In California water news today, Oroville Dam operators stop flow down spillway, see extensive damage; Giant chasm revealed as water stops flowing at Oroville Dam; California’s water system built for a climate we no longer have; In California, a move to ease pressure on aging dams; Sinking land crushes California groundwater storage capacity; Storms piling up damage on the farm; Recent California floods could trigger earthquakes, report says; California court expands endangered species removal powers; Trump plans to begin EPA rollback with order on clean water; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management will hold an informational hearing titled, The Incident at Oroville Dam: What Happened and What Happens Next? at 9:30am in Room 4203 at State Capitol. Click here for more information. Click here to watch on Cal Channel.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Oroville Dam operators stop flow down spillway, see extensive damage: “The state Department of Water Resources halted flows down Lake Oroville’s spillway Monday afternoon in an effort to get the Hyatt Powerplant up and running and to assess damage. In order to use the powerplant under the dam, the department needs to remove debris in the Diversion Pool at the base of the spillway that started crumbling Feb. 7. DWR needs to remove the debris, which has in effect created a dam across the river below, and lower the water level in the Diversion Pool to a point at which it is deemed safe to operate the plant. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Oroville Dam operators stop flow down spillway, see extensive damage
Giant chasm revealed as water stops flowing at Oroville Dam: “Water stopped cascading down Oroville Dam’s fractured main spillway Monday, revealing a gaping wound from a beating that lasted nearly three weeks. Dam operators gradually scaled back water releases to zero over a six-hour period, providing breathing room for construction crews trying to clear debris from a badly choked Feather River channel and restart the dam’s critically needed hydroelectric plant. The shutdown is expected to last about a week, which the state Department of Water Resources hopes will be enough time to bring the plant back into operation. “This is a big day; there’s going to be a lot of changes,” said DWR Acting Director Bill Croyle. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Giant chasm revealed as water stops flowing at Oroville Dam
Water shut from Oroville’s damaged spillway in race against Mother Nature: “The effort to protect Oroville Dam entered a critical phase Monday when engineers shut off water flowing out of the damaged main spillway, giving officials their first unobstructed view of the eroded concrete chute since a crisis prompted mass evacuations earlier this month. For the next five to seven days, geologists and engineers will have an unhindered view of the concrete spillway, which on Monday was revealed to have severely deteriorated on its lower half during the last two weeks of use. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: Water shut from Oroville’s damaged spillway in race against Mother Nature
MORE: 10 photos show extensive damage at Oroville Spillway, from KCRA TV
California’s water system built for a climate we no longer have: “Many Californians are still in disbelief that after five years of too little water during the drought, now the problem is too much water. Heavy winter storms have done more than cause problems at Oroville Dam, where thousands of people were evacuated after erosion of a critical spillway. They’ve also stressed thousands of miles of levees and flood infrastructure downstream of the major dams. Some say it’s a wake-up call because the state’s warming climate could mean more of the same. … ” Read more from KQED here: California’s water system built for a climate we no longer have
In California, a move to ease pressure on aging dams: “Until a few weeks ago, the McCormack-Williamson Tract in the California Delta was an island of low-lying farmland, more than two square miles protected from the surrounding rivers and sloughs by earthen levees. Today the tract is an immense lake, up to 15 feet deep, with fish prowling the water and ducks skimming the surface. The adjacent Mokelumne River, swollen by the intense storms that have drenched the state this winter, caused a levee to break, allowing the water to rush in. … ” Read more from the New York Times here: In California, a move to ease pressure on aging dams
Sinking land crushes California groundwater storage capacity: “Unbridled pumping of aquifers in California’s San Joaquin Valley is severely reducing the land’s capacity to hold water, according to a Stanford University study. The loss of storage is due to subsidence, which is the compaction of soils as a result of removing too much water. The study, which provides the first estimate of the permanent loss of groundwater storage space that occurred during a drought from 2007 to 2010, also shows that California lost natural water storage capacity equal to a medium-sized reservoir. The losses occurred just as the state prepares to spend billions of dollars to build reservoirs to retain water, either above ground or below. … ” Read more from Circle of Blue here: Sinking land crushes California groundwater storage capacity
Storms piling up damage on the farm: “Strong storms during the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend flooded farm fields, caused several dairy farms to relocate their animals and brought other impacts on California farms and ranches. The storms also added more water to an already overtaxed system, and led to renewed calls to modernize the system. “In the long term, the surge of storms should bring an improved water outlook,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger said, “but it has definitely brought worries to farmers and ranchers whose land is inundated or whose crops may be at risk. We remain hopeful that weather in coming days will minimize any problems.” Wenger noted that many reservoirs have filled and have had to release water, which underlines the need to enhance California’s water storage capacity. … ” Read more from the Porterville Recorder here: Storms piling up damage on the farm
Recent California floods could trigger earthquakes, report says: “As if we don’t have enough trouble from flooding, extreme amounts of rain caused by back-to-back storms systems in the state could create enough pressure in the groundwater system to trigger earthquakes along California’s faults, a new report says. California has received record amounts of rain this winter, causing everything from dam failures to widespread flooding and mudslides. With that in mind, an article in The Conversation this week argues that academic research has shown a link between heavy rainfall and increased seismic activity in the past, raising concerns about the state’s potential for earthquakes in the near future. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Business Times here: Recent California floods could trigger earthquakes, report says
California court expands endangered species removal powers: “The California Supreme Court on Monday said petitioners seeking to remove a subset of coho salmon from the state’s endangered species list could present new evidence to argue the listing was wrong. In a unanimous ruling, the court overturned a lower court decision that said efforts to remove the salmon and other species could only argue that the listing was no longer necessary. The high court decision came in a lawsuit by Big Creek Lumber Co. and the Central Coast Forest Association, which includes forest landowners. … ” Read more from the AP here: California court expands endangered species removal powers
Trump plans to begin EPA rollback with order on clean water: “President Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday aimed at rolling back one of former President Barack Obama’s major environmental regulations to protect American waterways, but it will have almost no immediate legal effect, according to two people familiar with the White House plans. The order will essentially give Mr. Trump a megaphone to direct his new Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Scott Pruitt, to begin the complicated legal process of rewriting the sweeping 2015 rule known as Waters of the United States. But that effort could take longer than a single presidential term, legal experts said. ... ” Read more from the AP here: Trump plans to begin EPA rollback with order on clean water
In commentary today …
Faced with crisis, California water managers stepped up: Dan Walters writes, “Operators of Oroville Dam – the nation’s highest – shut down its main spillway Monday so that debris could be cleared and the dam’s hydroelectric turbines could be restarted. It was merely the latest of many operational adjustments state and federal officials have made this year to cope with an unprecedented series of rain and snow storms that swept through the state, putting maximum pressure on its complex system of dams, reservoirs, river channels, canals, bypasses, weirs and other man-made water-control devices. By necessity, they operated on the fly as conditions changed, often suddenly, with Oroville being the centerpiece. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Faced with crisis, California water managers stepped up
Working to create a water shortage for California: Dennis Wyatt writes, “Many reservoirs are filled to the brim. Levees are straining to stay intact as high volumes of water flows between them. The Sierra is wearing a heavy and massive snowpack.
There’s no way on earth California will have a water shortage this summer, right? Give the federal bureaucracy more credit than that. As the Army Corps of Engineers was busy trying to juggle releases from Don Pedro not to have a repeat of the 1997 flooding south of Manteca and 200,000 people were fleeing for their lives when it looked like Oroville Dam might be overwhelmed, the fine bureaucrats at the National Marine Fisheries Service were busy working on the next water shortage. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here: Working to create a water shortage for California
What lessons should we learn from Oroville? Foon Rhee writes, “California appears to have dodged disaster at the Oroville Dam, at least so far. But the damaged spillway at the nation’s highest dam and the mass evacuation did unleash a lot of consternation about the state of our dams. And for good reason – the latest look at dam safety shows that 54 percent of the 1,250 dams regulated by the state are classified as “high-hazard” potential. That means if they failed or were operated wrongly, it would probably lead to loss of life. … ” Continue reading at the Sacramento Bee here: What lessons should we learn from Oroville?
In regional news and commentary today …
Aggressive, invasive weed starting to take over at Tahoe Keys lagoon: “The League to Save Lake Tahoe is funding the first study of aquatic herbicides at Lake Tahoe. The lagoons at the Tahoe Keys are frozen right now. Under the ice are invasive weeds. A lot of them and in the summer it’s really bad. John Larson is with the Tahoe Keys Property Owner’s Association. “[It] makes it look like a big swamp,” he says about Eurasian Watermilfoil. The weed is choking 90 percent of the lagoons. Now, another more aggressive species – Curly Leaf Pond Weed is starting to take over too. ... ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Aggressive, invasive weed starting to take over at Tahoe Keys lagoon
Sacramento looks to reclaim riverfront cut off 50 years ago by I-5: “It’s a stretch of the Sacramento River that is so close to downtown, yet no one comes to see it. One big reason came in the 1960s when Interstate 5 was built beside the river and became a virtual blockade to the water. Now, the city of Sacramento is brainstorming new ways to reclaim the riverfront. Like a bend in the powerful river, Sacramento is seeking to change the story of its riverfront by starting a new chapter. They’ve hired Richard Rich, a former Walt Disney imagineer, to help find the answer. ... ” Read more from CBS here: Sacramento looks to reclaim riverfront cut off 50 years ago by I-5
Wide swath of south Delta closed to boating: “The southern Delta is effectively off limits to recreational boaters after emergency officials decided over the weekend that an ongoing prohibition should extend beyond the flooded San Joaquin River itself. The new closure covers many miles of waterways, from Old River in the Discovery Bay area to the San Joaquin River upstream of the Port of Stockton. Stockton boaters still can use the river downstream from the port area. The closure likely impacts Discovery Bay boaters more, since they cannot use Old River to access much of the Delta. Michael Cockrell, director of the county Office of Emergency Services, cited several reasons for enlarging the closure area. … ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Wide swath of south Delta closed to boating
San Joaquin River drops below 30 feet: “The spillway at Don Pedro Reservoir has closed. At least for the time being. On Monday dam operators at the seventh largest lake in California closed the controlled spillway that was opened a week ago for the first time in two decades to alleviate a lake level that just inches from overflowing. Despite releasing more water through the spillway to complement the water already being released through the dam, the lake level at Don Pedro has actually increased by 1.5 feet since Feb. 20 when the spillway was first opened – an event that drew people from Stanislaus, Mariposa and Tuolumne counties who came to see the rare sight of water flowing through the canyon that was carved in 1997 when the spillway was first used. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here: San Joaquin River drops below 30 feet
Turlock Irrigation District closes spillway gate at Don Pedro but warns it may be used again: “A week after it opened, the spillway gate at Don Pedro Reservoir was fully closed just before 5 a.m. Monday, the Turlock Irrigation District reported. Based on the weather forecast of sunny days ahead, the district began the closure overnight, spokesman Brandon McMillan said. TID, which manages dam operations, has returned to releasing reservoir water in the typical way, through the powerhouse, he said. The aim is to maintain the Tuolumne River level below the 55-foot flood stage as measured at Ninth Street in Modesto, McMillan said. The river flow should be about 10,000 cubic feet per second, he said. When TID opened the controlled spillway Feb. 20 for the first time since the 1997 flooding, the release was 18,000 cfs. That night, it reduced the flow to 16,000 cfs. ... ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Turlock Irrigation District closes spillway gate at Don Pedro but warns it may be used again
Cachuma Lake continues rebound after storms: “Cachuma Lake is experiencing a Renaissance after nearly running dry. Private boats are able to launch from a ramp, that just a few weeks ago was several football fields away from the shoreline. Reporter Alys Martinez hitched a ride with Marina Manager Monty Keller around the lake. … ” Read more from KEYT here: Cachuma Lake continues rebound after storms
Along the Colorado River …
Study shows how a warming world is changing the Colorado River: “Above-average snowpack in the Rocky Mountains this year may bring some relief to the Colorado River Basin, which has been in a drought since 2000. But the long-term picture for the region is less rosy after a newly published study found just how much higher temperatures are impacting river flow. The paper, published in the American Geophysical Union’s peer-reviewed journal Water Resources Research, found that river flows fell 19 percent between 2000 and 2014 and reduced precipitation could not be blamed for all of the decline. On average, one-third of those reductions in river flow were likely due to rising temperatures. … ” Read more from the Water Deeply here: Study shows how a warming world is changing the Colorado River
Climate change is already reducing flows in the Colorado River, scientists report: “The drought-stricken Colorado River Basin has gotten some temporary relief in the past few weeks after winter storms have pounded the region with fresh rain and snow. In fact, as the Los Angeles Times reported, the recent precipitation has caused federal water managers to lower their estimates of the risk of water shortage in the near future. But while this is good news in the short term, experts are warning that the troubled Colorado River — which has been battling drought for the past 15 years — is still facing some serious long-term challenges. A new study, just released last week in the journal Water Resources Research, suggests that future warming could cause the river’s flow to decline by as much as 35 percent by the end of the century. … ” Read more from the Washington Post here: Climate change is already reducing flows in the Colorado River, scientists report
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
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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.
