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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 Los Angeles Times

Global hot streak continues: February was warmest on record

The planet has experienced its ninth consecutive month of record-breaking warmth, with a simmering February rounding out the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest meteorological winter on record, international climate officials announced this week. The global surface temperature in February was 56.4 degrees — about 0.2 degrees warmer than the previous February record set in 2016, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. … While much of the Northern hemisphere, including the United States, experienced its warmest meteorological winter on record, parts of Southern California and Los Angeles saw temperatures below their historical average, according to a report from AccuWeather. The state ended the month with a major winter blizzard that dumped up to 10 feet of snow across portions of the Sierra Nevada.

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Aquafornia news California Department of Water Resources

News release: Understanding the underground – DWR completes first phase of innovative groundwater mapping program

National Groundwater Awareness Week is next week, and in the spirit of promoting groundwater knowledge, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) is excited to announce that its innovative groundwater mapping project is complete and will provide critical information about our underground water supply. The Statewide Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Survey Project has now completed surveys in all high-and-medium-priority groundwater basins in California. AEM surveys use state-of-the-art helicopter-based technology to scan the earth’s subsurface to depths of up to 1,000 feet, like taking an MRI of the earth, to visualize the aquifer structures beneath our feet. You can see the AEM equipment in action in this DWR video: DWR’s Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Surveys: The AEM Method (youtube.com).

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Aquafornia news State Water Resources Control Board

Notice: Department of Fish and Wildlife submits flow recommendations for Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks

The State Water Resources Control Board received a letter from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) submitting instream flow recommendations to inform a long-term flow-setting process to support anadromous salmonids and year-round ecological stream function on Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks. Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks are tributaries to the Sacramento River and provide aquatic habitat for several native fish species including Chinook salmon (spring-run, fall-run, and late fall-run), Steelhead, and Pacific Lamprey. Additional information will be forthcoming on the next steps in considering the recommendations. Additional information related to this matter can be found on the Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks – Flow Recommendations webpage.

Aquafornia news Mono Lake Committee

Blog: New project to study role of evaporation at Mono Lake

As an endorheic—or terminal—lake with no outlet, Mono Lake loses water naturally only through evaporation. Evaporation is a complex process, influenced by radiation, wind, temperature, and humidity. The rate of evaporation varies across seasons and over the lake’s surface. With no long-term observational data of evaporation at Mono Lake, the effect of evaporation on the water balance is not well understood. Longtime Mono Lake Committee hydrogeographer Peter Vorster studied evaporation here for a short period in the early 1980s. He determined Mono Lake loses nearly four vertical feet of water to evaporation each year. With a more current understanding of evaporation specifically at Mono Lake, the Committee can better estimate lake level fluctuation.

Aquafornia news KJZZ - Tempe, AZ

Some Cochise County residents blame Arizona Rep. Gail Griffin for blocking groundwater conservation progress

At a recent listening session hosted by Attorney General Kris Mayes, Cochise County residents called on state officials to do more to protect Arizona’s groundwater — and pointed the finger at one rural lawmaker for blocking progress.  Cochise County residents such as Anne Carl reported that mega farms, dairies and lithium mines are sucking the groundwater out of the earth and leaving it dry which causes the ground to shake and crack. … Residents blamed Rep. Gail Griffin (R-Hereford), the powerful chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, for blocking bills that they say would protect their water rights. Mayes, a Democrat who’s spoken strongly against drill permits previously awarded to foreign-owned companies, suggested they vote her out and vowed to act if the Legislature will not. 

Aquafornia news SJV Sun

Valadao secures $55 million for 15 community project funding requests

Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) has secured $55 million in direct funding for community improvement projects.  Fifteen projects throughout Congressional District 22 will receive federal grants, per Valadao’s request. The big picture: The largest project on the list is $9 million to construct a new homeless shelter campus in Bakersfield. … Delano’s Well 42 project will receive $6 million to fund the creation of a new city well and treatment plant to provide clean and contaminant free water. … Here’s a look at the rest of the projects that Valadao secured funding for: … $1.75 million for the city of Lindsay to replace an old main pipeline to improve water quality. $3.25 million for the Arvin-Edison groundwater recharge project to reduce landowner’s groundwater pumping and provide in-lieu groundwater recharge.

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Aquafornia news KJZZ - Tempe, AZ

Colorado has had water courts for 50 years. Meet one of the referees who helps make them work

As water supplies come under more stress across the West, some states are seeing increased legal activity related to water rights. Bloomberg has reported some states, including Utah, are setting up specific water courts, or judges who deal mainly in water law. Colorado has had this kind of a setup for more than 50 years. Holly Strablizky is a water referee for the Water Court in Colorado. The Show talked with her about what her job entails.

Aquafornia news Ag Alert

Growers scrap vineyards as market dims

A once-in-a-generation downturn in the wine market is reshaping California’s grape-growing regions as farmers tear out vines to rebalance supply with declining demand. Throughout this winter, bulldozers plowed through Lodi’s wine country, leveling vineyards and piling vines in mangled heaps on either side of Highway 99 in San Joaquin County. Thousands of acres in the region have been removed or are slated for removal, according to an ongoing survey of its members by the Lodi District Grape Growers Association.

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.