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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 Mercury News

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Billions needed to fund upgrades to meet anticipated wastewater regulations

At least $11 billion would be needed to upgrade wastewater treatment facilities across the Bay Area if regulators impose anticipated stricter environmental rules, according to a regional water board that seeks to protect the San Francisco Bay. The upgrades at dozens of sewage treatment plants, needed to prevent toxic algae blooms and protect fish, would cost an average of $4,000 per household, and consumers may end up funding the improvements. The key culprit? Nitrogen found in urine and fecal matter, which feeds the growth of algae. 

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Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Tiny, endangered fish hinders Colorado River water conservation plan

Southern California’s Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies water to farmers who grow most of the nation’s winter vegetables, planned to start a conservation program in April to scale back what it draws from the critical Colorado River. But a tiny, tough fish got in the way. Now, those plans won’t start until at least June so water and wildlife officials can devise a way to ensure the endangered desert pupfish and other species are protected, said Jamie Asbury, the irrigation district’s general manager. 

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Aquafornia news The Hill

US West hydropower production plunged to 22-year low last year

Hydropower generation in the U.S. West plunged to a 22-year low last year — dropping 11 percent from the year before, according to a new federal data analysis. The total amount produced in the region amounted to 141.5 million megawatt-hours, or about 60 percent of the country’s total hydroelectricity output in the 2022-23 “water year,” per the data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). … On the other hand, a series of atmospheric rivers in California spurred an increase in hydroelectricity production in the Golden State — nearly doubling it in comparison to the previous water year, the analysis noted. 

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Aquafornia news Newsweek

California rain map shows cities to be hit hardest by ’significant’ storm

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists shared a map on social media that reveals which Southern California cities will be hit hardest by an approaching storm expected to arrive this weekend. California has faced an abnormally wet winter as moisture-laden storms and atmospheric rivers dumped a deluge of rain and snow on the state, beginning in January. The excessive rainfall has resulted from a slew of atmospheric rivers that have battered the state this month. Last year, more than a dozen of them helped alleviate the state’s severe drought situation and replenished many of the state’s reservoirs, but the storms also caused devastating floods and landslides.

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Aquafornia news Bangor Daily News

How David Byrne came to be fascinated by the Penobscot River

No Mainer would assume that David Byrne — legendary frontman for the Talking Heads and endlessly inventive musician and artist — would be fascinated by the Penobscot River Restoration Project. … This Saturday he’ll be giving a talk and leading a panel discussion at the Waterville Opera House with local experts about the dam removal project in the lower Penobscot. … The project began in 1999 as a collaborative effort between many Maine organizations and businesses to better balance hydropower needs with restoring native fisheries and getting the river closer to its natural, pre-industrial state. Between 2012 and 2016, the Veazie Dam and Great Works Dam in Old Town were removed, and a bypass was constructed on the Howland Dam.

Aquafornia news Inside Climate News

Sinking coastal lands will exacerbate the flooding from sea level rise in 24 US cities, new research shows

Flooding could affect one out of every 50 residents in 24 coastal cities in the United States by the year 2050, a study led by Virginia Tech researchers suggests. The study, published this month in Nature, shows how the combination of land subsidence—in this case, the sinking of shoreline terrain—and rising sea levels can lead to the flooding of coastal areas sooner than previously anticipated by research that had focused primarily on sea level rise scenarios. … The study combines measurements of land subsidence obtained from satellites with sea level rise projections and tide charts, offering a more holistic projection of potential flooding risks in 32 cities located along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts.

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Aquafornia news YourCentralValley

With snowpack at normal, what’s the hold up with Ag water allocation?

The frustration for farmers continues to grow after recent news of recent water allocation numbers. The Bureau of Reclamation has announced a 35 percent federal allocation for Central Valley Project recipients, as the California Department of Water Resources has allocated 30 percent of State Water Project requests. The news comes as the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada sits at or near normal. … Joe Del Bosque of Del Bosque Farms … says he and other farmers were extremely disappointed with the recent numbers. He tells me with the current snowpack, and recent, and potentially incoming storms, the allocation should have been higher.

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Aquafornia news Herald and News

Water pumped from Tulelake through historic D-Plant to Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in four years

For the first time in four years, water is being pumped from Tulelake to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. The historic Pumping Plant D in Tulelake Irrigation District (TID) was constructed at the base of Sheepy Ridge in 1942. TID Manager Brad Kirby said the five massive pumps ran year-round for nearly 70 years. … In 2020, drought conditions and federal regulations rendered the plant inoperative. As of Monday morning, the D-Plant is up and running again, pumping water from the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge through Sheepy Ridge to the Lower Klamath refuge thanks to the efforts of TID, Ducks Unlimited and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

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Aquafornia news The Longmont Leader

Colorado names state engineer and director of water resources

Gov. Jared Polis and Dan Gibbs, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources announced Jason Ullmann as the next Colorado State Engineer and Director of the Division of Water Resources (DWR). … Jason brings over 20 years of experience in water resources engineering, 14 years of which have been at DWR, most recently as the Deputy State Engineer. Before his time with DWR, he gained valuable experience in water resources management as a City Engineer for the City of Montrose and as a consulting engineer for various ditch and reservoir companies throughout Colorado.

Aquafornia news UC Davis

News release: Karrigan’ Börk’s award-winning water rights solution

Karrigan Börk, UC Davis professor of law and Associate Director at the Center for Watershed Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious $10,000 Morrison Prize for his paper on water rights. The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University recognizes Börk’s paper as “the most impactful sustainability-related legal academic paper published in North America” for 2023.  Börk’s winning paper, “Water Exaction Rights,” published in the Harvard Environmental Law Review, proposes a solution to address current and future water crises in the US: an exactions framework. 

Aquafornia news Press Democrat

Editorial: Progress toward water security for Sonoma, Mendocino counties

Last year, Pacific Gas & Electric announced that it would demolish the [Eel River's] Scott and Cape Horn dams and decommission the entire Potter Valley power project. … Removing the dams will help restore natural river flows, which will improve fish habitat along the Eel River. That’s been a longtime objective of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. The tribes have strong historic and cultural ties to the river and its bounty. When the dams come down, the Eel River will become the longest free-flowing river in California according to fish advocates. Salmon, steelhead and trout all will benefit. Lake Pillsbury will disappear. Demolition is not restoration, though, and there will be ripple effects on other nearby natural areas.

Aquafornia news Fresno State News

New study: Study explores groundwater recharge areas near local communities

To address the concern of historic groundwater overdraft in the San Joaquin Valley, the California Water Institute at Fresno State, with assistance from students and faculty, conducted a feasibility study to explore the potential for groundwater recharge within disadvantaged communities. … The analysis identified four potential locations for the design and construction of recharge basins near or in the cities of Kerman, Raisin City, Caruthers and Laton. 

Aquafornia news SF Gate

South Lake Tahoe and Truckee ban common grocery store item

Two Tahoe towns are saying no to plastic water bottles. South Lake Tahoe’s ban on single-use plastic water bottles and paper cartons is slated to go into full effect next month, soon after neighboring Truckee passed an ordinance to implement a similar ban. … The League to Save Lake Tahoe found that single-use plastic bottles are one of the top five types of litter in the Tahoe Basin, Truckee’s news release states. 

Aquafornia news Law 360

Fishering groups say tire companies’ can’t escape salmon ESA suit

Fishers are fighting tire companies’ attempt to dismiss an Endangered Species Act suit over the use of a rubber additive known as 6PPD, which harms salmon, telling a California federal judge the companies are trying to delay accountability…

Aquafornia news SF Gate

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: ‘Significant late-season storm’ poised to soak California

Spring is here, but the rainy season is clearly not over in California. Two separate storms are poised to impact the Golden State this week. The first one is predicted to impact only Northern California on Wednesday, bringing light rain. The second one is expected to sweep the entire state over the weekend, likely delivering a shot of moderate rain to Northern California and a more substantial heavy soaking to Southern California. The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office is starting to sound the alarm bells and called the system a “late season significant storm” in its forecast. 

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Aquafornia news SJV Sun

Facing SGMA challenges, Kings County stares down water pumping fees

The Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency is looking to impose a pumping fee of nearly $100 per acre-foot.  Mid-Kings River GSA is comprised of the Kings County Water District, the City of Hanford and Kings County. The big picture: The GSA is proposing a pumping fee maximum of $95 per acre-foot. This comes after the State views that the region has not made enough progress through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The state wants agriculture and industrial water pumpers to cut back or pay to mitigate the impacts on other users. The state could move to put the subbasin in probation if it does not feel confident in local groundwater management, and could completely take over operations in 2025.

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Aquafornia news Salt Lake Tribune

Lake Powell is about to get a boost. How much will it help?

… Lake Powell’s levels have fallen throughout the winter, but as the weather warms, the snowpack that has accumulated in the mountains over the winter will begin to melt. That water will feed rivers and streams across the West — including the Colorado River, which fills Lake Powell on Arizona and Utah’s shared border. … The National Weather Service Colorado Basin River Forecast Center predicts that 5.4 million acre-feet of unregulated runoff will spill into the reservoir between April and July. … According to the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, spring runoff this year will be 85% of the average runoff between 1991 and 2020.

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Aquafornia news Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Attend our Open House May 2; New Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River hot off the press; Register for Water 101 before it’s sold out

The Water Education Foundation’s 10th edition of the Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin is hot off the press and available for purchase. Attend our May 2 Open House; And sign up for our annual Water 101 Workshop before it’s sold out!

Aquafornia news CalMatters

New study: CA farmers could save a lot of water — but profits would drop, study says

California farmers could save massive amounts of water if they planted less thirsty — but also less lucrative — crops such as grains and hay instead of almonds and alfalfa, according to new research by scientists who used remote sensing and artificial intelligence. Such a seismic shift in the nation’s most productive agricultural state could cut consumption by roughly 93%, researchers with UC Santa Barbara and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported Monday. But Anna Boser, the study’s lead author, acknowledged that replacing all of California’s water-intensive crops with the least-intensive ones is an unrealistic economic scenario. … In a less-extreme scenario, Boser and her colleagues reported that fallowing 5% of fields with the most water-intensive crops could cut water consumption by more than 9%, according to the study, published in the journal Nature Communications.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Beavers can help stop California wildfires, research shows

A vast burn scar unfolds in drone footage of a landscape seared by massive wildfires north of Lake Tahoe. But amid the expanses of torched trees and gray soil, an unburnt island of lush green emerges. The patch of greenery was painstakingly engineered. A creek had been dammed, creating ponds that slowed the flow of water so the surrounding earth had more time to sop it up. A weblike system of canals helped spread that moisture through the floodplain. Trees that had been encroaching on the wetlands were felled. But it wasn’t a team of firefighters or conservationists who performed this work. It was a crew of semiaquatic rodents whose wetland-building skills have seen them gain popularity as a natural way to mitigate wildfires. A movement is afoot to restore beavers to the state’s waterways, many of which have suffered from their absence.