In California water news today, Kern County works to strike balance as SGMA deadline looms; Rafters, farmers, environmentalists all hope to benefit from Don Pedro relicensing; Radio show: Governor Newsom’s Clean Water Tax A ‘Moral Imperative’ To Some, A Burden To Others; Martha Davis on Using Sustainable Landscapes To Address Climate Change & Drought; California LGMA to require treatment of water for leafy greens; Water officials press Senate on urgency of Colorado River drought plan; Acting Interior chief faces confirmation hearing as critics say department is too close to industry; and more …
On the calendar today …
- This evening, GRA Branch Meeting: Inland Empire: Environmental Impacts of Cannabis Cultivation in Southern California from 6:00 to 8:30 pm in Riverside. Click here to register. You do not need to be a member to attend.
- This evening, Land Subsidence: The Lowdown on the Drawdown in Menlo Park from 7pm to 8pm. Click here for more information. Click here to watch on webcast.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
As Deadline Looms for California’s Badly Overdrafted Groundwater Basins, Kern County Seeks a Balance to Keep Farms Thriving: “Groundwater helped make Kern County the king of California agricultural production, with a $7 billion annual array of crops that help feed the nation. That success has come at a price, however, as decades of unchecked groundwater pumping in the county and elsewhere in California have left some aquifers severely depleted. Now, the county’s water managers have less than a year left to devise a plan that manages and protects groundwater for the long term yet ensures that Kern County’s economy can continue to thrive, even with less water. ... ” Read more from Western Water here: As Deadline Looms for California’s Badly Overdrafted Groundwater Basins, Kern County Seeks a Balance to Keep Farms Thriving
Rafters, farmers, environmentalists all hope to benefit from Don Pedro relicensing: “Whitewater rafting businesses are holding out hope of getting a safe landing area near the Ward’s Ferry bridge over the Tuolumne River, as a condition of relicensing the Don Pedro hydroelectric project. At a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hearing Tuesday in Modesto, speakers said an existing takeout for rafts on the Tuolumne, upstream from Don Pedro Reservoir, is under water because of dam operations. And the options for getting boats out of the water are not safe. After their ride on the Wild and Scenic Tuolumne, rafters risk injury by dragging their gear up a rocky trail. Another method is parking a truck on the bridge and lifting the boat with a winch. ... ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Rafters, farmers, environmentalists all hope to benefit from Don Pedro relicensing
Radio show: Governor Newsom’s Clean Water Tax A ‘Moral Imperative’ To Some, A Burden To Others: “Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will introduce a tax of up to $10 a month to water customers in order to fund safe drinking water in disadvantaged communities. Valley Public Radio has reported in the past about how many of those communities are right here in the San Joaquin Valley. To learn about Newsom’s plan, we spoke to Jonathan Nelson, policy director at the Community Water Center. Nelson noted that the tax would not be applied to low-income water customers; most other residential water customers would pay 95 cents a month, and the $10-a-month tax would be applied to larger corporations and businesses. Listen to the interview above to hear more about alternative solutions from state lawmakers and how funds from the tax would be applied. ... ” Listen to the radio show here: Radio show: Governor Newsom’s Clean Water Tax A ‘Moral Imperative’ To Some, A Burden To Others
Martha Davis: Using Sustainable Landscapes To Address Climate Change & Drought: “In November, Los Angeles County passed Measure W, providing $3 billion per decade for regional green infrastructure projects to capture stormwater and improve water quality. As L.A. County leadership begins implementation, a new report by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, Pacific Institute, CEO Water Mandate, and California Forward has highlighted the opportunities for the business community to engage. TPR interviewed Martha Davis, a co-author on the Sustainable Landscapes on Commercial and Industrial Properties in the Santa Ana River Watershed report, about the potential for landscaping changes to capture stormwater, reduce flooding, and improve water quality. … TPR: Speak to the significance of the recent report you worked on that deals with improving water efficiency and stormwater capture on commercial and industrial lands in the Santa Ana watershed. Martha Davis: This report is a collaboration among the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA), the Pacific Institute, and California Forward. … ” Continue reading at The Planning Report here: Martha Davis: Using Sustainable Landscapes To Address Climate Change & Drought
California LGMA to require treatment of water for leafy greens: “Growers in the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement will soon be sanitizing “open-source” water used on their crops, which has been the focus of at least two recent E. coli outbreaks traced to leafy greens. Scott Horsfall, the group’s CEO, said the new water treatment rules could be implemented as early as late April, or as late as mid-July. It’s the latest change in how the industry grows lettuces, herbs and other leafy greens in the wake of three E. coli outbreaks. … ” Read more from The Packer here: California LGMA to require treatment of water for leafy greens
Farmers who disputed frog-focused habitat lose suit: “Nearly 2 million acres designated as critical habitat for three imperiled frog species survived a court challenge Wednesday by California farmers. The Fish and Wildlife Service had designated the land in 2016 under the Endangered Species Act to protect two high-altitude species — the mountain yellow-legged frog and the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog — as well as Yosemite toads. But the California Cattlemen’s Association, the California Wool Growers Association and the California Farm Bureau Federation filed suit a year later, saying the designation severely burdened ranchers and farmers in the area. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Farmers who disputed frog-focused habitat lose suit
Farms and Ranches Can Provide Needed Sanctuary for Struggling Western Monarchs, USDA Says: “The monarch butterfly – the iconic black-and-orange butterfly known for its epic migrations – has seen significant population declines since the 1980s. But unfortunately, the butterfly’s western population found west of the Rocky Mountains has hit an all-time low, an 85 percent dip between 2017 and 2018. “With this abrupt one-year decline, the western monarch population is now less than one percent of what it was in the 1980s,” said Mace Vaughan of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the group who spearheads annual counts of monarchs wintering in coastal California. … ” Read more from the Sierra Sun Times here: Farms and Ranches Can Provide Needed Sanctuary for Struggling Western Monarchs, USDA Says
Acting Interior chief faces confirmation hearing as critics say department is too close to industry: “Soon after being appointed to the Interior Department in 2017, acting secretary David Bernhardt kickstarted a plan to change how California handles water in a way that would benefit farmers and businesses. It was a step toward the same goal he’d pursued as a private lawyer and lobbyist. The move by Bernhardt, whom President Donald Trump handpicked to oversee the nation’s parks and public lands, is a sticking point in his nomination. He testifies Thursday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. … ” Read more from ABC News here: Acting Interior chief faces confirmation hearing as critics say department is too close to industry
In commentary today …
Ryan Zinke was an embarrassment as Interior secretary. David Bernhardt would be dangerous, says the LA Times: They write, “Ryan Zinke was an embarrassment as secretary of the Interior, making headlines for his prolific personal and political use of airplanes and helicopters at government expense, and for various displays of pomposity, such as raising and lowering the flag over department headquarters depending on whether he was in the building. All the while, though, the Trump administration’s business of shrinking national monument lands and opening up precious and sensitive areas to oil drilling and mining was carried out by Zinke’s lower-profile and much more dangerous deputy, oil industry attorney and lobbyist David Bernhardt. Bernhardt is now Trump’s nominee to succeed Zinke and comes before the Senate on Thursday. He should be rejected. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Ryan Zinke was an embarrassment as Interior secretary. David Bernhardt would be dangerous
Press Trump’s Interior nominee for answers, says the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: They write, “On Thursday, David Bernhardt, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Interior Department, will answer questions at a Senate confirmation hearing. It will be the last, best chance to put him on the record about offshore oil drilling and water management in California. Bernhardt has been acting interior secretary since Ryan Zinke resigned under a cloud of dubious expenditures. In normal, less partisan times, we’d urge senators to proceed cautiously with this nomination. Bernhardt has a tremendous amount of baggage from his years as a lobbyist and adviser to oil, gas and other industries that stand to benefit a lot from a friendly face atop Interior. He must convince the American people that he will act in their best interest over his former employers’ needs. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Press Trump’s Interior nominee for answers
In regional news and commentary today …
Paradise water district updates Butte County supervisors on pipe damage: “Infected pipes and illegal hotels were at the forefront of the Butte County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning, as the Paradise Irrigation District outlined plans to flush volatile and toxic compounds from the city’s water system after the Camp Fire, and an ordinance on governing short-term rentals again came before the board. ... ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Paradise water district updates Butte County supervisors on pipe damage
Beat cops of the San Francisco Bay: “The greenish brown water laps at walls of concrete on each side of the estuary. On the west is the waterfront property of Manson Construction, a marine construction and dredging company that has stacked a paved site with cranes and shipping containers. Along the east side of the narrow inlet are Levin-Richmond Terminal, a Union Pacific coal depot, and Plains All American Pipeline, a Houston-based crude oil shipper. Together, these companies and several others have helped created a unique aesthetic in this remote corner of San Francisco Bay. “This is the ugliest part of Richmond,” says Sejal Choksi-Chugh, as she steps out of the cabin of a small boat patrolling the waterway, known as the Lauritzen Canal. … ” Read more from the East Bay Express here: Beat cops of the bay
San Francisco to put seawall money to work: “Five months after voters approved a bond measure to protect the waterfront from earthquakes and flooding from sea-level rise, San Francisco plans to start using the first batch of funds. Next week, The City is expected to introduce to the Board of Supervisors for approval a proposal to use $50 million of the $425 million Embarcadero Seawall Earthquake Safety general obligation bond approved by more than 80 percent of the voters in November. The bond is funded through property taxes. … ” Read more from the SF Examiner here: San Francisco to put seawall money to work
Inside Santa Cruz’s environmentally friendly water recharge: “On a quiet industrial side street near 41st Avenue and Soquel Drive, the Santa Cruz Water Department has been quietly pumping millions of gallons of water through temporary PVC piping. Every minute, about 400 gallons flow past pressure gauges and shut-off valves into a 2-foot-high concrete box that marks the top of Beltz Well 12. If a pilot program goes well, this whole system could play a pivotal role in the water security of communities from Aptos to UCSC. Normally, water is pumping out of this well, not into it. As part of the reversal process, engineers went into the well and removed column piping, which now lies in a pile under a plastic tarp off to the side. Two 35,000-gallon tanks sit empty. ... ” Read more from Good Times Santa Cruz here: Inside Santa Cruz’s environmentally friendly water recharge
Weeks of rain delay construction, farming in Merced County: “Wet weather is lingering, and with some fields still bare, Merced County farmers like Gino Pedretti are starting to worry. “I get more anxious the later it gets in the year,” he said. Pedretti and his family are cotton farmers, and they’re usually planting by now. However, they haven’t planted any cotton yet because of all the recent storms. … ” Read more from ABC 30 here: Weeks of rain delay construction, farming in Merced County
Fight against invasive plants at Bolsa Chica Wetlands expands to nearby state beach: “Conservationists and weekend volunteers have toiled in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands for years, weeding out invasive plants and replanting native vegetation that has been squeezed out by the invaders. Those native plants are key to creating a habitat — with its attendant bird food of bugs and lizards — that has made the wetlands in Huntington Beach a thriving destination for more than 200 types of birds, including several endangered and threatened species. Now, these wildlife custodians are expanding their botanical battle across Pacific Coast Highway to the sand dunes of Bolsa Chica State Beach. … ” Read more from the Long Beach Press Telegram here: Fight against invasive plants at Bolsa Chica Wetlands expands to nearby state beach
Along the Colorado River …
Water officials press Senate on urgency of Colorado River drought plan: “The director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources told a Senate panel Wednesday there is an “urgent need” to authorize a multistate drought contingency plan for the Colorado River basin. Tom Buschatzke was one of several state and federal officials pressing Congress on the plan, years in the making, that is designed to head off a potential water “crisis” in the region and help settle disputes over water allocations if the Colorado does drop to crisis levels. Despite recent rains, there is still a pressing need for the plans in a region that has been hit by “its worst drought in recorded history,” said Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman. ... ” Read more from Cronkite News here: Water officials press Senate on urgency of Colorado River drought plan
Arizona Sen. McSally promises swift action on drought plan: “U.S. Sen. Martha McSally vowed Wednesday to take quick action on a plan to preserve the drought-stricken Colorado River, which serves about 40 million people in the U.S. West and Mexico. Seven states are looking to Congress to pass legislation to implement drought contingency plans that would mean voluntary cuts to keep two key reservoirs on the river from falling so low that their dams could not deliver water or produce hydropower. The plans that have been in the works for years got a first congressional hearing Wednesday before a subcommittee that McSally chairs. The Arizona Republican said she’ll introduce a bill soon and expects strong support. … ” Read more from the AP via the Miami Herald here: Arizona Sen. McSally promises swift action on drought plan
The Latest: Irrigation District Opposes Draft Drought Bill: “A California irrigation district that has the largest entitlement to Colorado River water says it doesn’t support proposed federal legislation to implement a multi-state drought plan. The Imperial Irrigation District says language in a packet that several Western states recently sent to Congress would waive environmental laws. Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming recently agreed to push for federal legislation to implement drought contingency plans. Under the plans, the states would give up water to keep two reservoirs from dropping drastically. … ” Read more from US News and World Report here: The Latest: Irrigation District Opposes Draft Drought Bill
Precipitation watch …
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.
