In California water news today, To prevent Pine Flat Dam from being overtopped, more water sent down the Kings River; Kings River flows increased; The Sierra snowpack is massive – and melting fast; Runoff from record winter could damage secret archaeological site; Calaveras County Water District joins water conservation fight; Rep. Tom McClintock’s bill to streamline dam projects passes house largely on party lines; David Sedlak on California, the drought, and the ‘yuck’ factor; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Central Valley Flood Protection Board meets from 9am to 2pm. Agenda items include a monthly update from DWR, an update on the State Plan of Flood Control, and an action item regarding the Delta Levee subventions program. Click here for the agenda and webcast link.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
To prevent Pine Flat Dam from being overtopped, more water sent down the Kings River: “Water releases from Pine Flat Dam were ratcheted up Thursday as federal officials worked to prevent the reservoir from overtopping the dam. Water flows from the eastern Fresno County dam were expected to reach 14,640 cubic feet per second Thursday evening. Ramped-up releases in the Kings will take place over the next few days, said Tyler Stalker, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dam. The facility can hold 1 million acre-feet of water, and on Thursday was at 98 percent of its capacity. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee here: To prevent Pine Flat Dam from being overtopped, more water sent down the Kings River
Kings River flows increased: “Earlier this week, officials monitoring the Kings River thought they had seen peak snowmelt for the season. Turns out they were wrong. Wednesday night, the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Pine Flat Dam/Reservoir, upped releases to 14,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). The Corps was slated to increase that by 300 cfs at 4 p.m. Thursday and release an additional 300 cfs at 7 p.m. Thursday, according to Randy McFarland, a spokesman for the Kings River Water Association. … ” Read more from the Hanford Sentinel here: Kings River flows increased
The Sierra snowpack is massive – and melting fast: “The barrage of storms that pounded the Sierra Nevada this winter and spring added up to a snowpack that’s massive. Amid a major heat wave all of that snow is now melting — and fast. How fast? One way to quantify the speed of the melt is by measuring the runoff, the rate at which water is flowing down the mountain, along rivers and into reservoirs. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: The Sierra snowpack is massive – and melting fast
Runoff from record winter could damage secret archaeological site: “Runoff from our wet winter could be damaging a piece of California history—a secret archaeological site along the Sacramento River. “This part of California was heavily populated,” said Jelmer Eerkens, an archaeologist professor at UC Davis. “Archeology is one of the means that we can recover and preserve information about the people who were here before us,” said Eerkens. He says there are hundreds of Native American sites along the Sacramento River. One site in particular, which we have decided not to name, is protected and maintained by the City of Sacramento and several other agencies. ... ” Read more from CBS Sacramento here: Runoff from record winter could damage secret archaeological site
Calaveras County Water District joins water conservation fight: “In May of last year, Gov. Jerry Brown called upon agencies and lawmakers at the state level to create legislation that would make “Water conservation a way of life” in California, but lawmakers are at odds on how to make that a reality. … Calaveras County Water District Public Information Officer Joel Metzger said that state water agencies offered a preliminary framework, which was then responded to by local water utilities. “They came out with a draft of this framework and from what we saw in the draft, we really didn’t like what we saw,” said Metzger. “It was a big shift from local control over water conservation policy to more of a state control. The state water board would be the main controlling entity on the water conservation agency.” … ” Read more from the Calaveras Enterprise here: Calaveras County Water District joins water conservation fight
Rep. Tom McClintock’s bill to streamline dam projects passes house largely on party lines: “Dam permits would be funneled through a single federal agency in an effort to speed up new water storage projects under a bill that passed the House on Thursday. Sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove), the 233-180 vote was largely along partisan lines. Reps. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and six other Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the bill. McClintock said the various local, state and federal agencies that must sign off on new projects don’t have to communicate or set deadlines, and often require redundant information from permit applicants, which can make the application process drag on for years and drive up costs. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Rep. Tom McClintock’s bill to streamline dam projects passes house largely on party lines
David Sedlak on California, the drought, and the ‘yuck’ factor: “Although hydrologists say California has emerged from its most recent drought, how cities get their water is weighing on the state’s experts—now more than ever. David Sedlak, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley, says our urban water infrastructure, mostly built after World War II as California underwent massive development, needs a major upgrade in order to keep our cities thriving well into the future. “When you think about how we use water in the West, our cities are the lifeblood of our economy,” he says. … ” Read more from PhysOrg here: David Sedlak on California, the drought, and the ‘yuck’ factor
In commentary today …
Legislators see no problem with dam secrecy, says the Chico Enterprise-Record: They write, “The state agency in charge of Lake Oroville prefers secrecy, and it has an enabler in Gov. Jerry Brown. Now Democrats in the Legislature are on board, voting to keep the public in the dark. We hoped elected officials would have endangered citizens in mind. Sadly, we were wrong. There’s no good rationale for what the Assembly approved last week on a straight party-line vote. Senate Bill 92 requires that emergency response plans be developed but kept secret. The vote was 55-23, with only Democrats in favor. The bill is an insult. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Legislators see no problem with dam secrecy
In regional news and commentary today …
Wet winter brings lampreys – ‘the stuff nightmares are made of’ – to the Feather River: “Winter flooding and copious spring snowmelt have brought frightening-looking creatures to Northern California waterways in a sight one observer called “the stuff nightmares are made of.” They’re Pacific lampreys, a parasitic type of primitive fish, resembling eels, that latch onto to their prey with a round, sucker-like mouth. They’re native to state waterways, but they aren’t typically seen near Lake Oroville. … ” Read more from KTLA here: Wet winter brings lampreys – ‘the stuff nightmares are made of’ – to the Feather River
Blue-green algae in Clear Lake alarms public: “Over the weekend, a number of people took to social media in an effort to find out what the recent bright blue substances that are still occurring in Clear Lake are all about. Sightings were reported in different areas of the Lake including Lucerne, Nice, and Clearlake. People are now questioning whether and when it is safe to return to the water. Tribes, who conduct biweekly water monitoring in the Lake, might have answers to many of the questions posted. … ” Continue reading at the Record-Bee here: Blue-green algae in Clear Lake alarms public
Santa Rosa well project taps rural residents’ fears: “Santa Rosa officials working to boost the city’s backup water supply have tapped into deep fears among residents of a Rincon Valley neighborhood that the installation of an emergency well near their homes might threaten their own water supplies. About 60 people turned out Wednesday evening to air concerns and learn more about the city’s plan to install a test well on a vacant property on Speers Road the city purchased in December. The goal is to install a deep well — up to 700 feet — capable of producing up to 500,000 gallons per day in the event the city’s primary water supply, most of which comes from the Russian River, is ever compromised. ... ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Santa Rosa well project taps rural residents’ fears
Spillway review ordered at Bullards Bar: “The Yuba County Water Agency will do a spillway analysis at Bullards Bar Reservoir after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requested it. The agency this week confirmed in a letter to FERC that it would begin the inspection process next month. … Tim Truong, the agency’s chief dam safety engineer, wrote that the agency was responding to a May 23 letter from FERC “requesting a plan and schedule to complete an assessment of New Bullards Bar Dam Spillway.” … ” Read more from the Appeal-Democrat here: Spillway review ordered at Bullards Bar
Fences going in to water along Lake Tahoe shoreline removed: “With the water level rising in Lake Tahoe, new issues have surfaced with the placement of fences at three parcels on the Nevada side that have extended into the lake. During recent drought years, the fences didn’t touch water. One fence was located at the new Tahoe Beach Club in Stateline, another at a private home just north of Cave Rock, and the third at a home in the Elks Point Country Club in Zephyr Cove. The three property fences were brought to the attention of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) by Anthony Spatucci of DayGoAdventures after he took photos of them as he was paddling on the water. … ” Read more from Lake Tahoe News here: Fences going in to water along Lake Tahoe shoreline removed
Stockton: Hope floats at Lost Isle: “Lost Isle, the Delta’s once-dominant party resort, will reopen in April 2018 after a decade of closure, says its long-suffering but hangin’-in-there owner. The remodeled thatched-roofed bar/restaurant and grounds finally complied with shifting regulations, said Southern California businessman Dave Wheeler. The long-anticipated reopening could have come this summer — had not runoff from the Sierra’s outsized snowpack flooded 85 percent of the island. “The island had not flooded since 1998, and it flooded for a month and a half to two months this year,” said Wheeler, a poster boy for obstacles confronting Delta investors. ... ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Stockton: Hope floats at Lost Isle
Ridgecrest: Danes present data gathering service to Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority: “Representatives from the Danish Ministry of Public Affairs and SkyTEM gave a presentation about their technology that gathers data on water resources at the IWV Groundwater Authority board meeting on Thursday, June 15. … “What are a bunch of Danes doing in California? The short answer is that the Danes want to be known for more than mermaids” Vind said at the beginning of his presentation. He also explained that Denmark is birthplace of Lego, and his presentation occasionally used lego blocks to demonstrate various water principles. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Ridgecrest: Danes present data gathering service to Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority
Ridgecrest: Christensen talks water with Rotary Club: “Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority General Manager Alan Christensen spoke about IWVGA’s water sustainability mission with the Rotary Club of China Lake on Wednesday. In addition to his own presentation, he handed out spreadsheets and took questions. His goal was to explain the most critical issue in IWV today: how to find water sustainability. “It’s really an accounting exercise we’re going through,” he said, explaining that rather than budgeting money, the IWVGA is budgeting water. ... ” Continue reading at the Ridgecrest Independent here: Christensen talks water with Rotary Club
Noozhawk asks, Why is Lake Cachuma not getting more state water, given the record snowpack? “The Central Coast Water Authority is in charge of distributing and treating State Water Project deliveries for Santa Barbara County, including the water pipeline system that goes into Lake Cachuma. “We are continuing to get State Water to Lake Cachuma,” CCWA Executive Director Ray Stokes said. “We are pumping as much as we can to the lake.” The CCWA pipeline can pump a maximum of 38- to 40 acre-feet of water per day into Lake Cachuma, Stokes said. ... ” Read more from Noozhawk here: Noozhawk asks, Why is Lake Cachuma not getting more state water, given the record snowpack?
What’s that smell? If you’re in the San Fernando Valley, it could be your water: “That musty stench in your sink this week may be coming from Los Angeles drinking water across the San Fernando Valley. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power attributes “an earthy or musty odor” in tap water that has been the subject of complaints this week by Valley customers to a harmless algae bloom caused by downpours in the Owens Valley. The utility did not send out a news release to local media about the smell, but posted an online statement Tuesday after reports by two TV stations saying it was sending out notices to its Valley customers. … ” Read more from the Los Angeles Daily News here: What’s that smell? If you’re in the San Fernando Valley, it could be your water
Los Angeles awarded $4 million to capture more rainwater on North Hollywood, Pacoima streets: “Bioswale projects on medians and other surfaces along a handful of the east San Fernando Valley’s major roadways could be pulling double-duty soon to help conserve rainwater, while adding more greenery, thanks in part to a $4 million grant from the state’s coastal and waterway conservancy. The projects on five streets in Pacoima and North Hollywood will include the installation of native plants and will allow as much as 494 acre-feet of water — enough to supply 1,200 households — to filter annually through the soil. From there it heads into the Valley’s below-ground aquifers, according to Kara Kemmler, project manager for the Coastal Conservancy. … ” Read more from the Los Angeles Daily News here: Los Angeles awarded $4 million to capture more rainwater on North Hollywood, Pacoima streets
Southern California waters see an invasion of pyrosomes: “Southern California waters are experiencing an invasion of sorts by a strange sea creature called a pyrosome, and they’re making headlines up and down the coast. Imagine a tube-shaped jelly about the size of a thumb that glows in the dark — leading to its name “fire bodies.” They’re typically found in tropical waters, but scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently came across a huge population of pyrosomes off Southern California. Their nets captured more than 93,000 — the biggest local catch ever. … ” Read more from KPCC here: Southern California waters see an invasion of pyrosomes
Coachella Valley Water District expands incentive program: “Residents looking to convert their turf yards to desert-friendly landscape will soon be able to further capitalize on their water conservation efforts. The Coachella Valley Water District announced Wednesday it is doubling its lawn conversion incentive from $1 to $2 per square foot and increasing the total square footage for residential properties from 2,000 to 10,000 square feet. The change will take effect July 1 and run through the end of the 2017-2018 fiscal year while funds are available. Applicants must be customers in good standing with the water district and have their plans pre-approved. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Coachella Valley Water District expands incentive program
San Diego County Water Authority may suffer multi-million dollar blow: “A legal ruling that San Diego County water officials said would save customers here up to $7 billion has been overturned. A California appellate court on Wednesday partially reversed a 2015 trial court ruling that awarded the San Diego County Water Authority $234 million in alleged overcharges, interest and legal fees to be paid by longtime legal foes at the Los Angeles-based regional agency known as MWD, or the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: San Diego County Water Authority may suffer multi-million dollar blow
Friday flight over Oroville …
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.
