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.
While the ongoing California drought may make the most of this
high chance of precipitation, the changing weather poses many
problems for the U.S. Coast Guard, the department being tasked
with cleaning the 144,000-gallon oil spill that has been
creeping down Orange County’s coast since last weekend.
… According to the U.S. Coast Guard, storms in Orange
County earlier this week may have contributed to the dispersal
of the oil as it moves south. Erratic weather can make
“skimming” ocean water for crude oil that much more
challenging…
Can we live within our watershed? Human beings used to
easily live within their watersheds, only habitating where
there was enough water to sustain themselves. Today, we have
the technology and money to put water where it is needed. But
climate change is forcing a hard truth to seep to the surface:
Water is a limited resource and we may not have enough for
all.
Fresno Unified Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas is embarking on
a new career as the public affairs representative for the
Westlands Water District, which identified her in its
announcement Wednesday as Elizabeth Jonasson. Jonasson Rosas
says she’s fine being identified either way.
Experts in government, agriculture, water management and the
environment stressed during a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday
the danger that droughts fueled by climate change pose in the
West, including the Colorado River Basin. During a
hearing before an Energy and Natural Resources Committee panel,
witnesses said long-term solutions and an investment in water
infrastructure are needed to combat the effects of climate
change.
Amid a historic drought, the ever-present threat of wildfires
and worsening heat waves, a little-known controversy is pitting
environmental conservation against housing production,
potentially threatening progress in building a thriving
Southern California that can also withstand the challenges that
are coming with climate change.
Farming has always been dependent on varying weather patterns.
With a water shortage and fear of wildfires, farming has become
an even riskier occupation. These circumstances are beyond
their control and small farmers are having an especially tough
time because they don’t have the many resources available to
them that larger farms do. As the drought continues to
worsen, many water-use limitations and regulations will be
enforced upon all California residents and businesses—including
mandatory water restrictions.
If what is already a historic drought goes on much longer, a
proposed water pipeline could help Marin avert disaster, but it
likely won’t be enough, The Marin Independent Journal reports.
The proposed $90 million, 8-mile pipeline that would stretch
across the San Francisco Bay across the length of the
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge could potentially provide as much as
13.5 million gallons of water each day, according to the
report.
A new campaign online, on billboards and over the airwaves is
aimed at urging California residents to avoid a deadly mistake
involving trees that has been learned from previous droughts.
The new campaign from the Regional Water Authority and the
Sacramento Tree Foundation is titled “Stress your lawn, save
your trees.” The focus of the campaign is to educate the
public that lawns can handle less water but that
drought‐stressed trees can be lost forever if they do not
receive enough moisture.
Extended droughts broken up by rainy years are part of a
natural cycle here in California. Our state is once again in
another dry period, with areas of Northern California already
experiencing a significant impact. It is not a question of if,
but when the Coachella Valley faces a similar fate. Thanks to
decades of targeted projects and careful planning, Mission
Springs Water District will have enough water to serve our
40,000 customers in and around Desert Hot Springs. -Written by Arden Wallum, general manager at
Mission Springs Water District.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo renewed calls for residents to
conserve water and proposed outdoor watering restrictions
Wednesday as California’s ongoing drought deepens. … The
mayor announced he will introduce a memorandum to the City
Council in the next few days that would restrict outdoor
watering to two days a week… Liccardo said he was also
looking at updating the city’s Water Efficient Landscape
Ordinance to only allow for drought-tolerant landscapes.
State and federal officials told a Senate panel Wednesday that
there may be long-term solutions to the historic drought
gripping the West, and the water shortages that come with it,
but that the short-term outlook remains grim. The hearing comes
against the backdrop of a 20-year-long drought has left about
90% of the West affected. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said
tree-ring and soil evidence indicates that the region may be
going through the worst drought in 1,200 years – certainly the
worst in the 100 years or so that records have been kept.
Climate change is poised to result in a worldwide water crisis,
and international institutions and governments have not done
enough to prepare, according to a report released Tuesday by
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report
determined that as of 2018, some 3.6 billion people did not
have sufficient access to water at least one month every year.
… The report follows a summer that, in the U.S. alone,
laid bare the threat of climate change to water supply and
infrastructure. Lake Mead and the Colorado River saw their
first-ever federal water shortage declaration in
August, two months after its water levels hit an all-time
low.
Register now for next week’s virtual Northern California
Tour on Oct. 14 to explore the Sacramento River and its
tributaries and learn about issues associated with a key source
for the state’s water supply, including the drought now
gripping California. During the afternoon online event, you’ll
visit rice farms and wetlands in the Sacramento Valley and hear
from farmers and environmentalists about efforts to restore
runs of endangered chinook salmon and help birds along the
Pacific Flyway.
California’s agricultural empire is facing a shakeup, as a
state law comes into effect that will limit many farmers’
access to water. The seven-year-old law is supposed to stop the
over-pumping from depleted aquifers, and some farmers — the
largest users of that water — concede the limits are overdue.
… The limits on that water use will force many farmers
to scrap practices that relied on unfettered access to that
shrinking underground reservoir.
A new player has entered the fray over forfeited Kern River
water rights, bolstering the position that the public has a
right to a flowing river. The state Department of Fish and
Wildlife argues in a legal brief filed recently that the state
Water Resources Control Board is absolutely obligated to
consider the public trust doctrine in all water decisions,
including whether there’s “loose” water on the Kern River. That
doctrine states California holds all natural resources, such as
rivers, in trust for the public.
Three settlement agreements were recently approved by the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California. Under
the agreements, Montrose Chemical Corporation of California,
Bayer CropScience Inc., TFCF America Inc., and Stauffer
Management Company LLC have agreed to pay $77.6 million for
cleanup of contaminated groundwater at the Montrose Chemical
Corp. Superfund and the Del Amo Superfund Sites in Los Angeles
County, California.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talked Tuesday about Central
Valley farmers’ role in a climate-safe future, and about
families stressed by food costs. He took part in a Zoom call
with Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, and leaders in California
agriculture. Vilsack discussed his department’s response to the
current drought and the barriers to exports of dairy foods,
nuts, citrus and other products. And he plugged the $1.2
trillion infrastructure bill now before Congress. It would
improve roads, rail, ports and other modes of transportation,
along with rural broadband and water supplies.
Jobs in the water and wastewater industry provide stable
employment in meaningful careers, delivering a vital resource
families and businesses depend on. With half of all current
employees expected to retire in the next 15 years, recruitment
efforts hope to fill many of these essential positions. Family
ties provide a positive influence in filling these roles with
the next generation of water professionals in several water
agencies in San Diego County.
The former director of a Stockton biofuel company was sentenced
to 18 months in federal prison Monday for unlawful discharge of
industrial wastewater, tampering with monitoring equipment and
conspiracy. According to the U.S. Department of Justice,
Christopher Young, director of operations at Community Fuels
from 2011 to 2016, is charged with participating in
the dumping of hundreds of thousands of gallons of polluted
wastewater into Stockton’s sewers after tampering with
water sensors.
According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can
expect a 30% chance of rain Thursday and Friday. But it’s
probably not enough for an umbrella. Thursday morning is
expected to be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers after
midnight extending into Friday morning before noon. Scott Rowe,
the lead meteorologist of the National Weather Service in
Sacramento, said valley communities will largely remain dry if
not completely dry.
