In California water news today, Your caffeine habit may be harming waterways, wildlife; With the drought waning, the future of desalination is murkier; Lathrop takes look at 200-year levee protection; Districts Hope To Hold Off Expensive Fish Passage At Lake Don Pedro, La Grange Dam; Success Lake: Sandbagging of spillway expected to begin today; Contaminated water in San Gabriel Valley gets $250 million boost, extending cleanup to 2027; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee will meet this afternoon at 1:45 pm. Click here for the agenda.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Your caffeine habit may be harming waterways, wildlife: “What would we do without caffeine? Millions of Americans rely on it in coffee, tea and energy drinks to prepare for a day at work, keep focused on a long drive or simply stay awake after a big lunch. But a dark side to the world’s most popular legal stimulant is slowly emerging. It turns out that our bodies don’t absorb all the caffeine we consume. Some gets expelled in our urine and ends up entering sewage systems or the environment, posing a threat to wildlife. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Your caffeine habit may be harming waterways, wildlife
With the drought waning, the future of desalination is murkier: “California is emerging from one of the worst droughts in its modern history, a dry spell that prompted emergency regulations and some deep reflections on the fragile nature of our water supplies. The recent rain and snow across much of the state seem to have given water agencies breathing room to think long and hard about one oft-floated solution that came up a lot during the drought: desalination. Santa Barbara just reopened a desalination plant it closed two decades ago, but it’s not sure how long it will be needed. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego here: With the drought waning, the future of desalination is murkier
Klamath water discord: Upper Basin ranchers seek solution with tribes: “Rancher Randall Kizer believes many Upper Klamath Basin landowners and the Klamath Tribes both want what’s best for the land, from which both draw their heritage. The Tribes recent call for water has shut off access for the cattlemen to the Wood River, which meanders through their ranches. Many fear a severe economic impact from the shutoff. Kizer serves as president of the Landowner’s Entity, a consortium of Upper Basin landowners, and as a member of the Klamath Critical Habitat board of directors. … ” Read more from the Herald and News here: Klamath water discord: Upper Basin ranchers seek solution with tribes
Lathrop takes look at 200-year levee protection: “Last year the City of Lathrop received the necessary “finding of adequate progress” that will allow them to continue to develop within the 200-year flood plain as long as they follow the plan that will lead to a massive levee overhaul to protect the city’s new housing. And now they’re making a push for an annual renewal that will allow the wheels of growth to continue in community that is helping make South San Joaquin County one of the fastest-growing regions in the State of California. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here: Lathrop takes look at 200-year levee protection
Districts Hope To Hold Off Expensive Fish Passage At Lake Don Pedro, La Grange Dam: “Two utility districts tied up in licensing Don Pedro Reservoir and La Grange Dam are continuing to push back against a looming potential mandate that they build a fish passage between the two. Well in the middle of the multi-year processes involved to re-license Don Pedro Reservoir while obtaining first-time licensing for La Grange Dam, the Turlock (TID) and Modesto (MID) irrigation districts, which share rights on the Tuolumne River and ownership of the Don Pedro Project and reservoir powerhouse, recently held a joint meeting updating the status of their applications. … ” Read more My Mother Lode here: Districts Hope To Hold Off Expensive Fish Passage At Lake Don Pedro, La Grange Dam
Success Lake: Sandbagging of spillway expected to begin today: “Work was expected to begin today to place approximately 1,000 sandbags on the spillway for Success Dam in an attempt to store as much water as possible this summer. Approval for the project came Friday and the project will take about a week to complete. Dan Vink, with the Lower Tule Irrigation District which manages releases from the dam, said he expects the extra water — about 10,000 acre feet — will fill up to within two feet of the top of the sandbags in about a month. ... ” Read more from the Porterville Recorder here: Success Lake: Sandbagging of spillway expected to begin today
Contaminated water in San Gabriel Valley gets $250 million boost, extending cleanup to 2027: “Five companies responsible for polluting the groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley have agreed to continue cleanup for another 10 years, sparing 400,000 residents higher water bills, a state agency announced Thursday. A new, 10-year agreement signed in mid-May will continue the operation of five treatment plants within the Baldwin Park-Azusa site, one of six zones containing underground plumes of water contaminated with carcinogens that make up a portion of the largest Superfund site in the United States. ... ” Read more from the Whittier Daily News here: Contaminated water in San Gabriel Valley gets $250 million boost, extending cleanup to 2027
Southern California: San Marcos company admits illegally dumping wastewater from portable toilets: “The owner of a San Marcos-based company admitted to illegally disposing of wastewater from thousands of portable toilets throughout Southern California, a practice that allowed the business to avoid up to $4.1 million in disposal fees, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Arie Eric De Jong III, 50, owner of Diamond Environmental Services, pleaded guilty Friday in San Diego federal court to conspiracy to unlawfully discharge pollutants. The company’s chief operation officer, Warren Van Dam, 50, pleaded guilty to a similar charge last month. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here: San Marcos company admits illegally dumping wastewater from portable toilets
As Lake Mead struggles, Arizona faces water cutbacks: “Water woes at Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, could have a bigger impact on Arizona than on any of the other states that it serves. A new report by Western Resource Advocates, a conservation group, identifies the stark challenges Arizona faces. “Arizona’s bank for 40 percent of its water — Lake Mead on the Colorado River — is being drained faster than it can be filled. … ” Read more from Water Online here: As Lake Mead struggles, Arizona faces water cutbacks
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for June 5
- Reaction to the State’s resiliency strategy for Sacramento Valley salmon and steelhead
- THIS JUST IN … State Launches Aggressive Strategy to Aid Salmon, Steelhead in the Sacramento Valley
Today’s announcements …
- NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS: Low Income Rate Assistance
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Delta Conservancy’s Draft 2017/2018 Proposition 1 Grant Guidelines open for comments
- ANNOUNCEMENT: State Water Board, and Six Partner Agencies, to Host Infrastructure Funding Fair in Tulare
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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.
