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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 Interim 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.

Aquafornia news The Fresno Bee

Opinion: CEMEX mine on San Joaquin River near Fresno must be stopped

A multinational mining company with a litany of environmental violations seeks Fresno County’s blessing to blast a 600-foot deep pit near the San Joaquin River, 3 miles before California’s second-longest waterway flows into its fifth-largest city. … CEMEX’s proposal is an atrocity against Fresno’s greatest natural resource, already scarred by a century of gravel mining the company previously agreed to wind down, and should have been rejected point blank. Undeterred, county planners and hired guns spent five years preparing a draft Environmental Impact Report for the so-called Rockfield Quarry Modification Project. Modification? They want to dynamite hundreds of feet below ground in close proximity to one of the country’s most endangered rivers.
–Written by Marek Warszawski, opinion writer for The Fresno Bee.

Aquafornia news Oregon Public Broadcasting

Klamath Tribes push to restore wetlands and wocus in Southern Oregon

… To protect their longstanding wocus (edible pond lily) gathering tradition and the habitat it depends on, the Klamath Tribes have advocated for projects that restore the wetlands that used to dominate the Southern Oregon landscape and provide rich wildlife habitat that experts often describe as “the Everglades of the West.” Last month, the tribes teamed up with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited and private landowners to breach a dike on the uppermost section of Upper Klamath Lake and restore 14,000 acres of wetland habitat. 

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

Four Bay Area locations are sinking at an alarming rate

Land is sinking at an alarming rate in some parts of the Bay Area, exposing shorelines to worse threats from sea level rise than was previously projected, a new study has found.  Several places along the San Francisco Bay — in San Rafael, Corte Madera, Foster City and Bay Farm Island next to the Oakland Airport — are sinking at a rate of more than 0.4 of an inch per year, the study from National Aeronautics and Space Administration found, based on satellite imagery. In those places, the sea level could rise by as much as 17 inches by 2050, more than double the regional average of 7.4 inches, compared to 2000 levels. 

Aquafornia news The Placer Sentinel (Carmichael, Calif.)

Placer County Water Agency approves project to increase storage at Hell Hole Reservoir

At its Thursday Feb. 13 meeting, the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) Board of Directors approved a $5.8 million contract for the Hell Hole seasonal storage increase project, adding to the capacity of the Hell Hole Reservoir so it can store more water during wetter winters. … Storage at Hell Hole Reservoir will increase by approximately 7,600 acre-feet, enough water to supply more than 10,000 households in Placer County. … A direct outgrowth from PCWA’s Middle Fork Project relicensing effort, this project will allow greater control of water in wetter years and provide environmental benefits to aquatic species in the Rubicon River through pulse flows and increased instream flows. Water then can be recovered at the Agency’s American River Pump Station and Folsom Reservoir, located about 40 miles downstream of Hell Hole Dam.

Aquafornia news Daily Kos

Blog: Coalition sues Trump regime to list white sturgeon under federal Endangered Species Act

The White Sturgeon of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is one of the most treasured fish species among anglers in California. … I have spent hundreds of hours fishing for these behemoths and have caught dozens of these fish over the decades, but this fishery is now on the decline. … With this decline in mind, the San Francisco Baykeeper, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Restore the Delta, and Friends of the River on Feb. 12 filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Secretary of the US Department of the Interior for “failing to deliver a legally required initial determination whether or not to list the San Francisco Bay’s population of White Sturgeon as a threatened species.”

Aquafornia news Nature

Study: Global water gaps under future warming levels

… Accounting for ~90% of societal water consumption, irrigated agriculture dominates humanity’s water footprint. Major irrigation districts with substantial water gaps include California’s Central Valley. … In the well-studied California Central Valley, groundwater depletion has been estimated and validated at 7–9 km3/year, with total water storage losses ranging from 10–11 km3/year. Other research reports groundwater depletion at 8.58 km3/year for California, aligning with our estimate of 12.8 km3/year. Similarly, in the extensively studied Colorado River Basin, we estimate unsustainable water consumption at 3.8 km3/year, consistent with previous estimates of 3–4 km3/year.

Aquafornia news Sierra Sun (Truckee, Calif.)

Martis Valley Groundwater Basin: A vital resource for the region

The Martis Valley Groundwater Basin stands as one of the region’s most valuable natural resources, providing mountain-filtered water to local communities. Recognizing its importance, the Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD) is moving forward with an update to the Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan (GMP), ensuring the long-term sustainability and quality of this critical water supply. … To safeguard the basin’s future, TDPUD has collaborated with the Northstar Community Services District and Placer County Water Agency since 2013, implementing proactive groundwater sustainability efforts. The GMP, which undergoes a review every five years, provides a framework for responsible management and conservation. 

Aquafornia news

Happy Presidents Day from Aquafornia!

Dear Aquafornia readers,

Aquafornia is off Monday, Feb. 17, the federal Presidents Day holiday.

We will return Tuesday with a full slate of water news. In the meantime, follow us on X (Twitter) where we post breaking water news and on LinkedInInstagram and Facebook

~The Water Education Foundation team 

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

Friday Top of the Scroll: When will the California storms end? Here’s when to expect sunshine to return

Scattered rain and mountain snow showers will continue across Northern and Central California on Friday morning. But stormy conditions will fade across California by the evening, giving way to generally quiet weather for the three-day holiday weekend. Continued showers could add up to an additional foot of snow in the Sierra Nevada above 5,000 feet, with the heaviest snowfall in the morning and midafternoon Friday. Travelers heading across the Sierra for the holiday weekend should prepare for winter driving conditions. In the Bay Area, rain showers will be more hit-or-miss than Thursday’s widespread precipitation. 

Other rain, snow and flood news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Groundwater deep beneath L.A. area slow to recharge, study finds

The rainstorms that drenched Southern California two years ago weren’t enough to replenish deep underground aquifers that had been depleted by pumping over the last two decades, a new study has found. Stanford University scientists analyzed how the historic 2023 storms affected groundwater levels across Los Angeles and Orange counties. They found that while shallow aquifers rebounded, deeper aquifers more than 150 feet underground regained only about 25% of the water they had lost to pumping since 2006.

Other aquifer and reservoir news across the West:

Aquafornia news Water Education Foundation

Golden mussel, California’s newest Delta invader, is likely here to stay – and spread

A new aquatic invader, the golden mussel, has penetrated California’s ecologically fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the West Coast’s largest tidal estuary and the hub of the state’s vast water export system. While state officials say they’re working to keep this latest invasive species in check, they concede it may be a nearly impossible task: The golden mussel is in the Golden State to stay – and it is likely to spread.

Other invasive species news:

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

Northern California river gets major dam removal deal

The push to remove two dams on Northern California’s Eel River, making it the longest free-flowing river in the state, took a step forward Thursday with a major agreement among clashing communities. The agreement, which unites local, state and tribal leaders behind the retirement of PG&E’s Potter Valley hydroelectric project and its two dams, promises “restorative justice” compensation for the region’s indigenous people and continued water exports to the Russian River basin, where the PG&E facility has long sent supplies. … Most fundamentally, it would raise river levels and give struggling salmon and other fish access to spawning habitat blocked by the dams for more than a century.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Why is California’s rainy season in winter, unlike everywhere else in U.S.?

As the first major atmospheric river of the winter arrives in Los Angeles, it brings with it the hope that the fire risk has finally receded, the danger that severe landslides could occur in the fire-scarred hills around the city, and the possibility that Southern California’s rainy season is, at long last, going to begin in earnest. Many accounts of the Palisades and Eaton fires have attributed their intensity in part to a delay in the winter rains, and that framing is not wrong. However, it doesn’t answer a basic question: why does Los Angeles receive virtually all its rain during the winter?

Other weather and infrastructure explainers:

Aquafornia news Summit Daily (Frisco, Colo.)

Colorado River District to provide updates on top water challenges, priorities this spring

This spring, the Colorado River District will be hitting 11 communities in western Colorado to discuss water issues facing the basin for its annual “State of the River” meetings.  During the meetings, the governmental agency will share localized insights on river flow forecasts as well as updates on the Colorado River system as a whole, water projects and priorities, challenges facing water users as well as an update on its acquisition of the Shoshone Water Rights in Glenwood Canyon. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions about the factors shaping the river system. 

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news Bloomberg Law

States move to limit fluoride in water after RFK Jr.’s scrutiny

State lawmakers skeptical of federal guidance on fluoride in water are proposing limits or bans on community fluoridation, a decades-long practice credited with reductions in dental decay across the country. Lawmakers in four states have introduced legislation that would outlaw adding fluoride to community water systems, and four other states are considering bills to make fluoride optional or limit its concentration. Only one, Utah’s, has moved past its original chamber. The anti-fluoridation legislation comes after President Donald Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a water fluoridation skeptic, to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy was confirmed this week.

Related article:

Aquafornia news The Sacramento Bee

Opinion: Trump ushers in dangerous era of water management in Calif.

… Western water is as complex as an issue can get. Trump’s uninformed, shoot-from-the-hip style does not bode well for addressing the many connected and complicated issues facing western water managers. The recent federal engagement in California in the San Joaquin Valley was not only ineffective but wasteful and dangerous. By all accounts, the White House suddenly ordered the Army Corps of Engineers, operators of dams on the Tule and Kawheah rivers, to start releasing water from essentially zero to filling the river channels. Water was released for a few days, reaching the terminus of both rivers in the Tulare Basin. No lives were lost. Damage to property was largely averted. But no good came of this action.
–Written by Lester Snow, natural resources consultant, former regional director for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and former director of the California Department of Water Resources. 

Aquafornia news Association of California Water Agencies

News release: Khalifa to lead ACWA as interim executive director

The ACWA Board of Directors has named Marwan Khalifa as Interim Executive Director of the association, effective Feb. 24, overseeing day-to-day operations of the association and managing approximately 40 staff in Sacramento and Washington D.C. Khalifa serves as Chief Financial Officer and District Treasurer for Mesa Water District, where he has worked since 2017 and will continue through Feb. 20. Prior to his appointment, he also served as Chair of ACWA’s Finance Committee and member of the ACWA Board and Executive Committee.

Aquafornia news Port of Oakland

News release: Port of Oakland to benefit wetlands through sustainable dredging

The Port of Oakland deepens its commitment to sustainability by sending more dredged sediment from the Oakland Seaport to a Solano County wetland restoration site. Montezuma Wetlands will receive an approximately $2.1 million grant over the next three years to allow more Port-dredged sediment to go towards restoring wetlands and endangered species habitat. Regulations require a minimum of 40% of sand, silt, and mud dredged from berth maintenance to go towards beneficial reuse. Berths and approach channels must be up to 50-feet-deep to accommodate the big vessels that call the Port today.

Aquafornia news E&E by Politico

Committee approves water, wildfire bills after Musk spat

A House Natural Resources Committee markup ostensibly focused on Western water supplies and wildfire prevention was instead dominated by Democratic gripes about President Donald Trump and his “government efficiency” adviser Elon Musk. Indeed, the top Democrat on the committee at one point complained that the session was mere “housekeeping” while “lawlessness” reigned in the executive branch. Such rhetoric stood in contrast to the substantive action in the committee, where all of the bills, save one, passed unanimously.

Aquafornia news SJV Water

Rain doesn’t dampen Ag Expo enthusiasm as final day features food, water seminars and, of course, big red tractors

… The art of well whispering was one of several water-focused sessions at the massive annual agriculture show. In the aptly named presentation “Planning Around Limits: SGMA Strategies,” representatives of SWAN Systems, an Australian irrigation technology company, explained the basics of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which aims to have local entities bring aquifers into balance by 2040 and the importance of complying with local regulations. SWAN’s Shannon Rinkenberger encouraged landowners to engage with their local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies.