In California water news today …
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Jeff Kightlinger, Metropolitan Water District
“In this episode John Howard and Tim Foster welcomed the longtime but soon-to-be-retired Metropolitan Water District of Southern California head honcho Jeff Kightlinger for a wide-ranging discussion that covered the status of the Delta Tunnel Project, climate change and the snow survey, the drought, working from home, jukeboxes, his punk rock roots and Dan Walters‘ connection to the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra. WHEW.” Listen at Capitol Weekly here: Capitol Weekly Podcast: Jeff Kightlinger
Reclamation releases technical reports and interactive web tool supporting the 2021 SECURE Water Act Report
“The Bureau of Reclamation today released final technical reports supporting the Water Reliability in the West – 2021 SECURE Water Act Report. Reclamation—s 2021 West-Wide Climate and Hydrology Assessment and seven individual basin reports provide detailed information on climate change impacts and adaptation strategies to increase water supply reliability in the West. A new 2021 SECURE Report Web Portal is also available to provide a user-friendly, web-based format for delivery of information in the reports. “Western water supply and delivery systems are affected by changing hydrologic conditions and competing demands,” Deputy Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said. “These reports highlight Reclamation—s effort to use the best-available science to meet its mission while also collaborating with its water and power customers, states and local agencies, and tribes to address critical western water management issues.” … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation here: Reclamation releases technical reports and interactive web tool supporting the 2021 SECURE Water Act Report
Solar canals: Researchers in California look to India’s canal-top solar arrays for inspiration
“Rows of solar panels stretch to the horizon near Chandrasan, a small village in India’s western state of Gujarat. The 1-megawatt solar array snakes through fields flush with crops of cotton and peanuts, but it doesn’t encroach on the precious farmland. Instead, the panels hover above a narrow irrigation canal, which replenishes the surrounding fields. India’s first “solar canal,” completed in 2012, has since sparked a growing global interest in the unconventional design, owing to its overlapping benefits. When placed over a canal, solar arrays do more than produce electricity in land-constrained areas. They also keep cool, and thus operate more efficiently, thanks to the water down below. Shade from the panels, meanwhile, can reduce evaporation and limit harmful algae growth in the waterway. … ” Read more from IEEE Spectrum here: Solar canals: Researchers in California look to India’s canal-top solar arrays for inspiration
Salton Sea workshop to highlight Natural Resources Agency progress in 2020
“The State Water Resources Control Board will hold its annual workshop to receive updates on the status of the Salton Sea Management Plan on April 7 at 2 p.m. The workshop will feature the California Natural Resources Agency’s report on Phase 1 of the 10-year project and highlight the lead agency’s efforts to improve conditions at the Salton Sea, including completion of 755 acres of interim dust-suppression projects and initial construction on the 4,110-acre Species Conservation Habitat Project along the south shore that will create a network of ponds and wetlands to provide important fish and bird habitat and reduce dust emissions as the sea recedes. Other highlights cited in the report are the selection of a contractor for the conservation project, a new agency office situated near the sea, and a budget increase to staff 10 additional positions, with six employees stationed at the site.
How California stands to benefit from the $2.2 trillion infrastructure proposal
“Perhaps more than any other part of the country, California stands to benefit from the $2.2 trillion proposal introduced last week by President Biden. As our colleague Jim Tankersley and others reported (and detailed for The Upshot and “The Daily”), the sweeping plan would inject huge sums of money into wider roads, faster internet, high-speed trains, charging stations for electric cars, airport terminals, upgraded water pipes and much more. If it passes — a big if — the state that conjured Los Angeles out of the chaparral and the nation’s agribusiness capital out of the swamps of the Central Valley will have big plans for the federal money. … ” Continue reading at the New York Times here: How California stands to benefit from the $2.2 trillion infrastructure proposal
Before-and-after photos of California reservoirs show looming drought
“California’s reservoirs are half empty. The massive bodies of water that the state depends on for agriculture and everyday use in homes are dropping dramatically. Case in point: Lake Shasta, the state’s largest water reserve, is at 53% of capacity as of April 3. On the same date last year, it was at 80% of capacity. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: Before-and-after photos of California reservoirs show looming drought
Sweltering heat continues to bake Southwest
“The record-challenging heat that overspread much of the southwestern United States during the middle of last week is refusing to relinquish its grip on the region. “High pressure that has dominated the weather pattern across the West through the weekend will bring one more day of strong heating to start the traditional workweek,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde said. … On Monday, records are set to be challenged across the Desert Southwest once again. ... ” Read more from AccuWeather here: Sweltering heat continues to bake Southwest
In hotter climate, ‘zombie’ urchins are winning and kelp forests are losing
“They’re purple, spiky and voracious, and just off the West Coast, there are more of them than you can count. Purple sea urchins have exploded in recent years off California, covering the ocean floor in what divers describe as a “purple carpet.” And they devour kelp: the once-lush forests of seaweed that hugged the coastline are disappearing. Since 2014, 95 percent of the kelp have vanished across a large part of Northern California, most of it bull kelp. … ” Read more from the Capital Public Radio here: In hotter climate, ‘zombie’ urchins are winning and kelp forests are losing
Ecologists use mushrooms to detoxify soil and water after wildfires
“In the wake of California’s worst-ever wildfire season, researchers are exploring how mushrooms can help detoxify polluted soil and water. Scientists and volunteers at CoRenewal, a nonprofit dedicated to ecological restoration, are conducting the experiment in burn zones along high-risk waterways in Northern California. Burned and melted plastics, metals, electronics, and building materials leave behind toxic ash, which then washes into water systems. … Following the 2020 wildfire season, CoRenewal is researching how fungi can filter and break down these toxins—a process called mycoremediation. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News here: Ecologists use mushrooms to detoxify soil and water after wildfires
In columns and commentary today …
Are California water wars about to boil?
Garth Stapley, the Modesto Bee’s Opinions page editor, writes, “Not counting long and ugly court battles, the two most likely solutions to California water wars are voluntary agreements or involuntary edicts. Our Modesto Bee Editorial Board long has favored voluntary agreements, or compromises negotiated mainly between local irrigation districts (representing our farmers) and state and federal officials. The other side, chiefly represented by environmental and fishing interests, would prefer that the California State Water Board simply take huge amounts of water from our Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers, mostly to benefit fish — what could be called involuntary edicts. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here (Note: scroll down for story): Commentary: Are California water wars about to boil?
Drought is upon us. California’s Senate leader has a plan to keep it from becoming a crisis
Columnist George Skelton writes, “California’s big reservoirs are about half empty. We’re heading into another drought. But Sacramento’s vault is overflowing while Washington is pumping in more dollars. Here’s an idea: Spend some windfall money on no-brainer, quickie public works projects to help us confront the drought and prepare for an unstable climate future. Credit state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego). It’s her idea. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Column: Drought is upon us. California’s Senate leader has a plan to keep it from becoming a crisis
How reducing food waste can help solve the climate crisis
Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFED, a nonprofit working to end food waste in the U.S., writes, “Sometime over the last month, you probably threw away a banana. Maybe it got too ripe. Or maybe your child didn’t like the one he was eating with the spotty, brown skin. You probably didn’t think much about tossing it. But all told, Americans throw away 5 billion bananas every year — and a lot more food. Across the U.S. food supply in 2019, 35% of it — some 80 million tons of food — went unsold or uneaten. In California, more than 14 million tons of food were never consumed. That’s a nearly 12% increase in the U.S. since 2010 — despite a leveling off in recent years. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times here: How reducing food waste can help solve the climate crisis
In regional water news and commentary today …
Fishermen worried over salmon season
“With commercial salmon fishing in California likely headed toward a shortened season starting in late June, fishermen out of Half Moon Bay remain worried about what a short season means during an already down year. “This is an extremely limited season. It doesn’t have a lot of hope in it. It looks like there will be a lot of lost time on the water,” Half Moon Bay fisherman Don Marshall said. ... ” Read more from the Daily Journal here: Fishermen worried over salmon season
Orange County Water District works to clean polluted groundwater from decades of manufacturing
“Underneath Orange County is a hidden arterial highway that groundwater moves through before eventually finding its way into homes. More than 70% of the water served in Orange County is from groundwater. But some has become contaminated from industrial manufacturing because harmful chemicals that weren’t properly disposed of seeped down into the ground. “Any area with a large amount of industrial activity, especially when it comes to machining, metalworking or military purposes, all of which kind of play a role in Orange County’s history, used a pretty significant amount of chemicals back before their disposal was particularly well-regulated,” Chapman University chemistry professor Christopher Kim said. “Unfortunately, those historical industries and activities have this legacy effect of still causing contamination problems through today.” … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Orange County Water District works to clean polluted groundwater from decades of manufacturing
Along the Colorado River …
Meet Arizona’s water one-percenters
“Every two weeks, Dawn Upton floods her lawn. She treks into her back yard, twists open two valves big as dinner plates, and within minutes is ankle-deep in water. “You have to have irrigation boots, girl,” she says during a video tour of her property in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. She flips her camera to reveal green grass, then tilts her phone skyward at four towering palm trees. As she walks, she pans across pecan, pomegranate, and citrus trees – lemon, orange, a grapefruit sapling. … This lush half-acre is Upton and her husband’s oasis, fed by flood irrigation in the heart of the Sonoran desert. … ” Read more from The Guardian here: Meet Arizona’s water one-percenters
In national water news today …
The next time you’re out West you might see clouds on steroids*
“The next time you go to the western United States and look up at the sky, you might see a plane hurling itself into a giant mass of clouds. It might seem unusual, but it is in fact our latest way to combat the effects of climate change. From the pioneers to Silicon Valley, the history of the West is tied to an innovative, manifest spirit. The landscapes lend themselves to these ideas as well—the jagged Rockies and the adjacent stretches of arid deserts are some of the harshest environments in our country, yet also some of the most biologically diverse and full of life. … Among these intrepid and dramatic locales is where one of mankind’s greatest experiments is taking place and where an important question is being asked: Can we adjust the weather to better suit us? … ” Read more from the Daily Beast here: The next time you’re out West you might see clouds on steroids
This is water infrastructure
“If you followed the news, you would think there are only problems and few successes with water infrastructure in the U.S. But that’s not the case. Part of the visibility problem with water infrastructure is that the industry does such a good job of making things work. In most situations things are not falling apart. … There is beauty and art in the engineering of these systems. Whether it is an array of aerators for a new mixing tank, the reflection of the sunrise in an open-air clarifier, or the organized jumble of purple pipe at a water reclamation facility, water infrastructure is not invisible. It’s right there. … ” Read more at Water and Wastes Digest here: This is water infrastructure
What Biden’s infrastructure plan means for rivers
“This past week President Biden unveiled his American Jobs Plan, proposing a nearly $2.3 trillion investment in our national infrastructure. A game-changing investment of this size in modernizing our infrastructure and fighting the effects of climate change is a necessary step, but the question remains, does this bold plan do enough for rivers? Last year we wrote the Rivers as Economic Engines report, which identifies a $500 billion need over the next 10 years in order to properly support for our waters. This includes investing $200 billion for improving water infrastructure, $200 billion for modernizing flood managements, and $100 billion for restoring watersheds in our community. President Biden exemplifies his own commitment to our nation’s water resources through his American Jobs Plan, which includes $111 billion to revitalize our nation’s antiquated water systems. … ” Continue reading at American Rivers here: What Biden’s infrastructure plan means for rivers
Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why?
Nick Estes, citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and assistant professor in the American studies department at the University of New Mexico, writes “Bill Gates has never been a farmer. So why did the Land Report dub him “Farmer Bill” this year? The third richest man on the planet doesn’t have a green thumb. Nor does he put in the back-breaking labor humble people do to grow our food and who get for far less praise for it. That kind of hard work isn’t what made him rich. Gates’ achievement, according to the report, is that he’s largest private owner of farmland in the US. A 2018 purchase of 14,500 acres of prime eastern Washington farmland – which is traditional Yakima territory – for $171m helped him get that title. In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland with assets totaling more than $690m. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly the size of Hong Kong and twice the acreage of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, where I’m an enrolled member. A white man owns more farmland than my entire Native nation! … ” Continue reading this commentary at the Guardian here: Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why?
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
In California water news this weekend …
- Deal to help fish threatened by federal agencies
Solar panels atop canals? UC Merced study finds big potential. What do MID, TID think?- Sierra Meadows strategy: Source waters hold the key to combatting the effects of climate change
- PPIC Fact Sheet: Access to safe drinking water
- California State Water Board working on new construction stormwater general permit for 2021
- Push to reduce plastic waste gains traction in Sacramento and D.C.
- California Department of Justice expresses concern over proposal to allow exploratory drilling in the Suisun Marsh
- Secretary Ross on how agriculture is contributing to the state’s climate goals
- Pest management workgroup seeks sustainable alternatives to pesticides
- State advances plan to protect 30% of lands
- WATER TALK PODCAST: David ‘Mas’ Masumoto on California peaches and water
- Sacramento: Water saved for ‘not so rainy days’ to be used this year
- A conversation about the past, present, and future of nature in San Francisco
- Monterey: One agency’s effort to revive a dormant water battle shows the consequences of elections
- And more …
Click here to read the Weekend Daily Digest.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
HYDROVISIONS: Considerations for developing an Aquifer Storage and Recovery program; Managing PFAS; Well development programs & their importance; and more …
FAMILY FARM ALLIANCE: April Monthly Briefing | Infrastructure Hearings & Proposals | Biden Cabinet Update | And more…
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: CalEPA Now Accepting Applications for Environmental Justice Grants (2021 Cycle)
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: NRCS Invites Proposals for 2021 Conservation Innovation Grants
PUBLIC MEETING: Development of Potential Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plans for Tribal Beneficial Use Designations
*If I gave an award for most ridiculous headline, this would surely be a contender.
