“The Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with the State of
California Department of Water Resources, today [Dec. 30]
released a progress report on the North-of-the-Delta Offstream
Storage Investigation. The proposed project would be located
about 10 miles northwest of Maxwell, Calif.
“The progress report is being distributed as a status update
summarizing the Investigation from 2001 to present.
“For Shasta Dam, 2013 was a year of looking forward and back.
“While Shasta County residents celebrated 75 years since work
started on the dam, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation continued to
move forward with plans to make significant changes to the
concrete structure.”
“The Yuba County Water Agency is filing to renew its operating
license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the
first time since the agency’s creation almost 50 years ago, and
it will dictate how the YCWA will run the Yuba River Development
Project for the next 50 years.”
From the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA):
“The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released a progress report
on feasibility studies for plans to construct an off-stream
storage reservoir near Sites.
“The report presents results to date of studies evaluating the
potential benefits and impacts of three alternative plans for
the reservoir, formally known as the North-of-Delta Offstream
Storage project.”
“December is usually not the time of year to discuss water
rationing. But this holiday month has been so dry that
mandatory water conservation orders are beginning to sweep
across the Sacramento region. …
“In some cases, these will be the strictest water rationing
orders the region has seen since the drought of 1976-77, one of
the worst in history.”
“Farmers, ranchers and onetime loggers were among those who
packed a church community room here in August to listen to a
former state lawmaker convey his vision of a cleaved — and more
governable — California. …
“The menu of grievances includes a proposal to remove Klamath
River dams, a crackdown on gold dredging and a fire prevention
fee for rural areas that has been challenged in the courts as a
tax.”
“While some groups are excited about the what the Yuba County
Water Agency’s FERC relicensing applications contains, other
groups are lamenting what is missing — namely, provisions that
address removing barriers to native spawning habitat for
endangered fish.”
“Members of the
Appeal-Democrat’s editorial and reader advisor group were asked
to write short essays about topics that are important to them.
…
“Just a couple of weeks ago, more than a hundred Yuba-Sutter
residents attended a town hall meeting focused on the future of
water rights and infrastructure in California.
From The Sacramento Bee, in a commentary by Stephanie Taylor:
“Water, so silent that my heart stills, stretches to the sea
and reflects a hint of a clear day. Oysters grow here. …
“This place is an estuary, where vulnerable creatures rely on
both fresh and salt water, an in and out flow with the moon.
Where salt vs. fresh poses a perpetual challenge to all kinds
of species.”
“A federal judge has rejected legal claims by environmental
groups that sued Caltrans and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
in hopes of stopping construction of a controversial freeway
bypass in Willits, Calif.
“As an example of the kind of thing that strikes
independent-minded North State residents as an overly intrusive
law that tries to micromanage ordinary Californians’ lives, you
couldn’t do much better than the new state plumbing mandates.
“Starting this January, homeowners who make substantial
improvements will be required to install water-saving low-flow
showerheads, taps and toilets as part of the building permit.
And this is just the warmup.
“Several weeks
ago, as California emerged from its second consecutive dry
year, Yuba County Water Agency General Manager Curt Aikens was
withholding judgment about the possibility of the local drought
stretching into its third year.
“But after looking at the long-term forecast and examining New
Bullards Bar storage levels, Aikens is withholding judgment no
more.”
“To reduce the impacts of a third straight dry year in 2014, the
Department of Water Resources has mobilized a new drought
management effort that, among other things, will look into
voluntary water transfers to drought-stricken areas, such as the
western San Joaquin Valley.”
“As state and federal officials gather input on the
controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan, Yolo County’s
leaders are answering loud and clear that they’re worried the
plan will harm Yolo’s agricultural sector.
“The plan is to install three water intakes on the Sacramento
River that feed an underground tunnel system carrying water to
pumps in the south Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
“Lake County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an
ordinance that will ban outdoor marijuana growing in
residential neighborhoods. …
“The revisions include rules aimed at preventing fires at
indoor marijuana-growing operations and controlling
environmental damage from erosion and pesticides.”
