A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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This week’s featured articles …
FEATURE: Knocking Out Yellow Starthistle Can Boost Water Supplies
Written exclusively for Maven’s Notebook by Robin Meadows
The litany of harms from yellow starthistle, California’s most aggressive invasive weed with as many as 15 million acres infested, ranges from crowding out native plants to becoming so spiny livestock stop eating it. New research adds sucking the land dry to that list. “Yellow starthistle creates artificial drought,” says UC Davis weed specialist Joseph DiTomaso, who co-led the study.
DiTomaso first suspected yellow starthistle of being a water hog 20 years ago, when he noticed that lands overrun by this noxious weed had no oak seedlings. He surmised this was because yellow starthistle sinks its roots astonishingly deep into the soil — up to eight feet compared to about 1.5 feet for annual grasses — and drinks all the water it can reach.
Click here to read this article.
FEATURE: Good News on Nutria
Written exclusively for Maven’s Notebook by Robin Meadows
When California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Greg Gerstenberg saw the first nutria caught in a duck club pond near Los Banos in 2017, he had never even heard of these water-loving South American rodents. Today, as a lead on field operations to eradicate them from the state, Gerstenberg knows these two-foot, 20-pound invaders all too well. Nutria are prolific breeders and can be astonishingly destructive, burrowing up to 150 feet deep into levees and mudbanks, and laying waste to huge swaths of wetlands.
Click here to read this article.
FIVE QUESTIONS: Hydrologist Robert Shibatani
Robert Shibatani is a hydrologist with 38 years of collective experience in physical hydrology, watershed resource management, and operational water consulting. He serves as an international and California expert witness on commercial matters related to flood damage, reservoir operations, groundwater safe yield, drought contingencies, and new water supply development. His current work involves flood insurance litigation, hurricane impact assessment, and city water supply planning under rapidly changing climates. He resides between Sacramento, California and Toronto, Canada. Robert authors the monthly reservoir report exclusively for Maven’s Notebook.
I asked him what he thought about climate change, water storage, and other California water issues. Here’s what he had to say.
Click here to read this article.
In California water news this week …
California deepens water cuts to cope with drought, hitting thousands of farms
“California regulators have begun curtailing the water rights of many farms and irrigation districts along the Sacramento River, forcing growers to stop diverting water from the river and its tributaries. The order, which took effect Thursday, puts a hold on about 5,800 water rights across the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers’ watersheds, reflecting the severity of California’s extreme drought. Together with a similar order in June, the State Water Resources Control Board has now curtailed 9,842 water rights this year in the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds, more than half of the nearly 16,700 existing rights. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: California deepens water cuts to cope with drought, hitting thousands of farms | Read via Yahoo News
SEE ALSO: NOTICE: July 6 Weekly Update on Curtailment Status of Water Rights and Claims in the Delta Watershed
California’s drought is dire. But there’s a surprising bright spot that may make this year better than last
“The outlook for California’s drought is grim. The first five months of the year have been the driest on record. Snowpack in the mountains, at its usual April 1 peak, was the smallest it’s been in seven years. Reservoirs are hovering near historic lows for the season, including Lake Shasta, the state’s largest. But there’s one, albeit small, bright spot: spring runoff. The water that pours from the mountains to rivers and streams, one of the most important barometers of state water supplies, is up substantially from over a year ago — though still far below normal. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: California’s drought is dire. But there’s a surprising bright spot that may make this year better than last
A year’s worth of Northern California’s rainfall has gone missing since 2019
“Much of Northern California received only two-thirds of its normal rainfall for the last three years, according to meteorologist Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services. “It’s like working for three years and only getting paid for two,” he said. Some places, such as Ukiah, Santa Rosa and Mount Shasta City, did even worse, logging about half or less of their normal precipitation. Null compiled a summary of the three rainfall seasons from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2022, and the figures starkly illustrate the severity of the drought in the state. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: A year’s worth of Northern California’s rainfall has gone missing since 2019 | Read via Yahoo News
There are no simple solutions to California’s complicated water problem. This is why
“Fritz Durst, a farmer in Yolo County, didn’t receive enough water from the federal government to plant a rice crop this spring. But the feds did give him a consolation prize. In March the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency invited the backers of Sites Reservoir — a mammoth water storage project in the Sacramento Valley that’s being personally led by Durst — to apply for a $2.2 billion construction loan. The loan is far from a done deal, but the invitation means the EPA is seriously interested in backing the project, bringing Sites tantalizingly close to reality after years of planning. “I was ecstatic. We finally convinced people this was a worthy project,” said Durst, chairman of the Sites Project Authority. But the reservoir, planned for a spot straddling the Glenn-Colusa county line, 10 miles west of the Sacramento River, won’t dig California out of its current mega-drought. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: There are no simple solutions to California’s complicated water problem. This is why
Indigenous tribes and the environment pay the price for California’s new reservoirs
“Last year saw the hottest and driest year in California in over a century. Since 2000, many western U.S. states have endured what scientists refer to as a megadrought not seen since 1500. In May, California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the state’s top water agency to accelerate the approvals process for the proposed Sites Reservoir, a $4 billion project built on the west side of the Sacramento Valley that would pull water from the Sacramento and Trinity rivers. Newsom touted the project as a drought solution and a way to manage water levels in dry and wet seasons, but critics contend that the reservoir plan runs roughshod over the needs of Indigenous tribes and could potentially worsen the already alarming effects of the drought. A coalition led by Indigenous leaders from the Pit River, Hoopa Valley, Winnemem Wintu, Yurok, Karuk, Pomo, and Miwok Tribes, along with Indigenous scientists, and water protectors say that the Sites Reservoir is a continuation of the state’s original racist water policies, which prioritized dispossessing land from its Native stewards to fuel the economic interests of farmers and ranchers. ... ” Read more from Prism here: Indigenous tribes and the environment pay the price for California’s new reservoirs
Farmers who helped sink the Friant-Kern Canal reject a fee to pay off their share of the fix
“Farmers in southern Tulare County on June 30 soundly rejected a proposed land fee that would have helped pay a lump sum settlement of $125 million toward fixing the Friant-Kern Canal, which has sunk because of excessive groundwater pumping. The Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency agreed in 2020 to pay a portion of the cost to repair the canal to Friant Water Authority. Eastern Tule covers about 162,000 acres, of which 86,000 acres are white lands, which are outside irrigation districts and rely exclusively on groundwater. Pumping in those white lands has been fingered as a main culprit for the subsidence that sank a 33-mile section of the Friant-Kern Canal from about Pixley south to the Kern County line. … ” Read more from SJV Water here: Farmers who helped sink the Friant-Kern Canal reject a fee to pay off their share of the fix
Balancing protein in your diet could improve water quality
“Balancing how much protein you eat with the amount your body needs could reduce nitrogen releases to aquatic systems in the U.S. by 12% and overall nitrogen losses to air and water by 4%, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. Protein consumption in the United States, from both plant and animal sources, ranks among the highest in the world. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, said that if Americans ate protein at recommended amounts, projected nitrogen excretion rates in 2055 would be 27% less than they are today despite population growth. The study is the first to estimate how much protein consumption contributes to excess nitrogen in the environment through human waste. It also indicates that coastal cities have the largest potential to reduce nitrogen excretions headed for their watersheds. … ” Read more from UC Davis here: Balancing protein in your diet could improve water quality
Ensuring water conservation and efficiency programs are accessible to all—in California and beyond
“Californians and others in the Western United States need to save water. This is true now amidst a historic megadrought, and it will continue to be true when this drought ends. But many water conservation and efficiency programs aren’t accessible to low-income households. This is in a nation where, in 2020, 18.4% of households earned less than $25,000 per year, which is just under the federal poverty level for a household of four people. Research has shown that hard-to-reach groups, such as renters or low-income families, are less likely to participate in these programs. This challenge is worth tackling. Making such programs more widely accessible would both help those struggling to afford their utility bills and save water.… ” Read more from the Pacific Institute here: Ensuring water conservation and efficiency programs are accessible to all—in California and beyond
An enduring oak mystery: synchronized acorn booms
“Fall 1983 brought hard times to acorn woodpeckers in upper Carmel Valley. For the first year since I’d begun studying these group-living birds, as a UC Berkeley graduate student a decade earlier, none of the oaks at our study site bore more than a pathetically poor acorn crop. Twenty-four of the 34 acorn woodpecker groups we were following—over 120 painstakingly banded birds—abandoned their territories, leaving a small fraction of individuals to eke out a living over the winter. It was apparently the end of the study, and possibly of my hopes for a degree. But then, the following spring, nearly all the abandoned territories—each roughly seven to 20 acres of oak woodland with one or more granaries in which the birds store acorns—were recolonized, mostly by former group members. We knew why they’d left: there were no acorns to store or eat during the cold, rainy winter months. But where had they gone? How far had they flown to find acorns to eat? And why had the acorn crop failed to begin with? … ” Read more from Bay Nature here: An enduring oak mystery: synchronized acorn booms
In commentary this week …
State’s leaders must change water agreements to reflect climate realities
Tom Stokely, member of the board of the California Water Impact Network, writes, “California’s once-abundant salmon runs are on the verge of collapse. That’s a tragedy, but this story is bigger than the extinction of an iconic fish that once fed millions of people and was the basis of thriving commercial, tribal and sport fisheries. Salmon (to mix zoological metaphors) are the canary in the coal mine for California’s water and power ratepayers. Our salmon are flirting with extinction because they’re not getting the cold water they need to survive. Over the last few decades, that water mostly has been supplied from Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River, other dams on Sacramento and San Joaquin river tributaries, and Trinity Dam on the Trinity and Klamath river system. These rivers comprise the state’s remaining salmon strongholds. The ongoing drought and resource mismanagement, however, have left such cold water in short supply. … ” Continue reading at Cal Matters here: State’s leaders must change water agreements to reflect climate realities
Sites Authority closing in on fulfilling water promise
Fritz Durst, a Yolo County farmer and chairman of the Sites Joint Power Authority, writes, “Preparing for drought is an everyday part of life for every Californian. Water conservation and efficient water management are now, and will continue to be, the focus for everyone as drought becomes more persistent in the state. This could not be truer for our state’s farmers and agriculture industry. We are fortunate to live in a portion of the nation capable of producing more than a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts. However, impacts of a changing climate, including less snowpack and extreme drought like the one we are in today, and challenges related to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act are causing farmers to fallow once-productive fields and experience the financial hardships as a $50 billion industry continues to decline. … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Sites Authority closing in on fulfilling water promise
That California owns its water doesn’t mean that the state can just take it back without paying for it
Richard McCann, economist with M-Cubed, writes, “The researchers at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences wrote an insightful blog on “Considerations for Developing An Environmental Water Right in California.” However one passage jumped out at me that has troubling economic implications: ‘The potential for abuse is particularly troubling when the State is using public funds to buy water, which technically belongs to the people of the state and which the State can already regulate to achieve the same aims.’ It’s not helpful to refer to the fiction that the somehow the state can award water rights ... ” Continue reading at Economics Outside the Cube here: That California owns its water doesn’t mean that the state can just take it back without paying for it
Are threatened and endangered species better off without a definition for habitat? The federal wildlife agencies think so.
Paul Weiland writes, “Last November we wrote about a regulatory proposal by the Biden Administration to rescind a Trump Administration rule that defined “habitat” for the limited purpose of informing the Services’ decisions to designate critical habitat under the ESA. This month the Administration issued its final decision striking the existing definition of habitat and refusing to set forth any single definition of the term habitat for the purpose of defining critical habitat. As we explained at the time of the regulatory proposal, this shift away from an explicit definition of habitat that provides for transparency and consistency in agency decisions is contrary to sound public policy. It will erode faith in government decision-making and is unlikely to improve conservation outcomes for animals and plants protected under the Act. It will, however, accomplish a goal articulated in the preamble to the final rule — it will not constrain the Service’s ability to designate areas as critical habitat, even if those areas do not and cannot support the species during one or more of its life stages. … ” Read more from Delta Currents here: Are threatened and endangered species better off without a definition for habitat? The federal wildlife agencies think so.
Want good infrastructure? A strong CEQA is the key
Felicia Marcus writes, “California’s infrastructure ranks 31st in the nation, earning a paltry “C-.” Thankfully, our state will receive tens of billions of dollars in investment from the federal government to address these shortcomings in addition to state and local dollars. Investment on this scale could make a huge difference in responding to climate change and environmental injustice. But dollars alone won’t ensure we build infrastructure that provides the most benefits without harming communities or the environment. Thoughtful planning and robust public participation are essential to successful infrastructure development. Our state is lucky to have the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to help us get it right. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly here: Want good infrastructure? A strong CEQA is the key
In regional water news this week …
A conversation with Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton about the Klamath Basin
“Last week, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton, who leads the federal agency that oversees water management in 17 Western states, traveled through Oregon and California, visiting projects and meeting with concerned communities. Touton started her week in the Klamath Basin and ended it near the California-Mexico border. Thursday, she sat down for an exclusive virtual interview with the Capital Press. The conversation centered on a major theme: The West likely isn’t getting any more water, so what is Reclamation’s plan for better managing the water the region does get? … ” Read more from Herald & News here: A conversation with Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton about the Klamath Basin
Lake Tahoe Clarity Report for 2021: Past 20 years of data indicate evolving threats for Lake Tahoe
“The cobalt blue waters of Lake Tahoe were about as clear in 2021 as they were in 2020. But a broader look at clarity measurements shows there is no pattern of consistent clarity improvement over the past 20 years. The lake also has not fully recovered from a spike of fine particles that flowed into its waters after the extremely wet year of 2017. That’s according to the data collected through 2021 by the University of California, Davis, Tahoe Environmental Research Center. UC Davis has measured clarity and other health indicators at Lake Tahoe since 1968, helping to inform policymakers and stakeholders on strategies to protect the lake and stabilize the decline in clarity that dates back to the region’s development boom in the 1960s. … ” Read more from UC Davis here: Lake Tahoe Clarity Report for 2021: Past 20 years of data indicate evolving threats for Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe cove ‘blanketed’ in trash from July 4 crowd
“More than 300 volunteers, a dive team, and one beach-cleaning robot spread out across five Lake Tahoe beaches on July 5 to tackle trash left behind by holiday visitors. Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular places in Northern California for celebrating the Fourth of July holiday. Once the crowds left on Tuesday, volunteers with League to Save Lake Tahoe dedicated their own time and effort to join the annual Keep Tahoe Red, White, and Blue Beach Cleanup and pick up 3,450 pounds of trash. … ” Read more from KRON here: Lake Tahoe cove ‘blanketed’ in trash from July 4 crowd
See a map of Bay Area hazardous sites at risk from rising seas
“More than 900 hazardous sites — power plants, sewage treatment plants, refineries, cleanup areas and other facilities — across California could be inundated with ocean water and groundwater by the end of the century, according to climate scientists at UCLA and UC Berkeley. “Climate change is presenting new risks that can lead to excess releases of hazardous materials from these highly industrialized parts of our coastline,” said UCLA’s Lara Cushing. “Our analysis also shows that communities of color are much more likely to live near one of these risk sites, as are lower-income communities.” Cushing and UC Berkeley’s Rachel Morello-Frosch, both environmental health scientists, last year launched an interactive tool, Toxic Tides, mapping California’s hazardous sites that could be inundated by sea level rise. … ” Read more from KQED here: See a map of Bay Area hazardous sites at risk from rising seas
Valley Water making progress on work at Anderson Dam
“For the past several months, Valley Water construction crews drilled 244 holes deep into the hillside next to Anderson Dam in Morgan Hill. Inside each hole, workers placed a 120-foot-long bar, up to 2-1/4 inches in diameter. The steel bars, each weighing about 1,600 pounds, were covered with 12-inches of concrete. This work to reinforce roughly 15,000 square feet of hillside was a milestone in an overall effort to build a new outlet tunnel at Anderson Dam. This new tunnel will allow Valley Water to draw down the reservoir reliably and quickly, providing greater control over the water levels in the reservoir and increasing public safety. … ” Read more from Valley Water News here: Valley Water making progress on work at Anderson Dam
Appellate court ruling stops Long Valley dewatering; Ruling affirms legal principles sought by Mono County and Sierra Club
“Late last week, the First District Court of Appeal for the State of California reversed a March 2021 Alameda Superior Court ruling requiring the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to continue to provide water for wildlife habitat and scenic, recreational and economic resources on approximately 6,100 acres of land in Mono County — at least until such time as LADWP completes the required environmental review. While the appellate court ruling initially appeared to be a setback for Mono County and the Sierra Club, who filed the lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the result is in fact an affirmation of the legal principles which the County and Sierra Club sought to enforce from the beginning – that LADWP cannot remove all water from the land under the guise of expired leases from 2010, without conducting any environmental review. … ” Read more from the Sierra Wave here: Appellate court ruling stops Long Valley dewatering; Ruling affirms legal principles sought by Mono County and Sierra Club
SEE ALSO: California State Court of Appeal Reverses 2021 Decision and Ensures Water Managers’ Flexibility to Effectively Deliver Water Resources, press release from LA DWP
East Valley farmers and cities may get more surface water this summer
“Farmers and cities on the east side of the Valley may get more water than they originally thought. Friant Water Authority, which operates the Friant-Kern Canal, said in a recent memo on its website it is confident its contractors will not only get the 15% allocation of surface water deliveries announced in February but that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will likely increase the amount to 20%, possibly as early as this week. The Bureau of Reclamation is the federal agency which oversees the Central Valley Project, a network of dams, reservoirs, canals, hydroelectric power plants and other facilities which supply water to the San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento Valley and parts of the Bay Area. … ” Read more from the Foothills Sun-Gazette here: East Valley farmers and cities may get more surface water this summer
Cuyama Valley groundwater fight pits small farmers against world’s largest carrot growers
“In the early afternoon in the Cuyama Valley, a hot June sun bears down as a dry wind gusts through the remote area that runs along the border of San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County. Dust devils whip up the fine, tan soil, interrupted only by a pair of two-lane highways and the few hundred buildings that make up the valley’s towns of Cuyama, New Cuyama and Ventucopa — total population roughly 660 people. It’s an arid contrast to the region’s dominating business of agriculture fed solely by a declining and far-from-infinite groundwater basin. … Some farmers fear that the massive demand on the groundwater basin, along with California’s worsening droughts, will leave the region without the resource protection it needs. … ” Read the full story at Noozhawk here: Cuyama Valley groundwater fight pits small farmers against world’s largest carrot growers
LADWP project doubles stormwater capture capacity to increase local water supplies
“Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) marked the completion of the Tujunga Spreading Grounds Stormwater Capture expansion project and opened a new community recreation area onsite to the public. LADWP collaborated with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) on the 150-acre project to double the annual groundwater recharge capacity of the San Fernando Groundwater Basin to 16,000 acre-foot on average, which has the potential to provide enough water to 64,000 households on an annual basis. Expansion of this stormwater capture site was accomplished by reconfiguring the 20 original smaller water basins into nine wider and deeper basins. … ” Read more from the LADWP here: LADWP project doubles stormwater capture capacity to increase local water supplies
Culver City Stormwater Capture Project celebrated as a regional model
“At a June 30, 2022 event in Culver City, the West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) and City of Culver City co-hosted an event recognizing the benefits and water savings that the Culver Boulevard Stormwater Capture Project will achieve in the months and years ahead. “In order to protect waterbodies like Ballona Creek and conserve precious rain water, Culver City continues to make significant investments to advance stormwater quality and projects,” said Culver City Mayor Dr. Daniel Lee. “Projects like ours not only captures valuable stormwater runoff for reuse, but also beautifies our community. In addition, we serve as a positive example of a multi-benefit, multi-partner stormwater capture project that increases water supply, improves water quality, and provides community enhancements.” … ” Read more from Westside Today here: Culver City Stormwater Capture Project celebrated as a regional model
Is Poseidon’s Huntington Beach desal plant proposal gone for good?
“After more than 20 years, a June letter to Southern California water officials might spell the end for the Poseidon Water company’s desalinated dreams in Huntington Beach, once and for all. The fatal blow came in May, from within the Hilton in Costa Mesa, where California Coastal Commissioners unanimously rejected Poseidon’s bid to build a desalting plant by the AES generating station in the city’s south end. In striking the project down, commissioners cited what would be higher water rates, marine life loss, and impacts to poor households already living near industrial areas, from a project that would have taken 100 million daily gallons of seawater, desalted half of it, and discharged the other half back as saltier brine. … ” Read more from the Voice of the OC here: Is Poseidon’s Huntington Beach desal plant proposal gone for good?
Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
YOUR INPUT WANTED on Army Corps’ Priority Policy Initiatives to Modernize Civil Works & Definition of Economically Disadvantage Community
Tools and information released to help deal with dry wells
NOTICE: July 6 Weekly Update on Curtailment Status of Water Rights and Claims in the Delta Watershed
NOTICE: Notice of Public Hearing and Pre-Hearing Conference (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
CORRECTED Draft Emergency Regulation for the Delta Watershed Available
NOW AVAILABLE: 2022 California Water Data Science Symposium Recordings & Resources
