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 Doug Beeman.
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Please Note: 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.
After nearly a year without rain, a series of potent Pacific
storms are directed at Northern California this week,
potentially bringing as much as a foot of rainfall and up to
three feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada. Supercharged by a
classic atmospheric river pattern, the storms could lead to
flash floods and dangerous debris flows in a wide swath of the
region already devastated by recent wildfires. With each
successive storm, the moisture potential increases, peaking
with possibly a rare category 5 atmospheric river event on
Sunday.
As the state experiences its second-driest year on record and
Gov. Gavin Newsom declares a statewide drought emergency, some
Californians may be wondering: How will this shortage impact
the Sacramento region and what does it mean for our everyday
lives and water supply? … The conservation messaging
from California officials began in earnest back in July, when
Newsom urged residents to voluntarily reduce their water usage
by 15%.
The Bureau of Reclamation has released its October 24-Month
Study and 2-year projections of major reservoir levels within
the Colorado River system….As a result of this update, the
median water year 2022 inflow forecast into Lake Powell
decreased by 800,000 acre-feet and Reclamation’s October
projections show lower Lake Powell elevations compared to the
September projections.
It’s workplace giving season, the time of year when anyone in
the workplace can show their support for the organizations and
causes they love. All state, federal and private workplace
giving programs are now open, allowing donations through
payroll deductions. If you have come on one of our water tours,
participated in our Water Leaders program or are a loyal reader
of our Western Water articles or weekday Aquafornia water news
feed, you can now support us though a payroll deduction at your
workplace, whether it’s a federal or state agency or in
the private sector.
The Water Research Foundation (WRF) recently published research
to inform California’s Direct Potable Reuse Regulations. It
will be used by the California State Water Resources Control
Board (SWB) Division of Drinking Water to develop direct
potable reuse regulations in California by 2023 and ensure the
protection of public health. The research was funded under a
$1.4 million grant from SWB to advance protective practices for
potable reuse.
Water has become a major roadblock to desperately needed
housing in rural communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
Water scarcity and lack of infrastructure has scared off
developers just when housing is most needed, according to
officials and nonprofits that work on both water and housing.
… For developers to build housing, they must obtain a
“will serve” letter, official confirmation by the water
provider in the area that the new development can receive
water.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are
completing an unprecedented effort to save more than 1 million
Chinook salmon, a campaign that also may help preserve a way of
life for a Native American tribe. In June, salmon hatched at
the Klamath River’s Iron Gate hatchery were temporarily trucked
to a Trinity River hatchery in Northern California. The
finger-length fish were held back from a scheduled release to
the Pacific Ocean out of concern the river was too warm and too
full of parasites for them to survive.
The Sonoma Water Board of Directors today approved its
first-ever Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP) that … identifies
threats to Sonoma Water’s water supply, flood control, and
sanitation infrastructure and operations and develops
adaptation strategies to reduce vulnerabilities and risks that
will be exacerbated by climate change. Development of the plan
assumes that climate change is inevitable, it is already
occurring, and the agency must adapt quickly to protect its
critical infrastructure.
Efforts to secure the Russian River water supply have stalled
over the past month. A powerhouse that allows for larger
diversions of water from the Eel River to the Russian River
went down over the summer and it’s unclear whether it will be
repaired. Pacific Gas & Electric says the Potter Valley Project
(PVP), a hydroelectric power project that diverts the water
from one river to the other, will continue providing enough
water to meet its contractual obligations to Potter Valley
residents and the Russian River watershed.
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors received an update by
their chief lobbying consultant, Paul Yoder, earlier this
month. Out of all the hoopla that comes with policy lobbying in
Sacramento, Yoder was keen to point out that drought
legislation could become a priority in the state capitol. At
least that’s the way it seems according to the state
budget.
As aspen leaves blazed across the Colorado Rockies this fall,
NOAA scientists were busy installing a state-of-the-art
observing network in a remote basin near Crested Butte to study
how precipitation forms in the complex, high-altitude terrain
of the West Elk Mountains. Their goal: improving weather and
river flow prediction in a watershed critical to the region’s
water supply.
Applying insights from the Institutional Analysis and Design
literature, we create and analyze a dataset of California’s
water systems classified into 26 structural types associated
with distinct governance institutions. We document differences
in the number of Safe Drinking Water Act violations among these
types and demonstrate their relevance for implementing
solutions targeting non-compliance. Advancing equitable access
necessitates greater attention to organizational structure and
institutional diversity in drinking water.
In one of the final steps to complete a Groundwater
Sustainability Plan (GSP) for the Colusa Subbasin, the Colusa
Groundwater Authority (CGA) and the Glenn Groundwater Authority
(GGA) hosted a virtual public meeting on Wednesday to review
the plan and gather community input. The GSP is a roadmap
for how groundwater will be managed over the next two decades,
according to meeting facilitator Dave Ceppos, and is being
prepared by the CGA and GGA in response to the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act of 2014 …
Dry times call for innovative measures, and with California
facing its driest year in nearly a century, the privately held
water company that supplies Santa Barbara’s Hope Ranch
community is floating a unique idea. La Cumbre Mutual Water
Company, the affluent community’s supplier, is considering
purchasing water produced by an offshore desalination plant
contained within a buoy being designed by Ecomerit
Technologies.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They comprise a
class of heat-resistant chemicals used in various globally
manufactured products such as nonstick pans, adhesives, wire
insulation, food packaging, waterproof clothes and even
spacesuits. House Democrats thrust the PFAS Action Act of 2021
into the NDAA because it likely wouldn’t pass both chambers as
a standalone bill. … Yet, as written, the PFAS verbiage
was so extreme it would derail military procurement. -Written by J.D. Hayworth, a Republican
who represented Arizona in the United States House of
Representatives from 1995-2007.
Water is life for us here in the Central Valley. It impacts
every facet of our day-to-day lives, from our jobs to
sustaining our daily needs. This summer, a few communities in
my district ran dry. One town —Teviston—was without running
water for a full month. The families there were unable to turn
their taps on to cook, bathe their children or even flush the
toilet. Drought and water conservation is becoming a way of
life for us across the state, but especially in the San Joaquin
Valley. Fortunately, farmers and farmworkers are resilient and
have found ways to cope. -Written by Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger,
representing California’s 14th Senate District.
The Marin Municipal Water District has allocated up to $23.2
million to buy equipment for a proposed emergency supply
pipeline across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The investment,
approved by the district board on Tuesday, is the largest the
agency has made since proposing the idea earlier this year. The
8-mile pipeline, estimated to cost up to $90 million, is the
district’s main backup plan should it deplete its main
reservoir supplies next summer in the event of another dry
winter.
Nestled in the hills north of San Francisco lies a tiny
microclimate where farmers grow apples with no irrigation at
all. The multi-year drought that besets California? Not here.
Sunburn? Not typically a problem. Those uber heat waves that
baked the West Coast this summer? They skipped western Sonoma
County.
Gov. Gavin Newsom today declared a drought emergency for the
entire state of California, as conservation efforts continue to
fall far short of state targets. Newsom also authorized
California’s water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such
as spraying down public sidewalks, and directed his Office of
Emergency Services to fund drinking water as needed. But he
stopped short of issuing any statewide conservation mandates.
Three successive storms will surge in from the Pacific Ocean
this week, forecasters said Tuesday, bringing what may be the
most rain in nine months to drought-stricken Northern
California and offering a promising start to winter after two
years marked by record wildfires and dry conditions. Two of
those storms look like atmospheric rivers … After
Sunday’s storm, the 7-day rainfall totals could range from 5 to
8 inches over the North Bay, 3 to 5 inches in the Santa Cruz
Mountains, and 1 to 3 inches across the San Francisco Bay Area
down to Big Sur.
