“With no rain in sight, Willits officials are contemplating
imposing tough new restrictions on city water users. …
“’By our January meeting we’re going to have to do something’
if there’s no significant rainfall before then, said Sean
White, manager of the Mendocino County Russian River Flood
Control and Water Conservation Improvement District.”
“Fruit Growers Supply Company has its sights on building and
operating a small log mill in Yreka at the old Hi-Ridge Lumber
plant, but a long overdue cleanup of the site’s water
pollutants are hampering the process.
“Charles Brown, Fruit Growers senior vice president of northern
operations, said the cooperative is working with the current
owners and the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
to see what it is going to require to clean up the site.”
“Directors of the Calaveras County Water District approved
several actions at their meeting Wednesday, Dec. 11. However,
before voting on the actions, the directors first took time to
elect a new president and vice president for the board.
“By unanimous approval, acting vice president Scott Ratterman
was elected president, replacing outgoing board President
Dennis Dooley.
“Drought conditions are taking their toll on chinook salmon in
the Sacramento River this year, fisheries experts say.
“Low water releases out of Shasta and Keswick dams, coupled
with less water flowing into the Sacramento River from
tributaries, has eggs in hundreds of salmon nests in the river
‘high and dry,’ killing the eggs and recently hatched baby
salmon.”
“The idea of letting a handful of rural northern counties break
away to form their own state of Jefferson is a nonstarter among
most Californians, but a full quarter of the state thinks the
plan sounds just dandy, a new Field Poll shows. …
“So far the boards of supervisors in Siskiyou and Modoc have
voted to secede, and citizen committees promoting the idea have
been formed in the counties of Tehama, Shasta, Del Norte,
Humboldt, Butte, Sutter, Yuba and Glenn.
“Paperwork has been filed to ask voters for a ban on fracking in
Butte County. Citizen Action Network plans to ask the Board of
Supervisors to put the item on the November 2014 ballot.”
“One of the driest years on record has local farmers keeping an
anxious eye on the forecast as the fate of next year’s water
supply hangs on the whims of the weather.
“This year was the second consecutive dry year for the state,
taxing reservoirs that will be dangerously low if the lack of
precipitation persists.”
From The Sacramento Bee, in a commentary by Assembly Member Roger
Dickinson (D-Sacramento):
“Unlike the agreement we reached with the East Bay Municipal
Utility District that served the interests of all parties, the
Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the proposed enormous water
export tunnels supported by the water contractors would give
assured benefits to those who would take water out of the Delta
while leaving Northern California and Delta parties with only
uncertainty and risk.
“Kathy and Ken Lindner of Lindner Bison started raising bison
16 years ago — grass-fed cattle that roam pastures in Lassen
County in Northern California near the Nevada border. …
“In April the 34-year-old water well for the 225-acre ranch
failed.”
From the Northern California Water Association (NCWA) Blog, in a
post by Tib Belza, Chair, Bay-Delta Task Force:
“With the state and federal agencies releasing the Bay-Delta
Conservation Plan (BDCP) this week, the leaders in the North
State are unified in our commitment to statewide water solutions
that protect the economy, environment and quality of life in
Northern California. The North State Water Alliance this week
continues our call for the Governor to develop an innovative and
comprehensive statewide water plan.
“The National Park Service has a reputation for, at times, a
slow bureaucratic and methodical approach to addressing issues.
“That is what’s frustrating Point Reyes National Seashore
ranchers, who fear free-roaming tule elk will drive them out of
business while the park service studies the issue.
“The state is trying to make good on some deadlines for the
California Water Plan Update, but county water leaders say the
section on the Sacramento Valley needs more work. …
“Commissioners urged county staff to send a strong letter to
the state Department of Water Resources that the report was
late and incomplete.”
“A major milestone for a project that will improve water quality
for the majority of Yolo County residents was celebrated on
Tuesday. The project will replace the largest unscreened intake
on the Sacramento River.”
“A recent federal inspection has concluded that Oroville Dam,
the tallest dam in the nation, needs a comprehensive earthquake
safety assessment.
The dam on the Feather River is the primary storage facility
for the State Water Project, the state-owned plumbing system
that provides drinking water to more than 23million people
across California.
“A draft of the Northern Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional
Water Management Plan, which six northern counties, including
Colusa and Sutter, have been working on since May 2010 is close
to being completed.
“In the Inwood Valley, they don’t just drink the water. They
study it. …
“This year the
Shasta Conservation Fund presented its Environmental
Stewardship Award to the Bear Creek Watershed Group for its
years of work monitoring water in the Inwood
Valley.”
