Despite droughts, the recession and natural disasters,
California’s urban population continues to grow.
This population growth means increasing demand for water by urban
areas—home to most of California’s population [see also
Agricultural Conservation]. As of 2012, seven of the most
populated urbanized areas in the United States are in California.
Mention zoning to most people and they’ll likely think of
height limits, density restrictions, or, if their memories are
long enough, the notorious practice of racial redlining. But
local zoning ordinances and other land-use regulations are
taking on a new role in communities trying to mitigate or adapt
to the impacts of climate change. … In the Bay Area, the
city of Burlingame, with help from a new countywide agency in
San Mateo County and a climate think tank in Washington, DC,
just amended its zoning code to require higher ground-floor
elevations and space for protective infrastructure in new
development within an area vulnerable to sea-level rise.
The City of Santa Monica, California, has taken a significant
step toward a self-reliant water future as expansions to the
Arcadia Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and restorations to the
Olympic Well Field break ground. The key water infrastructure
improvements are a component of the city’s goal of becoming
water self-sufficient by 2023. Santa Monica’s water system
comprises groundwater basins, treatment facilities, and
imported water connections to serve 18,000 customers with an
average annual water demand of approximately 11,600 acre-ft per
year (AFY). About 50 to 60 percent of its water supply is from
local groundwater resources.
Several serious concerns emerged this week about the impact of
California’s planned bullet train on Hollywood Burbank Airport,
Burbank’s water supply and a massive commercial development if
construction proceeds on a proposed 13.7-mile route through the
area. Despite the issues, the California High-Speed Rail
Authority approved its route plan on Thursday. … City
water officials say the construction will temporarily take out
75% of the city’s water supply and force it to recertify its
system with state regulators afterward.
Almost 10% of the 8 billion people on earth are already
undernourished with 3 billion lacking healthy diets, and the
land and water resources farmers rely on stressed to “a
breaking point.” And by 2050 there will be 2 billion more
mouths to feed, warns a new report from the United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO). … California effectively
acts as America’s garden. But climate change is
exacerbating droughts and water shortages in the state, and
farmers are struggling to adapt.
They say children are sponges who soak up ideas and concepts
more quickly than adults. That’s why one of the state’s largest
water providers is hoping to soak in some of their thoughts on
ways to solve local water issues. Last month, California Water
Service (Cal Water) along with the California Association of
Science Educators (CASE) and consulting firm DoGoodery, has
launched the eighth annual Cal Water H2O Challenge. The free,
project-based competition invites fourth-, fifth-, and
sixth-grade classrooms in Cal Water service areas to develop
and implement solutions for local water issues.
Climate scientist Brad Udall calls himself the skunk in the
room when it comes to the Colorado River. Armed with a deck of
PowerPoint slides and charts that highlight the Colorado
River’s worsening math, the Colorado State University scientist
offers a grim assessment of the river’s future: Runoff from the
river’s headwaters is declining, less water is flowing into
Lake Powell – the key reservoir near the Arizona-Utah border –
and at the same time, more water is being released from the
reservoir than it can sustainably provide.
In a major victory for one of the Bay Area’s preeminent
developers, a state appeals court has struck down an
environmental challenge to plans to build 469 large houses near
the edge of Newark’s wetlands, clearing a path for the
controversial development to go forward. Though the project
area could see flooding in the coming decades because of
projected rising sea levels, and will remove some habitat of
the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, the Newark City
Council approved The Sobrato Organization’s plans in November
2019, over the objections of some residents and environmental
groups, who called the development “illogical and
irresponsible.”
Rivers need water—a fact that may seem ridiculously obvious,
but in times of increasing water development, drought, and
climate change, the quantity of natural streamflow that remains
in river channels is coming into question, especially in the
Colorado River basin. Newly published research poses a tough
question in these days of falling reservoir levels and
high-stakes urban development: whether the continued
development of rivers for water supply can be balanced with
fish conservation.
Gov. Doug Ducey has proposed setting aside $1 billion to remove
the salt from sea water and bring it to Arizona, a major legacy
project as he enters his eighth and final year in office. The
Republican governor previewed the plan but offered few details
in his annual state of the state address, delivered to a joint
session of the House and Senate. … Lawmakers also set aside
$200 million last year for future water infrastructure.
For those who grew up in the Phoenix area, they know how
different our state looks in the present day, when compared to
20 or 30 years ago. Arizona has grown quickly, and much faster
than other states, and a new state report finds the growth is
only going to accelerate over the next 10 years, but can
Arizona handle that much growth?
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday, Jan. 10 announced a commitment to
incentivize and spur development of the state’s lithium
reserves around the Salton Sea. “We have what someone described
as the Saudi Arabia of lithium here in the state of California
down in Imperial County near the Salton Sea,” Newsom said on
Monday as he unveiled his budget proposal for
2022-2023…. Newsom’s administration will work on a new
regulatory framework to spur private investment, create loan
programs to reduce investment risks, and “focus on
environmental and labor standards right up front”…
There’s the definite possibility the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act could have a negative impact on farmers’
property values. So the question is can farmers affected by the
SGMA receive relief when it comes to the amount of property
taxes they pay. The answer is maybe. The Tulare County
Assessor/Clerk-Recorder’s Office has addressed this issue,
stating farmers affected by the SGMA could possibly receive
relief when it comes to the property taxes they pay.
A California district court has sided with the city of Newark
and developer The Sobrato Organization in a lawsuit filed by
environmental groups who challenged a plan to build hundreds of
two-story tract homes along fragile wetlands in Alameda County.
Environmentalists said the dwellings would be built in a
federal flood zone and could succumb to rising seas in coming
decades, arguing that the project’s environmental review was
inadequate.
The city of Phoenix last week outlined how it will voluntarily
contribute water to a regional plan to shore up the country’s
largest reservoir that delivers Colorado River water to three
states and Mexico. The river cannot provide seven Western
states the water they were promised a century ago because of
less snow, warmer temperatures and water lost to evaporation.
Water managers repeatedly have had to pivot to develop plans to
sustain it for the long-term.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday will propose spending billions of
additional dollars on drought response, wildfire suppression
and rural workforce development programs, according to budget
documents reviewed by The Sacramento Bee. The governor’s plan
includes $750 million in one-time money to help communities
affected by the drought, including for water conservation,
water efficiency, replenishing groundwater supplies and helping
small farmers.
Within three decades, the San Joaquin Valley’s annual average
temperature could increase by 4 degrees, worsening water
quality and health hazards in the impoverished communities of
California’s agricultural heartland, according to a new
regional climate change report. Those hit hardest by the
increasing heat will be poor farming communities that lack the
resources necessary to adapt, according to the UC Merced
report.
The market for avocados is among the fastest expanding markets
worldwide, and consumption, particularly in North America and
Europe, has increased during recent decades due largely to a
combination of socio-economic and marketing factors. Avocado
production, however, is associated with significant water
conflicts, stresses and hot spots, as well as with other
negative environmental and socio-economic impacts on local
communities in the main production zones. … It is
evident that increasing demand and production of avocados is
already causing water stress conditions in some countries, and
has the potential to affect many others.
It’s the decades-long conflict even our recent surge of storms
can’t wash away — How to build the thousands of new housing
units we desperately need and at the same time ensure there’s
enough water for an expanding population. … While the
recent storms may bring short-term relief, many experts believe
a true end to the current drought, could still be a long ways
off. Marin County is currently working on plans for a new
emergency water pipeline across the Richmond – San Rafael
Bridge.
In Arizona, verdant fields of crops and a growing sprawl of
suburban homes mean a sharp demand for water in the middle of
the desert. Meeting that demand includes drawing from massive
stores of water in underground aquifers. But some experts say
they’re overtaxed, and shouldn’t be seen as a long-term
solution for a region where the water supply is expected to
shrink in the decades to come.
In November this year, San Francisco declared a water shortage
emergency and called for reducing usage by 10%, impacting
nearly three million city customers. In March, Utah also
declared a state of emergency as 90% of the state was in
extreme drought conditions. These are just 2 of the 17 states
that experienced water shortages in the past year. State and
local governments are now motivated to protect their
communities going into 2022 and beyond, with little consensus
on water sources that are shared by so many, like the Colorado
River.
Sacramento officials hope to relocate [a community of homeless
people] to an adjacent riverfront property, owned by the Sierra
Health Foundation. City contractors would provide security and
help connect residents with longer-term housing, mental health
and addiction services. But residents on “the island,” as
they call the encampment, are worried about change. They say
the small patch of land might not be big enough — and could
flood.
Grassy yards would be banned at all new housing and commercial
developments in the Las Vegas metro area as officials try to
expand water use limitations and the region prepares for a
hotter and drier future. The Southern Nevada Water Authority
passed resolutions on Monday to prohibit the yards and the use
of evaporative cooling machines, also known as “swamp coolers,”
at the new developments. Swamp coolers are used by many people
instead of traditional air conditioners, but use more
water.
Last week, at Caesars Palace, a luxurious hotel on the Las
Vegas Strip, nearly a thousand water managers, scientists, and
government officials convened at the annual Colorado River
Water Users Association conference to discuss the future of the
imperiled watershed. The tone was one of urgency: The
Colorado River, which spans seven states, 30 tribal nations and
two countries, is carrying much less water than it used to. At
the same time, a lot more people are vying for what’s left.
It could soon be illegal to install grass in new developments
in the Las Vegas Valley. The Southern Nevada Water Authority
board of directors is scheduled to consider a resolution Monday
that would pave the way for prohibiting the installation of
turf in all new developments, except at schools and in parks
and cemeteries. If the board approves the resolution, the
agency will work with municipalities to update local codes.
It’s a proposal that comes as water officials in Southern
Nevada seek new routes to conservation.
When it comes to water, Californians have a lot of big ideas
for how to get more of it. One of the latest is in Marin
County, where water managers are looking to build an eight-mile
pipeline atop the towering Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The line
would allow water to be moved across San Francisco Bay from
other parts of the state, to prop up sagging local supplies.
But for every grand plan pushing forward like this one, a dozen
others – often more ambitious and sometimes outright wacky -
get only eye rolls and a quick thumbs-down.
Newark Vice Mayor Mike Bucci sat behind a wood-paneled council
dais, a sinking feeling growing in his gut as he scribbled
notes. The council was discussing Sanctuary West, a nearly
three-decade-old plan from Mountain View-based The Sobrato
Organization to bring badly needed housing to the city. Newark
— a Bay Area enclave of fewer than 50,000 people — is located
on the east side of the Dumbarton Bridge near Fremont in
Alameda County, a place that has struggled mightily to build
new housing even as costs have skyrocketed.
After more than four years of planning, study and political
debate, a proposal to build a $2.3 billion reservoir in Santa
Clara County — the largest reservoir constructed in the Bay
Area in more than 20 years — will reach a make-or-break moment
Wednesday. The California Water Commission, a 9-member panel
appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is scheduled to vote on whether
the project, which would be located near Pacheco Pass, will
continue to be eligible to receive $496 million in state
funding.
The state hearing on whether there is “loose” water on the Kern
River got started Thursday and was quickly snared in a thicket
of procedural issues, arcane water rights and water diversion
practices. After two very full days of testimony and legal
wrangling, the upshot is that there is no upshot, just yet.
Administrative Hearing Officer Nicole Kuenzi hasn’t decided
whether she’ll make a ruling on whether there is unappropriated
water on the river until completion of a second set of
hearings, which will look specifically at high-flow river
water.
It’s been a year since two devastating wildfires on opposite ends
of California underscored the harsh new realities facing water
districts and cities serving communities in or adjacent to the
state’s fire-prone wildlands. Fire doesn’t just level homes, it
can contaminate water, scorch watersheds, damage delivery systems
and upend an agency’s finances.
We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls ride over the river, we know not. Ah, well! We may conjecture many things.
~John Wesley Powell
Powell scrawled those words in his journal as he and his expedition paddled their way into the deep walls of the Grand Canyon on a stretch of the Colorado River in August 1869. Three months earlier, the 10-man group had set out on their exploration of the iconic Southwest river by hauling their wooden boats into a major tributary of the Colorado, the Green River in Wyoming, for their trip into the “great unknown,” as Powell described it.
In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago as a young economist with the Rand Corporation, then later as deputy general manager with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and finally as executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. In December, the 66-year-old will retire from ACWA.
Owens Lake is a dry lake at the terminus of the Owens River
just west of Death Valley and on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. For at least
800,000 years, the lake had a continuous flow of water, until
1913 when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
(LADWP) completed the 233-mile Los Angeles
Aqueduct to supplement the budding metropolis’
increasing water demands.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36
inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and
its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and
Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin.
Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the
Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and
wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin
Area Office.
As the state’s population continues to grow and traditional water
supplies grow tighter, there is increased interest in reusing
treated wastewater for a variety of activities, including
irrigation of crops, parks and golf courses, groundwater recharge
and industrial uses.
The 20-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Marketing provides
background information on water rights, types of transfers and
critical policy issues surrounding this topic. First published in
1996, the 2005 version offers expanded information on
groundwater banking and conjunctive use, Colorado River
transfers and the role of private companies in California’s
developing water market.
Order in bulk (25 or more copies of the same guide) for a reduced
fee. Contact the Foundation, 916-444-6240, for details.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water
Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication
that provides background information on the principles of IRWM,
its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water
management approach.
Despite droughts, recession and natural disasters, California’s
urban population continues to grow.
This population growth means increasing demand for water by urban
areas—home to most of California’s population [see also Agricultural
Conservation]. As of 2021, three of the nation’s 10 most
populated cities are in California.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This printed issue of Western Water discusses low
impact development and stormwater capture – two areas of emerging
interest that are viewed as important components of California’s
future water supply and management scenario.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
changed nature of the California Water Plan, some aspects of the
2009 update (including the recommendation for a water finance
plan) and the reaction by certain stakeholders.
This printed issue of Western Water explores some of the major
challenges facing Colorado River stakeholders: preparing for
climate change, forging U.S.-Mexico water supply solutions and
dealing with continued growth in the basins states. Much of the
content for this issue of Western Water came from the in-depth
panel discussions at the September 2009 Colorado River Symposium.
This issue of Western Water asks whether a groundwater
compact is needed to manage this shared resource today. In the
water-stressed West, there will need to be a recognition of
sharing water resources or a line will need to be drawn in the
sand against future growth.
This issue of Western Water examines the continuing practice of
smart water use in the urban sector and its many facets, from
improved consumer appliances to improved agency planning to the
improvements in water recycling and desalination. Many in the
water community say conserving water is not merely a response to
drought conditions, but a permanent ethic in an era in which
every drop of water is a valuable commodity not to be wasted.
When water and growth was featured in the May/June 1995 Western
Water, the debate in the California Legislature was about whether
a local water district should have any say when it came to
providing water to new developments. Of the four bills before
state lawmakers, it was Sen. Jim Costa’s SB 901 that cleared the
Legislature and was signed into law. The bill established a
voluntary link between water and land-use planning by requiring
planning departments to consult with local water purveyors about
the availability of new supplies.
