A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday by veteran journalist Matt Weiser.
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Please Note: 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.
Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot discussed the
Governor’s water resilience portfolio and reiterated the Newsom
administration’s support for modernized conveyance in the
Delta. That was followed by a robust discussion that included
Delta conveyance, water storage, emerging contaminants and
PFAS, among other things.
Despite Santa Barbara County’s decision to lift a drought
emergency after this winter’s storms, the region’s
recovery often has lagged behind much of the rest of California
due to the nature of its watershed. Our new Edge of Drought
Tour Aug. 27-29 explores this connection and the lurking threat
of drought with an up-close look at water projects and programs
across the southern Central Coast.
A plan to connect two ecologically rich areas in Glendale’s
Verdugo Wash has been endorsed by officials tasked with
revitalizing the upper part of the Los Angeles River.
Monterey County’s Nacimiento Dam safety program is seriously
deficient with an outdated program document, insufficient staff
and a long list of outstanding dam safety repairs and
maintenance estimated to cost more than $50 million that needs
to be addressed in short order.
Many Delta problems are worsening. Climate change is raising
sea levels and temperatures, making floods and droughts more
extreme and will likely further alter the mix of species. State
legislation to end overdrafting of groundwater will increase
demands for water from the Delta from farmers in the San
Joaquin Valley struggling (mostly in vain) to find replacement
water.
State oil and gas regulators have released a series of photos
of a Kern County well site where about 800,000 gallons of crude
oil and water have spilled from a Chevron well site.
Cuyama landowners will soon have to pay to pump groundwater, a
decision that some say will place the burden of Cuyama’s
dwindling water supply largely on farmers’ shoulders.
Water hidden beneath the earth’s surface comprises 98% of the
planet’s fresh water. On average, this groundwater provides a
third of all total water consumed… Before we even start to
improve groundwater management, we must better understand and
measure it, says international groundwater expert Craig
Simmons, from Flinders University in Adelaide.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Tuesday nominated a longtime
water-resources expert for a seat on the Metropolitan Water
District Board of Directors. Tracy Quinn serves as the
California director of water efficiency for the Natural
Resources Defense Council and has almost two decades of water
policy experience.
The quake struck outside of Ridgecrest, but it was also felt
about 150 miles to the east, at Devils Hole, a detached 40-acre
area of Death Valley National Park that is across the
California border in Nevada. That shaking is shown in a
remarkable video released by the National Park Service. The
clip shows water violently sloshing around, rising and falling
10 to 15 feet, according to a park estimate.
If PG&E shuts down power as part of its plan to prevent
fires in northern California, the water will keep flowing in
the Valley, thanks to Zone 7 Water Agency’s preparations. …
Zone 7 has two plants for water treatment and distribution …
Both have backup generators in case power stops. Each has
a three-day supply of fuel, but the agency also has contracts
with other generator suppliers who can each roll out at least
three days of juice.
A coalition of 55 environmental, fishing, and water policy
groups has written Gov. Gavin Newsom, backing his Water
Portfolio planning process, and announcing that they plan to
take an active part with their own proposals for the plan.
The $733 billion National Defense Authorization legislation
passed by the House last Friday included an amendment sponsored
by Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, requiring the Pentagon to share
information on possible contamination from the chemical known
as PFAS, widely used in firefighting foam at military bases.
While the San Simeon decision appeared quick and easy to make,
it had taken decades to get the issue to that point.
Commissioners and San Simeon representatives seemed equally
relieved to have finally come to an agreement that involves
getting within 10 years enough grant funds to move the plant
further from the coast.
The Los Angeles County will create a task force to relocate
homeless people from encampments near areas of high risk for
fire or flood. Authored by supervisors Kathryn Barger and Hilda
Solis, a motion approved by the board last week said homeless
people often seek shelter on secluded hillsides or along
waterways with risks of fire and flood.
The Desert Water Agency board voted 5-0 on Tuesday to move from
at-large to elections by division, or district, beginning in
November 2020. The move comes nearly eight months after a
Mailbu law firm asked the agency to switch in order to comply
with the California Voting Rights Act.
The decision, announced this week by the South Bay water
agency’s general manager in an email to the governing board,
came after a July 11 report and subsequent critical editorial
in The San Diego Union-Tribune about a policy change that did
away with a requirement to keep minutes of meetings when board
members on committees convene.
On June 28, the city of Lompoc received an inspection report
from the Environmental Protection Agency concerning an April
inspection of its wastewater discharge permit. … Seven
violations were noted. While some were technical, there were
also some violations aimed at the current political attitude of
three councilmen toward regulatory compliance.
The updated guide contains dozens of best practices, grouped
into 15 main categories, that water and wastewater systems can
implement to reduce security risks to their IT and OT systems.
Each recommendation is accompanied by links to corresponding
technical resources.
If PG&E has to shut off power in the East Bay to prevent
wildfires from igniting and burning homes, residents will be
strongly urged to severely reduce their water use during the
emergency. That’s because their main water supplier, the East
Bay Municipal Utility District, may have its power cut off,
too, and be forced to rely on 29 emergency backup generators.
