In California water news today, DWR: Spillway construction ahead of schedule; State may stretch drought-relief funding; Decimated by drought, salmon fishing teeters on the brink in California; Market and water trends increase cotton acreage; Study: Western U.S. snowpack could decline 60% by 2040; Sea level rise accelerating nearly 3x faster than during 20th century; EPA remains top target with Trump administration proposing 31% budget cut; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Delta Conservancy Board will meet this morning from 9am to 1pm. The agenda includes a request for approval to post a draft of the 2017/2018 Proposition 1 Grant Guidelines for a 30-day public comment period and discussions about the Mokelumne/Cosumnes Corridor. Click here for the full agenda and meeting materials.
- The Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture will hold a legislative hearing titled, Where have all the salmon gone? from 1pm to 5pm. Click here for the agenda and webcast link.
- Water whiplash tonight in San Francisco at 6pm: The Commonwealth Club hosts Felicia Marcus and Buzz Thompson for a discussion on preparing for the whiplash of going from really dry to really wet years and how state and federal agencies are working together to modernize our systems. Click here for more information.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
DWR: Spillway construction ahead of schedule: “For the first time since the reconstruction process began on the Oroville Dam spillway, workers could be seen on the damaged spillway. Construction of the new spillway is approximately one week ahead of schedule, according to Jagdeep Sidhu, an engineer with the Department of Water Resources Program Control Section. The first area of work on the spillway itself is focusing on the lower chute where the water flows into the Feather river. … ” Read more from KRCR here: DWR: Spillway construction ahead of schedule
State may stretch drought-relief funding: “Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Office of Emergency Services, stated in a letter to Tulare County officials the state will continue to provide some funding for drought relief after June 30. In a letter dated May 9, Ghilarducci stated, “the state will continue to provide temporary funds for up to a year for the delivery of potable water for existing program participants in order to maintain public health and safety.” … ” Read more from the Porterville Recorder here: State may stretch drought-relief funding
Decimated by drought, salmon fishing teeters on the brink in California: “A wet winter may have finally pulled the state out of its historic drought, but the tail is long for California salmon fishermen. Five dry years brought abysmal conditions for the hatching and survival of new fish. The number of adult fall-run Chinook salmon has subsequently plummeted, with regulators this year expecting the worst return ever of fish to spawn on the Klamath River: 54,000, down from 1.6 million in 2012. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Decimated by drought, salmon fishing teeters on the brink in California
Another go for Delta National Heritage Area: “In 2011, Rep. John Garamendi and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein proposed a National Heritage Area for the Delta. Now, it has another chance to become law with S. 731 or H.R. 1738.” Read more from the Delta Confluence here: Another go for Delta National Heritage Area
Market and water trends increase cotton acreage: “For the second year in a row, California cotton acreage has been trending upward, thanks in large part to improved water availability. Growers say a brighter market outlook for cotton and lower prices of other crops such as processing tomatoes also made cotton a more-attractive choice for them to grow this year. “It certainly had to do with having enough water. That’s why we’re growing the cotton that we’re growing,” said Rick Worth, who grows cotton in Fresno and Kings counties. ... ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Market and water trends increase cotton acreage
Study: Western U.S. snowpack could decline 60% by 2040: “Since many areas of the West get little or no summer rain, winter snowpack is their lifeblood. The gradually melting mountain snow refills reservoirs and groundwater aquifers as thirsty people drain them, helping farms and cities survive months of hot, dry weather. But as California was reminded during its long, five-year drought, deep winter snows are no guarantee. This seemed like an anomaly. But a new study warns that winters with substantially less mountain snow could become the norm. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature in April, was led by a team of scientists in Canada and the U.S. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Study: Western U.S. snowpack could decline 60% by 2040
Sea level rise accelerating nearly 3x faster than during 20th century: “Sea-level rise, one of the planet’s most dire side effects of man-made global warming, is accelerating nearly three times as rapidly as during the 20th century, according to a new study. Sea-level rise recently “accelerated significantly,” said study lead author Sönke Dangendorf of the University of Siegen in Germany. Before 1990, the Earth’s oceans were rising less than a half-inch per decade. But from 1993 through 2012, the seas rose about 1.22 inches per decade, the research found. Here’s how sea-level rise works: As the Earth’s temperature warms, so do the oceans. Heat-trapping greenhouse gases cause more land ice — glaciers and ice sheets — to melt and water to expand. Warmer water simply takes up more room than cooler water. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star here: Sea level rise accelerating nearly 3x faster than during 20th century
EPA remains top target with Trump administration proposing 31% budget cut: “Candidate Donald Trump vowed to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency “in almost every form,” leaving only “little tidbits” intact. President Trump is making good on his promise to take a sledgehammer to the agency. Under the White House’s latest budget proposal, released Tuesday, the EPA would fare worse than any other federal agency. The proposal would reduce the agency’s current funding by more than 31 percent, to $5.65 billion. The plan would eliminate several major regional programs, including ones aimed at restoring the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound, as well as EPA’s lead risk-reduction program. ... ” Read more from the Washington Post here: EPA remains top target with Trump administration proposing 31% budget cut
In regional news and commentary today …
Eel River recovery project monitors local creeks: “Eel River Recovery Project members, in cooperation with Friends of Outlet Creek kicked off local efforts to gauge the health of creeks around the area, starting off with Beachtel Creek Saturday, honing in on the organization’s long term goal of measuring the health of the Eel River watershed in Mendocino County. Robin Leler, Willits liaison to ERRP said the people who attended the event to help design a 2017 study plan for assessing the health of Outlet Creek over the next couple of weeks started with the creeks found running through their own backyards in the Little Lake Valley. ... ” Read more from the Willits News here: Eel River recovery project monitors local creeks
Oroville campaign calls for ‘accountability’, image repair: “An hours-old website, a coming film, and social media messages will form the backbone of a pro-Oroville campaign meant to counter misperceptions. Oroville Strong! was officially unveiled Tuesday, and already has the backing of 72 businesses and community members that agree with the premise that “It’s time for the Oroville Dam to finally work for and benefit the community in a meaningful way.” Oroville Chamber Executive Director Sandy Linville explained the concept that it’s time for Oroville to fight the misconceptions that Oroville is not safe in the days following the Oroville Dam spillway incident. … ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury-Register here: Oroville campaign calls for ‘accountability’, image repair
Sutter County: Levee managers talk issues with DWR: “The Department of Water Resources invited downstream levee maintaining agencies and county emergency operators to a meeting in Oroville on Monday to discuss ways of improving operations and planning for future emergency situations. Andrew Stresser, general manager of Levee District 1 in Sutter County, said it was a debriefing on events in February and March involving the Lake Oroville spillway and emergency response actions. ... ” Read more from the Appeal Democrat here: Sutter County: Levee managers talk issues with DWR
Following a wet winter, Napa River fish trap yields high salmon count: “Jonathan Koehler is working the biggest fish-trapping contraption on the Napa River and finding out good news about Chinook salmon after a historic rain year. This eight-foot-diameter metal funnel floats half-submerged and rotates as currents hit the inner baffles. Fish swim inside and end up trapped in a water-filled compartment. “It’s sort of like the revolving door at a department store, where you step into it and you have to step inside the store,” Koehler said. ... ” Read more from the Napa Register here: Following a wet winter, Napa River fish trap yields high salmon count
Lake Tahoe water board orders further study, cleanup of contaminated groundwater: “The cleanup of contaminated groundwater in South Lake Tahoe dating back to the 1970s from a leaky laundromat at the South Y Center remains uncompleted — but a recent order from a local water board is calling for additional study and remedial work by the responsible parties. On May 12, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an order to four corporations that are accountable for the cleanup of groundwater contaminated with tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, at levels above what is legally allowed for drinking by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ... ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune here: Lake Tahoe water board orders further study, cleanup of contaminated groundwater
Atherton’s Marsh Channel project wins award: “The town of Atherton and its project team won an award from the Construction Management Association of America for management of the Marsh Road Channel repair project in 2016. According to documents from Atherton City Manager George Rodericks, who was at the awards dinner in San Francisco on May 18, the town, the construction management firm Ghiradelli Associates Inc., architect Biggs Cardosa Associates Inc. and builder Granite Construction were cited for the job, which came in with a budget of $4 million and was finished one day early. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Atherton’s Marsh Channel project wins award
To relax demand on groundwater, Modesto Irrigation District sells river water to neighbors: “Selling Tuolumne River water to growers just outside borders of the Modesto Irrigation District for $60 an acre-foot should cover the district’s costs while remaining low enough to attract buyers, the MID board agreed Tuesday. The vote was unanimous, but clearly represented a compromise because some wanted to charge more, and others, a bit less. Selling to neighboring growers, according to theory, will decrease the groundwater they pump, helping preserve the water table – a critical resource for all in dry years. ... ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: To relax demand on groundwater, Modesto Irrigation District sells river water to neighbors
San Luis Obispo County out of drought emergency, but water supply remains an issue: “The region isn’t in the clear when it comes to water supply and demand, but officials say San Luis Obispo County is no longer in a “drought emergency.” A staff report shows the region switched from the most-intense drought in March 2014 to the least-intense drought in March 2017. “Although the local emergency has been lifted, it will take us years to fully recover from the five-year drought,” said Dan Buckshi, county administrative officer. ... ” Read more from KSBY here: San Luis Obispo County out of drought emergency, but water supply remains an issue
A small invasive shellfish is playing havoc with Central Basin’s budget: “Resolving contamination issues with the quagga mussel, a small invasive shellfish, could make the difference between a slightly balanced budget and one that is seriously in the red for Central Basin Municipal Water District. The approximate $50.7 million budget, approved Monday by the Board of Directors, projects $1.7 million in revenue coming from selling water to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. Only right now, there’s no way to get water to the WRD because Los Angeles County won’t allow Central Basin’s supplier, the Metropolitan Water District, to deliver because of the contamination issues. … ” Read more from the San Gabriel Valley Times here: A small invasive shellfish is playing havoc with Central Basin’s budget
Along the Colorado River …
Members question move to suspend Glen Canyon advisory group: “For twenty years now, representatives from federal agencies, six tribal nations, seven Colorado River basin states, two energy associations and several environmental and recreational groups have come together for biannual meetings to improve operations of Glen Canyon Dam. The group is tasked with making recommendations to the Bureau of Reclamation on how to manage the dam to best protect resources downstream. But now the work of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group has screeched to a halt. In a memorandum issued earlier this month, the Department of Interior suspended the group’s work, along with the work of more than 200 other boards, committees, subcommittees, commissions and other advisory bodies. … ” Read more from the Arizona Sun here: Members question move to suspend Glen Canyon advisory group
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
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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.
