DAILY DIGEST: Take ‘twin’ out of tunnels?; A massive storm flooded Houston; experts say Sacramento could be next; After Napa fires, toxic ash threatens soil, streams, and the SF Bay; Two years after California’s biggest dam removal, fish rebound; and more …

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DAILY DIGEST
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In California water news today, Take ‘twin’ out of tunnels?; Delta tunnels project hits snags; Oroville Dam, months after near disaster, ready for another winter; A massive storm flooded Houston; experts say Sacramento could be next; After Napa fires, toxic ash threatens soil, streams, and the San Francisco Bay; Fall rain runoff kills over 500 fish, some endangered, in section of Marsh Creek; Two years after California’s biggest dam removal, fish rebound; What could you catch fishing in Lake Merritt?; Inflatable dams and a water wheel: The latest plan for LA River revitalization; Water fight tied directly to Arizona’s growth

On the calendar today …

In the news today …

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

Take ‘twin’ out of tunnels?  “In the Delta region, the twin tunnels always have been considered double trouble.  If you take the “twin” out, you’ve still got trouble.  That’s the view of many local activists as speculation grows that Gov. Jerry Brown’s two-tunnel water conveyance project will soon be downsized, whittled down to perhaps just one tunnel with a smaller capacity.  “I just think it’s really important for people to understand that the battle really isn’t over,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, head of Stockton-based Restore the Delta. “We do not believe that less evil is better than more evil.” … ”  Read more from the Stockton Record here:  Take ‘twin’ out of tunnels?

Delta tunnels project hits snags:  “The controversial water infrastructure proposal from California Governor Jerry Brown, billed as a solution to the state’s significant water challenges, has hit some snags in recent weeks.  “In a landmark vote closely watched across California, Silicon Valley’s largest water agency on Tuesday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17 billion plan to build two giant tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta,” the San Jose Mercury News reported.  “By a vote of 7-0, the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s board of directors chose instead to adopt a set of principles endorsing a significantly smaller, less costly project — with just one tunnel,” the report said. … ” Read more from Water Online here:  Delta tunnels project hits snags

Oroville Dam, months after near disaster, ready for another winter:  “No one knows whether winter will bring pounding storms like those seen last season, but California water officials say Oroville Dam is ready for whatever comes.  The nation’s tallest dam became one of the fastest construction projects in modern state history after the dam’s spillway partially collapsed in February amid heavy rain and caused the evacuation of thousands. Hundreds of workers have been laboring around the clock for five months to rebuild the chute before wet winter weather returns. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here:  Oroville Dam, months after near disaster, ready for another winter

A massive storm flooded Houston; experts say Sacramento could be next:  “Even living here on the West Coast, Marion Townsend decided to act as floods ravaged Texas and hurricanes pounded the Caribbean in recent weeks.  Her Sacramento neighborhood slopes downward from a levee that separates it from the American River, in an area that officials concede never should have been settled but is home to 100,000 residents.  After seeing images of boat rescues in Houston and frantic evacuations in Miami, Townsend began repositioning important documents, photographs, jewelry and her sentimental quilts up onto shelves. … ” Read more from the Washington Post here:  A massive storm flooded Houston; experts say Sacramento could be next

After Napa fires, toxic ash threatens soil, streams, and the San Francisco Bay:  “By any measure, the fires that tore through Northern California were a major disaster. Forty-two people are dead, and 100,000 are displaced. More than 8,400 homes and other buildings were destroyed, more than 160,000 acres burned—and the fires aren’t all out yet.  That devastation leaves behind another potential disaster: ash. No one knows how much. It’ll be full of heavy metals and toxins—no one knows exactly how much, and it depends on what burned and at what temperature. The ash will infiltrate soils, but no one’s really sure how or whether that’ll be a problem. And eventually some of it—maybe a lot—will flow into the regional aquatic ecosystem and ultimately the San Francisco Bay. … ”  Read more from WIRED here:  After Napa fires, toxic ash threatens soil, streams, and the San Francisco Bay

Fall rain runoff kills over 500 fish, some endangered, in section of Marsh Creek:  “After the year’s first fall rain, a certain section of Marsh Creek always sees dead fish, but this year, the number has jumped to over 500, which includes several endangered chinook salmon.  The number jumped from dozens to more than 500 after a state Fish and Wildlife biologist walked the section of Marsh Creek that runs from the Brentwood Wastewater Treatment Plant to Cypress Road in Oakley.  The dead fish were primarily largemouth bass, but there were some sunfish, blue gill and five chinook salmon, an endangered species. … ” Read more from the East Bay Times here:  Fall rain runoff kills over 500 fish, some endangered, in section of Marsh Creek

Two years after California’s biggest dam removal, fish rebound:  “At a time when California was suffering from a record-breaking drought, removing a dam would have seemed counterintuitive. But that’s what happened in 2015 on the Carmel River when the 106ft San Clemente Dam was torn down in the name of public safety and for the benefit of an iconic fish.  Now, two years later, scientists are evaluating just how big an impact the dam removal has had on steelhead trout, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. So far, the results are promising. … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  Two years after California’s biggest dam removal, fish rebound

What could you catch fishing in Lake Merritt?  Pendarvis Harshaw writes, ““There’s someone fishing in Lake Merritt.”  I broke my stride and pumped the brakes on the baby stroller I was pushing. There’s someone fishing in Lake Merritt — I said it aloud, but the only person within earshot was my daughter, and she’s only a year old, so she didn’t understand. Someone. Is fishing. In Lake Merritt. I didn’t understand it either.  I momentarily postponed the conclusion of my clockwise lap, just long enough to take a photo of the sherbet-colored fall evening sky, the ideal backdrop for the image of someone not just fishing in Lake Merritt, but standing in it too.  What was he doing? Fly-fishing? Does he know that’s Lake Merritt?” Read more from KQED here:  What could you catch fishing in Lake Merritt?

Inflatable dams and a water wheel: The latest plan for LA River revitalization:  “Hydrologist Mark Hanna stood on the North Broadway Bridge recently and gazed out on an industrial vista of treated urban runoff flowing down the Los Angeles River channel between graffiti-marred concrete banks and train trestles strewn with broken glass.  The forlorn scene is in marked contrast to the vision city officials and environmentalists long imagined for the river: Reviving it from a concrete wasteland into a nature center and recreational area.  For Hanna, a big step in that epic transformation involves placing a giant inflatable dam near the historic bridge. … ”  Read more from the LA Times here:  Inflatable dams and a water wheel: The latest plan for LA River revitalization

Water fight tied directly to Arizona’s growth:  “Gov. Doug Ducey’s office is pushing a series of controversial proposals to overhaul state water management. One reason is to assure investors that Arizona has enough water for future economic development.  But water agencies are warring over how to make sure there’s enough water for long-term growth, and whether that means saying “no” to some short-term uses.  At issue is what one official calls the Colorado River’s “last supply.” That’s river water that no user with contracts to buy it — meaning cities, tribes, tribes and private water companies — wants in a given year. … ” Read more from the Arizona Daily Star here:  Water fight tied directly to Arizona’s growth

In commentary today …

Alternative facts find home in California, says the Chico Enterprise-Record:  They write, “The first time we heard one of President Trump’s spokespeople broach the concept of “alternative facts,” we hoped it would be an isolated incident. Not so, and the concept has even spread outside the White House.  Peculiarly, one of the new adopters of the idea is the administration of a guy who might be considered the anti-Trump: Gov. Jerry Brown.  Of course this latest lapse involves his beloved twin tunnels project, which has always seemed to be untrammeled by any pesky reality.  Two cases in point: On Oct. 17, the Santa Clara Valley Water District shot down the twin tunnels plan on a 7-0 vote. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here:  Alternative facts find home in California

When will our dam concerns be heard? asks Sheila L. Meamber:  “Note: The following letter was submitted to Secretary Ryan Zinke following a recent public meeting regarding the removal of four dams on the Klamath River:  Dear Secretary Zinke,  At the recent public meeting (October 10, 2017) with approximately 200 people in attendance, between the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, your Deputy Commissioner of Reclamation, Alan Mickkelsen, and two officials (Vice President and Executive Director) representing KRRC, made it very clear from their opening statements that the decision has already been made to proceed to take out our dams by 2020. Not sure why they were here other than to “rub our noses” in their decision and for us to get over it!  Let’s be clear, these dams were built for hydroelectric power. ... ”  Read more from the Siskiyou Daily News here:  When will our dam concerns be heard?

More news and commentary in the weekend edition …

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.

 

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