In California water news today, Senate Chair of Natural Resources and Water hopes to enact creative approaches to water scarcity; Is ‘potential Oroville waiting to happen’ at other spillways?; New state mercury limits based on higher exposure; Modesto, Turlock irrigation boards will meet together on Tuolumne River flow issues; New Silicon Valley flood project at risk because of red tape, water district says; and more …
In the news today …
Senate Chair of Natural Resources and Water hopes to enact creative approaches to water scarcity: “The Planning Report spoke to Senator Hertzberg about how facilitating stormwater capture fits into his six-pronged water policy framework for the state: a multi-year plan that tackles rate structures, groundwater recharge, aging infrastructure, new financing models, ecosystem cleanup, and more. Hertzberg also comments on the “creative defensive thinking” adopted in the state Legislature to preempt potentially damaging actions by the Trump administration. Q: When the Chairman of the California Senate’s Committee on Natural Resources and Water introduces a bill, SB 231, to reclassify stormwater infrastructure as “sewer service” under state law; attention must be paid. What motivated this legislation, and what are the challenges you face in passing it? … ” Continue reading at The Planning Report here: Senate Chair of Natural Resources and Water hopes to enact creative approaches to water scarcity
Is ‘potential Oroville waiting to happen’ at other spillways? “Federal dam regulators are reevaluating how they conduct dam inspections in the wake of the Oroville Dam spillway crisis, and they’ve ordered the nation’s dam operators to thoroughly inspect their facilities to see “if they have a potential Oroville waiting to happen,” a federal dam inspector said Sunday. “Can we make things different? Can we improve things?” said Frank Blackett, a regional engineer at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Division of Dam Safety and Inspections. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Is ‘potential Oroville waiting to happen’ at other spillways?
New state mercury limits based on higher exposure: “Earlier this month, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted mercury regulations for the protection of people and wildlife consuming locally caught fish.” Read story at the Delta Confluence here: New state mercury limits based on higher exposure
New Silicon Valley flood project at risk because of red tape, water district says: “Three months after Coyote Creek overflowed its banks and caused $100 million in damage to homes and businesses in San Jose, a flood control project straddling the city’s northern edges with Milpitas may be in danger of being shut down because of red tape. The $35 million project is designed to provide 100-year flood protection to 2.2 miles of Upper Berryessa Creek, reducing flood risk to 680 properties and, perhaps most importantly, to Santa Clara County’s first BART station: the new Milpitas station, scheduled to open in December. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: New Silicon Valley flood project at risk because of red tape, water district says
Back in the day: How Lake Mathews ended a man’s dream to plant carob trees: “A while back, I wrote about the on-again, off-again saga of the Temescal (or sometimes Cajalco) Tin Mines. Much of that saga occurred near or in what is called the Cajalco Basin. How did the name Cajalco come about? No one knows for sure, but the term Cajalco described the hill that was used to designate what became the tin mine area. The term Cajalco, though, was used for other things, including the Cajalco Basin, which is south of Riverside and east of Corona. In 1917, an entrepreneur named Lawrence Holmes decided to settle in the Cajalco Basin after a long and varied career. … ” Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Back in the day: How Lake Mathews ended a man’s dream to plant carob trees
In commentary today …
Angry public, insistent media uncloaking Oroville Dam secrecy: Joyce Terhaar writes, “State water officials told The Sacramento Bee that they want a do-over on how they communicate with the public about Oroville Dam. After denying public records requests from The Bee, and facing angry citizens at recent public meetings, a somewhat chastened group of officials say they want to be more transparent. “As these weeks have unfolded we’ve heard from you guys, we’ve heard from the community and elected officials about the need to balance this transparency and also safety. So we have changed what we are sharing,” Erin Mellon told The Bee. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Angry public, insistent media uncloaking Oroville Dam secrecy
After Oroville Dam debacle, we deserve straight talk and safety, says the Sacramento Bee: They write, “Without a doubt, California’s first Gov. Brown had big ambitions. He wanted to re-plumb the state, and to do that, he needed to build a massive dam on the mighty Feather River. Toward that end, Pat Brown did what politicians do: He spun a story, replete with big promises and some exaggerations. In a historical account of the dam’s construction, The Sacramento Bee’s Ryan Sabalow, Dale Kasler and Christopher Cadelago wrote that the father of our current Gov. Jerry Brown “brought an almost evangelical zeal to erecting the structure that would hold back the Feather River to deliver water to the parched southern half of the state.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: After Oroville Dam debacle, we deserve straight talk and safety
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for May 22
- Fish Restoration Program Update: Prospect Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project, Real estate acquisition, Regional salinity monitoring, and Restoration RFP
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: New Sonoma County groundwater agencies plan first meetings, public hearings; LADWP honored as leading water utility in the world at 2017 Global Water Summit; Western Municipal Water District and the City of Riverside strike historic water deal
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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.
