A vitamin deficiency likely killed as many as
half of newly hatched fry of endangered winter-run Chinook
salmon in the Sacramento River in 2020 and 2021. These new
findings were published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. The deficiency of
thiamine, or Vitamin B1, is linked to
large-scale shifts in the ocean ecosystem. These shifts changed
the prey adult salmon consume before they return to West Coast
rivers to spawn, scientists reported. They said the longtime
loss of habitat and water has already weakened many California
salmon populations. Further declines from thiamine deficiency
or other impacts may lead to their extinction. The deficiency
syndrome can also affect salmon runs like the Central Valley’s
fall-run that once supported valuable commercial fisheries
across California. They have since dwindled to the point that
commercial ocean salmon fishing in California has been closed
for the last 3 years. … Anchovy manufacture an enzyme
called thiaminase that breaks down thiamine and can, in turn,
affect salmon that eat large amounts of the small fish.
The Trump administration is proposing to cut the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers’ construction budget next fiscal year by
more than half, a move that could devastate levee restoration
projects in the Delta. The proposed cuts, which would reduce
the construction budget by 53% compared to the amount
previously allocated, could include work on the San Joaquin
Basin Project in Stockton, said U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy.
The basin project is directed at protecting 300,000 residents
from flooding. Harder is one of 12 members of Congress who
sent a letter urging that funding be restored. The
congressional members sent the letter to the chairperson and
ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee and the
Energy and Water Subcommittee. … Besides the San Joaquin
Basin Project, the letter lists other environmental works that
are in jeopardy. One involves 42 miles of American River levees
protecting Sacramento and the Natomas Basin. Another includes
41 miles of levees along the Sacramento River and its ship
canal that would protect West Sacramento.
Demler Brothers Egg Ranch is proposing a newwastewater handling
system to address one of the major issues that resulted in a
cease-and-desist order from the San Diego Regional Water
Quality Control Board. The order against Demler Brothers, often
referred to by its former name of Pine Hill, was issued in
November 2023 after a three-year investigation over complaints
about odors and possibly contaminated water runoff at the
facility at 25818 Highway 78 in Ramona. The
improper discharge of wastewater used for
washing eggs produced at the ranch resulted in the
contamination of two nearby creeks and stormwater basins, water
board staff reported. Although water board inspectors
originally found high levels of ammonium-nitrate and phosphorus
at the egg ranch, later tests found almost no contaminants
after the facility began putting all of the egg wash wastewater
into temporary holding tanks and hauling it offsite. The
new wastewater system will feature 34 above-ground,
double-lined evaporation ponds housed in four barns.
Good news for whitewater rafters: Improvements at Indian Bar
are complete. At its June 19 meeting, the Placer County Water
Agency (PCWA) Board of Directors authorized the filing of a
Notice of Completion for the Indian Bar River Access Project,
just in time for peak summer rafting and fishing season.
Located near Foresthill, the improved site provides safer and
more convenient access to one of California’s premier
whitewater rafting destinations. … The $1.7 million Indian
Bar project improves access to the Middle Fork of the American
River just downstream of the Agency’s Ralston Afterbay (Oxbow
Reservoir) near Foresthill. The Ralston Afterbay Dam is located
just below the confluence of the Middle Fork American and
Rubicon rivers. … The raft put in site is next to PCWA’s
Oxbow Powerhouse tailrace, the channel that carries water from
the powerhouse to the river’s main channel.
Lake Berryessa remains free of invasive freshwater mussels —
for now. But the recent arrival of golden mussels in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has prompted Napa County to
bolster its efforts to keep the pests out. On Tuesday, the Napa
County Board of Supervisors signaled support for a new
ordinance that would give county inspectors and sheriff’s
deputies the authority to stop and inspect any vehicles,
trailers, boats or other watercraft that could be carrying
mussels — either adult or larval — at any of the lake’s resort
areas. The ordinance would also allow them to issue citations,
including fines and misdemeanor charges, to violators. The
inspection program itself isn’t new, said Thomas Zeleny, chief
deputy county counsel. The ordinance essentially codifies what
the county is already doing. … Sheriff Oscar Ortiz added
that existing rules lack enforcement power. Right now, there’s
“no teeth” — nothing inspectors can actually write a citation
for, he said.
In a comment letter to the state Water Resources Control Board,
one of the plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit over Kern River
flows alleges information has been withheld from the region’s
groundwater plan to the detriment of the river. Water Audit
California states a number of entities, including the City of
Bakersfield and its main drinking water purveyor California
Water Services, “…failed to disclose the adverse impacts that
their groundwater extraction is having on
interconnected surface waters, thereby causing
injury to the public trust and its biological components,”
according to the June 20 letter. … Water Audit contends
that diverting Kern River water into groundwater recharge
basins that are then pumped for drinking water, creates an
interconnectivity that may affect stream flows. … Kern’s
plan states that there are no areas of interconnectivty in the
subbasin per the definition under SGMA regulations, which is
that there must be a continuous connection between underground
and overlying surface water.
Beginning January 1, 2025, the “Making Conservation a
California Way of Life” regulatory framework requires
urban retail water suppliers — not individual households or
businesses — to adopt a series of “urban water use
objectives.” And beginning January 1, 2027, the
regulations require urban retail water suppliers to annually
demonstrate compliance with those objectives. The objectives
are calculated based on indoor residential water use; outdoor
residential water use; commercial, industrial and institutional
irrigation use; and potable reuse. Implementation of the
objectives includes setting and meeting specific targets for
reducing water use per capita, improving system efficiency, and
reporting progress to state regulators. Urban retail water
suppliers are also required to implement water conservation
programs, support the development of drought–resilient
infrastructure, and encourage customers to adopt water-saving
practices such as using “climate ready” landscapes.
… Known as floating photovoltaics, or floatovoltaics, the
devices bob on simple floats, generating power while providing
shade that reduces evaporation. … As floatovoltaic systems
rapidly proliferate — the market is expected to grow an average
of 23 percent each year between 2025 and 2030 — scientists are
investigating how the technology might influence ecosystems.
The shading, for instance, might stunt the growth of algae that
some species eat — but at the same time, it might also prevent
the growth of toxic algae. The floats might prevent waterbirds
from landing — but also might provide habitat for them to hide
from predators. By better understanding these dynamics,
scientists say that if companies are willing, they can work
with manufacturers to customize floatovoltaics to produce as
much electricity as possible while also benefiting wildlife as
much as possible.
The plan to put millions of acres of California forests, parks
and other public federal lands at risk of being sold got a
devastating, probably lethal, blow as the Senate
parliamentarian ruled lawmakers could not consider the proposal
as part of its “Big Beautiful Bill” this week. Before such
legislation can be considered by the Senate, Parliamentarian
Elizabeth MacDonough has to make sure what’s in it involves
fiscal policy. She decided the plan to sell the land did not
meet the standard. Popular destinations near Sacramento and
Lake Tahoe were on the original plan’s proposed sale list from
the Wilderness Society. … Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, led the
effort to sell up to 3 million acres nationwide. He vowed after
the ruling to keep fighting. “Stay tuned. We’re just getting
started,” he said in a post on X. … He outlined some of the
steps he plans. He said he would not be “selling off our
forests,” and only land within 5 miles of population centers
would be eligible for sales.
San Diego County leaders are committing the county to stepping
up efforts to help residents bearing the brunt of the
decades-long Tijuana River sewage crisis. On Tuesday, the Board
of Supervisors voted 3-1 to explore what it would take to
administer a plan that calls for further monitoring and
mitigation of cross-border pollution from Mexico and
implementing health protections. The plan, proposed by Imperial
Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and brought before the board by
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, consists of five key elements:
study the health impacts of chronic exposure to the toxic sewer
gas hydrogen sulfide; assess the full scope of crisis-linked
economic losses; eliminate a hot spot along the Tijuana River
to lessen aerosolization of the gas; and create a county sewage
crisis chief position. It also suggests giving schools and
child care centers air filtration that’s engineered to remove
hydrogen sulfide from the air if the county can show that the
infrastructure will effectively eliminate odors.
Several governors of Western states on Tuesday endorsed
formalizing a partnership to help each other deal with the
aftermath of increasingly devastating wildfires, citing the
long-term effects of post-fire flooding and also uncertainty
about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
future. Governors from New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and
Colorado attended a panel discussion on the topic of post-fire
flooding at the Western Governors’ Association meeting in Santa
Fe. … The governors described the phenomenon as increasingly
urgent due to wildfires burning hotter and larger across the
West. High-severity wildfires can change soil composition,
converting even modest rainstorms that fall on burn scars into
potential floods or debris flows. … (Utah Gov. Spencer) Cox,
who on Tuesday was named the new WGA chair, said he would
spearhead an effort to create a regional partnership.
The typical American household consumes approximately 300
gallons of water daily. However, a segment of the population
still experiences water insecurity, a troubling trend that is
increasing and not limited to the southwestern United States. A
group of Arizona State University academics have documented
this emerging development in a new paper titled “When the
Household is the Utility: Ensuring Equitable Water Service for
Rural U.S. Communities Served by Decentralized Water Systems.”
Co-authored by Lee E. Voth-Gaeddert, a research professor
with the Biodesign Institute, and Claire Cropper, a PhD
student and researcher in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of
Engineering, the paper reveals that economically disadvantaged
populations and rural households that aren’t connected to piped
water are much more likely to experience water insecurity. In
terms of numbers, that’s roughly 12% of the U.S. population or
about 40 million people, Voth-Gaeddert and Cropper estimate.
The Colorado River runs over 1,450 miles through seven US
states, carving dramatic canyons and providing drinking water
for 40 million people before it crosses into Mexico. … Now,
in some of the region’s driest stretches, tech companies are
bringing a massive influx of water-guzzling data centers. …
Documents reviewed by Business Insider show that some of these
large data centers, football-field-size warehouses filled with
computer servers that power the artificial intelligence
revolution, could each demand millions of gallons of water a
day, enough for tens of thousands of Americans. Business
Insider found that 40% of the nation’s planned and existing
data centers are in areas that the nonprofit World Resources
Institute, which focuses on sustainability research, has
characterized as experiencing “extremely high” or “high” water
scarcity. … We found 24 of the largest centers, and 379
smaller ones, in the four states now negotiating over Colorado
River allotments.
Lifelong San José resident Apollo-Genesis Braddock-Layton has
fished the Pacific Coast’s shore for as long as he can
remember—catching horseshoe crabs, smelt, and stingrays while
listening to his grandfather’s stories of fishing in the
Philippines. “That’s how he had to feed his family,”
Braddock-Layton says. “If they didn’t catch fish that day, they
didn’t eat.” … But it’s likely that these fish contain
PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which
have been manufactured by chemical companies since the 1940s.
… PFAS ranks among the most concerning chemicals the San
Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) studies, says environmental
scientist Miguel Mendez, and they’ve slipped their way into the
Bay through runoff. … But this news won’t stop some Bay Area
residents like Braddock-Layton from fishing. While learning
about PFAS in fish “makes me not want to fish in the Bay
anymore,” he says, “I would most definitely go back.”
A sudden storm over Lake Tahoe Saturday afternoon churned up
towering waves and fierce winds that capsized a boat, killing
eight people and injuring more. What happened in less than an
hour is now being called one of the deadliest weather-related
boating accidents in recent Tahoe history — and a powerful
reminder of how quickly and violently mountain weather can
change. This tragic event raises urgent questions: What caused
such extreme weather? Could anyone have predicted it? And is it
something that could happen again? … While detailed regional
modeling of Lake Tahoe’s summer thunderstorms is limited, major
climate assessments point to broader trends that could impact
storm behavior in the Sierra Nevada. … Findings suggest a
shift toward stronger, more abrupt convective storms. That has
implications for Lake Tahoe, where an afternoon downdraft
hitting warm lake air could generate sudden wind spikes and
dangerous waves similar to those seen on June 21.
The United States Bureau of Reclamation celebrated the 80th
anniversary of the Shasta Dam and Powerplant’s completion, a
key element of California’s Central Valley Project. Acting
Regional Director Adam Nickels honored the 4,700 workers and
their families who contributed to this engineering milestone
from 1938 to 1945. … On June 20, 1945, the Bureau of
Reclamation officially took control of both the dam and power
plant from Pacific Constructors, Incorporated. Towering at 602
feet tall, Shasta Dam is the second-largest concrete dam in the
U.S., stretching 3,460 feet across the Sacramento River. It
required 6.5 million cubic yards of concrete, enough to circle
the Earth’s equator with a 3-foot-wide sidewalk.
… Shasta Reservoir, formed by the dam, is California’s
largest water storage facility, holding over 4.5 million
acre-feet of water.
… In his May Revision, Newsom endorsed a proposal to fast
track housing production and urged lawmakers to do the same for
the controversial Delta Conveyance Project.
Specifics weren’t available Tuesday, but main components of two
bills to streamline the California Environmental Quality Act to
speed housing projects would be included in future trailer
bills, according to the Senate analysis. Lawmakers declined to
take action to cut red tape on the Delta Conveyance Project, a
long-discussed plan to divert water from the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta down to Southern California. The governor had
said the project was necessary for climate adaptation, and
should bypass unneeded delays. There were no details about why
lawmakers rejected the governor’s suggestion, although several
legislators recently voted to audit the project, a proposal
that was ultimately shot down.
Four major Front Range water managers have requested a state
hearing to fully air their objections to a Western Slope plan
to purchase historic, coveted Colorado River
water rights. The Colorado River Water Conservation District,
which represents 15 Western Slope counties, is leading the
effort to purchase the $99 million water rights tied to the
century-old Shoshone Power Plant, owned by a subsidiary of Xcel
Energy. The district wants to buy the rights to protect
historical water resources for Western Slope communities long
into the future. Front Range water managers — Aurora Water,
Denver Water, Colorado Springs Utilities and Northern Water
— also want to maintain the historical flows past Shoshone
which provides stability for their water supplies. They just
disagree over the numbers, namely how much water is included in
the deal. If the number is too high, it could throw a wrench in
their water systems.
The first recreational salmon season in California in three
years made such a big splash on its opening weekend that the
next three dates have been canceled. More than 9,000
Chinook salmon were taken statewide by 10,505 sport anglers
during the season opener on June 7 and 8, exceeding the harvest
limit of 7,000 fish for the summer season. As a result, the
remaining summer dates on July 5-6, July 31 through Aug. 3 and
Aug. 25 through 31 have been closed, the National Marine
Fisheries Service announced Monday. The opening weekend offered
“some of the best fishing many longtime anglers can remember,”
said California Department of Fish and Wildlife in a media
release. “We’ve seen so many pictures and heard many stories of
people enjoying their time on the water with family and
friends,” said director Charlton H. Bonham. “By all accounts,
the weekend was a huge success.”
The California Farm Water Coalition announced today that its
executive director, Mike Wade, will be stepping down in
February. Wade has served as the organization’s head since
1998. During his time at the Coalition, Wade expanded the
organization’s public education and outreach programs to where
they now reach tens of millions of consumers a year with
positive messaging about the importance of adequate and
dependable water supplies for California farmers.
… During his time at the Coalition, Wade also led the
Agricultural Water Management Council, advancing efficient
water management practices across California’s agricultural
sector. At the Coalition, Wade helped organize initiatives like
the Cultivate California Program, which brought together dozens
of agricultural organizations and water agencies to
successfully engage the public through direct-to-consumer
educational media.
