- ONLINE MEETING: State Water Resources Control Board meets beginning at 9:30am. Agenda items include the quarterly Delta Watermaster Report, the Delta Lead Scientist report, and an update on the implementation of statewide trash provisions. Click here for the full agenda. Click here to watch on webcast.
- FREE WEBINAR: The Wild Side of the Santa Ana River from 10am to 11:30am: Orange County Water District manages the largest constructed wetlands on the west coast in the Prado Basin to naturally remove nitrates and other pollutants from Santa Ana River water. Join us for an introductory look at OCWD’s natural resources program, including a virtual tour of our seabird nesting island, some of the birds that nest there, and glimpses of the Prado Basin, nesting vireos and swallows. Click here to register.
Farmers doing more with less need help from above: “Joel Ackerknecht manages about 3,500 acres of land north and west of Bakersfield and south of Arvin for DM Camp and Sons, a more than 80-year-old Kern County farming operation that grows a variety of specialty crops, including wine grapes, nuts and sweet potatoes. A combination of expanding global demand for California produce, stretched water resources, receding ground water levels and increasing government regulations caused Ackerknecht to search for ways to do more with less. Ackerknecht turned his attention to the sky for help. ... ” Read more the Bakersfield Californian here: Farmers doing more with less need help from above
Bacterial outbreak forces euthanization of fish at three Southern California hatcheries: “Three California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) fish hatchery facilities in the eastern Sierra and Southern California have been battling a bacterial outbreak that has affected 3.2 million fish. This week, after consultation with fish pathology experts and exhausting all avenues of treatment, CDFW announced that the fish, which are all trout, at the affected facilities must be euthanized in order to stop the spread of the outbreak. The affected facilities – Mojave River Hatchery, Black Rock Hatchery and Fish Springs Hatchery – usually provide fish for stocking waterways in CDFW’s South Coast Region and Inland Deserts Region. The euthanization of all the fish at these facilities will have a profound effect on CDFW’s ability to stock fish for anglers in those regions in the near future. … ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife here: Bacterial outbreak forces euthanization of fish at three Southern California hatcheries
High and rising: flood risk in California grows: “Northern California—where most of the state’s water supply originates—has been exceptionally dry this year, part of an unfolding decades-long “megadrought” affecting much of the West. While the focus of attention is naturally on managing drought, two new studies suggest that we have vastly underestimated the state’s flood risk. California’s climate is already the most variable in North America, and global climate change is making it even more volatile, with increasingly dramatic swings between wet and dry conditions—referred to as “precipitation whiplash.” In addition, rising sea level is increasing the likelihood of coastal flooding, which is often associated with intense storms. Water managers have the unenviable task of simultaneously mitigating increasing drought and flood risk. … ” Read more from the PPIC here: High and rising: flood risk in California grows
2019 – 2020 California meteorological rainfall season summary: “Now that we have made it to the month of July, that means we have officially started the new meteorological rainfall season. The meteorological rainfall season measures rainfall totals here in California from July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the current year. Let’s take a look back at the 2019 to 2020 rainfall season and review the precipitation data we saw over the course of the year. ... ” Read more from Spectrum 1 News here: 2019 – 2020 California meteorological rainfall season summary
Solved! Is it illegal to collect rainwater? “Q: We just purchased our first home and moved clear across the country. It’s dry out here, and I’d love to collect rainwater to use for my garden but I’m wondering: Is it illegal to collect rainwater? A: Kudos to you on your new home—and for hoping to practice conservation by collecting and reusing rainwater. Water is, after all, a precious resource, so why waste what comes pouring out of the sky for free? While rainwater collection is legal in every state in the nation, many states and municipalities do have restrictions on the practice. Other states—particularly those out west with dry climates—encourage rainwater collection, also known as called rainwater harvesting, because it eases the burden on local water systems. Your state may even offer incentives for rainwater harvesting! … ” Read more from Bob Vila here: Solved! Is it illegal to collect rainwater?
California adopts definition of microplastics in drinking water: “In accordance with deadlines set in 2018 legislation, the California State Water Resources Control Board (Board) has adopted a definition for “microplastics” that will be used in testing of drinking water for microplastics. The Board was required, on or before July 1, 2020, to adopt a definition of microplastics in drinking water and, on or before July 1, 2021, will be required to adopt requirements for testing and reporting on microplastics in drinking water, among other things. While this development is currently focused on the testing of drinking water in California, the Board and others expect that it will form the basis of future efforts to quantify and address microplastics in the environment. … ” Read more from the National Law Review here: California adopts definition of microplastics in drinking water
And lastly … The monster lurking in a California pond: “Life at the Placer County Tortoise Rescue is generally slow paced, and the animals at the Newcastle rescue are kid friendly and docile. That’s the way Melyssa Descovich likes it. The former animal trainer spent the last 14 years rescuing tortoises from all over the United States. She recently opened up the sanctuary kids could see and learn about the reptiles. But on July 16, someone dropped off a not so kid-friendly animal. … ” Read more from KTXL here: The monster lurking in a California pond
Freezing level forecast error can consume reservoir flood control storage: Potentials for Lake Oroville and New Bullards Bar Reservoirs in California: “CW3E hydrologist, Edwin Sumargo, CW3E researchers, F. Martin Ralph, Forest Cannon and Brian Henn (CW3E alumnus) published a paper in Water Resources Research, titled “Freezing Level Forecast Error Can Consume Reservoir Flood Control Storage: Potentials for Lake Oroville and New Bullards Bar Reservoirs in California” (Sumargo et al., 2020). As part of CW3E’s 2019-2024 Strategic Plan to support Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations, CW3E researches the impacts of atmospheric rivers (ARs) on water management and public safety and to improve the prediction capability. In particular, this study assesses the sensitivities reservoirs in the Yuba-Feather watershed, Lake Oroville and New Bullards Bar reservoirs, to freezing-level (ZFL) forecast uncertainty. Specifically, it quantifies what percentages of the two reservoirs’ flood pools would be consumed by the prescribed ZFL forecast error, with varying ZFL altitudes and precipitation event magnitudes. This study offers a “guide curve” on the reservoir sensitivity to ZFL forecast uncertainty for reservoir operations in the Yuba-Feather watershed. Ultimately, this work supports the ongoing collaborations involving CW3E, Yuba Water Agency, California Department of Water Resources, NOAA, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. … ” Continue reading at the Center for Weather and Water Extremes here: Freezing level forecast error can consume reservoir flood control storage: Potentials for Lake Oroville and New Bullards Bar Reservoirs in California
Floods due to atmospheric rivers along the U.S. West Coast: The role of antecedent soil moisture in a warming climate: “Graduate student and now UCLA post-doc, Qian Cao, with her advisor, Professor Dennis Lettenmaier and his group, collaborated with CW3E director F. Martin Ralph, and CW3E researchers Alexander Gershunov and Tamara Shulgina on a recently published a paper in the Journal of Hydrometeorology titled “Floods due to atmospheric rivers along the U.S. West Coast: The role of antecedent soil moisture in a warming climate” (Cao et al., 2020). The research aligns with the Monitoring and Projections of Climate Variability and Change Priority Area within CW3E’s 2019-2024 Strategic Plan because it examines atmospheric rivers roles in flooding along the U.S. West Coast. ... ” Read more from the Center for Weather & Water Extremes here: Floods due to atmospheric rivers along the U.S. West Coast
Bang! Watch a Nooksack River dam finally coming down, freeing miles for fish habitat: “With a bang, Washington state’s dam-busting binge continued last week, as the city of Bellingham blew up its 25-foot-tall dam here. The $17 million project will open 16 miles of habitat for fish including spring chinook important to southern resident killer whales, and is expected to be completed by September. Removal of the Middle Fork diversion dam on the Nooksack follows detonation of the Condit on the White Salmon in 2011, the blow-up of Elwha Dam in 2012 and deconstruction of Glines Canyon Dam, completed in 2014, both on the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha River. … ” Read more from the Seattle Times here: Bang! Watch a Nooksack River dam finally coming down, freeing miles for fish habitat
The U.S. states most prone to natural disasters: “It’s unlikely you clicked on a link to a story about natural disasters and expected good news—which is lucky, because there isn’t much. While extreme weather events are nothing new, they are on the rise across the United States and around the globe. For example, June 2020 was the third hottest June on record, tied with 2015 and following 2019 in first place and 2016 in second, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). And other weather-related events are similarly dispiriting. There are a lot of ways to calculate what makes weather the “worst,” such as an increase in number or severity from year to year, financial impacts, number of people displaced, and human deaths. Below, we take a look at the states considered the worst, in one way or another, for a variety of natural disasters. ... ” Read the article from Readers Digest here: The U.S. states most prone to natural disasters
Lassen County: Creating a new fishery at Mountain Meadows Reservoir: “Monty Currier’s heart sank when an excited angler told him recently of catching trophy-sized crappie at Mountain Meadows Reservoir in Lassen County. For the past five years, Currier, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) environmental scientist assigned to reservoir fisheries in the north state, has been working to rebuild the fishery at Mountain Meadows Reservoir after the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) impoundment went dry in 2015 from the combined effects of maintenance work and the drought. Crappie were not part of the restoration plan. ... ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife here: Creating a new fishery at Mountain Meadows Reservoir
Fields of Gold: The Sacramento Valley’s climate is ripe for producing quality olive oil: “Sebastian Bariani guns his two-seater Kawasaki utility vehicle through his family’s 180 acres of olive trees in Zamora in Yolo County. The cart bounces up and down as he zooms through the orchards, startling jackrabbits who hop away. Bariani is checking on this year’s growth of 30,000 olive trees, which produce 33,000 gallons of Bariani Olive Oil a year. ... ” Read more from Comstock’s Magazine here: Fields of Gold: The Sacramento Valley’s climate is ripe for producing quality olive oil
Vacaville dodges lawsuit over chromium 6-tainted water wells: “A federal judge on Monday squashed environmentalists’ bid to punish a Northern California city for delivering drinking water tainted with the carcinogen that prompted the film “Erin Brockovich.” The environmental group California River Watch sued the city of Vacaville over its water supply in 2017, claiming it was violating federal hazardous waste laws by providing its 92,000 residents with water containing hexavalent chromium. ... ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Vacaville dodges lawsuit over chromium 6-tainted water wells
Monterey Mushroom, Inc. to pay $1.2 million for unauthorized wastewater discharges to local tributaries of Elkhorn Slough: “Monterey Mushroom, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Spawn Mate, Inc., agreed to a $1,169,425 settlement with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board for unauthorized discharges of process wastewater and polluted stormwater from two facilities located in northern Monterey County into unnamed tributaries of Elkhorn Slough. Between Jan. 8, 2017 and April 19, 2017, the company discharged a combined total of approximately 4,634,245 gallons of process wastewater and/or polluted stormwater from two mushroom growing facilities located in Royal Oaks into the tributary. The wastewater contained ammonia, excessive nutrients, and suspended and floating material, which can harm water quality and aquatic habitat.
Polls show public support for 2 O.C. desalination proposals: “Public support for proposed desalination plants in Huntington Beach and Dana Point appears strong in two recent polls, although opponents call the surveys biased and say neither poll addresses key obstacles facing these very different projects. One poll showed 76% support among Huntington Beach residents for the proposal there. Another said support ranged from 64% to 80% for the project located near Doheny State Beach, depending on how the question was framed. “I think the survey provided some good feedback as far as the general feeling about desal is concerned,” said Dennis Erdman, a board member of the South Coast Water District, which is pursuing the Doheny project. “However, as with any complex public project, the details are important.” ... ” Read more from the OC Register here: Polls show public support for 2 O.C. desalination proposals
Legal analysis: Court of Appeal Holds That Imperial Irrigation District Landowners Only Have a Right to Water Service and Not an Individual Appurtenant Right to District Held Water Rights: “Imperial Irrigation District (“IID” or “District”), which provides the only source of fresh water to California’s Imperial Valley, implemented an “equitable distribution plan” (EDP) to allocate its water entitlement amongst its users. A local farmer, Abatti, challenged IID’s EDP, asserting that it unlawfully and inequitably stripped him of his water rights that entitled him to receive a certain quantity of water from the District. Taking a narrow view of the District’s discretion and purposes, the Imperial Superior Court ruled in favor of Abatti, determining that IID abused its discretion in apportioning and allocating its water under the EDP, and that the farmers in IID own the equitable and beneficial interest in the District’s water rights, which is appurtenant to their land, while the District holds mere legal title to its water rights. On appeal, the court held that the District’s water allocation methodology in the EDP was reasonable and not an abuse of discretion, and that Abatti and the other farmers in IID only hold an interest in, or right to, water service. … ” Read more from Somach Simmons & Dunn here: Legal analysis: Court of Appeal Holds That Imperial Irrigation District Landowners Only Have a Right to Water Service and Not an Individual Appurtenant Right to District Held Water Rights
Mayor Pro Tem: Tijuana corruption audit result in Imperial Beach sewage crisis: “The beaches in Imperial Beach have been closed for months due to pollution and the coronavirus pandemic, causing the economy and residents to be negatively impacted. Mayor Pro Tem, Paloma Aguirre joined Good Morning San Diego to discuss a new report claiming that an audit done by Baja California governor accuses big US companies of water theft and contributed to raw sewage and hazardous pollutants ending up in the Tijuana River. “According to statements made this week by Governor Bonilla and his team, they have filed 31 criminal complaints as a result of the mass corruption incurred by the previous Baja administration, said Aguirre. … ” Read more from KUSI here: Mayor Pro Tem: Tijuana corruption audit result in Imperial Beach sewage crisis
Sacred Arizona spring drying up as border wall construction continues: “Midway down a cactus-covered hill in one of the driest parts of Arizona is a miracle: a spring. Water continually streams out of the ground, down a small channel, and into a pond. Quitobaquito Springs, as the area is known, is one of the only reliable above-ground water sources in the Sonoran Desert. This oasis long provided water to the Hia-Ced O’odham, a tribe indigenous to the area, and records of human use and habitation go back more than 10,000 years. It’s also home to two endangered species found nowhere else in the United States: The Sonoyta pupfish and Sonoran mud turtle. … ” Read more from National Geographic here: Sacred Arizona spring drying up as border wall construction continues
LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT: Landmark Lawsuit Settlement Between Environmentalists and State Water Boards Strengthens Delta Protections
- OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT: Draft Report: The Science of Non-native Species in a Dynamic Delta
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Valley Water announces $100,000 in water conservation mini-grants
- NOTICE: Interagency Seawater Desalination Memorandum of Agreement Released
- OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT: Proposed changes to the draft Perchlorate Detection Limit for Purposes of Reporting (DLR)
- NOTICE: State Water Board: Now Accepting SAFER Advisory Group Applications | Junta Estatal de Agua: Ahora Aceptando Aplicaciones de Grupo Asesor del Programa SAFER
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.
