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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 The Associated Press

Climate change, cost and competition for water drive settlement over tribal rights to Colorado River

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.

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Aquafornia news CalMatters

New study: California’s urban runoff flows down the drain. Can the drought-plagued state capture more of it?

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.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Will a $16-billion water tunnel destroy California’s delta?

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. 

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Aquafornia news Mono Lake Committee

Blog: Will DWP increase Mono Basin diversions this year?

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.

Aquafornia news Office of Senator Alex Padilla

News release: Padilla introduces bill to create permanent, national water assistance program

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. 

Aquafornia news Audubon California

News release: New model maps a resilient SF Bay future through climate-smart seagrass restoration

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. 

Aquafornia news KSBW - Central Coast

$10 million to be given out to flood survivors in a California community

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.

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Aquafornia news Law360

Enviro orgs sue EPA over factory farm water pollution regs

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 …

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Aquafornia news The Santa Barbara Independent

Getting to bottom of Goleta’s million-gallon sewage spill

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. 

Aquafornia news Sonoma Magazine

Discover Santa Rosa’s peaceful waterway on these winter walks

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.

Aquafornia news Sierra Club Angeles Chapter

Blog: The water we eat!

Growing your food can be a wonderful and fulfilling activity to connect with nature, improve your health and well-being, and, oh yeah, save water. California grows more than 400 agricultural commodities, which translates into over one-third of the vegetables and almost three-fourths of the country’s fruits and nuts. Regardless of your view on commercial agriculture, one thing is true, California has prime weather for growing a wide range of edible plants in your backyard, balcony, or indoor window sill.  Sometimes, gardening is easier said than done. And more often than not, when we think about water efficiency and conservation, we think about removing turf and installing beautiful native landscapes. This is certainly a wonderful endeavor and can supply a needed habitat for beneficial pollinators, improve soil health, support local ecology, and save water.

Aquafornia news San Luis Obispo Tribune

San Luis Obispo, California, awarded for water conservation

San Luis Obispo has been recognized for its water conservation program that reduced the city’s water use greatly over the past decade. The Alliance for Water Efficiency, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, awarded the city a platinum status award for its compliance with the organization’s Water Conservation and Efficiency Program Operation and Management Standard. Cities can implement certain water-saving techniques outlined in the standard — such as a water shortage or drought plans, public information tactics, water waste ordinances, landscape efficiency programs and better water metering practices — to achieve a higher award from the Alliance for Water Efficiency. 

Aquafornia news Monterey County Weekly

Cal Am fires its first defensive legal volley against the water district in public buyout case.

An effort toward a public takeover of the private water utility California American Water has taken years to get to this point. Activists asked voters to approve a ballot measure to that end in 2005, and it failed. They tried again in 2014, and lost again. They prevailed in 2018 with the passage of Measure J, which compelled the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to acquire Cal Am’s local system “if and when feasible.” More than five years later, the matter has moved to the courts. In October 2023, the board of the water district determined that yes, it was feasible—and that it would pursue acquisition of Cal Am’s system. Because the utility company had rejected the public district’s previous offer of $449 million to buy it, the district would proceed by filing an eminent domain case. 

Aquafornia news California Trout

Blog: Fish in the forest

When Allison Dodds hit the slopes at June Mountain Ski Resort this past winter the mountain looked a little different than it had in past years. Not only was there extra snow from 2023’s historic precipitation, but there was also extra space between the trees, making it easier for her to maneuver (and shred) her way down the mountain. Why the extra space?  Over the past two years, CalTrout and Inyo National Forest have been working together to restore and remove infested and dead whitebark pine trees on June Mountain. Dodds works as a Project Manager for CalTrout’s Sierra Headwaters region, and she leads the June Mountain Forest Health Project. After a century of fire suppression, forests across the state have become densely packed and overloaded with dead wood that is primed to burn intensely and causes fires to spread quickly. 

Aquafornia news Mercury News

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Biggest storm of the year to bring up to 10 feet of snow and “near to impossible” travel conditions to Sierra this week

A powerful winter storm system is expected to hammer California later this week, bringing 5 to 10 feet of new snow between Thursday and Sunday to the Sierra Nevada, white-out conditions and the potential for extended highway closures. … Snow will begin falling Thursday, and become most extreme on Friday at amounts of 2 to 4 inches an hour, posing “near to impossible” conditions for drivers … The powerful blizzard is the latest and most dramatic example of a winter that started slow but has steadily increased, improving California’s water picture with every passing week, and all but guaranteeing that there will be few, if any water restrictions this summer for most communities in the state.

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Aquafornia news E&E News

Colorado River talks break down on drought response plans

Negotiations among the seven states that share the drought-stricken Colorado River have stalled ahead of a March target date to propose new operating plans for the waterway, as officials split over which states should absorb the brunt of cuts triggered by the region’s ongoing drought. The states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the Upper Basin and Arizona, California and Nevada in the Lower Basin — are now expected to submit separate plans to the Biden administration early next month, rather than a single cohesive plan, according to representatives of states from both regions. “If there is interest in getting to a seven-state consensus compromise, all seven states have to actually compromise and recognize this is a massive problem that needs solving, not a party primary or campaign rally,” J.B. Hamby, chair of the Colorado River Board of California, told E&E News.

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Aquafornia news KJZZ - Tempe

Auditor blasts Arizona Land Department over leases to Saudi-owned farm with low rent, no water rules

Arizona’s Auditor General has released a scathing report, criticizing the State Land Department for leasing land to a Saudi-owned company in western Arizona at cheap rates. The company, Fondomonte, used the land — and the groundwater beneath it — to grow alfalfa for dairy cattle in the Middle East. State Auditor General Lindsey Perry says the Land Department’s practices for valuing the land it leases don’t align with what’s recommended. In addition, state law requires the department to conduct a mass appraisal of its properties at least once every 10 years to determine its agricultural rental rates. But the last one was done in 2005. This resulted in $3.4 million less in revenues going into the land trust that provides revenues for K-12 education and other beneficiaries.

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Aquafornia news Western Outdoor News

Salmon Information Meeting to outline any possibility of a 2024 salmon season

Recreational and commercial fishermen are holding their breath for this Friday’s California Department of Wildlife’s annual Salmon Information Meeting to be held by webinar only. Although the escapement of fall-run salmon in the Sacramento River Basin exceeded the minimum of 122,000 returning hatchery and natural spawners, 133,638 returners fell short of the projected spawning escapement of 164,964 salmon. The 2023 salmon closure below Cape Falcon in Oregon throughout California was devastating to commercial salmon fishermen along with coastal communities due to the loss of economic activity by recreational anglers. According to the Golden State Salmon Association, Central Valley salmon have provided over $2 billion in economic activity to communities in California and Oregon along with 23,000 jobs in California and half that again in Oregon.

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Aquafornia news E&E News

Lawmakers urge restraint on microplastics regulations

Senators agree more research is needed to understand how microplastics affect human health, but they’re split on what actions should be done in the meantime. During a joint hearing Tuesday of two Environment and Public Works subcommittees, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) urged lawmakers to move “with caution.” “We have to be careful that we’re not getting ahead of, as we would say, the science and burden these municipalities that are trying to meet today’s regulations,” said Mullin, ranking member of the Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee.

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Aquafornia news Jefferson Public Radio

Federal government allocates $38 million to Klamath Basin, other parts of Oregon for wildfire funding

The money, drawn from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help pay for wildfire prevention projects in central Oregon, the Klamath River Basin and around Mount Hood. The three regions are among 21 “priority landscapes” across the West made up of a mix of tribal, state, federal and private land that the U.S. Forest Service considers faces a high risk for wildfires. … Wildfire prevention efforts around Mount Hood are focused on its watersheds that provide drinking water to more than one third of the state’s residents, including the Bull Run watershed, which supplies drinking water to nearly a million people in the Portland area.