In California water news today …
Drought Monitor shows drop in most critical category for parts of California
“Drought conditions in parts of Northern California are showing signs of improvement according to the Thanksgiving Day Drought Monitor release. An historic early season heavy rain/snow event followed by some smaller weather systems brought much needed precipitation to the region after two years of dry conditions. Northern California saw the biggest improvements with nearly 20 counties coming out, or partially out of exceptional drought, the top level on the US Drought Monitor. … ” Read more from Channel 10 here: Drought Monitor shows drop in most critical category for parts of California
GSAs’ stats remain consistent—DWR releases second round of GSP assessments
“Last week, on Nov. 18, 2021, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released assessments of eight additional Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs), adding to the four assessments released as reported in our June 4, 2021, alert titled “GSAs Shooting 50% on GSPs—DWR Releases First GSP Assessment Results for High Priority Basins.” Of the eight additional GSP assessments, four were approved and four were found to require additional information. To date, DWR has not concluded that any GSP is inadequate. .. ” Continue reading from Brownstein Hyatt here: GSAs’ stats remain consistent—DWR releases second round of GSP assessments
Is the future of farming moving indoors?
“Brandon Alexander spent many boyhood summers on his grandparents’ farm picking cotton, potatoes and peanuts under the hot Texas sun. It’s safe to say farming was not his calling. In fact, he dreaded it. As soon as he could, Alexander traded his family’s farmland for the greener pastures of Silicon Valley, where he specialized in robotics for companies like Google, working on the tech giant’s drone delivery service. But after some years in the Bay Area, an unease settled in. He joined tech to solve some of the world’s most intractable problems, and yet, a major issue stared him in the face: Agriculture was not working. It was slow, wasteful and inefficient. It was also killing the planet. “Here I am at Google X, one of the most well-funded companies of our time, and I’ve seen the advances of robotics and AI and machine learning and all these technologies, and it just felt like we weren’t aiming big enough,” he said. … ” Continue reading at the SF Examiner here: Is the future of farming moving indoors?
Listen: Water in the West: Can Biden’s infrastructure act help restore it?
“Climate change, the megadrought and dated infrastructure have taken a toll on water systems in the Western United States. “We’ve seen the river drop by 20% since the year 2000,” Kyle Roerink says. “It’s reasonable to think that its flows are going to decline by another 20% in the coming years.” The new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act contains $8 billion in funding to restore Western water systems. “There’s something for everybody. But it’s going to come with some hard realities,” Roerink says. Hard realities that include details over how the money will be used, won’t be used, and what difference it will make, if any, when the biggest problem is the basic lack of water. Today, On Point: Infrastructure and water in the West.” Listen at WBUR here: Listen: Water in the West: Can Biden’s infrastructure act help restore it?
Watch: Water witches, or dousers, are finding new clients in a drier California
Water witches, or dousers, are finding new clients in a drier California
Slow it, spread it, sink it: Harvesting rainwater in your garden helps with drought recovery
“The rainy season can be a mixed blessing. If your home garden landscape is well designed to maximize rainwater storage, then rain is a blessing. If your landscape is poorly designed, or has too much impervious surfaces, then rain can be a curse. Whatever your situation, however, take heart! Small adjustments can be made to prepare for the next storm, though some projects will take longer and require work done in the dry season. Start by observing your garden during rain events, looking for ways to prevent rain, or stormwater from leaving your property. Study your garden’s watershed. The goal is to keep all rainwater onsite. ... ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: Slow it, spread it, sink it: Harvesting rainwater in your garden helps with drought recovery
Podcasts …
WATER TALK PODCAST: Replenishing a broken water cycle
For centuries, we have built big dams, reservoirs, and levees. Humans have steered and shaped the flow of water to irrigate deserts, prevent floods and access groundwater. But through big engineering, we’ve also created breaks in the natural flow of freshwater from source to sea. The good news is: we can look back to nature for solutions. In this episode we speak with Sandra Postel, one of the world’s leading freshwater experts, about how solutions rooted in nature – like cover cropping and river restoration – are key to mending the broken water cycle. We also speak with Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, a Director of River Restoration for American Rivers, about a demolition project along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. She sees dam removal as a critical first step to river restoration. mending our planet’s broken water cycle.
WEST COAST WATER JUSTICE PODCAST: Going beyond land acknowledgements
A call to action from Morning Star Gali, a member of the Ajumawi band of Pit River Tribe. This episode is dedicated to Native American Heritage Month and focuses on Native resistance, justice, and action in California. Join Save California Salmon (SCS) with Native Communities in the fight for our environment and engage in public comments on important salmon, water, and land issues. There are opportunities to speak up about the proposed Sites Reservoir, the Delta Tunnel, numerous California dam removals, destructive water flow diversions, and climate issues over the next few months. Stay involved and connected by visiting the SCS website: CaliforniaSalmon.org
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Preserving a Way of Life: Legislation introduced to return sacred lands to the Karuk Tribe
“At the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon rivers stands a small mountain known as á›uuyich to the Karuk people, for whom it is the center of the world. Close by is the historic village of Katimiîn, where the Karuk Tribe’s annual world renewal ceremony to restore balance to the universe takes place, and down river is Ameekyáaraam, site of the Jump Dance and First Salmon Ceremony. Sacred to the Karuk people since time immemorial, these lands will be among some 1,200 acres returned to the tribe from U.S. Forest Service control under legislation introduced this month by North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman. … ” Read more from the North Coast Journal here: Preserving a Way of Life: Legislation introduced to return sacred lands to the Karuk Tribe
Mendocino City Community Services District addresses drought and resiliency
“The Mendocino City Community Services District is taking some big steps towards addressing drought and resiliency in the face of climate change. In response to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) circulated this past summer by MCCSD the Engineering Firm GHD entered into a Master Service Agreement on November 11, 2021. Through this Agreement, GHD will assist MCCSD in applying for grants and plan projects to help improve our drought resiliency, ability to provide more recycled water, increase water storage, and wastewater treatment infrastructure upgrades to name a few. … ” Read more from the Mendocino Beacon here: Mendocino City Community Services District addresses drought and resiliency
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Local ski resorts await arrival of more snow
“Activity is picking up this week at area ski resorts despite the lifts remaining idle. Thanksgiving week is traditionally when many local ski resorts aim to open. Bear Valley Resort up Highway 4 in Alpine County had initially announced intentions to open this coming Friday. However, the resort now reports, “Due to mother nature not cooperating with us and keeping things warm, our snowmaking has been slowed, and despite giving our best efforts, we will not be able to open for skiing and riding this Thanksgiving weekend. At this time, we do not have a projected opening date.” … ” Read more from My Mother Lode here: Local ski resorts await arrival of more snow
Volunteers continue to measure Caldor Fire impact on Tahoe
“Last month, during the storm driven by an atmospheric river, the League to Save Lake Tahoe’s staff and Pipe Keepers citizen scientist volunteers collected stormwater samples, made qualitative visual observations, and took quantitative measurements of water quality indicators, including turbidity. Participants monitored stormwater at 25 sites, including 16 stormwater pipes and eight stream sites on Tahoe’s south shore that drain areas burned by the Caldor Fire. While readings from the Pipe Keepers’ work represent one set of measurements and are not conclusions, officials were surprised to find lower-than-expected turbidity given the intensity of the storm and precipitation on recently burned areas. … ” Read more from The Union here: Volunteers continue to measure Caldor Fire impact on Tahoe
Feather River steelhead on the Yuba
Columnist Denis Pierce writes, “A steelhead is a migratory rainbow trout. They return to reproduce in freshwater rivers during the winter, then leave for other haunts in the spring. Some go to saltwater. Others stay in the Sacramento River system or the Delta. The Department of Fish & Wildlife’s definition of a steelhead is a trout in a river with ocean access, after it reaches 16 inches. Below that length it is considered a rainbow trout. Fish scales have growth rings much like trees. Researchers, looking at growth rates of the rings, believe that dramatically larger rings in a local steelhead indicate a season in the ocean where the food is more plentiful. Narrow rings indicate a season in the Sacramento River system, where the food is not as abundant. Where these fish go and why is a question we do not have clear answers to. Suffice it to say that rainbow trout are wanderers and anywhere they can go, they will go. In any given month they can be from the Delta to Redding or Oroville. … ” Read more from The Union here: Feather River steelhead on the Yuba
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Commentary: Sacramento County blamed American River’s pollution on homeless people. But was it true?
“Sacramento County is once again embroiled in a hypocritical trap of its own making. An environmental group is suing the region’s largest government for allegedly dumping sewer waste into local waterways — even as the county has blamed its unsheltered population for rising E. coli levels along the American River. While county officials have been supposedly wracked by concern for the health and safety of visitors to the American River and the residents of the multiple homeless camps along its banks, the California Coastkeeper Alliance is accusing the county and the Sacramento Area Sewer District of violating the Clean Water Act by dumping waste into the the American and Sacramento rivers and area creeks. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Sacramento County blamed American River’s pollution on homeless people. But was it true?
NAPA/SONOMA
Reservoir operators file to keep more water in Lake Mendocino
“In a reported effort to keep more water in Lake Mendocino, the Sonoma County Water Agency announced this week that it has filed a petition with the State Water Resources Control Board to request a change in the amount of water it is required to release into the Russian River “due to a mechanical failure at the Pacific Gas and Electric hydroelectric facility.” … the agency reports that it filed “a Temporary Urgency Change Petition (TUCP) requesting that the water supply condition and associated minimum instream flow requirements be determined based on storage thresholds at Lake Mendocino. ... ” Read more from the Ukiah Daily Journal here: Reservoir operators file to keep more water in Lake Mendocino
Sonoma County, California, Board of Supervisors endorse advancing groundwater oversight
“Sonoma County, California, supervisors unanimously endorsed plans to guide use and governance of groundwater relied on by rural residents, farmers and cities. According to North Bay Business Journal, the plans are required by a 2014 state law after California’s past drought and will eventually include well water use fees in three basins underlying the Santa Rosa Plain, Sonoma and Petaluma valleys. The plans are due for submission to the state Department of Water Resources in January. “This is a very big deal,” said board Chair Lynda Hopkins, reported North Bay Business Journal. “First time ever the state of California regulated groundwater.” … ” Read more from Stormwater Solutions here: Sonoma County, California, Board of Supervisors endorse advancing groundwater oversight
Lake Curry reservoir sits unused amid drought in eastern Napa County
“A drought-wary Napa County looking for ways to weather dry spells has a small-but-not-insubstantial reservoir sitting unused within its boundaries. Lake Curry, located in remote southeastern Napa County near Gordon Valley, seems to be the ugly duckling of the water world. Amid a state where water is precious, it is the reservoir that no community is using to slake its thirst. The Solano County city of Vallejo created Lake Curry a century ago to hold 10,000-acre feet of water and the lake is permitted by the state to provide 3,750-acre feet annually. For context, the city of Napa uses about 14,000-acre feet annually. Vallejo hasn’t used the lake since 1992. Why not a Napa County city? … ” Read more from the Napa Valley Register here: Lake Curry reservoir sits unused amid drought in eastern Napa County
BAY AREA
San Francisco: Francisco Reservoir on Russian Hill set to reopen as public park in early 2022
“Francisco Reservoir on Russian Hill has been unused and unloved for 80 years, but it took the threat of development for neighborhood residents to do something about it. When they finally took action, they chipped in $27.5 million to build Francisco Park, a rectangular oasis expected to open in early 2022. At 4.5 acres, it will be the largest new public park to open in the urban core in 40 years and should be an instant tourist destination because the Hyde Street cable car line clanks along right next to it. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: San Francisco: Francisco Reservoir on Russian Hill set to reopen as public park in early 2022
Chinook salmon are attempting to spawn in a graffiti-filled channel in the Bay Area
“The human impact on the Chinook salmon runs of Northern California are on full display in San Lorenzo Creek near Hayward, California, where the fish are attempting to spawn in the graffiti-filled channel of the urban waterway. Following the category 5 atmospheric river that drenched NorCal at the end of October, Bay Area residents began witnessing salmon attempting to navigate the urban creek, eventually meeting their demise. The fish are trying to reach their historic spawning grounds through the engineered channel from the San Francisco Bay to downtown Hayward, but are eventually blocked by the many manmade concrete obstacles in the waterway. … ” Read more from Active NorCal here: Chinook salmon are attempting to spawn in a graffiti-filled channel in the Bay Area
CENTRAL COAST
Column: Sea level rise subtle per Morro Bay National Estuary Program
“A group of people were gathered at a recent event and talk wandered to climate change and how it was affecting the habitats of the central coast. “The rise in sea level is going to be a real problem,” one man said, “It will probably wipe out places like Morro Bay.” But will it? “It isn’t going to be like a bathtub filling up,” commented Lexie Bell, Executive Director of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP). “There are a lot of other components that come into play.” Bell was meeting with me as part of my 26-year involvement with the MBNEP Education and Outreach Committee. “So, how is it going to affect us,” I asked, “and is it happening now? … ” Continue reading from the Paso Robles Daily News here: Column: Sea level rise subtle per Morro Bay National Estuary Program
Plans for preservation, public access at Ormond Beach taking shape
“A planned overhaul of Oxnard’s Ormond Beach intended to preserve surrounding dune and wetland habitat while increasing public access to the area is beginning to take shape. The California State Coastal Conservancy, the nonprofit Nature Conservancy and the city of Oxnard held a virtual public meeting last week to explain the future of Ormond Beach and answer questions. Efforts to restore the beach have been in the works since 2016. By May 2019, a preliminary restoration plan for the Ormond Beach Restoration and Public Access Project was issued. Now, the three partners are discussing a version updated in May. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star here: Plans for preservation, public access at Ormond Beach taking shape
How drought and climate change will force Ventura County to transform its water infrastructure
“… [Augustine] Godinez is the wastewater superintendent at the City of Moorpark’s reclamation facility. …The city of Moorpark is part of the Calleguas Municipal Water District. Other cities like Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley also get their water from Calleguas. It adds up to 75 percent of the county’s residents — that’s over 650,000 people. But that water supply is challenged. Tony Goff is general manager of Calleguas “Over the last twenty years, we’ve really seen cutbacks that we had never seen before,” said Goff. The district imports water from two completely different sources. Goff says the situation is dismal right now for both water sources. … ” Read more from KCLU here: How drought and climate change will force Ventura County to transform its water infrastructure
Listen: What exceptional drought is doing to Ventura County’s water supply
“Ventura County is in an exceptional drought and it’s been like this since late July. Local water suppliers call the situation pretty dismal. Even though we’re in California’s traditional rainy season, there’s not much rain on the horizon and climate change is making the situation even more precarious. In this episode of The One Oh One, the impact of exceptional drought on one county’s water supply and how drought and climate change will require big changes in our water infrastructure.” Listen at KCLU here: Listen: What exceptional drought is doing to Ventura County’s water supply
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Ceres: Surface water plant benefits from low-interest loan to build
“The new surface water plant under construction to supply drinking water to Ceres and Turlock is benefitting from a 30-year low interest loan of $184.9 million. The plant is being constructed through a joint powers authority of the Stanislaus Regional Water Authority (SRWA) which the cities of Ceres and Turlock formed. The state Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan program is furnishing more than $212.7 million in funding, which consists of $27.75 million generated by Proposition 68, which was passed by California voters in 2018. The remaining $184,924,000 is financed through a 30-year loan with an interest rate of 1.2 percent. … ” Read more from the Ceres Courier here: Ceres: Surface water plant benefits from low-interest loan to build
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Southern California could face most dangerous fire weather yet over holiday
“Southern California is bracing for what might be the most dangerous fire weather event of the year. Utility companies are considering shutting off power to hundreds of thousands of residents as warm temperatures, howling winds and low humidity descend on the region, increasing ignition risks during the holiday weekend. Isolated wind gusts are expected to reach up to 70mph in the foothills and mountains while humidity levels sink to single-digits, falling as low as 2% by Thursday. Officials have sounded the alarm hoping that both residents – and their guests – will be ready to evacuate should a fast-moving fire erupt nearby. ... ” Read more from The Guardian here: Southern California could face most dangerous fire weather yet over holiday
Antelope Valley: Grant funds will go to capital projects
“The Palmdale Water District is applying for nearly $12.8 million in state drought relief grant funds to support capital projects such as new wells, pipelines and a recycled water demonstration facility. The Board of Directors unanimously approved the application, on Monday, for $12.79 million from the 2021 Urban and Multi-benefit Drought Relief Grant Program. The state Department of Water Resources is administering the program. If awarded, the funding would be used for one or more of five projects, which staff identified as qualifying for the program and could meet the required completion date of March 2026. … ” Read more from the Antelope Valley Press here: Grant funds will go to capital projects
SAN DIEGO
Yes, the fishing is great, but Lake Wohlford’s real value is key part of local water system
“Sometimes the best way to preserve history is to build something new. The replacement of Lake Wohlford dam may be an “expensive dam project” but the value of the Lake’s water supply will preserve this meaningful investment for many more years. With a need to improve the current dam at Lake Wohlford, the City of Escondido has done the math, compared alternatives, and determined that constructing a new dam immediately below the current dam will is actually safer, more efficient, and more economical in the long run. … ” Read more from the Escondido Times-Advocate here: Yes, the fishing is great, but Lake Wohlford’s real value is key part of local water system
Along the Colorado River …
Historically left out of Colorado River negotiations, 20 Tribes urge Interior Secretary Haaland to include their voices
“Leaders of 20 Tribes in the Colorado River basin signed a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, urging for inclusion in the upcoming negotiations on how to manage the Colorado River system in a changing climate. “As the legal structure exists in terms of the policy of the Colorado River, we don’t have any formal inclusion,” said Daryl Vigil, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation with Jemez Pueblo and Zia Pueblo affiliation. Vigil is the water administrator for Jicarilla Apache Nation and the co-facilitator of the Water and Tribes Initiative, a group of Tribal members and water experts working together to build capacity of Tribes to participate in Colorado River negotiations. The efforts of the initiative helped create the letter to Haaland. … ” Read m0re from Colorado Public Radio here: Historically left out of Colorado River negotiations, 20 Tribes urge Interior Secretary Haaland to include their voices
Colorado River shortage will have a major impact on Arizonans
“With Arizona’s population increasing dramatically every year, more water will be needed to satisfy families across the state. However, there is a significant problem many Arizonans do not know about. The Colorado River is drying up. The Colorado River has been the “Lifeline of the Southwest” for seven states — Colorado, California, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona — and parts of Mexico since 1922. All pull water from the Colorado River to maintain farmlands, households, and businesses. And the Grand Canyon State is expected to be hit the hardest. … ” Read more from Northeast Valley News here: Colorado River shortage will have a major impact on Arizonans
Investors are buying up rural Arizona farmland to sell the water to urban home builders
“In fields on the Arizona-California border, farmers draw water from the nearby Colorado River to grow alfalfa, irrigating crops as they have for decades. That could change soon. An investment company has purchased nearly 500 acres of farmland and wants to strip it of its water and send it 200 miles across the desert to a Phoenix suburb, where developers plan to build thousands of new houses. Similar deals could follow as the demand for water in the growing Southwest outpaces the dwindling supply. Investors are buying farmland not to harvest hay or corn but the water, which is becoming a more valuable commodity. … ” Read more from Arizona Central here: Investors are buying up rural Arizona farmland to sell the water to urban home builders
Arizona farmers must use less water to survive. Here are 5 things to do differently
“A profound reduction in the Colorado River water earmarked for Arizona’s crops has at last triggered the rationing that irrigation farmers have dreaded. The Tier 1 shortage will prompt a 512,000-acre-foot reduction in Arizona’s Colorado River deliveries. That amounts to about 30% of Central Arizona Project’s normal supply. Extrapolating from University of Arizona studies, it will result in a decrease of about $100 million in farmgate sales, and much more if the indirect effects are fully factored in. If your own access to water – or your annual income – was cut by nearly a third, I’d guess you would call that a crisis. In Pinal County alone, this will immediately trigger the loss of 500 jobs. That is only the start of the agricultural disruptions brought on by climatic changes. … ” Continue reading at Yahoo News here: Arizona farmers must use less water to survive. Here are 5 things to do differently
Arizona’s water supply: Don’t let misinformation affect investment
“Back in August, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior declared a long-expected Tier 1 shortage for the Colorado River. This means that the Basin States, including Arizona, will begin to experience cutbacks in 2022. Out-of-state investors have begun to question the long-term viability of Arizona’s water supply and our ability to continuing growing. It’s important that anyone in the commercial real estate industry, especially those who speak to prospective investors or tenants from other parts of the country, be able to quickly articulate the facts. First and foremost, agriculture, primarily in Pinal County, will be the only sector of the economy impacted by Tier 1 cuts under the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Farms will receive less Colorado River water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP) as stipulated in this agreement. Cities, homeowners, industrial users and other types of businesses will not be forced to curtail their water use. … ” Continue reading from Arizona Big Media here: Arizona’s water supply: Don’t let misinformation affect investment
In national water news today …
US EPA and Army propose new WOTUS rule
“Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced a proposed rule to re-establish the pre-2015 definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) which had been in place for decades, updated to reflect consideration of Supreme Court decisions. This action advances the agencies’ goal of establishing a durable definition of WOTUS that protects public health, the environment, and downstream communities while supporting economic opportunity, agriculture, and other industries that depend on clean water. ... ” Read more from Cal Ag Today here: US EPA and Army propose new WOTUS rule
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
DELTA eNEWS: ~~ Delta Trail~ Delta NHA~ Yolo Bypass~~
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: CDFA Accepting Applications For Water Efficiency Technical Assistance Program
NOTICE: State Water Board Holds CEQA Scoping Meeting on Hexavalent Chromium in Drinking Water
VELES WEEKLY REPORT: Aquifers are not forever.
