DAILY DIGEST: Where levees fail in California, nature can step in to nurture rivers; Back to the bones of the Delta; Legislators, fishermen discuss future of state fisheries; Nunes returns to Fresno to talk water; and more …

In California water news today, Where levees fail in California, nature can step in to nurture rivers; Back to the bones of the Delta; Legislators, fishermen discuss future of state fisheries; Amid controversy, Devin Nunes returns to Fresno to talk water; Infrastructure won’t be the big item Trump can check off as an early win; and more …

On the calendar today …

• Water Storage Investment Program Application Assistance Workshop at 9:30am at Cal EPA Headquarters and also available on webcast:  This workshop is an opportunity for proponents of new water storage projects to learn more about the application process and to ask questions related to preparing and submitting an application for funding under the WSIP. Commission, DWR, State Water Board, and CDFW staff will be on hand to answer application questions.  Click here for more information and webcast link.
• Brown Bag Seminar: Ecological Strategies for Water Remediation and Toxic Algae Control from 12pm – 12:30 pm: Click here for more information.

In the news today …

Where levees fail in California, nature can step in to nurture rivers:  “After millions of dollars of flood damage and mass evacuations this year, California is grappling with how to update its aging flood infrastructure. Some say a natural approach might be part of the answer.  All the water that poured down spillways at the Oroville Dam in northern California did a lot of damage to the area — and for miles down the river.  “It looks like a bomb’s gone off,” says John Carlon of River Partners, a nonprofit that does river restoration. “That’s what it looks like.” ... ”  Read more from NPR here:  Where levees fail in California, nature can step in to nurture rivers

Back to the bones of the Delta:  ” … Anyone who’s been around debates about the Delta’s highest and best
 uses for decades has seen a long train of plans touting this or that kind of restoration to save salmon, smelt, mice, birds and other endangereds. What’s different about the San Francisco Estuary Institute’s recently released Delta Renewed guide is that it finally puts all that’s been learned together in 
one place in a mere 100 pages. Using science-based maps and metrics, it offers a strategic approach to ecosystem restoration in a landscape where thousands of acres of historic marsh have been reduced to a few hundred to make way for crops, cows, and people. … ”  Continue reading at ESTUARY News here:  Back to the bones of the Delta

Legislators, fishermen discuss future of state fisheries:  “Speaking at California’s 44th annual “state of the fisheries” forum at the State Capitol on Wednesday, North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire and other state officials conveyed a dire future as the state experiences its lowest forecast salmon return on record and continuing poor ocean conditions.  “We are facing a true calamity here in California,” McGuire (D-Healdsburg) said during the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture’s Zeke Grader fisheries forum in Sacramento. “Many families who have relied on the mighty Pacific for their livelihood are on the brink of economic ruin.”  The theme of Wednesday’s forum was fisheries in a changing climate and occurred a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the rollback of climate change laws put into effect under Barack Obama’s administration. … ”  Read more from the Eureka Times-Herald here:  Legislators, fishermen discuss future of state fisheries

Amid controversy, Devin Nunes returns to Fresno to talk water:  “Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman from Tulare who’s been at the center of a political firestorm in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to address water issues at a meeting of agricultural lenders Friday in Fresno.  Nunes, who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has been under fire over his role in the investigation of Russian interference with the U.S. election – particularly after the disclosure that he briefed President Donald Trump earlier this month that surveillance of Russian officials captured contacts with Trump associates before disclosing the information with his fellow committee members. Nunes was a member of the Trump transition team.  Friday’s talk at the Ag Lenders Society of California annual meeting in Fresno will likely be considerably less volatile for Nunes. … ”  Read more from the Fresno Bee here:  Amid controversy, Devin Nunes returns to Fresno to talk water

Infrastructure won’t be the big item Trump can check off as an early win:  “President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan won’t be ready until later this year, delaying one of his signature campaign promises and depriving his administration of a big policy achievement in the first months of his presidency.  Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Wednesday at an event marking the Department of Transportation’s 50th anniversary that the package would be a “strategic, targeted program of investment” of $1 trillion over 10 years.  It would include more than just transportation, Chao said, encompassing energy, water, broadband and veterans hospitals. It will be announced later this year, she said. Chao offered nothing more specific. … ”  Read more from the Modesto Bee here:  Infrastructure won’t be the big item Trump can check off as an early win

As farmers pump more groundwater for crops, food prices risk surge:  “Farmers around the world are using an unsustainable amount of well water to irrigate their crops – which could lead to an uptick in food prices as that water runs low, international researchers warned Wednesday.  Farmers are increasing their use of groundwater — water naturally stored underground — to grow staple crops such as rice, wheat and cotton, the scientists said.  But much of that water use is unsustainable as water is being pumped out faster than it can be naturally replenished.  “Groundwater depletion is increasing rapidly, especially in the last 10, 20 years, due to the increasing populations and also associated food production,” said Yoshihide Wada, deputy water program director at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, a science organisation based in Austria. … ”  Read more from Reuters here:  As farmers pump more groundwater for crops, food prices risk surge

In commentary today …

Why California’s wet year won’t have record Delta exports:  Jay Lund writes, “This is northern California’s wettest year of record, so far. The Yolo Bypass has been flooded for most of this wet season, and is still flowing. Are Delta water exports going to exceed the previous record exports from 2011 of 6.5 million acre-feet?  So far, the State Water Project and Central Valley Project together have pumped a little less than in 2011, 2006 (another wet year), or 2007. They are all pretty close (with most of these highest-export water years falling after Central Valley Project Improvement Act and endangered species restrictions on Delta pumping).  Compared to the drought years, the first two years of drought were less dry and exports were supplemented by water drawn from California’s large northern-of-Delta surface reservoirs. … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  Why California’s wet year won’t have record Delta exports

In regional news and commentary today …

Feather River still dropping after spillway flows halted:  “In the days after the Department of Water Resources halted flows from the Oroville Dam flood control spillway, the Feather River is still in the process of lowering its levels.  As of Wednesday morning, the Yuba County Office of Emergency Services had not received any reports of river bank collapses or damages, according to Russ Brown, public information officer. ... ”  Read more from the Appeal Democrat here:  Feather River still dropping after spillway flows halted

Fallen trees in Sonoma County creeks add to salmon habitat:  “Walking along the shaded banks of Dutch Bill Creek outside Occidental, geomorphologist John Green and environmental scientist Derek Acomb are satisfied with the winter that just passed. A deluge of water swelled thirsty watersheds, and strong winds knocked down an untold number of trees throughout the Sonoma County.  “It’s been a good year for trees coming down,” said Acomb, with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “It’s all about context; it’s all about where you are.” ... ”  Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here:  Fallen trees in Sonoma County creeks add to salmon habitat

Corte Madera’s flood fight goes on and on:  “If you peek through the chain link fence behind the Ross Post Office in Marin County, you will see a suburban creek that looks much like any other. Some sections of bank are armored with riprap and wire, others with concrete, and others not at all. Scattered alders grow at the edge of water that riffles over stone and around muddy bends.  The fate of this stretch of Corte Madera creek has been the subject of fierce debate since the 1960s, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slated it for a flood-control design converting the stream bed to a deep, rectangular concrete channel. Before construction stalled, several downstream miles were modified, channelized, or reshaped to remove meanders or fill marshes. Nearly a mile of the creek was straightened and replaced with a concrete box channel that begins just a few hundred feet south of the Ross Post Office, at the entrance to Frederick S. Allen Park. … ”  Read more from ESTUARY News here:  Corte Madera’s flood fight goes on and on

Catch and release: Threatened steelhead rescued from Alameda Creek:  “With the wet winter, steelhead trout are running again in Alameda Creek, swimming upstream to spawn.   But the rare fish need a lot of help. That’s where the Alameda Creek Alliance, with about a dozen volunteers, and several public agencies come in to play.  Volunteers caught rare steelhead trout in Alameda Creek to help the threatened fish get past a concrete barrier underneath the BART tracks, and continue their swim upstream to their spawning grounds in Niles Canyon. … ”  Read more from NBC Bay Area here:  Catch and release: Threatened steelhead rescued from Alameda Creek

Going local buys future for Bayshore:  “When Bay Area voters approved Measure AA in June 2016 they not only created a significant new source of environmental funding, they also made California history, levying a parcel tax across the entire region for the first time. The measure was the result of a carefully planned and meticulously executed effort over more than a dozen years that offers lessons for other regions, and may be a catalyst for a regional approach to rising sea levels and other challenges. ... ”  Continue reading at ESTUARY News here:  Going local buys future for Bayshore

Vallejo reservoir could provide recreation, water for Napa County:  “Napa County is near to a historic Vallejo water empire of small reservoirs that just might play a role in the county’s water and recreation future.  Neighboring Solano County is in the preliminary phase of exploring whether to lease and manage Vallejo’s Lake Frey, Lake Madigan and Lake Curry reservoirs in the hills along the Napa-Solano boundary. Whether Napa County might have a supporting role remains to be seen.  Perhaps Napa County could secure additional water supplies to be prepared for the next drought. Perhaps Lake Curry in the remote mountains of the east county could open up for recreation. ... ”  Read more from the Napa Valley Register here:  Vallejo reservoir could provide recreation, water for Napa County

Five ways climate change is affecting Stockton:  “Climate change is back in the news this week after the Trump administration reversed Obama-era clean energy policies, and the House Science Committee held a hearing in which some lawmakers questioned mainstream climate science.  Politics aside, scientists have documented a number of ways in which human-caused climate change is already affecting California and, by extension, Stockton. It is not some vague future threat.  Here are five ways in which climate change hits home. … ”  Read more from the Stockton Record here:  Five ways climate change is affecting Stockton

Morro Bay aims to be ‘100% water independent’, saving ratepayers millions of dollars:  “Once Morro Bay opens a new, $141 million sewage treatment plant in 2021, the city intends to achieve total “water independence” from state supplies by processing 800 acre-feet of treated wastewater, injecting it into the local aquifer and eventually pumping it back out of the ground to use as drinking water, under a plan released this month.  The proposal would save the city — and ratepayers — more than $1 million per year in state water costs, officials estimate, although the city is calculating how the cost of the new facility will affect water rates for Morro Bay residents. … ”  Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here:  Morro Bay aims to be ‘100% water independent’, saving ratepayers millions of dollars

Wet year won’t prevent wildland fires on the Central Coast:  “A historically wet winter generated abundant forest fuels, such as grass and vegetation, amid new forecasts of above-average warmth this summer in Santa Cruz County. It is unclear how those circumstances will sway the area’s wildland-fire threat in 2017, a Cal Fire official said Wednesday.  Last year’s scorching summer and fall fueled the 4,474-acre Loma Fire, which displaced hundreds of residents near the Loma Prieta ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains and destroyed 12 homes in roughly a week. … ”  Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here:  Wet year won’t prevent wildland fires on the Central Coast

Desert water agencies will appeal to Supreme Court in tribe’s landmark water groundwater case:  “The Coachella Valley’s largest water agencies will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the question of whether the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has a federally established right to groundwater beneath the tribe’s reservation.  The Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency announced Wednesday that they plan to submit their petition for a review by the Supreme Court in June or July. The agencies’ board members decided to take the case to the high court three weeks after a federal appeals court ruled the tribe holds a “reserved right” to groundwater. … ”  Read more from the Desert Sun here:  Desert water agencies will appeal to Supreme Court in tribe’s landmark water groundwater case

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

• Science Enterprise Workshop proceedings report now available online
• SCIENCE NEWS: Collaboration in a time of crisis: NOAA responds to Oroville Dam emergency; Back to the bones of the Delta; Satellites reveal bird habitat loss in California; Asian dust providing key nutrients for California’s sequoias; and more …

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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.