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Water news you need to know

A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Director Chris Bowman.

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Aquafornia news E&E News by POLITICO

A Superfund for climate? These states are pushing for it.

The oil and gas industry could be on the hook for billions of dollars as a growing number of states consider making the sector pay for climate impacts such as floods and sea-level rise. At least four states are debating legislation, modeled on the federal Superfund program for contaminated land, that would hold major fossil fuel companies liable for damage caused by the historical emissions of their products. In Vermont, which saw record flooding last year, a majority of the House and a supermajority of the Senate have signed onto the proposal, all but ensuring it will pass. Similar bills have been introduced in New York — where it already has passed the Senate — as well as Massachusetts and Maryland. 

Aquafornia news Eos

Sea otters’ appetite for crab is helping strengthen estuary banks

Sea otters, once hunted to near extinction, are staging a comeback in California. Their return has revealed the incredible positive effects these furry apex predators can have on the state’s coastal ecosystems, including kelp forests and seagrass meadows. Now, there’s another coastal ecosystem to add to that list, one that plays an important role in bank stabilization, water filtration, and carbon storage: the salt marsh. In a new study in Nature, researchers found that sea otters have reduced bank erosion rates by 69% in Elkhorn Slough, a coastal wetland south of San Francisco, in the decades since their return to the estuary. Their big effect is due to their big appetites—the Elkhorn Slough salt marsh has been eroding, in part, because of root-munching shore crabs that burrow into the soil and destabilize the banks.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Risks ease for Colorado River reservoirs after wet winter, but long-term challenges loom

After a wet year and a push to conserve water in the Southwest, federal officials say the risk of the Colorado River’s reservoirs declining to critically low levels has substantially eased for the next couple of years. The Biden administration’s top water and climate officials said the rise in reservoir levels and the ongoing conservation efforts will provide some breathing room for the region’s water managers to come up with new long-term rules to address the river’s chronic overallocation problem and the worsening effects of climate change. … The states proposed the short-term cuts to deal with water shortages through 2026, when the current rules for managing the river expire. The Bureau of Reclamation released its final analysis of the water reductions on Tuesday …

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Aquafornia news Capital Press

Heavy metals in the Klamath River? Things are still murky post-drawdown

Three weeks after citizens stood up at a public meeting in Siskiyou County, California, and raised concerns about heavy metals in the Klamath River, the situation is about as clear as the river. And the river’s pretty muddy. The breaching of the Iron Gate, Copco 1 and JC Boyle hydroelectric dams in January was done to draw down the reservoirs behind the dams as a prelude to dam removal later this year. But the drawdown released vast amounts of sediment that had been backed up behind the dams. And some of those sediments contain metals. … Only after a year from when drawdown is complete will the company test for more metals, as directed by the state.

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Aquafornia news Salt Lake Tribune

New Colorado River agreement stops short of giving tribes a seat at the table

… On Monday, the Upper Colorado River Commission — an interstate agency composed of one federal representative and commissioners from the Upper Colorado River Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — took a step toward greater collaboration between the states and the tribes. The commission unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with six Colorado River tribes: the Jicarilla Apache Nation, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe and the Shivwits Band of Paiutes. The agreement states that the Upper Colorado River Commission and the six tribes will meet about every two months to discuss shared interests on the Colorado River. Other tribes are welcome to join the agreement. The MOU does not give the tribes a permanent seat on the Upper Colorado River Commission, like the states and federal government.

Aquafornia news Chico Enterprise-Record

Opinion: Getting Sites Reservoir across the finish line

It’s difficult to build big water infrastructure projects in California. It takes collaboration and agreement across geographic and political divides. It takes time, funding, and the will of diverse stakeholders to advance solutions to address our state’s biggest water challenges. When you have a project that boasts all the above, you can get the job done. For us, that project is Sites Reservoir. Sites Reservoir is a new way of capturing and storing water – rather than damming a major river, the proposal involves utilizing existing infrastructure to convey and store water off-stream and deliver it back into the system when it’s needed the most. When flows are high on the Sacramento River – and once all other senior water rights are met – a portion of the water will be piped into Sites Reservoir.
-Written by Congressman Mike Thompson, representing California’s 4th Congressional District; and Congressman Doug LaMalfa, lifelong farmer representing California’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the physical footprint of Sites Reservoir.  

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Better data key to informed water policy decisions

To adapt to climate extremes and become more water resilient in California, modernizing the state’s water data—including the way it is collected, stored, shared and used—may lead to more informed decisions. Improving data practices to best manage California’s water resources helped drive discussions last week as state and local water managers, farmers, environmentalists and others gathered in Sacramento for the 62nd annual California Irrigation Institute Conference. … With a theme of “Fluid Futures: Adapting to Extremes,” the Feb. 26-27 event focused on leveraging information and data technology to help with water-management decisions. Erin Urquhart, water resources program manager for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, offered insights on the benefits of Earth-observing missions that gather water data from space.

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Aquafornia news Lake County Record-Bee

Potter Valley Project decommissioning takes next step

The impacts to Lake County’s water supply were debated at the Board of Supervisors meeting February 27 with discussion centered over the substantial effects on the county’s future water supply if PG&E’s proposed plans are carried out in full. Consideration was made of: A. requesting a letter of support from the State Department of Water Resources, and B, approval of resolution authorizing the grant application, acceptance and execution of the Potter Valley Project de-commissioning. Such action means probable removal of Scott Dam and maybe elimination of Lake Pillsbury. Asking the Board chair to sign the letter was Matthew Rothstein, Chief Deputy County Administrative Officer along with Patrick Sullivan, treasure/ tax collector. 

Aquafornia news Knee Deep Times

The good flood, restoring a Sonoma Creek

Wooden fence posts poking just above the surface and tall oaks with their trunks submerged are sure signs that the land is flooded. That word, “flooded,” has a negative connotation, an association with destruction. But here it is positive – even protective. And if the San Francisco Estuary Institute, Sonoma County Water Agency, and Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation get what they want, more water, not less, is destined for this place. The Laguna de Santa Rosa drains much of urban Sonoma County, a watershed of 250 square miles, and is the largest tributary of the mighty Russian River. The more water that this creek and its floodplain can slow and absorb, the less water will rush downstream to threaten truly catastrophic flooding in Guerneville, Monte Rio, and Rio Nido.

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Aquafornia news The San Diego Union-Tribune

EPA approves water quality program at North San Diego County reservation

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted approval to a North County tribe to administer a water quality standards program on its reservation.  The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians has become the 11th tribe to secure the right to uphold its own water quality standards out of the 148 federally recognized tribes in the Pacific Southwest region, which is comprised of Arizona, California and Nevada.  The move means the tribe can operate in a manner akin to a state, allowing it to implement and manage specific environmental regulatory functions and the ability to secure grant funding to support its programs. 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Lake Elsinore reaches new depths thanks to recent storms

After a series of atmospheric river storms dumped record levels of rain on Southern California, the region’s largest natural freshwater lake has recovered in a major way. As of last week, Lake Elsinore was deeper than it had been since June 2011, according to data from the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District. Years of drought and the occasional wet winter have caused wide variations in the lake’s depth. At 1,248 feet above sea level, the lake is now more than 10 feet deeper than it was in July 2022, and almost 15 feet deeper than at its lowest recent point, in November 2018.

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Aquafornia news Tahoe Daily Tribune

Unlocking Tahoe’s dirty secret: Data from a multiyear monitoring project

Clean Up The Lake, the environmental non-profit responsible for the 72-mile cleanup of Lake Tahoe, has recently completed a two-year monitoring effort on the lake. CUTL conservation dive teams revisited 20 litter hotspots in the 0 to 25-foot depths along the Nevada shoreline that were identified during the 72-mile cleanup of Lake Tahoe in 2021. The primary purpose of this project was to survey these nearshore zones along the Nevada shoreline to observe changes in litter accumulation and perform surveillance for aquatic invasive species (AIS) that may have progressed since 2021. By revisiting places that were already cleaned, the data collected helped determine the status of litter accumulation in Lake Tahoe, its rate of change since the 72-mile cleanup, and the efficacy of CUTL’s SCUBA-enabled cleanup methodology. 

Aquafornia news Daily Kos

Blog: Protests against Delta tunnel change in water diversion must be filed by April 29

As salmon and Delta fish populations continue to crash due to massive water diversions to corporate agribusiness, the State Water Resources Control Board just issued a public notice regarding the Delta Conveyance Project Change in Point of Diversion (CPOD) Petition that was submitted by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to the State Water Board on February 22, 2024. This notice acknowledges receipt of the change petition and details the process to submit a protest against the petition. You can expect a wave of formal protests against the change petition by fishing groups, Tribes, environmental justice organizations, conservation groups and Delta region cities and counties. Protests against the change petition must be filed by April 29th, 2024, with a copy provided to the petition, according to the Water Board. 

Aquafornia news Pleasanton Weekly

Pleasanton council to review potential bond sale to finance water infrastructure projects

The Pleasanton City Council will be reviewing a staff presentation on the city’s proposed plan to authorize and approve a bond sale for as much as $19 million to finance a portion of planned water infrastructure upgrades during Tuesday’s meeting. According to the March 5 staff report, staff will be presenting a debt financing overview and a resolution for the council to approve, which will declare the city’s intent to “reimburse expenditures relating to capital improvement projects from the proceeds of tax-exempt obligations.”

Aquafornia news The Center for Biological Diversity

News release: True cost of sprawl includes harm to people, wildlife, climate

Sprawl development built far from city centers carries direct and indirect costs that pull resources away from existing neighborhoods, harming communities and natural habitats, according to a new report published by the Center for Biological Diversity. The True Cost of Sprawl analyzed the environmental harms — including pollution, wildfire risks and public health threats — that come with poor land-use decisions. It found that suburban and exurban housing developments increase per capita infrastructure costs by 50%, pulling public funds from schools, parks, public transportation and other needs in existing communities for things like new roads and sewer systems.

Aquafornia news Vallejo Times Herald Online

Thompson secures $2.3 million for water projects in government funding agreement

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson announced on Tuesday that funding of $2.3 million for three Solano County projects will be considered by Congress later this week. Thompson secured nearly $15 million for projects for his district, California’s Fourth. … The projects in Solano County are: $959,752 for the Rio Vista Wastewater Plant Consolidation and Reclaimed Water Project. The Rio Vista Wastewater Plant Consolidation and Reclaimed Water Project supports the Clean Water Act standards by aiming to eliminate the direct discharge of water into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, recharges the aquifer on which Rio Vista City relies for drinking water, and mitigates drought issues by providing a reusable water source.

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Aquafornia news Forbes

Opinion: Innovation that can solve housing’s water scarcity challenge

So many hurdles are impacting new home construction, yet one is quickly growing more urgent and critical—access to water. In more and more places across the country, access to healthy, safe, and sustainable water supply is causing restrictions on new home building permits and challenging current homeowners with new water use policies. This challenge is triggering states and municipalities to reconsider new developments, halting them or shutting them down completely at a time when housing supply is at critically low levels. Groundwater shortages have shut down new permits in parts of Arizona where new homes would rely on wells. A large development with thousands of homes north of Las Vegas also was shut down due to concerns over water supply.
-By Jennifer Castenson, vice-president of ambassador and industry partner programs at Buildxact, providing leadership and collaboration across the various verticals involved in custom homebuilding and remodeling. 

Aquafornia news Sierra Club Angeles Chapter

Blog: San Diego has a cross border sewage problem

For decades, raw sewage from Tijuana, Mexico has, and continues, to flow across the border into San Diego, California.  This discharge flows into the Tijuana River Valley, and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean.  This pollution has negatively impacted the Tijuana River Valley and the Tijuana River Estuary, one of the last remaining estuaries in California, and the beaches.  Unhealthy concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria has forced the County of San Diego to close 10 miles of beach access from the US-Mexico Border all the way to the beaches of Coronado.   At the urging of Congressman Scott Peters, the San Diego State University School of Public Health issued a white paper which details the public health risks posed by the transborder flow of sewage.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Plant a tree, get $100 under new MWD program

With many areas of Southern California starved for shade, the region’s largest water supplier has launched a rebate program offering residents and businesses up to $500 as an incentive to plant trees. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday announced the addition of the tree incentive to its long-standing turf-replacement program, which offers cash to property owners who rip out water-guzzling grass and replace it with drought-tolerant landscaping. Starting this week, new applicants can seek a $100 rebate for each eligible tree planted — up to five trees total — as part of their turf-replacement project, according to a spokesperson for the district.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Monster blizzard shatters California ‘snow drought’ with up to 10 feet of new snow

A monster blizzard that blasted California’s Sierra Nevada with gusts of up to 190 mph and dumped more than 10 feet of snow over the weekend shattered the state’s “snow drought” and significantly boosted vital snowpack levels. The statewide snowpack by Monday had swelled to 104% of normal for the date, with a snow water equivalent of 24.4 inches. On Thursday — hours before the chilly winter storm was set to hit — the snowpack had measured only 80% of normal. It was an impressive turnaround compared with the beginning of the year when the snowpack was 32% of normal. Officials were optimistic the blizzard would offer a significant snow boost. It ended up being a game-changer.

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