Happy Labor Day! In California water news today, State may open door for storm system fees; Except for Oroville, north state dams said to be in satisfactory condition; Low levels of toxic algae remain in Tahoe Keys; Stockton: Why are we still using groundwater?; Santa Clarita: Water bill clears committee hurdle, onto Assembly floor; Nine dams in San Diego County ranked below satisfactory on safety, newly released state data reveals; Funding secured for the Salton Sea Management Plan; Down with Glen Canyon Dam? Activists claim that decommissioning the dam will save water and restore a wild canyon. Are they right?; and Reasons for optimism about California Water Fix from a fish perspective
In the news today …
State may open door for storm system fees: “The California Legislature set the stage Thursday for Manteca, Ripon, Lathrop and San Joaquin County as well as other local jurisdictions throughout the state to impose fees for storm water management systems without voter approval. If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the measure that passed the legislature, it would become legal for cities and counties to charge residents to build storm water control facilities as well as maintain them. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here: State may open door for storm system fees
Except for Oroville, north state dams said to be in satisfactory condition: “A list of California dams and the condition they’re in was released Friday by the state, and most of the dams in the north valley are rated “satisfactory.” Except the big one. Oroville Dam is the only one of 1,249 dams statewide rated as “unsatisfactory” by the Division of Safety of Dams, an agency within the Department of Water Resources. A few other dams were rated as “fair” or “poor.” ... ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Except for Oroville, north state dams said to be in satisfactory condition
Low levels of toxic algae remain in Tahoe Keys: “Monitoring of toxic blue-green algae in several Tahoe Keys waterways is ongoing nearly two weeks after reports of the bloom came in to Lahontan Water Board. Caution signs were posted early last week warning residents to steer clear of algae and scum when swimming and to keep pets and children away from the water. Initial testing by Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association’s water quality team showed low levels of Anatoxin-A and microcystins. Additional testing conducted by Lahontan Water Board from the waterways adjacent to properties on Aloha, Lido and Morro drives supported these results. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune here: Low levels of toxic algae remain in Tahoe Keys
Stockton: Why are we still using groundwater? “Stockton-area water providers are still pumping from the city’s underground “savings account,” despite a wet year that replenished the preferred rivers and reservoirs. To be clear, the vast majority of the water splashing from your tap is from above-ground sources, especially if you are a customer of the California Water Service Co. which used almost no groundwater last month. But, for a number of complex reasons, water agencies cannot wean themselves entirely off of groundwater even after a near-flood. ... ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Stockton: Why are we still using groundwater?
Santa Clarita: Water bill clears committee hurdle, onto Assembly floor: “The bill that would create a unified Santa Clarita water district passed through the Assembly Appropriations Committee Friday and will now head to the Assembly floor for its final vote. If Senate Bill 634 passes, Castaic Lake Water Agency and Newhall County Water District will dissolve into the new agency. This bill has gone through an “exhaustive and collaborative process” as it has passed six legislative committees and the Senate, according to CLWA President Bob DiPrimio and NCWD President Maria Gutzeit in a joint statement. ... ” Read more from The Signal here: Water bill clears committee hurdle, onto Assembly floor
Nine dams in San Diego County ranked below satisfactory on safety, newly released state data reveals: “The State of California on Friday released data on dam safety in California which found nine percent of dams statewide fall below satisfactory and could pose potential hazards in severe storms or earthquakes—including nine dams in San Diego County. The data previously, kept secret due to terrorism concerns, was disclosed after the Oroville dam spillway failure triggered concerns raised by the public and media, including East County Magazine, which recently put in a request for dam safety data in San Diego. A report with listings by county reveals that of 54 dams in San Diego County, nine are listed in “fair” condition and the rest are in satisfactory, the highest rating. No local dams were ranked poor or unsatisfactory. ... ” Read more from the East County Magazine here: Nine dams in San Diego County ranked below satisfactory on safety, newly released state data reveals
Funding secured for the Salton Sea Management Plan: “A decade-long plan for dust suppression and habitat building projects at the Salton Sea will be fully funded, a Coachella Valley lawmaker’s office announced Friday. Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella said that a “productive meeting” Thursday “between Governor Brown and representatives from our local Salton Sea Authority,” led to $280 million in funding for two park bond proposals aimed at funding air quality and habitat creation projects at the Salton Sea. ... ” Read more from KMIR here: Funding secured for the Salton Sea Management Plan
Down with Glen Canyon Dam? Activists claim that decommissioning the dam will save water and restore a wild canyon. Are they right? “In 1963, Glen Canyon was pronounced dead. Glen Canyon Dam had submerged its fabled grottoes, Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and slickrock chutes beneath the stagnant water of Lake Powell, and forever altered the ecology of the Grand Canyon just downstream. For wilderness lovers, the 710-foot-tall concrete wall stuck out of the Colorado River like a middle finger — an insult that helped ignite the modern environmental movement. In 1981, the radical group Earth First! faked a “crack” on the dam by unfurling a 300-foot-long black banner down the structure’s front. The Sierra Club’s first executive director, David Brower, considered the dam’s construction a personal failure and spent the rest of his life advocating for its removal. And in his iconic novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, author Edward Abbey imagined a group of friends secretly plotting to blow up the dam and free the Colorado River. … ” Read more from High Country News here: Down with Glen Canyon Dam?
Q&A with Stanford experts on climate change, infrastructure, and the economic impacts of Hurricane Harvey: “Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation with an economy the size of Sweden, and many other cities and towns in southeastern Texas have been devastated by the torrential rains and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. Estimates put total rainfall in some areas as high as 52 inches, shattering the record for highest rainfall from a single storm in the continental United States. Casualties continue to mount as heartbreaking stories emerge of the human toll of the catastrophic event. Before it’s over, Harvey could impact as many as 13 million people along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. Stanford researchers share their perspective on the causes and impacts of Harvey and what the future holds. ... ” Read more from Stanford News here: Q&A with Stanford experts on climate change, infrastructure, and the economic impacts of Hurricane Harvey
In commentary today …
Reasons for optimism about California Water Fix from a fish perspective: Peter Moyle and Jim Hobbs write, “The delta smelt is on a trajectory toward extinction in the wild. Heading into 2017, the spawning adult population was at an all-time low, although this past wet winter has apparently seen a small resurgence. However, increasingly warm summer temperatures in the Delta may dampen any upswing. Given the long-term trajectory of the population and climate predictions for California, maintaining delta smelt in the Delta for the next 20–30 years is not likely to happen without significant improvements to the habitat. So, what happens to the remaining smelt when they encounter California WaterFix? ... ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Reasons for optimism about California Water Fix from a fish perspective
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for September 4th
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Workshop scheduled for owners/operators of mercury-impaired reservoirs; Documents available for Statewide Mercury Control Program for Reservoirs
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Applications for Water Storage Investment Program projects now available online
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Public Notice Proposal to accept funds from the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency
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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.
