Aquafornia

Announcement: International conference to address groundwater challenges and successes in agricultural regions

cbowman@watereducation.org — Fri, 10 May 2024 15:07:00 +0000

Groundwater basins in California and across the world are the source for much of the water that grows our food. But many challenges come with groundwater: Keeping use sustainable, nitrate contamination and impacts from climate change. The world’s top scientists, policymakers and experts will be addressing these topics June 18-20 in San Francisco at the 3ʳᵈ International Groundwater Conference Linking Science & Policy, along with the latest advancements on groundwater demand management, conjuctive use, managed aquifer recharge, groundwater governance and emerging artificial intelligence resources related to groundwater and agriculture. Learn more about this conference.

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Geoscience Support Services pens contract with Mojave Water Agency

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 15:05:00 +0000

A new project for the Mojave Water Agency aims to support strategic planning for sustainable groundwater basin management and conjunctive use projects, the agency announced. The announcement came on Tuesday by Geoscience Support Services, Inc., a geohydrology firm that provides specialized hydrogeology and groundwater consulting and services. Geoscience entered into a new contract with the Apple Valley-based Mojave Water Agency to evaluate groundwater resources and develop advanced recovery and management strategies. The project supports the Mojave Water Agency’s mission to manage groundwater basins and address risks to sustainable water supplies.

Related article:

Western Farm Press: Agencies scramble to meet SGMA regulations

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Blog: Research and monitoring increases understanding of harmful algal blooms

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:39:00 +0000

Despite the prevailing dry conditions in warmer months, the Sacramento Valley and the north Delta have remained free of harmful algal bloom (HAB) detections—a testament to our proactive monitoring and mitigation efforts. As we continue to closely watch over these waterways and utilize the latest technology, we’re committed to keeping our communities safe and our ecosystems thriving. With warmer temperatures and summer recreation at California freshwater lakes and rivers on the horizon, it is time for Californians to be vigilant about the dangers posed by freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). According to the California Department of Water Resources (DRW), algal blooms can release toxins into the water which have the potential to significantly harm both people and pets. It can also create hypoxia which impacts fish populations.

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East San Diego County planning group wants to tap brakes on Muslim cemetery in remote Pine Valley

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:36:00 +0000

It’s a tale as old as the American West: folks fighting over water. This time, however, the battle brewing in a remote California community is one you’ve likely never heard before. The clash is centered in the normally sleepy community of Pine Valley, which, according to most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures, has a population of 1,645. Although you don’t have to live in town to sign, that figure is close to how many people signed a petition boasting 1,800 signatures that was circulated to Stop SD Crescentwood Cemetery. … Critics argue, though, that it sits above the Campo-Cottonwood Sole Source Aquifer, which serves the groundwater needs of thousands of East County residents. Depending upon whom you talk with, the facility could host as few as four burials a year or as many as 350. The problem … is that “effluvium” from decomposing human bodies could leach into the ground, eventually making its way down and contaminating the aquifer.

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Fresno State offers new minor focused on water

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:18:00 +0000

Fresno State students can now learn more about one of California’s most precious resources – water. There’s a new educational offering at Fresno State. The interdisciplinary program is designed to teach students all about water systems in California. Political Science Professor Thomas Holyoke says it’s different than other minors. “This would require students to take a variety of classes from different areas of the university,” Holyoke said. That includes classes in geology, geography, agriculture, political science and beyond.

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A La Niña summer?

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:10:00 +0000

After a wet El Niño winter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there’s a 69% chance La Niña could develop by July and last through winter, potentially bringing dry and cool conditions to Southern California. What could happen locally: La Niña is typically associated with drier weather in Southern California. However, we saw one of the wettest winters last year, and that occurred during a La Niña event. Why is this happening? Temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean have begun to cool. What’s the difference between La Niña and El Niño? La Niña is often associated with drier and cooler conditions in Southern California. Wetter weather is commonly associated with El Niño, which is when warm water off the coast sends heat and moisture into the atmosphere.

Related article:

Wall Street Journal: The science behind why the world is getting wetter

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Kern River combatants sent to their respective corners – for now

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:03:00 +0000

Further legal action on the Kern River was put on pause Thursday morning following an order by the 5th District Court of Appeal that stayed a local injunction mandating enough water be kept in the river for fish. … The underlying lawsuit was filed in 2022 by Bring Back the Kern and several other public interest groups along with Water Audit California, against the City of Bakersfield for dewatering the river. … That 2022 lawsuit demands the city study the impacts of its river operations on recreation and the ecosystem under the Public Trust doctrine, which states all natural resources are held in trust by the state for the greatest beneficial use by the public. That was once automatically considered to be farming, industry and municipal uses. But in recent years, recreation, aesthetics and the environment have gained equal footing.

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News release: ACWA presents leadership award to PCWA general manager Andy Fecko

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 13:06:00 +0000

The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) today presented its 2024 Excellence in Water Leadership Award to Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) General Manager Andy Fecko for his leadership and commitment to water resource issues, especially in reducing fuel load in our National Forest system lands. At PCWA, Fecko manages several billion dollars of infrastructure that must be operational at all times, including during and after wildfires that have become more common and destructive in the past decade. In response to the devastating Kings Fire in 2014, Fecko led the region’s creation of the French Meadows Forest Restoration Project – a public/private forest health partnership. The project consists of 30,000 acres of ecological thinning within the Tahoe National Forest. This is a first-of-its-kind project that established the formula for success in California forest management, which is based on collaboration.

Related article:

Globe News Wire: ACWA Honors East Valley Water District for its Innovative, Multi-Beneficial Wastewater Treatment Facility

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Here’s what you need to know about proposals to save the Colorado River

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 12:58:00 +0000

The Colorado River is in trouble. More than two decades of megadrought fueled by climate change have sapped its supplies, and those who use the river’s water are struggling to rein in demand. Now, with current rules for river sharing set to expire in 2026, policymakers have a rare opportunity to rework how Western water is managed.

Related articles:

KNAU – Arizona Public Radio: Feds finalize Colorado River shortage agreement

Cache Valley Daily: State water needs and the Colorado River

The Coloradoan: Larimer County commissioners approve city of Thornton’s water pipeline application

E&E News: ‘Wet’ era looms for Colorado River Basin, analysis finds

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Nederland repeals rights of nature to make way for dam project

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 12:56:00 +0000

The effort to grant “rights of nature” to Boulder Creek through Nederland as a legacy for generations to come lasted less than three years. The human guardians appointed to voice those rights lasted less than five months. The Nederland town board voted unanimously late Tuesday to repeal a 2021 rights of nature resolution meant to give a policy voice to watershed environmental protections, in clearly stated pique at a nonprofit group opposing a dam the town wants to build on the creek’s middle branch. Nederland board members claimed they were misled by Save the World’s Rivers and its leader Gary Wockner to bolster river protections, only to have the group file formal objections in water court to Nederland’s plan for a new reservoir on Middle Boulder Creek.

Related articles:

Huffington Post: An Ugly Fight Is Brewing Over Public Lands In Colorado

The Aspen Times: Colorado lawmakers agree on approach to protect state wetlands

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Water board’s nitrogen order reverberates throughout California

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 12:28:00 +0000

Six years ago the state water board approved an order establishing new nitrogen monitoring and reporting requirements in the Central Valley. Growers in other regions have faced similar mandates.

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Friday Top of the Scroll: California heat wave could speed melt of abnormal snowpack

Alastair Bland — Fri, 10 May 2024 12:26:00 +0000

Rainfall and snow storms boosted California’s groundwater supplies and replenished the Sierra Nevada snowpack, but scientists say dry conditions in the summer — and starting as soon as this weekend — could reverse that progress. … temperatures in California — including in San Francisco — are forecast to climb over their usual seasonal highs. That could accelerate the rate at which the state’s snowpack melts, according to Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and station manager at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory …

Related articles:

KUER – Salt Lake City: Thanks to NASA-born tech (and lasers), Utah is getting a precision look at its snowpack

Sacramento Bee: California reservoir water and drought status in May 2024

NIDIS: Snow drought expands in parts of the West with early and rapid snowmelt

Active NorCal: Lake Tahoe Set to Reach Full Capacity for First Time in Nearly Five Years

ABC 30 – Fresno: Water levels expected to rise in Merced River

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In millions of homes, high fluoride in tap water may be a concern

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 15:03:00 +0000

The town of Seagraves sits on the high plains of West Texas, not far from the New Mexico border. Nearby, water pumped from the Ogallala Aquifer irrigates fields of peanuts and cotton. Dissolved in that West Texas water are copious amounts of fluoride. The tap water in Seagraves contains levels of the mineral that many experts believe could have neurotoxic effects, lowering children’s IQs. The science on that effect is unsettled, and most experts say better research is needed. But nearly everyone agrees that at some point, high fluoride levels ought to be a matter of greater concern — even if they don’t always agree on what that point is. Many cities add low levels of fluoride to drinking water in a bid to prevent tooth decay, but the policy has long been controversial. Lost in that debate are the roughly 3 million Americans whose water naturally contains higher concentrations of fluoride — often at levels that even some fluoridation advocates now acknowledge could have neurodevelopmental effects.

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Blog: Coastal Commission approves Humboldt Bay seawater intake system upgrades needed for Nordic Aquafarms project

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 14:47:00 +0000

After more than an hour of discussion, which included the addition of some new conditions of approval by staff as well as public comments both in opposition and support, the California Coastal Commission unanimously approved the project. In granting the Harbor District’s permit application, the commission cleared away one of the last remaining administrative hurdles for Nordic Aquafarms’ proposed fish-production factory on the Samoa Peninsula. The coastal development permit will allow the Harbor District to upgrade its seawater intake infrastructure in Humboldt Bay, install new underground water pipelines along the bay, perform a variety of environmental mitigation activities and, eventually, withdraw up to 11.8 million gallons of water per day for tenants in the future National Marine Research and Innovation Park.

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Klamath River dam removal: Where restoration stands after initial drawdown phase

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 14:26:00 +0000

It’s the largest salmon restoration project in the world and its happening in our backyard. In the past few months, four dams on the Klamath River have been disabled and the river is flowing freely for the first time in more than a century. … The initial phase of drawdown – the draining of Iron Gate, Copco, and JC Boyle reservoirs – is now complete.

Related Klamath basin article:

Ducks Unlimited – Blog: Klamath Basin Refuges Flooded For First Time Since 2020

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Opinion: Tough PFAS drinking water standards add major compliance burden

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 13:57:00 +0000

Businesses should start preparing for more regulatory notification and reporting, recordkeeping obligations, and potential liability now that the Environmental Protection Agency has issued its first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking-water standards for “forever chemicals.” The EPA has set near-zero maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs, for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and we expect this development to broadly impact PFAS regulation. Water systems operating under state drinking water standards for PFAS will have to comply with the more stringent MCLs. The costs to treat PFAS in drinking water to meet the MCLs will cost billions of dollars.
-Written by Jeffrey Dintzer and Gregory Berlin of the Alston & Bird law firm.

Related article:

Roseville Today: Roseville, what’s in your drinking water?

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Hundreds sue city over floods, say it ‘failed’ on stormwater

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 13:53:00 +0000

After yearslong battles with the city of San Diego over crumbling stormwater infrastructure in their southeastern San Diego neighborhoods, hundreds of people whose homes and businesses were damaged by flash flood waters in January are now suing the city. The $100 million mass tort lawsuit has nearly 300 plaintiffs — homeowners and renters as well as business owners in the communities of Southcrest, Logan Heights and others along the Chollas Creek watershed. The lawsuit contends that city leaders have known for years that the creek and stormwater infrastructure around it are in urgent need of attention.

Related flooding articles:

KPBS: Hundreds of San Diego flood victims sue city over stormwater system

San Bernardino Sun: Jury awards sisters $18 million from insurance company that offered only $5,000 for storm damage

Engineering News-Record: Got AI? You’ll need it as climate change worsens flood risk

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Incredible before-and-after images of reservoirs are proof of California’s winter deluges

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 13:50:00 +0000

After another wet winter, record rainfall has turned California green and replenished the state’s reservoirs, which had been perilously low during the worst days of the drought. Lake Oroville, the state’s second-biggest reservoir, often serves as a rainfall barometer. As of Tuesday, Oroville was at 100% capacity, according to data from the state Department of Water Resources. … The left photograph shows Enterprise Bridge on Dec. 21, 2022, when the lake was at 29% of its total capacity. The right side shows the same area April 24, 2024, when the lake was at 96% of capacity — a figure it has now eclipsed. As of May 7, Lake Oroville was at 128% of its historical level. Lake Shasta, the state’s largest reservoir, was 97% full Tuesday, or 115% of its historical level.

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Newsom touts billions in climate spending through California’s cap-and-trade program

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 13:38:00 +0000

Over the past decade, a signature California program that charges polluters for their planet-heating emissions has generated billions of dollars for state initiatives, and Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that these revenues are effectively helping to reduce pollution and combat climate change. … The program has also supported projects intended to reduce wildfire risk by thinning vegetation and restoring degraded forests. … Another issue that has generated criticism is the fact that about 65% of the annual cap-and-trade revenues must be dedicated each year to several programs, with 25% going to high-speed rail and the remainder split between affordable housing, transit and rail, low-carbon transit operations, and safe drinking water.

Related articles:

Los Angeles Times: Warmest April on record extends planet’s hot streak to 11 months

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Thursday Top of the Scroll: Third San Joaquin Valley groundwater basin recommended for state probation

Alastair Bland — Thu, 09 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Subsidence has reared its head again as a key factor cited by state Water Resources Control Board staff for recommending that the Kaweah groundwater subbasin be placed on probation – the first step toward possible state takeover of groundwater pumping. The recommendation was contained in a draft report released May 6, which set Nov. 5 for Kaweah’s hearing before the Water Board. Subsidence was listed as a major factor in similar staff reports for the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins. Tulare Lake was, indeed, placed on probation by the Water Board April 16 and the Tule subbasin comes before the board Sept. 17. The Kaweah report identified additional challenges for water managers in the subbasin, which covers the northern half of Tulare County’s valley portion into the eastern fringes of Kings County.

Related articles:

Ag Alert: Steelhead protections could bring new water restrictions

KSEE24 and CBS47 Fresno: Blog - Fresno County farmers waiting for higher water allocation

Agri-Pulse Communications: A bill on tribal water rights could ‘short circuit’ progress on Bay-Delta Plan, say critics

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