DAILY DIGEST: Oroville Dam had two dozen problems that may have led to mass failure, report says; Oroville Dam Diversion Pool dredging won’t be done until December; Congressional budget deal protects water programs; and more …

In California water news today, Oroville Dam had two dozen problems that may have led to mass failure, report says; Oroville Dam: What state’s forensic team has found in the first analysis; Not so close: Oroville Dam Diversion Pool dredging won’t be done until December; Independent team’s list of potential causes of spillway collapse released; Nearly a million Californians exposed to pesticide chemical linked to cancer in their drinking water; McClintock introduces legislation to speed up reservoir projects; Congressional budget deal protects water programs; and more …

On the calendar today …

• The Delta Independent Science Board will meet today and tomorrow at the Ryde Hotel in the Delta.  They are on a field trip this morning, holding a meeting in the afternoon, and holding a community night to discuss Delta as a place from 5:30-7pm.  The meeting continues tomorrow morning.  Click here for more information.
• The Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife and along with the Accountability and Administrative Review and Budget Subcommittee No. 3 On Resources And Transportation will hold a joint informational and oversight hearing on Oroville Dam at 1pm.  Click here for more information.

In the news today …

Oroville Dam had two dozen problems that may have led to mass failure, report says:  “The massive failure of the Oroville Dam’s main spillway in February involved two dozen potential design and maintenance problems, including thin concrete, inadequate reinforcing steel and weaknesses in the foundation, a panel of engineering experts reported Wednesday.  A forensic investigation team said it was issuing a preliminary list of causes so that engineers do not repeat the problems as they rush to fix the spillway before the next cycle of rains begins in November. … ”  Read more from the LA Times here:  Oroville Dam had two dozen problems that may have led to mass failure, report says

Oroville Dam: What state’s forensic team has found in the first analysis:  “In a report released Wednesday, engineers assigned to investigate the February failure of Oroville Dam’s main spillway cited a variety of flaws in the 3,000-foot-long structure, including variations in the thickness of the concrete slabs, poor drainage beneath the spillway, improperly filled cracks and signs of inadequate maintenance.  The forensics team, consisting of six outside consultants, also said the spillway may have split because of an increase in water releases just prior to the Feb. 7 incident. ... ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here:  Oroville Dam: What state’s forensic team has found in the first analysis

Not so close: Oroville Dam Diversion Pool dredging won’t be done until December:  “There’s more debris in the water at the Oroville Dam Diversion Pool than initially thought, and state Department of Water Resources officials now don’t expect to complete dredging and hauling of debris by December. DWR is seeking bids for the remaining work.  Daily incident reports have shown the debris removal was almost complete for weeks. The total amount was previously reported to be 1.7 million cubic-yards of material by DWR and Wednesday’s incident report states 1.69 million cubic-yards of debris have been removed. … ”  Read more from the Oroville Mercury Register here:  Not so close: Oroville Dam Diversion Pool dredging won’t be done until December

Independent team’s list of potential causes of spillway collapse released:  “The state Department of Water Resources released Wednesday the preliminary findings of the independent team investigating what caused the Oroville Dam spillway to collapse.  Some of its ideas for what caused the main spillway to crumble included limited reinforcement of the concrete slabs, not enough backup collector drains, and a weak foundation because of an extended drought. The team said it did not think groundwater pressures and cavitation were significant factors. ... ”  Read more from the Oroville Mercury Register here:  Independent team’s list of potential causes of spillway collapse released

Nearly a million Californians exposed to pesticide chemical linked to cancer in their drinking water:  “As many as 1 million Californians, mostly in the farming communities of the Central Valley, have dangerous levels of an unregulated chemical linked to cancer in their drinking water, according to California’s State Water Board.  State water officials found potentially harmful levels of “1,2,3-TCP”, or Trichloropropane, in drinking water sources across the state all the way back in 2001 but are just now considering the implementation of a legal maximum contaminant level. ... ”  Read more from NBC Area here:  Nearly a million Californians exposed to pesticide chemical linked to cancer in their drinking water

McClintock introduces legislation to speed up reservoir projects:  “Congressman Tom McClintock is pushing a bill that calls for streamlining the permitting process for new water reservoirs.  The last major reservoir constructed in the State of California was New Melones in 1979. McClintock indicates that multi-agency reviews of projects can create “bureaucratic chaos” that take many years to complete. He cites that the High Savery Dam in Wyoming, which was constructed about 15 years ago, took 14 years to permit and two years to build. ... ”  Read more from My Mother Lode here:  McClintock introduces legislation to speed up reservoir projects

Congressional budget deal protects water programs:  “The Trump administration’s talk of slashing environmental programs in fiscal year 2018 did not translate into big cuts in a 2017 spending agreement negotiated by Congress.  President Trump signed a budget deal on May 5 that keeps the government operating through September 30. Notably, the agreement does not include huge cuts to water and environment programs — elimination of rural water grants, for instance, or a one-third cut to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — that the president targeted in his 2018 budget proposal. … ”  Read more from Circle of Blue here:  Congressional budget deal protects water programs

In commentary today …

Beyond the Drought: Building Water Conservation Consciousness:  Elizabeth Dougherty writes, “In California, the five-year drought had some stunning silver linings, notably a more acute personal awareness of water use. The impacts of drought and climate change yielded scarce water flows and depleted groundwater supplies that focused people’s attention on cutting back on water use.  During the drought, the media, water agency mailings and signs on the roadways all pointed over and over to the need to conserve. Local listserves (mailing lists) and cafes filled up with conversations about water costs, water quality, water failures and what water-saving programs were available through local water agencies. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here:  Beyond the Drought: Building Water Conservation Consciousness

When feds dilly-dally on water, our ag economy takes a hit, says Don Peracchi:  He writes, “After three years of virtually no water deliveries, the Bureau of Reclamation’s 100% allocation for south-of-Delta agricultural water service contractors was a relief.  But even in a year when Reclamation could allocate 100%, the process that resulted in that allocation illustrates there are fundamental problems with the regulatory constraints that restrict Central Valley Project operations.  Historically, Reclamation issues its initial forecast of operations in mid-January, and the initial allocation is made in mid-February. … ”  Read more from the Fresno Bee here:  When feds dilly-dally on water, our ag economy takes a hit

In regional news and commentary today …

Agency to showcase how levees have been bolstered:  “The Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency will host a meeting next Wednesday to update residents on how years of levee work and hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements have fared these past few months with the high water levels in the Feather River.  “Our focus will be on the work we’ve done on emergency repairs and some of the future work that is going to be done on the levee to rehabilitate the unimproved levees due to recent high-water events,” said Mike Inamine, general manager of SBFCA. … ”  Read more from Emergency Management here:  Agency to showcase how levees have been bolstered

Mediation begins between the City of Ukiah and Sanitation District:  “As a new round of mediation sessions between the City of Ukiah and the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District begin this week, City Manager Sage Sangiacomo reports becoming even more frustrated with what he described as a lack of communication between the two agencies.  “I’m getting increasingly concerned because it rises to a new level of unresponsiveness and obstructionism,” Sangiacomo said of the reported ignoring of the city’s repeated requests to meet with the district’s board about items unrelated to the lawsuit the UVSD filed against the city. The lawsuit claims the city has been breaching for decades the contract the agencies use to run the wastewater treatment plant they use to serve their sewer customers, and was filed after previous attempts at mediation failed. ... ”  Read more from the Ukiah Daily Journal here:  Mediation begins between the City of Ukiah and Sanitation District

Santa Rosa: Potter Valley relicensing presents opportunity for more creative thinking, says Darrin Mierau:  He writes, “In the Mendocino National Forest, the Potter Valley Project is an audacious example of creative engineering. The project, which is owned by PG&E, stores winter runoff from the upper reaches of the Eel River and diverts the water into the Russian River, where it is used to support people, farming and wineries in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.  The first of two Potter Valley Project dams was built in 1908, when out-of-the-box thinking led engineers to connect the two watersheds by boring a tunnel through a mountain. … ”  Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here:  Close to Home: Potter Valley relicensing presents opportunity for more creative thinking

With drought over, East Bay MUD prepares to raise rates:  “Some East Bay MUD customers are upset over the news that their water rates will likely be going up despite conservation efforts during the California drought.  Like many in the state, East Bay residents did their best to cut down on water use over the past few years.  Water use dropped by a third from 195 million gallons in 2007 to only 125 million gallons last year. … ”  Read more from CBS Bay Area here:  With drought over, East Bay MUD prepares to raise rates

Foster City looking to address rising bay with levee:  “Foster City is looking to prepare for climate change while it strives to meet federal mandates to raise its levee or be declared a flood zone.  The council unanimously voted Monday to take three important steps in what’s been hailed as the largest infrastructure project in the city since the community was created on Bay fill in the 1960s.  Officials agreed to an adaptable redesign of its 8-mile levee to meet sea level rise predictions through 2050. The city will also ask voters to approve a $90 million general obligation bond to finance the project, and the council certified an environmental impact report. … ”  Read more from the Daily Journal here:  Foster City looking to address rising bay with levee

Metropolitan GM defends agency against accusations:  “After his remarks on the state of water delivery in California, Kightlinger took up the issues that the San Diego County Water Authority (the “Authority”) has been making, with representatives of both agencies dogging each other’s trails as they speak before different agency boards throughout the Southland.  Two weeks before Kightlinger’s appearance before the Valley Center Municipal Water District board, Maureen Stapleton, general manager of the Authority had made a similar talk to the VC directors.  He wryly referred to a slide show Stapleton had made and said, “I got these slides and apparently everything we do is wrong!” … ”  Read more from Valley News here:  Metropolitan GM defends agency against accusations

State appeals court hears San Diego’s water dispute:  “The California Courts of Appeal has 90 days to decide the fate of a water rate dispute between a Los Angeles-based water wholesaler and San Diego County water managers.  At issue is the cost of moving water through the Metropolitan Water District’s delivery system.  San Diego water managers accused Metropolitan of charging too much to move water San Diego bought in Imperial Valley through MWD’s delivery system.  A Superior Court judge agreed and awarded the San Diego County Water Authority $243 million.  Metropolitan officials say the lower court got it wrong. … ”  Read more from KPBS here:  State appeals court hears San Diego’s water dispute

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

• DELTA STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL: Changes made to Conveyance, Storage, and Operations amendment, but Delta advocates still not satisfied
• SCIENCE NEWS: Droughts and floods: California’s climate change conundrum; Sharks are dying by the hundreds in San Francisco Bay; Collaborative research project points the way to improving salmon recovery efforts on the Columbia River; and more …
• NEWS WORTH NOTING: New PPIC fact sheet on groundwater; EPA and the Army Corps begin revision of the WOTUS rule; State grants final water use permit to Sterling Natural Resource Center
• THIS JUST IN … DWR Releases Initial Findings from Forensics Team Regarding Lake Oroville Spillways

Announcements …

• State Water Board will consider adoption of Emergency Regulation for SGMA implementation at May 16, 2017 Board Meeting
• ANNOUNCEMENT: Amended staff report for the Proposed Basin Plan Amendment to Establish Salinity Water Quality Objectives in the Lower San Joaquin River now posted

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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.