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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America’s rivers are changing rapidly due to climate change,
and fish are getting confused as a result, a new study has
found. The study, published in the journal Science by
scientists at the University of Leeds in the U.K., found that
climate change is disrupting the seasonal flows of rivers
around the world, which is posing a serious threat to water
supply and ecosystems. Rivers and their reservoirs provide
water for human use, whether for drinking or agricultural
purposes, meaning that changes to their flows can greatly
affect everyday life. … Climate change is also causing
more extreme weather patterns. An example of this can be seen
in California. The state was in the grips of a severe drought
for years, until last year the prolonged dry period was broken
by a deluge of intense storms. These storms caused severe
flooding and landslides that greatly disrupted local
communities.
For too long, California and other states have viewed
stormwater as either a threat or an inconvenience — something
to be whisked away from cities and communities as quickly as
possible. But as traditional sources of water face worsening
strain from climate change, population growth, agriculture and
other factors, those unused gallons of rainwater pouring across
asphalt or down rain gutters are starting to be viewed as an
untapped resource that can help close the widening gap between
supply and demand. In a report released Thursday,
researchers with the Pacific Institute determined that every
year, 59.5 million acre-feet of stormwater go uncaptured across
the United States — or roughly 53 billion gallons per
day.
The Navajo Nation is nearing completion of a settlement of
water rights claims in Arizona, ending decades of negotiations
and giving hope for thousands of people who have long gone
without running water. For the past 60 years, Navajo leaders
have worked to settle water claims in Arizona. The aim of the
Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement
is to affirm and quantify the nation’s rights to water in the
state and to secure funding to build much needed water delivery
infrastructure to homes on the Navajo Nation, according to a
summary of the agreement. … The U.S. Supreme Court held
last summer that the United States did not have an
affirmative treaty or trust obligation to identify and
account for Navajo Nation water rights on the Colorado River.
Curley said that ruling was a pivotal moment that led the
Navajo Nation and its water rights negotiation team to focus on
completing on the settlement.
A new study finds that boiling and then filtering tap water can
remove up to 90 percent of microplastics. Minute particles of
plastic, no larger than a grain of sand, have been found in
every corner of the globe, from the bottom of the Tyrrhenian
Sea, in the Mediterranean, to the clouds floating over Mount
Fuji, in Japan. Shed from car tires, fleece sweaters, and
myriad other plastic items, microplastics and even smaller
nanoplastics are getting into our food and drinking water, and
even the air we breathe. Scientists have found microplastics in
blood and breast milk and in the lungs of people undergoing
surgery — all troubling discoveries as microplastics have also
been shown to damage human cells.
Sea levels and flood risks are both rising in California. More
than seven million Californians—one in five residents—live in
areas at risk of flooding, and redesigning and protecting
infrastructure will be necessary but costly. Adaptation will
require improved collaboration, land use planning, and
insurance, as well as innovative flood management.
As questions about water resources and access continue to build
in the Southwest, some experts are turning to an unlikely place
for solutions: our atmosphere. Atmospheric water harvesting, a
method of water collection that draws water from humidity in
the air, offers a new pathway for water security. Experts
with a focus in areas such as engineering, hydrology, material
science and thermodynamics gathered at Arizona State University
this month for the Atmospheric Water Harvesting Summit — the
first summit of its kind dedicated entirely to atmospheric
water harvesting.
In the past 10 days, nearly 2,000 people have signed an online
petition opposing a proposal that asks President Joe Biden to
designate a national monument around western Colorado’s Dolores
River. “I think it absolutely, positively could be a threat,”
petition organizer Sean Pond told The Colorado Sun.
… Pond once had a career in the nuclear industry in the
West End of Montrose County, home of the Uravan Mineral Belt,
which is one of the country’s richest caches of uranium and
vanadium. Now he rents paddleboards and off-road vehicles to
tourists. He says a monument designation would bring crowds
that could lead to future bans on motorized travel, which would
hinder grazing and hunting. He worries a monument would ban
mining in an area where residents have spent almost half a
century waiting for a nuclear revival that would resuscitate
uranium mining and milling.
Residents in Grover Beach are feeling the pinch as water rates
surged this month, but a new bill could ease their burden. “We
had a rate increase of $26, which we were billed once every two
months,” said Dave Browning, who lives in Grover Beach. “That
was roughly $13 per month.” Grover Beach residents recently
felt the impact of a long-discussed water rate hike. “We did
send a couple of letters, and I know they’ve received quite a
few from what I was being told,” Browning said. And while many
still have strong opinions about it moving forward, those
facing the reality of the hike now are concerned about how
they’ll pay for it.
The California Farm Water Coalition announced Thursday Greg
Johnson has been elected as its next president. Johnson
owns Far West Rice in Durham. Johnson succeeds Bill
Diedrich as president, who served in the role for the last
eight years. Along with Johnson, the Coalition also
announced that Imperial Valley farmer Gina Dockstader has been
elected Vice President. Fresno County farmer Wayne Western
of Hammonds Ranch has been elected as the secretary and
treasurer of the board. Brett Lauppe and Jeff Sutton also
join the board as new members. The organization’s
returning directors are Peter Nelson, Mark McKean and Diana
Westmoreland.
Even before the major storm forecast for this weekend, a wet
February has eased fears that California would end the rainy
season with too little water. In fact, many parts of the state
are now likely to wrap up with average or above-average rain
and snow totals. The state’s March snow survey, taking place
Thursday, will show that snowpack in California’s mountains is
around 80% of average for the date, a substantial leap from the
end of January when it hovered around 50%. Rainfall, meanwhile,
stood at 103% of average statewide Wednesday, up from about 80%
last month. While the numbers are not exceptional, they mark
enough of an improvement since the start of the year —
when some water managers began to talk about drought —
that reservoirs are sufficiently primed with precipitation to
avoid major water shortages in 2024, even if the rest of the
rainy season disappoints.
A Native American tribe with one of the largest outstanding
claims to water in the Colorado River basin is closing in on a
settlement with more than a dozen parties, putting it on a path
to piping water to tens of thousands of tribal members in
Arizona who still live without it. Negotiating terms outlined
late Wednesday include water rights not only for the Navajo
Nation but the neighboring Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute
tribes in the northeastern corner of the state. The water would
come from a mix of sources: the Colorado River that serves
seven western states, the Little Colorado River, and aquifers
and washes on tribal lands. The agreement is decades in the
making and would allow the tribes to avoid further litigation
and court proceedings, which have been costly.
California fails to capture massive amounts of stormwater
rushing off city streets and surfaces that could help supply
millions of people a year, according to a new analysis released
today. The nationwide report, by researchers with the Pacific
Institute, ranks California ninth nationwide among states with
the most estimated urban runoff. … The analysis reports
California sheds almost 2.3 million acre-feet of precipitation
from pavement, roofs, sidewalks and other surfaces in cities
and towns every year. If it were captured and treated, that
would be enough to supply more than a quarter of California’s
urban water use, or almost 7 million Southern California
households each year.
In the heart of California, at the place where two great rivers
converge beneath the Tule fog, lies the linchpin of one of the
largest water supply systems in the world. [T]he Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta … is also the site of a bitter,
decades-long battle over a proposed plan known as the Delta
Conveyance Project — a 45-mile tunnel that would run beneath
the delta to move more water from Northern California to
thirsty cities to the south. State officials say the
tunnel is a critical piece of infrastructure that would help
protect millions of Californians from losing water supplies in
the event of a major earthquake or levee break.
… Opponents say the tunnel is a boondoggle that would
further imperil the delta’s fragile ecosystem, which has
already been eroded by heavy water withdrawals for agriculture
and cities.
Water diversions to Los Angeles—and away from Mono Lake—began
just after noon on January 31. With the turn of a control
wheel, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) opened
the aqueduct, sending Mono Basin water into the Mono Craters
tunnel and on a 300-mile journey down the aqueduct system.
… On April 1, the maximum limit on water exports will
increase nearly fourfold. Will DWP choose to maintain the same
export level as recent years? Or will it choose to quadruple
its water diversions—and push Mono Lake’s level
downward? This year is also shaping up to be the year for
action on the California State Water Resources Control Board’s
rules that govern the DWP diversions, and the flaws that have
become visible over the 30 years since those rules were set
forth.
Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the
Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, introduced the Low-Income
Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) Establishment Act,
legislation that would establish a permanent, nationwide water
assistance program to help families afford their water
bills.
Audubon California and partners released their San Francisco
Bay Eelgrass Habitat Suitability Model, a powerful new tool
that highlights future-resilient locations within the bay most
suitable for restoration of eelgrass, a linchpin species for
long-term bay health. The project was developed as a
collaboration between Audubon California, Merkel & Associates,
Inc., and Dr. Katharyn Boyer (Interim Director, Estuary and
Ocean Science Center, San Francisco State University), funded
by a grant from the California Ocean Protection Council.
… San Francisco Bay hosts an estimated 17% of
California’s eelgrass. Eelgrass (Zostera marina)
plays a critical role in the marine food web and bay ecosystem.
Not only does it provide home and food to a vast quantity of
marine life, including waterbirds like Surf
Scoters, Buffleheads, and Western Grebes - its
dense growth along the seafloor traps sediment and substrate, a
crucial factor in preventing coastal erosion.
Pain and hurt continue to linger through the Pajaro community
as the anniversary of the devastating floods approaches. On
Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved the
final rollout plan for the $10 million allocated directly to
help survivors. … Six million dollars will be allocated
for individual households and $4 million for small businesses.
Residents who sustained damages to property can qualify for up
to $15,000 dollars, and small businesses up to $85,000. All
residents, regardless of citizenship status, will be able to
apply in person for aid. The county, ultimately decided how
much would be dispersed on a case-by-case basis.
Green groups are pushing the Ninth Circuit to revive their
petition asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
craft new, stronger Clean Water Act regulations for the large
animal feeding facilities …
The cause of Santa Barbara County’s biggest offshore sewage
spill in recent memory — north of one million gallons — remains
the subject of an ongoing investigation, the county supervisors
were told in an informational briefing this Tuesday
morning. The supervisors were most interested in figuring
out why it took six days for its Department of Public Health to
get the news of a leak that was first detected late Friday,
February 16.
When rain falls anywhere in Santa Rosa, Windsor, Rohnert Park,
Cotati, or Sebastopol, the water will make its way to the
Laguna de Santa Rosa. Sitting at the bottom of the greater
Santa Rosa plain, the Laguna is the largest freshwater wetlands
complex on the northern California coast. In 2011, it was
designated a Wetland of International Importance. Yet how many
locals could find it on a map? To be fair, parts of the Laguna
have been altered and obscured by decades of development.
Sebastopol dumped its sewage there until 1978. Restoration work
has been underway since the 1990s, and December 2023 saw the
release of the first-ever comprehensive restoration plan for
the entire Laguna, designed to guide its continued recovery.