keep harmful stormwater from Tahoe
Record number of salmon enter Putah Creek: “Researchers have been tracking a record number of salmon running up Putah Creek this fall. The creek runs from the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area up to Lake Berryessa. UC Davis fish biologist Peter Moyle says this year, the fall-run Chinook salmon numbers jumped to an estimated 1,500 — up from 700 last year. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Record number of salmon enter Putah Creek
Stockton: Flooding: It’s happened here before: “This weekend’s potentially historic rainfall brings back all sorts of memories in a flood-prone city such as Stockton, where, if you stay long enough, you’re going to get wet eventually. There is no indication that the coming storm will prove as calamitous as past episodes. Still, after near-continuous drought conditions over the past decade, it’s worth reminding ourselves what has happened here before – and is bound to happen again, someday. ... ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Stockton: Flooding: It’s happened here before
Stanislaus/Merced County: Program offers free drinking well assessments: “Those living in Stanislaus County who rely on a well for their drinking water can now get a free well assessment. Through a national program that began last year, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation is providing well assessments for well owners throughout four western states, including California, free of charge. During 2017, RCAC staff will perform well assessments for well owners in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and California. Various counties in each of the states have been chosen for the Individual Well Program, including Stanislaus and Merced counties in the Central Valley, which provides the well assessments for those not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Funded by the U.S. EPA, counties in each state were chosen based on their proximity to the RCAC field staff in an effort to maximize educational opportunities. … ” Read more from the Turlock Journal here: Stanislaus/Merced County: Program offers free drinking well assessments
Tuolumne River to rise to make room in Don Pedro for runoff: “The lower Tuolumne River ran at its highest volume past Modesto in half a decade Wednesday, and it will get even bigger over the next week. Managers of Don Pedro Reservoir, 38 miles upstream, have sharply increased releases so the lake will have enough room for runoff from a weekend storm that could be huge. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Tuolumne flow had tripled to about 3,000 cubic feet per second at the Ninth Street Bridge, according to the California Department of Water Resources. It will reach about 7,000 cfs at the peak of the planned releases. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Tuolumne River to rise to make room in Don Pedro for runoff
Yosemite flooding risk downgraded as California braces for big storms: “Meteorologists on Thursday downgraded their forecast of catastrophic flooding in Yosemite National Park this weekend, even as a powerful storm system continued to barrel toward the California coast, prompting officials across Northern California to scramble as they prepare for mudslides, power outages and other weather-related problems. The high-water mark on the Merced River in Yosemite Valley is now projected to reach 15 feet at 4 p.m. Sunday, but that’s down from a breathtaking prediction of 23 feet made a day earlier by researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Yosemite flooding risk downgraded as California braces for big storms
Weekend storm prompts flood releases from Friant Dam: “The Bureau of Reclamation has started to increase releases out of Millerton Lake to clear way for water from a winter storm expected this weekend. That could mean the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam will flow at higher level than is usual for this time of year. It’s the first time large flood flows have been released out of Millerton Lake since July 2011. … ” Read more from Valley Public Radio here: Weekend storm prompts flood releases from Friant Dam
Southern California eyes desalinated water from Mexico: “The U.S. imports vehicles, equipment, fresh produce and other goods from Mexico. That list may soon include water too, now that a San Diego County water district is looking south for help to diversify its supply. The Otay Water District serves a population of 220,000 people in southeastern San Diego County, in a service area spanning 125 square miles (201 square km), from the border city of Chula Vista to the unincorporated areas in Jamul. It currently buys potable water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) and the Helix Water District. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Southern California eyes desalinated water from Mexico
And lastly …
The Power of Moving Water: Some great writing on California storms: “With the strong possibility of a big storm over the weekend and with flood watches in place from near the Oregon border down to Bakersfield, our thoughts turn to … history. More specifically, to some of the great accounts we’ve seen of disasters and near-disasters resulting from big winter storms. Here are three selections, ranging from William Brewer’s account of the historic rains and floods of 1861-62 to two more recent stories, from John McPhee and Marc Reisner, that touch on the impact of big winter storms in the 1970s and 1980s. ... ” Read more from KQED here: The Power of Moving Water: Some great writing on California storms
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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.
