In California water news today, A nearly $17 billion water project is being planned for California. What will it cost the Southland?; Sites Reservoir backers ask for water bond money; Nevada Irrigation District applies for Centennial Dam funding; East Bay reservoir expansion plan wins support of environmental groups; Valley leaders request $1.3 billion for Temperance Flat Dam; Trump’s EPA is caving to chemical industry, environmental groups say; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The State Water Resources Control Board meets this morning beginning at 9:30am. Agenda items include an update on Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) implementation and summary of planned state intervention actions from the Department of Water Resources and State Water Resources Control Board, and an item on water rights permitting for fish and wildlife enhancement projects. Click here for the full agenda. Click here to watch on webcast.
- Brown Bag Seminar: Integrating Monitoring, Research, and Management: Leveling the Three-Legged Stool, from 12pm to 1pm. Dr. Jim Peterson will discuss how research, management, and monitoring are often portrayed as distinct endeavors, but are actually complementary, not competitive. The seminar will cover the basics of structured decision making, the use of integrated models, and a case study illustrating how the allocation of water effects the conservation of listed amphibian species. To view the informational flyer, please click here. Click here to join the online event.
- Webinar: California’s Epic Winter of Water Year 2017: In this presentation, Michael Anderson, California’s State Climatologist, will look back at the water year and examine the climate signals that facilitated the string of weather events that made water year 2017. Click here for more information. This event is free.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- BLOG ROUND-UP: California Water Fix, the Delta smelt, and salmon; MWD’s Cal Water Fix cost assessment; Federal reserved rights for groundwater?; Checks and balances and the Clean Water Act rule; and more …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING, water storage edition: Sites Reservoir, Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion, and Temperance Flat submit applications for Prop 1 funding
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: DWR Launches Salmon Spawning Improvement Project; Public invited to view the solar eclipse at Shasta Dam
A nearly $17 billion water project is being planned for California. What will it cost the Southland? “After years of planning for one of the biggest California water projects in decades, a key question remains unanswered: Who exactly will pay for it? Decision time is approaching for the agencies that will have to pick up the nearly $17-billion tab for building two massive water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the heart of the state’s water works. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: A nearly $17 billion water project is being planned for California. What will it cost the Southland?
Sites Reservoir backers ask for water bond money: “Backers of the proposed Sites Reservoir west of Maxwell filed an application Monday for Proposition 1 funding and released environmental documents about the project for public review and comment. Monday was the deadline to apply with the California Water Commission for a share of the $2.7 billion for water storage that was in Proposition 1, a bond voters passed in November 2014. The Sites Project Authority told this newspaper late last month that it already has enough investors to cover the $4.7 billion cost of building the off-stream reservoir in Colusa and Glenn counties but is giving the state the first option to buy into the water supply the reservoir would provide. ... ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury Register here: Sites Reservoir backers ask for water bond money
Agreements in place to fund California’s largest reservoir proposal: “California voters in 2014 approved a ballot measure that allocates $2.7 billion for water storage projects. It’s likely there will be hot competition for the money when the California Water Commission gets around to awarding it next year. But it turns out one of the largest projects, the proposed Sites Reservoir, already has enough funding commitments and doesn’t necessarily need the state bond money. Some 32 water agencies throughout California have already signed agreements to invest in the Sites project and disclosed how much water they might want to buy. These range from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (the biggest buyer), to more local entities like the city of American Canyon. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Agreements in place to fund California’s largest reservoir proposal
Nevada Irrigation District applies for Centennial Dam funding: “The Nevada Irrigation District’s Board of Directors voted Wednesday to apply for state funding for the proposed Centennial Reservoir. Despite numerous complaints from the public, the board adopted a resolution approving that an application be made to the California Water Commission to obtain Water Storage Investment Program funding for the reservoir. … ” Read more from The Union here: Nevada Irrigation District applies for Centennial Dam funding
East Bay reservoir expansion plan wins support of environmental groups: “A $914 million plan to expand the Los Vaqueros Reservoir as drought insurance for millions of Bay Area residents picked up endorsements Monday from six conservation groups in a rare display of environmental support for new water development. Environmental groups are pleased because the project would provide large amounts of water for Central Valley wetlands, habitat for ducks, geese and other wildlife, in addition to storing water for people and farms. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: East Bay reservoir expansion plan wins support of environmental groups
Valley leaders request $1.3 billion for Temperance Flat Dam: “Today valley leaders achieved a major milestone in funding Temperance Flat Dam. Today they officially requested state funds to build it. The 1.3-million acre foot proposed dam would be built on the backside of Millerton Reservoir. Temperance Flat Dam has been talked about for decades and those supporting the proposed water storage said today is a milestone and a step in the right direction to finally fund the dam. The San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority signed off on an application requesting Proposition One state funding for it. ... ” Read more from Your Central Valley here: Valley leaders request $1.3 billion for Temperance Flat Dam
Funds sought for Temperance Flat dam: “Temperance Flat’s water storage development took a major step toward reality Monday as an application was filed by a cooperative San Joaquin Valley regional partnership seeking State of California water bond funding for the long-sought project. “It’s a banner day today,” said J. Steven Worthley, San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority (SJVWIA) president and a member of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. “Completing and filing this application and continuing to move Temperance Flat forward is the primary reason this organization was formed and has been working so hard.” ... ” Read more from the Porterville Recorder here: Funds sought for Temperance Flat dam
Trump’s EPA is caving to chemical industry, environmental groups say: “The Trump administration has illegally rolled back rules for regulating toxic chemicals in food, drinking water and work sites, environmental groups said Monday as they asked a federal appeals court in San Francisco to intervene. The rewritten regulations, “overseen by a former high-level chemical industry official with head-spinning conflicts of interest, will leave children, communities and workers vulnerable to dangerous chemicals,” Eve Gartner, a lawyer with the environmental legal group Earthjustice, said after filing the legal challenge last week in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Other advocates have filed separate challenges to the rules in federal appeals courts in New York and Richmond, Va. The suits will be consolidated in a single nationwide case. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Trump’s EPA is caving to chemical industry, environmental groups say
In commentary today …
Poison once flowed in America’s waters. With Trump, it might again: Peter Gleick writes, “As a scientist working for decades on national and global water and climate challenges, I must speak out against what I see as an assault on America’s water resources. I grew up in New York in the 1960s hearing about massive Polychlorinated Biphenyl – a toxic chemical used as a coolant – contamination in the Hudson River and the threatened extinction of bald eagles and ospreys from eating contaminated fish. I remember watching on television Ohio’s Cuyahoga River burning. I remember scientists warning about the death of the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay from uncontrolled industrial pollution. I remember not being able to swim at beaches polluted with raw sewage. … ” Read more from the Guardian here: Poison once flowed in America’s waters. With Trump, it might again
In regional news and commentary today …
Siskiyou County Supervisors send letters on dam removal, CDFW ranch purchase: “Natural resources issues were the focus of two letters approved by the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors at its Aug. 8 meeting – one addressing the potential removal of four dams on the Klamath River and the other touching on the potential sale of the Shasta Big Springs Ranch in the Shasta Valley. The first letter is addressed to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Deputy Commissioner Alan Mikkelsen, who recently met with representatives of the board of supervisors to discuss the Klamath dam issue. The dams – J.C. Boyle in Oregon and Copco 1, Copco 2, and Iron Gate in California – have been at the center of a debate for several years, with their potential removal laid out in the 2010 Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement. … ” Read more from the Siskiyou Daily News here: Siskiyou County Supervisors send letters on dam removal, CDFW ranch purchase
A trip down the Feather River shows impacts of Oroville Dam spillway failure: “The heavy rains and significant releases of water from Lake Oroville after the spillway failure caused startling changes to the Feather River this spring. Brian Clemens knows that better than most. He’s been a fishing guide on this river for 10 years. Floating eight miles down the Feather River from Oroville’s River Bend Park to the Thermalito Afterbay Dam, some of the effects are easy to see. Large groups of trees are on their sides. Other trees have a wide gray stripe that show the wear of rock and concrete debris as they shot down the river. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: A trip down the Feather River shows impacts of Oroville Dam spillway failure
DWR launches spawning improvement project in Oroville: “The California Department of Water Resources on Aug. 14 launched a Feather River salmon spawning improvement project in the City of Oroville. DWR anticipates the project will be completed by the end of August, just before the September salmon spawning season begins. As part of the project, DWR will place 5,000 cubic yards of spawning gravel in key areas behind the Oroville Municipal Auditorium. According to DWR, the area lost much of its spawning gravel as a result of last winter’s high river flows. Heavy equipment vehicles such as dump trucks, bulldozers, and excavators will be used in the river channel to complete the project. ... ” Read more from ACWA’s Water News here: DWR launches spawning improvement project in Oroville
Santa Cruz reviews dam safety in light of winter’s Oroville spillway crisis: “Subsequent to this winter’s nearly catastrophic failure of the Oroville Dam, state regulators have ordered 80 “high-hazard” dam operators, including Santa Cruz, to take a granular look at their spillways’ durability. Surveyors strapped on mountain climbing gear last week and rappelled down the spillway’s slope to “look at every square inch of concrete and the edges,” said city Water Department Director Rosemary Menard. The state is requiring dam operators to repair any identified damage before the next flood season. … ” Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here: Santa Cruz reviews dam safety in light of winter’s Oroville spillway crisis
Orange County Transportation Authority awards $3.1 million to 16 cities for water quality improvement projects: “The Orange County Transportation Authority board on Monday, Aug. 14, unanimously allocated more than $3.1 million to 16 cities for projects to improve water quality, addressing a promise to voters of environmental investment. Each of the 16 projects – selected from 24 applications submitted by 21 cities – focuses on removing debris, litter and other visible pollutants from roads to prevent them from getting into waterways. Money for the projects comes from Measure M2, a half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements that Orange County voters approved in 2006 with the guarantee that 5 percent of freeway project budgets would go toward conservation efforts. The measure funds an environmental cleanup program that awards money to municipalities for projects reducing transportation-related water pollution. ... ” Read more from the OC Register here: Orange County Transportation Authority awards $3.1 million to 16 cities for water quality improvement projects
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- BLOG ROUND-UP: California Water Fix, the Delta smelt, and salmon; MWD’s Cal Water Fix cost assessment; Federal reserved rights for groundwater?; Checks and balances and the Clean Water Act rule; and more …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING, water storage edition: Sites Reservoir, Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion, and Temperance Flat submit applications for Prop 1 funding
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: DWR Launches Salmon Spawning Improvement Project; Public invited to view the solar eclipse at Shasta Dam
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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.
