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Topic: Ecosystem

Overview April 24, 2014

Ecosystem

An ecosystem includes all of the living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments (air, water and soil).

Ecosystems are dynamic and are impacted by disturbances such as a drought, an extraordinarily freezing  winter, and pests. Longer-term disturbances include climate change effects.

Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend. Ecosystem management emphasizes managing natural resources at the level of the ecosystem itself and not just managing individual species.

The California Legislature was the first in the country to protect rare plants and animals through passage of the California Endangered Species Act in 1970. Congress followed suit in 1973 by passing the federal Endangered Species Act.

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Aquafornia news July 31, 2020 Maven's Notebook

Delta lead scientist report: New research papers focus on habitat, flow, predation

At the July meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council, Delta Lead Scientist Dr. John Callaway updated the Council on the latest scientific developments, discussing three papers that highlight the multi-faceted approach that is needed to address the Delta’s ecosystem; he also previewed upcoming events and provided the By the Numbers Report.

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Aquafornia news July 31, 2020 InterestingEngineering.com

How over-pumping of underground aquifers can cause land to sink

All the static and dynamic forces from the land and rock above start adding up and eventually that now-dry soil starts compacting down and down. While this may not seem like a big deal on a small scale, what we’ve seen in California (and other parts of the world too) is the dropping of the surface elevation over a period of years, often by hundreds of feet or meters.

Related article:

  • Union of Concerned Scientists: Blog: Groundwater sustainability is a necessity more than ever
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Aquafornia news July 31, 2020 Courthouse News Service

Lawsuit challenges Trump’s overhaul of environmental-review law

A legal battle with far-reaching consequences for industry and ecosystems kicked off Wednesday with the filing of a federal lawsuit over the Trump administration’s revamp of a longstanding law that requires extensive environmental reviews for road, industry and building projects.

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Aquafornia news July 31, 2020 The Salt Lake Tribune

Opinion: Lake Powell Pipeline project based on inaccurate studies

Studies by reliable independent organizations prove the pipeline is unnecessary, risky and cost prohibitive. To counter these fact-based findings, pipeline proponents rely on misleading arguments, skewed data and fear in an attempt to “sell” the pipeline to taxpayers and water users who are unaware of the facts and place undue trust in government authorities.

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Aquafornia news July 30, 2020 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

News release: Reclamation invests in new science updates for Klamath Project

In response to Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt and Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman’s recent visit with Klamath Basin ranchers, farmers, tribes and community officials, Reclamation is launching a new science initiative to inform Klamath Project operations.

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Aquafornia news July 30, 2020 The Sacramento Bee

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Gov. Newsom asks Warren Buffett to remove California dams

Desperate to complete a historic but complicated dam removal on the California-Oregon border, Gov. Gavin Newsom has appealed to one of the world’s wealthiest men to keep the project on track: financier Warren Buffett. Newsom dispatched a letter to Buffett and two of his executives Wednesday urging them to support removal of four hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River…

Related article:

  • Nexus Media News: They tried to tame the Klamath River. They filled it with toxic algae instead
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Aquafornia news July 30, 2020 SJV Water

Blog: Valley farmers look to Kern River tributary to replenish groundwater

A Kern County water agency is facing a wall of opposition against its plan to harvest up to 12,000 acre feet of water from the South Fork of the Kern River above Lake Isabella and bring it to valley farms and homeowners in northwest Bakersfield.

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Aquafornia news July 30, 2020 Jefferson Public Radio

Audio: How California Fish Passage Forum clears the way

The California Fish Passage Forum brings together public and private groups and agencies working to remove barriers to fish passage. We get a quick lesson in the projects and progress of the Forum in an interview with Chair Bob Pagliuco and Coordinator Alicia Marrs.

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Aquafornia news July 30, 2020 UC Merced News

Blog: New tools indicate how thinning and fire affect forest water use and boost runoff

Forest-management actions such as mechanical thinning and prescribed burns don’t just reduce the risk of severe wildfire and promote forest health — these practices can also contribute to significant increases in downstream water availability. New research from UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute provides the tools to help estimate and verify those changes.

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Aquafornia news July 29, 2020 The Intercept

When coronavirus struck the Salton Sea

The community already beset by an environmental disaster is now facing a pandemic of the worst proportions. Residents and activists, who have long fought for more funding and pollution mitigation, say the area was already at a steep disadvantage for health care. Now the largely agrarian community has found itself in the middle of a perfect storm of environmental neglect, poverty, and the coronavirus.

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Aquafornia news July 29, 2020 Ingrained

Audio: Giants in the rice fields

Nearly 230 wildlife species depend on Sacramento Valley rice fields for food and a resting place, including the giant gartersnake, a threatened species. Although it has “giant” in its name, this creature is, at most, five-feet long. These snakes are heavily dependent on rice fields for their survival; having lost most of their earlier habitat – traditional wetlands…

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Aquafornia news July 29, 2020 Orange County Register

Trout disease in hatcheries leads to lack of the fish in area lakes

A contagious, potentially fatal bacteria has infected trout in the three state-run hatcheries that provide the fish to public lakes in Southern California and the eastern Sierra. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife expects to euthanize all 3.2 million trout in those hatcheries this week.

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Aquafornia news July 29, 2020 National Science Foundation

News release: Pesticides speed the spread of deadly waterborne pathogens

The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded study … found that agrochemicals can increase transmission of the schistosome worm in myriad ways: by directly affecting survival of the waterborne parasite itself; by decimating aquatic predators that feed on snails that carry the parasite; and by altering the composition of algae in the water, which provides a major food source for snails.

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Aquafornia news July 29, 2020 National Law Review

Council on Environmental Quality issues NEPA regulation rule

On July 16, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published its highly anticipated final rule to improve its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The update, which largely mirrors the proposed rule, is the first comprehensive amendment to the regulations since their original publication in 1978.

Related articles:

  • Sierra Club: Blog: The fight to preserve NEPA: Climate protection and environmental justice
  • AgNet West: NEPA revisions look to expedite projects and reduce litigation
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Aquafornia news July 29, 2020 Los Angeles Times

Controversial Poseidon desalination plant in Huntington Beach set for hearings this week

Poseidon Water’s seawater desalination plant in Huntington Beach, first proposed in 1998, could be getting closer to beginning construction after more than two decades. The Santa Ana Regional Water Board will hold online hearings this week and decide whether to issue Poseidon a permit.

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Aquafornia news July 28, 2020 San Bernardino Sun

Can a new plan for the wash that runs between Redlands and Highland protect flowers, animals and mining?

On July 13, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District a 30-year permit to manage plans for the Upper Santa Ana River Wash, the final step in the process. The plans cover an area of Redlands and Highland generally west and south of Greenspot Road, east of Alabama Street and north of the waterway’s bluffs.

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Aquafornia news July 28, 2020 The Hill

Trump makes two FERC nominations, potentially rebalancing commission

President Trump made two nominations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Monday, bowing to pressure from Democratic lawmakers who have pushed to maintain the bipartisan split in the commission.

Related article:

  • E&E News: Trump’s 2 surprise FERC picks ease fears of agency limbo
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Aquafornia news July 28, 2020 CBS News

Famously clear Lake Tahoe has been polluted by climate change

When it was measured last year, the clarity of the lake was about 80 feet. … But, consider this, about 20 years ago, the clarity of lake was 100 feet. That’s the trend scientists are trying to reverse.

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Aquafornia news July 28, 2020 The Guardian

Migratory river fish populations plunge 76% in past 50 years

Species such as salmon, trout and giant catfish are vital not just to the rivers and lakes in which they breed or feed but to entire ecosystems. By swimming upstream, they transport nutrients from the oceans and provide food for many land animals, including bears, wolves and birds of prey.

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Aquafornia news July 28, 2020 The Sacramento Bee

City to attempt treatment of algal muck in McKinley Park pond

The city of Sacramento will begin vacuuming up globs of muck Monday at the McKinley Park pond following tests that suggest the rust-red material is both algal matter and cyanobacteria.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 JD Supra

Blog: State Water Board has authority to implement temporary water curtailments without evidentiary hearing

The Third Appellate District has ruled that the State Water Resources Control Board has the authority to issue temporary emergency regulations and curtailment orders which establish minimum flow requirements, regulate unreasonable use of water, and protect threatened fish species during drought conditions.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 Stockton Record

Toxic algae blooms spark warnings along Stockton waterfront

The California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board said lab results from July 14 revealed high levels of a toxin called microcystins in scum samples from Mormon Slough, the downtown marina and Morelli Park Boat Launch that ranged from four to more than 20 times the state’s Tier 3 danger threshold.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 The Modesto Bee

State grants will enhance Tuolumne River fish near Modesto

New state grants totaling about $8 million will enhance fish habitat on the Tuolumne River, and better connect west Modesto residents to the waterway. The grants will continue efforts to restore spawning areas and floodplains for salmon, trout and other fish between La Grange and Modesto.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 The Sierra Nevada Ally

Scientists search for source of microplastics in the Lake Tahoe Basin and nearby Sierra

Over the next 3 weeks a group of League to Save Lake Tahoe citizen scientists will outfit their clothes driers with special filters to capture particles from dryer vent emissions. Dr. Monica Arienzo of the Desert Research Institute explained that unexpected results from a remote snow sample led to a curiosity in dryer emissions.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 Lost Coast Outpost

Audio: State of the Klamath: Spirited discussion on what that big Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision means

S. Craig Tucker, consultant to the Karuk Tribe, and Mike Belchik, senior water policy analyst with the Yurok Tribe, joins Scott Greacen (Friends of the Eel) and Tom Wheeler (EPIC) for a spirited discussion on the new news about the state of dam removal.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 San Francisco Chronicle

Monday Top of the Scroll: California had a plan to bring clean water to a million people. Then the pandemic hit

At a meeting this month where the State Water Resources Control Board adopted its first spending plan for what was supposed to be a $130 million-a-year investment for the next decade, Chairman Joaquin Esquivel acknowledged that the economic downturn could set California back.

Related article:

  • CBS Sunday Morning: Without water
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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 Bakersfield Californian

Opinion: We need water in the Kern River

Some residents are petitioning to return water to our river. I urge every person who has ever walked on the Kern River bike path to sign their petition on Change.org…

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 Livermore Independent

Zone 7 Water Agency to buy Napa’s surplus

Zone 7 Water Agency directors authorized General Manager Valerie Pryor to negotiate an agreement with Napa County’s water division to buy some of its surplus water this year — a move that could open doors for similar deals in the future. A need to meet local water demand for the next few years prompted Zone 7 to act at its regular meeting July 16.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 KCRA TV

New system protects Lake Tahoe from invasive species

This new technology is an improvement on the existing bubble curtain, providing more air and a much stronger application of it. It also includes sea bins that will act like garbage cans, collecting the fragments that are knocked free by the bubble wall.

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Aquafornia news July 27, 2020 The Modesto Bee

MID and TID reach key milestone on Tuolumne River fish flows

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stated its support once again for the fishery releases proposed by the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts. The action reaffirmed FERC findings in February 2019 that dismissed pleas from environmental and sport-fishing groups for much higher flows.

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Aquafornia news July 24, 2020 Fox40

Toxic algae blooms in and around Stockton worst they’ve ever been, Delta advocate says

Toxic sludge is collecting in corners, around boats and floating in patches through the Delta, turning the water bright green. “We’re watching it every year, with climate change becoming worse and worse,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla with Restore the Delta. Barrigan-Parrilla said this year’s bloom is the worst it’s ever been.

Related article:

  • The Log: Public urged to avoid water contact at Pyramid Lake due to algal bloom
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Aquafornia news July 24, 2020 Water Education Foundation

Latest Western Water examines state’s effort to preserve Salton Sea, California’s largest lake

The state of California, long derided for its failure to act in the past, says it is now moving full-bore to address the Salton Sea’s problems, with ambitious plans for wildlife habitat expansion and dust suppression.

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Aquafornia news July 24, 2020 Monterey County Weekly

Admitting failure on water, the Monterey Peninsula will beg state officials for a new deadline

Almost exactly 25 years after being ordered to stop illegally pumping water from the Carmel River, the Monterey Peninsula will have to beg state officials for another extension. On July 20, the board of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District voted unanimously to send a letter to the State Water Resources Control Board acknowledging the failure to make progress on developing a new water supply.

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Aquafornia news July 24, 2020 The Log

Public urged to avoid water contact at Pyramid Lake due to algal bloom

An algal bloom at Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles County has the Department of Water Resources (DWR) warning the public not to swim or participate in any other water-contact recreation or sporting activities due to potential adverse health effects. However, DWR said boating at the lake is still allowed.

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Aquafornia news July 24, 2020 Capital Public Radio

California measure aims to protect almost a third of state’s land and oceans, increase access for people of color

If Assembly Bill AB 3030 becomes law, it would create a state goal to keep at least 30% of California’s land and waterways free from development and other human impacts, such as overfishing and climate change, by the year 2030. It would also help protect 30% of the nation’s oceans by that same year.

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Aquafornia news July 24, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

El Cajon to use about $2 million to save local waterway

A largely ignored waterway in El Cajon is about to get some much-needed TLC through $2 million in grant money. Broadway Creek, a sliver in the 52-mile San Diego River watershed, runs behind businesses along Broadway. Much of the creek and its wetland habitat sit between homes and an apartment complex near Magnolia Avenue, in the heart of the city.

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Aquafornia news July 24, 2020 San Francisco Chronicle

Klamath water arrives, saving 50,000 ducklings from certain death

More than 50,000 ducklings and other newborn waterfowl and shorebirds were saved from certain deaths this week after an emergency delivery of water to the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Aquafornia news July 23, 2020 Bloomberg Law

EPA must focus on environmental justice, Inspector General says

The issue is new to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General’s periodic list of top management challenges facing the agency, underscoring its emergence as a leading national concern. The OIG called on the agency to strengthen its federal leadership role, continue to build an environmental justice strategic plan, and consider the impact of “all activities on environmental justice communities in actions revoked and taken by the agency as a whole.”

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Aquafornia news July 23, 2020 E&E News

House sends lands bill to Trump against political backdrop

The legislation, H.R. 1957, would provide the Land and Water Conservation Fund with $900 million annually — the first time the program has ever been guaranteed full, yearly funding since its creation in 1964. It also would establish a trust fund to start winding down some of a $20 billion backlog of deferred maintenance projects at national parks and on public lands.

Related articles:

  • San Francisco Chronicle: Sweeping federal conservation bill offers billions for parks across the West
  • The Guardian: Congress approves billions for US national parks in rare bipartisan push
  • Associated Press: Congress passes sprawling plan to boost conservation, parks
  • The Hill: House passes major conservation bill, sending it to Trump’s desk
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Aquafornia news July 23, 2020 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Blog: An early success story in the Delta

A century ago, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was a massive wetland habitat. The construction of levees over the past 100 years has dried out these wetlands and converted them into farmland, eliminating 95 percent of this important aquatic habitat for fish. But scientists are finding out that given the right conditions, nature can reclaim itself.

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Aquafornia news July 23, 2020 Engineering News-Record

EchoWater California megaprojects

The nearly $2-billion EchoWater project aims to meet a 2010 requirement issued by California and local authorities. They have called for cleaner discharge into the Sacramento River by 2023 from the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in Elk Grove. With 21 projects, the EchoWater program’s largest components are now under construction and, despite complexities, remains on track to complete major work in 2022.

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Aquafornia news July 23, 2020 AgAlert

Thursday Top of the Scroll: River agreements stall amid focus on Delta litigation

With state and federal administrations fighting in court about delta water operations—and with a pandemic and election year both underway—work has slowed on voluntary agreements meant to avoid severe cuts to northern San Joaquin Valley water supplies. At issue is the first phase of a State Water Resources Control Board plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

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Aquafornia news July 22, 2020 California Department of Water Resources

Blog: DWR environmental scientist Veronica Wunderlich discusses her work with reptiles and amphibians

Veronica Wunderlich is a Department of Water Resources senior environmental scientist with a focus in herpetology – the study of reptiles and amphibians. Below, Veronica discusses how she got started in herpetology –she even had snakes as pets as a kid, her current work, and how to translate a passion and interest in wildlife into a career – “If you really love the creatures you work with, you will never regret working with them.”

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Aquafornia news July 22, 2020 California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Blog: Creating a new fishery at Mountain Meadows Reservoir

For the past five years, Monty Currier, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife environmental scientist, has been working to rebuild the fishery at Mountain Meadows Reservoir after the PG&E impoundment went dry in 2015 from the combined effects of maintenance work and the drought. The unfortunate fish kill presented Currier with something of a dream opportunity.

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Aquafornia news July 22, 2020 State Water Resources Control Board

News release: Monterey Mushroom, Inc. to pay $1.2m for unauthorized wastewater discharges to tributaries of Elkhorn Slough

Between Jan.8, 2017 and April 19, 2017, the company discharged 4,634,245 gallons of process wastewater and/or polluted stormwater from two mushroom growing facilities located in Royal Oaks into the tributary. The wastewater contained ammonia, excessive nutrients, and suspended and floating material, which can harm water quality and aquatic habitat.

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Aquafornia news July 22, 2020 Courthouse News Service

California settles fight over hoarded dam water

As part of a settlement reached with fishing and environmental groups, the California State Water Resources Control Board says it will increase transparency and conduct heightened evaluations when deciding water quality standards and flow limits for the state’s critical waterways. … Environmentalists celebrated the deal as a “landmark settlement” that stands to boost protections for fish by improving water quality in the Sacramento River and the San Francisco Bay-Delta.

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Aquafornia news July 22, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Spring rains revealed fairy shrimp at Escondido preserve

Despite their brief existence … the pools, and the fairy shrimp they harbor are an important feature of the new preserve. The conservancy acquired Mountain Meadow Preserve, on hilltops off of Interstate 15, about two years ago. At that time, the 693-acre site was a deserted orchard, dotted with dilapidated agricultural sheds and withered avocado groves.

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Aquafornia news July 22, 2020 Lexology

Blog: FERC continues trend finding state water quality certification waiver

At the June 18, 2020 and July 16, 2020 Commissioner meetings, FERC issued a combined five orders continuing its trend of finding that a state has waived its Clean Water Act section 401 authority for failing to issue a water quality certification within one year from receiving the request for certification.

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Aquafornia news July 22, 2020 Associated Press

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: 21 state attorneys general sue over new Trump water rule

Attorneys general in 20 states [including California] and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Tuesday, alleging that new federal rules undermine their ability to protect rivers, lakes and streams within their borders. They say that new final rules issued last week by the Environmental Protection Agency alter a practice dating back more than 30 years giving state governments the authority to review, block or put conditions on federally permitted water projects.

Related articles:

  • Reuters: California, New York, other states sue U.S. over Trump clean-water rollback
  • Courthouse News Service: States fight federal power grab on water quality review
  • Bloomberg Law: States sue EPA over water rule, alleging loss of veto power
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Aquafornia news July 21, 2020 Palo Alto Online

Blog: Will “two lined swimming pools connected by a pipe” help us get rid of natural gas?

Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is a pretty simple technology. … The effect is not to create energy. In fact, these facilities are net consumers of energy. But by making renewable energy available when it is most needed, PSH helps renewables better match demand, reducing the need for gas on the grid.

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Aquafornia news July 21, 2020 KUSI News

Mayor pro tem: Tijuana corruption audit result in Imperial Beach sewage crisis

Imperial Beach Mayor Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre joined Good Morning San Diego to discuss a new report claiming that an audit done by Baja California governor accuses big US companies of water theft and contributed to raw sewage and hazardous pollutants ending up in the Tijuana River.

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Aquafornia news July 21, 2020 National Law Review

California microplastics in drinking water definition adopted

The California State Water Resources Control Board (Board) has adopted a definition for “microplastics” that will be used in testing of drinking water… While this development is currently focused on the testing of drinking water in California, the Board and others expect that it will form the basis of future efforts to quantify and address microplastics in the environment.

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Aquafornia news July 21, 2020 Courthouse News Service

Lake Tahoe’s aspens face dangerous new threat

In June 2018, scientists first noticed that aspen trees around the basin were looking more defoliated than usual… “It was concerning because, from a landscape diversity perspective, aspens are so priceless in terms of what they contribute up here,” said Will Richardson, executive director of the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science.

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Aquafornia news July 21, 2020 Calaveras Enterprise

Potential harmful algal bloom spotted in New Melones near Camp Nine bridge

A potential harmful algal bloom (HAB) has been identified at New Melones Reservoir downstream of the log jam and Camp Nine bridge in Calaveras County. … This is the first HAB identified in Calaveras County this year, based on the state HAB Incident Reports Map.

Related articles:

  • State Water Resources Control Board: News release: Harmful algal blooms identified at Big Bear Lake
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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 The Sacramento Bee

Red algal muck in East Sacramento’s McKinley Park a concern

The muck, which resembles algae or another type of water bacteria, has drawn the concern of a pond activist over the potential effects a poisonous algal organism could have on the animals that inhabit the pond in East Sacramento’s prized park. Now the city of Sacramento and the California Water Board have said they will examine the ominous algal globs.

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 Western Water

Long criticized for inaction at Salton Sea, California says it’s all-in on effort to preserve state’s largest lake

Out of sight and out of mind to most people, the Salton Sea in California’s far southeast corner has challenged policymakers and local agencies alike to save the desert lake from becoming a fetid, hyper-saline water body inhospitable to wildlife and surrounded by clouds of choking dust.

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 Pacific Institute

Blog: New issue brief explores a business framework for water and COVID-19

A new Issue Brief from the Pacific Institute explores the role of the business community in combatting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, rebuilding the economy, and reducing the risk of future shocks through action on water.

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 Bakersfield Californian

New petition demands water be put back in Kern River in Bakersfield

“The people of Bakersfield need a flowing river — with water in a thriving river parkway, quality of life in Bakersfield will be significantly improved,” says the petition, posted recently by local resident Jonathan Yates on Change.org.

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Blog: Featured scientist: Ben Ewing

Ben Ewing is an environmental scientist for CDFW’s North Central Region. Based out of the region headquarters office in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, Ben serves as the district fisheries biologist for Alpine, Amador, Calaveras and Lake counties.

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 KQED News

Water quality agency fines Phillips 66 refinery, again, for polluting Bay

State water regulators have issued a $285,000 penalty against the Phillips 66 refinery for releasing millions of gallons of industrial wastewater into San Pablo Bay early last year. The penalty is the 11th issued in the last 17 years against the Houston-based oil company. Its refinery sits on the bay shore in Rodeo, just south of the Carquinez Strait and Vallejo.

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 Mother Jones

Trump slashed a major environmental rule. That’s just the beginning

On Wednesday, President Trump achieved a longstanding goal in weakening environmental protection: The administration significantly narrowed the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act… But the rest of this year will be unlike anything we’ve seen yet as the president pushes to deliver on his 2016 campaign pledge to essentially “get rid of” the Environmental Protection Agency. 

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 E&E News

FERC throws wrench into major dam-removal project

The country’s largest dam removal project was thrown into question last week when federal regulators refused to let the current owner fully transfer the impoundments to a nonprofit to carry out the demolition.

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Blog: Water hyacinth acts like ‘plastic wrap’ on the Delta

Looking at the water hyacinth’s lovely lavender flowers and lush green leaves, it’s easy to see why it was brought here from South America. But too much of a good thing can cause trouble, and few things turn into “too much” as quickly as water hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes).

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Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 Santa Monica Daily Press

River report card grades freshwater health risks in Los Angeles County

Heal the Bay today released the annual River Report Card, which assigns water quality color-grades of Red, Yellow, or Green for 28 freshwater sites in Los Angeles County based on observed bacteria levels in 2019.

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Western Water July 17, 2020 Gary Pitzer Colorado River Bundle Long Criticized For Inaction At Salton Sea, California Says It’s All-in On Effort To Preserve State’s Largest Lake Gary Pitzer

Long Criticized For Inaction At Salton Sea, California Says It’s All-In On Effort To Preserve State’s Largest Lake
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Dust suppression, habitat are key elements in long-term plan to aid sea, whose ills have been a sore point in Colorado River management

The Salton Sea is a major nesting, wintering and stopover site for about 400 bird species. Out of sight and out of mind to most people, the Salton Sea in California’s far southeast corner has challenged policymakers and local agencies alike to save the desert lake from becoming a fetid, hyper-saline water body inhospitable to wildlife and surrounded by clouds of choking dust.

The sea’s problems stretch beyond its boundaries in Imperial and Riverside counties and threaten to undermine multistate management of the Colorado River. A 2019 Drought Contingency Plan for the Lower Colorado River Basin was briefly stalled when the Imperial Irrigation District, holding the river’s largest water allocation, balked at participating in the plan because, the district said, it ignored the problems of the Salton Sea.  

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Aquafornia news July 17, 2020 JD Supra

Blog: California wineries take note: State water board releases draft general order for winery process water

On July 3, 2020, the State Water Resources Control Board released proposed requirements for winery process water treatment along with the draft California Environmental Quality Act Initial Study and Mitigated Declaration for public comment. The proposed order will apply statewide, and includes requirements to ensure winery operations will not adversely impact water quality.

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Aquafornia news July 17, 2020 Yale Climate Connections

California, Washington, and British Columbia work together on forest health

Agencies in California, Washington, and British Columbia are collaborating. In a 2018 memorandum of understanding, the three agencies pledged to share data and innovations. The group is also exploring ways to offset the costs of forest management. For example, they’re looking for markets for wood from the small trees and branches that are cut when forests are thinned.

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Aquafornia news July 17, 2020 Klamath Falls Herald & News

Friday Top of the Scroll: Federal decision leaves future of Klamath dam removal unclear

After four years of review, FERC granted the transfer of the license for the J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2 and Iron Gate dams (collectively known as the Lower Klamath Project) to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, a nonprofit that would carry out the dam removal. But it requires PacifiCorp, the utility that currently operates the dams, to remain on the license, too.

Related articles:

  • Associated Press: Agency throws curveball in largest U.S. dam demolition plan
  • Lost Coast Outpost: Feds approve partial transfer of ownership of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath
  • CalTrout: News release: Trout clout: Federal regulators clarify path to Klamath dam removal
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Aquafornia news July 17, 2020 Potrero View

Islais Creek planning process continues at a trickle

More than a year after planning efforts began, municipal officials and advocates have determined that the Islais Creek Adaption Strategy should include a comprehensive vision for how the watershed can best serve nearby residents, workers and businesses, as well as address ways to manage increasing flood risks.

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Aquafornia news July 17, 2020 Rep. John Garamendi

News release: Garamendi secures wins for Delta and Central Valley in Water Resources Development Act

“I secured provisions in this bill to authorize and expedite construction of flood protection and aquatic ecosystem restoration projects, address harmful algal blooms in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and give local agencies greater flexibility in using federal Army Corps funds to meet local needs.”

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Aquafornia news July 17, 2020 LAist.com

Environmentalists fear oil company bankruptcy could strand SoCal’s idle wells

The owner of more than 2,000 idle oil wells in Southern California declared bankruptcy this week, raising fears among environmentalists that those wells might never be properly sealed. … As those old wells sit idle and unsealed, they present a potential pollution hazard to drinking water underground and people living nearby.

Related article:

  • KQED News: Major California oil producer falls victim to collapse in crude prices amid pandemic
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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 YubaNet.com

North Yuba Forest Partnership releases interactive story map detailing unique values of North Yuba River watershed

In November 2019, a diverse group of nine organizations, known as the North Yuba Forest Partnership, announced its commitment to using best available science in planning and implementing forest restoration at an unprecedented pace and scale within the North Yuba River watershed. Today, the group released an online interactive story map highlighting the ecological and human values within the watershed…

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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 National Law Review

Wave of PFAS consumer class actions to come?

Two putative class actions recently filed in the Northern District of California—Ambrose v. Kroger Co. and Nguyen v. Amazon.com, Inc. —preview a new theory of consumer claims relating to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Related article:

  • Highland Community News: State investigating contaminated airport water
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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 Bloomberg Law

Trump’s environmental permitting update to spark legal frenzy

States and environmental coalitions are set to wage multiple challenges to President Donald Trump’s overhaul of federal requirements for environmental permitting, setting up long-term regulatory uncertainty and the potential for a checkerboard of rules across the country. Trump unveiled the plan Wednesday, replacing Nixon-era rules for how federal agencies conduct reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.

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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 Santa Clara Valley Water News

Blog: Are there plans to fill more of Valley Water’s percolation ponds in Santa Clara County this summer?

As more people enjoy local trails this summer, they may notice many of Valley Water’s percolation ponds in Santa Clara County are empty and dry. There’s no reason to be alarmed. In fact, the absence of water in many of the 100 percolation ponds owned by Valley Water is a sign that our underground water basins are mostly full and healthy.

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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 Weather West

Blog: Extreme atmospheric rivers: What will California’s strongest storms look like in a warming climate?

Since ARs are such a fundamental aspect of California’s historical climate, it’s critically important to understand how such events are changing in a warming world.

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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 The Press Democrat

Fight over Gualala River logging plan heads to federal court

A five-year battle over plans to log in the remote Gualala River flood plain has taken a big step up with a powerhouse environmental group’s declaration to take the case to federal court, alleging the commercial tree harvest would harm protected fish, frogs and birds.

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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 Maven's Notebook

Understanding the human dimensions of social agro-ecological systems

This brown bag seminar was part of the selection process for a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist who will be hired jointly with the Delta Stewardship Council. … The candidate and presenter is Jessica Rudnick. Rudnick arrived at UC Davis in 2016 after completing her master’s in ecology and has since been a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis.

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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 Eureka Times-Standard

Opinion: Trinidad mayor on water and community

I look at Trinidad more like a watershed than simply a square mile of streets, homes and businesses. We provide water to our residents, to some customers in Westhaven, and need to be able to consider new water requests holistically.

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Aquafornia news July 16, 2020 Bloomberg Law

EPA scales back requirements for pesticide testing on fish

A wide range of public health and animal rights advocates support the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to reduce pesticide testing on animals. But an environmental group is concerned the agency is overlooking a systemic failure to control the chemicals in the environment.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 North Coast Journal

Forest Service: Water activities prohibited during Karuk Tribe’s world renewal ceremonies

The Karuk Tribe is set to hold its World Renewal Ceremonies in Six Rivers and Klamath national forests from July through late September. In honor of these long-standing tribal traditions, outsiders will be prohibited from entering the water or launching watercraft during the ceremonies, the U.S. Forest Service has announced in a press release.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 UC Merced News

Blog: Podcast focuses on new agriculture and California’s future

On a hot June evening, UC Merced Professor Josh Viers joined farm advocate and small farmer Tom Willey on his front porch near Fresno to talk about California’s water, disadvantaged communities, agricultural production and the future as part of the new “Down on the Farm” podcast that’s now available for all to hear.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: How permitting slows ecosystem recovery and climate resilience projects

Ecosystem restoration projects in California require permits, just as development projects that can harm the environment do. … We talked to Letitia Grenier — an adjunct fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center research network and a senior scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute — about how to improve the permitting process.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 KPBS

Mexico says help is on the way for communities suffering from cross-border pollution flows

The Consul General of Mexico in San Diego said there are things happening in Tijuana that will help. In a written statement responding to questions by KPBS, Carlos González Gutiérrez said there are several projects underway.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 Business Wire

News release: 30-year permit granted for complex habitat conservation plan for the Santa Ana River wash

A vision first formed in the early 1990s finally came to fruition when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District authority to manage a long-awaited project that will benefit water, environmental, economic and community interests in the Upper Santa Ana River Wash.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 CalTrout

Blog: Sen. Kamala Harris Introduces the Waters for Tomorrow Act

This legislation will ensure the nation’s water supply is safe and sustainable. The Water for Tomorrow Act will combine the water sustainability measures from Sen. Harris’ Water Justice Act with key measures from the FUTURE Drought Resiliency Act, led in the House of Representatives by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA).

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

News release: Reclamation launches prize competition seeking innovative sediment removal solutions for critical water infrastructure

The “Guardians of the Reservoir” challenge seeks ideas to remove or transport the amount of sediment building up in the reservoirs, replacing available space for water storage, that provide critical water supplies for the country. There will be up to a total of $550,000 in cash prizes available for the three-phase the competition.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 Northern California Water Association

Blog: A review of efforts to recover Sacramento Valley Chinook salmon

The most apparent observation I had after developing the comments was the substantial amount of work that has been undertaken in the Sacramento Valley to complete habitat projects and advance science for Chinook salmon recovery in the last 5 years.

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 KESQ News

The state budget includes $47 million for the Salton Sea. Here’s how it will be spent

California’s state budget includes $47 million to help the Salton Sea. The new budget was signed by Governor Newsom last month. … News Channel 3’s Madison Weil spoke with Phil Rosentrater, the executive director of the Salton Sea Authority, to see how the new funds will be used. 

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Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 The Washington Post

Nixon signed this key environmental law. Trump plans to change it to speed up pipelines, highway projects and more

The president’s plan to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act … would make it easier to build highways, pipelines, chemical plants and other projects that pose environmental risks. … But the proposed changes also threaten to rob the public, in particular marginalized communities most affected by such projects, of their ability to impact decisions that could affect their health, according to many activists.

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Aquafornia news July 14, 2020 Vanderbilt University

Blog: Geochemical analysis from the last ice age may hold clues for future climate change and preparedness strategies

The large and rapid variations in rainfall recorded in the LSC stalagmites demonstrate that climate in Northern California is sensitive to changes happening elsewhere in the world, and that rainfall in this area may be capable of increasing or decreasing in response to relatively small changes in global climate.

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Aquafornia news July 14, 2020 St. George News

Glen Canyon day: Is the dam a tombstone or a giver of new life?

To those who opposed the dam, Glen Canyon Dam’s history reads like an obituary about the loss of an incomparable sandstone and water wonderland… Those on the other side of the issue feel the dam has improved Glen Canyon – now providing greater access to its breathtaking contrast of towering crimson sandstone walls and vast expanses of crystal blue water.

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Aquafornia news July 14, 2020 Bloomberg Law

EPA challenged on limiting state veto power under water act

The EPA is facing two separate challenges from environmental groups over its water rule that narrows the ability of states to veto energy infrastructure projects such as oil and gas pipelines if they adversely affect water quality.

Related article:

  • Courthouse News Service: EPA limits states’ power to review projects that affect water quality
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Aquafornia news July 14, 2020 Hakai Magazine

To dam or not to dam

For the past two decades, dams have been falling across the United States in a bid to reverse a legacy of destruction of fish and their habitat. … But in southwestern Washington, a local flood control district is going against the flow by proposing a major new dam on the Chehalis River. … The Chehalis is a critical salmon stream and the largest river system fully contained within the state’s boundaries.

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Aquafornia news July 14, 2020 Merced Sun-Star

Opinion: State water board trying to drain away Merced County’s chief supply

Less than a week before Christmas in 2016, the State Water Resources Control Board held a single public hearing in our community. The topic? Draining our community’s water supply and sending it to the Bay Delta.

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Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 The Hill

350 facilities skip reporting water pollution under temporary EPA rule

A total of 352 facilities, including fossil fuel companies, water treatment plants and schools, made use of the EPA’s relaxation of Clean Water Act requirements, according to a list the agency shared with The Hill. … Environmentalists are raising alarms over the number of facilities that aren’t monitoring their pollution levels, saying the damage could last well beyond the Aug. 31 expiration date of the temporary policy.

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Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 Klamath Falls Herald & News

Tribes critical of rushed meeting with federal officials

While farmers lauded Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman’s historic joint visit to the Klamath Basin on Thursday, area tribes expressed concern that their perspective on water issues had not been adequately heard.

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Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 Capital Press

Watch for La Nina, federal forecast says

The federal Climate Prediction Center issued a La Nina watch Thursday, indicating the odds favor the Pacific Ocean cooling in the next six months and enhancing the chances for a cold and wet upcoming winter in the Northwest.

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Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 Eureka Times-Standard

Opinion: When the ground sinks, arsenic levels in drinking water may rise

To begin, what is arsenic? It is one of the basic chemical elements found in the periodic table that shows its relationship to other elements. Arsenic is dissolved from rocks by water in areas that have groundwater pools. If you have significant levels of arsenic in your water, it can cause cancer, heart disease, diarrhea and affect your skin.

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Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 Lake County News

Opinion: The living landscape: Egads! Crawdads

Crawdads, crayfish, craydids: whatever you choose to call those crustaceans that bear a resemblance to mini-lobsters, they are probably not native to our creeks and waters.

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Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 Environmental Defense Fund

Blog: Location, location, location: New tool shows where groundwater recharge will maximize benefits

With support from EDF, four UC Santa Barbara graduate students have developed a new mapping tool for California’s Central Valley to identify the best locations for groundwater recharge to secure these bonus benefits. The tool, called Recharge for Resilience, is available online and also can be downloaded by users with more technical expertise.

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Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Governor says Baja used water as a piggy bank. Critics worry about his bigger plan

Baja California’s new governor, Jaime Bonilla, says he is battling to clean up widespread corruption that for years ate away at the state’s water agency. Even Bonilla’s critics acknowledge the corruption and the failing water system, which results in frequent sewage spills that foul Tijuana and San Diego beaches.

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Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 KCBX

After Paso Robles riverbed fire, work underway on long-term management plan

A fire in Paso Robles on June 22 destroyed two homes, damaged nine others and forced a third of the city to evacuate. The nonfatal wildfire started in a small stretch of the Salinas River, in an area where city officials consider dry grasses and brush an ongoing fire danger. Now, Paso Robles and the regional water board have agreed on an emergency plan to clear out the vegetation.

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Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 Inside Climate News

Humpback chub ‘alien abductions’ help frame the future of the Colorado River

Researchers in the Grand Canyon now spend weeks at a time, several times a year, monitoring humpback chub, which has become central to an ecosystem science program with implications for millions of westerners who rely on Colorado River water.

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Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 California Trout

Blog: Protecting the Clean Water Act

Decades of environmental protection is threatened to be undone by the recent Trump Administration Executive Order to roll back regulations from the Clean Water Act to speed up energy projects. The proceeding EPA rule-making procedures make it easier for owners of hydroelectric dam projects to bypass state oversight and environmental accountability. Without legislative protection, our waterways are under threat.

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Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 California Department of Water Resources

News release: DWR awards $11 million in grants for fish habitat restoration & enhancement projects

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today awarded $11 million in grants to five projects that will improve the habitat and chances of survival for native fish species within the lower San Joaquin River watershed.

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Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 EnviroBites

The burning question: How do wildfires impact watersheds?

Fadji Maina and Erica Siirila-Woodburn from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory explored how a watershed could be impacted by wildfires. Specifically, the scientists investigated the Cosumnes River watershed in California.

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Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 California Department of Water Resources

Blog: Fremont Weir upgrade successfully balances need for infrastructure and ecosystem preservation

The Fremont Weir Adult Fish Passage Modification Project, which began modified operations in January of 2019, successfully allowed thousands of migrating fish to pass between the Sacramento River and Yolo Bypass in its first year of operations.

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Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 Maven's Notebook

Brown bag seminar: Building socioecological resilience by confronting environmental injustice

This brown bag seminar is part of the selection process for a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist who will be hired jointly with the Delta Stewardship Council. The position with the Delta Stewardship Council will provide leadership in advancing collaborative partnerships and initiatives and in catalyzing and implementing social science research to inform management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region of California.

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Aquafornia news July 9, 2020 The New York Times

In parched Southwest, warm spring renews threat of ‘megadrought’

Here at 12,000 feet on the Continental Divide, only vestiges of the winter snowpack remain, scattered white patches that have yet to melt and feed the upper Colorado River, 50 miles away. That’s normal for mid-June in the Rockies. What’s unusual this year is the speed at which the snow went. And with it went hopes for a drought-free year in the Southwest.

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Aquafornia news July 9, 2020 The Sacramento Bee

Threatened frog species released into California forest after successful breeding program

A group of wildlife biologists in Northern California took another step in the conservation effort of the threatened Foothill yellow-legged frogs on June 30, releasing 115 of the frogs into the Feather River in Plumas National Forest. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the release marks the first release of captive-reared, Foothill yellow-legged frogs into the wild.

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Aquafornia news July 9, 2020 AgAlert

Ruling avoids additional CVP supply cuts

U.S. District Court Judge Dale Drozd of the Eastern District of California, who is based in Fresno, denied environmental groups’ request for an injunction that would have required the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the CVP, to reduce water allocations as needed to manage water temperatures in the Sacramento River below Shasta Dam. The groups sought more cold water for spring- and winter-run chinook salmon.

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Aquafornia news July 9, 2020 California Department of Water Resources

Blog: Stream gages help Californians better understand water resources

Stream gages are critical for managing California’s water resources. The devices help with early flood warning and generate important data used by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), and other state and federal agencies.

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Aquafornia news July 9, 2020 Victorville Daily Press

Disease novel to California killing thousands of fish at Victorville’s Mojave River Hatchery

As coronavirus infections and deaths continue to rise throughout the United States, state officials are fighting a battle against a separate outbreak that has killed up to 60,000 fish at the Mojave River Hatchery. The culprit, a bacteria known as Lactococcus garvieae, has never before been seen in the state…

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Aquafornia news July 9, 2020 Bloomberg Law

Opinion: NEPA suspension, infrastructure bill put wetlands at risk

Rollbacks of the Clean Water Act and the executive order to suspend the National Environmental Policy Act are meant to save costs and cut red tape. However, Jeremy Schewe, professional wetland scientist, explains these efforts will ultimately lead to far greater expense to business, society, and the planet, especially when combined with the House proposed infrastructure stimulus package.

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Aquafornia news July 7, 2020 Little Hoover Commission

Report: Rebuilding healthy headwater forests 

Headwater forests are critical to California’s water supply, a fact made plain by recent state funding decisions…California’s water storage is concentrated in the alpine snowpack that accumulates during the wet season and releases water during the dry months. That snowpack is in jeopardy.

Related article:

  • Public Policy Institute of California commentary: Improving forest health can build jobs, economies in rural California
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Aquafornia news July 1, 2020 California Department of Fish and Wildlife

News release: Bacterial outbreak at CDFW hatcheries temporarily halts fish stocking in Southern California

Several California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) fish hatchery facilities in the Eastern Sierra and Southern California are battling a bacterial outbreak that has the potential to cause significant losses to both hatchery and wild fish populations.

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Aquafornia news July 1, 2020 American Rivers

Blog: A win for collaboration in the Upper Colorado

Historically, Colorado has had a love-hate relationship with the 1968 Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. While we have unarguably some of the wildest and most scenic rivers in America, Colorado has only one such designated section – the Cache la Poudre River above the city of Ft. Collins. New Jersey, a much smaller state with many fewer river miles, has five designated Wild & Scenic Rivers.

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Aquafornia news June 30, 2020 Circle of Blue

Risk of COVID-19 in recreational water is low

Studies conducted in multiple countries in recent months have detected the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in treated and untreated wastewater, but to this date there has been no evidence of a person contracting the virus through wastewater or swimming areas.

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Aquafornia news June 30, 2020 CalMatters

Opinion: Without agreements on water, California needs to set new objectives and protections for the Delta

For more than a decade, California’s governors have pushed for “voluntary agreements” to establish rules for water diversions by major urban and agricultural water districts, and to redress their environmental impacts. Voluntary agreements crumbled recently, after the state’s largest water districts walked away from the table.

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Aquafornia news June 30, 2020 Office of the Attorney General

News release: Attorney General Becerra criticizes Trump order instructing federal agencies to circumvent critical environmental review processes

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today led a multistate coalition in expressing opposition to President Trump’s recently signed executive order instructing federal agencies to use emergency authority to bypass critical environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects.

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Aquafornia news June 30, 2020 Pacific Institute

Report: Incorporating Multiple Benefits into Water Projects: A Guide for Water Managers

Adapting to climate change, coupled with the need to address aging infrastructure, population growth, and degraded ecosystems, requires significant investment in natural and built water systems. These investments present a significant opportunity to support not only water, but to provide economic, social, and environmental benefits.

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Aquafornia news June 30, 2020 ProPublica

How a PG&E contractor with a sketchy past made millions after California’s deadliest fire

Within weeks of Bay Area Concrete losing its battle before the Hayward Planning Commission, PG&E had hired the company to build and run a dump outside of Paradise, 180 miles to the north. Trucks began dumping potentially toxic slurry at the disposal site, which did not require environmental review as an emergency project and helped speed cleanup operations.

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Aquafornia news June 30, 2020 Kronick

Blog: Court of Appeal reaffirms State Water Board’s authority to regulate unreasonable use through emergency regulations and curtailment orders

On June 18, 2020, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the State Water Resources Control Board’s (“State Water Board” or “Board”) authority to regulate what it deems to be an unreasonable use of water, in this case through adoption of emergency regulations establishing minimum instream flow requirements to protect migration of threatened fish species during drought conditions.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 Lake County News

County officials report on lake-wide algal bloom, cyanotoxin testing results

The summer’s high temperatures have contributed to an algal bloom that’s impacting Clear Lake, with recent testing of 30 sites on the lake finding concerning levels of cyanotoxin. On Thursday, Lake County Water Resources reported on the lake-wide algae bloom.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 The Revelator

Blog: Here’s what climate change means for wildfires in the West

While there are numerous factors that can lead to increased wildfire risk, a growing body of scientific evidence finds that climate change is a wildfire “threat multiplier,” amplifying both natural and human risk factors. But how climate will influence western communities and ecosystems varies considerably. Two recent studies in California and the Pacific Northwest help to bring some of this into better focus.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Blog: Featured scientist Russell Barabe

Russell Barabe is a coldwater fisheries biologist based out of CDFW’s South Coast Region office in San Diego. … A Master’s degree in fisheries biology at Mississippi State University put him on the path to becoming a CDFW biologist, where he’s been employed since 2009.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 Tahoe Daily Tribune

Lighting the way: Legacy of historic Rubicon Point lighthouse shines on

The historic lighthouse at Rubicon Point was born out of organized advocacy work in the early 1900s. The Lake Tahoe Protective Association formed in response to a proposal to cut the rim of Lake Tahoe at the Truckee River. The proposal was floated by the Truckee River General Electric Company in 1912 as a means to keep water flowing out of Tahoe even when the lake level dipped too low.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 Bloomberg Law

Cross-border sewage lawsuits halted in California for EPA action

The state of California, city of Imperial Beach, and the Surfrider Foundation have agreed to a 12-month stay in litigation over cross-border sewage flowing in from Mexico while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency focuses work on the Tijuana River Valley.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 Somach Simmons & Dunn

Blog: Federal district court denies environmental plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction as to Shasta Dam operations

On June 24, 2020, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied the preliminary injunctive relief requested by a coalition of fishery and environmental groups regarding the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s operations of Shasta Dam and Reservoir, and related temperature management actions on the upper Sacramento River.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Blog: LADWP and the community of Bishop recognize Clarence Martin for decades of service as he steps down as aqueduct manager

After almost 32 years with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Clarence Martin will be stepping down as Aqueduct Manager. Deputy Aqueduct Manager Adam Perez will be taking over, come July 1.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 Earth.com

Restoration projects bring mountain meadows back to life

Degraded meadows and their streams can be rehabilitated using a “pond and plug” technique to restore the floodplain function. This strategy aims to elevate groundwater levels in the dry season by spreading large flows across the floodplain. The pond and plug treatment improves water quality, soil moisture, and wetland vegetation – improvements that are extremely beneficial to birds and other wildlife.

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Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 San Jose Mercury News

Lake Tahoe-area forests, wildlife preserved in $14 million deal

he Northern Sierra Partnership, a coalition of land trusts based in Palo Alto and funded in large part with donations from Silicon Valley technology leaders, purchased the 2,914 acres located about two miles north of Truckee. The purchase is part of a multi-year effort to protect 100,000 acres or more between Lake Tahoe and Mount Lassen for wildlife, public recreation and water conservation.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 Napa Valley Register

St. Helena City Council awards $3.2 million contract for York Creek dam removal

The St. Helena City Council awarded a $3.2 million contact Tuesday to an Arcata firm to remove the Upper York Creek Dam. McCullough Construction will be charged with notching the dam, restoring the creek’s aquatic habitat, and removing an illegal barrier to fish passage that the city first agreed to remove in 2006.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 KSBY

‘This is unacceptable.’ Paso Robles leaders demand action to clean up riverbed

Local and state leaders are sounding the alarm to get the green light to clear the Salinas Riverbed of dry brush and vegetation. … This comes after a fire Monday in Paso Robles which started in the riverbed and quickly moved into a neighborhood destroying two homes and badly damaging nine others.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 Bay Nature

Did salmon always live in San Jose?

After an absence of many decades, Chinook salmon swim up the Guadalupe River in San José most winters. The fish look for places to lay eggs and often find them. If there’s enough water left in the dry season, their offspring swim back down the river in the spring to head out to sea. Surprisingly, given the generally heated politics regarding fish in California, little else is known about these salmon.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 The Press

Franks Tract project sponsors seek input

The project — managed jointly by California Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Parks and Recreation — seeks to make changes in Franks Tract with the goal of improving water quality, providing enhanced recreational opportunities and improving the ecology for the benefit of native and desirable wildlife.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 Zocalo Public Square

Where Tulare Lake once was, a new telling of California’s history

All but one of these photographs of California by Jesse White come from California Exposures, a book that he and I, his father, did together. … They are part of a conversation, and they are as apt to ask questions as give answers. The photographs of California Exposures tell a history of California, but not in the conventional sense.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 The Hill

Lawsuit challenges Trump administration waterway protection rollback

The Environmental Protection Agency has again been sued over its rollback of Obama-era waterway protections. On Thursday, the Environmental Integrity Project, on behalf of four other environmental groups, sued the agency, claiming that the new rule conflicts with the Clean Water Act and “disregards” science “without any rational, let alone ‘reasonable,’ explanation.”

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 Maven's Notebook

Delta science needs, Part 2: What do managers need to know to effectively make decisions in the future Delta?

The Delta is changing much faster than we can respond to, and if we want to start to get ahead of things, we need to think about what changes lie ahead and what managers and decision makers will need to manage those changes. That was the topic for the second Science Needs Workshop hosted by the Delta Science Program which brought together Jennifer Pierre with the State Water Contractors, Paul Souza with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Campbell Ingram with the Delta Conservancy…

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 Somach Simmons & Dunn

Blog: Appellate court upholds State Water Board’s drought emergency regulations and curtailment orders issued for Deer Creek

On June 18, 2020, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court’s determination that the State Water Resources Control Board lawfully adopted emergency regulations and curtailment orders … in 2014 and 2015 during a period of severe and persistent drought conditions.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 New Times San Luis Obispo

Opinion: Losing Carrizo

Water and the question of what constitutes its sustainable use is becoming an increasingly important subject everywhere with each passing year, but in few places is it more crucial than in the Carrizo Planning Area of California Valley

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 Maven's Notebook

Groundwater 101: The basics

Groundwater provides nearly 40% of the water used by California’s farms and cities, and significantly more in dry years. But what is groundwater? In this post based on the first segment of the UC Davis shortcourse on groundwater, Dr. Thomas Harter provides a basic understanding of groundwater – what it is, how much groundwater is out there, how fast groundwater moves, and where it comes from and where it goes.

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Aquafornia news June 26, 2020 The Desert Sun

Salton Sea: Imperial County hits feds with pollution violation notice

As the Salton Sea retreats, leaving the dry playa exposed, dust particles become airborne and mobilize lung-damaging toxins from agricultural runoff. Red Hill Bay, located near the southeastern corner of the sea, would restore habitat by flooding the area, but it’s one of several mitigation projects that have taken flack for progressing so slowly.

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Aquafornia news June 25, 2020 Audubon California

Blog: How Bowles Farming Co. supports people and birds – even during a pandemic

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the farm itself has become part of the landscape that millions of birds rely on. Cannon Michael, president of Bowles Farming Co., has partnered with Audubon over the last decade to support birds on his farm by restoring corridors and habitat, and finding new ways to manage crops to protect wildlife. You know a farmer is serious about birds when their Instagram includes highlights like the “Birds of Bowles Farming”.

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Aquafornia news June 25, 2020 Corning Observer

Partnership preserves vital stream reach for Sacramento River salmon and steelhead

Last week, on the flanks of Mount Lassen, the partnership of the Western Rivers Conservancy and the Lassen National Forest completed a project that protects a crucial 1,150-acre property, and a significant branch of South Fork Antelope Creek, a rare stronghold for salmon and steelhead in the Sacramento River system.

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Aquafornia news June 25, 2020 Associated Press

Thursday Top of the Scroll: California cities: Monsanto settlement to fund water cleanup

Major California cities say they’ll use their share of a $650 million settlement to clean up the now-banned chemical PCB from bays, lakes and other waterways polluted for decades. The giant chemical company Monsanto announced a tentative agreement Wednesday with government entities that had filed suit since 2015 over waterways and estuaries they say were polluted.

Related articles:

  • National Public Radio: Bayer to pay more than $10 billion to resolve cancer lawsuits over weedkiller Roundup
  • Bloomberg Law: Bayer draws uncertain line under Roundup in $12 billion deal
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Aquafornia news June 25, 2020 UC Merced News

News release: New grant helps assess benefits of satellites for determining water quality

In an innovative and cross-disciplinary remote-sensing approach, engineering Professor Joshua Viers and colleagues aim to develop a model to describe how lake visitors in California adjust their recreation choices when outbreaks of harmful algal blooms are announced.

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Aquafornia news June 25, 2020 Fairfield Daily Republic

Solano County, water agency look to buy property along Putah Creek

The Solano County Board of Supervisors this week, in partnership with the Solano County Water Agency, agreed to purchase about 74 acres along the Solano side of Putah Creek. The property is located … between the Monticello Dam and the diversion dam at Lake Solano, and will be kept as conservation land and for habitat restoration. About a half a mile of the property fronts the creek.

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Aquafornia news June 25, 2020 Earth Island Journal

How protecting birds can save Western rivers

The American Southwest provides a last stronghold for the yellow-billed cuckoo, which was officially listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened in 2014. This February, the US Fish and Wildlife Service published a list of proposed protected areas that trace the curls and curves of rivers and streams in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, and Utah.

Related article:

  • Audubon California: Blog: How Bowles Farming Co. supports people and birds – even during a pandemic
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Aquafornia news June 24, 2020 Arizona Republic

Tribes, environmentalists sue to stop rollback of Clean Water Act protections

A coalition of tribal governments, environmentalists and labor advocates has sued to stop implementation of a new federal rule that weakens protections for streams and wetlands. The Environmental Protection Agency’s new Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which which took effect on Monday, rolls back clean-water regulation of intermittent waterways, arroyos and washes.

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Aquafornia news June 24, 2020 California Department of Water Resources

Blog: DWR relaunches its research vessel monitoring program after COVID-19 delays

After being docked for three months due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Department of Water Resources relaunched its research vessel monitoring program, the Sentinel. It was the first time since the 1970s that DWR didn’t have a monitoring vessel taking field samples in the waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Estuaries.

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Aquafornia news June 24, 2020 Delta Stewardship Council

Blog: An experiment in governance: Marking ten years of the Delta Stewardship Council

The creation of the Council was, in many ways, an experiment in governance by the California State Legislature and Schwarzenegger administration to address years of gridlock over how to manage the Delta’s limited natural resources and chart a science-based path forward for future management. After ten years with the Council, I can say, with conviction, the experiment is working.

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Aquafornia news June 24, 2020 The Modesto Bee

Opinion: A Trojan horse with a state water grab inside

With a global pandemic, a catastrophic economic recession and record-high unemployment, one would think the state has enough issues to tackle. But proponents of a state water grab that I have been fighting since the day I was sworn into office in 2012 disagree. Where others see turmoil and anguish, they see opportunity. Apparently, they believe in the adage, “Never let a crisis go to waste.”

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Aquafornia news June 24, 2020 Native News Online

Northern California tribes praise Supreme Court refusal to hear Klamath project case

American Indian tribes in California’s Klamath Basin praised Monday’s decision by the United States Supreme Court not to hear the Klamath Project irrigators’ Fifth Amendment water rights case, Baley v. United States. By not hearing the case, the Supreme Court upheld the Klamath Tribes’ treaty water rights as the most senior water rights in the Klamath Basin. These water rights are critical to protect the tribes’ fisheries and traditional way of life.

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Aquafornia news June 23, 2020 The Hill

Green groups challenge Trump water rollback

The suit, filed by Earthjustice on behalf of Sierra Club, other environmental groups, and a number of tribes, argued the Trump administration erred in removing protections for wetlands and streams that result from rainfall.

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Aquafornia news June 23, 2020 KUER

The one that got away: A look at Glen Canyon 40 years after it was filled

On June 22, 1980, Lake Powell reached its capacity for the first time, marking a grim milestone for environmentalists who have never forgotten the loss of Glen Canyon. Before the waters began pouring in, it was a maze of towering sandstone cliffs and spires, with thousands of indigenous ruins now mostly lost.

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Aquafornia news June 23, 2020 Arizona Republic

As Bush Fire becomes one of largest in Arizona history, water and wildlife at risk

As crews continue to battle a human-caused wildfire that has become one of the largest in Arizona history, state agencies are concerned about the potential impact on wildlife and water resources. The Bush Fire, now the fifth-largest fire on record, had burned 186,086 acres in the Tonto National Forest as of Monday morning… The Tonto National Forest encompasses some of the main water sources for Phoenix residents.

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Aquafornia news June 23, 2020 U.S. Geological Survey

News release: Study to commence on the effects of wildfires and fire retardants in California watersheds

Each year millions of liters of fire-retardant chemicals are applied to wildfires across the nation. The use of these retardants could have significant effects on downstream nutrients. The aim of this study will be to determine which nutrients are likely to increase in concentration in areas affected by wildfire in the western U.S., and whether the use of fire retardants may exacerbate the situation.

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Aquafornia news June 22, 2020 CalMatters

Opinion: California can lead the world to a more sustainable agriculture industry

The recovery from the COVID shutdown gives us a rare opportunity to rethink our relationship with the global ecosystems on which we depend. Like so many others, I long for a return to normalcy. But that’s not what we need. We must come out of this pandemic looking to address other looming crises. Our unsustainable agricultural system, along with climate change, are at the top of the list.

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Aquafornia news June 22, 2020 State Water Resources Control Board

News release: Scott River notice of water unavailability

With dry conditions resulting in low flows and threatening the survival of coho salmon, the State Water Board today sent notices of water unavailability to110 junior water right holders in the Scott River basin in Siskiyou County, urging them to stop diverting.

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Aquafornia news June 22, 2020 Bloomberg Law

Trump water rule halted in Colo., can take effect elsewhere

A federal Judge in California on Friday rejected a request for a nationwide injunction of the rule. Hours later, a federal Judge in Colorado agreed to freeze the federal rule within that state. The California court’s decision is a major blow to environmentalists and states that had hoped to block the Navigable Waters Protection Rule across the country before it takes effect Monday.

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Aquafornia news June 22, 2020 FishBio

Blog: Recovering lost leviathans: Pyramid Lake Lahontan cutthroat

While these remarkable giants have been only a distant memory in most of their range, recently, fish carrying the ancestral genes of Pyramid Lake Lahontan cutthroat trout migrated to the waters of the Truckee River in 2014 to spawn for the first time in 80 years. The return of these fish … represents the culmination of years of conservation efforts by local, state, and federal agencies, as well as the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

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Aquafornia news June 22, 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Blog: Saving California’s crayfish

Living in cold streams fed by underground springs, the Shasta crayfish is California’s last native crayfish. Listed as endangered in 1988, the once prolific crayfish have declined over the past 20 years to the point where only about 500 individuals remain. But a project jointly developed by the Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spring Rivers Ecological Sciences, and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company could change the fate of the crayfish.

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Aquafornia news June 22, 2020 Estuary Magazine

Forty miles of creek, six adaptation projects

As winter rains intensify with climate change, flooding will worsen in Santa Clara County, the Bay Area’s largest by population… The Coyote Creek system — 1,500 miles of waterways that drain a 350-square-mile watershed — connects half a dozen elements that are key to climate adaptation, from reservoirs to creek confluences to the Bay shore.

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Aquafornia news June 22, 2020 The Fresno Bee

CEMEX wants to mine San Joaquin River north of Fresno

Saying in a project description that there is a demand for high-quality construction supplies, … the company proposes to modify the cement plant and quarry on Friant Road and use explosives to mine hard rock that sits below the gravel, sand and rock that’s currently mined a half-mile from the river. … But, the project is at odds with the vision of organizations like San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust that prioritize recreation over industry for future use along the river…

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Aquafornia news June 19, 2020 CalTrout

Blog: A community effort to recover the Elk River

In recognition of the immense opportunity for recovery in Elk River, CalTrout, the North Coast Regional Water Board, and several project partners joined together to form the Elk River Watershed Stewardship Program. The purpose is to engage with the Elk River community to develop a landowner supported recovery plan to reduce nuisance flooding, address the severe sediment impairment, and rehabilitate habitat for native salmonids.

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Aquafornia news June 19, 2020 Mt. Shasta Herald

City Planner: storm drains are a vital part of Mount Shasta’s water system

Mount Shasta is a community that prides itself on clean water. In the past when water-related issues have come before City Council, meetings are often crowded to the point of overflowing. It is surprising, then, that one of the most important water topics in our city receives so little attention. I’m talking of course about Mount Shasta’s storm drain system.

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Aquafornia news June 19, 2020 Mt. Shasta Herald

McCloud’s Lower Elk Spring to be protected in vault

After years of planning, McCloud’s Lower Elk Spring house replacement project will get underway soon as the Department of Water Resources has selected this project for the draft recommended funding list. The current wooden structure with corrugated roof will be replaced with a concrete vault to insure protection from erosion and habitat contamination.

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Aquafornia news June 19, 2020 Lake County Record-Bee

According to scientists, Clear Lake is now clearer that it has been in the last 50 years

The most common complaint about Clear Lake is the algae. … Actually, the algae problem was a lot worse 40 years ago. Clear Lake is getting clearer. According to scientists the lake is now clearer that it has been in the last 50 years. There are also side effects from the clearer lake and that is aquatic weed growth.

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Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 Tahoe Daily Tribune

Sierra’s yellow-legged frog still threatened, but officials have hope

Roland Knapp, research biologist at the University of California Sierra Nevada Aquatic Laboratory, explained that a fish-less habitat along with increased resistance to chytrid fungus can allow populations to rebound and increase. Knapp’s research findings have shown the frogs being able to adapt to the disease over time. … “I have a lot of hope. I wouldn’t have said that 10 years ago.”

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Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 Maven's Notebook

Preparing California’s water system for climate extremes

In October 2019, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released the report, Priorities for California’s Water, which outlined California’s water management challenges and their top priorities for addressing those challenges. At the May meeting of the California Water Commission, Alvar Escriva-Bou, a PPIC research fellow, gave a presentation on the findings and how they align with the actions of the draft water resilience portfolio.

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Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 Siskiyou Daily News

How to spot algal blooms in local waterways

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is urging anglers and other recreational water users to be vigilant about checking for harmful freshwater algal blooms, also called HABs, while out enjoying California’s lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams and creeks this year.

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Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 San Joaquin River Restoration Program

Blog: Spring-run Chinook return to San Joaquin River despite low water year

If there’s one certainty in these uncertain times, it’s that nature is resilient, and one needn’t look further than the San Joaquin River as an example. For a second year in a row, and for only the second year in over 65 years, spring-run Chinook salmon have returned from the ocean to spawn in the river and bring forth the next generation.

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Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 Lake County News

Lake County Land Trust completes acquisition of Wright wetland property

A smidge over 200 acres, the Wright Wetland Preserve is easily the largest in the trust’s portfolio. Its terrain ranges from lake to valley oak woodland with everything from native wetland, freshwater marsh and upland pasture included. The property is partially bordered by Manning Creek, an important breeding ground for an endemic and threatened fish species, the Clear Lake hitch.

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Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 San Diego County Water Authority

Blog: Otay Water District gives burrowing owl homes a makeover

Burrowing owl homes maintained by the Otay Water District received a modern makeover this year. As part of its ongoing environmental mitigation efforts, the District managed construction of new nesting burrows to encourage breeding. Ten acres of the 240-acre, District-owned San Miguel Habitat Management Area reserve and mitigation bank in eastern Chula Vista is a dedicated native grasslands area where the new artificial burrows are located.

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Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 HuffPost

Senate passes major public lands bill

In a rare display of bipartisanship, the U.S. Senate has passed a sweeping public lands package that both addresses the ballooning maintenance backlog at national parks and provides full, permanent funding for the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program established in 1964 to protect natural areas and water resources.

Related articles:

  • Associated Press: Senate approves $2.8B plan to boost conservation, parks
  • The Mercury News: National parks: Senate approves billions in new funding for trails, roads, campgrounds, new lands
  • Roll Call: Conservation groups cheer passage of lands bill in Senate
  • The Hill: Focus shifts to House after Senate passes major public lands bill
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Aquafornia news June 17, 2020 San Joaquin River Restoration Program

Blog: Reach O levee work is underway!

Work has started on the Reach O levee improvements! The project will improve seepage and stability requirements within two miles of Eastside Bypass levees to allow for higher Restoration Flows.

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Aquafornia news June 17, 2020 KESQ News

California legislature votes to keep funding for Salton Sea project in state budget proposal

The California legislature voted Monday to keep the Salton Sea in its budget proposal sent to Governor Gavin Newsom. Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia said he’s pleased the legislature found a way to allocate some funding for the Salton Sea despite the fiscal challenges created by the pandemic.

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Aquafornia news June 17, 2020 Bloomberg Law

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: California microplastics definition sets stage for investigation

California’s top water regulator on Tuesday approved a definition of microplastics in drinking water, setting the stage for the state to investigate the extent of contamination from the tiny plastics that have been found in fish, waterways, and other habitats. … The action makes California the first government in the world to define microplastics in a drinking water regulation…

Related article:

  • Los Angeles Times: The COVID-19 pandemic is unleashing a tidal wave of plastic waste
  • News release: State Water Board addresses microplastics in drinking water to encourage public water system awareness
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Aquafornia news June 16, 2020 CarsonNow.org

Nevada State Engineer issues order to ensure sustainable water development in Lower White River flow system

Nevada is in a new era of water management. As the driest state in the nation, responsible and sustainable management of Nevada’s limited water resources is the foremost priority of the Nevada Division of Water Resources. As part of this commitment, Monday the Nevada State Engineer issued Order No. 1309 for one of Nevada’s most important and unique hydrographic basins called the Lower White River Flow System.

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Aquafornia news June 16, 2020 Klamath Falls Herald & News

Yurok Tribe, Rep. Huffman respond to increased Klamath River flows

Beginning June 11, the Bureau released flows to help sustain juvenile salmon, but it plans to provide only 16,000 of the 40,000-acre feet promised in the plan developed with the Yurok Tribe, fishing groups and irrigators in March. And nearly a month passed without augmented flows when young salmon were being infected and dying from disease-causing parasites and 1.5 million hatchery fish were released and ready to pass through the infection zone.

Related articles:

  • High Country News: How the Yurok Tribe is reclaiming the Klamath River
  • High Country News: Video: Reclaiming the Klamath
  • Western Farmer: Groups call on Supreme Court to rule on Klamath ‘takings’ issue
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Aquafornia news June 16, 2020 E&E News

Supreme Court justices reject Clean Water Act plea in blow to miners

Supreme Court justices today declined to consider whether moving — but not adding — rocks, sand and other debris within a regulated waterway is subject to Clean Water Act restrictions. The court’s decision not to take up the Eastern Oregon Mining Association’s petition came as a disappointment for operators that use suction dredge mining, an industrial process similar to panning for gold in a river.

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Aquafornia news June 16, 2020 KUNC

For now, no border wall for Arizona tribe’s Colorado River stretch

President Trump’s wall now stretches along 200 miles of U.S.-Mexico borderland. Progress hasn’t slowed during the coronavirus pandemic; in some places it’s even accelerating. But there’s a tiny swath of tribal land on the Colorado River where that’s not the case.

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Aquafornia news June 16, 2020 WineBusiness.com

Ninety percent of Napa vineyards certified as ‘fish friendly’

The Fish Friendly Farming Certification Program was designed to improve water quality and to restore and sustain habitat for federally-listed threatened species like Chinook salmon and steelhead trout. In a stunning victory for fish, farming and our environment, Fish Friendly Farming has already certified 90 percent of all Napa grape vineyards.

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Aquafornia news June 16, 2020 Golf Course Industry

Counting every drop at Camelback Golf Club

Aaron Thomas arrived back in Paradise Valley just in time to christen the Ambiente Course, which proved a sort of launching pad for all manner constructive, on-course experimentation. … Thomas confirms the new design saves between 45 million and 55 million gallons of water annually, compared to pre-2013 levels. That is the platform from which Thomas has worked these past seven years. 

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Aquafornia news June 15, 2020 California WaterBlog

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

California’s dams are aging and many will require expensive reconstruction or rehabilitation. … We examined the National Inventory of Dams (NID) to assess the state of California’s dams.

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Aquafornia news June 15, 2020 The Nevada Independent

Environmentalists see regulatory, funding gaps amid Clean Water Act rollback

Although the Clean Water Act will still protect heavily used waterways in Nevada, including the Colorado River and the Truckee River, it excludes many wetlands and most seasonal streams. As a result, the rule has set off a flurry of legal challenges from environmental groups. And in recent months, several Democrat-led Western states, including Colorado, California and New Mexico, have sued the Trump administration to challenge the final rule. Nevada has not joined those suits.

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Aquafornia news June 15, 2020 Public News Service

Californias estuaries go virtual this summer

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way families, educators and students can experience state parks — through expanded online programs. … Education coordinator Anne Marie Tipton says the Tijuana River National Estuarine Reserve’s virtual field trips teach classrooms around the state about the estuary’s role in the environment.

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Aquafornia news June 15, 2020 The Mendocino Voice

Salmon counts below replacement level in Eel River, CDFW announces

In order for the Chinook and steelhead to rebound in the Eel River, there should be at least 26,400 fish returning from the ocean to spawn annually… Although the Eel salmon population was larger this year than last, Fish and Wildlife’s June 1 report shows  the population fell far below the margin for species recovery. Only 8,263 made the journey, they wrote.

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Aquafornia news June 15, 2020 Bloomberg Law

Oil, logging, mining ordered as Forest Service focus

Oil, logging, mining, and grazing will be the priorities of national forests and grasslands, with expedited environmental oversight, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told the U.S. Forest Service Friday. His memo announced a “blueprint for reforms” that refocuses the Forest Service to produce products and services from the 193 million acres of forests, grasslands, and wilderness areas it oversees.

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Aquafornia news June 15, 2020 Western Water

Key player on Colorado River issues seeks to balance competing water demands in the river’s upper basin

Colorado is home to the headwaters of the Colorado River and the water policy decisions made in the Centennial State reverberate throughout the river’s sprawling basin that stretches south to Mexico. The stakes are huge in a basin that serves 40 million people, and responding to the water needs of the economy, productive agriculture, a robust recreational industry and environmental protection takes expertise, leadership and a steady hand. Colorado has that in Becky Mitchell, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board since 2017

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