On the calendar today …
- FREE WEBINAR: Managing California’s Groundwater: Interconnected Surface Waters & Environmental Users from 12pm to 1pm. This webinar, presented by the Local Government Commission and the Groundwater Exchange, will focus on interconnected surface waters, groundwater dependent ecosystems, and engaging environmental stakeholders in groundwater planning. Brief presentations will be followed by participant Q&A. Our expert presenters include: Charlotte Stanley, Associate Data Scientist, The Nature Conservancy, and Melissa Rohde, Groundwater Scientist, The Nature Conservancy. Click here to register.
- FREE WEBINAR: Community Science to Manage Green Crabs from 12pm to 1pm. Non-native invasive pests threatened coastal ecosystems worldwide. Managing these pests requires considerable effort and resources, and community scientists can be essential for providing the capacity needed. In response to the invasion of a Northern California estuary by the predatory European green crab, listed among the world’s 100 worst invaders, a collaborative team of academic researchers and community scientists initiated a local eradication program. The program dramatically reduced the green crab population over a 5-year period, but it rebounded, which necessitated a switch in project goals from eradication to population suppression. Community scientists were essential to quantify population characteristics and maintain reduced crab populations. Learn from Dr. Ted Grosholz, Alexander and Elizabeth Swantz Specialist, UC ANR and UC Davis Environmental Science and Policy. Click to register
In California water news today …
Scientists saving endangered salmon get help from gene-slicing tool
“A gene-editing tool that has led to new cancer therapies and a rapid test for COVID-19 is now helping scientists find endangered species of salmon in the San Francisco Bay. The CRISPR-based Sherlock tool can identify four types of Chinook salmon, including Sacramento winter-run and Central Valley spring-run, which are both protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. “The Chinook are a great fit actually because all of the runs, more or less, look the same,” said Andrea Schreier, an adjunct associate professor at the University of California Davis and coauthor of a study here published last year in Molecular Ecology Resources that examined using this genetic identification on the endangered Delta smelt. ... ” Read more from Reuters News here: Scientists saving endangered salmon get help from gene-slicing tool
The 2021 Western Drought: What to expect as conditions worsen
“The American West has entered another drought crisis, with nearly the entire region (97 percent) facing abnormally dry conditions and over 70 percent of the region already in severe drought. State and local leaders are making emergency declarations. Water allocations are being slashed. We are already seeing fish die-offs and domestic wells running dry — and the dry season is just beginning. There are many ways to measure drought, and all the indicators we have are telling a dismal story. Precipitation is less than half of normal across the West, and as little as a third of normal in parts of Nevada, Arizona, and California — including major cities like Sacramento, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. This is the second dry year in a row for California; for the seven states sharing the Colorado River, there have been two decades of below-normal water. … ” Read more from the Pacific Institute here: The 2021 Western Drought: What to expect as conditions worsen
‘Truly an emergency’: How drought returned to California – and what lies ahead
“Just two years after California celebrated the end of its last devastating drought, the state is facing another one. Snowpack has dwindled to nearly nothing, the state’s 1,500 reservoirs are at only 50% of their average levels, and federal and local agencies have begun to issue water restrictions. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a drought emergency in 41 of the state’s 58 counties. Meanwhile, temperatures are surging as the region braces for what is expected to be another record-breaking fire season, and scientists are sounding the alarm about the state’s readiness. “What we are seeing right now is very severe, dry conditions and in some cases and some parts of the west, the lowest in-flows to reservoirs on record,” says Roger Pulwarty, a senior scientist in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) physical sciences laboratory, adding that, while the system is designed to withstand dry periods, “a lot of the slack in our system has already been used up”. … ” Read more from the Guardian here: ‘Truly an emergency’: how drought returned to California – and what lies ahead
California’s linchpin reservoir expected to reach a record low water level this summer
“California’s second-largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, is considered a keystone facility within the state’s water project. The reservoir not only stores water but is essential to flood control, recreation, freshwater releases that assist in controlling salinity intrusion in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and protecting fish and wildlife. Oroville Lake, in Butte County, California is fed primarily by the Feather River, along with various other streams, giving it a catchment area of 3,950 square miles (10,200 square kilometers). … ” Read more from the Digital Journal here: California’s linchpin reservoir expected to reach a record low water level this summer
Jobs and irrigation during drought in California
“During droughts organizations and stakeholders look for ways of getting the most from every water drop. This is not an exception in California where roughly 40 percent of all water use (on average) is agricultural, 10 percent to cities and the rest is uncaptured or environmental uses (mostly on the North Coast). Cities particularly in southern California have adhered to aggressive water conservation measures, and economically worthwhile irrigation efficiency improvements have already been adopted by thriving agriculture in the state. Yet the notion that applied water in agriculture is often wasteful is common in media drought coverage. … ” Read more from the California Water Blog here: Jobs and Irrigation during Drought in California
Temperatures to plummet across the West as storms threaten to spark wildfires
“Over the weekend, scattered showers and rain peppered the Northwest, and there was even snow that fell in the greatest portions of the Cascades, making hauntingly beautiful scenes on Mount Rainier. Sadly, most regions to the south have not and possibly will not get much rainfall from this pattern change. AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said: “On Monday, a large dip in the jet stream will start approaching the West coast, this dip in the jet stream will only aggravate the fire danger across the Southwest. … ” Read more from Nature World News here: Temperatures to plummet across the West as storms threaten to spark wildfires
A new agricultural electricity use forecast method holds promise for water use management
“Agricultural electricity demand is highly sensitive to water availability. Under “normal” conditions, the State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP), as well as other surface water supplies, are key sources of irrigation water for many California farmers. Under dry conditions, these water sources can be sharply curtailed, even eliminated, at the same time irrigation requirements are heightened. Farmers then must rely more heavily on groundwater, which requires greater energy to pump than surface water, since groundwater must be lifted from deeper depths. … The surface-groundwater dynamic results in significant variations in year-to-year agricultural electricity sales. Yet, PG&E has assigned the agricultural customer class a revenue responsibility based on the assumption that “normal” water conditions will prevail every year, without accounting for how inevitable variations from these circumstances will affect rates and revenues for agricultural and other customers. … ” Read the full post at Economics Outside the Cube here: A new agricultural electricity use forecast method holds promise for water use management
Agricultural groundwater recharge
“Water efficiency is an important first step to maintaining our groundwater resources, but is there more agriculture can be doing to recharge underground aquifers? Helen Dahlke is an associate professor in integrated hydrologic sciences at UC Davis who has been working on agricultural groundwater recharge for seven years. Dahlke… “The soil suitability is one big criteria. So you want to make sure your soil has high infiltration rates. The water is seeping into the ground very quickly.” … ” Read more from Ag Net West here: Agricultural groundwater recharge
Western Growers launches new AgTechX Ed Initiative; Dave Puglia and California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross address ag challenges
“The marriage between innovation and agriculture is an ever-strengthening one, and our industry has taken great strides in bringing the technology of the future to the fields. Western Growers is furthering this mission, recently teaming up with Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary, to launch the statewide AgTechX Ed initiative, aimed at developing a future workforce with the skills and knowledge to navigate emerging on-farm technology. Dave Puglia, President and Chief Executive Officer, Western Growers“As we face chronic and worsening labor shortages, escalating labor costs and legislative mandates, and dwindling access to water, crop protection tools, and other inputs, the rapid development and deployment of technology is our best hope to preserve California’s farmland and regional agricultural economies,” said Dave Puglia, Western Growers President and CEO. “AgTechX Ed is an exciting and critical initiative that can help advance the tech-expert workforce we must have to continue producing healthy California-grown foods.” … ” Read more from And Now U Know here: Western Growers launches new AgTechX Ed Initiative; Dave Puglia and California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross address ag challenges
In regional water news and commentary today …
Klamath water crisis at inflection point 20 years after it rose to national prominence: Beat Check podcast
“Have the water wars returned to Klamath county? Federal officials announced last month that no one — not the tribes or farmers in the Southern Oregon county — will get water from upper Klamath lake this year. The impact goes beyond Oregon’s border. Amy cordials, an attorney and member of the Yurok tribe in California, said the drought is taking a toll on the reservation. “The way we manage water in the Klamath, particularly doesn’t work,” she said. ?It doesn’t work for anyone. We’re on the verge of bankruptcy. We’re on the verge of collapse.” Farmers Grant Knoll and Dan Nielsen bought land near the lake and are threatening to breach the headgates if the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation does not release water into the canal. Knoll said farmers are hurting. “We have families, we have property payments we’ve got equipment payments,” he said. “I’ve got fertilizer I’ve got to pay for, electricity. We’re fragile. You don’t get a crop you don’t’ get income for a year most people are broke.” No one is happy. On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporter Kale Williams breaks down just what is happening in the Klamath basin.” Here’s the full episode from Oregon Live.
Sausalito’s housing war is happening on the water. In this conflict, eviction means crushed boats
” … To the larger community of salty sea outsiders, Richardson Bay has been known as the last free anchorage out on the bay, and, for decades, a group of boaters who make up the anchorage community and call themselves “anchor-outs” have been living freely, and illegally, out on the water. Their vessels — most of them sailboats fixed with inflatable briggs, skiffs or kayaks that allow them to get back on shore — bob like white hats out in the middle of Richardson Bay and almost act like sea artifacts for the thousands of kayakers and tourists who come into Sausalito every year, paddling around them on their way to other parts of the waterfront. But now, the anchor-outs have been at the center of an intensifying dispute with regional and state authorities over how the anchorage should be enforced. … ” Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle here: Sausalito’s housing war is happening on the water. In this conflict, eviction means crushed boats
Modesto commentary: Finding common ground despite California’s long-running water wars
Garth Stapley, opinion page editor at the Modesto Bee, writes, “Three years ago, Modesto- and Turlock-area farmers collectively received 150,000 acre-feet more water than expected, thanks to fancy technology. By that I mean more than they would have gotten with the decades-old snowpack-estimating technology that most of California still depends on. That’s a lot of water — enough to cover 150,000 football fields a foot deep. It’s about 20% of the total that the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts delivered to their customers that year. This happened because MID and TID left behind the old low-tech way of measuring snow in mountains to the east, relying on snowshoes and hollow aluminum tubes. Instead they embraced a new method using airplanes fitted with light detectors to estimate how much water would melt from the snow and run into our reservoirs. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Column: Finding common ground despite California’s long-running water wars
Mono Lake Kut-za-dika’a Tribe might get official
“According to U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte’s (R-Hesperia) office, last Tuesday, June 1, he introduced a bill, HR 3649, titled the Mono Lake Kutadika’a Paiute Tribal Recognition Act that would grant federal recognition to the Mono Lake Kutzadika’a tribe as a distinct Native American Tribe. The legislation was originally introduced by former Rep. Paul Cook. The bill would address the tribe’s decades-long struggle for indigenous sovereignty and would afford them the services, benefits, and rights provided to federally recognized tribes, says the communique. … ” Continue reading at the Sierra Wave here: Mono Lake Kut-za-dika’a Tribe might get official
Ditch the bottled water. MWD, Santa Ana win prizes for best-tasting tap water in U.S.
“In victories that make the state’s drought even crueler, two Southern California water districts have won the top prizes for best tap water in the U.S. at an international tasting contest. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California finished first and Santa Ana took second place for the nation’s Best Municipal Water on Saturday at the 31st annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting in West Virginia. Those two competitors finished first in the category in 2008 and 2018, respectively. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Ditch the bottled water. MWD, Santa Ana win prizes for best-tasting tap water in U.S.
A generation of seabirds was wiped out by a drone at an O.C. reserve. Now, scientists fear for their future
“Eggs littered the sand, but there was no sign of life around or in them. The seabirds that should have been keeping watch had taken off, terrified by a drone that crash-landed into their nesting grounds on an island at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. “We’ve never seen such devastation here,” said Melissa Loebl, an environmental scientist who manages the Huntington Beach reserve. “This has been really hard for me as a manager.” Some 3,000 elegant terns fled the reserve after the drone crashed May 12, leaving behind 1,500 to 2,000 eggs, none of them viable. It was the largest egg abandonment that scientists who work there can recall. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: A generation of seabirds was wiped out by a drone at an O.C. reserve. Now, scientists fear for their future
Cape Town, Lima offer examples for water-deprived San Diego
“San Diego is one of several cities in Southern California facing water shortages that could learn from unusual efforts in South Africa and Peru to keep the taps flowing despite chronic shortfalls in water supplies. … San Diego, which is near the Mexican border and has an arid climate, receives on average 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain every year and imports approximately 85-90% of its water from either Northern California or the Colorado River. With a growing population and global warming, the city is all but certain to face growing strains on its water security. … ” Read more from the News-Decoder here: Cape Town, Lima offer examples for water-deprived San Diego
Along the Colorado River …
“Mega-drought” takes dramatic toll on Colorado River system that provides water to 40 million people
“Scientists are calling it a “mega-drought” brought on by climate change. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map shows large areas of the Southwest are “exceptionally dry,” the worst category. It’s taking a dramatic toll on the Colorado River system that provides water to 40 million people in seven states – and may force the federal government to make a drastic and historic decision. For more than eight decades, the iconic Hoover Dam has relied on water from Nevada’s Lake Mead to cover up its backside. But now, at age 85, it finds itself uncomfortably exposed. Much of the water the dam is supposed to be holding back is gone. … ” Read more from CBS News here: “Mega-drought” takes dramatic toll on Colorado River system that provides water to 40 million people
Pecan farmer, mining company hope to avoid big cuts in Arizona CAP water
“For two of the Tucson area’s biggest suburban water users, the impact of Central Arizona Project shortages is all about the long term. Officials of Farmers Investment Co., which grows pecans in Sahuarita, and Freeport McMoRan, which runs a major copper mine in the Green Valley area, say they’re not concerned about shortages on the scale likely to befall the CAP in the next few years. But they are concerned about the effects of shortages should the current drought last a long time — which is what many scientists are forecasting. ... ” Read more from Tucson.com here: Pecan farmer, mining company hope to avoid big cuts in CAP water
In national water news today …
Low-income water assistance program officially launched
“The White House last week announced the official launch of the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) housed at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). This program is the first of its kind designed to provide funding to help low-income households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic pay their water and wastewater bills. According to the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the available federal funds, which total $1.138 billion, were secured as part of the federal COVID-19 relief spending in December 2020 and March 2021. Since then, HHS has been working to stand up a program to get the funds out to states and tribes, which will ultimately be responsible for implementing programs that deliver the funding to water and wastewater utilities on behalf of eligible customers. … ” Read more from Water Finance and Management here: Low-income water assistance program officially launched
More news and commentary in the Daily Digest, weekend edition …
This weekend in California water news …
GSAs shooting 50% on GSPs—DWR releases first GSP assessment results for high priority basins- Radio show: Journalist Lois Henry writes about why Corcoran is sinking in the NY Times
- California’s reservoirs face dangerously low levels
- California faces worst drought in decades: ‘Economic disaster’
- Letter: Restore the Delta, others file protest over Temporary Urgency Change Petitions for the SWP and CVP
- 74% of California and 52% of the Western U.S. now in ‘exceptional’ drought
- A ‘megadrought’ in California is expected to lead to water shortages for production of everything from avocados to almonds, and could cause prices to rise
- The Western drought is bad. Here’s what you should know about it.
- As wildfires decimate the giant sequoia, California faces unprecedented loss
- JIVE TALKING PODCAST: Ann-Carolin Flesch on water futures and sustainable water management
- ‘First in time, first in right’: Legal complexities surround water in Upper Klamath Lake
- Invoking past standoffs and talking about force, water activists muster in Southern Oregon
- How could low water levels at Lake Oroville signal risk for Butte County’s rural communities?
- Worsening droughts could increase arsenic exposure for some Americans
- And more …
Click here to read the Daily Digest, weekend edition.
