In California water news today, San Francisco has an idea for the river it shares with Modesto and Turlock districts; State announces strategy to aid salmon, steelhead in the Sacramento Valley; Redding: Work will change the way water flows through park; Oroville fish hatchery open for viewing; salmon arriving slowly; New Upper Truckee River channel being tested; Cleanup helps keep water from Lake Berryessa drinkable; Solano water agency pumping money into Putah creek, habitat restoration; San Joaquin County: Slow trickle of progress on groundwater reform; Rising seas could swamp shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant by next century; Threat of wetland deregulation inspires records suit; Climate change raises new risk: Are inland bridges too low?; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The State Water Resources Control Board will meet this morning beginning at 9am. Agenda items include a presentation by the Golden Gate Salmon Association on the status of Bay-Delta and Klamath salmon runs. Click here for the full agenda.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
San Francisco has an idea for the river it shares with Modesto and Turlock districts: “The discussion of flows on the lower Tuolumne River will return to the Turlock Irrigation District boardroom Tuesday. Directors will consider endorsing a proposal from San Francisco, another river user, that is an alternative to the major flow increases sought by a state agency for native salmon and steelhead trout. The idea is familiar: The reservoir releases would not have to be so great if the plan also included measures such as enhancing spawning gravel and reducing predation by non-native bass. This has support from other water suppliers on the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers — all affected by the state plan. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: San Francisco has an idea for the river it shares with Modesto and Turlock districts
State announces strategy to aid salmon, steelhead in the Sacramento Valley: “A recent study done by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences found that nearly 45 percent of the 32 species of the state’s native salmon and trout could be extinct within the next 50 years due to habitat loss, water diversions, dams and warmer temperatures brought on by climate change. State officials released a strategic plan Friday aimed at reducing risks associated with different stages of migration for salmon and steelhead throughout the Sacramento Valley river system. “These resiliency strategies are an exciting new path for improving conditions for fish and wildlife in the Sacramento Valley,” said David Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association. … ” Read more from the Appeal-Democrat here: State announces strategy to aid salmon, steelhead in the Sacramento Valley
Redding: Work will change the way water flows through park: “State and federal agencies have big plans to change the way water flows through Anderson River Park. Over the next few years, channels will be dug throu the undeveloped portion of the park – more than 100 acres of thickets, wetlands and trails used by hikers, equestrians and anglers – allowing the river to flow through the area. … ” Read more from the Redding Record-Searchlight here: Redding: Work will change the way water flows through park
Oroville fish hatchery open for viewing; salmon arriving slowly: “Pieces of the Feather River Fish Hatchery have been patched back together in time for the return of spring-run chinook salmon. However, the shoveling, shifting and trucking will continue for a while until its smooth swimming for the important fish-rearing station on Table Mountain Boulevard. This week, staff has begun to trap spring-run fish that will be tagged before being released back to the river. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Oroville fish hatchery open for viewing; salmon arriving slowly
New Upper Truckee River channel being tested: “With the Upper Truckee River being about two weeks out from reaching its peak flow and the river well beyond its banks, it is too soon to completely assess what worked and what didn’t in regards to the new channel near Lake Tahoe Airport. It will likely be mid-July before officials are able to access all areas, with work not being able to start until mid-August. The river hit 979 cubic feet per second on June 4. The channel was designed to handle 375 cfs. The winter storms and subsequent runoff are equivalent to a 10-year storm – as in, this amount of water will occur once every 10 years. … ” Read more from Lake Tahoe News here: New Upper Truckee River channel being tested
Cleanup helps keep water from Lake Berryessa drinkable: “Lake Berryessa supplies drinking water for more than 500,000 people in the area. To keep it clean and usable, the Lake Berryessa Watershed Partnership held a day of cleanup Sunday to celebrate World Environment Day. Mike Easter, his wife, Erin, and friend Kit Nelson used gloves, a picking tool and a bag while walking around the lake to gather garbage. They are members of the Solano Republican Party, but this event wasn’t about politics for them. … ” Read more from the Daily Republic here: Cleanup helps keep water from Lake Berryessa drinkable
Solano water agency pumping money into Putah creek, habitat restoration: “Roland Sanford probably feels a bit as if he has come full circle as general manager of the Solano County Water Agency. The first full-time employee of the agency in 1990, he returned after a 13-year absence to help lead the organization into a very different water world. “The world has changed a lot, and water districts have changed from when it was about water supply, (to) it is now resource management,” Sanford said. ... ” Read more from the Davis Enterprise here: Solano water agency pumping money into Putah creek, habitat restoration
San Joaquin County: Slow trickle of progress on groundwater reform: “The first step toward sustaining one of San Joaquin County’s most precious resources took nearly two years. And it may have been the easiest part of the journey. Still, local officials sound optimistic about their efforts to comply with the state’s new groundwater mandate, largely because the county’s diverse, sometimes feuding water agencies have agreed to at least sit down at the table and talk about it. … ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Slow trickle of progress on groundwater reform
Rising seas could swamp shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant by next century: “Southern California Edison’s plan to store 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station has citizen activist Ray Lutz on edge. “It’s only 100 feet from the seawall to the edge of where the deposit is,” Lutz said. The permit from the California Coastal Commission for the storage is for 20 years. But Lutz contends that the permit is practically permanent because there’s no long-term nuclear waste storage site in the United States. … ” Read more from KPBS here: Rising seas could swamp shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant by next century
Threat of wetland deregulation inspires records suit: “Worried that federal regulators will weaken federal wetland protections, a nonprofit brought a federal complaint to expose whether outside groups influenced an executive order targeting the Clean Water Rule. “The Clean Water Act is our most important safeguard for the health of the nation’s waters and wetlands, so the public has a right to know why Trump’s EPA is doing the bidding of special-interest polluters,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement about the group’s June 1 lawsuit. ... ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Threat of wetland deregulation inspires records suit
Climate change raises new risk: Are inland bridges too low? “A century-old train trestle stands as one of the trophies of Des Moines’ push to spruce up its downtown. Bicyclists and pedestrians pose for pictures beside the brightly painted beams of the Red Bridge and gather on viewing platforms overlooking the Des Moines River. But little more than a decade after it was restored, crews went back to the site with a crane to hoist the span 4½ feet (1.4 meters) higher, at a cost of $3 million, after experts concluded that the river’s flooding risk was nearly double earlier estimates. Climate change was likely to blame. … ” Read more from McClatchy DC here: Climate change raises new risk: Are inland bridges too low?
In commentary today …
Delta tunnels won’t help on climate change, says Barbara Barrigan-Parilla: She writes, “Dan Morain suggests the proposed Delta tunnels offer a solution for managing California’s water in our changing climate. (“Brown sends a message on the Delta tunnels,” Insight, June 1). This argument misses the mark. The engineering report for the California WaterFix project indicates that the proposed new intakes at the town of Hood are being designed for 18 inches of sea level rise, yet the Delta Stewardship Council indicates that we should be planning for 55 inches of sea level rise. The $17 billion tunnels will likely become a stranded asset. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Delta tunnels won’t help on climate change
Why an unpopular idea could be the Salton Sea’s best solution: William Rukeyser writes, “Take a highly mineralized, terminal lake that is below sea level and is shrinking because its traditional water sources are being diverted. Add the historic and environmental importance of the lake and decades of jealousy, grievance and distrust between countries in the vicinity. Then figure in the quenchless thirst of nearby agriculture and growing populations. That is the recipe for a problem with no reasonable solution. In the Middle East it is called the Dead Sea. In the Far West it’s the Salton Sea. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Why an unpopular idea could be the Salton Sea’s best solution
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.
