In California water news today …
Key vote for Doheny desalination plant coming Thursday
“The California Coastal Commission is slated to vote Thursday on a crucial permit for a project that would draw ocean water through the sand off the coast of Dana Point, purify it and use it to help bolster water supplies for communities throughout Southern California. A dozen desalination plants are permitted to turn ocean water into drinking water in California today, from as far south as Carlsbad to as far north as Monterey Bay. A year ago, three new desalination projects were pending in Southern California alone. But only one still remains viable: the Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant, which is being developed by South Coast Water District. … ” Read more from the OC Register here: Key vote for Doheny desalination plant coming Thursday
Hyatt Powerplant not expected to go offline this year
“Back in 2021 the Hyatt Powerplant was taken offline because of historically low water levels. DWR announced that the plant is expected to stay online through 2022. On Monday, the lake level was at 693 feet elevation whereas the level had dropped to 628 in September 2021. The plant is capable of generating 714 megawatts when the lake is at full capacity. The entire Oroville complex can produce up to 900 (megawatts) of power generation when reservoirs are full and all units are operating at maximum capacity,” according to a response from DWR. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Hyatt Powerplant not expected to go offline this year | Read via the Oroville Mercury-Register
Produce prices soar as California crops crumble
“California’s summer crops are shriveling amid ongoing drought conditions, putting pressure on grocery prices across the U.S. Without rain or snow in central California and limited water supplies from the Colorado River, tomatoes and onions have wilted, while leafy greens grown in the winter face a dicey future, according to Reuters. “There’s just not enough water to grow everything that we normally grow,” Don Cameron, president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, told the outlet. … ” Read more from The Hill here: Produce prices soar as California crops crumble
This California city is rapidly running out of water
“Coalinga, California, is set to run out of water before the end of this year. The city’s only water source is an aqueduct that is managed by the federal government. Officials think that the water is going to run dry before the end of 2022, the Washington Post reported. Local officials are scrambling for options. If their water supply comes up short, Coalinga politicians are going to have to buy water from the open market. It’s amazingly expensive and could impact Coalinga’s ability to provide other services for residents, according to Fox 26 News. Water on that market currently costs up to $2,500 an acre-foot, or 326,000 gallons, which would cost the city millions of dollars to obtain the necessary water. “Our citizens cannot afford a thousand dollar or a thousand percent increase on their water bills,” Adam Adkisson, a Coalinga city council member, told the local news station. … ” Read more from Gizmodo here: This California city is rapidly running out of water
Second world war ‘Ghost Boat’ emerges in California lake, puzzling officials
“Waning water levels across the west – symptoms of the region’s record drought – have revealed yet another artifact. Dubbed the “Ghost Boat” by officials, the rusted carcass of a second world war Higgins boat, used to transport troops into battle and on to beaches overseas, began to emerge from the shallows in Lake Shasta last fall. Levels have sunk low enough this year to excavate the craft fully. But how it ended up in California’s largest reservoir, buried in the depths for decades, is uncertain. “The circumstance of its sinking remains a mystery,” US Forest Service officials with Shasta-Trinity national forest wrote in a Sunday morning Facebook post, including photos of the historic find perched atop dried cracked earth of the desiccated lakebed. Numbers painted along the boat’s ramp show that it was once assigned to the Attack Transport USS Monrovia, used as General George Patton’s headquarters in the Sicilian occupation in 1943. … ” Read mroe from the Guardian here: Second world war ‘Ghost Boat’ emerges in California lake, puzzling officials
LAO Report: The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Resources and Environmental Protection
“The 2022-23 budget package provides a total of $23.7 billion from various fund sources—the General Fund, bond funds, and a number of special funds—for programs administered by the California Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agencies. This is a net decrease of $8.7 billion (27 percent) compared to 2021-22 estimated levels. This decrease is primarily due to a large amount of one-time funding—mostly from the General Fund—provided to departments within both agencies in 2021-22. As discussed below, many departments also received notable one-time funding augmentations in 2022-23, but at lower aggregate levels. From a spending perspective, however, this year-to-year comparison is somewhat misleading. This is because the 2022-23 budget package included a significant amount of funding—roughly $5 billion, across numerous departments—that was appropriated this summer but attributed to 2021-22. Because of this timing, departments will spend these funds in 2022-23 and over the coming years. … ” Read more from the Legislative Analyst’s Office here: LAO Report: The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Resources and Environmental Protection
The Delta divide: Bass trends in salmon migration corridors
“Recent research has established that very few juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) survive the migration from their birthplace in California’s Central Valley tributaries, through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and out to the Pacific Ocean. Records from rotary screw traps on the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers show that most young salmon do not even make it as far as the San Joaquin River, still hundreds of miles away from the Golden Gate Bridge. Numerous elements contribute to the low survival of juvenile salmonids, including habitat alteration, pesticide pollution, and predation by non-native fish. Most ongoing restoration efforts attempt to lessen the burdens that juvenile salmon face by improving their rearing habitat, controlling pollution, and adjusting river flows. However, despite these restoration efforts, juvenile salmon abundance and survival have continued to decline. Reducing interactions between juvenile salmon and non-native predators could prove to be an effective restoration approach, but achieving this can be remarkably difficult. ... ” Read more from FishBio here: The Delta divide: Bass trends in salmon migration corridors
The living drill bits that grind holes in beach rocks
“Perhaps you’ve seen them strewn along the seashore: a smooth, round pebble with a perfect hole right through it, or a chunk of shale with several holes neatly arranged in suspiciously consistent rows. “It strikes people’s curiosity,” says Rebecca Johnson, codirector of the Center for Biodiversity and Community Science at the California Academy of Sciences. “It’s really common along our beaches to see these hole-filled rocks and be really confused about what possibly could have made this hole.” People from the British Isles have long called these uncanny rocks hagstones, holey stones, or witch stones. Some people believe the stones grant magical powers: sailors tie hagstones to the sides of their ships to ward off bad weather and witchcraft. Other traditions included hanging hagstones above beds to repel nightmares or in stables to protect horses, or wearing hagstone necklaces as protective talismans. But what made these captivating stones in the first place? … ” Read more from Bay Nature here: The living drill bits that grind holes in beach rocks
New tsunami hazard maps highlight threat facing seven California counties — even Napa
“For the first time since 2009, the California Geological Survey has released new tsunami hazard area maps for Ventura, San Diego, Marin, Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma counties to help residents better understand the risks from a tsunami and how to best plan for a potential evacuation. In a news release, the state geological agency said the updated maps for the seven counties included new data and improved computer modeling since an earlier series of maps was published 13 years ago, as well as threats from tsunamis originating far away and locally. Thirteen other counties, including Los Angeles and Orange, received new updates over the last year, according to the agency. “The good news is we haven’t seen full-scale large changes on the maps,” said Rick Wilson, senior engineering geologist and head of the California Geological Survey’s tsunami unit. “It’s just a good opportunity for people to go our website and check out if their area has changed, and plan appropriately.” ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: New tsunami hazard maps highlight threat facing seven California counties — even Napa
Caldor, King and Mosquito: the Sierra Foothill’s largest wildfires in recorded history
“Burning a total of 396,340 acres in a span of eight years, these three fires threatened communities and lives but represent an evolution in firefighting. FOX40 spoke with CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit (NEU) Chief Brian Estes, who served with CAL FIRE on all three of these fire, about the similarities and differences between the Caldor, King and Mosquito Fires’ weather patterns, terrain and firefighting tactics. The King Fire burned from Sept. 13, 2014 to Oct. 9, 2014 across 97,717 acres of El Dorado County, near Pollock Pines. The Caldor Fire started on Aug. 14, 2021 and burned 221, 835 acres from Pleasant Valley to South Lake Tahoe until it was stopped on Oct. 21, 2021. The Mosquito Fire, which started on Sept. 6, 2022, has burned 76,788 acres and is at 90% containment as of Oct. 4. “Really you are going to define all of your challenges on a fire by three things; fuels, weather and topography,” Estes said. “If you align all three of those you got a perfect storm.” … ” Continue reading from Fox 40 here: Caldor, King and Mosquito: the Sierra Foothill’s largest wildfires in recorded history
New limits recommended for building homes in high-risk wildfire areas in California
“One of California’s top elected officials on Monday announced steps to limit how housing and other developments can be built in areas that are at highest risk of wildfire, a move that follows a series of deadly, destructive blazes in recent years but also comes amid the state’s persistent housing shortage. At a news conference in San Diego County, state Attorney General Rob Bonta released guidelines for local governments to follow when they are deciding whether to approve subdivisions in the “wildland urban interface” — places where structures and other human development meet undeveloped lands and heighten wildfire risks. Under Bonta’s guidelines, developers should not be allowed to build on steep slopes in such fire-prone areas and that they should construct adequate water supplies there, cluster buildings near roads and be required to use fire-resistant building materials beyond what state building codes require in the riskiest areas. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: New limits recommended for building homes in high-risk wildfire areas in California
The US Forest Service planned to increase burning to prevent wildfires. Will a pause on prescribed fire instead bring more delays?
“John Weir started noticing the smoke once he hit Tucumcari, a New Mexico town about 40 miles west of the Texas border. Weir, a specialist in fire ecology for Oklahoma State University Extension, was headed to the first in-person meeting of a national committee assessing policies on prescribed fires—blazes intentionally set to burn away excess vegetation that could drive megafires. … In response to the two escaped burns that would merge into the Calf Canyon/Hermit Creek Fire—the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history—the chief of the U.S. Forest Service would soon declare a nationwide, 90-day freeze on prescribed burns on land the agency manages. While to many residents impacted by the fire, that may seem like a rational response, the chief’s May announcement came just months after the agency laid out plans to drastically increase its use of prescribed fire in the coming decade to help thin overgrown forests as a warming and drying climate drives an increase in the amount of land burning annually in U.S. wildfires. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News here: The US Forest Service planned to increase burning to prevent wildfires. Will a pause on prescribed fire instead bring more delays?
Today’s featured article …
GUEST COMMENTARY: Do Water Rights Have a Future? … Not as Currently Configured
Written by Robert Shibatani
Water rights, depending on jurisdiction, possess various levels of seeming indemnity and security, typically demonstrated through some standard of legally established priority. Water entitlements have been long-standing icons of local and regional industrial, economic, and political power. Over time, as water demands grew, but available supplies dwindled, they became increasingly guarded. But is all that attention and protection still validated, particularly as we look at our changing future?
Many, not all, water right holders acknowledge that there is a growing risk to their entitlements but have yet to really take proactive steps to closely evaluate these risks, let alone initiate remedies or mitigate any potential threats. Most simply choose to ignore it. In fact, some water entitlement holders seem brazenly unfettered by the whole issue. So much so, in fact, they can often be “seen” waving their permits/licenses around as if it represented some guarantee. Well, perhaps society may be able to grant some hybrid guarantee through various legal protections, but Mother Nature can override everything, even Supreme Court rulings with remarkable ease.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Tribal Marine Stewards Network launches intertribal partnership to adapt California coastlines to climate change
“Ahead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day this year, leaders from five indigenous tribes gathered to launch the Tribal Marine Stewards Network (TMSN). The four founding tribes are the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Resighini Rancheria, and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation; The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians will soon join as the fifth tribe, and tribes that are interested in future partnership can get in touch. “The network provides opportunities to share knowledge and build tribal capacity to monitor and manage ocean resources,” said Abreanna Gomes, environmental specialist with the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians. Kashia ancestral land stretches along the Pacific Ocean from the Gualala River Watershed to Salmon Creek watershed south of the Russian River, and inland along the Russian River watershed to Guerneville. “Seeing how other tribes within the network have built their programs has been a truly rewarding experience and is allowing us to expand our own program.” … ” Read more from the Mendocino Voice here: Tribal Marine Stewards Network launches intertribal partnership to adapt California coastlines to climate change
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Evaluating Shasta Lake’s water status
“As a warm and dry summer drags into October, additional stress is put on our already low water supply. But despite what dramatic images might suggest, this is not an extreme outlier in terms of lake levels. As Lake Shasta Caverns General Manager Matthew Doyle explains, “It is not a record-setting year as far as lake levels; we have seen a lot of news reports and a lot of concerns…we have a lot of guests that will call up and ask about the lake levels. This is definitely not a record-breaking year. I’ve been here for close to 21 years and I’ve seen it at least four times lower than this. Now one of the best things is we were only supposed to get down to 150 feet this year, currently we’re sitting at 142 feet, which we’re eight feet higher, which is actually quite a bit of water and that’s a good start going into the next water season, which just started October first.” … ” Read more from KRCR here: Evaluating Shasta Lake’s water status
Sutter Buttes Flood Control Agency receives $1.14M grant from state for restoration project
“The Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency announced Monday that it received $1.14 million in Proposition 68 grant funding from the California Department of Water Resources to expand efforts to lower storm and flood water elevations in the Feather River, while also improving habitat for endangered fisheries. According to the agency, the grant will pay for planning costs for its Oroville Wildlife Area (OWA) Robinson’s Riffle Restoration Project. Officials with Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency (SBFCA), said the awarding of the grant was in part a result of the agency’s success for its 2019 OWA Flood Stage Reduction Project, which involved flood control weir improvements and the removal of a dike to reconnect a segment of the Feather River to its historic floodplain. … ” Read more from the Appeal Democrat here: Sutter Buttes Flood Control Agency receives $1.14M grant from state for restoration project | Read via Yahoo News
Sacramento RegionalSan expands water recycling capacity with new facility
“One of the largest public works projects in Sacramento’s history has been quietly under construction, out of sight for most people in the region. Sacramento RegionalSan is upgrading its wastewater processing facility in Elk Grove, which processes wastewater from customers across Sacramento County, and West Sacramento in Yolo County. On an average day, 150 million gallons of wastewater is handled at the facility. The updated facility, called EchoWater, will be focused on recycling more wastewater. RegionalSan officials say that new infrastructure will be able to clean sewage so thoroughly it can be used to irrigate agricultural crops. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Sacramento RegionalSan expands water recycling capacity with new facility
BAY AREA
S.F. starts a plan to deal with 7 feet in sea-level rise. It could reshape the city shoreline
“Even as it grapples with how to protect the Embarcadero from earthquakes and climate change, San Francisco is embarking on a more expensive, almost existential task: planning how to prepare the city’s bay shoreline for as much as seven feet of sea level rise. The study being done with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the next year covers an area extending from Fisherman’s Wharf south to the Hunters Point shipyard, and aims to map out an adaptation strategy through 2100. Because the Army Corps is involved, the federal government could fund at least half of the long-term costs, a figure sure to run well into the billions. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: S.F. starts a plan to deal with 7 feet in sea-level rise. It could reshape the city shoreline
Marin Voice: Highway 37 is broken, let’s fix it the right way
Manuel J. Oliva, CEO of Point Blue Conservation Science, writes, “If you live, work, or even just spend time in the North Bay, you’ve probably driven on Highway 37. And if you travel on Highway 37 with any regularity, you probably have your own horror story. For much of its length, the highway is only one lane each way, meaning backups are frequent and severe. Additionally, as a low-lying highway right along the San Pablo Bay, it’s prone to flooding, which can often cause the highway to close for days or weeks at a time. As we look to a future with an increased population in the North Bay and increased flood risk due to the rising sea levels and extreme weather events climate change will bring, it’s clear we need a plan for Highway 37. Luckily, a diverse group of agencies and nongovernmental organizations have come together to design a long-term solution to address the twin challenges of traffic and flooding, while also taking advantage of the huge potential for wetlands restoration. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: Marin Voice: Highway 37 is broken, let’s fix it the right way
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Lake in Madera impacted by harmful algal bloom
“A recreational advisory has been issued at Madera County’s Hensley Lake due to a Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) in the water, according to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Fishermen and recreational users are urged to stay out of Hensley Lake after the water tested positive for HABs, which pose an elevated risk. ... ” Read more from Your Central Valley here: Lake in Madera impacted by harmful algal bloom
EASTERN SIERRA
The people living near Owens Lake endured decades of toxic dust. Here’s why they stayed
“The area around Owens Lake holds a certain kind of magnetism. There’s the spectacular Sierra Nevada to the west, crowned by Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental United States. There’s the charming town of Lone Pine, which looks like a 1950s postcard stuck in time, where everyone urges visitors to try Seasons, a rustic little steakhouse that’s delightfully worth the hype. And there’s the stirring desert landscape. Owens Lake and its surroundings have served as the backdrop for hundreds of films, from John Wayne and Roy Rogers Westerns to sci-fi hits like “Tremors” and “Star Trek.” But longtime residents recall spells when things weren’t always pleasant. They remember when the dry Owens Lake became a source of dangerous dust so thick sometimes it would blot out the sun. … ” Read more from Deseret News here: The people living near Owens Lake endured decades of toxic dust. Here’s why they stayed
Is dry California lake a peek into the future of the Great Salt Lake?
“Until the 20th century, the only way water left the Great Basin was through evaporation. Then, a giant city decided to take control of a river in a sleepy valley 200 miles away. The saltwater lake, just like it’s giant cousin in Utah, was deceptively alive; not with fish, but with migratory birds resting on their seasonal journeys to feed on brine shrimp and insects.
In 1913, Owen’s Lake was lost to the thirst of what would soon become America’s second-largest metropolis: Los Angeles, which bought the water rights and diverted the Owen’s River into a 230-mile long aqueduct. A system of pipes and canals built with the muscle of men and mules. The engineering marvel made modern day Los Angeles possible, but did so by creating an environmental disaster. … ” Read more from Fox 13 here: Is dry California lake a peek into the future of the Great Salt Lake?
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
Lithium Valley: Firm hoping to extract valuable mineral by Salton Sea says manganese also present
“Could Lithium Valley become Manganese Valley? Controlled Thermal Resources, one of three companies pushing to produce valuable lithium from underneath Imperial County, announced on Monday that there might be five times more manganese than lithium in the scalding brine it is pumping up at the south end of the Salton Sea. The manganese, also a critical component in electric vehicle batteries and storage systems, “can be produced simultaneously, without compromising our lithium production schedule or delivery,” CTR’s Chief Executive Officer Rod Colwell said in an upbeat third quarter report.The company said it has a specialized engineering group working on manganese recovery for battery-quality production, and plans to test the process on freshly pumped brine in coming months. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Lithium Valley: Firm hoping to extract valuable mineral by Salton Sea says manganese also present
Along the Colorado River …
California’s opening bid won’t solve the Colorado River crisis alone
“California’s offer to conserve some of its share of Colorado River water over the next few years won’t solve the looming water and power crisis in the West — but it might be enough to kickstart negotiations among the states on a deal that could. The biggest hurdle to striking an agreement that would sharply curtail water use among the seven states that share the river has been the impasse between the two thirstiest states — California and Arizona — over which should shoulder the brunt of the cuts as climate change fuels the deepest drought in the region in 1,200 years. California’s offer in a letter to federal officials last week to voluntarily reduce its consumption of Colorado River water by 400,000 acre feet per year between 2023 and 2026 doesn’t move the dial on that dispute. But it does represent the first time California — the biggest user and senior water rights holder on the system — has put an offer in writing. And it makes an explicit overture to other states to “immediately reengage” in broader negotiations. … ” Read more from Politco here: California’s opening bid won’t solve the Colorado River crisis alone
Tempe plans to reopen long dormant water reclamation plant amid grinding drought
“The Kyrene Water Reclamation Facility, built in the late 1980s and closed by budget cuts in 2010, is being brought back online as a part of Tempe’s response to the ongoing drought. The plant will collect and recycle wastewater, used mainly to recharge aquifers beneath the city. The announcement comes as Arizona experiences abnormally dry conditions, with 23% of the state in severe drought, a term used to describe conditions where water and feed are inadequate for livestock, fire danger is high and little forage remains for wildlife, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. In fact, the drought that has gripped Arizona since 2000 has been the driest in more than 1,200 years, and it’s expected to persist in the near future, according to a study by Nature Climate Change. … ” Read more from Arizona Public Media here: Tempe plans to reopen long dormant water reclamation plant amid grinding drought
Q&A with James Eklund | The 10,000-foot view with leading Colorado water attorney
“A fifth-generation Coloradan, James Eklund is one of the region’s leading water attorneys, currently with Sherman & Howard where he leads the firm’s water and natural resources practice. He also manages his family’s Centennial Ranch, dating back to 1888, in the Plateau Valley on the Western Slope. After law school, Eklund served as assistant attorney general, where he specialized in interstate and international water issues. He was later Gov. John Hickenlooper’s legal counsel, which later led to becoming director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. Eklund was the architect of the state’s first water plan, released in 2015. He also represented Colorado on the Upper Colorado River Commission. … ” Read more from Colorado Politics here: Q&A with James Eklund | The 10,000-foot view with leading Colorado water attorney
In national water news today …
The Supreme Court is poised to redefine protected waters
“If you want to cross the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona, anytime between October and July, you probably won’t need a boat, a bridge, waders, or even waterproof shoes. During most of the year, the river is an arroyo, a curvy strip of dry sand that holds no more than the memory of water: braided serpentine patterns in the sand, erosion-smoothed stones, debris wrapped around the trunks of the few hardy deciduous trees. But when the Rillito springs to life, as it did on multiple occasions this summer, it becomes a river like any other, swelling up to 5,000 cubic feet per second or more, and rivaling the Southwest’s largest, fastest streams. … On October 3, the Rillito River and thousands of other ephemeral or intermittent rivers, streams, arroyos, gullies, wetlands, marshes, and prairie potholes went to court — the Supreme Court. The justices heard Sackett vs. Environmental Protection Agency, and their decision could yank many of the Southwest’s waterways out from under federal jurisdiction, ripping the guts out of the Clean Water Act just in time for its 50th birthday this year. ... ” Read more from Undark here: The Supreme Court is poised to redefine protected waters
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: DWR Now Accepting Applications for $510 Million in Financial Assistance to Support Water Supply Reliability, Yard Transformation, and Migratory Birds
YOUR INPUT WANTED: Survey Launched to Inform the Planning of a Restoration Forum
