In California water news today, With snow melting, Oroville managers plan to use mangled spillway; Is there too much water behind Oroville Dam? Critics say Army Corps standards are unsafe; The birth of Oroville Dam: Watch 1960s construction of the nation’s of tallest dam in the U.S; New documentary explores ‘Water and Power’ in California; Napa County plans to start Milliken Creek flood project this summer; Proposed Centennial Dam project takes center stage at League of Women Voters event; Oakdale wants more in return for hidden tax to Oakdale Irrigation District; San Luis Obispo County supervisors vote to take on groundwater management oversight; Two countries, one sewage problem: Tijuana and San Diego grapple with renegade flows; Key House member makes a conservative’s case for water projects; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for March 13, 2017
- GUEST COMMENTARY: It’s time to fix the impacts of TCP
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Final Enviro Docs for Recapturing 2017 San Joaquin River Restoration Program Flows; Wildlife Photo of the Year; Los Banos Farmer is Newly Elected Chair of San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority
With snow melting, Oroville managers plan to use mangled spillway: “The massive snowpack in the mountains above Oroville Dam is beginning to melt as temperatures rise and could soon test the troubled reservoir with its biggest inflows since last month’s crisis. Managers of the state-run dam say they’ll be forced to rely on the lake’s damaged main spillway to discharge water down the Feather River as soon as next Friday. The concrete chute, which partially collapsed last month amid heavy outflows, has been offline for repairs for nearly two weeks while reservoir levels have been down. Officials with the state Department of Water Resources are confident the mangled spillway and the eroded hillside below it can handle the releases as they wait for drier months to make permanent fixes. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: With snow melting, Oroville managers plan to use mangled spillway
Is there too much water behind Oroville Dam? Critics say Army Corps standards are unsafe: “Long before a fractured spillway plunged Oroville Dam into the gravest crisis in its 48-year history, officials at a handful of downstream government agencies devised a plan they believed would make the dam safer: Store less water there. Sutter County, Yuba City and a regional levee-maintenance agency brought their recommendation to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2006, when FERC was considering the state’s application to relicense Oroville Dam. Their plan, unveiled nearly a decade after heavy rains breached downstream levees and caused severe flooding along the Feather River, called for reducing water storage at Lake Oroville by 150,000 acre-feet during winter. That would have reduced maximum water levels in the reservoir, as set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, by about 11 feet. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Is there too much water behind Oroville Dam? Critics say Army Corps standards are unsafe
Fate of Feather River fish undetermined: “The condition of fish species in the Feather River is still to be determined a week after the Department of Water Resources halted flows from the flood control spillway at Lake Oroville. Soon after the DWR shut off water releases from the spillway on Feb. 28, a cooperative effort by the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife and DWR was made to save thousands of fish from lowering water levels along the Feather River. Notable fish species affected were chinook salmon and steelhead trout, which are raised and released by the Feather River Hatchery below Oroville Dam. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Fate of Feather River fish undetermined
The birth of Oroville Dam: Watch 1960s construction of the nation’s of tallest dam in the U.S: “A 1990s documentary uses archival footage to detail the construction of the Oroville Dam, an earthfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California, in the United States that was built during the period 1961 to 1968. At 770 feet, it is the tallest dam in the United States and serves mainly for water supply, hydroelectricity generation and flood control. The dam’s main and emergency spillways were significantly damaged in February 2017. This prompted the evacuation of more than 180,000 people living downstream along the Feather River.” Click here to watch at the Sacramento Bee.
New documentary explores ‘Water and Power’ in California: “Director Marina Zenovich refers to her new film as “Chinatown,” the documentary. The filmmaker’s latest work “Water & Power: A California Heist” shines the spotlight on modern-day water barons in California’s San Joaquin Valley and the backroom deals that have helped pad their pockets. Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of the Wonderful Company, feature prominently, as does the Kern County Water Bank they partially control, and the Monterey Amendments, which helped make that possible. In the film, lush orchards are juxtaposed with local residents whose taps have run dry, as the film explores the impacts of California’s drought and the valley’s groundwater crisis. It also zeros in on business interests looking for lucrative groundwater in other parts of the state. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: New documentary explores ‘Water and Power’ in California
Napa County plans to start Milliken Creek flood project this summer: “Dozens of residents in a Silverado neighborhood may soon be able to spend winters without worrying that a monster storm could flood their homes, as happened a decade ago. Napa County is on track to begin building a Milliken Creek flood control project this June. If all goes as planned, the project will include removing a small dam that blocks steelhead trout from migrating upstream. Solving the Millken Creek puzzle has involved stitching together up to $1.5 million in funding and ensuring excess water diverted from the Kaanapali Drive neighborhood doesn’t cause flooding elsewhere. … ” Read more from the Napa Register here: Napa County plans to start Milliken Creek flood project this summer
Proposed Centennial Dam project takes center stage at League of Women Voters event: “Passions ran high while murmurs and mumbles from the crowd abounded, but conversation and banter remained civil during Saturday morning’s League of Women Voters informational meeting regarding the controversial Centennial Dam project. When the dust settled a deluge of information had been presented, sometimes bringing two heavy-hitters in the world of water together — and at times leaving them distinctly at odds. … ” Read more from the Union here: Proposed Centennial Dam project takes center stage at League of Women Voters event
Oakdale wants more in return for hidden tax to Oakdale Irrigation District: “Everyone with property in Oakdale pays taxes to the Oakdale Irrigation District, which delivers no water to any property in the city. The fact that city dwellers are subsidizing outlying farms – at more than $1 million a year – goes largely unnoticed. It’s rolled into property tax and doesn’t show up as a separate item on tax bills. Every so often, people question whether the arrangement is fair. “It really disturbs me that we’re paying something for nothing. That should come to a stop,” said Oakdale’s Alice Garcia, widow of a former mayor, in a June interview. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Oakdale wants more in return for hidden tax to Oakdale Irrigation District
San Luis Obispo County supervisors vote to take on groundwater management oversight: “In a significant shift in their own policy, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors decided the county will take on the responsibility of groundwater planning and management in unincorporated areas to the tune of at least $1.6 million a year. The board voted 3-2 Tuesday to strike out parts of a policy passed last November regarding how the county will comply with the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which set a June 30 deadline for stakeholders in basins in overdraft to form management agencies that will create sustainable groundwater plans. If a local water district or county doesn’t manage the basin, the state will intervene. … ” Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here: San Luis Obispo County supervisors vote to take on groundwater management oversight
Two countries, one sewage problem: Tijuana and San Diego grapple with renegade flows: “Baja California’s governor is preparing to declare a state of emergency in the coming days, hoping to draw financial aid for Tijuana’s strained and underfunded sewage system following a massive spill that sent millions of gallons of untreated wastewater from Tijuana across the border and into San Diego last month. The incident was triggered by the collapse of a major sewage trunk line in Tijuana, state officials say, and repairs led to the release of a large amount of untreated sewage into the Tijuana River channel, which empties into the ocean at Imperial Beach. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here: Two countries, one sewage problem: Tijuana and San Diego grapple with renegade flows
Key House member makes a conservative’s case for water projects: “With the Trump administration pushing for a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure, the new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment wants to make sure that the administration’s forthcoming plan doesn’t just include money for roads, bridges, and airports. He says the plan also should fund water resources projects to improve navigation, flood protection, and other needs. “One of the most important investments we can make is water resource projects,” Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) said Wednesday at the 2017 National Waterways Conference Legislative Summit in Washington, D. C. “I’m not just talking about levees, and deepening and dredging, and things along those lines. But I also think that includes some green infrastructure investments as well.” … ” Read more from EOS here: Key House member makes a conservative’s case for water projects
In commentary today …
George Skelton: Will California spend more on water projects? ‘It all depends on how thirsty the Governor is’, De Leon says: “If there ever was a politically ripe time to spend lavishly on water projects, this is it. But Sacramento Democrats are settling for a drop in the bucket. Spillways got washed out at giant Oroville Dam, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. Thousands of San Jose residents were flooded out because of raging creeks and inadequate facilities. Houses, barns and roads near the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta were swamped. We’ve had double the normal amount of rain throughout much of the state, ending a five-year drought that wrought havoc because not enough water had been stored in reserve. … ” MOre from the LA TImes here: George Skelton: Will California spend more on water projects? ‘It all depends on how thirsty the Governor is’, De Leon says
David Little: In Oroville, big story has big obstacles for journalists: “The Lake Oroville spillway saga is the story without end. We’ve been covering it for more than a month. It started when a hole in the spillway started growing on Feb. 7, followed by the evacuation of about 180,000 people on Feb. 12 when water started pouring into the never-used ravine that the state euphemistically called an “emergency spillway.” The dates are so ingrained in my head, I don’t even need to look them up. The story has been on the front page every day since Feb. 7. Many times, the Lake Oroville crisis was the entire front page, followed by more pages inside. Our reporters and photographers have worked hard to cover many different angles. The photos have been incredible. The stories have been frequently stupefying. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: David Little: In Oroville, big story has big obstacles for journalists
Conserve water now to prepare for next drought, says Jim Wunderman: He writes, “They say the best time to prepare for a drought is before you’re in one. Now that California’s record drought has ended in dramatic fashion, with record rainfall, snowpack, and widespread flooding, it’s time to hold the line on the impressive conservation achievements Californians made over the past four years. The governor’s new water plan, “Making Conservation a California Way of Life,” lays out how the state can continue to conserve, and East Bay residents and businesses can help lead the way. Conservation is at the foundation of the governor’s plan, and for good reason. Conservation is the fastest and most affordable way to expand California’s water supply, and it comes with a long list of other benefits. … ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Conserve water now to prepare for next drought
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for March 13, 2017
- GUEST COMMENTARY: It’s time to fix the impacts of TCP
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Final Enviro Docs for Recapturing 2017 San Joaquin River Restoration Program Flows; Wildlife Photo of the Year; Los Banos Farmer is Newly Elected Chair of San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority
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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.
