In California water news today, Weeks of rain are rapidly reviving California’s drought ravaged lakes; California drought isn’t over, but we’re getting better; ‘This is a big deal’: Storms could spell end to historic drought; California storms help fill reservoirs but slow ag work; California floods its fields to keep its cities from flooding; Flooded Yolo Bypass looks like an ocean for first time in a decade; After years of drought, scientists examine recharged San Joaquin River; Once teetering, Mono Lake revived by heavy rains, snow; Farmers and irrigation districts using storm runoff for groundwater recharge; 173 mph winds and other astounding facts about our 2017 storms; River flow plan moves to written comment stage; and more …
On the calendar today …
Webinar: Managing California’s Limited Water Supply: Improvements to the Sacramento River Drought Water Rights Allocation Tool: In this webinar from the California Landscape Conservation Cooperative, speakers will present the Sacramento River Drought Water Rights Allocation Tool (DWRAT). DWART can be used to optimize water rights curtailments based the spatial and temporal variability of water demands, priority of rights, and hydrology. The speakers will highlight the results of recent efforts to improve the natural flow model for dry years in the Sacramento watershed using machine learning techniques. Click here for more information and to register.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- DELTA PLAN INTERAGENCY IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE: Ecosystem Restoration Progress Update
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Past year’s achievements under California Water Action Plan highlighted; Another Sacramento River salmonid rearing habitat restoration project completed; Reclamation increasing releases into Sacramento River for storage management
- THIS JUST IN … Governor Brown Proposes 2017-18 State Budget
Weeks of rain are rapidly reviving California’s drought ravaged lakes: “Leaning against a wooden rail, environmental activist Geoffrey McQuilkin took stock of a parched geological wonderland that had been altered by a weekend deluge. The air was still thick with moisture, and this lake’s tributaries were cascading down from surrounding mountains, swollen by cargoes of fresh snowmelt and rain. Frothy whitecaps and wavelets lapped over grass meadows that had been dry ground only a week ago. The lake’s famous tufa formations — for so long a symbol of California’s lack of water — were capped with snow. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: Weeks of rain are rapidly reviving California’s drought ravaged lakes
California drought isn’t over, but we’re getting better: “The wet start to the rainy season has soaked the drought-parched state of California, especially the northern half. The reservoirs are filling up — numbers from Tuesday morning indicate that total surface storage for the state is roughly 97 percent of average. The snow pack is piling up in the Sierra, and underground water stores are recharging. But don’t stop turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth. We’re not entirely out of the drought. “We’re getting better in places, but not in others,” Michael Anderson, a climatologist with the California Department of Water Resources said. “We’ve got a mixed bag of conditions going on right now.” ... ” Read more from SF Gate here: California drought isn’t over, but we’re getting better
‘This is a big deal’: Storms could spell end to historic drought: “The storms barreling into California aren’t only flooding towns, ripping trees from the earth and igniting roadway chaos. They’ve had the extraordinary effect of filling reservoirs that haven’t breached their brims in years and, for much of the north state, intensifying a rainy season that is finally, mercifully, driving an end to the historic drought. “In the very northern part of California, yes, the drought is over,” said Marty Ralph, director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “In the south, not so much.” ... ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: ‘This is a big deal’: Storms could spell end to historic drought
California storms help fill reservoirs but slow ag work: “Big rains in California have dumped more than a million acre-feet of water into the state’s reservoirs since Jan. 1 but this week stalled the Central Valley’s navel and mandarin orange harvests, state and industry officials say. The storms had added 1.1 million acre-feet of water to California’s reservoirs by Jan. 9 with more to come, according to state officials, while prompting the opening of the Sacramento Weir — a flood-control bypass around the city — for the first time since 2006. ... ” Read more from the Capital Press here: California storms help fill reservoirs but slow ag work
California floods its fields to keep its cities from flooding: “To see how close California is to being drowned by its recent winter storms, just look to the small crowd of spectators and TV newscasters gathered yesterday on the northwest side of the state capital hoping to watch state water managers open the gates of the Sacramento Weir. The weir, something between a dam and a levee, lets dangerously high water spill over its top into a long, narrow, floodplain filled with rice paddies, grain fields, and other row crops. Californians pay attention to the weir for three reasons. One: People here are obsessed with water. Two: The thing hasn’t been opened in a decade. Three: Opening the 100-year old piece of infrastructure is a spectacle, requiring a person wielding a long, hooked pole to manually unlatch each of its 48 wooden floodgates. … ” Read more from WIRED Magazine here: California floods its fields to keep its cities from flooding
Flooded Yolo Bypass looks like an ocean for first time in a decade: “A number of the Sacramento River weir gates were opened Monday morning, releasing a wall of water downstream and flooding the Yolo Bypass for the first time in a decade. When you drive Interstate-80 over the Yolo Causeway, you feel like you’re passing over a massive lake and the water stretches as far as the eye can see in some places. It looks like you could put an ocean freighter in the middle of it. And consider this: The Yolo Causeway stretches across the width of the bypass and it’s 16,538 feet long. In comparison, the Mississippi River is roughly 7,600 feet wide at its widest, in New Orleans. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: Flooded Yolo Bypass looks like an ocean for first time in a decade
After years of drought, scientists examine recharged San Joaquin River: “After years of dribbling down the channel, the San Joaquin River is overflowing its banks.
It’s obvious to residents in the area that the San Joaquin River is running fast and high, but scientists from the US Geological Survey need to know exactly how much water is going by so they are using some high tech equipment to try and figure it out. “It’s called an acoustic Doppler current profiler that we use to measure the velocity of the water and the depth of the channel, and we combine those together mathematically to give us a discharge,” Al Caldwell with the USGS said. ... ” Read more from ABC 30 here: After years of drought, scientists examine recharged San Joaquin River
Once teetering, Mono Lake revived by heavy rains, snow: “Less than two weeks ago, hydrologists worried that it would take a wetter than average winter to keep this drought-stricken body of salt water at a level high enough to avoid having to halt diversions of its Sierra Nevada snowmelt to Los Angeles. If the level drops below 6,377 feet above sea level, the city cannot export water from here. The California State Water Resources Control Board established the limit in 1994 to resolve ending a dispute between environmentalists seeking to protect the lake’s wildlife and the city 350 miles away defending its long-held water rights. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: Once teetering, Mono Lake revived by heavy rains, snow
Farmers and irrigation districts using storm runoff for groundwater recharge: “While some farmers lament the release of thousands of acre-feet of water from Friant Dam, others are putting it to good use: recharging groundwater supplies. Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began releasing water from Millerton Lake to make room for a deluge of storm runoff. The move frustrated some farmers, who say spilling water into the river and eventually the ocean is a prime example of why the state needs to build a dam at Temperance Flat. Farming advocates are pushing for state and federal funding to build the $2.8 billion project. But other farmers and irrigation districts are taking a different tact. They are sinking the excess water into the ground as a preventive measure against future droughts. ... ” Read more from the Fresno Bee here: Farmers and irrigation districts using storm runoff for groundwater recharge
173 mph winds and other astounding facts about our 2017 storms: “As long as you’ve not been (a) stuck in a mudslide-jammed morning commute or (b) had a tree branch bite off part of your roof or (c) had torrential rains wash away half of your backyard, this week’s storms have served up an entertaining, continual and wide range of jaw-dropping weather moments. They may not be historic per se, because with 150 years of meteorological record-keeping out there it can be difficult to break a weather record. Think about it: while it may seem like it’s been raining in the Bay Area for weeks now, it’s only been since Jan. 1, a mere 10-day stretch that pales compared to the nearly-three-week-long stretch of wet stuff that once hit San Francisco. ... ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: 173 mph winds and other astounding facts about our 2017 storms
River flow plan moves to written comment stage: “At the final public hearing on a disputed plan to benefit fish in the lower San Joaquin River system, government fishery agencies said the plan doesn’t go far enough, water agencies said alternative plans would help fish more without requiring as much water, and a member of the State Water Resources Control Board requested more information about the plan’s potential impacts. Written comments on the plan will be accepted through March 17. Known as the revised Substitute Environmental Document of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, the proposal would affect flows in three San Joaquin River tributaries: the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers. It recommends between 30 percent and 50 percent of the rivers’ unimpaired flow be dedicated to fish; the water board says unimpaired flow averages 20 percent under current conditions. … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: River flow plan moves to written comment stage
In commentary today …
California’s water policy at potential tipping point, says Jay Ziegler: He writes, “Recent rain and snowfall conditions have us all hoping 2017 may be a wet year and offer a break in our six-year drought. But whether the drought is broken or not, Californians must act this year to achieve more sustainable long-term water management. California operates at a water deficit. Even in wet years, we use more surface and groundwater than is replenished by rainfall. It is not sustainable. The recently enacted federal California drought bill and the arrival of a Trump administration will place additional pressure on California’s ability to manage water for the benefit of all the things we care about including wildlife, agriculture and cities. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: California’s water policy at potential tipping point
Kern County’s priorities should be Sacramento’s priorities, says Assemblyman Vince Fong: He writes, “Sacramento’s priorities are in dire need of a shakeup. As we prepare for the upcoming year, Kern County must play an important role in identifying key priorities for California. While the Democrat-led Sacramento leadership will be primarily focused on making political statements in reaction to Donald Trump’s presidency, I will be working with my colleagues in Sacramento and D.C. focused on proposing solutions to issues that concern everyday, working Californians and reject divisive strategies that push us further from a more prosperous California. … ” Read more from the Bakersfield Californian here: Kern County’s priorities should be Sacramento’s priorities
In regional news and commentary today …
North Coast: PG&E: This is the wettest winter in decades: “It’s been a wet, windy few days on the North Coast that have seen widespread flooding, power outages, land- and mudslides on roads, falling trees, high tides and now school closures. “PG&E meteorologists today said this is the wettest winter that Humboldt County and Mendocino County have seen in 20 years. The last time this much rain fell in these areas was the winter of 1996-1997,” Pacific Gas and Electric Company representative Deanna Contreras said Tuesday. ... ” Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard here: North Coast: PG&E: This is the wettest winter in decades
Russian River invades Guerneville, but for locals, it’s nothing new: “When the Russian River overflowed Monday, turning the back roads of this vacation town into lakes, creeping into garages and submerging a neighborhood business, locals saw no reason to panic. Weathering a flood is just part of life in this small town of 4,500 that’s kept alive by the rhythms of the river. Just six months after residents were worried that the drought was drying up tourism, Monday’s flooding — among the most serious from the recent storms — was another reminder of the river’s role in Guerneville and how quickly the waters can shift. … ” Read more from the Mercury News here: Russian River invades Guerneville, but for locals, it’s nothing new
Yuba River expected to rise again; some areas under evacuation: “The Yuba River is expected to rise again to a little over 85 feet in Marysville. The areas of Simpson Lane and Dantoni Road are still under evacuation. Yuba County Supervisors have declared a local emergency for the flooded areas. The county has not yet been able to assess the damage the flooding in those areas has already caused and will wait to ask for state assistance. Scott Bryan is the Emergency Operations Manager for Yuba County. He says the county is confident more evacuations won’t be necessary. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Yuba River expected to rise again; some areas under evacuation
Heavy rain creates concern for people living along the Sacramento River: “After days of downpours, parts of Sacramento are underwater. The American River has submerged Discovery Park and nearby streets. A roof above the surface shows the depth of the water that took over the area. “Thought I’d come down here because it hasn’t been like this in 10 years,” said Charles Kincaid. Kincaid has lived in Sacramento all of his life. … ” Read more from Fox News here: Heavy rain creates concern for people living along the Sacramento River
River hamlet of Wilton epicenter of Sacramento flooding fears as Cosumnes River swells: “Swollen by days of heavy rain, the Cosumnes River in south Sacramento County is projected to overflow its banks early Wednesday morning, prompting officials to call for voluntary evacuations Tuesday of low-lying areas in rural Wilton. The river is expected to top flood stage before midnight, and crest about 2 a.m. Wednesday, reaching its highest levels since the floods of 1997, according to the National Weather Service. Water may begin topping a small agricultural levee on the river’s south bank as early as 11 p.m., county emergency services officials said. Flood stage is reached on the Cosumnes River when water depth exceeds 12 feet. Wednesday early morning’s peak is expected to hit 14.1 feet at Michigan Bar. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: River hamlet of Wilton epicenter of Sacramento flooding fears as Cosumnes River swells
Bay Area storm: More rain and snow leave drought further behind: “Northern California continued to roar out of its prolonged drought Tuesday as yet another powerful storm blew in from the Pacific Ocean, drenching an already saturated Bay Area, filling some local reservoirs beyond capacity and creating dangerous white-out conditions in the northwestern Sierra Nevada. Shortly after noon, water began coursing down the Lexington Reservoir spillway for the first time since March 2011. As the water surged into Los Gatos Creek, the National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for areas adjacent to the stream in Los Gatos and Campbell. Flood warnings also were issued for southern Santa Clara County amid reports of several feet of standing water in Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill. ... ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Bay Area storm: More rain and snow leave drought further behind
Livermore oil driller seeks larger underground disposal area: “Amid greater scrutiny of oilfield contamination threats to California’s groundwater, state officials will hold a hearing Wednesday on a proposal to expand the aquifer area where a Livermore driller is permitted to dispose of oily wastewater. Some environmentalists will speak out against the proposal by E&B Natural Resources for federal permission to expand the aquifer exemption area where it is permitted to put wastewater from oil extraction. “We should not be putting this waste from the oil industry underground where it puts nearby water sources at risk,” said Patrick Sullivan, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, a national environmental group with offices in Oakland. … ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Livermore oil driller seeks larger underground disposal area
San Luis Obispo County reservoir levels rise as rain falls, but there’s still a long way to go: “Heavy rainfall in San Luis Obispo County is causing area reservoirs to swell with water, some with more than they’ve seen in four to five years, according to county water officials. The storms that began just after New Year’s Day and continued through the week have yielded some measurable results. Rocky Butte near San Simeon has received the most rain — about 35 inches — since July 1, the official start of the rain season, while Shandon has received the least — about 5.5 inches — PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey said. The rain has pumped the ground full of water, which means reservoirs have started to fill rapidly, said Ray Dienzo, a technical unit supervisor in the Water Resources division of county Public Works. ... ” Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here: San Luis Obispo County reservoir levels rise as rain falls, but there’s still a long way to go
Santa Barbara: Costly desalination plant still on track after angry words over growing price tag: “The Santa Barbara desalination plant will carry a price tag estimated to be about $70-million when it produces its first glass of water later this spring. It started out as a $55-million dollar plan and the rising costs have made some city council members, taxpayers and analysts uneasy. Some of the problems are linked to the mysteries linked to the last city desal plant operated briefly in the early 90’s. Some of the parts were incorporated into the current plan and they have been problematic, damaged and a mess for construction crews. … ” Read more from KEYT here: Costly desalination plant still on track after angry words over growing price tag
Precipitation watch …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- DELTA PLAN INTERAGENCY IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE: Ecosystem Restoration Progress Update
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Past year’s achievements under California Water Action Plan highlighted; Another Sacramento River salmonid rearing habitat restoration project completed; Reclamation increasing releases into Sacramento River for storage management
- THIS JUST IN … Governor Brown Proposes 2017-18 State Budget
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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.
