In California water news today, Statewide November vote could be key to Borrego Springs water woes; Small amounts of water enable juvenile salmon to survive; US government failing to provide recovery plan for some species; Klamath basin: Water for fish & wildlife, cash for irrigators; Progress on marsh project causes excitement; Central New Mexico Project? How a 50-year old rule could let New Mexico use Arizona’s water; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for August 27
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Long-term Colorado River forecasts highlight need for action; CRS Report: ‘Freshwater ‘harmful algal blooms: Causes, challenges, and policy considerations’
- NOTICE OF PUBLIC WORKSHOP: concerning The 2018 Joint Triennial Review of the Water Quality Control Plans for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins and the Tulare Lake Basin
Statewide November vote could be key to Borrego Springs water woes: “A major step toward solving the water woes of the desert community of Borrego Springs depends on passage of a statewide $8.8 billion bond initiative in November known as Proposition 3. If it passes, $35 million would go to Borrego, much of which would be used to purchase and fallow farmland in the Borrego Valley. “We are very hopeful,” said Beth Hart, president of the Borrego Water District. “If it goes through then the struggles the community has been facing and will be facing in the future under the Sustainable Ground Management Act (SGMA) will find some significant relief.” ... ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here: Statewide November vote could be key to Borrego Springs water woes
Small amounts of water enable juvenile salmon to survive: “Recent research led by California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Mariska Obedzinski reveals that even small amounts of running water in coastal California streams can mean survival instead of death for juvenile coho salmon. In fact, less than a gallon per second allows the young salmon to persevere through the heat and aridity of summer by keeping pools interconnected. A gallon per second may sound like a lot of water, but in the context of a stream or river, it’s negligible: “It is approximately 2.5 average garden hoses (all the way on) running through the stream channel,” clarifies Dr. Obedzinski. Since 1996, when Russian River coho salmon were listed as threatened, various conservation plans for the species have been tried—mostly without much success. … ” Read more from the Environmental Monitor here: Small amounts of water enable juvenile salmon to survive
US government failing to provide recovery plan for some species: “The number of endangered species that the United States government has no recovery plans for has grown steadily over the past decade, according to an analysis published this month in Conservation Letters1. The plans detail the specific threats against a species as well as the ‘nuts and bolts’ strategies that will help the species recover. They are also mandated under the Endangered Species Act, the country’s key conservation law. … ” Read more from Nature here: US government failing to provide recovery plan for some species
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
In commentary today …
Water board needs checks and balances, say the Chico Enterprise-Record and Oroville Mercury-Register: They write, “California’s state government has a handful of entities created with good intention, but inadvertently given what amounts to unchecked power. They don’t garner much attention until they actually flex that authority. The state Water Resources Control Board is one of those, and it’s sure drawing the spotlight to itself these days. Most of the attention is coming from the San Joaquin Valley, where the board’s pending order to require minimum flows in three rivers for the fish and other species that depend on them has people unglued, from Modesto to Washington, D.C. The board was supposed to make a final decision on the matter Wednesday, but put it off until Nov. 7, on the hope farmers and environmentalists can make a deal. … ” Continue reading at the Oroville Mercury-Register here: Water board needs checks and balances
Why have hearings if the State Water Board isn’t going to listen? says the Modesto Bee: They write, “For those in the environmental movement, the State Water Resources Control Board hearings Tuesday and Wednesday were like an episode of “Friends,” all warm, witty welcomes. For the people from the Northern San Joaquin Valley, it was like watching the movie “Defending Your Life.” The water board is considering a long-awaited staff plan to send 40 to 50 percent of the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers to the ocean. Such flows, say those testifying from this region, would be utterly destructive – killing jobs, forcing farmers to fallow fields and vastly diminishing the services public officials can provide. They backed up their warnings with facts, figures, computer modeling and law books. … ” Continue reading at the Modesto Bee here: Why have hearings if the State Water Board isn’t going to listen?
California’s can’t-miss chance to provide safe drinking water for all, says Kirsten James: She writes, “The clock is ticking to ensure clean drinking water is available to all in California. Legislators have just five days to help an estimated 1 million Californians access safe and affordable drinking water from their faucets. In the world’s fifth-largest economy, there should be no question about voting “yes” for the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund (SB 844 and SB 845). Stories we’ve heard from around the state make the need all the more compelling. Ceres and many of our company partners have strongly supported the creation of a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in California. Some employees, some customers and some of their supply-chain farmers may very well reside in the communities facing clean water shortages. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: California’s can’t-miss chance to provide safe drinking water for all
In regional news and commentary today …
Klamath basin: Water for fish & wildlife, cash for irrigators: “The Bureau of Reclamation has agreed to reimburse the Drought Response Agency for water given to the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge and the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge at a rate of $360 per acre feet of water. The terms and conditions for the rate are part of a 13-page contract that the 2018 Klamath Project Drought Response Agency approved Wednesday, during a roughly four-hour public meeting with Reclamation officials. Negotiations with Reclamation about the contract have been ongoing for months, according to Nathan Ratliff, legal counsel for the agency. … ” Read more from the Herald & News here: Water for fish & wildlife, cash for irrigators
East Bay: Progress on marsh project causes excitement: “The Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh Wetland Restoration Project has been discussed so often and for so many years that locals were beginning to think the proposed park area along the Delta’s San Joaquin River in Oakley was just a fantasy on the part of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Now that the project is finally showing signs of movement, however, the community is starting to get excited. Construction of the project can be seen by hikers and bikers along the East Bay Regional Park District’s Marsh Creek Trail near Cypress Road, as well as from homes near the property. ... ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Progress on marsh project causes excitement
Building a vast new city on L.A.’s northern edges: A solution for region’s housing crunch? “Up near the top of the Grapevine, where Los Angeles and Kern counties meet, sits the largest contiguous expanse of privately owned land in California. Sprawling grasslands sprout native and non-native species. Joshua trees with spiky branches clump together. At higher elevations, oak and pine forests blanket hillsides in a thick, green velvet, providing a home to deer, black bears and elk. Tejon Ranch, a 270,000-acre plot, is one of the last frontiers of relatively undeveloped space in the Los Angeles region. That may soon change. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: Building a vast new city on L.A.’s northern edges: A solution for region’s housing crunch?
What Long Beach is doing to stay green during an epic drought: “With its dying trees, sad stumps and crusty brown grass, it’s clear to many drivers that the Traffic Circle has seen better days. “It looks pretty bad right now,” said Councilman Daryl Supernaw, whose 4th District includes the East Long Beach roundabout. “We’ve definitely had lots of emails and phone calls about the conditions.” The local landmark is one of the casualties as Long Beach, like all of California, faces epic drought conditions, and officials say the cost of watering parks and medians and could reach into the several millions of dollars if the region sees another dry season. … ” Read more from the Long Beach Post here: What Long Beach is doing to stay green during an epic drought
Along the Colorado River …
Central New Mexico Project? How a 50-year old rule could let New Mexico use Arizona’s water: “As Arizona officials laid the groundwork for the Central Arizona Project 50 years ago, they made promises that critics now say could imperil habitat, weaken river health amid worsening drought and cost taxpayers in a big way. In a bid to secure votes in Congress for the CAP Canal, the concrete channel that supplies Phoenix and Tucson with water from the Colorado River, Arizona struck a deal in 1968 that would give New Mexico the rights to water at Arizona’s expense. ... ” Read more from the Arizona Central here: Central New Mexico Project? How a 50-year old rule could let New Mexico use Arizona’s water
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for August 27
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Long-term Colorado River forecasts highlight need for action; CRS Report: ‘Freshwater ‘harmful algal blooms: Causes, challenges, and policy considerations’
- NOTICE OF PUBLIC WORKSHOP: concerning The 2018 Joint Triennial Review of the Water Quality Control Plans for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins and the Tulare Lake Basin
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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.
