Twenty-two early to mid-career water professionals from
across California have been chosen for the 2023 William R.
Gianelli Water Leaders Class, the Water Education Foundation’s
highly competitive and respected career development program.
This Water Leaders cohort includes engineers, lawyers, resource
specialists, scientists and others from a range of public and
private entities and nongovernmental organizations from
throughout the state. The roster for the 2023
class can be found
here. The Water Leaders program, led by
Foundation Executive Director Jennifer
Bowles, deepens knowledge on water, enhances
individual leadership skills and prepares participants to take
an active, cooperative approach to decision-making about water
resource issues. Leading experts and top policymakers
serve as mentors to class members.
An estimated 32 trillion gallons of water — in the form of rain
and snow — came down on California in a series of nine
back-to-back atmospheric rivers between late December and
mid-January. To put this in perspective, that amount is
just shy of the quantity of water held within Lake Tahoe, one
of the deepest lakes in North America. The lake has, on
average, about 37 trillion gallons of water. These storms
were destructive and deadly, claiming the lives of at least 20
people, and the estimated cost is likely to end up being in the
billions. And new research is revealing these storms will
likely become larger and drop even more rain than what we have
experienced so far this winter. Dr. Ruby Leung, an
atmospheric scientist at the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory in Washington state, joined CapRadio’s Vicki
Gonzalez to discuss what this means for California’s future.
With the Colorado River crisis deepening and the warming
climate continuing to rob streams and rivers of their flows,
talk in Colorado has resumed about how to limit growing water
demand statewide for residential use. A new report commissioned
by the Common Sense Institute and written by Colorado water
veterans Jennifer Gimbel and Eric Kuhn, cites the need for
broader conservation measures such as removing non-functional
turf in new development, among other things. … “We have
to do more with less,” said Kuhn. He cited projected statewide
population growth of 1.6 to 1.8 million new residents by 2050,
most along the Front Range, but also the probability that the
warming climate will make less water available, particularly
from the Colorado River.
It’s something of a Golden State paradox: Dry winters can pave
the way for dangerous fire seasons fueled by dead vegetation,
but wet winters — like the one the state has seen so far — can
also spell danger by spurring heaps of new growth that can
later act as fuel for flames. Experts say it’s too soon to know
with certainty what the upcoming fire season has in store. The
atmospheric rivers that pounded California in January have left
the state snow-capped and wet, which could be a fire deterrent
if soils stay damp. But if no more rains arrive — or if other,
less predictable factors such as lightning storms and heat
waves develop later in the year — all that progress could go
out the window.
Last year, the world watched as punishing heat and drought
killed people in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and floods
destroyed parts of Pakistan and the Philippines. This year,
we’ve seen torrential rain drowning sections of coastal
California. These events underscore the devastating role water
can play in a changing climate, something I have been studying
for the last two decades. … Last year, the Sixth
IPCC report showed clearly that climate change is causing
water insecurity. The report, which comes from the United
Nations, also showed how the extremes of water—floods,
shortages and droughts—are linked to the natural water
cycle. -Written by Vidhisha Samarasekara, a strategic program
director at the International Water Management
Institute.
At a time when climate change is making many areas of the
planet hotter and drier, it’s sobering to think that deserts
are relatively new biomes that have grown considerably over the
past 30 million years. Widespread arid regions, like the
deserts that today cover much of western North America, began
to emerge only within the past 5 to 7 million years.
Understanding how plants that invaded these harsh deserts
biomes were able to survive could help predict how ecosystems
will fare in a drier future. An intensive study of a group of
plants that first invaded emerging deserts millions of years
ago concludes that these pioneers — rock daisies — did not come
unequipped to deal with heat, scorching sun and lack of water.
The interior of the plane looked like a cross between a private
luxury jet and a space mission control room. The Gulfstream IV
cruised at 43,000 feet, high above a seemingly peaceful layer
of thick clouds that stretched to the horizon. Crew members in
blue jumpsuits stared at computer screens that revealed their
hidden target miles below: a powerful atmospheric river that
was churning across the Pacific Ocean toward California,
bearing torrential rains and fierce winds. Soaring more
than 1,000 miles northeast of Hawaii, the specially
equipped hurricane-reconnaissance jet “Gonzo” was preparing to
drop dozens of data-collecting devices into the heart of the
storm. By capturing the equivalent of a CT scan, the crew would
help to predict when and where the rains would hit. And how
hard.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is considering altering its
monthly Colorado River forecasting methods in the face of
criticism from experts inside and outside the agency that
predictions have been too optimistic. Changing forecast methods
could have major ramifications in how the bureau manages the
river, water experts say. Larger cutbacks in water deliveries
to Arizona, Nevada and California could possibly be triggered,
for example. The agency will consider starting to base its
forecasts on the past 20 years of flows into Lake Powell,
compared to the 30 years it uses now, a bureau official told
the Arizona Daily Star.
Water managers in the Colorado River basin are gaining a better
understanding that what happens in the weeks after peak
snowpack — not just how much snow accumulated over the winter —
can have an outsize influence on the year’s water supply. Water
year 2021 was historically bad, with an upper basin snowpack
that peaked around 90% of average but translated to only 36% of
average runoff into Lake Powell, according to the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation. It was the second-worst runoff on record after
2002. One of the culprits was exceptionally thirsty soils from
2020’s hot and dry summer and fall, which soaked up snowmelt
before runoff made it to streams. … But according
to the paper, in 2021, “rates of snowmelt throughout April were
alarming and quickly worsened summer runoff outlooks which
underscores that 1 April may no longer be a reliable benchmark
for western water supply.”
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Lithium
Resource Research and Innovation Center and Energy Storage
Center are currently studying the Salton Sea Known Geothermal
Resource Area, or SS KGRA, in Southern California’s Imperial
Valley as a potential domestic source of lithium for the United
States. The lithium is located in hot, salty water thousands of
feet below the Salton Sea, according to Meg Slattery, a PhD
student at UC Davis. It is expected to offer the most
sustainable source of lithium on Earth, said Will Stringfellow,
research engineer at Berkeley Lab, in an email.
Experts from NASA say a previously unmeasured underground
source accounts for about 10% of all the water that enters the
highly-productive Central Valley farmland each year. The NASA
study shows an average of four million acre-feet of water is
delivered through the soil and fractured rocks under
California’s Sierra Nevada mountains to the Central Valley
annually. Federal officials say the Central Valley
encompasses only 1% of the nation’s farmland but produces 40%
of the country’s fruits, vegetables, and nuts annually – but
that is only possible because of the intensive groundwater
pumping for irrigation as well as river and stream flows
captured in reservoirs. However, experts say growers who
are pumping more water than can be replenished by natural
sources are causing the ground level to sink and
requiring wells to be drilled deeper and deeper.
The seven states that depend on the Colorado River have missed
a Jan. 31 federal deadline for reaching a regionwide consensus
on how to sharply reduce water use, raising the likelihood of
more friction as the West grapples with how to take less
supplies from the shrinking river. In a bid to sway the process
after contentious negotiations reached an impasse, six of the
seven states gave the federal government a last-minute proposal
outlining possible water cuts to help prevent reservoirs from
falling to dangerously low levels, presenting a unified front
while leaving out California, which uses the single largest
share of the river. The six states — Arizona, Colorado, Nevada,
New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — called their proposal a
“consensus-based modeling alternative” that could serve as a
framework for negotiating a solution.
Just six months ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his
administration were boasting a budget surplus of $97.5 billion.
Today, thanks to a falling stock market and a weakened tech
sector, California has an apparently unforeseen budget deficit
of $22.5 billion. Cuts must be made. But Newsom’s proposed cuts
seemingly come at the expense of climate-related projects, a
curious decision from a governor who often speaks about how
confronting climate change is one of his key priorities.
Unsurprisingly, his actions do not meet the weight of his
words. Newsom’s budget proposal, ironically released on the
heels of an atmospheric river that unleashed catastrophic
flooding across the state, suggests slashing approximately $6
billion dollars from climate-related projects, including $40
million that had been promised to floodplain restoration
projects in the San Joaquin Valley.
No doubt you have watched a crime show where DNA analysis
reveals the identity of a victim or criminal. Or, you have read
accounts of how Neanderthal genes are part of our DNA. It is
still astonishing to think that such uses of DNA did not exist
until the Human Genome Project, finished about 20 years ago at
the cost of millions of dollars. Even more astonishing is that
low-cost methods of examining the genome of any animal or plant
are now available. … Moyle’s first venture into the
genomic world, with postdoc Jason Baumsteiger as his guide, was
to explore the genome of California roach (Hesperoleucus
symmetricus), a small fish endemic to much of central and
coastal California. They found that the single species
recognized when they started was actually five species
(Baumsteiger et al. 2019).
Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal
government’s retreat from a threatened deadline stymied a deal
last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the
parched Colorado River, emails obtained by The Associated Press
show. … Reclamation wanted the seven U.S. states that rely on
the river to decide how to cut 2 million to 4 million acre-feet
of water — or up to roughly one-third — on top of already
anticipated reductions. … California says it’s a partner
willing to sacrifice, but other states see it as a reluctant
participant clinging to a water priority system where it ranks
near the top. Arizona and Nevada have long felt they’re
unfairly forced to bear the brunt of cuts because of a water
rights system developed long ago, a simmering frustration that
reared its head during talks.
A flurry of storms unloaded historic amounts of rain and snow
across California over the past month. The deluges, fueled by a
parade of atmospheric rivers, filled reservoirs and have
improved drought conditions across large swaths of the state.
The Sierra snowpack has ballooned to more than double its usual
size for this time of year. The snow will continue to replenish
California’s water supplies as it melts during the warmer
months. …Picturesque locales where Californians ski and enjoy
other snow activities are burning in wildfires more often,
undergoing long-lasting changes that make snowpack melt
earlier. Snow can even melt in the middle of winter, before
reservoir managers are ready to shift from flood control to
water storage.
Four new members bringing a wide range of water resource
experiences and perspectives have joined the Water Education Foundation
Board. … Joining the board as new members in
2023 are: Richard Aragon, director of finance for the
Coachella Valley Water District and a 2017 alum of the
Foundation’s Water Leaders program; Cheyanne Harris, a
civil engineer with Brown and Caldwell, and a 2019 alum of the
Water Leaders program; Ann Hayden, associate vice
president of Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Resilient
Water Systems Program; Andrea Abergel, manager of water
policy for the California Municipal Utilities Association.
Abergel, a member of the Water Leader Class of 2022, fills
that class’ board position.
With federal and state elected officials listening in,
representatives from 10 Monterey County departments lobbied for
assistance – financially and legislatively – for what they
consider the top priorities for 2023. Homeless funding,
reservoir improvements, clean drinking water, refurbishing all
or parts of the historic jail in Salinas, a new health clinic
in Marina, immigration reform and a reauthorization of the Farm
Bill, a veterans home, and ensuring ongoing flood relief
assistance from the Federal Emergency Management
Administration, or FEMA, were all selected as the most
important projects that will need federal or state assistance,
or both. Last week’s annual workshop was an opportunity for
department heads to outline these needs for elected officials
that included U.S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta, U.S.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, state Sen. John Laird, state
Assemblyman Robert Rivas and state Assemblywoman Dawn Addis.
Don’t miss a once-a-year opportunity at
our Water
101 Workshop to get a primer on California’s
water history, laws, geography and politics. One of our most
popular events, the annual workshop will be hosted at McGeorge
School of Law in Sacramento on Thursday, Feb. 23.
California’s water basics will be covered by some of the
state’s leading policy and legal experts, and participants will
have an opportunity to engage directly with the guest
speakers during Q&A sessions.
What’s worse? Horrifying killer storms or slow death by
drought? California’s climate can be extreme — drought or
deluge. Both are deadly, each exacerbating damage caused by the
other. Fortunately, some people are doing the necessary,
innovative and difficult work to combat drought and deluge at
the same time. Infuriatingly, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget
proposal abandons some of the most important flood-control,
drought-fighting measures taking place in our state. He removed
a $40 million allocation approved last year for floodplain
restoration — work designed to reduce lethal flooding, store
water underground, remove carbon from the atmosphere and create
wildlife habitat. This comes on top of a decision two years ago
to remove $60 million for other San Joaquin Valley floodplain
projects. -Written by Adam Gray, formerly
representing Merced County and part of Stanislaus County
in the California Assembly.
