In California water news today, Delta residents vent about Jerry Brown’s twin tunnels plan; Delta tunnels: Cost study coming, state says; Lawmakers push for transparency on feasibility of tunnels; Oroville Dam: Phase two of spillway construction may be more challenging, contractor says; No rain ahead, Bay Area: The ridge is back!; State sets initial water allocation at 15%; Drought over, California water case dismissed; Industries that cheered Trump’s climate regulation rollbacks now worry they’ll go too far; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- THIS JUST IN … Initial State Water Project Allocation Set at 15 Percent
- OROVILLE DAM: Spillways construction update
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Public meetings for Sites Project draft environmental review documents
- ANNOUNCEMENT: State Water Board accepting applications to fund drinking water projects at schools
- ANNOUNCEMENT: CalEPA Accepting Applications for Environmental Justice Grants
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Notice of public availability of changes to proposed regulations regarding surface water augmentation
DELTA TUNNELS
Delta residents vent about Jerry Brown’s twin tunnels plan: “A throng of people, nearly 200 strong, came to this delta town Thursday, many of them wearing work boots and ball caps, blue jeans and plaid, and all of them hoping to learn something good about Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to solve California’s water delivery problems. The folks from the river towns and rural communities along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta didn’t like what they heard about the plan that is being called California WaterFix. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: Delta residents vent about Jerry Brown’s twin tunnels plan
Delta tunnels: Cost study coming, state says: “A long-awaited study on the costs and benefits of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels should be finished by next spring, a state official said Thursday after an independent audit concluded such a study should have already been done. The tunnels have been in the planning stage for 11 years, but state officials have never completed a comprehensive analysis of whether the project pencils out financially. Such a study could answer basic questions like whether the tunnels will benefit the state as a whole and whether they should be built at all. … ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Delta tunnels: Cost study coming, state says
Lawmakers push for transparency on feasibility of tunnels: “State lawmakers opposed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnel plan are stepping up calls for greater transparency into the project’s finances, as the proposed water delivery system suffered a series of setbacks this fall. At a Thursday town hall in the Delta town of Walnut Grove, lawmakers representing the region called on the Brown administration to drop the tunnels plan in the absence of greater cost certainty. … ” Read more from KQED here: Lawmakers push for transparency on feasibility of tunnels
Life among the levees: Will the Delta survive the pressures of a thirsty state? “At Big Break Regional Shoreline, nestled in Northern California’s San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta, Michael Moran, supervising naturalist for East Bay Regional Park District, leads about 30 people out along a path into the park. The group consists of various stakeholders from the Metropolitan Water District (met), a regional wholesaler that supplies water to 19 million people across 26 public agencies in Southern California, hundreds of miles away. Big Break is one stop on a tour of the Delta, an educational trip for those involved with the met. ... ” Read more from Earth Island Journal here: Life among the levees: Will the Delta survive the pressures of a thirsty state?
OROVILLE DAM
Oroville Dam: Phase two of spillway construction may be more challenging, contractor says: “Phase two of construction at Oroville Dam — with work on both spillways — might prove more challenging than the first feat, the contractor’s project director said in a media call Thursday. Jeff Petersen, project director for Kiewit Infrastructure West Co., said finishing work for the 3,000-foot main spillway including concrete finishing, joint sealing, drain work and clean up, should be done by the end of the year. … ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury-Register here: Oroville Dam: Phase two of spillway construction may be more challenging, contractor says
Oroville mayor lashes out over dam communications: “Oroville’s mayor said Thursday she knew about cracks in the replacement spillway at the troubled dam nearby and is not concerned, but heaped criticism on state water officials for failing to communicate with her town. Linda Dahlmeier said the Department of Water Resources should have proactively communicated that cracks were expected but has instead created a “firestorm” in a community that was rattled by sudden evacuation orders last February. Nearly 200,000 people were forced to flee when engineers feared that damaged spillways at Oroville Dam would unleash an uncontrolled wall of water that would inundate her town and others downstream. The crisis was averted. … ” Read more from US News & World Report here: Oroville mayor lashes out over dam communications
WEATHER/HYDROLOGY
No rain ahead, Bay Area: The ridge is back! “Following the coinage of Stanford University scientist Daniel Swain, weather watchers call it the “Ridiculously Resilient Ridge,” sometimes shortened to “Triple R” or “RRR.” And once again, this stubborn and massive blob of atmospheric high pressure — the culprit in some of our driest recent years — is double-parked above the northeastern Pacific Ocean. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: No rain ahead, Bay Area: The ridge is back!
State sets initial water allocation at 15%: “The state Department of Water Resources on Wednesday announced an initial water allocation of 15 percent for most of its State Water Project contractors for 2018. The low percentage is a conservative figure, which is typical of the department’s early season forecast. But already, things are looking up. Shasta Dam is holding more water in Lake Shasta than historical averages, officials said. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight here: State sets initial water allocation at 15%
OTHER STATEWIDE NEWS:
Drought over, California water case dismissed: “A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of failing to review temporary changes California made to its water-quality standards during the drought that devastated fish populations. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar granted the EPA motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case as moot, finding the environmental groups lacked standing after Gov. Jerry Brown canceled an executive order suspending compliance with the standards, which abolished the state’s authority to make the revisions. Tigar also denied the plaintiffs’ request to amend their complaint, finding he couldn’t grant relief because the revisions, which lasted 180 days, had expired. The last revision was made in April 2016. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News here: Drought over, California water case dismissed
NATIONAL
Industries that cheered Trump’s climate regulation rollbacks now worry they’ll go too far: “The energy companies and industry groups that successfully pushed the Trump administration to scrap Obama-era action on climate change have a new message for the fossil fuel enthusiasts now calling the shots: Don’t go too far. It is not clear the administration is listening. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Industries that cheered Trump’s climate regulation rollbacks now worry they’ll go too far
The ambitious plan to stop the ground from sinking: “From Miami to Jakarta, coastal communities around the world are battling the effects of sea level rise. But in some places, the problem is exacerbated by another phenomenon: the land is falling. The Indonesian capital, for example, is sinking up to 17cm (6.7 inches) per year. “That’s an issue, because they’re right at sea level,” says Michelle Sneed, a land subsidence specialist at the US Geological Survey (USGS). “They have this added pressure of increased flooding and sea level rise. They built seawalls. But the city is subsiding so quickly that, at high tides, water just pours over.” … ” Read more from the BBC here: The ambitious plan to stop the ground from sinking
In commentary today …
Remember that Oroville survey that Gallagher conducted? DWR should, says the Appeal-Democrat: “We got a feeling a few weeks ago that the results of an informal survey conducted by our local Assembly member, James Gallagher, might not have been taken totally seriously. We hope we’re wrong. It would be too bad if the state Department of Water Resources doesn’t put a little stock in the unscientific polling. DWR officials need to be cognizant of the opinion Gallagher’s constituents (all those people downriver from Oroville Dam) hold of the state agency and their handling of the February emergency at the tallest earthen dam that resulted in the evacuation of tens of thousands of us. ... ” Read more from the Appeal Democrat here: Remember that Oroville survey that Gallagher conducted? DWR should
California’s water solutions discussed at international climate conference: Kirsten James writes, “I recently returned from the United Nations climate talks in Bonn, Germany, where international leaders wrestled with how to collectively prevent global temperatures from rising to a catastrophic level. Ceres, WWF and Climate Nexus spearheaded the U.S. Climate Action Center, a 27,000-square-foot pavilion where 44 events drew tens of thousands of attendees, assuring the world that “We Are Still In” as an American society. Representatives from U.S. states, cities, businesses and investors came out in force to discuss the climate impacts the United States is already experiencing and share what they are doing – and what still needs to be done. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: California’s water solutions discussed at international climate conference
In regional news and commentary today …
‘It takes our purpose’: With no salmon, California’s Yurok tribe struggles with identity: “The Yurok Tribe in Calfornia has fished for salmon in the Klamath River for centuries. Salmon is essential to Yurok ceremonies, for food, and for income. But this fall, the number of Chinook swimming up the Klamath, in the Pacific Northwest, was the lowest on record, threatening the tribe’s entire culture and way of life. Erika Chavez and Jerome Nick Jr., cousins who work for the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department, are patrolling the Klamath River in the far northwest corner of California. Nick perches in the front of the boat, with Chavez at the helm as they head to the mouth of the river. … ” Read more from KTOO here: ‘It takes our purpose’: With no salmon, California’s Yurok tribe struggles with identity
Unusual salmon show up in West Marin creeks: “The annual return of endangered coho salmon to West Marin’s Lagunitas Watershed to spawn is an annual dance of nature — only this year it seems some unusual visitors have cut in on that dance. Biologists working among the West Marin watersheds that compose one of California’s last spawning grounds for coho have spotted two other types of salmon rarely — if ever — seen in the area. … ” Read more from NBC Bay Area here: Unusual salmon show up in West Marin creeks
High levels of lead detected in tap water at San Francisco schools: “New documents obtained by KQED reveal that half of San Francisco schools have lead in their water, though levels vary widely from school to school. Information obtained as a result of a request under the California Public Records Act shows water from one tap measured more than 370 times the allowable concentration of lead. The science classroom faucet at San Francisco International High School registered lead at 5,600 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency sets the allowable limit at just 15 ppb. … ” Read more from KQED here: High levels of lead detected in tap water at San Francisco schools
Well brings safe water to Monson: “After more than a decade of efforts, the community of Monson now has a brand new well and water system to bring safe and reliable water to residents. On Nov. 20, more than 50 people joined together to celebrate its grand opening, and to see the first turn of a faucet producing clean water. Lazara “Lala” Luengas received the honor to do so, as the ceremony was held at her Monson home adjacent to the large well. The new well is located southeast of the intersection at Avenue 388 and Campbell Avenue. ... ” Read more from the Dinuba Sentinel here: Well brings safe water to Monson
Santa Paula: Wastewater district can’t dodge hazardous waste storage claims: “A private wastewater treatment company received a severe legal defeat from a California appeals court on Thursday, meaning it will remain on the hook for criminal violations connected to a hazardous waste explosion at its Ventura County location in 2014. A California Second Appellate District panel unanimously overturned a lower court decision that had thrown out an anti-SLAPP motion filed against the Southern California Wastewater District. The appeals court also ruled the district’s lawsuit accusing the County of Ventura Environmental Health Division of violating its due process rights was without merit. ... ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Santa Paula: Wastewater district can’t dodge hazardous waste storage claims
Why a newly signed water agreement is good news for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians: “The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and the federal government have finalized an agreement that protects the tribe’s access to regional groundwater, gives the tribe more than $30 million for water infrastructure and settles a longstanding water rights dispute. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, along with Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro and Rancho California Water District President Stephen Corona, signed the Pechanga Water Settlement Agreement on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at a Washington, D.C. ceremony. Congress approved the settlement, which was signed into law by then-President Barack Obama, about a year ago. … ” Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Why a newly signed water agreement is good news for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians
How a big win for Native American water rights could impact the West: “On Monday, November 27, the United States Supreme Court let stand a California federal appellate court decision that could chart a new course for Native American tribal groundwater rights. In the case, Agua Caliente Band v. Coachella Valley Water District, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had ruled on March 7 that the tribe’s water rights include an aquifer that lies beneath the Palm Springs-based tribe’s 31,500-acre reservation. ... ” Read more from Water Deeply here: How a big win for Native American water rights could impact the West
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- THIS JUST IN … Initial State Water Project Allocation Set at 15 Percent
- OROVILLE DAM: Spillways construction update
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Public meetings for Sites Project draft environmental review documents
- ANNOUNCEMENT: State Water Board accepting applications to fund drinking water projects at schools
- ANNOUNCEMENT: CalEPA Accepting Applications for Environmental Justice Grants
- ANNOUNCEMENT: Notice of public availability of changes to proposed regulations regarding surface water augmentation
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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.
