In California water news today, Justices turn down California beach access spat; California fires: Why October is the most dangerous month; California’s big bet on underground storage: Risky?; Yurok tribe revives ancestral lands by restoring salmon runs, protecting wildlife; Northern California tribe treks 300 miles to save its salmon; Sacramento: Residents debate controversial water vault project in McKinley Park; LADWP gets comments on Mono leases at scoping meeting; Workshops to present three plans to save the Salton Sea; and more …
On the calendar today …
- Seminar/Webinar: Nature-Based Stormwater Projects: From Microbial to Human Communities from 12pm to 2pm. Click here for registration and webcast information.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Natural disaster is inevitable in California. And it can define a governor’s legacy; Governor Brown signs bill requiring state to control Sativa Water District; Trump signs bill requiring independent inspection of Oroville Dam; Chance of rain and snow in the forecast; and more …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for October 1st
- OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT/PUBLIC WORKSHOP: Proposed updates to the State Water Board’s Cannabis Policy and Cannabis Cultivation General Order
Justices turn down California beach access spat: “Among a list of dozens of cases rejected Monday by the Supreme Court is that of a California billionaire trying to make the state pay to use his property as a beach-access point. Vinod Khosla closed off the only road that allows the public to access the 89-acre Martins Beach in 2009, about a year after he paid $32.5 million for the scenic Northern California property. The controversy has inspired a number of court cases, including one 2013 suit by the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Justices turn down California beach access spat
California fires: Why October is the most dangerous month: “As calendars turn from September to October, cooler weather may give many Californians the idea that the brutal fire season of 2018 is over. But nothing could be further from the truth, according to fire experts and state fire statistics. October is actually the most dangerous month historically for wildfire risk in the state. Seven of the 10 worst wildfires in recorded California history, measured by the number of structures burned, have occurred in October. So have the three deadliest, ranked by number of people killed, according to Cal Fire, the state’s primary firefighting agency. ... ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: California fires: Why October is the most dangerous month
California’s big bet on underground storage: Risky? “California is making a major bet on underground water storage. Is that risky? The state has begun to hand out over $2.5 billion in state funding for new water storage projects. Some of that will go to underground water storage, which is a far cry from traditional dam-based approaches, KQED points out. “While diversifying the toolbelt of water management strategies will likely help insulate the state against loss, a group of researchers at Stanford University are drawing attention to a risk they say has long ridden under the radar of public consciousness: the introduction of dangerous chemicals into California groundwater, both through industrial and natural pathways,” the report stated. ... ” Read more from Water Online here: California’s big bet on underground storage: Risky?
In regional news today …
Yurok tribe revives ancestral lands by restoring salmon runs, protecting wildlife: “The giant Douglas fir hit the water with a great splash just as a powerful gust of wind from the Chinook helicopter rotors blew across the river, forcing Aaron Martin and his fellow workers to hold their helmets and turn their backs against the gust. “That’s exactly where we want it,” yelled Martin, a habitat restoration biologist for the Yurok Indian tribe, holding up two thumbs as the chopper released the 150-foot-tall tree from its cable and thwap-thwapped away to pick up more timber. ... ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Yurok tribe revives ancestral lands by restoring salmon runs, protecting wildlife
Northern California tribe treks 300 miles to save its salmon: “This weekend, members of the Winnemem Wintu tribe wrapped up a 300 mile trek, from the mouth of the Sacramento River north to Shasta Lake. Dozens of Winnemem, Indigenous activists and allies walked, ran, biked, boated and rode horses along the way. The event, called Run4Salmon, is part of the tribe’s plans to change the course of history for endangered Chinook, once plentiful in this part of the world. ... ” Read more from KQED here: Northern California tribe treks 300 miles to save its salmon
Sacramento: Residents debate controversial water vault project in McKinley Park: “Controversy continued over a proposed city project aimed at elevating flooding in neighborhoods surrounding McKinley Park. The city wants to build an underground vault in the park that will hold sewage, but many residents don’t want it there. The area at the center of the debate is only about four and a half acres. The proposed water vault would be built beneath where the baseball field sits now. It’s supposed to help elevate flooding to the surrounding neighborhood, but some residents say it will drastically change the look and feel of the park and isn’t worth the cost. … ” Read more from CBS here: Sacramento: Residents debate controversial water vault project in McKinley Park
Water at Lodi school tainted with carcinogen: “Henderson Middle School, a campus south of Kettleman Lane, sits amid vacant land and several residences in central Lodi and is easy to miss if it doesn’t happen to be your destination. But earlier this year, Henderson began getting unwanted attention when a failed test of the school’s water well revealed the unfortunate truth that the Lodi Unified campus’ water supply was tainted with an excessive level of a chemical deemed by California to be carcinogenic. … ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Water at Lodi school tainted with carcinogen
Will early fall showers mean a wet winter for the Valley? “It’s officially been Autumn for a week and Tulare County residents have started inching closer to sweater weather. The fall trend is expected to continue, said Scott Borgioli, WeatherAg chief meteorologist. Rain may follow this week. Temperatures began to dip to the mid-80s on Saturday and Sunday with light breezes — just in time for visits to Vossler Farms pumpkin patch and corn maze, which opened Saturday. Borgioli said the days of triple-degree temperatures are gone. ... ” Read more from the Visalia Times-Delta here: Will early fall showers mean a wet winter for the Valley?
Cachuma Lake water supply holding up despite prolonged drought and weak winters: “The rainy years have not returned to Santa Barbara County but fortunately the current water supply management plan has held up as the area awaits a wet weather pattern, whenever that occurs. The Santa Barbara County water data as the month of September ends shows a Lake Cachuma level at about 32 percent. The lake had a release recently for downstream users which takes place annually. The release ended earlier this month. ... ” Read more from KEYT here: Cachuma Lake water supply holding up despite prolonged drought and weak winters
LADWP gets comments on Mono leases at scoping meeting: “The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power took step two in the Environmental Impact Report process on new ranch leases in Long and Little Round valleys at its public environmental scoping meeting Wednesday evening in Mammoth. The element of those new ranch leases that drew 40-plus people to the session amounts to the de-watering of those valleys that have been spread irrigated for more than 100 years. ... ” Read more from the Sierra Wave here: LADWP gets comments on Mono leases at scoping meeting
Workshops to present three plans to save the Salton Sea: “Once considered pipe dreams, the concept of saving the Salton Sea by tapping ocean water from Mexico, to keep the accidental salt lake from drying up, will get an official consideration at two meetings in the desert this week. The California Natural Resources Agency will look at three competing proposals at hearing in Coachella Monday, and in El Centro on Thursday. One group of engineers proposes a pumping plant in Mexico to lift the water 100 feet, 130 miles of canals, a four-mile pipe under the U.S.-Mexico border, and a power plant to generate electricity as the water falls 225 feet down to the Salton Sea. A solar generating station in Mexico would power the lift, and sale of power from the generating station at the lake would pay for the canal operation. ... ” Read more from Channel 8 here: Workshops to present three plans to save the Salton Sea
Two towns, two storms, and American’s imperiled poor: “Sheril Pritchett can’t get out of her room. It’s not because of damage from Hurricane Florence. Her apartment in Fayetteville, N.C., was spared, somehow, from the historic storm that dumped 30 inches of rain in some parts of the state. She’s not stranded by her earlier hip replacements, either. Pritchett is bed-ridden by stress. She, like many in the path of Florence, lives in federally subsidized housing. The 59-year-old followed instructions to evacuate, shuttling 110 miles with her husband to the nearest hotel they could find. Six nights, $600. It wasn’t her emergency money, but it was her savings for a house. She’s back now. Back to square one. Except that it’s not really the beginning, at all. … ” Read more from E&E News here: Two towns, two storms, and American’s imperiled poor
Along the Colorado River …
Central Arizona Project turns 50: “President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Colorado River Basin Project Act on September 30, 1968. It was a long journey to get there. “For two decades, the Colorado River has been the subject of unrelenting controversy and competing claims,” Johnson said at a signing ceremony. “And I have a feeling of freedom this morning, when I see California and Arizona sitting there arm-in-arm smiling with each other.” The line gets laughs from contemporary water managers, too. … ” Read more from KJZZ here: Central Arizona Project turns 50
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
Precipitation watch …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for October 1st
- OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT/PUBLIC WORKSHOP: Proposed updates to the State Water Board’s Cannabis Policy and Cannabis Cultivation General Order
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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.
