A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …
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This week’s featured articles …
STATE WATER BOARD: Update on the Strategy to Optimize Resource Management of Stormwater (STORMS) program
Traditionally, stormwater was viewed as a flood management problem in which the runoff needed to be conveyed as quickly as possible away from urban areas and ultimately into waterways to protect public safety and property. Consequently, stormwater was considered a problem and not a resource.
However, in recent years, stormwater management has been receiving more attention as drought has put more pressure on water supplies, and municipal governments have been held increasingly responsible for pollutants washed from urban areas within their jurisdictions that are discharged into waterways.
In 2016, the State Water Board adopted a stormwater strategy to develop innovative regulatory and management approaches to maximize opportunities to use stormwater as a resource. At the June 21st meeting of the State Water Resources Control Board, staff updated the Board members on the Strategy to Optimize Resource Management of Stormwater (STORMS) program.
Click here to read this article.
DELTA LEAD SCIENTIST: Drivers of and trends in Delta water temperature
At the June meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council, Delta Lead Scientist Laurel Larsen’s report focused on the effects of temperature in the Delta.
Dr. Larsen began by noting that the weather has been hot, resulting in fish being trucked to the Delta to bypass the Delta and its warm temperatures. When the water temperature gets above 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the Delta, migrating salmon experience near-complete mortality, so trucking them around the Delta enables them to avoid this fate.
“What we’re seeing with the need to truck salmon is a consequence of the times that we’re living in,” Dr. Larsen said. “Several of the Delta’s keystone native species are at the southern extent of their ranges, and this fact makes them incredibly vulnerable to slight increases in temperature associated with climate warming.”
Click here to read this article.
FIVE QUESTIONS: Jerry Meral, director of the California Water Program at the Natural Heritage Institute, and former Deputy Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency (among other things)
Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Meral is the director of the California Water Program at the Natural Heritage Institute. He works on funding for California water, Delta infrastructure, and a variety of other California water programs. He formerly served as Deputy Director of the California Department of Water Resources, Deputy Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation Director, and Staff Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.
I remember Jerry Meral from the Bay Delta Conservation Plan meetings (one of the precursors to the current Delta Conveyance Project) which he presided over. My coverage of those meetings back in 2013 was the kickoff for Maven’s Notebook as it exists today. So I asked Jerry Meral about the current Delta Conveyance Project, the voluntary agreements, and the projects he is currently working on.
Click here to read this article.
In California water news this week …
Third year of La Niña could deepen California drought
“Climate scientists with the National Weather Service delivered disappointing news Thursday for anyone hoping for drought relief this fall or early winter. According to the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center, there’s a 62% to 66% chance that La Niña conditions will prevail in the Northern hemisphere until at least the end of 2022, marking the third straight year of the weather pattern. La Niña conditions, measured by surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, typically mean that there will be drier conditions in California, especially in the southern part of the state, though no one knows for certain. What a La Niña means for the Bay Area is less certain since the central part of the state has had rainy weather during La Niñas in the past. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Third year of La Niña could deepen California drought
Extended lack of atmospheric rivers driving California drought
“California’s variable hydroclimate is highly dependent on atmospheric river (AR) storms that transport high concentrations of moisture via long and narrow corridors from the subtropical Pacific to the western United States. A lack or surplus of these storms each year will typically determine whether California experiences a wet or dry water year (begins October 1st and ends September 30th). While ARs are an important contributor to California’s snowpack and water supply, intense or successive storms can result in hydrologic impacts, such as flooding, landslides, road closures, and avalanches. Conversely, drought can arise when there is a lack of AR activity over the state for an extended period. … ” Read more from the Center for Western Weather & Water Extremes here: Extended lack of atmospheric rivers driving California drought
Feds bump up supplies for Friant water users
“Months after crying foul over a diversion of water resources, it appears that water agencies reliant on Friant Dam will see a boost in water supplies, Federal water officials announced on Friday. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation raised allocation to Class 1 contractors within the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project from 15 to 20 percent. Class 2 Friant contractors have not received an allocation for two straight years. The trend, Federal officials announced, will continue for the time being. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun here: Feds bump up supplies for Friant water users
Property owners and officials find ways around century-old laws as the West runs out of water
“With a megadrought draining water reserves in the West, states are looking for alternatives to handle water rights, many of which were set more than 100 years ago when water supplies were far more abundant. Back then, just posting a sign next to a water diversion was enough to be considered a right, one which could still be honored now. But the climate crisis is now straining those rights. There just isn’t enough water in California to satisfy what’s been allotted on paper. “It’s an old water system that many perceive isn’t set up to deal with current climatic and hydraulic conditions,” Nathan Metcalf, a water rights attorney for California law firm Hanson Bridgett, told CNN. … ” Read more from CNN here: Property owners and officials find ways around century-old laws as the West runs out of water
Californians are starting to save water. Finally. And not much
“As the punishing drought continues with a record dry year, Californians have finally begun showing some restraint at the tap. Statewide municipal water use fell 3.1% in May, compared to the same month in 2020, according to state data released Friday. The level of conservation, while modest, follows two months in which California cities and towns recorded double digit increases in water consumption, showing disregard for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s increasingly desperate pleas for austerity in the face of a third year of drought. “It is heartening and important to see,” said Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, after reviewing preliminary data last month suggesting water use was going to drop. “The message is we must continue to conserve.” … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Californians are starting to save water. Finally. And not much
DWR Releases Draft Environmental Impact Report for future drought salinity barriers
“In an effort to better prepare for future drought conditions in the face of climate change, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today released a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) analyzing potential construction effects of future drought salinity barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The draft EIR looks at the impacts of installing a drought salinity barrier if needed along the West False River in the Delta twice within a 10-year timeframe. The barrier, which would remain in place for up to 20 months, would improve long-term planning and provide the State with greater flexibility to respond to future droughts, which are growing more frequent and extreme due to climate change. … ” Read more from DWR via Maven’s Notebook here: DWR Releases Draft Environmental Impact Report for future drought salinity barriers
California’s future without agriculture
“Well, this is embarrassing. Or it ought to be. For somebody. Namely, for the Institute for the Future and the California 100, organizations dedicated to thinking about the future of—you guessed it—California. They have recently issued future scenarios for sixteen sectors of what (we are reminded) is the fifth largest economy in the world, in areas such as governance, media, and civil society; economic mobility, inequality, and workforce; health and wellness; and energy, environment, and natural resources. For some reason, the analysts have completely overlooked one element: agriculture. It simply doesn’t appear. … ” Read more from Produce Blue Book here: California’s future without agriculture
Desalination: Should California use the ocean to quench its thirst?
“As the state’s water supplies continue to dwindle during this drought, it’s always worth weighing the pros and cons of desalinization to meet the state’s water needs. Groundwater keeps shrinking, reservoirs keep drying. Is it time for California to use desalinization to increase its depleted water supplies? Here we are again: California is enduring another punishing drought, this one only a few years after the last one ended, which was the most severe drought in the state’s nearly 500 years of recorded history. Low winter snowpack combined with scorching summer temperatures and the driest winter months in 100 years have severely impacted the state’s water supply. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly here: Desalination: Should California use the ocean to quench its thirst?
Partners return winter-run chinook salmon eggs to McCloud river: Drought action moves endangered salmon back into their historical habitat for first time since construction of Shasta Dam
“The Winnemem Wintu Tribe, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on Monday celebrated the return of endangered winter-run Chinook salmon eggs to the McCloud River upstream of Shasta Reservoir for the first time since the construction of the Shasta Dam in the 1940s. The partners collected approximately 20,000 fertilized winter-run Chinook salmon eggs from USFWS’ Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery near Redding and drove them more than three hours over 80 miles to the Ah-Di-Na Campground within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest on the banks of the McCloud River. The eggs were placed into specialized incubators alongside the McCloud River’s cold waters where the species once spawned. Another 20,000 eggs will be transferred to the incubators in the McCloud River in early August. Both cohorts will be released into the river as fry. ... ” Read more from the Department of Fish & Wildlife here: Partners return winter-run chinook salmon eggs to McCloud river: Drought action moves endangered salmon back into their historical habitat for first time since construction of Shasta Dam
PG&E plans to decommission Potter Valley Project
“Pacific Gas & Electric does not believe it’s necessary to reexamine its license terms for endangered species at the Potter Valley Project as it prepares to decommission the dams, according to a letter the utility submitted to federal regulators. PG&E submitted letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday stating that it would take about 30 months to submit an application to surrender its license once its plan and schedule for doing so receives approval from the federal agency. On Tuesday, PG&E sent another letter stating that the letter sent by the National Marine Fisheries Service stating the terms for endangered fish species should be reevaluated in the interim contained “legal and factual inaccuracies” though it was willing to revisit some terms “so long as any revisions reflect the same level of effort and funding as is currently required.” … ” Read more from the Eureka Times-Standard here: PG&E plans to decommission Potter Valley Project
Vulnerable domestic wells will be focus of $10 million farmland retirement grant in Madera County
“Three San Joaquin Valley water agencies are gearing up to spend $10 million each in grant funding from the state Department of Conservation to retire or repurpose farmland. Valley agencies that received grants so far include the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, Pixley Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainbility Agency (GSA) and Madera County. SJV Water will look at how each agency plans to use its $10 million in separate articles. Madera County runs from just north of Fresno to Chowchilla, east into the Sierra Nevada mountains and west to Firebaugh. It also includes the Chowchilla, Madera and Delta-Mendota subbasins on the valley floor. Those subbasins, in turn, hold 14 separate groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs). … ” Read more from SJV Water here: Vulnerable domestic wells will be focus of $10 million farmland retirement grant in Madera County
When their wells went dry in a drought, a fire ignited. There was no water to fight it
“It had been predicted and feared. It finally happened on a brutally hot summer day: One of California’s communities with contaminated, sputtering wells and dropping water tables ran completely out of water. There is a state mandate to consolidate such water systems with larger nearby communities by 2024. But that wasn’t soon enough for East Orosi, an unincorporated Tulare County hamlet southeast of Fresno. The water went off Tuesday afternoon. A temporary fix allowed the water to run sporadically on Wednesday. By then, a family had lost their home to a fire they had no water to fight. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: When their wells went dry in a drought, a fire ignited. There was no water to fight it
SEE ALSO: This Valley town went without water amid triple-digit heat. Here’s what happened, from the Fresno Bee via Yahoo News
DWR enters first phase of hoist replacements at Oroville Dam
“The California Department of Water Resources has begun its nine-year project to replace the spillway gate hoists at the Oroville Dam. Workers began the process of reverse-engineering the hoists Tuesday to open the door for replacing one per year in a project expected to be complete in 2031. Scott Turnquist, DWR’s engineering branch manager for the Oroville field division, said the project is the result of years worth of planning in an effort to have large-scale maintenance on the dam. The construction window for reverse-engineering and eventually replacing the hoists can happen between May and October when Lake Oroville is typically at a lower water level. The project is expected to cost $5 million. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: DWR enters first phase of hoist replacements at Oroville Dam
The world’s longest-lived trees couldn’t survive climate change
“The trees had stood for more than 1,000 years. Their sturdy roots clung to the crumbling mountainside. Their gnarled limbs reached toward the desert sky. The rings of their trunks told the story of everything they’d witnessed — every attack they’d rebuffed, every crisis they’d endured. Weather patterns shifted; empires rose and fell; other species emerged, mated, migrated, died. But here, in one of the harshest environments on the planet, the bristlecone pines survived. It seemed they always would. Until the day in 2018 when Constance Millar ascended the trail to Telescope Peak — the highest point in Death Valley National Park — and discovered hundreds of dead and dying bristlecones extending as far as she could see. … ” Continue reading at the Washington Post here: The world’s longest-lived trees couldn’t survive climate change
In commentary this week …
Every Californian holds the key to drought response
Steve Welch, general manager of the Contra Costa Water District, and Sandy Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, writes, “All Californians play a role in preserving and enhancing our water supplies for a drought-resilient future. California again is in a familiar state of drought, although not all communities are affected equally. Some regions are in extreme water shortage; others are not. We must address these differences. That starts with all Californians understanding where their water comes from and what they can do to use it wisely. The California Urban Water Agencies, an association of 11 of California’s largest urban water suppliers, know what it takes to preserve this precious resource. Water delivered by member agencies supports two-thirds of California’s population, contributing to the state’s $3 trillion economy and helping our communities thrive. … ” Read more from Cal Matters here: Every Californian holds the key to drought response
Gov. Gavin Newsom asked California to conserve water voluntarily. Guess how that’s going
“California’s largest reservoirs may be half-empty or worse, but state officials strove to portray the latest lackluster water conservation data in glass-half-full terms. The results nevertheless continue to show that a year after Gov. Gavin Newsom set a voluntary water conservation target, Californians are broadly volunteering to ignore it. Urban consumers used about 3% less water in May than they did two years ago, well short of Newsom’s goal of conserving 15% more than in 2020. The Sacramento region did slightly worse than the statewide average in the latest available data, consuming 2.4% less. The month did constitute a dramatic improvement over the relative binge of the previous two months, when Californians used about 18% more water than they did during the same period in 2020. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Gov. Gavin Newsom asked California to conserve water voluntarily. Guess how that’s going
The case for banning front lawns in California is stronger than ever
Dennis Wyatt, editor of the Manteca Bulletin, writes, “Man-made climate change is not the source of California’s water woes. I guarantee that some people will read those 11 words and dismiss anyone who utters them as a climate change denier or at least a member of the Flat Earth Society. But the science and history are absolutely clear that when it comes to our water supply we are basing our solutions on the wrong facts. The biggest lake in California just 173 years ago — Tulare Lake — no longer exists. It covered an area that was larger than Clear Lake — the largest body of water self-contained in California — and even drawled Lake Tahoe that straddles the California-Nevada border. Early in the 20th century before Los Angeles sucked it almost dry, Owens Lake was 12 miles long, 8 miles wide with water depth ranging from 23 to 50 feet cover 108 square miles. Tulare Lake did not disappear because of man-made climate change nor did Owens Lake dry up because of it. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here: The case for banning front lawns in California is stronger than ever
Running on empty: California’s drought-besieged water crisis has been years in the making
Nicholas Schou writes, “On a perfectly clear and sunny May 1 Sunday afternoon, a visitor at Lake Mead noticed what turned out to be a human body inside a rusting barrel along the water’s edge. Based on the tennis shoes that were still attached to the remains, police estimated the victim, who apparently died of gunshot wounds, to have been murdered some time during the 1970s and 80s. As it happens, that was when Las Vegas was still under the rule of organized crime and Lake Mead, the massive Nevada reservoir that provides water to both Las Vegas and much of Southern California, was about 40 feet higher than it is today. Eight days later, another body turned up. Then, a few weeks after that, a lost boat. The mounting archeological discoveries are driving home a deeply troubling reality: the Southwestern United States is deep into a staggering drought and is rapidly running out of water. Currently, 97 percent of California is in a state of extreme, severe or exceptional drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. A recent University of California Los Angeles study reported that the region has experienced the driest 22-year period in the past 1200 years. ... ” Read more from CWIN here: California’s drought-besieged water crisis has been years in the making
Water grab: How a secret meeting in 1994 left California cities high, dry and thirsty
“California’s devastating drought is showing no signs of abating, and Governor Gavin Newsom has asked people to cut back on water consumption. That would be a good idea – except he’s asking the wrong people. In late March with a disastrously dry summer looming, Newsom ordered urban agencies to implement emergency water conservation plans. He stopped short of imposing statewide conservation mandates, arguing that local agencies should have the latitude to address local shortages. That lackluster response is unlikely to do anything substantive to stem the approaching crisis. More to the point, Newsom’s demands only applied to cities. He blithely ignored the water-guzzling 800-pound gorilla in the room: industrial agriculture. Urban ratepayers consume only about 10% of California’s developed water. Agribusiness – which includes the sprawling agricultural complexes of the San Joaquin Valley – takes 80%. ... ” Read more from CWIN here: Water grab: How a secret meeting in 1994 left California cities high, dry and thirsty
Working together is key to protecting groundwater
Paul Gosselin, deputy director of the Sustainable Groundwater Management office at the California Department of Water Resources, writes, “Nearly eight years ago, during our last severe drought in 2014, the Legislature took bold action to enact landmark groundwater legislation known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA. Less than a decade later, the West is experiencing continued historic drought impacts that have researchers claiming this to be the most gripping drought in over 1,200 years. While they may be out of sight and underground, California’s groundwater basins are a critical part of our state’s water supply, providing about 40% of the state’s supply in average years and up to 60% in dry years, like the severe drought conditions we’re currently experiencing. Millions of people across the state depend on groundwater for their drinking water, business and irrigation needs. Much of California’s vibrant agricultural production relies on groundwater. The sustainability of California’s groundwater is critical to California agriculture, communities and environment. … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Commentary: Working together is key to protecting groundwater
New state park could help California answer climate change
Julie Rentner, president of River Partners and Assemblymember Adam Gray, writes, “Los Angeles County has 25 state parks, recreation areas, historical sites and beaches. There are 24 more in Orange and San Diego counties. But in the eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley, which stretches from the Tehachapis to the northern edge of San Joaquin County, there are only 15 state sites, and only five of those are state parks. That is about to change. In the budget just signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, enough money has been dedicated to start creating California’s first new state park since Fort Ord Dunes in Monterey County joined the system more than a decade ago. The proposed 2,100-acre Dos Rios Ranch State Park in western Stanislaus County has the potential to be as wonderful as it is unique. … ” Read more from Cal Matters here: New state park could help California answer climate change
Editorial: Environmentalists don’t like prescribed fires. Irony is that may save Yosemite’s sequoias
The Fresno Bee editorial board writes, “The initial news accounts sounded so similar to past years that they were almost repetitive: A wildfire had broken out in a national park and was burning in heavy brush and forest thick with dead and downed trees. California has experienced more than its share of such blazes in the last few years, usually with horrible results. Trees weakened by drought finally succumbed to voracious bark beetles whose appetites killed pine trees, which went from healthy green to sickly red and stood like silent zombies. Add to that a century of firefighting, in which the main purpose was to put out blazes as soon as possible, and the result was millions of acres covered in undergrowth that, when dried out from drought, became perfect fire-starter material. Only this time the national park in question is none other than Yosemite. ... ” Read more from the Fresno Bee here: Editorial: Environmentalists don’t like prescribed fires. Irony is that may save Yosemite’s sequoias | Read via Yahoo News
Want to know California’s future? You can see it in the Sierra
Joe Mathews writes, “Do you want to develop the superpower of seeing decades, even centuries, into the future? Then start hiking the High Sierra. That’s the inescapable conclusion of a surprising new memoir from California’s greatest living science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson, about how he has structured his life around backpacking in his state’s great mountain range. “The High Sierra: A Love Story” is as sprawling and full of ups and downs as the Sierra Nevada itself, those majestic mountains defending more than 250 miles of California’s eastern flank. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Want to know California’s future? You can see it in the Sierra
Transforming an arid Southwest
The Christian Science Monitor editorial board writes, “If it continues another year, a 22-year-long drought in America’s Southwest could lead to, among other things, the end of hydropower on the Colorado River. Yet such predictions also have an upside. Many desert cities built on distant water sources are learning to harness their resources more efficiently even as their population grows. The parching of the Southwest is “not all doom and gloom,” Andrew Erdmann, New Mexico’s chief water planner, told the Albuquerque Journal. The state’s new 50-year water plan due to be released this month, he said, reflects “optimism and reason to be hopeful that we’re adapting effectively to the changes expected.” … ” Read more from the Christian Science Monitor here: Transforming an arid Southwest
It’s time to reevaluate the Clean Water Act
Charles Yates writes, “The Clean Water Act turns 50 this fall—and like most things at age 50, it no longer functions like it once did. Congress passed the Clean Water Act (CWA) on October 18, 1972, to combat pollution in the country’s more-than-25,000 miles of waterways. But 50 years later, the government isn’t enforcing the CWA as a water-quality statute. Instead, the government treats it like a federal land use code, under which countless Americans have had their livelihoods and property rights destroyed. In fact, the CWA presents a classic tale of an unmitigated federal agency power grab—and it’s time to reevaluate the 50-year-old law. … ” Read more from the Pacific Legal Foundation here: It’s time to reevaluate the Clean Water Act
Will the Supreme Court go after clean water next?
Jon Devine writes, “In 2022, there are dolphins swimming in the waters around New York City. The Potomac Riverkeeper Network has a plan to open the Potomac River in Washington D.C. for swimming for the first time in decades. Ohio’s Cuyahoga River, which famously caught fire multiple times in the ‘50s and ‘60s, has been declared safe for fishing. San Francisco Bay, which “just plain stank” in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s due to poorly-controlled sewage dumping and other industrial pollution, has seen a dramatic drop in pollution despite a large increase in population. In the 50 years since Congress passed the Clean Water Act, these and countless other places around the country have benefitted from the law’s strong protections against pollution. … ” Read more from the NRDC here: Will the Supreme Court go after clean water next?
In regional water news this week …
Klamath Drainage District sued for breach of contract
“The Bureau of Reclamation filed suit against Klamath Drainage District last week for diverting water during a year characterized in the lawsuit by “extreme drought conditions,” citing a breach of contract. The lawsuit states that as a junior contractor, no water has been made available through the project supply to KDD in 2022, “barring dramatic shifts in hydrological conditions.” The lawsuit came as a surprise to KDD general manager Scott White who said the district maintains state rights to divert water, even in cases when Reclamation designates none of their project supply to KDD. He said that KDD owns all of their own infrastructure, which is unique compared to other districts. … ” Read more from the Herald & News here: Klamath Drainage District sued for breach of contract
SF’s power position in the water wars means few local drought restrictions. But can it last?
“As a severe three-year drought strains water supplies across California, Bay Area water agencies are increasingly looking to the city of San Francisco as a lifeline. Through the Hetch Hetchy dam and a network of aqueducts and reservoirs that brings water from the Sierra Nevada mountains to the coast, the city has plenty of water even now. And it’s fighting hard to protect its position, battling in court against state efforts that could reduce its supplies. That’s good news for San Francisco residents, who have been asked to make only a token reduction in their water use even amid a drought emergency. But the small cutback belies bigger trends that make San Francisco’s water resources look a little less bottomless. About two-thirds of the Hetch Hetchy water is sold to wholesale customers, including neighboring cities and counties, and they are being asked to make much bigger cuts in consumption. … ” Read more from SF Standard here: SF’s power position in the water wars means few local drought restrictions. But can it last?
Past the Salt: In San Francisco’s salty South Bay, an ambitious wetlands restoration project is seeking to balance a return to the ecological past with the realities of a changing future.
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, taking photographs from a doorless helicopter was proving more difficult than San Francisco Bay Area photographer joSon had anticipated. Bundled in ski apparel and buckled into his seat, he had done his best to prepare. But the driving winds on this chilly November day quickly numbed his fingers, and more than once his camera smacked against his face as a gust rattled the two-seater aircraft. Four thousand feet below, the placid salt ponds that lured him to this precarious position draped the southern inland tip of San Francisco Bay like a multicolored quilt. … Although he didn’t yet realize it, joSon was documenting one of the largest wetland restoration projects in United States history. … ” Read more from Biographic here: Past the Salt: In San Francisco’s salty South Bay, an ambitious wetlands restoration project is seeking to balance a return to the ecological past with the realities of a changing future.
Seaside needs more water in order to build more housing. But sometimes, the lack of water is a convenient excuse not to build
“Water is a highly complex topic on the Peninsula and in the county at large, and what follows is no exception. Still, it’s important: water facilitates life, and its availability, or lack thereof, changes the world we live in. It’s one fundamental reason we can, or cannot, build much-needed housing. … Recent decisions made by the Seaside City Council, as it relates to that water supply, will have an impact on housing in the city in a major way. Most recently, on July 7, City Council voted unanimously to approve a reimbursement agreement with Cruachan Capital, a company that specializes in building apartments, to build a pipeline from the Seaside Municipal Water System—a small, city-owned water district serving about 750 homes, the fire department, two churches and two apartment complexes—to serve the nascent Ascent project, a 106-unit apartment and retail build on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Terrace Street. … ” Continue reading at Monterey Weekly here: Seaside needs more water in order to build more housing. But sometimes, the lack of water is a convenient excuse not to build
Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District requests state hearing on conditions on Mono Lake
“With declining water levels on Mono Lake and an increase in airborne dust, the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District has formally requested a hearing before the State Water Resources Control Board. The request, approved at the GBUAPCD board meeting on June 7, cites the Water Board’s 1994 Decision 1631 setting the average surface elevation on the lake at 6,392 feet above sea level. According to Great Basin’s letter, if Mono Lake doesn’t rise to that level, “the SWRCB could adjust the water diversion criteria in an appropriate manner under the exercise of its continuing authority over water rights.” The formality of holding a hearing is also spelled out in that decision to “determine if further revisions to the (LADWP) licenses are appropriate”. … ” Read more from the Sierra Wave here: Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District requests state hearing on conditions on Mono Lake
Mayor Garcetti announces lower water use in the month of June on record
“Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced that Angelenos have achieved the all-time lowest water use for June on record in the City of Los Angeles, and urged customers to continue cutbacks in the face of worsening drought conditions. “Just two months ago, we acknowledged an urgent need to reduce our water use, and today, it’s clear that Angelenos have heeded our call,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “As encouraging as this progress is, L.A. continues to shatter monthly heat records, and we are faced with the stark reality that this crisis is only deepening. As the hottest months of the year approach, we’re asking Angelenos to not only maintain recent reductions, but to find additional ways to cut back on their water usage by taking advantage of the nearly 20 LADWP rebates that help our ratepayers save money and have made Los Angeles one of the most water efficient cities in the country.” … ” Read more from the City of LA here: Mayor Garcetti announces lower water use in the month of June on record
SEE ALSO: Angelenos Achieve Record Water Savings in June; LADWP Urges Customers to Keep It Up as Summer Heats Up, from the LA DWP
Environmental groups allege L.A. River Master Plan was approved without proper review
“Two environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County, accusing officials of violating state environmental laws when they approved the Los Angeles River Master Plan last month. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, seeks to bar the county from developing any new river project without first conducting a review of “all foreseeable significant impacts to the environment that the master plan will authorize.” The suit was filed by LA Waterkeeper and the Center for Biological Diversity. “Litigation is never our first choice,” said Bruce Reznik, LA Waterkeeper’s executive director, “but the river master plan is clearly deficient, and we see this as a crucial moment in the life of the river.” … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Environmental groups allege L.A. River Master Plan was approved without proper review
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Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …
NOTICE: July 12 Weekly Update on Curtailment Status of Water Rights and Claims in the Delta Watershed
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING: Proposed Regulation Modifying Water Right Ownership Notice Requirements and Reporting Dates
NOTICE: Public Workshops Discuss Changes to 2022 Central Valley Flood Protection Plan
NOTICE: Independent Scientific Peer Review Panel Meeting: USBR’s Water Temperature Modeling Platform (WTMP)
