In California water news today, California faces its first big deadline for groundwater law; Winter runoff stressing Delta levees; National Republicans target California water needs in new ads against House Democrats; Reclamation nominee wins mostly acceptance and a little wait and see; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Watershed Health Indicator & Data Science Symposium presented by SWAMP begins at 9am. Click here for more information. Click here to watch on webcast.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
California faces its first big deadline for groundwater law: “Brett Baker is a sixth-generation pear farmer on Sutter Island in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. His orchards are surrounded by levees, and water from the Sacramento River regularly percolates inward and upward through the soil. “We actually have to pump out water that creeps through our levees back into the river – we have to fight to keep groundwater levels down,” Baker says. His situation is unusual. In much of the state, groundwater supplies have diminished precipitously through decades of heavy pumping, which led to the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 to regulate groundwater use and reverse aquifer depletion. ... ” Read more from Water Deeply here: California faces its first big deadline for groundwater law
Winter runoff stressing Delta levees: “For engineer Christopher Neudeck, the levee reinforcement near Discovery Bay is just one small piece of a giant challenge left by an extraordinary winter. “If that levee were to fail, the lake, the golf course, the commercial area in here, that would all go under water” says Neudeck, pointing to a map of Discovery Bay in his Stockton office. The last time KPIX covered his team at work was mid-winter, repairing a delta levee that almost failed on Tyler Island. Now it’s late June, and a new risk is flowing along California’s levees. ... ” Read more from CBS San Francisco here: Winter runoff stressing Delta levees
National Republicans target California water needs in new ads against House Democrats: “The National Republican Congressional Committee is going after five California Democrats for votes on a water issue. The online ads are identical except for one line tailored to target each Democrat: Reps. John Garamendi of Walnut Grove, Ami Bera of Elk Grove, Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara, Raul Ruiz of Palm Desert and Scott Peters of San Diego. They specifically are about the Democrats voting against a bill to funnel dam permits through a single federal agency in an effort to speed up new water storage projects. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: National Republicans target California water needs in new ads against House Democrats
Reclamation nominee wins mostly acceptance and a little wait and see: “President Donald Trump’s nomination of a Bureau of Reclamation veteran to head the agency with primary responsibility on the Colorado River won the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton and a cautious reaction from U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, both Republicans. Brenda Burman is an excellent choice with a strong background in Western water issues, Tipton’s office said. Much of the river’s course in Colorado runs through Tipton’s 3rd Congressional district. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation here: Reclamation nominee wins mostly acceptance and a little wait and see
In commentary today …
There’s no green light for terrible Delta tunnels, says Congressman John Garamendi: He writes, “The blaring headlines this week said the biological opinions issued by the federal government gave what could be a final green light to the California WaterFix. Wrong. There is no green light for this $15 billion boondoggle. The agencies only examined phase one, which is limited to the construction of the Delta twin tunnels themselves and the expansion of Clifton Court Forebay – not the project’s real environmental danger of actually moving water through the tunnels. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: There’s no green light for terrible Delta tunnels
In regional news and commentary today …
DWR donates $20,000 for Oroville fireworks show: “The Lake Oroville fireworks funding usually comes from boat owners at the lake who watch the display from the water. This year, it’s coming from the Department of Water Resources. The celebration is moving to the Thermalito Forebay for Tuesday’s display, which means the lake marinas and boat owners, along with donators from Kelly Ridge, haven’t given as much for the show. … ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury Register here: DWR donates $20,000 for Oroville fireworks show
At Jenner Headlands Preserve, work begins to provide public access: “Construction work is beginning next week on a parking lot, trailhead and other amenities needed to provide public access to the 5,630-acre Jenner Headlands Preserve, putting exploration of the coastal hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean nearly within reach of the average Joe. For free. Still, it will be next spring before visitors are allowed unsupervised onto the rugged landscape that rises abruptly from the coastal shores just north of the Russian River estuary. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: At Jenner Headlands Preserve, work begins to provide public access
Lake Mendocino to stay full this summer: “Lake Mendocino is nearly brimming this summer, providing great views and fishing opportunity for those itching to take advantage of the exceptionally wet winter’s bounty. As evidence that California’s drought has ended, a few recreation areas at the lake are not accessible due to flooded roads. Fewer than 6 miles from downtown Ukiah, about half a million visitors are drawn to the lake each year, what the Army Corps of Engineers’ Chris Schooley calls Ukiah’s “backyard gem.” … ” Read more from the Ukiah Daily Journal here: Lake Mendocino to stay full this summer
Where Trump budget cuts could affect Bay Area conservation: “President Trump and his approach to environmental protection, conservation, and science—it’s about as antediluvian as anyone could have imagined. While there’s some comfort in knowing California will continue to blaze its own trail on environmental issues, Washington, D.C.’s financial tentacles into our state, though not always obvious, are important. Federal agencies and the funding they bring to the San Francisco Bay Area are critical to our local environment in myriad and veiled ways. More than 150,000 acres of land in our region falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, while our national marine sanctuaries help protect one of the most biologically productive shorelines in the world. … ” Read more from Bay Nature here: Where Trump budget cuts could affect Bay Area conservation
Silicon Valley is home to more toxic Superfund sites than anywhere else in the nation: “Before the sleek tech campuses, Silicon Valley was a thoroughly industrial landscape, producing the world’s computer chips and other high-tech components. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, when the manufacturing industry moved to East Asia, that meant the toxic chemicals used to make computer chips, semiconductors, and the like were being handled and dumped (sometimes literally) in California tech companies’ backyards. And that manufacturing legacy lives on in a huge amount of highly contaminated soil. California’s Santa Clara County, the seat of Silicon Valley, has more federal Superfund sites than anywhere else in the US. … ” Read more from Quartz here: Silicon Valley is home to more toxic Superfund sites than anywhere else in the nation
Residents in the area of Kings River country club cleanup flood aftermath: “In the aftermath of the Kings River flooding, mandatory evacuations in the area of the Kings River Golf and Country Club are now downgraded to voluntary evacuations. The advisory covers the areas of Avenue 393 to Avenue 408 and Road 28 to Road 33. The Pine Flat Dam is 99 percent full and more flooding could be on the way. Three days after the Kings River invaded Doreen Dalby’s home, she’s finally making headway and cleaning up what she can. A humidifier and fans dry out what’s left of her garage. Dalby documented what her neighborhood looked like moments before two levees broke and the flooded aftermath. … ” Read more from Your Central Valley here: Residents in the area of Kings River country club cleanup flood aftermath
Santa Maria sells water to South Coast cities: “The city of Santa Maria is unloading 4,000 acre-feet of its State Water Project allotment to South Coast water agencies this year. “We can do this because basically our city has two sources of water: local groundwater and imported state water,” city spokesperson Mark van de Kamp told the Sun. Santa Maria is looking at a “surplus” of water, van de Kamp said, and thought it would lend a hand to the cities of Santa Barbara and Montecito—both had to borrow water from other state water contractors to make it through the worst parts of the recent drought. The South County cities are purchasing 2,000 acre-feet each from Santa Maria at $225 per acre-foot in order to repay their water debt to the Antelope Valley East Kern Water Agency. … ” Read more from the Santa Maria Sun here: Santa Maria sells water to South Coast cities
Health officials issue water contact advisory in Lake Isabella area: “Local health officials have issued a water contact advisory after blue-green algae was found in the Lake Isabella area. According to officials, the blue-green algae is potentially harmful and they are warning the community to use caution and avoid contact with the water. … ” Read more from Channel 12 here: Health officials issue water contact advisory in Lake Isabella area
How Mesa Water plans to save $8.6 million: Start a pension trust and refinance debt: “The Mesa Water District has made a series of monetary maneuvers that officials believe will save the agency about $8.96 million over the next decade. Those steps include a pension trust to help eliminate the district’s unfunded pension liability, most recently calculated at nearly $6.7 million, according to a news release. Such a trust is intended for Mesa Water to sock away money that later can be transferred to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or CalPERS. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: How Mesa Water plans to save $8.6 million: Start a pension trust and refinance debt
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Sign up for daily email service and you’ll never miss a post …
Sign up for free daily email service and you’ll get all the Notebook’s aggregated and original water news content delivered to your email box by 9AM. And with breaking news alerts, you’ll always be one of the first to know …
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.
