DAILY DIGEST: One possible delta tunnels deal would give cheap water to farmers — and more expensive water to cities; Congress misses deadline to approve Westlands drainage legislation; Temperance Flat hits first big hurdle in fight for state funding; No one seems to want to run Trump’s EPA in California; and more …

In California water news today, One possible delta tunnels deal would give cheap water to farmers — and more expensive water to cities; Congress misses deadline to approve Westlands drainage legislation, but deal not unraveling yet; California Water Fix delayed over secret meetings; Sacramento County joins action alleging illegal communications over twin tunnels; Temperance Flat hits first big hurdle in fight for state funding; Drought and climate change could hamper the return the plants and animals displaced by California’s biggest fire; Share the Wealth: A Cap-And-Trade System of Water Conservation and Resiliency?; Lots of tap water meets federal clean water mandates, but fails state safety goals; California and environmental coalition file lawsuits challenging repeal of federal fracking rule; No one seems to want to run Trump’s EPA in California; and more …

On the calendar today …

• The Delta Stewardship Council meets beginning at 9am. Agenda items include an overview of the IEP, 2017 year in review, and 2018 priorities for the Council.  Click here for more information.  Click here for webcast link.
• Public meeting on efforts to maximize Central Valley Project deliveries from 2pm to 4pm in Chico.  Click here for more information.

In the news today …

One possible delta tunnels deal would give cheap water to farmers — and more expensive water to cities: “Months of behind the scenes talks have failed to drum up enough money to pay the full costs of replumbing the center of California’s sprawling waterworks with two giant water tunnels.  That has left the state with little choice but to scale down a roughly $17-billion water delivery project to fit a funding pot of less than $10 billion.  State officials are expected to soon announce exactly what form a revised California WaterFix would take.  While it is assumed the project will shrink from two tunnels to one constructed under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the capacity of the conveyance system hasn’t been settled. ... ”  Read it here:  One possible delta tunnels deal would give cheap water to farmers — and more expensive water to cities

• RELATED:  For more on Article 21 water and other ways the SWP contractors have been discussing how to distribute the benefits and costs of Cal Water Fix, go here:  METROPOLITAN’S BAY DELTA COMMITTEE: Update on Cal Water Fix cost and benefit allocation discussions for State Water Project contractors

Congress misses deadline to approve Westlands drainage legislation, but deal not unraveling yet: “A key deadline has passed to solve the irrigation drainage problem that caused massive bird deaths and deformities at Kesterson wildlife refuge.  But a Westlands Water District official said Congress is still on track to pass legislation benefiting both the district, which delivers water to farms over an area the size of Rhode Island, and the federal government. … ”  Continue reading at the Fresno Bee here:  Congress misses deadline to approve west-side water fix, but deal not unraveling yet

California Water Fix delayed over secret meetings:  “The past week was a difficult one for supporters of the California WaterFix project, formerly referred to as the Delta tunnels project, as allegations of ex parte communications between the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the California State Water Board have come to light, largely as a result of work done by the Discovery Bay-based Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA).  The DWR is petitioning the water board for a permit to build the tunnels and other operating mechanisms that comprise the WaterFix project.  … ”  Read more from the Brentwood Press here:  California Water Fix delayed over secret meetings

Sacramento County joins action alleging illegal communications over twin tunnels: “Already facing a lawsuit claiming decades of state mismanagement of the Oroville dam and a “culture of corruption” that fostered harassment, the California Department of Water Resources drew a new legal challenge from Sacramento County—one that accuses its employees of improper communications around the twin tunnels project.  The latest DWR drama was triggered January 15, when attorneys for Sacramento and San Joaquin counties, and the city of Antioch, filed a motion demanding that the State Water Resources Control Board halt the phase-two public hearings for WaterFix, better known as “the twin tunnels” project.  … ”  Read more from the Sacramento News & Review here:  Sacramento County joins action alleging illegal communications over twin tunnels

Temperance Flat hits first big hurdle in fight for state funding:  “A historic water project would triple the Valley’s capacity to save water could be in jeopardy of losing critical state funding.  Local water experts applied to receive a billion dollars to fund a new dam called Temperance Flat, now applicants say in a private meeting with the California Water Commission they learned their application needs changing.  Mario Santoyo with the San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority says it’s not just their project, but all 11 competing applicants throughout the state were told they over estimated how much the public would benefit from their water storage proposals. … ”  Read more from Your Central Valley here:  Temperance Flat hits first big hurdle in fight for state funding

Scientists observe cloud seeding for the first time ever:  “For the first time ever, scientists in Wyoming have observed the magical-sounding practice of cloud seeding.  Water agencies across the West, including in Southern California, have for decades shot silver iodide into clouds from cannons and airplanes. The theory is that the particles make the clouds drop even more snow than would fall otherwise. But there is very little scientific evidence that it works.  “You do get the question, how much snow did we make? I can’t really tell you. I don’t really know.” said Chris Harris, executive director of the Colorado River Board, a California state agency that represents Southern California water agencies on Colorado River issues and spends up to $250,000 annually on cloud seeding in the Rocky Mountains. “Over time it’s something we’ve learned that we believe.” … ” Read more from KPCC here:  Scientists observe cloud seeding for the first time ever

Drought and climate change could hamper the return the plants and animals displaced by California’s biggest fire:  “When Sean Anderson and his students first went to check on how California’s largest recorded wildfire was affecting animals, the fire was still burning. It gave the air an unsettling orange glow. “It made a really strange pall,” says Anderson, an ecologist at the California State University–Channel Islands. “My most visceral impression is always the smell. It’s the sour smell of the coastal sage scrub, the chaparral, that’s burned.”  For the last 13 years, Anderson has taken his students out to 55 small study areas in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties, to monitor roadkill. The study sites were intended to help them understand how manmade barriers such as roads affect animal life. Now, they were convenient spots to see whether animals were on the move after the Thomas Fire, which burned for more than a month and scorched over 281,000 acres. … ”  Read more from the Pacific Standard here:  Drought and climate change could hamper the return the plants and animals displaced by California’s biggest fire

Share the Wealth: A Cap-And-Trade System of Water Conservation and Resiliency? “California has struggled with drought for most of the last decade. From 2011-2015, the state experienced the driest four-year stretch in recorded history, leading to unprecedented water restrictions for residents, including a state mandate to reduce water use by 25 percent. … At the drought’s height, water conservation was a hot topic, but conservation levels varied widely as California utilities worked independently towards their state-mandated goals. Now Stanford researchers are considering a different approach to water management, taking a page from energy and climate playbooks.... ”  Read more from Stanford News here:  Share the Wealth: A Cap-And-Trade System of Water Conservation and Resiliency?

Lots of tap water meets federal clean water mandates, but fails state safety goals:  “Every year, Californians get a report card from their water department telling them if something is wrong with their water.  These polished brochures typically begin by laying out all the great things water agencies are doing with ratepayer money. It would be easy to just throw them away.  But near the end is series of hard-to-decipher charts that show what sort of contaminants have been found in their drinking water.  These are things, like bacteria, that could make someone sick immediately and others, like disinfectant byproducts, that could give someone cancer over time. … ”  Read more from the Voice of San Diego here:  Lots of tap water meets federal clean water mandates, but fails state safety goals

California and environmental coalition file lawsuits challenging repeal of federal fracking rule:  “The state of California and a coalition of environmental groups both sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday to challenge the repeal of a 2015 rule regulating fracking.  The two lawsuits claim the bureau violated several laws by failing to provide a reasoned basis for its action and failing to prepare an adequate environmental review.  “The agency has abdicated its responsibility under federal law to manage these lands for the good of the public, not just for fracking companies,” said Michael Freeman, a lawyer for the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. … ”  Read more from SF Gate here:  California and environmental coalition file lawsuits challenging repeal of federal fracking rule

No one seems to want to run Trump’s EPA in California:  “Perhaps it is unsurprising that the White House still hasn’t filled this job: San Francisco is not an inviting place for the Make America Great Again administration.  But the administration’s effort to fill one of its most important environmental jobs — chief of the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters for California and the rest of the Pacific Southwest — keeps going sideways.  On Tuesday, an oil and gas lobbyist from New Mexico who, according to several people inside the Trump administration, was poised to fill the post told The Times it was all a big mistake. He’d be staying put in New Mexico. ... ”  Read more from the LA Times here:  No one seems to want to run Trump’s EPA in California

In commentary today …

New Water Storage Strategies Serve California’s 21st Century Needs: Barry Nelson writes, “One of the persistent myths about California water policy is that we haven’t built new water storage facilities since the 1970s. But a careful examination reveals that water agencies have built hundreds of storage projects over the past four decades. Those projects reflect a wide range of new approaches to meet 21st century water needs. Recognizing this progress can help develop more sustainable water policies.  Three factors explain why storage is central to meeting California’s water needs. … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  New Water Storage Strategies Serve California’s 21st Century Needs

In regional news and commentary today …

Humboldt County:  District working with landowners on Salt River project:  “The Humboldt County Resource Conservation District is currently working with landowners to excavate and restore an additional 1.5 miles of the Salt River channel in the year ahead.  This year’s phase of the $34 million total project aims to reduce flooding impact and restore wildlife habitat along a portion of the Salt River from where work ended last year near Arlynda Corners north of Ferndale to where the river crosses under the state Route 211 bridge. … ”  Read more from the Eureka Times-Herald here:  Humboldt County:  District working with landowners on Salt River project

Artist work examines Central Valley wildlife refuges:  “Humboldt State University’s Third Street Gallery will present “Cultivated Ecologies,” an interdisciplinary video and essay project by Cynthia Hooper, starting Monday and running through March 4.  “Cultivated Ecologies” examines the extensively reconfigured network of wetland refuges scattered across California’s Central Valley. Though now disconnected and drastically diminished, these wetlands remain ecologically significant and have been designed to more-or-less successfully coexist amid one of the planet’s most intensively cultivated and productive agricultural regions. … ”  Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard here:  Artist work examines Central Valley wildlife refuges

State of Tulare County: Retirement, water are top priorities:  “Tulare County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Worthley said retirement funding, staffing for new jail facilities and water were going to be three main areas of focus for the county in 2018.   Worthley, who is not seeking re-election to the District 4 seat in 2018, looked back at 2017 and ahead to this year during the annual State of the County address on Tuesday.   “First and foremost the county is strong; possessing great strength in its human and physical capital,” Worthley said. “And, I believe, we are positioned to increase our strength if we remain true to our principles of stewardship and responsibility to the people of Tulare County.” … ”    Read more from the Porterville Recorder here:  State of Tulare County: Retirement, water are top priorities

Santa Barbara County issued conflicting evacuation warnings before deadly Montecito mudslides:  “In the days before deadly mudslides devastated Montecito, Santa Barbara County officials released conflicting evacuation instructions that left some hard-hit neighborhoods out of the warning zone. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office posted a list of voluntary and mandatory evacuation areas for the town on Facebook and linked to the list from its website. But a separate map on the county’s main website included a larger voluntary evacuation zone that included dozens of homes not covered by the sheriff’s list. Of the 21 people killed in the mudslide, at least a dozen lived in areas that were covered by the county’s evacuation map but not included in the Sheriff’s Office warnings, according to records and data reviewed by The Times. … ” Read more from the LA Times here:  Santa Barbara County issued conflicting evacuation warnings before deadly Montecito mudslides:

Feinstein calls on Trump to help cleanup Tijuana sewage impacting border control agents, beachgoers:  “Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called on the Trump administration Wednesday to help plug Tijuana’s rampant spills of sewage and other polluted water, which routinely foul beaches in San Diego and cause border patrol agents to fall ill.  “These toxic transboundary flows jeopardize the health of U.S. Border Patrol officers and U.S. residents, require the regular closure of U.S. beaches, and endanger sensitive wildlife habitat,” Senator Feinstein wrote in a letter addressed to Mick Mulvaney at the Office of Management and Budget. … ”  Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here:  Feinstein calls on Trump to help cleanup Tijuana sewage impacting border control agents, beachgoers

Precipitation watch …

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

• SCIENCE NEWS: Cloud seeding for snow: Does it work? Scientists report first quantifiable observations; Predicting snowpack even before the snow falls; Dust on snow controls springtime river rise on the Colorado River; and more …
• NEWS WORTH NOTING: State Board of Food and Ag scheduled for two-day meeting next week; San Joaquin River Restoration Program:  2018 Restoration Year Channel Capacity Report Available

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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.