In California water news today, Key Oroville drain plugged as heavy storms pounded the reservoir; Lake Oroville power plant ramping up output; Flood control benefits from new storage projects debated; State Water Board adopts comprehensive climate change response; South state eclipses north in January water savings; Conservation regulations continue despite a winter full of rainfall; Current winter setting a new California-wide record precipitation accumulation; CVP farmers face uncertainty on water supplies; There’s water, water everywhere in California, so why isn’t the drought over?; U.S. Appeals Court affirms tribal groundwater rights; Executive Order initiates review of Waters of the US rule; National Geographic airs ‘Water and Power: The California Heist’; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Key Oroville drain plugged as heavy storms pounded the reservoir: “California water officials had another tool at their disposal to help empty Lake Oroville before damages to the spillway led to massive evacuations downstream. But it was out of commission despite years of repair work. That tool is the river outlets in Oroville Dam: two massive pipes that draw water from deep in the reservoir, through the dam and directly into the Feather River. The river outlets have been intermittently functional ever since an accident inside the dam on July 22, 2009. Five workers were injured that day when they were ordered to operate the river outlets in a manner that ignored prior warnings by engineering experts. ... ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Key Oroville drain plugged as heavy storms pounded the reservoir
Lake Oroville power plant ramping up output: “A second turbine at the Hyatt Power Plant was restarted late Monday, as the Department of Water Resources continued to manage reservoir levels at Lake Oroville. At full operation, the plant has the capacity to release water at 13,000 cubic feet per second, which allows DWR to better manage reservoir levels. Plant operations were halted Feb. 9 when high water made turbine operation unsafe. The second turbine was restarted at 6 p.m. Monday, 24 hours after the first turbine became operational. According to DWR spokesperson Lauren Bisnett, restarting of the three remaining turbines will follow a similar timeline. … ” Read more from the Appeal-Democrat here: Lake Oroville power plant ramping up output
Flood control benefits from new storage projects debated: “If all of California’s proposed water-storage projects were already built, would they have lessened the severity of flooding and other impacts from this winter’s heavy storms? Perhaps, say federal and state water officials. For instance, Sites Reservoir, a planned 1.8 million acre-foot reservoir expected to vie for Proposition 1 bond funds, may have captured enough water to prevent at least some of the flooding in the Maxwell area on Feb. 18, said Ajay Goyal, chief of the statewide infrastructure investigations branch for the California Department of Water Resources. The proposed $3.6 billion reservoir would have held back some water from Stone Corral Creek and other creeks, which swelled and prompted the evacuation of Maxwell, he said. ... ” Read more from the Capital Press here: Flood control benefits from new storage projects debated
State Water Board adopts comprehensive climate change response: “The State Water Resources Control Board today adopted a resolution that sets the goal that climate change considerations be integrated into all State Water Board actions and that of the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Boards. The eight-page resolution updates an earlier resolution adopted in 2007 intended to support the implementation of AB 32, the state’s landmark climate change law that was passed in 2006. The updated resolution passed today covers all of the State Water Board’s functional areas including drinking water, water rights and water quality. It also covers financial assistance, data analysis and technical support, as well as administrative and program support. … ” Read more from ACWA’s Water News here: State Water Board adopts comprehensive climate change response
South state eclipses north in January water savings: “In a remarkable turnaround, Southern California saved twice as much water in January as the Sacramento River watershed, according to the state Water Resources Conservation Board. The water board conservation numbers released Tuesday showed the South Coast cut water use 24.1 percent in January compared to January 2013, while Sacramento watershed savings were just 11 percent. Statewide savings were 20.5 percent. The Sacramento watershed typical leads conservation rates among the regions in California, and the South Coast lags. The switch may relate to torrential rains Southern California saw in January, with Los Angeles getting 8.38 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The average for the month there is 3.12 inches. ... ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury Register here: South state eclipses north in January water savings
Conservation regulations continue despite a winter full of rainfall: “Just days before a mandatory evacuation displaced close to 200,000 residents in Northern California last month, the State Water Resources Control Board extended its water conservation regulations for the state. The extension of conservation regulations, which prohibits wasteful practices such as watering lawns after a storm or hosing off sidewalks, was announced by the state water board on Feb. 8 and is intended to address the state’s drought conditions. However, the influx of rain throughout the state over the last few months and a substantial snowpack expected to prolong the runoff season this year has led many water districts to voice their concerns over the extension. ... ” Read more from the Appeal-Democrat here: Conservation regulations continue despite a winter full of rainfall
Current winter setting a new California-wide record precipitation accumulation: “Fueled by a string of strong atmospheric rivers (ARs), California’s current winter-to-date accumulated precipitation has hit a new record high level, eclipsing the previous record set during the strong El Niño winter of 1982-83. The winter began with an unusual early season AR, which contributed 6% of normal annual California-wide precipitation over the period Oct 14-17. Strong AR activity continued in Jan and Feb 2017, with exceptionally strong precipitation Jan 8-10, which produced 14% of normal statewide annual precipitation in just three days and reached R-cat 4 intensity. ... ” Read more from the Center for Western Weather Extremes here: Current winter setting a new California-wide record precipitation accumulation
CVP farmers face uncertainty on water supplies: ““We have this question mark out there of what we’re going to do”—that’s how farmer Dan Errotabere describes the uncertainty facing many farmers who buy water delivered by the federal Central Valley Project. In its initial water announcement, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the CVP, said it could not yet make a specific allocation for water service contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The CVP was able to allocate 100 percent supplies to water users in its Friant Division on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, and had earlier allocated 100 percent supplies to Sacramento River settlement contractors and San Joaquin River exchange contractors. … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: CVP farmers face uncertainty on water supplies
There’s water, water everywhere in California, so why isn’t the drought over? “For the first time in the nearly six years of significant drought in California, a slew of intense winter storms have overfilled reservoirs, flooded roadways, and returned a sense of possibility to the parched regions of the state. Who could blame any Californian for taking an extra-long shower or two when it’s suddenly so abundant? But on Tuesday morning, NASA’s water scientist Jay Famiglietti wrote in a widely shared Los Angeles Times op-ed that even if the drought is technically declared over (which isn’t exactly the case), California will always be short of water. In case you’re confused about why you shouldn’t water your lawn with abandon—even if you just survived a flash flood—we spoke with water and climate scientists to get some clarity on the matter. … ” Read more from GOOD Magazine here: There’s water, water everywhere in California, so why isn’t the drought over?
U.S. Appeals Court affirms tribal groundwater rights: “In a ruling with substantial importance for water management in the American West, a U.S. appeals court upheld a lower court’s decision that an Indian tribe in California’s Coachella Valley has a right to groundwater beneath its reservation. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined on March 7 that when the federal government established a reservation in 1876 for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians — on arid land without the endowment of significant rivers or streams — water was part of the deal. The existence of the reservation confers to the tribe the right to groundwater, the court concluded. “The creation of the Agua Caliente Reservation therefore carried with it an implied right to use water from the Coachella Valley aquifer,” Judge Richard Tallman wrote in the 22-page opinion. ... ” Read more from the Circle of Blue here: U.S. Appeals Court affirms tribal groundwater rights
Executive Order initiates review of Waters of the US rule: “President Trump’s executive order to review and revise a disputed Clean Water Act rule will bring “regulatory certainty,” the administration says—and agricultural groups said they were encouraged by the action. At stake is a “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers, which would expand the agencies’ authority to regulate water and land. In comments to the American Farm Bureau Federation on the day the executive order was signed, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said the WOTUS rule would have “transformed the authority, the jurisdiction, the power of the EPA in regulating water.” … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Executive Order initiates review of Waters of the US rule
National Geographic airs ‘Water and Power: The California Heist’: “California’s ongoing drought has forced millions in the state to conserve how much they drink, cook and water their lawns. For many impoverished communities in the Central Valley, this means living off of bottled water and sometimes even paying to use a stranger’s shower. Amidst these extreme conditions in Kern County sits a water basin that decades ago was given to a California billionaire under questionable circumstances. National Geographic’s “Water and Power: A California Heist” explores this true story. Director and executive producer Marina Zenovich joins environmental attorney and documentary protagonist Adam Keats to discuss the film and its implications for California’s water wars.” Click here to listen to the radio show at Capitol Radio here: National Geographic airs ‘Water and Power: The California Heist’
In commentary today …
Federal agencies work to create water shortages, says Dennis Wyatt: He writes, “Many reservoirs are filled to the brim. Levees are straining to stay intact as high volumes of water flow 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. … ” Continue reading at Ag Alert here: Federal agencies work to create water shortages
Cadiz water project poses grave threat to California desert, says Senator Dianne Feinstein: She writes, “The recent election may have changed the dynamic in Washington, but the facts on the ground in the California desert remain the same: The Cadiz water mining project poses a grave threat to the California desert and should not be approved. Covering about 35,000 acres of prime desert land, the project sits in the heart of the new Mojave Trails National Monument, described by President Obama as an area that “exemplifies the remarkable ecology of the Mojave Desert, where the hearty insistence of life is scratched out from unrelenting heat and dryness.” Comprised of scarce springs and exceedingly rare riparian areas, the Mojave Desert provides safe refuge to a wide variety of plants and animals, like bighorn sheep and mule deer that thrive on the area’s remote springs and seeps. And destroying the aquifer that supports those species is simply a bad decision. … ” Read more from the San Bernardino Sun here: Cadiz water project poses grave threat to California desert
Thomas Elias: Ignored Oroville warning raises quake, levee issues: “Just because nature allows a delay of many years while officials dither over a catastrophe in the making doesn’t make that disaster any easier to handle when it finally strikes. This is one major lesson of the Oroville Dam spillway crisis that saw the sudden evacuation of almost 200,000 persons from their homes when the dam’s emergency spillway crumbled under the force of millions of gallons of fast-moving water. ... ” Continue reading at the Visalia Times-Delta here: Thomas Elias: Ignored Oroville warning raises quake, levee issues
In regional news and commentary today …
Feather River releases on the increase: “Releases into the Feather River were stepped up Monday evening, as the Department of Water Resources brought a second turbine of the Hyatt Powerplant online. In a press release DWR said the second unit would allow an increase from 1,720 cubic-feet per second to about 3,550 cfs. Crews have been working 24 hours a day to open a channel through the debris that piled up at the base of the main Oroville Dam spillway after it began to break up on Feb. 7. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Feather River releases on the increase
Farmers volunteer to monitor levees: “As with many farmers, Mike Daddow typically spends the winter months making repairs to equipment and other preparations for spring planting. But lately, the Sutter County farmer has spent some of that time driving along the levees of the Sacramento and Feather rivers, checking for signs of danger. Specifically, he’s inspecting the land side of the levee for boils, weak spots where water is bubbling up out of the ground. If it’s clear water running through, he’s not too worried, he said, as seepage is normal. But if the water is murky and it’s pulling sand with it, the boil could lead to internal erosion of the levee, eventually causing the earthen barrier to collapse if left unfixed. … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Farmers volunteer to monitor levees
Napa’s 19th century water works endures in obscurity: “More than 130 years ago, it became the heart of Napa’s first city water supply. Today, it is out of sight, but for its current owner, not out of mind. A 200-foot-long crescent of stone blocks, nearly 40 feet tall and 17 feet thick at its base, stretches across the hilly grounds owned by Steve Hasty – the dam that formed the old Napa Water Works and began slaking a young city’s thirst in 1883. Grasses and shrubs have long since carpeted what once was a 6-million-gallon reservoir, but the dam has endured, a still-imposing relic of the city’s roots that has lapsed into obscurity. ... ” Read more from the Napa Valley Register here: Napa’s 19th century water works endures in obscurity
Bay Area: Residents urged to dump out water as mosquito season heats up: “The heavy rains may be wiping out California’s drought, but they’re breeding a different sort of problem. One that’s tiny, irritating, and makes a high pitch buzzing sound in your ear. “Persistent rains require persistent mosquito control,” said Jamesina Scott, district manager and research director for Lake County Vector Control, and President of Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California. “We have had a lot of heavy rain and a lot of standing water. Our early season mosquitoes are taking full advantage of it. Mosquito control workers across the state have been inspecting all the standing water that’s out there now to find the best control solution.” ... ” Read more from SF Gate here: Residents urged to dump out water as mosquito season heats up
Palo Alto adopts rules to curb groundwater waste: “It didn’t take arcane alchemy or a purification plant to transform Palo Alto’s groundwater from a construction nuisance into a precious resource. All it took was a surge of civic engagement and intense lobbying from residents, many of whom packed into City Hall on Tuesday night to urge city leaders to put an end to “dewatering” — the act of pumping out groundwater to enable basement construction. In 2016, the eight residential projects that entailed dewatering pumped out 140 million gallons of water, according to Public Works staff. Many in the community were offended by the sight of rivers flowing down gutters en route to the city’s storm drain system. … ” Read more from Palo Alto Online here: Palo Alto adopts rules to curb groundwater waste
Stockton: From the Vine: Water, water everywhere: “Everyone who prayed for rain during the drought can stop now. That thought likely has crossed the mind of Brett Koth and other winegrape growers along the flooded banks of some rivers and creeks in the Lodi American Viticultural Area. Koth, whose family has farmed wine grapes for three generations, has never seen flooding quite as extensive and long-lasting as this. “We’re just kind of waiting,” said Koth, whose family has the Mokelumne Glen Vineyard along the Mokelumne River off Schmiedt Road. “We haven’t finished some of the pruning, so we’re going around with other stuff we can do.” … ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Stockton: From the Vine: Water, water everywhere
Central Coast: State Lands Commission finds two previously unidentified wellheads at beach after news report: “A recent NewsChannel 3 story about an exposed and leaking oil wellhead at Summerland Beach prompted the California State Lands Commission to investigate. The commission sent a team to the beach on Feb. 27, just days after the story aired. Video showed a rarely seen casing sticking out of the water with an oil sheen around it. Summerland resident Chris Goldblatt made the discovery and alerted our newsroom. The oil wellhead was spotted during low tide following significant sand erosion from recent rains. ... ” Read more from KEYT here: State Lands Commission finds two previously unidentified wellheads at beach after news report
When it rains, Los Angeles sends billions of gallons of ‘free liquid gold’ down the drain: “During one of this winter’s frequent storms, sheets of rainwater spilled from roofs, washed across sidewalks and down gutters into a sprawling network of underground storm drains that empty into the Los Angeles River channel. Normally a thin flow of treated sewage, the river swelled with mocha-colored runoff. For a time it poured into the Pacific Ocean at a rate of nearly 29 million gallons a minute. “It kills me when I see all the water running off,” said Deborah Weinstein Bloome, senior policy director at the environmental group TreePeople. Bloome is not alone in lamenting the loss of what she calls “free liquid gold.” … ” Read more from the LA Times here: When it rains, Los Angeles sends billions of gallons of ‘free liquid gold’ down the drain
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- The New Trump Administration – A View from the Top
- State Water Board adopts climate change resolution
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Statewide Water Savings Surpass 20 Percent in January; Gov. Brown declares State of Emergency, requests Presidential major disaster declaration due to recent storms
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