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 Doug Beeman.
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Please Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. Also, the headlines below are the original headlines used in the publication cited at the time they are posted here, and do not reflect the stance of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that remains neutral.
Our third La Niña weather pattern in three years seems almost
certain, and one climate expert says that could be bad news for
the already overtapped Colorado River. … The Climate
Prediction Center for the National Atmospheric and Oceanic
Administration forecast a 91% chance of a La Niña weather
pattern dominating the Northern Hemisphere from September
through November, and a 54% chance from January through March
of 2023. La Niña winters typically mean drier, warmer weather
in the Southwest that can, although doesn’t always, spread as
far north as Colorado’s southern Rockies, which would clearly
drive down Colorado River flows. The last two to three
years in particular have seen fairly low to very low river
flows in the basin, at the same time La Niña conditions were
present.
Fear and confusion over a new groundwater monitoring technology
pushed back the “penalty phase” of Madera County’s attempt to
get a handle on its pumping problem. The Madera County Board of
Supervisors was supposed to have voted on penalties for growers
who pump more than they’re allowed at its Sept. 13 meeting. But
after three hours of debate and hearing from more than 15
members of the ag community about whether the county’s new
water monitoring system – Irriwatch – is working properly,
supervisors pushed the decision off to Sept. 27.
A lush green lawn has long been a symbol of the perfect
American home. But as a prolonged drought reshapes life
in California, many residents are rethinking what a
beautiful yard should look like. In Los Angeles, which
imposed sweeping restrictions on outdoor water
use this year, thirsty lawns are out – and California
native plants are in. … The choice to conserve may be
contagious. Starting this June, more than a thousand
southern California residents a month made plans to replace
their lawns with more drought-friendly landscapes, according to
data from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California.
Antioch is investing in its water supply future. A new $110
million desalination plant is being built in Antioch. With
construction underway at an existing water treatment facility,
the new desalination plant will service the needs of Antioch’s
population of more than 115,000 people, as well as help to
improve its water supply reliability, city officials say.
… The primary reason for the need for the desalination
plant is due to increased salinity in the water supply. The
city of Antioch derives much of its water source from the San
Joaquin River …
Many Bay Area wine drinkers might not be able to point out
Redwood Valley on a map, but they’ve probably tasted Redwood
Valley wine. This little-known slice of inland Mendocino County
has become the go-to vineyard region for some of California’s
most popular young wine producers … But the last
three years have dealt Redwood Valley one devastating blow
after another. Drought, frost and fires have decimated the
crops, particularly in older vineyards. Many grapevines last
year yielded less than 10% of the output of an average harvest.
… When rain is plentiful, dry farming isn’t a problem —
and, some argue, leads to higher-quality wines. But during this
period of extended drought, the vines struggle, and it shows.
On Tuesday evening, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed
Yurok Tribe’s Forestry Department Director Dawn Blake to the
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. … Dawn is
an enrolled Hoopa Tribal member and Yurok descendant with a
Master of Science degree in natural resources. … Ranging from
wildlife research to prescribed burning, Dawn is well-versed in
all aspects of modern forest management. As the Yurok Forestry
Director, she manages more than 70,000 acres of Yurok-owned
forest for the benefit of current and future generations of
Yurok people. She oversees the Tribe’s 15,000-acre Old-Growth
Forest and Salmon Sanctuary on Blue Creek, a critically
important tributary of the Klamath River.
Thanks to a law in California signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this
past June, there could be much less plastic waste in
California within a decade, serving as a potential pilot for
this legislation being enacted elsewhere. The landmark
legislation requires that all packaging in the state
be compostable or recyclable by 2032, and sets guidelines for
increasing the levels of recycling of plastic packaging in the
state by the same year. By signing SB 54 into law, Newsom seeks
to hold polluters responsible, shifting the burden of
responsibility for plastic pollution from consumers to the
plastics industry.
In an effort to protect Highway 37 from rising sea levels, a
new state study calls for elevating the route onto a causeway
within the next two decades. Presenting its findings this
month, Caltrans said its preferred solution is to build a
30-foot-high, four-lane causeway along the current alignment of
the highway, a 21-mile corridor connecting Highway 101 in Marin
County to Interstate 80 in Vallejo. The plan would include a
pedestrian and bicycle path and might include an extension of
SMART train service between Novato and Suisun City. The
announcement was celebrated by project proponents who say the
causeway is the only way to adapt the highway to the threats
from rising water and improve wetland habitats in San Pablo
Bay.
At its June 23, 2022 meeting, the Delta Stewardship Council
adopted an amendment to Delta Plan Chapter Four (Protect,
Restore, and Enhance the Delta Ecosystem), referred to as the
Ecosystem Amendment. The Ecosystem Amendment is the result of a
multi-year, iterative effort of public and agency outreach and
coordination, and it leverages decades of research and planning
to identify a path forward, increase coordination, and work
toward a common vision for a restored Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta ecosystem.
San Diego officials say they will complete a long-delayed
comprehensive analysis of city water rates this year that could
lead to sharp increases to pay for major infrastructure
projects such as the Pure Water sewage purification system now
under construction. The last time San Diego completed such an
analysis in 2015, city officials voted to raise water rates by
40 percent over a four-year period. City water customers
already face a 3 percent rate hike in January to cover rising
imported water costs. That increase, which the City Council
approved this week, was prompted by the County Water Authority
voting in June to increase what it charges the city for
imported water.
Last year, a study published in Nature
Sustainability by researchers from University of
California at Santa Cruz along with UC Merced found that it may
be possible to tap into the network of public water delivery
canals as a way to both conserve water and advance the state’s
renewable energy efforts. The researchers studied the concept
of “solar canals,” which includes assembling a canopy of solar
panels to prevent evaporation while also generating electric
energy. The idea is being put to the test in an experiment
called Project Nexus.
The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band is calling on Santa Clara
County to stop a project they say will destroy hundreds of
acres of sacred land. A private company wants to build a sand
and gravel mining plant there and will need the county’s
approval to do it. It’s not just the tribe that’s against
this project. The tribe has the support of San Jose Mayor
Sam Liccardo, the ACLU and environmental groups like Green
Foothills. They all say the risks far outweigh the benefits and
once the damage is done, there’s no turning back. …
[E]nvironmentalists also say digging pits hundreds of feet into
the soil will have devastating effects on the groundwater table
and interrupt the migration patterns of animals that live
there.
The presence of harmful algal blooms in the Tahoe Keys Lagoon
has been detected and officials are asking people to stay out
of the water within a specific area. The Lahontan Regional
Water Quality Control Board on Friday announced that tests
confirmed the presence of harmful algae and have posted signs
in certain areas to coincide with potential health risks
present. Lahontan said it regularly monitors the lagoon at
multiple locations and these multiple advisories exist due to
the varying levels of toxin detections. The latest results from
the HAB sampling indicate the highest levels have been detected
at the corner of Venice and Alpine Drive, resulting in a danger
advisory.
For workers with the Yurok Tribe Construction Corporation,
creating new fish habitat as part of the restoration of Prairie
Creek in their ancestral territory is more than just a job. …
This is the second year the construction corporation and the
Yurok Fisheries Department have been working on restoring the
ecological integrity of Prairie Creek. The five-year $25
million restoration project includes redirecting the creek away
from U.S. Highway 101 and getting as close as possible to
recreating its original condition after being used as a lumber
mill for decades.
Just as California is preparing its electrical grid to provide
90% clean energy by 2035, our state leaders must also look to
future investments in water infrastructure. The need for a safe
and reliable source of water will continue well into the
future, underscoring the need for investing in a modern
infrastructure system today. Much of California’s water
infrastructure system was constructed decades ago, and while
reliable, it is not infallible. On Sept. 6, the Metropolitan
Water District (MWD) of Southern California began emergency
repairs on its Upper Feeder pipeline, requiring millions of
Southern Californians to suspend outdoor watering for up to 15
days. -Written by Jennifer Capitolo, executive director
of the California Water Association, a leading trade
association that represents more than 90 regulated water
utilities across California serving more than 7 million
customers.
As California’s drought continues, with fewer fields planted
because irrigation water isn’t available, one company is
promoting an unlikely source for water — the Mojave
Desert. And FIELD — the Farmworkers Institute of
Education & Leadership Development headquartered in Tehachapi —
has teamed up with owners of a desert ranch to provide a new
program to teach sustainable water management and conservation.
Cadiz Ranch is a 45,000-acre property in what some might call
the middle of nowhere. The ranch is about 190 miles southeast
of Tehachapi in San Bernardino County, south of the Mojave
National Preserve and northeast of Joshua Tree National Park.
New officers for the San Diego County Water Authority’s
Board of Directors were elected today, with Mel Katz starting
his two-year term as Board chair on Oct. 1. Katz, vice chair of
the Board for the past six months as a representative for the
City of Del Mar, will serve with incoming Vice Chair Nick
Serrano, a Board representative from the City of San Diego, and
incoming Secretary Frank Hilliker. Katz will serve as the 27th
board chair since the Water Authority’s founding in 1944.
California’s Lithium Valley Commission has released a draft of
the report it is legally required to prepare by Oct. 1
with 44 possible recommendations, some of which have
already been met in the state’s recently passed budget and new
legislation…. While all sides agree the potential
production of the lightweight mineral from a vast, underground
geothermal reserve at the south end of the dwindling Salton Sea
is an enormous opportunity for the region, the recommendations
at times represent competing wish lists from
different factions…. Community advocates also want
the “Lithium Valley” region to be clearly mapped, and to
include eastern Riverside County communities that endure high
rates of asthma and from toxic dust blowing off the rapidly
drying sea, as well as Imperial County towns and cities.
The clock is ticking for the Colorado River, but solutions on
how to save the river basin, which provides water to 40 million
people in seven states and Mexico, still appears to be elusive,
at least from the federal government. However, proposed
solutions are starting to bubble up through Colorado
agriculture’s community, including projects that received
funding to address drought this week from the Colorado Water
Conservation Board.
A fault system running nearly 70 miles along the coast of Los
Angeles and Orange counties has the potential to trigger a
magnitude 7.8 earthquake, according to a new study that is the
latest to highlight the seismic threats facing Southern
California. … A quake of that magnitude on the southern
San Andreas fault, rupturing between the Salton Sea near the
Mexico border and passing through Palm Springs and into Lake
Hughes, north of Santa Clarita in L.A. County, could cause
1,800 deaths… Under the simulation’s scenario, freeways
linking the region to Las Vegas and Phoenix could be destroyed,
as could the aqueducts that bring in most of L.A. County’s
water.
