Aquafornia

For most people, the coffee-colored waters of the Suisun Marsh are just a body of water you pass by on the way to the Bay Area. To James Burge, the marsh is so much more. “Water for me and I believe a lot of people, after they experience it, is calming. It’s good for the soul, good for the mind, can destress and just kind of connect yourself with nature,” he said. Burge runs Grizzly Waters Kayaking out of Suisun City, an intimate and sometimes windy tour of the largest tidal estuary west of the Mississippi. “‘Suisun’ means ‘the west wind’ literally, so the Suisun Indians are people of the west winds,” Burge explained. Unlike a swamp, a marsh generally doesn’t have trees to break the wind. In the case of Suisun Marsh, tule reeds are the main respite from wind. “They’re native plants to the area and they were used for everything from shelters to baskets, to even duck decoys,” said Burge. The Suisun Marsh spans a little over 110,000 acres. The brackish water here is a mix of fresh water from the California delta colliding with the Pacific Ocean, attracting a diverse range of birds.

Environmental solutions services provider Veolia North America announced that it completed $40 million in upgrades to the Richmond Water Pollution Control plant. The project, which took three years to complete, improves treatment processes, environmental compliance, and odor control for the city of Richmond, Calif. and surrounding communities in the San Francisco Bay. “These vital improvements will make a significant impact in how the wastewater treatment plant functions in the community, by improving the quality of treated water released into San Francisco Bay, delivering more efficient operations to the city, and better controlling the odors produced by the wastewater treatment process,” commented Karine Rougé, CEO for Municipal Water at Veolia North America.

After brutal wildfire seasons in 2020 and 2021, California has enjoyed two mild years in a row. The good fortune was driven largely by rain and snow that ended three years of drought. What’s on tap for this summer and fall? Nobody knows for sure. But three points are key, experts say. First, California had a wet winter this year, with rainfall since Oct. 1 in San Francisco at 113% of normal, 157% in Los Angeles, and 92% in Fresno. The Sierra Nevada snowpack was 111% of normal on April 1. Second, California has a Mediterranean climate, and wildfires are part of the state’s natural landscape. Third, wildfires have generally been getting worse across the West in recent decades. Climate change is raising temperatures and drying out vegetation more than in the past. Forests in many areas are unnaturally dense after generations of fire suppression by state and federal agencies. And more people are moving to fire-prone areas, increasing fire risk from power lines, vehicles and other human causes.

Related article:

• Los Angeles Times: Despite cooler temperatures, thunderstorms increase fire risk to parts of Southern California

For years, scientists have worried about “forever chemicals,” substances used to make hundreds of household items that have been linked by research to a wide range of health problems. In response, a growing number of companies have pledged not to use the chemicals, and regulators have increasingly taken aim at them. But even as work continues to phase out the substances, scientists are beginning to focus on new types that are far more widespread than earlier realized — prompting worries about undetected health risks. A growing body of research has raised concerns about a forever chemical known as TFA, which is short for trifluoroacetic acid and has been found in increasing amounts in rainwater, groundwater and drinking water. The chemical has a composition that scientists say may make it especially hard to filter, although scientists lack consensus on whether it poses a human health risk.

Related PFAS article:

• WaterWorld: Rinse and repeat: How flow reversal greatly extends the life and performance of reverse osmosis treatment plants​

… In this California WaterBlog post, we summarize a recent PPIC report that describes innovations that will help the state protect native biodiversity under climate change. We propose the adoption of climate-smart conservation frameworks and tools in all efforts to protect and restore native species. This includes utilizing a portfolio of actions—some controversial and experimental—along with a willingness to take risks. We hope that this report inspires scientists, engineers, resource managers, decision makers, watershed groups, and many others to take urgent action before we lose our legacy of freshwater biodiversity.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-Nev.) legislation to extend the authorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act for 10 years passed the Senate today. Cortez Masto’s legislation is cosponsored by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and it would allow federal funds to continue maintaining the environment, supporting local jobs, and strengthening the tourism economy around Lake Tahoe. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives. “Sustainability programs in Tahoe must be able to keep up their operations so we can continue to keep the lake clean and support our local communities – not just today, but for future generations. That was the vision previous Senate leaders had for Lake Tahoe, and it is what I’ve been fighting for,” said Cortez Masto. “Passing the reauthorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act through the Senate is a huge step forward, and I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this vital bill into law as soon as possible.”

We live on a water planet, with vast amounts of water in the oceans, an extremely dynamic hydrologic cycle that brings renewable freshwater resources in the form of rain, snow, and river flows, and large stocks of groundwater. And because the Earth has pretty much the same amount of water today that it has had since the time of the very formation of the solar system more than 4 billion years ago, modern concerns about the so-called “scarcity” of water reflect not a change in the total amount of water, but the challenge of meeting the need for water and water services by growing populations and expanding economic demands. … The distribution and availability of water resources around the world are naturally highly variable, but climate change is making these variations worse. Addressing these water problems is one of the greatest challenges of our time. “Water scarcity” means different things to different communities, but in its simplest form, it can be defined as a shortage of water required to meet a specific water demand—such as clean freshwater for drinking, cooking, cleaning, or growing crops, to name just a few.

When Bill Keener started working at the Marine Mammal Center as a field biologist in the 1970s, there were no whales or dolphins in San Francisco Bay. The waters east of the Golden Gate Bridge were chock- full of life — sea lions and harbor seals galore — but not a cetacean to be seen. Starting in the late 2000s, things began to change. There are now four cetacean species living in or regularly visiting the busy waters east of the Golden Gate — harbor porpoises, gray whales, humpback whales and bottle-nosed dolphins. Yet Keener and other marine researchers aren’t sure if the animals’ presence is a sign of ecosystem health and rejuvenation or a portent of planetary disaster. And in each case, the story is a little different. Regardless of the cause for their return, they’re growing increasingly worried that as the numbers of these charismatic megafauna grow, so too does their risk of injury and death in these high-traffic waters.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating an outbreak of sores on rainbow trout in Eagle County waterways, with bacteria and stress the primary suspects. The rainbow trout have been reported by anglers and guiding companies in recent days, and CPW has engaged with those parties to collect samples of the affected fish, which were sent to the state’s Aquatic Animal Health Lab in Brush. While the results are not yet in, CPW aquatic biologist Kendall Bakich said she has seen similar lesions on fish in the Eagle River in the past, as well as other nearby water bodies. A case in Steamboat Lake showed a similar pathology in rainbow trout, Bakich said, occurring directly after the spawning season during warmer water temperatures.