DAILY DIGEST: A leap in lampreys: Unlovely fish make welcome comeback; Team investigating spillway wants public input; Construction on Oroville spillway ahead of schedule; Toxic blue-green algae spurs warning for some waters in California; and more …

In California water news today, A leap in lampreys: Unlovely fish make welcome comeback; Team investigating spillway wants public input; Construction on Oroville spillway ahead of schedule; Toxic blue-green algae spurs warning for some waters in California; California’s near-record snowpack is melting into raging rivers; Snow and rain tug on earthquake faults in California; Monsoon picking up over Southwest: heat and moisture across much of California; and more …

In the news today …

A leap in lampreys: Unlovely fish make welcome comeback:  “This year’s historic gush of water through California’s rivers brings the dawning of a renaissance for lampreys, a peculiar fish that migrates upstream to spawn but without the fanfare of its salmon and steelhead compatriots.  On a recent afternoon in wooded hills some 150 miles north of San Francisco, dozens of lampreys — commonly called eels because of their snake-like figures — were doing something that can be startling to the uninitiated: They were using their sucker mouths and thorny teeth in an attempt to hoist their slippery bodies up and over the concrete face of 50-foot Van Arsdale Dam. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here:  A leap in lampreys: Unlovely fish make welcome comeback

Team investigating spillway wants public input:  “The independent team looking to close the case of what caused the Oroville Dam spillways to fail in February is seeking tips and taking questions.  The group is interested in any information which may be helpful to its investigation, which could relate to physical or human factors, according to an announcement emailed Friday by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. … ”  Read more from the Oroville Mercury News here:  Team investigating spillway wants public input

Construction on Oroville spillway ahead of schedule:  “California water officials said construction to rebuild the spillways at Lake Oroville is ahead of schedule.  Officials aimed to complete reconstruction by Nov. 1, ahead of the rainy season.  Dry weather conditions allowed crews to start rebuilding the spillways early. ... ”  View the video from KCRA here:  Construction on Oroville spillway ahead of schedule

Toxic blue-green algae spurs warning for some waters in California:  “Blue-green algae has prompted authorities to issue a warning to people to avoid swimming in ponds, rivers, and streams in parts of northern California.  The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the warning was issued for Napa County after two dogs died last week after swimming in a pond near Huichica Creek.  The warning was not the first of its kind for California. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento here:  Toxic blue-green algae spurs warning for some waters in California

California’s near-record snowpack is melting into raging rivers:  “Two years ago, near the end of California’s devastating drought, Tom Moore stood on the banks of the depleted Kern River in Southern California and looked out at the slow-moving waters dejectedly.  “We call that a creek,” he said of the mighty Kern.  Moore is the owner of Sierra South, a white-water recreation company in Kernville, Calif. And with the drought, there wasn’t much in the way of white water.  Oh, how things change. … ” Read more from NPR here:  California’s near-record snowpack is melting into raging rivers

Snow and rain tug on earthquake faults in California:  “Winter weather brings seismic tremors. A new study reveals how water buildup and runoff throughout the year can increase stress along faults in California, triggering small earthquakes.  “This kind of observation is extremely important to constrain our models of earthquakes,” says Jean-Philippe Avouac, a geologist at Caltech who was not involved in the study. Improved models could ultimately help scientists better forecast seismic activity. ... ”  Read more from Science News here:  Snow and rain tug on earthquake faults in California

Monsoon picking up over Southwest: heat and moisture across much of California:  “After a relatively mild spring across most of California, June brought quite the reversal. A prolonged, record-breaking, and unusually “muggy” heatwave enveloped nearly all of California for multiple weeks, and temperatures have only fallen back to average over the past few days. This remarkable early-season heatwave set innumerable daily temperature records across the American Southwest, tied or broke several June monthly records, and actually exceeded or tied the hottest temperature on record at a handful of sites (including Needles, CA and Las Vegas, NV). The very prolonged nature of the heat, combined with the presence of an unusually humid airmass over Northern California, made the human impact of the heat even worse–and also led to consecutive “hot day” and record warm overnight temperature records being set in a number of locations. ... ”  Continue reading at the California Weather Blog here:  Monsoon picking up over Southwest: heat and moisture across much of California

In commentary today …

Costly approval doesn’t guarantee the Governor’s tunnels, says the San Francisco Chronicle:  They write, “Federal wildlife officials gave the first approval last week to Gov. Jerry Brown’s decade-old plan to re-engineer California’s water system by building twin tunnels to ship water around the delta to cities and farms.  It’s a regrettable step in a long, costly and politically charged approval process with an uncertain outcome. It doesn’t make sense to spend $17 billion to move water instead of investing in water saving and reuse.  Within 72 hours, environmental groups and fishing interests sued, saying the agencies are failing to protect native salmon and allowing the river to degrade further. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here:  Costly approval doesn’t guarantee the Governor’s tunnels

Regional news and commentary …

Toxic blue-green algae kills two dogs in Napa as warnings proliferate:  “Two dogs have been killed by toxic blue-green algae in a Napa County pond as warnings of similar blooms proliferate in California.  The dogs died last week after swimming in a pond off Milton Road in Napa, report Napa County health officials. Warnings about similar blue-green algae blooms also have been issued for Lake Temescal in Oakland and San Luis Reservoir in Merced County.  Health officials advise people to avoid close contact with bodies of water containing blue-green algae and not to eat fish caught there. ... ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here:  Toxic blue-green algae kills two dogs in Napa as warnings proliferate

Farmers lose thousands of dollars worth of crops in Kings River flooding:  “The sights and sounds of rushing water surround Kings River farming. One operation has roughly 200 acres of Mandarin varieties along the river.  “I would say there’s about 30 acres that’s underwater,” manager Brian Bedrosian.  Each acre holds more than 200 trees. … ”  Read more from KFSN here:  Farmers lose thousands of dollars worth of crops in Kings River flooding

Column: We’re letting Fresno’s greatest natural treasure get trashed, simply by doing nothing:  Marek Warszawski writes, “Look carefully, from beneath the sprawling branches of a magnificent valley oak, and you can still see a couple 2x4s with nails poking through.  “There’s not much of it left,” Richard Sloan says wistfully.  In the summer of 1964, a 14-year-old Sloan and a couple friends built a three-story tree fort in these branches. Why this particular tree? Because it grew alongside the San Joaquin River. … ”  Read more from the Fresno Bee here:  We’re letting Fresno’s greatest natural treasure get trashed, simply by doing nothing

How Monte Vista Water District is helping customers monitor water use:  “Monte Vista Water District would like to help its customers use water more efficiently and to do that it is offering a free app — in both English and Spanish — that makes it easier for residents to track their usage.  Dropcountr let’s people know how much water they have used based on the most recent meter readings. The data is the same information customers would find on their bills with one exception, said Justin Scott-Coe, water resources and community affairs manager for the Monte Vista Water District.  “The app allows them to put it into context,” Scott-Coe said. ... ”  Read more from the Inland Daily Bulletin here:  How Monte Vista Water District is helping customers monitor water use

San Bernardino water agencies import record amount of state water:  “San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and retail water agencies are taking advantage of the wet year in Northern California and importing the record amount to help replenish local groundwater supplies.  San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District is pacing itself to import a record 86,000 acre feet of State Water Project water this year from Northern California, the district announced today.  “This will be the greatest amount of water we have imported since we first started taking deliveries of State Water Project water in 1972,” said Bob Tincher, manager of water resources for Valley District. … ”  Read more from Highland News here:  San Bernardino water agencies import record amount of state water

Western Municipal looking to spin off Murietta water customers:  “Barbara Ankele wants to know why her water district wants to stop serving her community.  “Things have been going along smoothly for 12 years, I don’t understand the reason why, suddenly, it’s not working,” she said Thursday.  On Wednesday afternoon, Western Municipal Water District officials and board members met in Murrieta’s City Hall to discuss unloading the Murrieta division, a swath of land in the southwestern part of the city that Western has been servicing since the mid-2000s. ... ”  Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here:  Western Municipal looking to spin off Murietta water customers

Magic in a Bottle: Orange County launches recycled water giveaway:  “In 2008, Orange County Water District in southern California began a bold effort to transform sewage into drinking water.  In partnership with the Orange County Sanitation District, it uses micro-filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light to purify locally generated treated wastewater. The finished water then gets pumped into local groundwater aquifers, where it becomes part of the municipal drinking supply.  Today, after an investment of some $600 million, the district’s Groundwater Replenishment System is the world’s largest producer of purified wastewater. And it has just launched a new program to spread the gospel. … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  Magic in a Bottle: Orange County launches recycled water giveaway

That rotten egg smell is from a dying California lake:  “Noxious fumes smelling of rotten eggs filled the air surrounding Coachella Valley on a hot day last month, triggering a warning alert from Southern California air quality regulators.  The culprit: the evaporating Salton Sea.  The saline lake is California’s largest, but it’s shrinking and growing saltier. Especially in extreme heat, the lake sends high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide into the air. The gas can cause headaches, nausea and dizziness, and in some cases, lead to asthma, according to public health officials. ... ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here:  That rotten egg smell is from a dying California lake

More news and commentary in the weekend edition …

• DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Can fish catch a break with the tunnels? It depends; A snapshot of the Cal Water Fix hearings at the State Water Board; Is California’s response to sea level rise enough?; Lois Henry on John Vidovich and his water plans; and more …

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

• NEWS WORTH NOTING: Oroville Forensic Investigation Team welcomes information about spillway incident; Feinstein, others introduce residential water conservation bill; San Luis Reservoir algal bloom at danger level; LA County’s water affordability crisis
• ANNOUNCEMENT: California Water Commission: Ex Parte Communication Policy for Water Storage Investment Program
• ANNOUNCEMENT:Reclamation Releases Final Environmental Documents for San Joaquin River Restoration Program Seepage Management Actions
• ANNOUNCEMENT:Release of Draft Bacteria Provisions and Draft Staff Report with Substitute Environmental Documentation

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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.