The Great Divide: California communities battle for rights to water: “An ongoing struggle between two communities less than a mile apart illustrates the challenges California faces as it tries to deliver clean, affordable drinking water to more than 1 million residents without access to what the state has called a “basic human right.” Nestled among orange groves in Tulare County, the community of Tooleville has just 391 residents. Hardly a town or a village, it’s a place with a name and a few dozen homes along two dead-end roads off the highway. The drinking water it draws from two nearby wells is often so contaminated with farming-related nitrates and pesticides that residents have been receiving free bottled water from state and county agencies. Less than a mile west of Tooleville is the city of Exeter. Its 10,500 residents have paved streets and schools. They get their water from a municipal system without harmful contaminants. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee here: The Great Divide: California communities battle for rights to water
The government is scaling back water quality protections. These surfers are picking up the slack: “In 1984, a small group of California surfers were fed up with the development and water pollution at their favorite break, Malibu’s Surfrider Beach. They took their environmental concerns to California State Parks officials — and prevailed. The Surfrider Foundation was born. Since then, the nonprofit has kept its focus on improving coastal water quality. And for more than 25 years now, one of its most successful efforts has been a massive citizen science project called the Blue Water Task Force. It’s the largest volunteer-run beach water testing program in the country. … ” Read more from Discover Magazine here: The government is scaling back water quality protections. These surfers are picking up the slack
California climate programs see bottom fall out of main funding source: “The pandemic has slashed greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality as economic activity ground to a halt and workers stayed home. But that silver lining has a downside for California’s cap-and-trade auction, where plummeting demand is threatening crucial climate funding and triggering calls to look for more stable revenues. The effects on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund became apparent last week when the first post-pandemic auction performed even worse than expected. California raised a mere $25 million, less than 5 percent of what it did in February. … ” Read more from Politico here: California climate programs see bottom fall out of main funding source
UC: Pandemic has impacted Calif. food, ag, environment: “COVID-19 continues to affect parts of California agriculture in different ways. A new report from agricultural economists at the University of California examines the current and long-term impacts on California’s leading agricultural industries. Profiles in the report illustrate the different ways the pandemic has impacted dairy, beef and produce – industries that have scrambled to repurpose products from foodservice to retail – and tree nuts, an industry that saw a temporary spike in sales as consumers hoarded storable goods. The report includes expert assessments of what the future holds for California’s cattle, dairy, produce, strawberry, tomato, tree nut and wine industries. ... ” Read more from the Western Farm Press here: UC: Pandemic has impacted Calif. food, ag, environment
The California Water Data Consortium appoints Tara Moran as President & CEO: “The California Water Data Consortium, a nonprofit organization that supports cross-sector collaboration on the implementation of the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Tara Moran as president and CEO. Widely respected in the fields of water resources, data management, and public-private collaboration, Tara previously led Stanford Water in the West’s Sustainable Groundwater program. She will join the Consortium on August 3, 2020. ... ” Read more at the CA Water Data Consortium website here: The California Water Data Consortium appoints Tara Moran as President & CEO
Truckee Donner Public Utility District names Rem Scherzinger as general manager: “Truckee Donner Public Utility District introduced Rem Scherzinger as its new general manager during a live Facebook stream. The public utility district has been actively pursuing a new general manager for the past several months, and chose Scherzinger out of a final pool of 102 applicants. “It’s humbling to think that I’m the result of such an extensive district and community based project … I’m ready to take the baton and continue the upward trajectory of this fantastic organization,” Scherzinger said during the May 29 announcement. … ” Read more from the Sierra Sun here: Truckee Donner Public Utility District names Rem Scherzinger as general manager
New manager named at Kern Delta Water District: “Steve Teglia, a long time Assistant City Manager of the City of Bakersfield, has formally taken over the reins of the Kern Delta Water District. He was appointed to the position to replace retiring Mark Mulkay on May 16 and officially took over on Monday, June 1. ... ” Read more from SJV Water here: New manager named at Kern Delta Water District
SCV Water board member Tom Campbell resigns after 23 years: “After serving the Santa Clarita Valley for 23 years as a board member for the Newhall County Water District (NCWD), Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA) and SCV Water, Tom Campbell resigned his position, effective May 27. Campbell represented Division 2 on the SCV Water Board of Directors, serving portions of Valencia, Saugus and Canyon Country. Moving forward, Campbell will focus his time and efforts on his family. ... ” Read more from KHTS here: SCV Water board member Tom Campbell resigns after 23 years
Long-time Coachella Valley leader Patricia “Corky” Larson dies: “Former Riverside County Supervisor Patricia “Corky” Larson, for whom the Indio courthouse is named, died Wednesday at her Palm Desert home at the age of 92. Local officials and agencies representing the Coachella Valley lauded her many years of public service, which included three terms each on the Board of Supervisors and the Coachella Valley Water District board and two terms on the Palm Springs school board. … ” Read more from The Patch here: Long-time Coachella Valley leader Patricia “Corky” Larson dies
Trump uses ‘emergency’ to speed up infrastructure projects: “President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling on federal agencies to use emergency powers to “accelerate” infrastructure projects on federal lands as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. The order urges the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense departments to use emergency powers under the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to speed projects through the approval process. It was signed following Trump’s use of the Stafford Act to declare a national emergency in March as the Covid-19 crisis gripped the U.S. The law dictates how the federal government responds to natural disasters. … ” Read more from Bloomberg Law here: Trump uses ‘emergency’ to speed up infrastructure projects
What Trump’s permit order means for NEPA, energy and race: “Amid a public health crisis that has crashed the economy, President Trump yesterday ordered his administration to accelerate permitting for major projects — sparking blowback from critics who say it will inflict damage on communities of color he’s accused of ignoring as thousands protest across the country against police brutality and injustice. Trump signed an executive order directing federal officials to waive environmental review for infrastructure projects like pipelines and highways by using emergency authorities in environmental statutes. The order also could weaken public comment and community oversight in order to aid “economic recovery.” … ” Read more from E&E News here: What Trump’s permit order means for NEPA, energy and race
Legal alert: US EPA announces final rule revising Section 401 of the Clean Water Act: “On June 1, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule revising license and permit issuance rules under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). This new rule comes in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 13868, which required the EPA to review and modify Section 401 to be consistent with the Administration’s goal of promoting energy infrastructure development. … The final rule revises the certification process under Section 401 in a number of ways. … ” Read more from Somach Simmons & Dunn here: Legal alert: US EPA announces final rule revising Section 401 of the Clean Water Act
Ex-EPA staffer on leaked water research, ‘insane’ regs: “Thirty-four years ago, Ronnie Levin’s research on lead in drinking water sounded the alarm for many Americans about risks lurking in their tap water. As the Trump administration propels forward a new rule, Levin is still fighting to make sure communities, especially the most vulnerable, have safe drinking water. Levin’s pivotal research, which laid the groundwork for EPA’s first lead rule, was leaked to major newspapers across the nation in 1986. “Dangerous Amounts of Lead in Much Drinking Water, EPA Says” was the ominous headline in The Washington Post. ... ” Read more from E&E News here: Ex-EPA staffer on leaked water research, ‘insane’ regs
Enthusiasm but obstacles in using sewage to monitor coronavirus: “Health departments and researchers in hundreds of cities worldwide are turning to sewage to better understand the spread of the new coronavirus in their communities. This is an option because people infected with SARS-CoV-2 shed virus particles in their stool. Generally these are non-infectious strands of genetic material rather than active viruses, but the information is useful nonetheless. Advocates for sewage surveillance hope that data gleaned from the sewers could serve as an early-warning system for outbreaks — a system that would ring alarms about community spread of the virus well before cities reached the crisis situations that emerged in February and March. … ” Read more from Circle of Blue here: Enthusiasm But Obstacles in Using Sewage to Monitor Coronavirus
Visualizing science: how color determines what we see: “Color strongly influences the way we perceive information, especially when that information is dense, multidimensional, and nuanced—as is often the case in scientific data sets. Choosing colors to visually represent data can thus be hugely important in interpreting and presenting scientific results accurately and effectively. “Language is inherently biased, but through visualization, we can let the data speak for [themselves],” said Phillip Wolfram, an Earth system modeler and computational fluid dynamicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. ... ” Read more from EOS here: Visualizing science: how color determines what we see
Kansas Water: Steve Baker writes, “The best way to imagine Kansas is a place that is up-side down and backwards. All the water in the state of Kansas is in the driest part of the state. It’s a very, varied state that straddles the wet Midwest from the dry high plains. Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life.” Produced by Steven Baker, Operation Unite® Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, Online at www.operationunite.co
Reimagine California’s big-water dreams: Larry Wilson writes, “Romantic newspaper myths aside — wait; are there romantic newspaper myths anymore? — editorial-page junkets are not along the lines of a stay in a house on stilts in a Bali lagoon. Just to do some Indonesian fact-finding, don’t you know. In fact, it didn’t take the novel coronavirus to dampen down out-of-town trips to conventions or the state capital on the paper’s dime. That non-ship sailed long ago; not enough dimes. But perhaps a decade ago I did catch a Southwest flight to romantic Sacramento to join a day-long junket with Metropolitan Water District executives into California’s Delta region. … ” Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Reimagine California’s big-water dreams
Dangerous attacks on ecosystems: Robert Sulnick writes, “Donald Trump has notoriously denied the fact that climate change exists (similar to what he did with COVID-19: “It will just disappear”), much less that it existentially threatens all life on the planet as we know it. Consistent with this denial of reality are his administration’s assaults on ecosystems, which are increasing, not diminishing, the climate threat. The Trump administration is making drastic changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It is weakening protections for “threatened” species (historically treated the same as endangered species) and for the first time is allowing economic analysis as a criteria in determining whether to protect species, which will allow more development in wildland habitats. It will also dangerously threaten our ecosystems’ ability to function, increasing the threat of global warming. ... ” Read more from the Independent here: Dangerous attacks on ecosystems
Kern County Public Health Services cautions residents of harmful algal blooms in Isabella Lake: “The Kern County Public Health Services Department is warning people who use certain areas of Isabella Lake to use caution and stay away where signs advise there are active algal blooms. Boaters, dog owners and other recreational lake users are urged to be careful and avoid certain areas, according to a department news release. The health department took water samples from 17 locations in the lake. Five indicated the presence of potentially harmful blue-green algae (cyanotoxin) at the cautionary level, one area at warning level, and five areas at the danger level. … ” Read more from the Bakersfield Californian here: Kern County Public Health Services cautions residents of harmful algal blooms in Isabella Lake
San Clemente: Artificial reef expansion could resume next week: “Construction to expand Southern California Edison’s man-made kelp forest from the coast of San Clemente up to Dana Point’s waters could resume next week, the San Onofre power plant operator announced Friday, June 5. Depending on ocean conditions, the utility company said that the work to more than double the size of its Wheeler North Reef could pick back up as early as Monday, June 8. The project started back in July 2019 before being placed on pause in October—the start of lobster season. ... ” Read more from the San Clemente Times here: San Clemente: Artificial reef expansion could resume next week
Newport Beach: California homeowners fined $1.7 million for illegal yards on beach: “Nearly three dozen Newport Beach homeowners who built yards that illegally extend onto the public beach have agreed to a combined $1.7 million in fines as well as to the city restoring the encroachments to their natural state. The deal, recommended by Coastal Commission staff for the state panel to approve at its June 11 meeting, would resolve decades of illegal encroachments by beachfront homeowners on Peninsula Point located at the east end of the Balboa Peninsula. ... ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury Times here: Newport Beach: California homeowners fined $1.7 million for illegal yards on beach
Las Vegas: Is this the end of a 30-year fight over a proposed water pipeline? “On May 21, the Southern Nevada Water Authority board of directors voted to indefinitely defer its groundwater development project, which opponents had dubbed the “water grab.” The unanimous vote brought an end to more than three decades of acrimonious battle between the SNWA and Great Basin Water Network. That coalition of environmentalists, Native American tribes, ranchers, and other opponents believed the water authority’s plan would turn 200 square miles of cultural sites, farms and ranches, and public lands into a dust bowl. They also criticized what they estimated would be a $15.5-billion price tag. ... ” Read more from KNPR here: Is this the end of a 30-year fight over a proposed water pipeline?
Six reasons to support the Lake Powell Pipeline: Ed Bowler writes, “After decades of study, a very important and exciting milestone for the Lake Powell Pipeline (LPP) is happening next week. The Bureau of Reclamation will be issuing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on June 8 that studied the LPP’s need and purpose, environmental and socioeconomic impacts, and other important considerations. It outlines how the pipeline can be built in a manner that protects the environment. As Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Washington County Water Conservancy District – the entity that provides water to more than 90% of county residents – I encourage you to express your viewpoints about the study and the LPP. The public comment process will last until Sept. 8. ... ” Read more from The Spectrum here: Six reasons to support the Lake Powell Pipeline
Secretary Babbitt’s river plan doesn’t go far enough: Denise Fort writes, “Each spring, the acequias in New Mexico carry cold, clear snowmelt to freshly furrowed fields on small farms. The centuries-old irrigation culture is recognized in state law and supported by strong communities. These farms often come to mind when we think about agriculture in the West: a cool riparian valley with adjacent fields and people rooted in the land, growing crops that may be sold at a farmers market in a nearby town. So when former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt suggested in a recent opinion piece (Writersontherange.org), that a portion of agricultural water rights should be transferred to urban areas, it no doubt conjured up some strong emotions — small family farms drying up so that suburbanites could water their lawns and golf courses. … ” Read more from the Pagosa Sun here: Secretary Babbitt’s river plan doesn’t go far enough
Image credit: CA streamflow assessment map, courtesy of Belize Lane. From this paper: Lane, B. A., Dahlke, H. E., Pasternack, G. B., & Sandoval‐Solis, S. (2017). Revealing the diversity of natural hydrologic regimes in California with relevance for environmental flows applications. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 53(2), 411-430.
