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Leaders and Experts

Aquafornia news June 6, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Amid row over ‘drought berries,’ German lawmakers cancel trip to southern Spain

A German parliamentary delegation canceled plans Monday for a visit to fruit farms in a drought-hit region of southern Spain, after a campaign in Germany to discourage consumers from buying “drought berries” sparked political controversy. The cross-party visit by nine German lawmakers this week was meant to include a stop in the Doñana national park in Andalusia, home to some of Europe’s most important wetlands. The conservative regional government of Andalusia, which is experiencing its worst drought in nearly three decades, wants to expand water extraction rights in the wetlands. Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made the matter an issue in the campaign ahead of elections next month.

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Aquafornia news June 6, 2023 Scientific American

The first two botanists who surveyed, and survived, the Colorado River

In the summer of 1938 the first women known to travel the entire Colorado River—and survive—documented the flora and fauna of the region before it was further reshaped by Western development. They were white botanists in academia who battled both the usual obstacles in scientific expeditions and some unusual ones: doubters telling them they were doomed to fail, a lack of funding, the serious risk of injury or even death and, for one of the botanists, her father’s permission. Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter wrangled the only experienced river runner available, Norm Nevills, who insisted they find some river runners turned expedition volunteers to accompany them safely through the journey.

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Aquafornia news June 6, 2023 Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: Restoring rivers, restoring community

Healthy ecosystems are good for everyone in California—they provide us with abundant wildlife and fisheries, clean drinking water, and needed space in nature for recreation, among other benefits. Here at the PPIC Water Policy Center, we’ve studied restoration issues in the past—including the importance of restoring more natural flow patterns,  improving permitting, and storing water for the environment. This year we brought in three CalTrout Ecosystem Fellows to look at another major challenge in river restoration: community engagement. There is a lot of literature on the importance of stakeholder engagement in restoration work. Studies in the US and internationally have shown that robust engagement can improve restoration outcomes.

Related articles: 

  • American Rivers: Quantifying Restoration Opportunities At Elk Slough
  • The Pew Charitable Trusts: Blog - A chance to honor those protecting America’s waterways
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Aquafornia news June 6, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Rights to California’s most important resource are built on injustice. New legislation seeks to change that

Who gets California’s water, and how much, is a high-stakes affair, and it’s based on a system of water rights born long ago, when the West was wild — and often unfair. The first-come, first-served pecking order established during European settlement gave the new and dominant landowners first dibs on pumping rivers and creeks. The beneficiaries, which include the likes of San Francisco and its pristine supplies in Yosemite, continue to enjoy tremendous advantage, consuming water with little constraint while others sometimes go without. Amid growing water shortages and focus on equity, the system has begun drawing increased scrutiny. Last week the state Legislature weighed in with the unusual step of advancing measures that would help regulators rein in the most privileged and profligate water users.

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Aquafornia news June 5, 2023 California WaterBlog

Blog: Water wasted to the sea?

If we farmed the Central Valley or managed water supplies for San Francisco, San Jose, or Los Angeles, we might think that freshwater flowing from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers through the Delta to San Francisco Bay is “wasted” because it ends up in the Pacific Ocean as an unused resource. However, different perspectives emerge as we follow the downstream movement of river water through the Delta and into San Francisco Bay. If we were Delta farmers or administered Contra Costa County’s water supply, we would value how high flows reduce salt intrusion (Jassby et al. 1995) and protect water quality for drinking, growing crops, and meeting other customer needs. If we were responsible for protecting at-risk species, we would value river water that flows through the Delta to the Bay and ocean because it stimulates migration and spawning of native Chinook salmon, Delta Smelt, Longfin Smelt, and Sacramento Splittail …

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Aquafornia news June 5, 2023 Santa Maria Times

Opinion: Newsom’s CEQA changes scorn people most affected

It looks at times as if Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to imitate Jerry Brown as he tries to gut California’s main environmental protection law, at least for large infrastructure projects like reservoirs, road and bridges. Brown certainly did reduce the clout of the 1970 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA, usually pronounced “see-qua”) during his fourth and final term as governor, mainly clearing the way for large spectator sports facilities … Essentially, CEQA would have few teeth if Newsom gets his way. One pet plan is a long-stymied version of the old Peripheral Canal project, rejected overwhelmingly 43 years ago by state voters. That has now morphed into a plan to bring Sacramento River water south to customers of the state Water Project via a tunnel under the Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.
-Written by Email Thomas Elias, author of ”The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It.” ​

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Aquafornia news June 5, 2023 Voice of San Diego

Morning report: State steps into San Diego’s water divorce debate

A bill in the state Assembly would make it harder for local water districts to leave their regional partnerships if they’re seeking cheaper water rates. That’s what two small, North County farming communities have been fighting to do for the last three years.  Rep. Tasha Boerner’s bill, AB 530, seeks to change the County Water Authority Act by requiring a countywide vote before any water district could buy water from a different county.  Background: Rainbow Municipal Water District and Fallbrook Public Utility District want to ditch the San Diego County Water Authority to buy cheaper water from Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County.  

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Aquafornia news June 5, 2023 Nature

The US Supreme Court has gutted federal protection for wetlands — now what?

Wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services related to water quality, flood control, aquifer recharge, shoreline stabilization and species habitats. A broader lesson is that environmental law, to be effective, must take science into account. … Sadly, the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency demonstrates that a majority of the justices never learnt that lesson. The case has eviscerated federal protection of wetlands under the Clean Water Act, the principal federal law responsible for the improvement of the country’s water quality over the past 50 years. 

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Aquafornia news June 5, 2023 Union of Concerned Scientists

Blog: California agriculture could use an ancient history lesson

While ancient cultures are substantially different to our current reality and there is much more to say than what I write here, learning about ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations can give us some clarity to better understand California today. … Unsustainable agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley, which is the most profitable agricultural region in the United States by far, has caused the destruction of 95% of its original wetlands, making it an arid land rather than the once-humid region it was. That destruction also ended most of the natural resilience of the San Joaquin Valley to cope with climate extremes, including the unpredictable and destructive floods we are seeing this year.

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Aquafornia news June 5, 2023 The Washington Post

Arizona and southwest states grapple with water shortages, drought

 … In one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, it’s a boom time — water-intensive microchip companies and data centers moving in; tens of thousands of houses spreading deep into the desert. But it is also a time of crisis: Climate change is drying up the American West and putting fundamental resources at ever greater risk. … The decision by Arizona in the past week to limit residential construction in some parts of the fast-growing Phoenix suburbs is another major warning about how climate change is disrupting lifestyles and economies in the West.

Related articles: 

  • The Nevada Independent: No one wants another dust bowl
  • Las Vegas Sun: Opinion – No time to waste for government to protect drought-stricken West
  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: Overnight releases from Davis Dam temporarily reduced​
  • jfleck@inkstain: Deadpool Diaries – June 1 Colorado River system status report
  • Arizona Republic: Colorado River water cuts should follow Acequia rules 
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Aquafornia news June 2, 2023 Somach Simmons & Dunn

Blog: State Water Resources Control Board considering amendments to the Bay-Delta Plan to incorporate tribal beneficial uses

The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary Water Quality Control Plan (Bay-Delta Plan) is currently undergoing its periodic review of updates and amendments by the State Water Resources Control Board. Tribal representatives have requested the incorporation of recognized Tribal Beneficial Use (TBU) definitions to the Bay-Delta Plan. If these definitions are incorporated in the Bay-Delta Plan, the State Water Board must also amend or establish water quality objectives and implementation programs to achieve and maintain water quality sufficient for these designated beneficial uses. … The State Water Board is holding an informational meeting on June 7, 2023, to discuss the potential addition of TBUs to the Bay-Delta Plan.

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Aquafornia news June 2, 2023 Produce Blue Book

Blog: Storing California’s water in the ground

Groundwater depletion has been an acknowledged fact in California for decades, but for a long time it was stuffed into a thick file labeled “Something Somebody Oughta Do Something About Sometime.” That changed forever in 2014, when the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was passed by the state government. SGMA (pronounced sigma) has a goal of groundwater sustainability by 2040. That means less water pumped out of the ground, and in many parts of state, that will mean less agriculture. Estimates of the amount of land that will have to be fallowed range up to 900,000 or 1 million acres.

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Aquafornia news June 2, 2023 National Law Review

California wetlands exempt from SCOTUS Sackett ruling

In a sweeping decision, the Supreme Court last week eliminated federal protection for more than half the wetlands in the United States…The Supreme Court decision only impacts federal regulation of wetlands. States are free to impose their own regulations. And California does…Developers in California will need to continue to step carefully where wetlands are involved.

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Aquafornia news June 2, 2023 The Center Square

Amid debt ceiling vote, California senator pushing for increased water funding

As the United States Senate will soon vote to suspend the debt ceiling, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, D-California, is pushing for the federal government to spend more on water. Padilla serves as Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife.  He hosted a hearing this week entitled “Water Affordability and Small Water Systems Assistance” which looked at, “rising water rates, aging infrastructure, and extreme weather events are increasing water affordability challenges for communities across the country,” according to a press release from his office. During the meeting, advocates pushed for a permanent national water assistance program; they argued that such a program would particularly benefit rural areas.

Related article:

  • Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom: News release - What they’re saying: Governor Newsom’s proposals to build more, faster
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Aquafornia news June 1, 2023 KCRA - Sacramento

Sen. Alex Padilla focuses on water affordability in hearing

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., convened his first hearing as chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, on Wednesday. Sen. Padilla appeared on the KCRA News morning show on My58 and said the hearing will focus on how rising water rates, aging infrastructure and extreme weather events have affected access and affordability of clean water across the country. … According to a state audit in 2022, California required an estimated $64.7 billion to upgrade its water infrastructure. In April, the EPA awarded a fraction of that, $391 million. To hear more about the subcommittee’s initiatives, watch the attached video.

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Aquafornia news June 1, 2023 Coastal View

Advanced water purification coming to a town near you

Each and every day, the Carpinteria Sanitary District sends over one million gallons of highly treated water through our outfall pipeline and into the Pacific Ocean. In 2016 we began working in partnership with the Carpinteria Valley Water District on a plan to recapture this valuable resource and create a new, drought-proof water supply for our community. The Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project, or CAPP, has now moved into the final design stage. We are just a few short years away from having a reliable source of highly purified water that will augment our local groundwater aquifer and meet a quarter of Carpinteria’s demand for potable water.
-Written by Craig Murray, General Manager of the Carpinteria Sanitary District. 

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Aquafornia news June 1, 2023 CalMatters

California to send $95 million to undocumented flooding victims – months after promising ‘rapid response’

California will send $95 million to flood victims in a long-awaited program to assist undocumented residents suffering hardship and damage from the recent months of storms. The money will be available in many affected counties starting in June, according to the state’s Department of Social Services.  The announcement comes two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom promised flood victims that help would come from the state’s Rapid Response Fund. Since then his office provided few details despite repeated queries and criticism.  Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Newsom, said state officials were trying to ensure the program would be accessible to a population that is often hard to reach, while also protecting taxpayer funds from fraud.

Related articles:

  • KRCR – Redding: Anderson residents continue to ask for help as A.C.I.D canal floods local neighborhoods
  • Army Corps of Engineers: Public meetings scheduled for Lower San Joaquin River Project
  • Engineering News-Record: California Water Agencies Outline $3.2B Plan for Central Valley Flood Prevention Projects
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Aquafornia news June 1, 2023 The New York Times

Opinion: California’s snow is melting and it’s a beautiful thing

My fellow Californians often remark that the weather in this state feels like it has been reduced to two seasons, both defined by natural disasters: In summer and fall, huge, intense wildfires rip their way across dry land, while winter and early spring bring intense atmospheric rivers with heavy rainfall, floods and landslides along with winds that take down trees. The weather extremes here are so common, and climate change is so in your face, that many people now just expect to jump from one natural disaster to the next. And this pessimism means it’s hard to enjoy it when — for once — nature deals us a good hand. But this year, after several brutal years of fighting drought, we finally got the water that we have so sorely needed for so long. We damn well better enjoy it. 
-Written by Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and station manager at the University of California, Berkeley, Central Sierra Snow Lab.

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Aquafornia news June 1, 2023 California WaterBlog

Blog: What’s the dam problem with deadbeat dams?

(Editor’s Note: This is a repost of a blog originally published in June 2020).

Damming rivers was once a staple of public works and a signal of technological and scientific progress. Even today, dams underpin much of California’s public safety and economy, while having greatly disrupted native ecosystems (Quiñones et al. 2015, Moyle et al. 2017), displaced native peoples (Garrett 2010), and deprived residents of water access when streamflow is transported across basins. California’s dams are aging and many will require expensive reconstruction or rehabilitation. Many dams were built for landscapes, climates and economic purposes that no longer exist. California’s current dams reflect an accumulation of decisions over the past 170 years based on environmental, political, and socio-economic dynamics that have changed, sometimes radically.

Related article: 

  • American Rivers: Dam Safety Is Top Priority In California 
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Aquafornia news June 1, 2023 SJV Water

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Slew of water bills swirl around Sacramento

Senior water rights holders have arguably the sweetest deal in California water. They often have ironclad deals and some even get access to substantial water during the worst of drought.  But three new bills in the state legislature are taking aim at senior water rights in an attempt to level the playing field. The bills propose expanding the authority of the state Water Resources Control Board. Senior water rights date back to before 1914, when there was no permitting or state water authority yet. For years, advocacy groups have decried the water rights system and demanded changes. Some of those changes could become reality if legislators and the governor approve the current bills. 

Related article: 

  • Office of Rebecca Bauer-Kahan: Bauer-Kahan’s Bill To Protect Water Supply Passes Assembly 
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