Since World War II and a booming state population that
increasingly sought out the great outdoors to relax, the state’s
water-based recreational activities have continued to grow more
popular and diverse, occurring in a multitude of sources –
from swimming pools and spas to beaches, reservoirs, natural
lakes and rivers.
Public water supply projects, such as the State Water Project,
have helped to provide additional recreational opportunities for
Californians. In some cases, reservoir releases can contribute to
downstream recreation benefits by improving fisheries or by
creating whitewater rafting opportunities that would not be
possible in the absence of reservoir regulation. However, there
are conflicting values and needs for the same river system.
Everyone boating in Lake Tahoe already goes through a process
of “Clean, Drain, Dry” protocols prior to launching to keep
invasive species out of the big, beautiful lake. But what about
other vessels in the lake like paddle boards, electric
surfboards, kayaks, and canoes? … For pristine
waters that have no invasive species, such as Echo Lakes,
Angora, and Fallen Leaf lakes, even Lake Tahoe is considered a
threat from the Eurasian watermilfoil, curlyleaf pondweed, and
Asian clams currently found in Big Blue.
It is mid-May, and a couple of days ago, the Hermits Peak Fire
in northern New Mexico reached 299,565 acres in size,
surpassing the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire as the state’s
largest wildfire on record. … It is mid-May, and a dozen
other fires have already charred tens of thousands of acres
across the West … It is mid-May, and the spring winds have
been relentless … It is mid-May, and the temperature in
Phoenix has reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit two days in a row.
With the holiday weekend coming up a lot of people are expected
in Lake Tahoe for boating and other summer activities. But,
there are a few boat ramps that will be closed this weekend
that could impact plans. Because of the lack of precipitation,
a majority of boat ramps in Lake Tahoe will be closed this
summer. Even with the winter weather we had just a few weeks
ago, it only raised the lake about an inch. The boat ramps that
will be closed this season are Sand Harbor, El Dorado, Kings
Beach, and Tahoe Vista Recreation Area.
Annette Morales Roe learned how to waterski off the north shore
of the Salton Sea in the 1960s. … Her family stopped visiting
in the early 1970s, around the same time scientists began
warning that the Salton Sea would shrink and become
inhospitable to wildlife without a sustainable water source.
… Now, Roe is certain that she knows how to fix the
problem — and has the team to do it. As managing partner
and chief strategy officer of Online Land Planning LLC,
she is advocating for a plan that would reroute recycled water
that’s currently flowing into the Pacific Ocean to the Salton
Sea …
The lowly sidewalk tree often stands invisible. We rest in its
shade, bask in the scent of springtime flowers, and we don’t
notice it until it’s gone. But the tree works hard. It captures
and filters stormwater runoff and helps replenish groundwater.
It cleans our air and cools our neighborhoods. It improves our
mental health. It saves lives. With Southern California
officials clamping down on outdoor water use amid worsening
drought, the message is clear: It’s fine for lawns to go brown,
but we need to keep trees alive and healthy.
This month’s Reader Photo Challenge assignment was “bridges.”
Being situated in the California Delta, Central Valley
residents know all too well the importance of bridges. Without
them communities would be stranded from each other and cities
would be split into sections by the network of rivers,
canals and sloughs that are ubiquitous to the area. Bridges
help to connect us to our neighbors and to each other. Eight
readers sent in 31 photos. Here are some of the best examples.
A ruling by federal regulators has put a damper on plans to
turn 300 miles of rail line from Humboldt County to Marin
County into the Great Redwood Trail. The Surface Transportation
Board issued a decision Tuesday that it will not prioritize
trail use … Maintaining the rail line along the Eel
River is financially infeasible because of landslides and other
risks, but the North Coast Railroad Co. wants to take over that
portion of the line. … U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman and
state Sen. Mike McGuire … issued statements saying they
weren’t surprised by the decision, but that they are taking
steps to ensure the “toxic coal train” doesn’t become a reality
on the North Coast.
San Diego County lagoons and wetlands may get more funding for
protection and restoration under the Resilient Coasts and
Estuaries Act, introduced Tuesday by Reps. Mike Levin, D-San
Juan Capistrano, and Brian Mast, R-Fla. The bill would
authorize $60 million per year through 2026 for the Coastal and
Estuarine Land Conservation Program, which distributes money to
preserve the “conservation, recreation, ecological, historical,
and aesthetic values of estuaries,” Levin stated. That funding
could support conservation of local wetlands, including the San
Mateo Creek, San Luis Rey River, San Elijo Lagoon and others…
California is hoping to get a new state park. The site, now
known as the Dos Rios Reserve, is just a 20-minute drive from
Modesto and may be open to the public by next year if Gov.
Gavin Newsom’s budget is approved. The site is where two
rivers, Tuolumne and San Joaquin, meet.
Los Angeles County on Tuesday, May 17 unveiled its final Los
Angeles River Master Plan, which the county’s Board of
Supervisors will consider for adoption on June 14. The
plan is aimed at improving water quality, increasing wildlife
habitat and biodiversity and creating equitable access to
parks. Among its specific goals are: Creating 51 miles of
connected open space along the entire river; Building
support facilities along the river; … increasing habitat
and ecosystem function along the river corridor and using it as
a living laboratory …
Folsom Lake is 85% full, and it is once again a welcoming place
for boaters and swimmers. It’s a dramatic turnaround from last
July when boat docks were unusable….“We’re more than double
the storage that we had this day last year,” Drew Lessard said.
Lessard is an area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, the
agency that operates Folsom Dam…. Lessard explains the
impressive lake level is largely the result of gradual snowmelt
from the cold April storms. Those storms were well-positioned
to benefit the American River watershed that flows into the
lake.
San Anselmo has approved a plan to renovate the playing fields
at Memorial Park with phased-in water conservation upgrades.
After being presented with three project options Tuesday, the
Town Council voted 4-1 to combine elements of two alternatives,
but to do the work in stages. The project calls for new grass
and an upgraded irrigation and drainage system to be installed
as soon as possible. A stormwater and grey water harvesting
system and a 100,000-gallon underground water storage tank will
be added later.
California will acquire a sprawling former farm property in the
San Joaquin Valley and create a new state park for the first
time in 13 years. The park is planned for Dos Rios Ranch, where
the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers meet southwest of Modesto.
Five months after 8.5 million gallons of raw sewage spilled
from a ruptured mainline in Carson, an independent engineer’s
report has pinpointed its cause and offered practical advice
for the county agency responsible. … The rupture was
primarily caused, the report said, by corrosion of both a
48-inch diameter, 1960s-era concrete pipe and a sewer cover at
the intersection of 212th Street and South Lynton Avenue.
… Another contributing factor in the failure, the report
said, was a rain event on Dec. 30.
If you were hoping to go boating on Lopez Lake after Memorial
Day, there might be a small kink to your plans. The San Luis
Obispo County Parks and Recreation Department has announced it
is closing the popular South County lake’s boat launch ramp on
Monday, May 16, due to low lake levels. Park Ranger Miles
Tuinstra told The Tribune on Friday the closure was due to the
lake’s dropping water levels. “We’ve kept it open as long
as we can,” he said. “There’s just no water.”
Climate change is making the West hotter and drier, threatening
the Colorado River system, including the man-made reservoirs of
Lake Powell in Utah and Lake Mead in Nevada that provide water
for 40 million people in seven states. The National Park
Service has been forced to shut down 11 boat ramps at the Lake
Powell recreation area, which draws millions of visitors. The
critically low lake levels could soon cause the Glen Canyon Dam
to stop producing hydropower for more than five million people
in six states, forcing them to find alternative sources.
Water policy in the Western U.S. has always been a contentious
issue. Changes in water management, however, are slowly
happening. For example, an increasing number of dams are being
deconstructed where environmental, safety, and
Indigenous-cultural impacts outweigh the benefits of
hydropower, flood control, irrigation, or recreation…. More
recently, the issues of water wastage and flood control from
dam removal are being offset by allowing rivers to return to
more natural flow patterns.
For the 20th year in a row, people from tribal communities
along the Klamath River are preparing to run the more than 300
mile length of the river, tracing the route of the salmon that
are struggling to survive. … A new 13-minute documentary
called “Bring the Salmon Home” by filmmaker Shane Anderson
highlights the Klamath Salmon Run, which is set to begin at
7:30 a.m. Thursday. The Salmon Run was started after a historic
fish kill in 2002 decimated the Klamath River’s salmon.
A lack of rainfall across the Golden State and the Central
Coast is limiting blooms and leaving some tourists disappointed
about what’s missing at Carrizo Plain National Monument. Aside
from increasing drought conditions, 2022 started off with the
driest first three months of the year in the last century,
limiting the number of wildflowers able to germinate.
… This lack of blooms is not only due to the dry start
to 2022 but also a buildup of several years of drought.
Every year before the opening day of fishing season, the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife goes on a fishing
trip of their own in Lassen County’s Eagle Lake. Except on this
trip, they don’t use fishing poles or bait. Instead, they
use an electric generator and probes that pump around 48 volts
of electricity into the water. … Biologist Paul Divine and
his team are actually helping to keep one specific kind of fish
from going extinct … Eagle Lake Trout
But after 5 decades of shepherding countless groups down some
of the world’s most iconic and challenging runs, [river rater
Marty] McDonnell never expected to find himself in a mounting
battle against the changing climate, the solar industry and the
City of San Francisco. Although 2021 marked another dire year
for the dwindling Sierra Nevada snowpack, it’s not California’s
drought that worries McDonnell. Instead, it’s how hydropower is
generated along the Tuolumne River and distributed downstream.
It’s not just farmers who get a sinking feeling during the
drought. The local white water rafting industry has bottomed
out as well. Only one local company is left in Three
Rivers offering rafting trips down the Kaweah River in the
scenic southern Sierra Nevadas. Once a beehive of rafting
activity along the middle reach of the river, several years of
drought have dried up interest in what was a spring ritual in
these parts.
It’s time to go chasing waterfalls in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
With the snowpack quickly melting the waterfalls in the area
are flowing. USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit Public Affairs Specialist Lisa Herron thinks the time to
go out is now, given what a dry winter the basin had.
On Dec. 21, 2021, The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo
County completed three contiguous conservation easements on the
Attiyeh Ranch near Lake Nacimiento. The easements permanently
protect a whopping 7,682 acres of oak woodland, annual
grasslands, and chaparral, as well as significant freshwater
resources and wildlife habitat.
The Marin Water Board of Directors rescinded the county’s water
shortage emergency declaration and updated its water use rules
this week, adopting new requirements for outdoor irrigation and
swimming pools. …Now that the water emergency has been
canceled, residents are permitted to wash their cars at home,
irrigate golf courses in areas outside of the green or tees,
fill swimming pools but cover them when not in use, and install
new landscaping and irrigation systems. Outdoor irrigation
using overhead spray systems is permitted up to two days per
week; drip irrigation is permitted up to three days per week.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) recently
honored both The State of California, the Department of Parks
and Recreation, and the production company, The Industry, for
the production of “Sweet Land” held at the Los Angeles State
Historic Park in Chinatown for their creative,
first-of-its-kind use of recycled water. The State Parks and
Recreation and The Industry designed an immersive experience by
utilizing the Park’s recycled water irrigation system, instead
of potable water, to create a water spray feature that served
as a backdrop for the projected images at their outdoor stage.
Trash collected from the bottom of Lake Tahoe will be turned
into art. The Tahoe Fund is commissioning artists to create a
sculpture in Tahoe City by using some of the recovered items
found during a year-long scuba cleanup of the lake performed by
the Clean Up The Lake team.
San Diego County officials Wednesday will introduce a new
water-testing technology they will begin using the very next
day to provide same-day public warnings of poor coastal water
quality that causes illness. San Diego leaders say the
results will be more accurate and posted within hours instead
of the next day, reducing the time the public could be at risk
if water is contaminated.
A proposed La Quinta resort with a hotel, homes and a wave
basin — which has brought loud opposition from people saying it
is a poor use of water during a drought
— narrowly won the planning commission’s
endorsement Tuesday and will now move to the city council
for final consideration. The vote for the Coral Mountain
project came in two motions: The first was for
certification of the environmental impact report, which passed
5-2 with Vice Chairperson Loretta Currie and Commissioner
Michael Proctor voting no.
You could say that Orange Memorial Park in South San Francisco
is about to turn deep green. … [Colma Creek is] an
historic, natural waterway that was heavily cemented for flood
control in the early days of the area’s development. For
decades, the creek has carried runoff from the surrounding
watershed straight into San Francisco Bay, along with a
significant amount of trash. But that’s about to change.
The Salton Sea, located in Southern California, is a saline
terminal lake that has had many identities over the past
century or so. Since its reincarnation in 1905 due to lower
Colorado River flooding that partially refilled the Salton
Sink, it has been California’s largest lake by surface area,
covering approximately 350 square miles…. Yet with nearly 90%
of its inflow comprised of agricultural drainage waters from
the approximately 500,000 acres of irrigated farmland in the
Imperial Irrigation District (IID), and exposure to an
extremely arid climate that results in excessive evaporation
… the Sea’s natural attractions have faded as the lake has
become more polluted and nearly twice as saline as the
ocean….
Over the past two centuries, 95% of the Central Valley’s
wetlands have been lost to development, landscaped out of
existence to satisfy the hunger of an urbanizing, growing
nation. But that’s only part of the picture. California’s
Central Valley extends far beyond what you can see from the
freeways bisecting the belly of the state to connect the
Redding to the Bay Area to Los Angeles. The region once boasted
one of the largest and most biologically diverse wetlands on
earth nourished by the mighty Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
…
On a cold April evening, a few dozen people gathered inside the
humid Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery north of Gunnison. Adults and
kids hovered over the sides of 22 concrete tanks filled to the
brim with millions of kokanee salmon fry — 3.1 million to be
exact…. For years, the Gunnison hatchery has led the
state in the annual harvest of kokanee eggs. But drought and
obligation to demands downstream in the Colorado River Basin
are drawing down water levels and robbing the kokanee of their
habitat.
Hours from the California coast, surfers are hoping one of the
next spots where they can catch a wave is in the desert. At
least four large surf lagoons are proposed for the region
around Palm Springs, which is more commonly known for art
festivals, mountain hikes and golf, and has no natural waves in
sight. But some environmentalists and residents say it isn’t
water-wise to build large resorts in one of the driest spots in
California during one of its driest periods in recent
memory.
A total of nine people have been arrested after an
investigation into a large suspected sturgeon poaching
operation along Sacramento Valley waterways. The California
Department of Fish and Wildlife says the investigation started
as two separate cases, but a connection between the suspects
led them to uncovering the larger operation.
At its height, Lake Aculeo — 5,810 miles from the Great Salt
Lake and in South America’s Chile — attracted people from
nearby Santiago and the surrounding area to enjoy sailing,
boating and swimming in its fresh waters that occupied a
surface area four times the size of New York City’s Central
Park. All that is gone. In fact, like the Great Salt Lake’s
surface that has been reduced by more than half and its volume
diminished by 64% as of 2019, Lake Aculeo began to shrink
during a drought. In May 2018, Lake Aculeo dried up completely.
With very little rain falling throughout our region from
January to March, most of us were already preparing for summer.
However, the April showers hitting the coast are providing a
second winter. These rains will definitely impact the health of
future salmon and steelhead runs, which will likely be stronger
a few years down the road because of it.
This 3-mile stretch of sand and tide pools beneath a fortress
of 80-foot bluffs is a California tourism poster if there ever
was one. Nothing disturbs the pristine, sunny view, except –
once you’re aware of them – the nurdles. But you have to look
close – on-your-hands-and-knees close – to see one. And once
you do, you see another and another – so many that you may not
think of this, or any beach, the same way again. Mark
McReynolds is trying to bring into focus these tiny
preproduction plastic pellets that manufacturers melt down to
mold everything from car bumpers to toothpaste caps.
A multimillion-dollar construction project is almost done on a
massive water tank in Mission Trails Regional Park. Once
construction is complete, it will likely be forgotten because
no one will be able to see it. The San Diego County Water
Authority is wrapping up construction on its newest flow
regulatory structure on the western edge of the park. Work
began in earnest at the beginning of 2021 on the
five-million-gallon water tank and it’s expected to wrap up
next month.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announces
California recreational ocean salmon fishing season dates are
now set for the remainder of 2022 and offer about the same
number of open days as last year. Sport fisheries opened south
of Point Arena on April 2 and the remainder of the coast will
open May 1. Although anglers can enjoy an earlier start to the
season than last year, there will be intermittent breaks in
fishing opportunity in management areas north of Pigeon Point.
[W]ith California making plans to protect 30% of its lands and
coastal waters by 2030 — a final strategy report from the
state’s Natural Resources Agency is due out next week — I was
intrigued to learn of a new mapping tool to support that “30 by
30″ goal. The CA Nature website allows Californians to pore
over the landscape and consider which areas they might want to
see protected in the future. The site’s “conserved areas
explorer” shows the 24.1 million acres — just under 24% of the
state’s land area — that are already conserved, many of them as
parks, forests and preserves.
The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Deep, throaty cadenced calls —
sounding like an off-key bassoon — echo over the grasslands,
farmers’ fields and wetlands starting in late September of each
year. They mark the annual return of sandhill cranes to the
Cosumnes River Preserve,
46,000 acres located 20 miles south of Sacramento on the edge of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.
Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
Deep, throaty cadenced calls —
sounding like an off-key bassoon — echo over the grasslands,
farmers’ fields and wetlands starting in late September of each
year. They mark the annual return of sandhill cranes to the
Cosumnes River Preserve,
46,000 acres located 20 miles south of Sacramento on the edge of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
We explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop
of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad
sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and
climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs was the focus of this tour.
Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
This three-day, two-night tour explored the lower Colorado River
where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand
is growing from myriad sources — increasing population,
declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in
the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin
states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this
water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial
needs is the focus of this tour.
Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Water truly has shaped California into the great state it is
today. And if it is water that made California great, it’s the
fight over – and with – water that also makes it so critically
important. In efforts to remap California’s circulatory system,
there have been some critical events that had a profound impact
on California’s water history. These turning points not only
forced a re-evaluation of water, but continue to impact the lives
of every Californian. This 2005 PBS documentary offers a
historical and current look at the major water issues that shaped
the state we know today. Includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with
background information, historic timeline and a teacher’s lesson.
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.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how
non-native invasive animals can alter the natural ecosystem,
leading to the demise of native animals. “Unwelcome Visitors”
features photos and information on four such species – including
the zerbra mussel – and explains the environmental and economic
threats posed by these species.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
