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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For the first time since 1918, an astonishing 420 miles of
salmon habitat in the Klamath River watershed in California and
Oregon will be fully connected by September. This results from
the world’s largest dam removal effort, the Klamath River
Renewal Project. The amount of habitat opened up on the Klamath
is equivalent to the distance between Portland, Maine, and
Philadelphia–a journey through seven states. PacifiCorp, the
previous owner, agreed to remove the aging dams after they
determined removal would be less expensive than upgrading to
current environmental standards. The dams had been used for
power generation, not water storage. The Copco No. 2 Dam on the
Klamath was removed last year. The deconstruction of the Iron
Gate, Copco No. 1, and JC Boyle dams is underway and running
ahead of schedule.
Test results at Lake San Antonio in southern Monterey County
suggest the culprit in a recent massive fish die-off that
closed the lake may have been an algae bloom spurred by high
heat that depleted the oxygen in the water and suffocated the
fish. According to officials, there is no threat to public
health and the lake will reopen Wednesday. After reports
surfaced of a massive die-off of small fish around July 5 when
temperatures climbed to 114 degrees at the lake, and then
spread to larger fish in the following days, the recreation
area was closed to the public July 10.
The spring waters that emerge from the volcanic rocks of
northern California’s Cascade Range are of critical importance
for water security for both fish and people, yet relatively
little is known about them and how they have been affected by
recent drought and other climate change impacts. In 2023,
CalTrout and our partners embarked on a three-year study to
provide a scientifically based toolset to better understand,
manage, and advance the protection of the cold, clean spring
waters in the Upper Sacramento Basin. Building on our
past efforts to assess baseline conditions of springs in the
Mount Shasta region, this study will define and quantify source
areas and flows, assess ecosystem sensitivity to climate
change, and determine how these systems support the diverse
life history of wild cold-water fish. Study locations include
the spring-fed streams above Shasta Reservoir: the McCloud,
Upper Sacramento, Rising, and Fall rivers, Hat Creek, and
Burney Creek, which feeds the iconic Burney
Falls.
A violent hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone National Park
sent visitors fleeing Tuesday as mud and debris erupted from a
geyser just north of Old Faithful, according to park rangers.
Video of the explosion showed a column of steam and dark earth
launching high into the sky. “Run, run, run, run …” a woman
shouted as parkgoers began running along a wooden
boardwalk. The explosion occurred around 10:19 a.m. near
Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, just north of the Old Faithful
geyser, the park service said in a news release. No
injuries have been reported, but the event is still under
investigation. Hydrothermal explosions occur when “water
suddenly flashes to steam underground,” according to
a statement from the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency
said such explosions are “relatively common” at the park.
Saying it needs to evaluate all options for new sources of
drinking water, Silicon Valley’s largest water district is
studying a plan to build the first seawater desalination plant
along the shores of San Francisco Bay. The Santa Clara Valley
Water District, a government agency based in San Jose, has
approved spending $1.7 million for Black & Veatch, a Walnut
Creek firm, to conduct an engineering feasibility study over
the next 12 months for a project near the bay’s shoreline in
Palo Alto, Mountain View or San Jose. Under the
proposal, which is still in the early stages, the plant would
take between 20 million to 80 million gallons of water a day
from the bay, run it through filters to strip the salt out and
serve from 10 million to 40 million gallons a day of freshwater
to South Bay homes and businesses. That would provide about
11,000 to 44,000 acre-feet of water per year, enough for
between 100,000 and 500,000 households.
A Silicon Valley-backed initiative to build a green city for up
to 400,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area on land now
zoned for agriculture won’t be on the Nov. 5 ballot after all,
officials said Monday. The California Forever campaign
qualified for the ballot in June, but a Solano County report
released last week raised questions about the project and
concluded it “may not be financially feasible.” With Solano
County supervisors set to consider the report on Tuesday,
organizers suddenly withdrew the measure and said they would
try again in two years. The report found the new city —
described on the California Forever website as an “opportunity
for a new community, good paying local jobs, solar farms, and
open space” — was likely to cost the county billions of dollars
and create substantial financial deficits, while slashing
agricultural production and potentially threatening
local water supplies, the Bay Area News Group
reported. … The Solano Land Trust, which protects open
lands, said in June that such large-scale development “will
have a detrimental impact on Solano County’s water resources,
air quality, traffic, farmland, and natural environment.”
While California and Nevada remain virtually drought-free,
climate experts say extreme heat and wildfire risk may continue
plaguing the West for months. Scientists with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said during a webinar
Monday that ongoing heat events across the West present a major
risk to vulnerable communities, despite a good water supply
outlook for the region. Joseph Casola, the regional
climate services director at the National Centers for
Environmental Information, called the drought outlook
“relatively rosy for California and Nevada.” Data
shows few pockets of drought in both states, aside
from several areas along the California-Oregon border. Many
reservoirs across California sit above their average holding
capacity thanks to the water year’s extended periods
of late-spring rain and snow storms.
… Harris, a Californian who has previously described climate
change as an “existential threat” that must be treated with a
sense of urgency, has prioritized investments in clean energy
jobs, air and water protections, fossil fuel accountability,
climate action and environmental justices… … Harris’
environmental platform stands in stark contrast to that of
Republican nominee Donald Trump, whose previous climate record
includes rolling back more than 100 climate
regulations and appointing climate change deniers to
senior posts in the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of the Interior. Project 2025, touted as a road map
for a Republican administration, outlines plans to expand
oil and gas drilling, dismantle the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and its offices — including the
National Weather Service — and other steps that would address
the Biden administration’s “radical climate policy” and
“unprovoked war on fossil fuels,” according to the document.
Five years after its launch, the state of California’s landmark
Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER)
drinking water program has made significant progress in
advancing the human right to water. In the five years since the
program was established, the State Water Resources Control
Board has distributed more than $1 billion in grants to
disadvantaged communities – over two-and-a-half times the
amount of grants provided during the five years prior. During
this time, the number of people served by failing water systems
has fallen from 1.6 million to 700,000 – a net gain of 900,000
more Californians who now have safe and affordable drinking
water.
Ruidoso, a scenic town of nearly 8,000 in southern New Mexico,
is now at the mercy of an enduring, double-barreled disaster.
Two massive fires broke out last month along the mountains
encircling the town, torching more than 25,000 acres, burning
nearly a thousand homes and killing two people. Then, eight
times and counting since June 21, including Saturday,
floodwaters have cascaded down those same mountainsides into
the village. It’s a worst-case scenario that may become
more frequent as weather extremes intensify in the American
West. Studies suggest climate change is increasing the risk
that severe rainfall comes in the wake of
wildfires. Increasingly hot and dry conditions breed
fiercer blazes. Warming air can also hold more moisture,
leading to more intense storms. The burn scars from fires can
elevate the flooding risk for more than five years, as
vegetation regrows.
Despite decades of evidence, there is still a false binary
choice being hoisted upon Coloradans by municipalities and
water development entities — either we almost completely
dewater our rivers as they flow through lower elevation
communities, decimating river health, river recreation and
local economic opportunities, or we provide municipal water to
rapidly growing suburban cities on the Front Range. Instead,
our state government should help prioritize river restoration
by championing in-channel water delivery projects. Water
should be left in river channels until it reaches the nearest
adjacent diversion point to its delivery location. Hundreds, if
not thousands of ditches, tunnels and pipelines already exist,
and basin-wide assessments of these diversion points were done
under the Colorado Water Plan. —Written by Evan Stafford, communications director for
American Whitewater
Unmanaged stormwater can be a flood hazard and a contaminant.
But when it’s properly managed, stormwater actually can benefit
communities, creating green spaces and recharging aquifers. We
spoke with Karen Cowan, executive director of the California
Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA), to learn more about
this underappreciated resource. … Sustainable stormwater
management is the very definition of opportunity. Stormwater
capture involves putting water in the ground through smaller
street greening projects or big infiltration basins, and lots
of approaches in between. We want to shift how we view rain—to
embrace it as a good thing, rather than see it as a toxic waste
stream. The governor’s Water Supply
Strategy identifies stormwater capture as one of the
state’s top priorities; investment and incentives will help.
Congressman Josh Harder uses the State of California’s own
words to make his case to make it impossible for the $20
billion Delta bypass tunnel to be built. It would: Increase
salinity, devastate San Joaquin County agricultural production,
deteriorate critical ecological systems that fish rely on, land
a severe economic blow to the region. And just how would Harder
make it impossible from his position in Congress to pull the
plug on a state water project pushed by urban Southern
California and large southern San Joaquin Valley corporate farm
concerns? Harder is pushing for the adoption of legislation
directing the Army Corps of Engineers not to issue a required
permit to allow federally controlled Central Valley Project
water — essentially flows from Shasta Dam — to be diverted into
the proposed tunnel south of Sacramento. Without the permit or
the participation of the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the
tunnel can’t be built or the water diverted.
Climate change is driving record-setting droughts, uncontrolled
wildfires, and extreme temperatures, all of which jeopardize
our water security. At CalTrout, we believe in taking proactive
measures to safeguard our watersheds. Waiting until the damage
is done is not an option – the time to act is now. Fortunately,
we have a powerful tool at our disposal: the Outstanding
National Resource Waters (Outstanding Waters)
designation. After years of studies, campaign
building, and advocacy, the North Coast Regional Water Quality
Board approved CalTrout’s request to designate Elder Creek and
Cedar Creek as Outstanding Waters, the first step in the
official designation process. Over the next few months, our
experts will be collaborating closely with the Board to secure
these critical protections – an important step towards ensuring
water security for all Californians, people, and
wildlife.
… Since the late 1800s, sea level has risen globally by about
8 inches. It’s expected to rise about another foot by 2050.
Along some of California’s coast, that means as much as 5 feet
worth of beach per year could be eroding by 2050. A report from
the Union of Concerned Scientists finds that 2.2 million U.S.
residents will be affected by rising tides by 2050. And by the
end of the century, that rate could triple. … The report
finds that nationwide, at least 1,100 pieces of critical
infrastructure — schools, hospitals, power plants — could be
flooding monthly by 2050 because of sea level rise.
… The recommendations in the report include elevating
buildings, flood-proofing them, and if necessary, relocating
them.
Recent federal investments in climate resilience for Indigenous
communities in Nevada have included funds to modernize tribal
power grids against wildfires, build water storage for people
reliant on well water and bring electricity to homes. U.S.
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., and Matthew Dannenberg, a senior
tribal liaison for the U.S. Department of Energy, gave a
glimpse Monday into infrastructure upgrades that will help
Nevada’s tribal nations better cope with climate change. Nevada
tribal communities have access to more than $813 million
between the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan, all of which
were passed by Congress and signed into law during the
Biden-Harris administration.
The for-profit company feeding water to six Santa Clara County
cities may agree to walk back its plan for a 22% water rate
hike over three years. State officials are in the process of
developing a settlement with the San Jose Water Company that
would adjust its controversial January proposal, after
residents during hearings this summer questioned how working
families or seniors on fixed incomes could absorb the
increases. “(The settlement) would see the rate increases more
aligned with anticipated inflation,” Richard Rauschmeier,
program manager of the California Public Utilities Commission’s
Public Advocates Office, told San José Spotlight.
Two Los Angeles-area beaches have been shut down for more than
48 hours — amid an intense heat wave across parts of California
— not because of sharks or lack of lifeguards, but because
several thousand gallons of untreated sewage have spilled into
a nearby creek, stinking up summer plans for beachgoers,
officials said. An estimated 15,000 gallons of sewage was
discharged on Saturday afternoon in a neighborhood roughly
seven miles east of the Santa Monica Pier, entering the Ballona
Creek, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said
in a news release.
According to the latest Monterey County Crop Report, adverse
weather and flooding took a toll on crop values last year. The
2023 report shows a 6.1 percent decline in crop values from the
previous year, with a total production value of $4.35 billion.
Crop values were impacted by market demand and labor
challenges. However, the decrease was mainly due to severe
flooding in January and March, and below-average
temperatures. Extensive flooding damaged over 20,000
acres of farmland, and the cool weather in spring and summer
further delayed crop growth. “Impact to commodities from the
weather were tempered to some extent by market demand for the
high value crops produced in our region,” Monterey County
Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo said in the report.
If you’re planning to be on the north fork of the Feather River
this weekend, PG&E urges you to use caution as they plan to
increase flows to the area on July 27 and 28. PG&E says
they’re increasing flows on the Rock Creek Reach part of the
river near the community of Storrie for whitewater recreation.
They say it’ll have class 3, 4, and 5 rapids, which are only
for skilled paddlers and not for people hoping for a little
tubing. Flows will gradually reduce on Sunday
afternoon.
