Aquafornia

Public records show a hedge fund that, according to its website, is “a global investor in companies and assets that ensure water quality and supply” paid $100 million for land in La Paz County in July. AZPM found records for purchases totaling 12,753.81 acres. The land was previously owned by a company out of North Carolina, which bought at least some of it from the City of Phoenix. The land encompasses a large portion of the unincorporated community of Wenden and sits in the McMullen Valley. Officials in La Paz County told AZPM they fear that such deals could result in groundwater being pumped and sent to other communities. The aquifer under the land is designated as a transfer basin, meaning water can be pumped from there and sent to other places in the state.

The Central Valley of California historically contained a diverse tapestry of freshwater habitats, from the salty marshes of the lower estuary to the ice-cold mountain streams of the Sierras. Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) developed a remarkable array of strategies to take advantage of these varied habitats, but as habitats have been altered and fragmented, so too has the diversity of Chinook populations. In particular, the Chinook that relied on coldwater habitats to survive in rivers through the summer – such as spring-run Chinook – have lost access to much of their historic range due to dams, and consequently have experienced precipitous declines. As the diversity of Chinook populations diminishes, so does the species’ resilience and adaptability. But all hope is not lost – the findings of a recent study examining the genetics of Chinook in a very modified river in the Sacramento Basin (Hugentobler et al. 2024) suggest that the diversity of these salmon may be more persistent than previously thought.

Senator Melissa Hurtado said she believes the problems facing the Central Valley and California, while myriad and complex, have a common denominator:  data manipulation. And that is restricting Valley residents from living the American dream. In a recent interview with the Times, Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) touched on multiple topics, including the state budget deficit, homelessness, the high cost of living, water shortages, Proposition 47 and the skyrocketing cost of energy. … In May 2022, Hurtado wrote a letter to the U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland. In her letter, Hurtado expressed concern that non-ag entities, including hedge funds, have engaged in anti-competitive prices with respect to purchasing water rights. She said these same entities potentially profit from the drought affecting Western states. In August 2022, Hurtado again wrote Garland. In this letter, she asked him to take urgent action “to address potential fraud and market manipulation practices that result in less water availability in the Western states.”

…. [Environmental Policy Professor Jeff Langholz] has made safe, clean, and reliable water access the focus of a professional career that reads like an adventure novel. … Langholz introduced his clean-water work to a wider audience at last year’s campus open house for prospective students with a talk titled “The Future of Water Is Closer and Better Than You Think,” which feels like required viewing in an increasingly water-insecure world. As part of the presentation, he highlighted a number of decentralized ways to capture life-sustaining moisture—and keep using it—like gray- and black-water recycling, rain harvesting, and atmospheric water generation. The last proves most stunning, and happens by deploying generators of scalable sizes to extract potable H2O from the atmosphere—at volume, using renewable energy, and doing it affordably—and then recycling it indefinitely. … Langholz’s students have pursued a number of projects related to this area, from fog harvesting (with a device called the FogLog) to financing infrastructure for rainwater harvesting systems (Rain Returns), two projects that made the finals of the Startup Challenge Monterey Bay. 

A Northern California school district is under fire after it disclosed Monday that nearly 200 drinking fountains and water faucets across multiple schools had elevated levels of lead that tested above the district’s standards. The Oakland Unified School District, California’s 11th-largest public school district, said in a letter to families that it had tested over 1,000 faucets and fountains at 40 TK-12 schools to assess lead levels in the water. While nearly 83% of the faucets and fountains tested were under the school district’s limit of 5 parts per billion, or ppb, about 17% were above the limit. The district’s standard of 5 ppb is more strict compared to the state and federal guidelines of 15 ppb, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set as the action level for lead in drinking water.

One year ago, California’s rockfish world was turned on its head with the announcement of the nearshore rockfish closure on Sept. 1, 2023, from Point Conception north to the Oregon border due to data indicating an excessive take of quillback rockfish. Since quillbacks are normally found from 20 to 50 fathoms, the rockfish regulations were modified this year to accommodate recreational fishing in less than 20 fathoms or greater than 50 fathoms. …. By combining the expertise and ideas of a diverse group, they have successfully established protocols to evaluate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the status of nearshore fish stocks, and how climate change is impacting marine resources in California.

—By Dave Hurley, educator, fishing writer and member of the California Outdoors Hall of Fame

The California Supreme Court, on Aug. 14, declined  to review an objection by plaintiffs in the Kern River lawsuit to a lower court’s ruling that paused an order requiring water flows through Bakersfield. That means the 5th District Court of Appeal will continue toward a hearing on whether the order was appropriate and the other part of the case will continue on its path in the Kern County Superior Court. It also means the order remains paused, so there is no requirement that the City of Bakersfield keep water in the river for fish populations. What water has been flowing through town all summer was voluntarily put into the river bed by the city.

Extreme weather alerts for dangerous heat, wildfires, storms, flooding and other hazards have affected nearly everyone in the United States over the past few months. Tracking data from the National Weather Service, the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists has found that since the beginning of May, extreme weather alerts have been issued for 99% of the country’s population. It’s a striking statistic that underlines the growing risks the nation faces as climate change continues to intensify extremes — such as last month’s record heat in California.

Related water and climate change news releases:

• CalPoly News: Faculty research helps California farms adapt to climate change
• Tri-City Record New Mexico: UNM hoping to increase diversity in the water industry workforce
• Yale Climate Connections: When will climate change turn life in the U.S. upside down?

At its August 15, 2024, meeting, the Delta Independent Science Board voted Dr. Diane McKnight from its existing membership as chair-elect, putting her in line to assume the chair duties in two years. Dr. McKnight’s chair-elect duties begin on September 1, 2024, when the current Chair, Dr. Lisa Wainger, will become past-chair, and the current Chair-Elect, Dr. Inge Werner, will become chair. Dr. Diane McKnight began her career with the United States Geological Survey. She is currently a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado. Her research focuses on coupling hydrology, aquatic ecology, and water quality. Dr. McKnight has studied streams, lakes, and wetlands in diverse regions, including the arctic tundra in Alaska, polar desert streams in Antarctica, alpine lakes in the Rocky Mountains, and wetlands in Botswana.