In California water news this weekend, California governor: Drought over, conservation must go on; Jerry Brown declares drought over, calls for conservation as a way of life; Recent storm makes Northern California’s rain season the second wettest ever recorded; Did this year feel like the wettest ever? In the Northern Sierra, it’s about to be; Permanent conservation rules coming to San Diego, rest of state; How ‘incompetent rock’ led to the Oroville Dam crisis; Bidding opens on Oroville Dam spillway repair; California’s huge tree die-off expected to slow after wet winter; Column: Can’t find groundwater? Some swear by water witches; Teens hack state water issues; Fate of Russian and Eel River flow rests in big fight over small hydroelectric project; and more …
In the news this weekend …
California governor: Drought over, conservation must go on: “California Gov. Jerry Brown declared an end to the state’s drought emergency on Friday after powerful storms quenched the state following four extraordinarily dry years that drained reservoirs and wells, devastated forests and farmland and forced millions of people to slash their water use. The turnaround has been stark. After years of brown fields and cracked earth, monster storms blanketed California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains this winter with deep snow that flows into the network of rivers and streams that supply much of the state’s water. Front lawns revived to bright green in neighborhoods throughout the state and rivers that had become dry beds of sand and gravel are now charged with water swelling up in their banks. ... ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: California governor: Drought over, conservation must go on
Jerry Brown declares drought over, calls for conservation as a way of life: “As the latest storm barreled through the Bay Area — causing power outages to more than 100,000 homes and businesses — Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday declared the drought officially over, rescinding the emergency order he signed in 2014. But while one of the wettest seasons ever recorded in California will turn into a misty-eyed memory for most, Brown is keeping his gaze firmly on the future, pushing for new state legislative efforts to conserve water. “This drought emergency is over, but the next drought could be around the corner,’’ Brown said in a statement. “Conservation must remain a way of life.’’ ... ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Jerry Brown declares drought over, calls for conservation as a way of life
Recent storm makes Northern California’s rain season the second wettest ever recorded: “A late-season atmospheric river has pushed Northern California’s water year (Oct. 1 to Sept. 30) to the second wettest ever recorded, the National Weather Service said Friday. The storm has dumped rain from the Bay Area north to Shasta and east to Susanville along the Sierra Nevada, where months of rain and snowfall have already filled reservoirs and saturated soils to levels not seen since before the drought. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Recent storm makes Northern California’s rain season the second wettest ever recorded
Did this year feel like the wettest ever? In the Northern Sierra, it’s about to be: “The northern Sierra Nevada, which supplies water for much of the rest of California, is poised to surpass its wettest year in recorded history well before the rainy season comes to a close. As of Saturday morning, the region had accumulated an average of 87.5 inches of water across eight northern Sierra stations since the beginning of the season on Oct. 1, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. Erick Kurth, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said rain and snow predicted for the upcoming week could help bring the extra water needed to exceed the 1982-1983 record. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Did this year feel like the wettest ever? In the Northern Sierra, it’s about to be
Permanent conservation rules coming to San Diego, rest of state: “After one of the wettest winters on record, Gov. Jerry Brown declared Friday that California’s historic drought is officially over for all but a handful of areas in the Central Valley. … After five years of severely dry conditions, California is pressing forward with a dramatic overhaul of its conservation ethic for farms to cityscapes. This long-term framework for water conservation includes everything from minimizing pipe leaks, to requiring water suppliers to develop drought contingency plans, to submitting monthly data, to meeting permanent conservation targets. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: Permanent conservation rules coming to San Diego, rest of state
How ‘incompetent rock’ led to the Oroville Dam crisis: “California’s Dept. of Water Resources has announced a fast-track plan to replace the shattered spillways at Oroville Dam — at least partially — by November 1, when the rainy season is expected to resume. Meanwhile, engineers at Oroville Dam are drilling cores and conducting geological studies, hoping to better understand February’s near-catastrophic spillway failures. It’s the kind of thorough study that might’ve been lacking when the dam was built, 60 years ago. “They did not anchor the spillway in fresh rock,” says Eldridge Moores, an eminent geologist and one of the world’s leading experts on the geology of the Sierra Nevada. (He’s the central figure in John McPhee’s 1993 book, Assembling California.) ... ” Read more from KQED here: How ‘incompetent rock’ led to the Oroville Dam crisis
Bidding opens on Oroville Dam spillway repair: “California officials on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to increase the size of Lake Oroville’s damaged main spillway, allowing it to release nearly twice as much water, as they seek to rebuild the 3,000-foot-long concrete chute that gave way this year. The work could begin as soon as April 17 in what will be a race to finish before the reservoir fills again next winter. Without an operational spillway, the state risks not being able to discharge water from the lake — the same problem that triggered fears of mass flooding downstream in February. “The idea here is that we have to move really fast,” said Bill Croyle, acting director of the California Department of Water Resources, which runs the Oroville Dam. “This is the kind of project that would (typically) take two or three years to design and two or three years to build.” … ” Read more from SF Gate here: Bidding opens on Oroville Dam spillway repair
California’s huge tree die-off expected to slow after wet winter: “California’s extraordinarily wet winter didn’t just end the drought. It’s likely to mean a turnaround for the state’s dying forests. After five years of dry weather unleashed unparalleled havoc on trees from Yosemite to the Central Coast — leaving vast stands of pine too parched to fight pests and reducing entire mountainsides to browning wastelands — a forecast by the U.S. Forest Service suggests the die-off will slow this year. The projection, made public earlier this year, is short on specifics. But it mirrors the opinion of many forestry experts who say fewer trees will perish as rainy weather helps California’s woodlands regain their natural defenses against the ravenous bark beetle. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: California’s huge tree die-off expected to slow after wet winter
Column: Can’t find groundwater? Some swear by water witches: David Middlecamp writes, “Science can’t explain everything, and some areas of the map are blank. So humans try to fill the empty space. San Luis Obispo County is currently wrestling with groundwater management planning. When the well is dry, people want answers. A well driller is hired to punch a hole wherever a client points and drill for as long as the dollars hold out. Drillers can’t assure that water will be found in the unseeable underground. That’s when the water witch’s phone rings. ... ” Can’t find groundwater? Some swear by water witches
Teens hack state water issues: “An app to track household water use recently propelled a team from Tracy High School into first place at the second H2O Hackathon. A dozen teams of students from six county high schools went head to head March 25 at the San Joaquin County Office of Education in Stockton, including three teams each from Tracy High and West High. Their objective was to use the IBM Bluemix platform to imagine and then build an application or a game to meet one of three goals inspired by California’s water issues. ... ” Read more from the Tracy Press here: Teens hack state water issues
In commentary this weekend …
Time for legislature to fight through Oroville Dam secrecy, says the East Bay Times: They write, “State legislators aren’t getting answers about the Lake Oroville spillway. Neither is the federal government. Or the county government. Or journalists. Or the public. But matters are coming to a head as two north state legislators whose districts include Lake Oroville are demanding answers. It’s about time. Last Thursday, Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, admitted at a public appearance that he had many questions about the broken spillway — more questions than answers. … ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Time for legislature to fight through Oroville Dam secrecy
It’s a water shortage, not a drought; that’s a big distinction, says Tom Coleman: He writes, “It’s true that water levels in aquifers at some farms across the state have dropped because of excessive groundwater pumping, and regulations limit the transport of more Northern California water southward. But those issues, along with more demand from an increasing population than can be met in a normal year, don’t constitute a drought. They add up to a water shortage. The evidence of this shortage has become abundantly clear this winter. Take, for instance, the spectacle of millions of gallons of water rushing over the emergency spillway at a storm-swollen Lake Oroville. … ” Read more from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune here: It’s a water shortage, not a drought; that’s a big distinction
Taking rivers for granted, then seeing water from a different angle: Kristine Aubert writes, “After the election, I was scanning Craigslist for a new job and decided to search the “nonprofit sector” heading, hoping to find some meaningful work. Friends of the River posted that it was accepting applications for a River Advocacy Training School. I didn’t really know anything about rivers, except the way they worked on my spirit. I applied and was accepted. I dove into a world of water policy and it has expanded my perspective in ways I could never have imagined. I had no idea how nuanced the negotiation for water between humans and nature had become. I realized I have taken rivers and water for granted. … ” Continue reading at the Sacramento Bee here: Taking rivers for granted, then seeing water from a different angle
In regional news and commentary this weekend …
A grim forecast for Klamath River salmon worries tribes and fishing fleet: “It’s looking like another bleak season ahead for Northern California salmon –- especially for the fall run of chinook on the Klamath River. Fishery managers are meeting in Sacramento until early next week to decide on final rules for this season’s catch. Commercial fishing operators and native tribes along the Klamath say severe limits on the harvest, to be imposed because of forecasts that a record low number of Klamath will return to spawn, will be devastating. The total number of adult Klamath fall-run chinook in the Pacific is estimated at just over 50,000. About 11,000 or 12,000 are expected to return to spawn this year. ... ” Read more from KQED here: A grim forecast for Klamath River salmon worries tribes and fishing fleet
Northern California farmers relieved about greatest water supply since the drought: “Farmers under the Bella Vista Water District were relieved to find out they would be receiving 100 percent of water allocations, but are still paying off costs from drought years. The Bella Vista Water District was notified in March by the Bureau of Reclamation that it would be receiving 100 percent of water allocations requested from the Bureau of Reclamation. Robert Nash of Nash Ranch in Redding said their main crops are hay, grains, and pumpkins. “The pumpkins need a lot of water, and if we have alfalfa hay, that takes a lot of water,” Nash said. … ” Read more from KRCR here: Northern California farmers relieved about greatest water supply since the drought
Fate of Russian and Eel River flow rests in big fight over small hydroelectric project: “Even the record rainfall that dowsed the North Coast this winter, filling reservoirs and streams, will not be enough to head off a looming clash over the water that courses down two of the region’s largest rivers, the Russian and the Eel. Together, they drain a swath of territory, including cities, forests and vineyards, that stretches from central Sonoma County to Fortuna, in Humboldt County — an area larger than Connecticut. A key link between the two rivers, a small powerhouse more than 100 years old, is now the focal point in a fight over the water that flows down these rivers. It’s a standoff with many of the main players in western water wars — farmers, environmentalists, water districts serving urban customers and fishermen. And it raises many of the same questions: Who benefits and who loses from water taken for decades from one river — at over 20 billion gallons a year — and funneled into another river? … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Fate of Russian and Eel River flow rests in big fight over small hydroelectric project
109-year old Potter Valley Project the link between the Eel and Russian rivers: “About 80 feet behind the PG&E hydropower plant in Potter Valley, gray-green silt-laden water from the Eel River passes through a steel gate and is invisibly transformed. It has become part of the Russian River, which provides water for more than 600,000 people from Redwood Valley to northern Marin County. “Once it passes the gate, it’s river. We have no more use for it,” said Mike Evans, an operator at the Potter Valley Powerhouse, which has been generating electricity since 1908. The future of the powerhouse, a 5,000-square-foot no-frills industrial building that houses three generators, will be determined by a relicensing process initiated last week under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission protocols. ... ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: 109-year old Potter Valley Project the link between the Eel and Russian rivers
With drought easing, will Fresno get to turn on its sprinklers as often as Clovis? “As the Valley soaks up plentiful winter rains and a deep snowpack awaits in the Sierra, Fresno is assessing whether to modify its drought-era rules to let customers turn on their yard sprinklers more often. One wet season doesn’t do much to ease the strain on an underground water table that has been overdrawn for years. But at the end of this month, Fresno will change its water-use restrictions that limit customers to outdoor watering on only one day a week to something else – something yet undecided. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee here: With drought easing, will Fresno get to turn on its sprinklers as often as Clovis?
Water woes continue for East Porterville, despite Governor’s declaration: “The drought is now over for most of California, according to Gov. Jerry Brown’s declaration Friday. But that doesn’t change much for some areas like the drought-stricken community of East Porterville. Flowing streams, rivers and the rain – it’s a much welcome change in East Porterville. In fact, 300 hundred homes in the area have already been attached to city lines thanks to the emergency water project. That’s phase one, but the trouble for some people in the South Valley community, a few months of rain doesn’t erase five years of suffering. … ” Read more from KFSN here: Water woes continue for East Porterville, despite Governor’s declaration
Cachuma half full thanks to winter rains: “With the reservoir at Lake Cachuma now half full thanks to winter rains, deliveries to the South Coast water agencies have started back up for the first time in two years. Water managers are hedging their bets, however, against the prospect of more dry years; they’re taking 40 percent of normal deliveries over the next six months and another 40 percent for the six months after that. ... ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent here: Cachuma half full thanks to winter rains
Ridgecrest: With GSA in place, Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority prepare for the path ahead: ““It’s been a long process to get to this point. Now the hard work starts,” said Don Zdeba, general manager of the IWV Water District Thursday. In early December, the IWV Groundwater Authority voted to file their application with the California Department of Water Resources in order to become the Groundwater Sustainability Agency of IWV. After filing, they waited through a 90 day notice period to see if any other group would file to become a GSA of IWV. None did. On April 4, IWVGA became the exclusive GSA of IWV. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: With GSA in place, IWV Groundwater Authority prepare for the path ahead
Time for détente in Coachella Valley groundwater war: Mark Johnson writes, “The lawsuit Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians vs. Coachella Valley Water District is most unfortunate. Let’s face it, the water customers and taxpayers of the Coachella Valley will be paying the legal bills of both sides for years. Our water rates and taxes will go up. We lose! The lawsuit has three phases; 1, reserved right to groundwater determination; 2, aquifer overdraft/water quality; 3, quantification of any reserved right. I will discuss these out of order. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Time for détente in Coachella Valley groundwater war
Along the Colorado River …
Late March snow reversed early-season melt and rescued Colorado snowpack: “Late-March snowfall in the high country rescued a flagging snowpack, buoying every river basin in Colorado above normal despite below-average precipitation for the month. The warm and dry weather in early March triggered an early melt, marked by some of the strongest streamflows for the month in decades, but powerful storms at the end of the month left the statewide snowpack sitting at 107 percent of normal, according to the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Colorado Water Supply Outlook Report for April 1. … ” Read more from the Denver Post here: Late March snow reversed early-season melt and rescued Colorado snowpack
To save water, some Arizona farms temporarily cut production: “For four Indian tribes that grow melons, wheat, cotton, onions and alfalfa near the Colorado River, fallowing cropland will bring extra money. It will also get the Colorado River Indian Tribes’ name out as a water player, part of the solution to the Southwest’s water shortages. And, says Tribal Councilwoman Amelia Flores, it’s a way to get other cropland into production and to upgrade their irrigation equipment. The tribes are starting a federally financed fallowing program this year to save water for Lake Mead. They are among many looking more closely at fallowing as a way of coping with tightening water supplies. ... ” Read more from the Arizona Star here: To save water, some Arizona farms temporarily cut production
Precipitation watch …
Storms lining up in the Pacific this week: From the National Weather Service: “Brief period of dry weather today across the area. A weaker system moves in for tonight into Monday, with showers mainly north of I-80. A second system will again bring light showers on Tuesday with breezy southerly winds. Snow totals with these first two system look minimal so expect impacts to be limited. A third system will bring more widespread precipitation Wednesday – Thursday, though it doesn’t look as wet as this weekend’s storm.”
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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.
Maven’s Notebook
where California water news never goes home for the weekend
