In California water news today, Trump Administration proposes regulatory overhaul; Conservationists alarmed by proposed changes to Endangered Species Act; House completes first half of 2019 spending bills; ASU scientists use satellites to measure vital underground resources; Nutria pose triple threat to the state; A sea urchin army is mowing down California’s kelp forests, but why?; Crystal Geyser bottler at center of toxic waste dumping case; and more …
On the calendar today …
- Delta Heritage Forum in Walnut Grove from 9am to 3pm. Click here for more information.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Trump Administration proposes regulatory overhaul: “The Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries today unveiled what some bill as the most significant changes to Endangered Species Act regulations in several decades. Consultations with other agencies would be streamlined. There would be a tighter definition of “foreseeable future,” crucial in ESA decisions. Critical habitats could shrink, and threatened species would no longer automatically receive the same protections as endangered species. Taken together, the proposed rule changes would more closely align the two agencies that share responsibility for the ESA and address some common complaints aired by critics of the 1973 law. First, though, the reform ideas will ignite a debate that’s likely to grow heated. … ” Read more from E&E News here: Trump Administration proposes regulatory overhaul
Conservationists alarmed by proposed changes to Endangered Species Act: “The Trump administration says its proposed revisions to the decades-old Endangered Species Act reduce regulatory burden, while conservationists call them a “massive attack” on vulnerable species that face mounting threats from climate change and development. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration on Thursday proposed sweeping changes to key sections of the 1973 law meant to protect certain plants and animals from harm and extinction. ... ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Conservationists alarmed by proposed changes to Endangered Species Act
House completes first half of 2019 spending bills: “The House on Thursday passed a package of two 2019 appropriations bills, marking the halfway point in its quest to pass the 12 annual spending bills needed to fund the government. Totaling $58.7 billion, the Financial Services bill and the Interior and Environment bills fund agencies including the IRS and various financial regulators, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Interior Department and a series of popular arts programs. The bill passed mostly along party lines, in a vote of 217-199. ... ” Read more from The Hill here: House completes first half of 2019 spending bills
- Maven note: In the two bills mentioned in the above article lie the riders that exempt the Cal Water Fix and other projects from judicial review, among other things. More information from Dan Bacher here: House Passes Interior Spending Bill with Rider Banning Delta Tunnels Lawsuits
ASU scientists use satellites to measure vital underground resources: “… With the hope of providing water resource managers with better tools to help keep aquifers healthy, a team of scientists from Arizona State University and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are using the latest space technology to look underneath Earth’s surface to measure this precious natural resource. They’ve focused their efforts on one of the world’s largest aquifer systems, located in California’s Central Valley, measuring both its groundwater volume and its storage capacity. The results of their most recent findings in this groundbreaking study have been recently published in Water Resources Research. ... ” Read more from ASU News here: ASU scientists use satellites to measure vital underground resources
Nutria pose triple threat to the state: “A large, destructive rodent once declared eradicated in California has resurfaced, posing a threat to the state’s levees, wetlands and agricultural industry. The discovery of nutria in 2017 has prompted an all-out, high-stakes eradication campaign led by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife – with the West Side emerging as its epicenter. Peter Tira, public information officer for the agency, told Mattos Newspapers in late June that one privately-owned rural Newman pond near the confluence of the San Joaquin and Merced rivers has been a particular hot spot for nutria activity. … ” Read more from Westside Connect here: Nutria pose triple threat to the state
A sea urchin army is mowing down California’s kelp forests, but why? “Kelp forests are the marine mirror images to the towering redwoods onshore, the scaffolding that supports the image of the classic northern California coastline. But these oceanic forests are currently under siege from a potent mix of climate anomalies, disease, and predation that have led to declines in kelp forests not seen in decades. In their place, vast “urchin barrens” of bare rock picked clean by roving grazers. These sunken equivalents of forest clear-cuts gut the complex relationships that sustain a healthy ecosystem. … ” Read more from KQED here: A sea urchin army is mowing down California’s kelp forests, but why?
Crystal Geyser bottler at center of toxic waste dumping case: “The California company that sells Crystal Geyser bottled water has been charged with illegally disposing of arsenic-tainted wastewater, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The charges don’t allege that CG Roxane LLC sold tainted water, but that it illegally shipped and disposed of the toxic waste filtered from well water. … ” Continue reading from CBS 2 here: Crystal Geyser bottler at center of toxic waste dumping case
In commentary today …
State Water Board’s Delta Plan is no fix for fish and hurts farms, says Mike Wade: He writes, “In announcing its new Bay-Delta Water Quality plan, the California State Water Resources Control Board said it wanted to “change the channel” on California’s water debate. We completely agree it’s time to move away from outdated thinking and embrace new, collaborative, science-based solutions and therefore are puzzled that the board is stubbornly clinging to the same failed approach of the past. In a stated attempt to help endangered fish populations, the “new” plan dramatically increases the amount of water that must remain in the San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers, which significantly decreases the amount available for farms, cities, schools and others. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: State Water Board’s Delta Plan is no fix for fish and hurts farms
In regional news and commentary today …
Lawmakers meet with DWR officials over dam safety: “Lawmakers met with the Department of Water Resources in Oroville on Wednesday to discuss the future safety of the Oroville Dam Spillway. It was the first meeting of the Community Ad-Hoc Group, a coalition of citizens appointed to oversee the Oroville Dam. State Senator Jim Nielsen is a member of the group that will meet regularly with a collection of dam safety experts including the Department of Water Resources and the Independent Review Board. … ” Read more from KRCR here: Lawmakers meet with DWR officials over dam safety
Construction aims to shore up West Sacramento levee: “Residents of West Sacramento have been noticing a beehive of activity along the levee, where 120 construction crew members have been busy digging up dirt and hauling materials to build a brand-new earthen wall for flood protection. The construction began last year on a nearly 6-mile stretch of the Sacramento River, between mile marker 57 and mile marker 51 along the South Levee. “Right now, we have the setback levee construction, which is the primary focus of activities,” said Ken Godleski, who is the Southport Levee improvement project engineer for the city. … ” Read more from KCRA Channel 3 here: Construction aims to shore up West Sacramento levee
Los Vaqueros Reservoir looking to expand water storage capacity: “A project to expand water-storage capacity at the Los Vaqueros Reservoir is close to receiving Proposition 1 funding. The Los Vaqueros initiative seeks to expand capacity by more than 70 percent – taking the capacity from 160,000 acre-feet to 275,000 acre-feet. An acre-foot is the volume of water 1-foot deep over a 1-acre area. One acre-foot of water is nearly 326,000 gallons, and the expansion will accommodate an incremental 37 billion gallons of water, give or take a few gallons. … ” Read more from The Press here: Los Vaqueros Reservoir looking to expand water storage capacity
Don’t go into Discovery Bay’s toxic waters, officials warn: “Stay out of the water. That’s the advice Contra Costa Health Services’ environmental health officials are giving out after recent tests indicated the blue-green algae is toxic in some parts of Discovery Bay. Routine sampling of the community’s waters on June 27 showed amounts of cyanotoxin that exceed recommended limits, Marilyn Underwood, Contra Costa County Health Services’ environmental health director, said Wednesday. ... ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Don’t go into Discovery Bay’s toxic waters, officials warn
Santa Cruz County to miss deadline on Privates Beach access: “Santa Cruz County acknowledged it will miss a deadline to respond to the California Coastal Commission regarding public access at Privates Beach, setting up what figures to be an intense and prolonged dispute between the state agency and the Opal Cliffs Recreation District. The county is unable to meet a July 31 deadline to decide whether to pursue enforcement action against Opal Cliffs for the operation of a 9-foot locked gate, which the coastal commission claims is illegally preventing public access, according to a statement issued by county spokesman Jason Hoppin. … ” Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here: Santa Cruz County to miss deadline on Privates Beach access
Signs protesting Morro Bay sewer rates disappeared — it was the city that took them: “After seizing more than two dozen signs protesting a proposed $41 water-and-sewer rate increase, the city of Morro Bay on Wednesday issued a reminder that city law prohibits the placement of signs on city or state property. Some Morro Bay residents, including members of the group Citizens for Affordable Living Morro Bay, which opposes the rate increase, expressed concern at the disappearance of several signs that were put up in north Morro Bay. … ” Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here: Signs protesting Morro Bay sewer rates disappeared — it was the city that took them
Indian Wells Valley Water District to unveil hydrological conceptual model on Friday: “The Indian Wells Valley Water District will present a Hydrological Conceptual Model of the Indian Wells Valley at 9 a.m. on Friday at Ridgecrest City Hall. The model was developed by the Danish company Ramboll. It uses geophysical data collected by SkyTEM during its aerial survey as well as information from several hundred geophysical well logs, driller’s logs and information from previous seismic studies. The IWV Water District, Mojave Pistachios, Searles Valley Minerals, Coso Operating Company, and Meadowbrook Dairy are involved in the project. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Indian Wells Valley Water District to unveil hydrological conceptual model on Friday
Coachella Valley: Desert residents have been saving a lot of water. Farms and golf courses, not so much: “Every day, millions of gallons of water flow through pipes across the Coachella Valley and pour out to nourish lawns, artificial lakes, farmlands and a total of 121 golf courses. This lush oasis in the desert owes its existence to groundwater pumped from the aquifer and an imported supply of water from the Colorado River. And during the past decade, public records show the area has made progress in using less water overall and in combating the long-term problem of groundwater overdraft. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Desert residents have been saving a lot of water. Farms and golf courses, not so much
Desalination plant brings relief to Ensenada residents struggling with limited supply: “Baja California’s first utility-scale desalination plant has launched operations, supplying 5.7 million gallons a day of converted seawater to municipal water users in the port of Ensenada. The reverse-osmosis facility, which has the capacity to double in size, is seen as a critical piece of infrastructure for Ensenada, whose 390,000 residents have been almost entirely dependent on aquifers for their water supply. ... ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here: Desalination plant brings relief to Ensenada residents struggling with limited supply
Along the Colorado River …
Nevada water chief amends Pahrump well ban to exempt some landowners: “Pahrump property owners already in the process of developing their land have been exempted from a state ban on new domestic groundwater wells in Nye County’s largest town. Nevada State Engineer Jason King has amended the unprecedented ban he issued last year to effectively grandfather in certain property owners in the town of about 39,000 people 60 miles west of Las Vegas. The change applies to anyone who can prove they applied prior King’s Dec. 19 order for a Nye County zoning or building permit on a parcel that is eligible for a domestic well. … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review Journal here: Nevada water chief amends Pahrump well ban to exempt some landowners
And lastly …
A Thunderstorm Erupted Over L.A. Wednesday and the Social Media Reaction Was Entertaining: “A thunderstorm flared up over parts of the Los Angeles metro area Wednesday, bringing a rare summer sight of umbrellas and working windshield wipers to Southern California. The storm erupted suddenly just before noon over the San Gabriel Valley then drifted west-southwest over Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica before quickly exiting off the Malibu coast. ... ” Read more from The Weather Channel here: A Thunderstorm Erupted Over L.A. Wednesday and the Social Media Reaction Was Entertaining
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.
