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 Vik Jolly.
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Kern farmers will likely avoid state sanctions thanks to the
latest revision of the region’s groundwater plan that
substantially increased drinking water protections and
eventually gained state approval – with some required tweaks.
State Water Resources Control Board staff recommended on Friday
that the Kern subbasin be moved back under oversight of the
Department of Water Resources provided water managers fix three
outstanding issues.
A sweeping plan to remove two century-old dams on Northern
California’s Eel River promises to revive native fish runs –
but it also raises alarms for the wildlife that has come to
rely on the soon-to-vanish Lake Pillsbury. … PG&E’s
own environmental filings warn that the disappearance of Lake
Pillsbury may leave the [tule] elk stranded in thick sediment
or searching for new forage grounds once the water is gone.
… Against these losses stands a well-documented
ecological gain: the restoration of a free-flowing Eel River
and its native salmon and steelhead.
House lawmakers will hear from senior Army Corps of Engineers
officials Wednesday on the status of federal water
infrastructure studies and projects. The Transportation and
Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
hearing will focus on the Army Corps’ implementation of
projects to reduce flooding and improve navigation that
Congress approved under the Water Resources Development Act.
… The hearing, “Water Resources Development Acts
Implementation: Review and Oversight of Past Provisions,” comes
as Democrats have accused the agency of delaying construction
of dam repairs and other infrastructure projects in blue
states, including Washington and California.
Golden mussels pose a growing threat to California’s waterways
and infrastructure. … Dr. Pam Marrone is the co-founder of
the Invasive Species Corporation, a Davis-based company seeking
to find environmentally-friendly solutions to control invasive
species. The company created a product called Zequanox that
successfully eradicates non-native zebra and quagga mussels,
and is now adapting that product for the newest aquatic
invader. Marrone spoke with Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez about
her experience in biocontrol, and her company’s work to get rid
of the golden mussel for good.
…[A] government whistleblower and other witnesses in a recent
state trial alleged that cleanup operations after some of the
largest fires in state history were plagued by mismanagement
and overspending — and that toxic contamination was at times
left behind in local communities. Steven Larson, a former state
debris operations manager in the California Governor’s Office
of Emergency Services, failed to convince a jury that he was
wrongly fired by the agency for flagging those and other issues
to his supervisors. … [T]he little-discussed trial provided a
rare window into a billion-dollar public-private industry that
is rapidly expanding.
California American Water Co. is asking a court to dismiss a
lawsuit filed by Monterey Peninsula Water Management District
that seeks to take over the investor-owned utility’s
distribution system – an eminent domain proceeding. The water
district filed a counter motion on the same date as Cal Am’s
filing – Aug. 20 In the 24-page Cal Am filing – a motion for
summary judgment – attorneys for Cal Am cite numerous
reasons why a Monterey County Superior Court judge should rule
in favor of Cal Am on the water district’s eminent domain
claim.
California’s digital backbone, sustained by a vast
constellation of data centers, is at a
critical juncture. Once operating quietly behind the
scenes, these facilities have been thrust into the spotlight
due to the convergence of two forces: surging demand for
digital services and the escalating impact of climate change.
… Water shortages make traditional cooling techniques
increasingly difficult to justify.
The cobalt waters of Lake Tahoe have long captivated the
public, helping drive the area’s massive tourism industry and
even attracting urban legends about what lies in the cold,
shadowy depths. Theories have ranged from an aquatic creature
named Tessie to perfectly preserved bodies dumped by the mafia
decades ago. This week, Tahoe enthusiasts got to take in a much
rarer view of the lake. On Friday, thousands of people tuned in
to see a remotely operated vehicle travel down to the bottom of
one of the country’s deepest lakes, at more than 1,500ft below
the water.
… As part of a settlement reached early this year, 12 organic
dairies and cattle operations [on Point Reyes national
seashore] agreed to take a multimillion-dollar buyout – the
financial details of which have been largely kept secret – and
were given 15 months to move off the land. … Manure
spread over the pastures over the years changed the soils and
encouraged their spread, while extensive water
use drained moisture from already parched systems. …
When California’s recent drought desiccated the region and left
scores of animals cut off from water sources, the situation
sparked fierce local protests.
… As reservoirs shrink, groundwater dries up and rainy
seasons become more erratic, some believe one answer to this
crisis lies in the reservoirs of moisture in our skies.
Atmospheric water harvesting is a tantalizing prospect and a
rush of new research is generating excitement, but there are
sizeable obstacles: It has historically been energy intensive,
it produces small amounts of water and even the new methods are
many times more expensive than tap water.
The Conejo Valley has long been recognized for its innovation,
resilience, and economic vitality. … Yet beneath this
prosperity rests an increasingly fragile foundation: our water
supply. That’s why the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of
Commerce strongly supports the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) —
a once-in-a-generation modernization of California’s water
infrastructure designed to safeguard the reliability of our
most essential resource. –Written by Danielle Borja, president/CEO of the Greater
Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce.
A fixed-wing Cessna Cargomaster, for five days in January, flew
over the full 32-mile stretch of Putah Creek, capturing Lidar
images and data that Max Stephenson said is like having a
“virtual reality simulation” of the stream channel. So vivid
are the images, tread marks from tractor tires can be seen in
the neighboring farmlands also captured by the aerial survey.
House Republicans narrowly passed legislation on Thursday that
would slash $766.4 million from the budgets of the Department
of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and
their related agencies compared to what they received last
year. … It also increases authorizations for a number of
water projects, including allocating $1.8 billion for the
Navajo-Gallup water supply project in New Mexico, and provides
$1 billion for water management improvement grants, and $177.5
million for water recycling and reuse projects.
On Thursday, Speaker Crystalyne Curley of the 25th Navajo
Nation Council, accompanied by several Council Delegates and
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, hosted senior officials
from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Bureau
of Reclamation (BOR). … Tribal leaders urged federal
officials to support the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water
Rights Settlement Agreement, which is designed to resolve
longstanding legal disputes and secure reliable, long-term
water access for the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San
Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. … Discussions also addressed
the importance of reaching agreement among various Upper and
Lower Basin states along the Colorado River.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to complete within nine months a delayed assessment of
whether the San Francisco Estuary local population of white
sturgeon should be listed as threatened under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Cisneros in
San Francisco wasn’t persuaded by the agency’s arguments that
it would need until 2029 to complete the so-called 12-month
finding because of a backlog of pending petitions and staffing
shortages from layoffs and a hiring freeze.
U.S. senators from New Mexico, Colorado and Idaho introduced
legislation Wednesday to increase funds for local partnerships
to prevent water pollution and restore watersheds. … [The
Headwater Protection act,] if passed, would triple the
yearly funding for the Water Source Protection
Program for the U.S. Forest Service in order to
provide more than $30 million per year for farmers, ranchers,
water utilities and local and tribal governments for restoring
forests or cleaning up watersheds. The legislation would
prioritize giving funds to projects to improve drinking water
quality and harden forested areas to wildfire and climate
change.
… Drilling for fresh water under the salt water off Cape Cod,
Expedition 501 extracted thousands of samples from what is now
thought to be a massive, hidden aquifer stretching from New
Jersey as far north as Maine. It’s just one of many
depositories of “secret fresh water” known to exist in shallow
salt waters around the world that might some day be tapped to
slake the planet’s intensifying thirst. … The potential
is enormous. So are the hurdles of getting the water out and
puzzling over who owns it, who uses it and how to extract it
without undue harm to nature.
Federal lawsuits were filed Thursday against Southern
California Edison in connection with damage caused by two
deadly Southern California wildfires, including the January
fire in Altadena. In copies of the lawsuits filed Thursday
and obtained by NBCLA, federal prosecutors named Southern
California Edison as defendants and sought payment for costs
and damage related to the Eaton Fire and the September 2022
Fairview Fire in Riverside County. … The lawsuit,
seeking $40 million in damages, also said the fire affected
water quality and allowed non-native
vegetation to invade the area.
A new report shows America’s water systems need more than a
trillion dollars in upgrades in the coming decades. In the
West, states are dealing with shrinking reservoirs, worsening
drought, and a lack of data to plan for the future. Many
Western states use outdated methods to measure their water
system needs according to an analysis by Pew Charitable Trusts,
a nonpartisan research group. Some states don’t even have
inventories of basic assets, like aging pipes, or where lead
service lines still exist. … Nationwide, the
Environmental Protection Agency estimates water and wastewater
systems will need more than a trillion dollars in upgrades over
the next 20 years.
The Tahoe Fund will livestream the journey of Deep Emerald, a
custom-built remotely operated vehicle as it explores Lake
Tahoe’s 1,570-foot depths. This event is a partnership between
the Tahoe Fund and the Restoring the Lake Depths Foundation,
allowing anyone to witness the ROV’s expedition on Friday
through the Tahoe Fund’s website starting at 9:30 a.m. The two
organizations say the event is the first-ever livestream to
show the bottom of the lake.
