In California water news today, California measure aims to protect state’s environment from Trump rollbacks; Siskiyou County admits defeat in Scott Valley groundwater case; Turning up Heat on More Dam Storage; Lawmaker cheers USDA’s rural water grants; Caps on groundwater use create a new market in California; UCLA to lead $10 million California conservation project; A great climate comes from happy soil. Could happy soil come from California?; Cal Channel to end broadcasting after three decades; Fracking has less impact on groundwater than traditional oil and gas production; First-ever mandatory water cutbacks will kick in next year along the Colorado River; and more …
On the calendar today …
- Webinar on Groundwater Recharge & Environmental Flows: Balancing Our Depleted Supplies & Ecosystem Needs from 12pm to 1:30pm. Presented by the Local Government Commission and the Clean Water Fund. Click here to register.
- Pond Planning and Groundwater Recharge Workshop on Saturday in Redway. Presented by the Salmon Restoration Federation. Click here for more information and to register for this workshop.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
A law just for Trump’s presidency? California measure aims to protect state’s environment: “California is considering a far-reaching law that would lock current environmental protections into place and would only be in effect until the end of Donald Trump’s presidency. The premise of the Senate Bill 1 is simple: to maintain environmental and worker safety standards that the state has had in place for decades, even if the federal government rolls them back. Standards that were effective before Jan. 19, 2017 (the day before President Trump took office) would be enforceable under state law until January 20, 2025, or when Trump would leave office if he wins a second term. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: A law just for Trump’s presidency? California measure aims to protect state’s environment
Siskiyou County groundwater case: After 10 years of fight, county admits defeat: “The county’s aggressive litigation strategy involved retention of one of the nation’s preeminent natural resource lawyers to advance its legal argument that the common law Public Trust Doctrine does not apply to the county’s issuance of ministerial well construction permits in Scott Valley, according to a press release. In July of 2019, the County of Siskiyou entered into a $1.7 million settlement agreement with the Environmental Law Foundation, Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations, and Institute of Fisheries Resources, to settle the county’s payment of attorneys’ fees and costs in the case of Environmental Law Foundation, et al v. State Water Resources Control Board and County of Siskiyou (“ELF”), a Writ of Mandate case that the county aggressively litigated for close to a decade, and ultimately lost. ... ” Read more from the Taft Midway Driller here: Siskiyou County: After 10 years of fight, county admits defeat
Turning up Heat on More Dam Storage: “Gar Tootelian and Families Protecting the Valley, are rolling up their sleeves to put up several hundred road signs calling for action to build more dam storage and the message is simple: DAM WATER GROWS FOOD. “We’re all tired of political inaction,” said Greg Musson, GAR President/CEO. “Voters approved Prop 1 long ago and yet here we are, wading in the water of a heavy rainfall and snowpack year, while millions of gallons of water flows into the ocean every day. We’ll need this water when Mother Nature isn’t so generous.” ... ” Read more from Cal Ag Today here: Turning up Heat on More Dam Storage
Lawmaker cheers USDA’s rural water grants: “U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) was pleased this week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development approved grant funding to improve sewage and wastewater facilities in Paradise, Gridley, and Biggs, all in Northern California. A breakdown of the grants for each city can be found linked below ... ” Read more from the Western Farm Press here: Lawmaker cheers USDA’s rural water grants
Caps on groundwater use create a new market in California: “A long stretch of highway running between Los Angeles and San Francisco separates the dry hills to the west from the green plains of the San Joaquin Valley to the east, where much of America’s fruit, nuts and vegetables are grown. Every couple of miles billboards hint at the looming threat to the valley. “Is growing food a waste of water?” one billboard asks. Another simply says, “No Water, no Jobs”. In the San Joaquin Valley agriculture accounts for 18% of jobs and agriculture runs on water. Most of it comes from local rivers and rainfall, some is imported from the river deltas upstate, and the rest is pumped out of groundwater basins. … ” Read more from The Economist here: Caps on groundwater use create a new market in California
Wildfire: Hundreds of Thousands of Acres Spared So Far This Year in California: “The wildfire season of 2017 was heartbreaking for California, followed by another record-setting 2018 season. It was also in 2018 that we saw the largest, most destructive, and deadliest fires in recorded history burn across the northern part of the state. … ” Read more from Weather Nation here: Wildfire: Hundreds of Thousands of Acres Spared So Far This Year in California
UCLA to lead $10 million California conservation project: “UCLA scientists are leading a $10 million project to help California officials make ecologically wise decisions as the state continues to confront the effects of climate change. The California Conservation Genomics Project, which is funded by the state, will involve conservation biologists, geneticists, ecologists and climate scientists from all 10 University of California campuses, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the UC Natural Reserve System and California State University campuses, as well as officials from state and federal regulatory agencies and nongovernment agencies, such as The Nature Conservancy. It is intended to run through 2022 or 2023. ... ” Read more from UCLA here: UCLA to lead $10 million California conservation project
A great climate comes from happy soil. Could happy soil come from California? “The way we’re using our land isn’t helping our chances of limiting global warming. As last week’s IPCC report on land use and climate points out, agriculture, forestry, and other land uses are responsible for 22 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions. But it doesn’t have to be like this. We need farms for food, of course. Normally, farms degrade and deplete their soils, which are an important sink for atmospheric carbon; the IPCC report states that regularly tilled fields lose soil at 100 times the rate they could possibly form new material. ... ” Read more from Popular Science here: A great climate comes from happy soil. Could happy soil come from California?
Cal Channel to end broadcasting after three decades: “The California Channel, a decades-old public broadcaster that has historically provided on-demand video access to the Legislature, the state Supreme Court and the Capitol community, will cease operations in October. Supported by the California Cable and Telecommunications Association since 1993, it’s one of the few services that offer one-on-one interviews with all candidates for the state’s elected offices. The Cal Channel has long been viewed as California’s version of C-SPAN, which covers Congress. ... ” Read more from Capitol Weekly here: Cal Channel to end broadcasting after three decades
Justifying SCADA Projects: “SCADA projects frequently support strategic initiatives not focused on purely economic benefits. However, many utilities often look first to an economic return on investment (ROI) analysis to justify projects. Experience shows that using an economic evaluation, such as an ROI analysis, will often fall short of providing adequate justification to proceed on an automation project. Most water/wastewater utility executives are quite familiar with calculating savings due to tangible benefits such as labor savings, energy savings, chemical costs, reduction in fines and other quantifiable factors. But difficulties often arise when trying to quantify intangible benefits such as increased reliability, emergency response capabilities, avoided cost due to enhanced maintenance, improved operations, business process improvement and better regulatory compliance. … ” Read more from Water Finance and Management here: Justifying SCADA Projects
Fracking has less impact on groundwater than traditional oil and gas production: “Conventional oil and gas production methods can affect groundwater much more than fracking, according to hydrogeologists Jennifer McIntosh from the University of Arizona and Grant Ferguson from the University of Saskatchewan. High-volume hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, injects water, sand and chemicals under high pressure into petroleum-bearing rock formations to recover previously inaccessible oil and natural gas. This method led to the current shale gas boom that started about 15 years ago. … ” Read more from Phys Org here: Fracking has less impact on groundwater than traditional oil and gas production
It’s raining plastic: microscopic fibers fall from the sky in Rocky Mountains: “Plastic was the furthest thing from Gregory Wetherbee’s mind when he began analyzing rainwater samples collected from the Rocky Mountains. “I guess I expected to see mostly soil and mineral particles,” said the US Geological Survey researcher. Instead, he found multicolored microscopic plastic fibers. The discovery, published in a recent study (pdf) titled “It is raining plastic”, raises new questions about the amount of plastic waste permeating the air, water, and soil virtually everywhere on Earth. ... ” Read more from The Guardian here: It’s raining plastic: microscopic fibers fall from the sky in Rocky Mountains
‘Aquarela’ Makes Climate Change Scary: “The disastrous effects of hot-boxing the atmosphere were once problems for the future. Welcome to the future. And yet many people in the U.S., including its most powerful man, continue to deny that there’s a problem. How can we get the frightening reality across? Have we run out of options? Acclaimed Russian director Victor Kossakovsky’s film Aquarela, which hits select theaters on August 16, is a bold, thoroughly weird, high-def attempt to reimagine the climate-change message. … ” Read more from Outside Magazine here: ‘Aquarela’ Makes Climate Change Scary
In commentary today …
Editorial: Trump’s birdbrain plan to weaken Endangered Species Act, says the San Jose Mercury News: “It’s a birdbrain idea to gut the Endangered Species Act. Yet, President Trump did just that this week, announcing potentially devastating new rules that weaken protections credited with saving the California condor, the bald eagle, the humpback whale and the grizzly bear from extinction. All told, the Endangered Species Act protects more than 1,500 species and plants. It boggles the mind that Trump would take aim at wildlife safeguards now. Not after scientists in May released a United Nations report showing that climate change has put 1 million plant and animal species on the verge of extinction. … ” Continue reading from the San Jose Mercury News here: Editorial: Trump’s birdbrain plan to weaken Endangered Species Act
Editorial: California’s Joshua trees are threatened and the Trump administration is refusing to admit it, says the LA Times: “Just two months ago, scientists released a study warning that climate change and other environmental stressors — including air pollution from the Los Angeles basin that’s feeding invasive, fast-burning grasses — are imperiling Joshua trees’ desert habitat. Without policies to reduce rising global temperatures or mitigate their effects, which could include human interventions to secure habitats, the scientists predicted “an almost complete elimination of Joshua trees by the end of the century.” A dire warning, that — and it’s not the first. Other studies have concluded that the Joshua tree, which grows only in the Mojave Desert at elevations between 2,000 and 6,000 feet, faces likely extinction through the effects of climate change. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Editorial: California’s Joshua trees are threatened and the Trump administration is refusing to admit it
In regional news and commentary today …
Yurok Tribe Acquires 50,000 Acres From Green Diamond; Land Along Blue Creek, Other Klamath Tributaries Will Be Managed for Conservation: “On Monday, August 19, the Yurok Tribe, Green Diamond Resource Company and Western Rivers Conservancy will celebrate a decade-long, hard-won effort to preserve and place into tribal ownership approximately 50,000 acres of forest surrounding four salmon sustaining streams, including Blue Creek. “It is a good day for the Yurok people,” said Joseph L. James, the Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “On behalf of the Yurok Tribe, I would like thank Green Diamond and Western Rivers for assisting us in the reacquisition of a significant part of our ancestral territory and putting us in a position to permanently protect the Blue Creek watershed, which is the crown jewel of the Klamath River. These organizations have stood by us every step of the way during this 10-year project.” ... ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost here: Yurok Tribe Acquires 50,000 Acres From Green Diamond; Land Along Blue Creek, Other Klamath Tributaries Will Be Managed for Conservation
In bid to clean Russian River, water regulators adopt strict plan for Sonoma County septic systems: “North Coast water quality regulators have signed off on a sweeping new plan that aims to curb the threat of human waste entering the Russian River by phasing out failing and substandard septic systems, viewed for decades as a prime source of pollution in the sprawling watershed. Years in the making, the regulations affect a vast swath of Sonoma County — properties without sewer service from Cloverdale to Cotati and from Santa Rosa to Jenner. For the first time, affected landowners will be subject to compulsory inspections and mandatory repair or replacement of septic systems found to be faulty or outdated, at an estimated cost of up to $114 million, according to county officials. … ” Read more from Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: In bid to clean Russian River, water regulators adopt strict plan for Sonoma County septic systems
Marin: Creek cleanup begins at notorious West Marin dumping ground: “A decade’s worth of junk including cars, refrigerators and even goat carcasses that were illegally dumped into a West Marin creek is being removed this week through a collaborative effort between environmental groups, local businesses and government partners. Piled along the shoulder of a nearly 1,600-foot stretch of Chileno Valley Road east of Tomales were stacks of old tires, a gas tank, empty cans of wood finisher, a rusted chassis, a roll of old barbed wire, a clothes dryer door and other odd detritus — the result of just one day’s cleanup effort. But there was still far more to remove. An old, doorless blue car still lay halfway down the bank of the Stemple Creek tributary work site, as did a large wooden container, refrigerators, washing machines and more. ... ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: Marin: Creek cleanup begins at notorious West Marin dumping ground
Harmful algae found in part of Discovery Bay: “Health officials are urging residents and recreationists in northwest Discovery Bay to stay out of the water at a spot that tested positive for harmful algae. Contra Costa County environmental health officials say Discovery Bay water samples tested on July 31 were all within safe levels except those taken near the discharge point of Kellogg Creek on South Newport Drive. Those came back at 1.4 micrograms per liter of microcystin toxin, almost double the 0.8 level that triggers a “caution” recommendation. … ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Harmful algae found in part of Discovery Bay
Protecting East San Jose from flooding while safeguarding the environment: “Walking along the Upper Penitencia Creek, which runs through the cities of San Jose and Milpitas, patrons of Alum Rock Park can attest to its beauty. This major tributary of Coyote Creek bridges urban life with open space, providing a unique charm to northeast Santa Clara Valley. However, all along the urbanized reach of the creek, there is a potential flood risk. ... ” Read more from Valley Water News here: Protecting East San Jose from flooding while safeguarding the environment
San Jose: Gov. Newsom Appoints San Jose SPUR’s Teresa Alvarado to California Water Commission: “Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed the head of a Silicon Valley urban planning think tank to the California Water Commission, a nine-member regulatory body that oversees the state’s massive and complex water infrastructure. The governor’s announced his pick of fellow Democrat Teresa Alvarado—the San Jose director of research nonprofit SPUR—in a news release earlier this week. ... ” Read more from San Jose Inside here: Gov. Newsom Appoints San Jose SPUR’s Teresa Alvarado to California Water Commission
Gustine: City eyes groundwater sustainability options: “The city is facing a fast-approaching deadline for identifying steps that will be taken to achieve groundwater sustainability, as required under state legislation enacted five years ago. City Manager Doug Dunford told Mattos Newspapers recently that the city, which relies solely on groundwater wells to meet municipal water needs, has until Dec. 31 to submit its plan for achieving sustainability. “We’re pumping 1,000 acre-feet a year, and 600 acre-feet is being percolated back into the system. We’re losing 400 acre-feet a year that is not recharging the system. That is where we are short,” Dunford explained. ... ” Read more from the West Side Connect here: Gustine: City eyes groundwater sustainability options
San Luis Obispo: Desperate for new water supplies, SLO County bets on cloud-seeding program: “It was the summer of 2015, and San Luis Obispo County was in the fourth year of severe drought with no rain in sight. Half-empty reservoirs were declining, the water table was noticeably dropping, farmers had fallowed fields. Water managers responsible for city and agricultural supplies frantically looked for possible emergency water sources if conditions got worse. Brian Talley, third-generation farmer and president of Talley Fields and Talley Vineyards in Arroyo Grande, made the tough call to plant fewer crops in the fields around Huasna Road after the wells used to irrigate the farm and vineyard “became very unproductive.” … ” Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here: Desperate for new water supplies, SLO County bets on cloud-seeding program
Santa Monica: Coastal Commission Issues Cease and Desist to Developer who Bulldozed Playa Dunes: “The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is taking swift and forceful action after a developer bulldozed ecologically sensitive dunes in Playa del Rey. “My staff has since confirmed that unpermitted development occurred on your property and that heavy construction equipment, including frontloaders and a bulldozer, were used to break the dunes located on your property apart and grade the dunes flat, and in doing so, removed sensitive dune habitat, which is considered an environmentally sensitive habitat area,” reads a cease and desist letter from the CCC to developer Legado Companies. “This is a very serious violation of the Coastal Act.” ... ” Read more from the Santa Monica Mirror here: Coastal Commission Issues Cease and Desist to Developer who Bulldozed Playa Dunes
San Bernardino district tops 30-year record for groundwater storage: “Like money in the bank, local groundwater aquifers have seen record-breaking deposits this year with a staggering 20 billion gallons saved so far and another two months still left in the water year, the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District has announced. More than 61,000 acre-feet of snowmelt and rainfall has been diverted from Mill Creek and the Santa Ana River by the district and recharged into the groundwater basin for future use by those who pump water from the basin. Imported water was also used to help supplement the amount of water stored. (An acre-foot contains 326,000 gallons of water, enough to fill a football field a foot deep and to satisfy the needs of the average family for one to two years.) … ” Read more from Redlands Community News here: San Bernardino district tops 30-year record for groundwater storage
Bluff stabilization efforts to commence in Del Mar: “With bluff collapses in coastal North County increasing, North County Transit District and the city of Del Mar are gearing up for another round of bluff stabilization efforts. Such efforts are meant to safeguard the railroad corridor in Del Mar, which runs directly through the city’s 1.6-mile stretch of beachside bluffs. Set to break ground in early September and be completed in May of 2020, the project — termed DMB4 — will involve repairing three seawalls on the beach below the tracks, removing concrete debris from aging infrastructure, stabilizing areas where bluffs are failing and repairing stormwater drainage facilities. … ” Read more from the Coast News here: Bluff stabilization efforts to commence in Del Mar
Along the Colorado River …
First-ever mandatory water cutbacks will kick in next year along the Colorado River: “Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will be required to take less water from the Colorado River for the first time next year under a set of agreements that aim to keep enough water in Lake Mead to reduce the risk of a crash. The federal Bureau of Reclamation activated the mandatory reductions in water deliveries on Thursday when it released projections showing that as of Jan. 1, the level of Lake Mead will sit just below a threshold that triggers the cuts. ... ” Read more from Arizona Republic here: First-ever mandatory water cutbacks will kick in next year along the Colorado River
The Great Basin’s fresh water is drying up, threatening young waterbirds: “Every year, millions of waterbirds swoop into the wetlands of the Great Basin, a region that spans Nevada and parts of neighboring states. “I think of it as a mosaic of wetlands, where some are freshwater, some are saline, and then there are three or four that are hypersaline, which is they’re saltier than the ocean,” says Susan Haig of Oregon State University. … ” Read more from Yale Climate Connections here: The Great Basin’s fresh water is drying up, threatening young waterbirds
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.
