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Announcement

Water Leaders Release Policy Recommendations for Promoting Green Infrastructure

Our 2023 California Water Leaders cohort completed its year with a report outlining policy recommendations for leveraging green infrastructure, such as restoring floodplains, meadows and wetlands, to help manage water statewide.

The cohort of 22 up-and-coming leaders – engineers, attorneys, planners, scientists, water managers and other professionals from water-related organizations – worked collaboratively and had full editorial control on the report. 

Announcement

Hot off the Press: Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin
2nd edition covers nation's largest dam removal project

The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is hot off the press and available for purchase.

Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview comes as the nation’s largest dam removal project is underway with the first of four Klamath River hydropower dams demolished this year.

The Layperson’s Guide covers the history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers. The river’s vast watershed straddles Cailfornia and Oregon and hosts one of the nation’s oldest and largest reclamation projects.

Water News You Need to Know

Aquafornia news KTVU - Oakland

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Are more mostly dry months ahead for California?

As we enter the critical rainy months of December through March, we find ourselves in two unusual and conflicting situations: lack of water and an abundance of it. So far this rainy season, the Department of Water Resources says California’s water year is off to a relatively dry start with October and November. … Last week, the department announced that its customers who serve 27 million Californians, will get only ten percent of their water rights. The department further says it is hopeful that this El Niño pattern will generate wet weather, but it may not. … ”Now we’ve seen, so far through the fall, a pretty dry year; only half of the precip we would expect by now,” said state climatologist Michael Anderson. UC Merced’s Center of Watershed Sciences expert agrees. “Average snow water content is much lower. Precipitation is much lower than average for this time of the year, so that’s where we are,” Josue Medellin-Azuara said.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Capital Public Radio

Sacramento DA adds environmental claims to lawsuit against city over homelessness response

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho is adding environmental violations to his lawsuit against the city of Sacramento over what he calls its failure to act regarding the homelessness crisis. … Ho said debris, harmful chemicals and human waste from homeless encampments pollute the river, putting the city in violation of state wildlife statutes. “Would anybody now swim in the American River? Would anybody want to fish in the American River? Would anybody even want to kayak in the American River anymore?” Ho said. “And the answer’s no. Shame on the city.”  Critics, including homeless advocates, say Ho’s claims are false. They cite a 2021 study by the Central Valley Water Board that found birds, especially Canada geese, are the largest and most consistent source of contamination in this section of the river.

Related article: 

Aquafornia news Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Hot off the press – Layperson’s Guide to the Klamath River Basinin

The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is hot off the press and available for purchase. Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview comes as the nation’s largest dam removal project is underway with the first of four Klamath River hydropower dams demolished this year. The Layperson’s Guide covers the history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers. The river’s vast watershed straddles Cailfornia and Oregon and hosts one of the nation’s oldest and largest reclamation projects.

Related articles: 

Aquafornia news SJV Water

Isabella Dam power plant repairs could cut Kern River flows causing a “massive fish kill”

Anticipated repairs to the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam could cause a “massive fish kill” along the length of the Kern River as flows would have to be cut to almost nothing for weeks. Isabella Partners, which operates that power plant, submitted a request to the Army Corps of Engineers to cut water releases down 25 cubic feet per second starting Dec. 18, according to plant operator Rush Van Hook. The dam is currently releasing about 1,100 cfs. If approved, the flow reduction could last several, or more, weeks, he said. Operators need to get into the plant to determine the extent of needed repairs, which, Van Hook said may be related to the “vibration” issue that caused the Army Corps to shut off flows in mid-April during the height of this year’s epic runoff.

Online Water Encyclopedia

Aquapedia background Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map

Wetlands

Sacramento National Wildlife RefugeWetlands are among the most important and hardest-working ecosystems in the world, rivaling rain forests and coral reefs in productivity of life. 

They produce high levels of oxygen, filter toxic chemicals out of water, sequester carbon, reduce flooding and erosion, recharge groundwater and provide a diverse range of recreational opportunities from fishing and hunting to photography. They also serve as critical habitat for wildlife, including a large percentage of plants and animals on California’s endangered species list.

Bay-Delta Tour participants viewing the Bay Model

Bay Model

Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bay Model is a giant hydraulic replica of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It is housed in a converted World II-era warehouse in Sausalito near San Francisco.

Hundreds of gallons of water are pumped through the three-dimensional, 1.5-acre model to simulate a tidal ebb and flow lasting 14 minutes.

Aquapedia background Colorado River Basin Map

Salton Sea

As part of the historic Colorado River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below sea level.

Lake Oroville shows the effects of drought in 2014.

Drought

Drought—an extended period of limited or no precipitation—is a fact of life in California and the West, with water resources following boom-and-bust patterns. During California’s 2012–2016 drought, much of the state experienced severe drought conditions: significantly less precipitation and snowpack, reduced streamflow and higher temperatures. Those same conditions reappeared early in 2021 prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom in May to declare drought emergencies in watersheds across 41 counties in California.