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.
New testing results that have found record-high levels of
cyanotoxin at sampling sites on Clear Lake prompted the Public
Health officer on Wednesday night to issue a warning to those
who source their water from private intakes on the lake.
Environmentally minded residents of East County have an
opportunity to help make the Delta a little better. The annual
Delta Waterway Cleanup will take place Saturday, Sept. 18 from
9 a.m. to noon. The Delta Protection Commission (DPC) sponsors
this event, and has similar ones scheduled in each of the five
counties that adjoin the Sacramento San-Joaquin Delta. In
Contra Costa County, volunteers will focus their efforts on
Bethel Island. The Delta cleanup is part of California’s
Coastal Cleanup Day, the state’s largest annual volunteer
event.
When 700,000 gallons of water from a broken pipe valve flooded
into Stern Grove, the onrush pushed the dirt from beneath 50 or
so eucalyptus trees, seriously weakening the hillside they had
anchored. The next day, Stern Grove Festival’s executive
director, Bob Fiedler, stepped into 4 feet of fresh mud and his
mind shifted from the prospect of canceling the finale concert
of the 2021 series to whether the 2022 season could happen.
Few clues have been shared by investigators working to
determine how a family and their dog died a little over three
weeks ago while hiking in Sierra National Forest, in a remote
section of Mariposa County southwest of Yosemite National Park.
Known harmful algae blooms in the south fork of the Merced
River, near where the family was mysteriously found dead along
the Savage-Lundy Trail in Devil’s Gulch, are among the hazards
being considered. … [But] investigators are “not saying”
that’s what killed Mariposa residents John Gerrish, Ellen
Chung, their daughter, Miju, and family dog, Oski.
“The Lagoon is getting worse and worse every year,” said Andy
Lyon, former Malibu city council candidate, surfer, and
community activist. His concerns were validated on August 12,
when the Los Angeles County Health Department issued a water
quality warning, cautioning citizens to refrain from swimming,
surfing, and playing in ocean waters at Surfrider Beach and the
Malibu Lagoon due to potentially hazardous conditions,
including exceeding bacteria standards, and to exercise caution
where Malibu Creek discharges into the ocean and near
discharging storm drains.
Santa Maria Rec and Parks crews are digging up the grass near
Seward Drive. … They’re renovating city landscapes in light
of the state-wide drought. … The project on Seward Drive of
26 other locations where crews will be renovating the
landscapes throughout the year. By replacing some of the grass
with more drought tolerant landscaping, the expectation is to
use less water.
Ironic how a whitewater rafting trip can be a great analogy for
water policy work. Collaborating on water policy and water
solution implementations in California is a productive pathway
forward. Be it in a coalition, at your local farm, in your
community, in the Legislature, in the Governor’s office, or
when barreling towards rapids in a raft. Without collaboration,
particularly in a dry year like 2021, we all may fail for fish,
farmers, fowl, floodplains, and for safe drinking water.
A bloom of toxic blue-green algae in a Central California
reservoir has reached the danger level, the state Department of
Water Resource said Tuesday. Lab results from this week’s
tests showed an increase in toxin levels at San Luis Reservoir
in Merced County, the department said. Boating is allowed
but people and pets should avoid physical contact with the
water and algal scum. Fish and shellfish from the lake should
also be avoided.
For much of California, the arrival of September has brought
extreme, scalding temperatures. Sunday was the hottest day in
Los Angeles in nearly 11 months, according to AccuWeather.
Temperatures in the Inland Empire and the Sacramento region
soared into the triple-digits over the long weekend. And in the
next few days, dangerous heat waves are projected for large
swaths of the state, weather officials warn.
[A] day of hiking in the Sierra National Forest, even with the
demanding switchbacks and triple-digit heat, would not have
been unusual for Jonathan Gerrish and Ellen Chung,
husband-and-wife transplants from San Francisco who had
recently become parents to a little girl, Miju, during the
coronavirus pandemic. But the trek would be the family’s
last: Search teams found all three of their bodies on Aug. 17
… The Forest Service had previously posted warning signs
about potentially toxic algae blooms in the area.
Until further notice, the Bureau of Reclamation plans to close
the Delta Cross Channel gates during weekdays, beginning
Tuesday, September 7 at 10 a.m. The gates are expected to
reopen Fridays around 10 a.m. to facilitate weekend recreation
and close on Mondays around 10 a.m. Opening or closing gates
can be made on short notice and boaters are advised to check
the status of the gates, especially around holidays. The
process takes about one hour.
A 20-year, climate change-fueled megadrought has dealt a double
blow to Blue Mesa this summer. The dry conditions have led to
lower levels directly, but the lake is also hurting from
drought problems in other states. For the first time, the
federal government is taking emergency action by taking water
from Blue Mesa to help out another reservoir — Lake Powell on
the Utah-Arizona border….The water taken from Blue Mesa is
being used to make sure hydroelectric power turbines at Lake
Powell can keep spinning and generating electricity for
millions of people in the West…
One hundred and eighty-two days. That’s how long I went without
swimming during this never-ending pandemic. My last swim before
the big COVID-19 surge last year winter was October 20, 2020,
in the Salmon Falls River in my hometown in southern Maine. I
swam quickly (frantically) from a little pebbly beach, across
the brackish brown water, to New Hampshire and back.
Pack a few extra water bottles the next time you head to Mount
Diablo State Park. Due to the drought, faucets, showers and
flushing toilets have been turned off at various parts of the
mountain. The California Department of Parks and Recreation
says water springs on Mount Diablo State Park have been reduced
to a trickle and the water storage tanks are close to empty.
Sierra National Forest officials closed a portion of trails in
Mariposa County where a family and their dog were found dead
under mysterious circumstances in mid-August, citing
unspecified safety concerns. … Officials have not ruled
out water toxicity as a contributing factor in the family’s
death as they await the results of water tests taken from the
area where the family was found.
Upper Klamath Lake is once again turning toxic for the summer.
On July 30, the Oregon Health Authority issued a recreational
use advisory for Eagle Ridge County Park and Shoalwater Bay due
to a cyanobacteria bloom present on the lake’s western shore.
OHA expanded the advisory to Howard’s Bay, south of Spence
Mountain, on August 30. The bloom, comprised of Microcystis
aeruginosa, produces the liver toxin microcystin, which can
cause skin rashes, stomach issues, diarrhea and vomiting if
ingested.
Sierra National Forest closed numerous hiking trails, picnic
areas and campgrounds, citing “unknown hazards found in and
near the Savage Lundy Trail,” where a Mariposa family was
mysteriously found dead two weeks ago. The closures went into
effect Sunday and extend through Sept. 26. … The
Sheriff’s Office previously said known harmful algal
blooms along the south fork of the Merced River are among
the many possible causes of death being considered in the
case with “no smoking gun” clues.
The Madera County Department of Public Health issued an
advisory Monday after large amounts of harmful algae blooms
were found in Hensley Lake near Yosemite Lakes. … There
has been renewed interest in the phenomenon after
a Mariposa family was found dead in the Sierra National
Forest. Mariposa County Sheriff’s deputies say they
are looking at all possible causes for their death
including signs of toxic algae.
The Water Education Foundation was hoping to host a few
in-person events this fall (and you told us in a survey that
you wanted us to) but with the rise in the Delta variant of
COVID-19 cases, we have decided to present our Water
Summit and Headwaters Tour in a virtual format. However, while
our annual Water Summit will be virtual on Oct. 28, we are
hoping to include an optional outdoor reception aboard a
boat for a Sacramento River cruise. Stay tuned for
details!
San Francisco’s Stern Grove will remain closed at its east end
“until further notice,” the city’s Recreation and Park
Department said, because of a ruptured water main on Sloat
Boulevard. As a result of flooding, Sunday’s series finale for
the 84th annual Stern Grove Festival has been canceled. The
free concert, featuring the always popular Oakland funk band
Tower of Power and the rapper Too Short, will not be
rescheduled.
Madera County health officials in northern California on Monday
issued warnings to the public after high amounts of harmful
algae were reported in a lake. Staff from the Central
Valley Water Board have put out signs around Hensley Lake
warning people about harmful bright green algae in the water,
urging pets and children to stay away from the algae, which
contains toxins that are dangerous to humans and animals if
ingested. There are different types of toxic algae, but they
all still are a threat to human and animal health.
In 2020 the U.S. government through the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) committed $300 million in The United
States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement to
identify infrastructure solutions to mitigate the transboundary
pollution. Infrastructure solutions for transboundary flows
from the Tijuana River have been studied for the past year. The
Environmental Protection Agency, which has been tasked with
creating solutions, originally proposed 10 possible
projects.
The front lawn came with the house we moved into a couple years
ago. The patch of Bermudagrass was smaller than an average
putting green and easy to mow. The splash of deep green was
cute as far as that goes, but it was out of place on a street
that had largely made the transition to colored rock and
water-smart landscaping. Beyond the postcard aesthetics, it
made zero sense to continue to water a lawn in the desert.
Setting aside the politics of climate change and our arid land
with its endless water crisis — a basic definition of “desert”
— there were no children at home to play on it. -Written by John L. Smith, an author and Nevada
Independent columnist.
You can usually find Trish and me walking our dog CoBe around
Los Osos in the evening. Our favorite walk is along the
shoreline that stretches from Baywood Park Beach off Pasadena
Drive to the Audubon overlook at the end of 4th Street. Over
the past year, we’ve noticed a gradual increase in the amount
of eelgrass washed up on the sand. In fact, on our last hike,
there were areas that you couldn’t see any sand below the wrack
of eelgrass that formed in different ribbons of colors by the
tides.
The recent discovery of harmful algal blooms at multiple
locations in Crowley Lake in Mono County has prompted the
Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board)
and Mono County Environmental Health to urge recreational water
users to exercise caution when in the lake. Testing in
localized areas of the lake, a popular destination for trout
fishing located 45 miles southeast of Yosemite National Park,
confirmed the presence of harmful algal blooms (HABs).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael
Regan got a first-hand look Friday at the Tijuana River Valley,
where hundreds of millions of gallons of water laced with raw
sewage, trash and industrial chemicals regularly foul San Diego
shorelines, shuttering beaches as far north as Coronado.
Sacramento’s American River Parkway gets more than five million
visits a year—that’s even more than Yosemite—but this year, the
nature area has suffered more destructive brush fires than ever
before. Parkway advocates came face to face with politicians,
firefighters and those who manage the area to demand more
protection.
Toxic algae in Sierra National Forest, now being considered in
the mysterious deaths of a family this week, was being retested
on Thursday by the California State Water Resources Control
Board and Mariposa County. … Mariposa residents John
Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their daughter, Miju, and family dog,
Oski, were found dead in this area on Tuesday after
not returning from a day hike in the Hites Cove area of Devil’s
Gulch, between Mariposa and Yosemite National Park. The
family may have been exposed to cyanobacterial toxins, the
water board said, which can form in algal blooms.
Efforts to rid the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of abandoned
boats received a boost when Assemblymember Jim Frazier, D-11,
secured a $12 million allocation for that purpose in the
state’s budget for fiscal year 2021 – 2022. The
allocation is specifically earmarked for the removal of
abandoned and derelict commercial vessels that litter the
Delta. These vessels have the potential to leak any number of
dangerous pollutants into the Delta, which is also the heart of
the water supply for two-thirds of all Californians.
According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, in the
1940s, sportsmen built water catchments in the desert in an
effort to stabilize wildlife populations for hunting and
fishing. More than 80 years later, the department now maintains
hundreds of these catchments, filling them with millions of
gallons of water every year, but they are doing so with a
different purpose in mind: to keep wildlife in Arizona alive
through the drought and dry monsoons.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is urging the public to
avoid contact with water at Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles County
until further notice due to blue-green algae
(cyanobacteria). Boating is allowed, but swimming and
other water-contact recreation and sporting activities are not
considered safe due to potential adverse health
effects. All swim beaches are closed. For more information
on warning level advisory, go to Harmful Algal Bloom
website under Advisory Signs.
A 7-year-old Tehama County boy has died after contracting a
rare but severe brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a lake in
Northern California, his family said. … There have been
only 10 cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM,
reported in California since 1971, according to the Tehama
County Health Services Agency. Health officials recommend if
anyone has had nasal exposure to warm freshwater in the last 10
days and develops symptoms to consult a doctor immediately.
Efforts of the Salton Sea Management Program to achieve to
goals of mitigation efforts “will be difficult, if not
impossible” without investment in continuing scientific
research, according to a new report. The report was prepared
for policymakers and stakeholders by the University of
California, Riverside Salton Sea Task Force. The task force
consists of an interdisciplinary group of scientists,
engineers, medical experts and economists gathered to identify
critical scientific research necessary to guide policymakers in
making decisions about the region’s future.
Lists can be very useful. They’re simple. They get to the
point. An all-too-familiar way to recount the past 18
months is by listing off the terrible, unthinkable things our
society and community have been through: a pandemic, economic
hardship, social unrest, historic wildfires, and environmental
damage – even here in our beloved Tahoe Basin. On the eve
of the 25th Annual Lake Tahoe Summit, and with an optimistic
eye, we’re suggesting a different way to read that list. -Written by Darcie Goodman Collins, CEO of the
League to Save Lake Tahoe / Keep Tahoe Blue; Joanne S.
Marchetta, executive director of the Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency; and Steve Teshara, CEO of the Tahoe
Chamber.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is urging the public to
avoid contact with water at San Luis Reservoir in Merced County
until further notice due to blue-green algae (cyanobacteria).
Boating is allowed, but swimming and other water-contact
recreation and sporting activities are not considered safe due
to potential adverse health effects. O’Neill Forebay remains at
caution advisory. For more information on caution and warning
level advisories, go to Harmful Algal Bloom website under
Advisory Signs.
There are finally efforts under way to improve the
environmental health disaster that is the Salton Sea —
California’s largest and most polluted lake. However, a group
of UC Riverside scientists, engineers, medical experts, and
economists has published a new report warning that these
efforts may not succeed. The report warns that the scientific
assumptions informing current mitigation efforts are outdated
or lacking entirely.
A state that lives by nature, though, risks dying by it, too.
In the last few years, as California battled heat waves and
drought and fire, intensifying as the planet warms, I have
found myself wondering about my home state’s future and, in a
deeper sense, its purpose. Is California still California when
our weather becomes an adversary rather than an ally? What is
California for when summertime, the season in which the Golden
State once found its fullest luster, turns from heaven into
hell? -Written by Farhad Manjoo, NY Times columnist.
In a year already plagued by pandemic and wildfires,
Californians are also entangled with the crippling effect of
drought. … In 2017, hundreds of thousands of lives were
threatened when massive flooding damaged the Oroville Dam.
Today, changing weather conditions have created a stark
contrast from years ago: Hot temperatures and low rainfall have
left miles of dusty, cracked shorelines exposed.
An extremely rare brain-eating amoeba infected a child who was
swimming in a California lake, health officials said. A child
under the age of 10 was diagnosed with primary amebic
meningoencephalitis, a rare infection caused from brain-eating
amoeba and known as PAM, the Tehama County Health Services
Agency said. … Health officials did not say what lake or
identify the child. The infection is extremely rare, and there
have only been 10 cases reported in California since 1971,
according to the health agency.
Both Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir might have applauded a
bold proposal currently being fought over in California: Shift
control of the 1.3-million-acre Sierra National Forest to the
National Park Service, which would manage it as a national
monument benefiting species, helping combat climate change, and
inching the Biden administration’s “30 by 30 initiative” a bit
closer to fruition. … It’s a stunning
landscape that rises to nearly 14,000 feet atop Mount
Humphreys. Deep canyons cut through the High
Sierra here and drain the boulder-strewn Kings, San
Joaquin, and Merced rivers.
The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant is expected to continue
releasing millions of gallons of partially treated wastewater
into the Pacific until the plant is restored to normal
operations later this month, but the amount of pollutants in
the water flowing into the ocean is already dropping
dramatically as more of the damaged facility is brought back
online, according to new water quality data.
Located in California’s Central Valley, the Sacramento National
Wildlife Refuge Complex is made up of six individual National
Wildlife Refuges including Sacramento, Colusa, Delevan, Butte
Sink, Sutter and a long stretch of the Sacramento River from
Red Bluff south to Princeton. The complex adds up to 10,819
acres and was originally established by Franklin D. Roosevelt
on Feb. 27, 1937, as a Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. Waterfowl
using the Pacific Flyway to migrate currently and historically
used the area as a winter refuge. Written by Kevin
Deacon, a recent graduate of Tuleyome’s California Naturalist
Certification course, and Kristie Ehrhardt, Tuleyome’s
Land Conservation and Stewardship Program Manager.
California is in the early stages of its latest drought, one
that could worsen as another dry year continues across much of
the Golden State. With calls from Gov. Gavin Newsom and
regional agencies like Santa Clara Valley Water District for
15% water use cutbacks, residents are looking for ways to
conserve at home and work. Despite the need for broad
conservation, however, water parks in the South Bay remain
open, full of visitors seeking a refreshing cool down from the
region’s frequent summer heat waves.
The first pull of the day was a Corona bottle, its label
scraped off by the coarse sand just off the shore of South Lake
Tahoe. How long it had been there was anyone’s guess. A
freediver in the floating cleanup crew unearthed it from the
sand — only about 12 feet deep here — and surfaced to dump it
in a green floating trash raft named Darlene. It was Day
15 of the first-ever effort to systematically scoop up
submerged litter and junk that has accumulated on the bottom
along Lake Tahoe’s 72-mile shoreline.
The water quality of several beaches near Dockweiler State
Beach has returned to state standards after a sewage spill,
according to the California Department of Public Health.
Beachgoers had been warned against swimming along a stretch of
coastline after an emergency discharge from the Hyperion Water
Reclamation Plant sent 17 million gallons of raw sewage into
the waters off Dockweiler and El Segundo beaches on July 11 and
12.
The Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management are
collaborating through a five-year agreement to reduce wildland
fire threats in the popular Auburn State Recreation Area in El
Dorado and Placer counties. This agreement includes projects to
construct fuel breaks, remove hazard trees, and reduce brush.
Wildfires throughout California are increasing in size,
complexity, and frequency. Reclamation is collaborating with
the BLM to provide increased fuels (vegetation) reduction
support, management, and technical pre-suppression support for
fire protection and public safety.
Several Los Angeles County beaches near Dockweiler State Beach
continue to exceed state standards for bacteria in water,
according to the Department of Public Health. However,
special water sampling conducted Friday determined water
quality levels returned to state standards at the Hyperion
Water Reclamation Plant outfall at Dockweiler State Beach and
the Topsail Street extension at Venice Beach, lifting warnings
there.
The Delta Stewardship Council has sided with a group that
argued the state Department of Water Resources did not
adequately address the issue of public access and recreational
opportunities related to the Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat
Restoration and Flood Management Project. … The group has
been fighting to maintain land access to Shag Slough and the
Liberty Island Ecological Reserve, which they said would be
lost if the project moves forward as planned.
A new trend of pool toys containing glitter and microbeads is
complicating the already pervasive environmental problem of
microplastic pollution. University of California, Davis,
scientists studying plastics pollution encourage beach-goers to
take care to leave natural waterways as clean or cleaner than
they found them this summer by reducing their use of all forms
of plastic at the beach and leaving pool toys full of
microbeads and glitter at home.
High bacteria levels at beaches near the site of a massive
sewage discharge in Playa del Rey have prompted Los Angeles
County health officials to issue a warning about going in the
water. The L.A. County Department of Public Health did not rule
out a link between the 17-million-gallon sewage release from
the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant on July 11 and the rise in
bacteria. But a connection was “unlikely,” given the currents
and the more than two weeks that have elapsed since the
incident, the department said.
During another terrible drought year, it may come as a shock to
hear that rafting prospects are spectacular for the rest of
summer on Northern California’s top rafting rivers, the
Tuolumne and American. In fact, those two rivers have attracted
an unusually high number of rafters with a thirst for cool,
clean water on hot days. … A key reason why outfitters
are able to keep operations running during such a dry year is
that regional water agencies are helping them.
Rain fell on San Diego Monday. It wasn’t a lot of rain – an
Accuweather forecast called for “a brief morning shower or two”
with an anticipated rainfall of 0.01 inches. But it was enough
to prompt a beach closure at the Tijuana Slough, just south of
Imperial Beach. That section of the beach is closed whenever
the Tijuana River is flowing. Cross-border sewage spills have
been an issue in South County for decades.
In another vivid example of California’s ongoing drought and
water crisis, the water level is so low at Folsom Lake that
Gold rush era relics that typically are submerged are now
visible on dry land. … For more than a century before
the Folsom Dam was built, the current lake floor in Northern
California was used for gold mining and farming. Settlements
were destroyed when the reservoir was filled in the mid-1950s,
but some old foundations and artifacts remain on the lakebed.
Earlier this year, the Nevada legislature made turf removal a
requirement in cases where grass exists for purely aesthetic
purposes. The legislation, pushed by the water authority and
signed by Governor Steve Sisolak, requires the removal of all
decorative, or “nonfunctional,” turf in Las Vegas by 2026.
Under this law, residents can keep their lawns, and parks can
keep their fields. But that turf decorating medians and
buildings must be converted to less water-intensive vegetation.
Irrigating grass in the desert heat demands a lot of
water.
Here, in California’s far south-east, there’s no escaping the
noxious air. The haze that hovers over Imperial [County] is a
peculiar blend – incorporating pesticide plumes, exhaust fumes,
factory emissions, and something curious: vaporized dust rising
from the nearby Salton Sea. … It is California’s largest
lake, an ecological oasis, a former mecca for famous
vacationers, and a muddy sink for agricultural runoff. For
decades, it has been shrinking, exposing a powdery arsenic-,
selenium- and DDT-laced shoreline that wafts into the
atmosphere.
On a jog in her El Segundo neighborhood, Corrie Zupo’s head
hurt and her eyes watered. She blamed the symptoms on noxious
fumes from the nearby Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which
is undergoing at least a month of repairs after discharging 17
million gallons of raw sewage into the ocean on July 11. Other
residents have complained of rashes, nausea and burning eyes.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment
Department, which runs the plant, announced that it would
reimburse El Segundo residents for air conditioners if they
stay in their homes, or hotel vouchers if they would rather
leave.
The Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, will visit Denver
to address the worsening drought and wildfire
conditions. The biggest area of concern is the deep
drought on the western slope. Haaland will be in Grand
Junction Friday talking about wildland fire preparedness and
response. On Saturday, Haaland will be in Ridgeway discussing
Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy.
Los Angeles Controller Ron Galperin sent a letter to LA
Sanitation and Environment on Tuesday, July 20, demanding
answers about the cause and impact of a 17 million gallon
sewage spill early last week that temporarily closed beaches
from El Segundo to the southern end of Playa del Rey. … The
Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, near El Segundo, discharged
17 million gallons of untreated sewage through a one-mile
outfall beginning the evening of July 11 and into the morning
of July 12, prompting the beach closures.
Calling all river-lovers and map enthusiasts! A new web project
called River Runner, created by data analyst Sam Learner,
allows you to follow the path of a raindrop anywhere in the
contiguous United States. Using data from the United States
Geological Survey, Learner mapped the flow of water throughout
all 48 adjoining states. Just click on any spot on the map to
create your raindrop and watch it flow downstream. We are
excited about this tool because it provides you with a bird’s
eye view of the river and its surroundings.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is asking
recreational anglers to voluntarily change how, when and where
they fish to minimize stress and mortality among fish
populations suffering from drought conditions. CDFW is advising
anglers not to fish past noon on certain inland waters as even
catch-and-release angling during the hottest parts of the day
can greatly increase fish stress and mortality.
… Coldwater species such as trout, salmon and steelhead
have the greatest likelihood of being affected by the drought
this year but low water levels and high-water temperatures can
potentially affect all inland aquatic species.
Residents, along with the local population of Mallard ducks,
Canada geese and coots will soon get their Legacy Park nature
preserve back. The pond, which is normally kept full most of
the year with storm runoff water, totally dried up this spring
in the middle of duckling season. The statewide drought took
its toll. Meanwhile, the construction of a new office park and
shopping center—the La Paz project—right across the street was
running into difficulties with groundwater as workers excavated
a future underground parking garage.
Temperatures are up, and Stanford researchers are worried the
record highs don’t bode well for the future of wildfire and
drought in California. Though mitigating the effects of climate
change is the only long-term solution, the researchers said
there are short-term adaptations communities can make to stay
safe. This June, Stanford reached a high of 103 degrees
Fahrenheit, with the Pacific Northwest recording widespread
average highs over 100 degrees in the recent, record-breaking
heatwave that enveloped the West.
There is growing scrutiny over a 17-million-gallon sewage spill
into the Santa Monica Bay, with many asking how the spill
occurred and why it took so long to alert the public. … Here
is a breakdown of what we know — and what we don’t. The
emergency discharge at Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in
Playa del Rey began Sunday evening and ended around 4:30 a.m.
Monday, according to interviews. The 17 million gallons —
about 6% of the facility’s daily load — amounted to the largest
emergency discharge conducted at the Hyperion plant in a
decade, officials said.
California water inspectors have discovered evidence of algae
that could pose a risk to humans and pets at North Natomas
parks, prompting city workers to plant signs warning locals to
steer clear of the water. … The algae bloom coated the
city’s water and flood control basins, which collect and store
water run-off. The presence of algae itself isn’t unusual,
especially during a season of unprecedented droughts and
red-hot temperatures, officials said. But exposure to the
harmful algae toxins can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headaches
and eye irritation.
After 17 million gallons of raw sewage were discharged into the
ocean off Los Angeles beaches early Monday, county officials
waited hours before notifying the public to avoid swimming in
areas potentially affected by high levels of bacteria. The
delay occurred even though officials from the Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health, which is responsible for
notifying the public, were at the Hyperion Water Reclamation
Plant in Playa del Rey during the emergency discharge procedure
that began Sunday evening and ended Monday around 4:30 a.m.,
according to interviews.
The following is a press release from the Humboldt County
Department of Health and Human Services: On May 10, 2021,
California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded the drought emergency
proclamation to 41 counties, including Humboldt. With this
proclamation comes acknowledgment that droughts can cause
changes to communities and the environment that impact public
health. Reduced stream flows increase the concentration of
pollutants in water and cause stagnation and elevated water
temperatures.
Nearly $3.25 million in federal funding was preliminarily
secured for separate project requests at the Salton Sea and the
New River on Monday, July 12, according to the office of
Congressman Juan Vargas, D-Chula Vista. The funding was
part of a 2022 House Appropriations Energy and Water
Subcommittee bill that included requests of $2.546 million for
a major Salton Sea research project, $200,000 for a Salton Sea
feasibility study, and $500,000 for planning and design phases
for a potential New River restoration project, Vargas’ press
release states.
This could be a good time to downsize the lawn. Thanks to your
water provider, you may get more cash for your grass. The
reason? We’re in a drought – again. But this may be no ordinary
dry spell. … Sacramento’s new rebates, which went
into effect July 1, double the amount available for River
Friendly Landscape conversions. Customers can receive up to $3
per square foot of turfgrass removed. That adds up quickly; a
10- by 10-foot block of gone lawn equals $300.
Here we are, living 25 miles, five miles, even a scant hundred
feet from that splendid dunk known as the Pacific Ocean, and
what are we known for the world over? Swimming pools. By one
calculation from five years ago, there are a quarter-million
private swimming pools in Los Angeles County. … Our stories
wouldn’t be our stories without swimming pools as image and
metaphor. In “The Graduate,” Benjamin Braddock bastes in his
parents’ pool in Pasadena, worrying about his future. … The
crowded, chlorinated deep-end water in “Boogie Nights”
memorializes porn, pools, and the 1970s San Fernando Valley,
the suburban birthplace of a pool paradise … -Written by Patt Morrison, a Los Angeles Times
columnist.
Miles of beaches in Los Angeles were closed to swimmers Monday
as 17 million gallons of sewage from the city’s largest
treatment plant spilled into Santa Monica Bay the night
before. A mechanical failure “at the Hyperion plant last night
caused untreated sewage to be discharged into the ocean,” Los
Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said on
Twitter. … Closure signs were posted in the areas around
El Segundo and Dockweiler State Beaches, as well as Grand
Ave. Storm Drain, and officials urged visitors from going
into the water.
Community members in Alameda County are outraged by the huge
amount of trash blown into the Bethany Reservoir in Alameda
County. They believed it was coming from a nearby landfill and
were demanding action. … Residents of nearby Mountain
House came with cameras to document it. They believed high
winds carried trash from the Altamont Landfill.
The confluence of the tiny San Pedro River and the much larger
Gila was once one of the richest locales in one of the most
productive river ecosystems in the American Southwest, an
incomparable oasis of biodiversity. The rivers frequently
flooded their banks, a life-giving pulse … The
confluence now is a very different place, its richness long
diminished. A massive mountain of orange- and dun-colored
smelter tailings, left from the days of copper and lead
processing and riddled with arsenic, towers where the two
rivers meet. Water rarely flows there, with an occasional
summer downpour delivering an ephemeral trickle.
The Salton Sea has been a health problem for decades with
longtime inaction from agencies charged with actually doing
something about it. But there is recent movement on a couple
wetland projects around the lake.
The lower Klamath River and the redwoods, which grow nowhere
else on Earth, are at the heart of Yurok culture. The tribe’s
reservation follows the river for its last 44 miles and extends
one mile from each bank, just broad enough to accommodate
dozens of tiny, remote villages and the modest town of Klamath
along the 101. The west end of the reservation is surrounded
by Redwood National and State Parks. I wanted quality
time on the water and under tall trees, but I also wanted to
learn more about a people who were navigating this river
thousands of years before the first Gold Rush prospectors
reached California.
Lake Tahoe’s water continues to show some of the murkiest
levels on record, according to a new report from UC Davis.
Readings from 2020 put the average depth of Tahoe’s water
clarity at 62.9 feet, on par with 2019’s average of 62.7 feet
but down a substantial 8 feet from the year before. The 2019
and 2020 data show the lake near its lowest level of clarity
since UC Davis researchers began keeping records 53 years ago.
The worst year was 2017, when lake clarity measured 59.7 feet.
City officials have placed warning signs at four North Natomas
parks where California water inspectors have found signs of
algae blooms that can be harmful to people and pets.
Algae blooms are not uncommon during warm spells when there is
stagnant water around, but the toxins in the bacteria
they produce can be harmful.
The Bureau of Reclamation urges those recreating on or along
the Colorado River through Glen and Grand canyons to exercise
increased caution as summer energy demands may cause rapid
changes to the river’s flow. Unscheduled fluctuations in water
releases may occur without notice. Vessels should be secured to
withstand potential changes in water levels and campers should
avoid setting camp where a sudden river rise could reach tents
or other camping supplies.
Hot temperatures have many headed straight to local waterways
to cool off, but experts say high heat and a bad drought this
year can be ideal conditions for harmful algae. It’s an issue
that’s not always top of mind. … According to state
data, popular waterways in the immediate Sacramento area are
safe. People headed to the American River or Folsom Lake for
the Fourth of July are in the clear. But the state labels
part of Discovery Bay near San Francisco as a danger area, with
a warning not to swim or touch the scum on the water.
The beaches are back, and according to research taken from the
coastal watchdogs at Heal the Bay, there are plenty of
excellent Southland beaches for people to enjoy this summer.
Even so, a handful of beaches across California, including a
perennial “beach bummer” in Los Angeles County, leave something
to be desired. Heal the Bay’s complete 2020-2021 Beach Report
Card covers the entirety of the west coast, from the Pacific
Northwest down to Tijuana, and includes brief water quality
updates from along the coast. It also features grades on
freshwater sources and swimming holes, such as those along the
LA River.
Conservationists are now at the $72-million mark of their
$97-million goal to acquire Banning Ranch, a 384-acre property
at the mouth of the Santa Ana River, and turn the oil field
into a public park. The Trust for Public Land announced Monday
that state legislators allocated $8 million to be put toward
the purchase of the property. Assemblywoman Cottie
Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) said in a Facebook post that she
was “thrilled” to have secured the allocation in this year’s
upcoming state budget. The budget is now on its way to Gov.
Gavin Newsom to sign prior to the start of the new fiscal year
on July 1.
Here’s some good news (and then, some not-so-good news) for
those seeking a summer respite by the sea: Beaches across
California are much cleaner than in years past. In its annual
survey of more than 500 beaches, Heal the Bay reported Tuesday
that 93% of California’s beaches logged good water-quality
marks between April and October 2020 — an encouraging
assessment for a coastline that sees all manner of trash,
pesticides and bacteria (not to mention microplastics,
automotive fluids and tire particles) flushed into the ocean
whenever it rains.
An afternoon on the lake unexpectedly turned into a close
encounter with wildlife for beachgoers in California. A large
adult black bear and three cubs took to a South Lake Tahoe
beach on Sunday to run and play in the water as about a dozen
onlookers watched in awe. The cubs wrestled in the lake as they
beat the high temperatures, which hit 90 degrees in South Lake
Tahoe that day. The four bears — along with a few wild geese —
made a day at the lake resemble a spontaneous day at the zoo
for the beachgoers.
The effort to change a former military aircraft taxiway along
San Francisco Bay into wetlands has gotten a setback after the
City Council balked at setting aside money to create a master
plan for the $14 million project. Known as “DePave,” the park
is proposed for the former Alameda Naval Air Station. It’s
expected to feature walking paths and overlooks, where people
can watch birds and harbor seals resting on floating platforms.
Last year, the city’s Recreation and Parks Commission
unanimously endorsed a draft “vision plan” for the future
16-acre park. The council also has broadly supported it, at
least vocally.
Competition for the title of most surreal location in America
is hot, but the Salton Sea in California is undoubtedly a
contender. And the eerie, post-apocalyptic feel of this bizarre
body of water and the ghost-town settlements on its shoreline
has been captured in a stunning newly released photo series by
Julian Lennon, the son of Beatles legend John. The landlocked
body of water is one of the world’s biggest inland seas and at
226ft (69m) below sea level one of the lowest places on earth.
The dream of turning a 384-acre oil field at the mouth of the
Santa Ana River into a public park and nature preserve grows
closer to a reality by another $8 million, thanks to a grant
from the state’s fish and wildlife department announced earlier
this month. The $8-million grant for the purchase of Banning
Ranch, given to the Trust for Public Land, is one of 28
projects — and one of three acquisition projects — selected to
receive a grant this year.
The move to end mining in a Tri-Valley lake became official
this week. Alameda County planning commissioners on Monday
approved plans for restoring the Eliot Quarry, where more than
a century of rock mining in the unincorporated area between
Livermore and Pleasanton will eventually be turned into lakes
surrounded by open fields and recreation trails. … [T]he
project will include the planting of native trees and shrubs,
creating passages for fish, and reducing the amount of
groundwater lost to San Francisco Bay by deepening the lake so
it can hold more water.
The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and
Sonoma County Department of Environmental Health Services
advise caution for anyone who boats, fishes or swims after
harmful algal blooms (HABs) were discovered in multiple Sonoma
County rivers. Because children and dogs are most susceptible
to serious health impacts, it is recommended that they avoid
touching any suspicious-looking algal material found in the
water or along river banks.
Due to the extreme drought conditions and risk of wildfire,
Sierra Pacific Industries is closing its California forest
lands to public access. This closure began Monday, June 21, and
will remain in effect until further notice. … The
public’s use of SPI roads and walk-in access to their
privately-owned lands will not be allowed. SPI will regularly
evaluate the situation; however, it is anticipated the closure
will remain in effect into fall.
I’ve spent my whole life near San Francisco Bay. But the amount
of time that I’ve actually spent out on the water has been
minimal — a few ferry rides, a dinner cruise or two, a trip to
Alcatraz and back in grade school. That’s it. I like to blame
my yacht-less friends, who have been amazingly inconsiderate
over the decades and never bought fancy sailboats to take me
out on the water. The real reason, of course, is that I’d never
explored some relatively inexpensive ways to explore this
area’s most famous feature. Turns out it’s pretty easy to
do, especially if you like to paddle.
Three conservation groups aiming to keep more water in rivers
for recreation are working on a revision to a state law.
American Whitewater, Conservation Colorado and Western Resource
Advocates are proposing an amendment to legislation that would
allow natural river features such as waves and rapids to get a
water right. Under the state’s current statute, in order to get
what is known as a recreational in-channel diversion water
right, it must be tied to a man-made structure in the river,
such as a design feature that creates the waves in many kayak
parks.
We had been walking for only a few minutes when Scott
Culbertson stopped in front of a field of twisted, blackened
bark. “I haven’t been here since the fire,” the executive
director of the Friends of Ballona Wetlands told me, scowling
at the destruction from behind dark sunglasses. Three months
ago, this spot in the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve in
Playa del Rey had been a stand of native willow trees and other
vegetation where endangered songbirds would nest. Then, one
sunny afternoon, a brush fire broke out and scorched five acres
before firefighters could put it out. -Written by Erika Smith, LA Times columnist.
Several locations along the American River north of Sacramento
are showing above-average levels of E. coli, according to the
Central Valley Water Board. KCRA 3 spoke with health officials
in Sacramento County on Friday about the concerning levels of
E. coli.
Lake Pillsbury… is located in the northeast part of Lake
County. Filled in 1922, impounded by the Scott Dam, it is part
of the Potter Valley Project that assures water security for
hundreds of thousands of people in the three counties of
Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin for drinking, farming, aquifer
replenishment and recreation….On March 17, 2021, FERC issued
a Study Plan Determination and per the order the Two Basin
Solution Partnership must analyze the effects of removing Scott
Dam on the communities around Lake Pillsbury, tribal interests,
recreation and other activities on the Eel River …
While typically the water flow in the Stanislaus River slows
during the summer, that’s not likely to happen this year, so
recreational users of the river are urged to observe safety
precautions to avoid tragedy. Why is the river running so high?
… In a nutshell, it means New Melones is being
called upon to backfill a good portion of water that Shasta,
Folsom and Oroville should be releasing during this summer to
the delta…
Hot temperatures are drawing people to the cool water of
Tiscornia Beach, but what many there may not know, there are
high levels of E.coli found in the water. … Robert
Metcalf is a retired professor who’s taught microbiology at
Sacramento State University for 42 years. He said finding
E. coli in the water means there is recent fecal
contamination. Mary Beth Metcalf, a retired clinical
professor of pediatrics from UC Davis, said E.coli leads
to other infections.
In the same area of the mountains where the snow was 80
percent, river flows dripped out at 30 percent of their
average. … [T]here’s not much water when there’s this
level of aridity. Paddling, for me, is a benchmark, a tangible
way to understand what all those drought maps and numbers mean.
And these days, the bottom-scraping springtime runs feel like a
creepy indicator of how bad things will be downriver, where
those waterways are used to grow food, maintain ecosystems,
fight wildfires, and provide drinking water.
The first glimpse of the water driving down Highway 86 is
breathtaking. From some angles, you can’t even see the other
side of California’s biggest lake. It seems out of place in the
vast desert expanse of the Imperial Valley, just north of the
Mexican border, where it’s over 100 degrees for much of the
year. But then the car door opens, and it hits: the
overwhelming smell of rotten eggs. At the shoreline is a
sign saying not to touch the toxic water.
Reservoirs throughout the west are showing signs of the drought
that really turned severe over the winter. There may be records
set by the end of this summer as some reservoirs are down near
half capacity already. But is it all bad news? News 8’s Steve
Fiorina went in search of answers regarding the status of our
San Diego County lakes and reservoirs. Many reservoirs
across California are lower than preferred as we deal with the
ongoing drought. In San Diego, so far there are no worries.
A heat wave blanketing Southern California is driving
blistering temperatures from the beaches to the mountains,
triggering excessive-heat warnings and sparking fears that the
hot, dry conditions are ripe for wildfires. With temperatures
expected to reach triple digits in some areas, the National
Weather Service issued an excessive-heat warning from 10 a.m.
Tuesday to 9 p.m. Friday in the mountains of Ventura and Los
Angeles counties, not including the Santa Monica range.
At Crocker Amazon Park in the Excelsior, six acres of formerly
underutilized land owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission has been turned into an urban farm through the
efforts of People Organizing to Demand Environmental and
Economic Rights, known as PODER. The urban community
agriculture project, dubbed Hummingbird Farm, provides organic
food as well as medicinal plants, and serves as a community and
education hub in particular for young people.
Lake Powell has drastically shriveled during 20 years of
drought, allowing dozens of miles of the Colorado River to
become a river again in world-famous Cataract Canyon. But why
have many of its legendary rapids failed to return? Three men
from Moab have made it their crusade to study that issue and to
document a stunning after-effect of Lake Powell: a river
struggling to cut its way through a monumental legacy of dried
mud.
Among the East Bay Regional Park District visitor centers
offering programs as pandemic-related restrictions ease is the
one at Oakley’s Big Break Regional Shoreline. On Big Break
Road off Main Street (Highway 4), Big Break is a window on the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta’s rich cultural and natural
history. Outside, there’s a kayak launch, a fishing pier, a
small amphitheater, a scale model of the entire Delta and
shoreline trails leading to Brentwood and the Marsh Creek
Regional Trail, which is open from 5 a.m. to 10
Managers of some Arizona golf courses are fighting a plan that
would cut water use at a time when the state is being
forced to confront shrinking water supplies. A group
representing golf courses has been pushing back against a
proposal by state officials that would reduce overall
water use on courses, instead offering a plan that would entail
less conservation. Opposition to the state’s proposal for
golf courses has emerged over the past several months, aired in
sometimes-tense virtual meetings …
California is rolling out a fresh strategy to keep its economy
afloat — releasing 17 million salmon into the San Francisco
Bay. Millions of Chinook salmon raised in hatcheries will
bypass California’s drought-stricken riverbanks to be released
directly into colder, downstream sites in the San Francisco
Bay, in an attempt to maximize their survival rate amid some of
the most extreme environmental conditions the state has ever
faced.
The Bureau of Reclamation is continuing increased flow releases
from New Melones Reservoir to assist with Delta outflow
requirements. Additional flow
releases began on the
lower Stanislaus River on June 10. The
increased flow of 1,500 cubic feet per
second will occur for an extended
duration. Increased river flow can create hazardous
conditions including higher water levels, faster currents,
colder water, and potential entrapment. … Recreationists and
visitors should take safety precautions when near or
on the lower Stanislaus River during
these increased flows.
The state Supreme Court rejected the appeal Wednesday of the
owner of an island in Suisun Bay who has been ordered to pay
millions of dollars in penalties and restore landfill he
discharged into marsh waters to make room for duck hunters and
a kite-surfing club. John Sweeney purchased the 39-acre island,
Point Buckler, on the eastern edge of Grizzly Bay in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 2011. It had been used by duck
hunters for many decades until the 1990s, but regulatory
agencies said levee breaches and neglect of the site had turned
it into a tidal marsh.
A Sacramento woman says she nearly drowned and her son was
traumatized when she got stuck in a fish trap while floating on
the American River. A lawsuit filed Friday in Superior Court
seeks damages from state and federal wildlife agencies and
Sacramento County over the incident, on June 10, 2020, just
west of the Watt Avenue bridge in Sacramento. The woman and her
son had been floating on inner tubes for less than a
quarter-mile, the complaint says, when hers was pulled toward a
“rotary screw trap” — a floating device intended to
capture salmon for monitoring purposes.
Instead of being flush with newly melted snow, Folsom Lake is
the driest it’s been in springtime since the epic drought of
1977. Water levels are so low that temporary pumps probably
will be installed to help move water out of the stricken
reservoir. Water levels at Lake Oroville have plunged to
the point that its giant hydropower plant could be idled for
the first time ever this summer … [C]onditions are so
bad that major cities are drawing up conservation plans,
farmers have scaled back plantings and environmentalists are
angrily warning of massive fish kills.
The ocean shoreline at Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge
and Border Field State Park was closed Saturday due to
contaminated sewage water that may be moving north into the
U.S., county water authorities said. The San Diego County
Department of Environmental Health and Quality issued the
contact closure for the ocean shoreline Saturday. Ocean water
samples exceeded state health standards, DEHQ officials said.
Climate change has created new “seasons” that challenge
communities across the nation. California now has a “fire
season,” and sadly, we are embarking on harmful algal bloom
(HAB) season again. NRDC has updated its national map of
state-reported freshwater HABs, which tracks the HABs reported
by states from 2008-2020 and shows that these toxic outbreaks
are increasing across the country, making our rivers, lakes,
and beaches unsafe for swimming, boating, and drinking. Between
2008 and 2020, over 44,000 HAB events were recorded across 38
states.
In May, Lake Tahoe watercraft inspectors have identified
numerous boats carrying harmful aquatic invasive species and
added them to the list of boats that had to be decontaminated
before launching, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning
Agency and the Tahoe Resource Conservation District, which
manage the inspection program. As of press time, 14 of the more
than 1,000 boats inspected were found to have aquatic invasive
species in, on or attached to the boat, boat trailer, dock
lines or on-board recreational equipment, according to a press
release.
The lack of Sierra snowmelt has significantly reduced the size
of Folsom Lake. It’s 68 feet lower that it was last year, the
equivalent of a five-story building. Only one of the
lake’s 13 boat ramps was open over Memorial Day
Weekend. … Besides the lack of snowfall, the ground
has become so dry that, as the snowpack melts, it’s absorbed
into the ground instead of going in the reservoir.
The drought is taking a major toll on local lakes, most notably
Big Bear Lake, one of the most beautiful views in Southern
California. After another dry winter, water officials say the
lake could hit historically low levels by fall. Many of the
people who live and work in the area are concerned because they
say the lake is shrinking.
Multiple earthquakes rattled the Lake Tahoe region on Friday,
the latest in a sequence that began in late April. … Tahoe
sits on major fault lines more than a thousand years overdue to
rupture… A huge shake could even lead to a Tahoe
tsunami, but he says for now – it’s still highly unlikely. But
in the event of something major, Kent recommends not wasting
any time getting away from the water.
It was a question asked of panelists discussing the Salton Sea
on Tuesday, May 25. State and local officials were asked a
number of questions about the drying sea during a one-hour
online forum. The Red Hill Bay project that stalled after
breaking ground in 2015 was one of the topics panelists
discussed.
Malibu residents voiced concerns about a large algae bloom in
Malibu Lagoon at the Monday, May 24, Malibu City Council
meeting, with one requesting the city demand California State
Parks to do something about the lagoon—which public speakers
said could breach as soon as the early morning of Wednesday,
May 26. Malibu Lagoon has previously been plagued by algal
blooms; in 2018, one large bloom choked native plants and
fish—which suffocated, died and floated to the surface in a
massive, smelly die-off.
The Kern River Conservancy received a $23,000 grant to study
whether last year’s Sequoia Complex Fire harmed the water
quality in the wild and scenic section of the Kern River. The
Virginia and Alfred Harrell Foundation awarded the grant to the
non-profit conservancy, Gary Ananian, the conservancy’s founder
and executive director, told the Kern Valley Sun.
It has lost nearly 95% of its volume in the past two decades,
upending what was once a thriving resort economy, a healthy
brine shrimp population, crucial wildlife and bird habitat, and
critical mineral extraction industries. The miles of stark,
exposed lakebed threaten the millions of people who live nearby
due to wind-whipped dust settling in their lungs. It’s Lake
Urmia, nearly 6,900 miles away from the Great Salt Lake. But
the two are now connected as efforts to save this lake deliver
unique lessons as Utah grapples with a way to preserve and save
its salty landmark from a similar fate.
The calm water of Tiscornia Beach, where the Sacramento and
American rivers meet, could be deceiving for many swimmers and
boaters and lead to drownings. Even during a drought, the water
in these rivers and others throughout the Sacramento area is
still cold and fast. The water can easily catch anyone off
guard. Sacramento city officials on Tuesday reminded everyone
heading to the water for Memorial Day weekend that wearing a
life jacket is crucial to keeping them safe.
With lake levels out at Lake Shasta getting lower, more
underwater gems will be visible for the community to explore.
As of Tuesday, May 25, Lake Shasta is 106 ft. below regular
lake levels. KRCR spoke with both the Bureau of Reclamation and
the Shasta Historical Society who each shared some must-see
sightings. Out at the Shasta Dam, people can check out
what is left of the historic 1940 Headtower that was used to
deliver 6.5 million cubic yards of concrete to make up the dam,
says the Bureau.
The USGS will collect high-resolution aerial imagery over
Grand Canyon National Park for approximately one week beginning
Saturday, May 29, to document, observe and track long-term
ecosystem changes in the Colorado River.
The Sonoma County Regional Parks department is in the early
stages of exploring an idea to turn the seasonal summer dam at
Healdsburg Veteran’s Memorial Beach into a series of about 18
inches of drops, which would create four mini pools for lazy
river-style tubing, family-friendly swimming and fishing. The
early concept is a result of the need to either rebuild the
aging dam infrastructure, or create an alternative option in
lieu of the dam. The concept includes low flow channels for
fish passage, portage access, fishing access, trails and three
separate beaches.
The city of Escondido is moving forward with plans to replace
the Lake Wohlford dam, a structure built of earth and rock that
has stood at its present location since 1895. Lake
Wohlford is about 5 miles northeast of downtown Escondido, just
beyond city limits in the unincorporated area of San Diego
County, and the dam is owned by the city. The lake has long
served the city both as a recreational asset for boaters and
fishing enthusiasts and as an emergency storage reservoir to
supply drinking water in case of a drought.
The state plans to break [a levee at Shag Slough] in nine
locations to create 3,000 acres of tidal wetlands. It has asked
the county to vacate that section of Liberty Island Road that
runs atop the levee. Taylor Dahlke, the leader of a group
fighting to maintain land access to Shag Slough, the Liberty
Island Ecological Reserve and the region in general told the
Delta Stewardship Council on Thursday night that the state
proposal violates the Delta Plan.
Just who is in charge of revitalization of California’s largest
lake, and why has it been so tough to solve the issues at the
Salton Sea? … There has been a lot of blame passed around by
those who own the land around and under the Salton Sea. The
biggest land owner here is the Imperial Irrigation District, or
IID. Then, the federal government. Next, the Torres-Martinez
tribe.
Beginning next week, the Bureau of Reclamation plans to reduce
overnight releases from Davis Dam on selected dates in an
attempt to decrease the local caddisfly population – following
a request from the cities of Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead
City, Arizona. The reduced flows along the river reach below
Davis Dam will help with an ongoing pest abatement study being
conducted by the downstream communities to combat this nuisance
species that negatively impacts businesses and visitors to the
area.
Despite the dry year, outdoor recreationists who enjoy
California rivers and streams should remain aware of
dangerously cold swiftly moving water. Although California’s
snowpack is about half of normal, rising temperatures are
accelerating the snowmelt. Pacific Gas and Electric Company
(PG&E) urges those who choose to venture near or in water
to take extra precautions, especially around hydroelectric
facilities and dams, where water flows can change rapidly.
Anglers also are encouraged to take precautions as trout season
has opened for most California rivers.
Lake Shasta this summer is facing possibly its lowest level in
at least 44 years, and that could be bad news for the people
who rely on it for drinking and irrigation water, as well as
endangered salmon that depend on it to survive. Dam
operators have to go all the way back to 1977 to compare how
bad this year’s water situation is shaping up to be, said Don
Bader, area manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which
manages the dam.
The seven members of the Delta Stewardship Council were seated
in 2010. The Council appointed ten prominent scientists to the
Delta ISB. Over the next decade, the Delta ISB produced over 30
scientific reviews, averaging over 3,000 hours of work per
year. But in 2020, the work of the Delta ISB stalled. The Delta
Stewardship Council reduced funding for the Delta ISB by over
90%.
As California enters another dry summer, the supply and use of
water are once again becoming topics of immediate concern.
Statewide, agriculture dominates use of developed water —
meaning water which is moved through pipes at some point.
In urban areas, about half of developed water is used outdoors,
and of that fraction about half is used for landscape
irrigation. That half is an important fraction in Los Angeles
and other urban areas. Across the state, homeowners may be
interested in saving money on water bills, improving plant
health, limiting weeds, and being ecologically responsible
while still having an attractive, low-maintenance landscape.
[I]n a new study, UCLA researchers found that nitrogen in
treated sewage is driving a massive growth of oceanic algae and
loss of oxygen, which will likely have lasting effects on the
region’s ecosystem. From 1997 to 2000, for example, the growth
of microscopic marine algae called phytoplankton was 79% higher
than it would have been without nitrogen from human sewage in
the waters along the coast from the Baja California Peninsula
to Santa Barbara. The problem occurs in large part because
freshwater from sewage is less dense than the seawater it’s
injected into, which causes the wastewater to rises to the
surface, where phytoplankton live.
The Ross Town Council has selected an alternative plan for a
flood control project at Frederick Allen Park, sparing dozens
of creekside trees. The council voted unanimously Thursday in
favor of “alternative 1,” which would preserve 80 trees slated
for removal in the park. It would also nix the fish ladder and
add four large fish resting pools into the concrete channel
between the tennis courts and the post office.
Just before midnight on March 12, 1928, the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power’s St. Francis Dam collapsed,
inundating the canyon below with some 12 billion gallons of
water. The floodwaters, which in the darkness registered first
as a mounting roar to those who were awake, tossed 10,000-ton
fragments of the dam thousands of feet downstream and scoured
the canyon walls to bare rock. More than 400 people in the
flood’s 53-mile path to the sea were drowned or battered to
death as the torrent sheared through orchards, pulverized
buildings, and crumpled bridges.
The Colorado River is flowing again in its delta. This is a big
deal for a river that has not flowed through its delta in most
years since the 1960s, resulting in an ecosystem that is
severely desiccated and devastated. Thanks to commitments from
the United States and Mexico in the Colorado River binational
agreement—Minute 323 – 35,000 acre-feet of water (11.4
billion gallons) dedicated to create environmental benefits
will be delivered to the river from May 1 to October 11. The
expectation is that this will create and support habitat for
birds like the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yuma Ridgway’s Rail, and
Vermilion Flycatcher, and give life to the many plants and
animals in this ribbon oasis of green in the midst of the
Sonoran Desert.
Beavers, known for their work ethic, tenacity and sometimes
destructive instincts, are making a comeback in the worlds of
science and water as researchers look for natural ways to
restore rivers and wetlands and improve the health of
drought-stressed aquifers. … This fall, Colorado Headwaters,
a nonprofit that advocates for protecting and restoring
headwater regions in the state, is sponsoring a beaver summit,
a conference designed to unveil some of the latest ecological
research on creatures once valued only for their glossy fur.
The Salton Sea continues to be a big talker when it comes to
lithium, but a long problem remains in and around the sea when
it comes to toxic air. During our extensive coverage of the
Salton Sea, we learned that toxic air is not only coming from
dried-up parts of the sea, but other parts of the sea are now
contributing to the toxicity. “It is not just the toxic
elements that have been trapped by the water and now exposed as
the sea recedes,” explained Frank Ruiz, Salton Sea Director
with Audubon California. Ruiz has been working with researchers
who have been studying the toxic levels at the Salton Sea.
May is American Wetlands Month and this year also marks the
50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance. This intergovernmental treaty is
focused on the conservation and wise use of important wetlands
and their resources. … Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine
Research Reserve … provides habitat for a diversity
of wildlife species, including more than 100 species of fish,
500 species of invertebrates, and the region’s iconic southern
sea otters. … Tomales Bay is a marine-coastal
wetland consisting of estuaries, eelgrass beds, sand dune
systems, and tidal marshes.
Although Indigenous people had, since prehistoric times,
modified the [Sierra Nevada] landscape and caused widespread
ecological change, the arrival of Europeans and Americans for
the gold rush brought a much more invasive level of alterations
with the construction of dams, permanent manipulation of
rivers, clear-cutting of old-growth trees and an ill-advised
practice of fire suppression that makes these forests ripe for
wildfires, especially when compounded by climate change, which
means more heat waves, decreased snowpack and drier conditions
among other impacts.
Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.)
today joined with Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky
Rosen (both D-Nev.) to introduce bipartisan legislation to
extend authorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act. The
original Lake Tahoe Restoration Act was passed in 2000 and
authorized $300 million for the restoration of the lake and
surrounding basin. The current authorization, which was passed
in 2016, will expire in 2024. Reauthorizing the bill will
prevent an interruption in conservation and restoration
planning.
Only one week remains to register for our May 20 virtual
Lower
Colorado River Tour where you can hear directly
from experts offering a range of perspectives on the most
contested and meticulously managed river in the United
States. Practically every drop of water in the
Colorado River is already allocated, but pressure on the
hard-working river continues to grow from myriad sources —
increasing population, declining habitat and climate
change.
AB-377, is a proposed state Assembly bill titled Water Quality:
Impaired Waters. The premise of this legislation seems to be
that local authorities are responsible for all the dirty water
in local waterways. While the goal of “cleaning up the water”
is commendable the proposed solution is problematic. The Lompoc
City Council discussed a staff request to oppose this
legislation on May 4; the staff explains that “Assembly Bill
(AB) 377 seeks to ensure California’s waterways are drinkable,
fishable and swimmable by 2050.” -Written by Ron Fink, a Lompoc resident.
Spring is generally a time of renewal for the watersheds of the
western United States. Warmed by the lengthening days, the
region’s towering mountain ranges shed their mantle of snow,
releasing freshets of water into welcoming streams and
reservoirs. This year, though, the cycle is in disarray.
Outside of the Olympic and Cascade ranges of Washington state,
winter snows were subpar. The spring melt has been a dud. From
the Klamath to the Colorado and Rio Grande, watersheds are
under stress once again, and water managers face difficult
tradeoffs between farms, fisheries, and at-home uses.
Newly announced state funding for the Salton Sea is expected to
maximize habitat outcomes and provide immediate economic relief
to the community. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $5.1 billion water
infrastructure, drought response and climate resilience
proposal, which he announced Monday as part of his $100 billion
“California Comeback Plan,” includes $220 million for the
Salton Sea. At Tuesday’s Imperial County Board of Supervisors
meeting on Tuesday, District 1 Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar
wanted to know what is meant by providing immediate economic
relief to the community and how this would occur.
Amid drought conditions across the Sierra Nevada and
California, Lake Tahoe is 2.5 feet lower than it was at this
time last year, according to water data collected in Tahoe City
on May 11. … Lake Tahoe’s water typically gets a boost
from spring’s snowmelt. But as of May 11, the snowpack in the
Sierra Nevada has virtually melted, and Lake Tahoe’s water
levels are the lowest they’ve been in five
years, according to USGS data. Snow surveys on May 11
indicate California’s snowpack is just 6% of average for this
date. Barring significant precipitation this summer, Tahoe
is on track to reach a critical low point …
A conflict over access to water in the Klamath Basin is
signaling the way climate change could play out across the
western United States. After a drier-than-normal spring,
farmers and indigenous tribes in the Klamath Basin are at odds
over water in Upper Klamath Lake. According to the U.S. Drought
Monitor, the Klamath Basin is experiencing “extreme drought,”
… Centuries ago, the area was wetlands; but in the early
20th century, the land was opened up to agriculture. Members of
the Klamath Tribes say tree removal and drainage hastened
drying as the climate warmed.
Newly released emails reveal that lawyers and lobbyists for
mining companies, developers and the agriculture industry had a
hand behind the scenes in shaping Arizona’s newly adopted law
on clean-water rules for rivers and streams. The emails
show the involvement of these influential groups went beyond
their public endorsements of the legislation. Their lawyers and
lobbyists were given access to offer input while the final
legislation was being drafted, and the emails show they
suggested specific language, offered “wordsmithing” tweaks and
requested significant changes that state officials incorporated
into the bill.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $5.1 billion water infrastructure,
drought response, and climate resilience proposal
includes $220 million for the Salton Sea, and Assembly
member Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, applauded the announcement.
Garcia, chair of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and
Wildlife, stated in a press release from his office that the
funding would maximize habitat outcomes and provide immediate
economic relief to the community.
Today, the Bureau of Reclamation announced a plan to increase
flow releases from New Melones Reservoir to assist with meeting
Delta salinity and outflow requirements. Additional flow
releases will begin on the
lower Stanislaus River
on May 10 and will reach a total
flow of 1,000 cubic feet per second and again
on May 11 to reach 1,500 cfs. This
increased flow of 1,500 cfs will likely
occur for an extended duration. During the increased
releases, water levels will be higher and currents
faster. Visitors should use caution when near or
on the Stanislaus River during these increased
flows.
As California enters what could be a record-breaking drought, a
just-completed nine-year floodplain restoration project at the
confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers offers an
ambitious attempt at one mitigation solution. At a 1,600-acre
former dairy ranch called Dos Rios, the conservation
organization River Partners removed berms that farmers had
originally constructed to protect their alfalfa and wheat crops
from the river. It turned fields into seasonal pools where
endangered baby salmon and migratory birds can rest, and water
can trickle down to refill aquifers.
Chula Vista resident and Imperial Beach lifeguard Lillian
Burkhart still remembers the sting on her skin after surfing in
Imperial Beach waters one day last summer. Within 24 hours, she
fell ill with a gastrointestinal infection, she said.
… Burkhart’s experience is commonplace and a reminder of
the decades-long struggle to address the recurring sewage
spills from Tijuana that pollute the South Bay shoreline.
Last week, Senator Alex Padilla (D-Ca) announced the
introduction of a bill that will protect special places in the
Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument
for their ecological, cultural, and recreational values. The
bill also prohibits future oil drilling in certain places,
improves equitable access to the outdoors, and benefits local
and statewide economies. The bill is a companion to
Representative Salud Carbajal’s Central Coast Heritage
Protection Act, which passed the House of Representatives in
February. It … safeguards about 159 miles of wild and scenic
rivers.
Much of water management draws on patterns involving
randomness. This is typically done in building models based on
organizing equations, but has some relevance to art. The
following is a collection of art that relates randomness and
patterns with reflections on water management.
The North Marin Water District failed to adequately study
whether there will be enough water for endangered fish in
Lagunitas Creek if it builds a new well in West Marin, an
environmental group alleges. The well is intended to address
worsening saltwater contamination in the water supply. Save Our
Seashore, a nonprofit in Inverness, filed an appeal against the
project with the Marin County Planning Commission. … The
commission is expected to hold a hearing on the issue on May
24.
In 2020, the Salton Sea was described by Palm Springs Life
Magazine as “the biggest environmental disaster in California
history.” With the largest lake in California holding such a
bleak title, it’s amazing how obscure its legacy is. Over
spring break, we decided to go on a road trip to visit an
eccentric settlement in the middle of the lower Colorado
desert, known as a Slab City. This settlement is most well
known for being a site of post-apocalyptic garbage art and a
home for colorful nomads. Due to its libertarian ethos, it is
billed as the “last free place in America.”
Bakersfield raised a brew, literally, to the State Water
Resources Control Board on Friday in honor of the Kern River.
An iced down package of seven locally made craft beers was
delivered to board members as part of the latest outreach
effort by Bring Back the Kern, a local group advocating for
water to flow through Bakersfield in the Kern River.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a landmark water protection bill
Wednesday to ensure clean water in nearly 800 Arizona streams,
lakes and rivers that are critical for everyday use. The
legislation will preserve water quality, list protected Arizona
waters and develop management practices that will protect the
waterways.
A spectacular super bloom of lupine flowers has exploded in and
around Folsom Lake. Lupine flowers, which are native to
California and commonly found around the state, tend to crop up
every year. But this spring, experts say the super bloom that’s
sprouted in the Sierra foothills reservoir 25 miles east of
Sacramento is like nothing they’ve ever seen — and says a lot
about the dire state of California’s deepening drought.
…[B]right purple lupines that now blanket the reservoir in
areas that normally would be underwater but are now fertile
blooming ground because of historically low water levels.
Just a short drive south of Palm Springs, you’ll find
California’s largest lake. The drive along the circumference of
the Salton Sea reveals surprising, majestic views unlike
anything you’d expect to find in the desert. But for its
impressive sights and size, the Salton Sea is not a household
name, least of all in the very state it’s found. These days, if
you travel along the increasingly shrinking shorelines, you’ll
see suffering communities dotted with abandoned homes and lined
with silent streets.
Hear directly from a range of experts offering a variety of
perspectives on our May 20 virtual Lower Colorado River Tour as
they put into context the 20-plus year drought on what is the
most contested and meticulously managed river in the United
States. Among the experts featured are farmers, tribal
representatives, and managers from wildlife agencies, water
districts, the Bureau of Reclamation and others who will
discuss drought impacts, habitat projects, farming and
restoration efforts at the Salton Sea.
California’s drought is forcing hatcheries to truck young
salmon to the San Francisco Bay because the fish would
otherwise likely die trying to swim on their own
downstream to the Pacific Ocean. The Coleman National Fish
Hatchery along Battle Creek in Shasta County plans to drive
about 950,000 fall chinook salmon smolts in May to increase
their chances of survival.
In many American communities, rivers irrigate the farms that
feed families, quench people’s thirst—rivers are the source of
more than two-thirds of the drinking water in the U.S.—sustain
wildlife habitat, and provide an economic boost for
communities. Yet only a very small portion of those waterways
are protected from threats ranging from pollution to damming,
which would wreck the water’s natural flow.
… California’s Regional Water Quality Control Boards
have authority to designate ONRWs but to date have done so for
only two bodies of water: Lake Tahoe and Mono Lake. However,
the state did initiate an analysis of the Smith River as
an ONRW but has not completed the effort. The Smith is a
Pacific salmon stronghold.
In our latest effort to ensure that our water management and
farming practices both protect and enhance environmental
benefits in our area, Garden Highway Mutual Water Company
(Garden Highway) recently completed a project to screen its
diversion on the Feather River. This project allows us to
protect Chinook salmon and other fish species from entrainment
while diverting water year-round to irrigate crops and to
provide Pacific Flyway habitat during the fall and winter
months. The project was a cooperative effort between Garden
Highway, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau
of Reclamation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Family
Water Alliance.
Phase 3C of the Lower Clear Creek Floodway Rehabilitation
Project has been completed, attracting fish and wildlife to new
habitats and people to new recreation opportunities. This phase
concludes the extensive and decades-long effort to restore more
than 2 miles of stream channel on Bureau of Land Management
property below Whiskeytown Dam. It was led by the Clear Creek
Technical Team, which includes BLM, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Yurok Tribe and other federal,
tribal, state, local agencies and stakeholders.
Experts say a statewide drought declaration … could bring
significant consequences for the regulatory structure governing
California’s complicated water-delivery system. Many farmers
believe an emergency order could loosen environmental
regulations and free up water supplies for them. Environmental
groups fear the very same thing – that more of California’s
dwindling water supply could be directed to farming at the
expense of fish and wildlife.
Increasingly ominous signs suggest that we are entering another
multiyear drought in California. The State Water Project
recently reduced projected water deliveries for 2021 from 10
percent of requested supplies to 5 percent, and on April 21,
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a regional drought emergency in the
Russian River watershed in Northern California. But it’s a
different story in San Diego County.
-Written by Gary Croucher, chair of the San Diego County
Water Authority’s Board of Directors.
California is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet,
and the San Diego region is one of the most diverse in
California, but we are losing our biodiversity at an alarming
rate. The coming summer months and dry conditions are going to
further hurt that richness of life here. Conserving our water
resources directly and indirectly benefits our wildlife and is
consistent with the overall conservation ethic in San Diego,
which is why we need to prepare in case drought conditions
worsen.
-Written by Chuck Bonham, director of the CA Department of
Fish and Wildlife.
California could get 600,000 new acres of federally protected
wilderness under legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate
recently. The designation would ensure the lands remain free of
development, vehicles and commercial activity. … It
would also designate more than 583 miles of river — including
45 miles of San Gabriel River tributaries, as well as Little
Rock Creek — as “wild and scenic rivers,” a protection that
prohibits dams or new mining.
Seven years ago, after the fish died, Sarah Ryan decided she
couldn’t wait any longer for help. California at the time
was in the depths of its worst drought in the last millennium
and its ecosystems were gasping. For Ryan, the fish kill in
Clear Lake, the state’s second largest and the centerpiece of
Lake County, was the last straw. Ryan is the environmental
director for Big Valley Rancheria, a territory of the Big
Valley Band of Pomo Indians that sits on the ancient
lake’s western shore. She and others raised alarms for several
years about increasingly dire blooms of toxic
cyanobacteria.
Ever since I started working on Colorado River issues, I have
wanted to travel through the iconic landscape of the Grand
Canyon by boat. I was skeptical of my chances given the highly
coveted and limited number of permits, but this spring I was
lucky enough to be invited on a private trip. For 21 days, we
traveled through this remote stretch where the canyon walls
tower up to 4,000 feet above the river in some places. We
celebrated on the downstream side of big rapids and scrambled
up forgotten side canyons. We spied great blue herons and
merganser ducks on the river’s edge. We saw very few other
people.
President Biden’s pick this week to oversee the Army’s vast
natural resources operation would bring to the job decades of
water experience at the Interior Department and on Capitol
Hill. The president tapped Michael Connor to be the Department
of Defense’s assistant secretary of the Army for civil works,
which oversees the Army Corps of Engineers and its huge network
of dams and other projects. Connor would play a major role in
some of the most controversial projects facing the Biden
administration in the environmental arena, including the
Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, as well as Clean Water
Act permitting.
California officials will again truck millions of young salmon
raised at fish hatcheries in the Central Valley agricultural
region to the Pacific Ocean because projected river conditions
show that the waterways the fish use to travel downstream will
be historically low and warm due to increasing drought.
Officials said the massive trucking operation is aimed at
ensuring “the highest level of survival for the young salmon on
their hazardous journey to the Pacific Ocean.”
The Nevada Assembly voted Thursday to approve a non-residential
turf removal proposal brought by Southern Nevada water
regulators, who say it will save the water-shy Las Vegas Valley
12 billion gallons of water per year. With little debate from
lawmakers, the Assembly voted 30-12 on Assembly Bill 356,
sending the proposal to the Senate. Four Republicans — Glen
Leavitt, R-Boulder City, Heidi Kasama, R-Las Vegas, Melissa
Hardy, R-Henderson, and Jill Tolles, R-Reno — crossed party
lines to vote with the 26 Democrats.
Disagreement over restoring the Ballona Wetlands still remains
high. Walter Lamb, president of the Ballona Wetlands Land
Trust, recently held a webinar to discuss why the current
restoration plans are inadequate. The Land Trust disagrees with
the assertions of organizations such as Friends of Ballona
Wetlands, as they aren’t supported by available facts. Lamb
based his talking points around Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive
order made on October 7, 2020, of protecting biodiversity and
an announcement phasing out fossil fuels from September 23,
2020.
The frequency of natural disasters has soared in recent
decades. Total damage topped $210 billion worldwide in 2020.
With climate change, the costs attributed to coastal storms
will increase dramatically. At the same time, coastal habitats
such as wetlands and reefs are being lost rapidly. Some 20% of
the world’s mangroves were lost over the last four decades.
More than half of the Great Barrier Reef was degraded by
bleaching in 2020 alone. In California, we have lost more than
90% of our coastal marshes. -Written by Michael W. Beck, a research professor in
the Institute of Marine Sciences at UC Santa Cruz.
With the dry year facing California, there is increased
awareness about water quality issues and particularly harmful
algal blooms. The Natural Resources Agency in its Report To The
Legislature on The 2012–2016 Drought provided that “the
drought’s most visible water quality impact was harmful algal
blooms (HABs), which were reported more frequently during the
2012–2016 drought than during prior droughts.”
The US Forest Service is taking public comments on a proposed
exploratory mining operation near the headwaters of Hot Creek
in the Eastern Sierra that could lead to harmful open pit
mining near this fishery. We need your help to stop it. This
project is problematic and disastrous in many ways: KORE
Mining wants to drill around Hot Creek for gold with no plan or
guarantee that gold exists in that area. Dredging,
excavation, and hydraulic mining will cause dramatic
stream degradation. The proposal for the exploratory operation
provides no information on how much water is needed, the depth
of drilling, or the negative impact on the wildlife and the
environment.
It’s been another dry year in California. Governor Gavin Newsom
has declared a drought emergency in two northern California
counties and the Sierra snowpack is well below normal. All that
does not bode well for this summer’s wildfire season. To get a
sense of what to expect this year, KAZU’s Doug McKnight spoke
with Cal Fire Battalion Chief Issac Sanchez…
Millions of young salmon raised at fish hatcheries in the
Central Valley will be trucked to San Francisco Bay and other
coastal sites for release, because the rivers they’d normally
travel to get to the ocean are drying up, state and federal
officials said Wednesday. The ambitious trucking program, a
response to the state’s escalating drought, is intended to
maximize survival of the hatchery fish that prop up
California’s fall-run of chinook — the mainstay of the state’s
commercial and recreational salmon industries. Officials in
charge of the five major inland hatcheries that rear the fish
say convoys of tanker trucks are the only way to ensure the
3-inch smolts make it to sea.
While a decades-long battle over one major dam and river
diversion in northern Colorado appeared to end last week,
environmental groups signaled another fight will go on longer
as they filed an appeal meant to undermine Denver Water’s Gross
Dam expansion. The environmental coalition Monday asked
the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to review a dismissal of
their case by a federal district court and order a trial on the
merits of their claims about the dangers of adding 131 feet to
the height of Gross Reservoir Dam. They argue federal review
agencies neglected species-protection laws and other guidelines
when handing Denver Water a permit for Gross.
The California State Water Resources Control Board Friday urged
people and their pets to avoid the water in the Salton Sea due
to a toxic algae outbreak. Officials said that patches of toxic
cyanobacteria have been discovered at numerous sites in the
sea, and a dog recently died after swimming in the water.
“Cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms can affect the skin, liver
and nervous system of people and of dogs and livestock,” the
state water board said. As a precaution, visitors were urged
not to swim in the water, or let their pets enter the water, or
eat algal mats scattered about the shore line.
On Earth Day, the California Coastal Commission conditionally
approved a general management plan for a 28,700-acre federally
owned park in the San Francisco Bay Area — a plan vehemently
opposed by conservationists because it calls for killing native
tule elk in an area where thousands of acres of federal land
are leased to small dairy and cattle beef farmers.
… Last year, an estimated one-third of one the
tule elk herds died due to malnutrition, likely
exacerbated by drought conditions which decimated the animals’
foraging habitat at Point Reyes.
It has taken until the end of the second straight historically
dry winter, but California and its vast network of urban and
agricultural water suppliers, including those on the parched
North Coast, are now ramping up to confront the drought that is
tightening its grip on the state. Sonoma County
supervisors are set on Tuesday to proclaim a drought emergency,
becoming the first local government to take formal action on a
burgeoning water crisis that Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted
Wednesday.
The Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) has approved
approximately $33.5 million in grants to help enhance flows in
streams throughout California. A total of 30 stream flow
enhancement projects were approved for funding at its April 22
meeting. The approved projects will provide or lead to a direct
and measurable enhancement of the amount, timing and/or quality
of water in streams for anadromous fish or special status,
threatened, endangered or at-risk species, or to provide
resilience to climate change.
California water officials on Friday issued a draft order
telling Nestlé to ”cease and desist” taking much of
the millions of gallons of water it pipes out of the San
Bernardino National Forest to sell as Arrowhead brand bottled
water. The order, which must be approved by the
California Water Resources Control Board, caps years of
regulatory probes and a public outcry over the company’s
water pipeline in the San Bernardino Mountains, where opponents
argue that siphoning away water harms spring-fed Strawberry
Creek and the wildlife that depends on it.
The water level of Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir,
has dropped more than 130 feet since the beginning of 2000,
when the lake’s surface lapped at the spillway gates on Hoover
Dam. Twenty-one years later, with the Colorado River
consistently yielding less water as the climate has grown
warmer and drier, the reservoir near Las Vegas sits at just 39%
of capacity. … The river’s reservoirs are shrinking as
the Southwest endures an especially severe bout of dryness
within a two-decade drought intensified by climate
change, one of the driest periods in centuries that shows no
sign of letting up.
The Los Angeles River spans nearly 51 miles — running from
Canoga Park to Long Beach. [T]he river changed in the 1930s
after a series of catastrophic floods hit the region and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers channelized the entire length of
the river — encasing it in concrete — and turning it into a
flood control channel. … [Marissa Christiansen, president of
the Friends of the Los Angeles River, hopes] to bring the
river back to its roots. And, for Earth Week, FOLAR is planning
a huge cleanup. From June to July, the group is asking for help
cleaning up 100 tons of trash from the waterway.
The nearly 12,000-acre Oroville Wildlife Area (OWA) in Butte
County is a popular stopping place on the Pacific Flyway for
migrating and native birds. After the Oroville Dam was
completed in 1968, the Department of Water Resources (DWR)
contracted with the then California Department of Fish and Game
to operate the Oroville Wildlife Area for the preservation of
fish and wildlife habitat. The OWA also includes DWR’s
Thermalito Afterbay reservoir, a prime habitat for migrating
waterfowl as well as several different Endangered Species.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a drought emergency for
Sonoma and Mendocino counties, but resisted calls to issue a
statewide proclamation — at least for now. Newsom’s emergency
order primarily affects communities and water districts in the
Russian River watershed, which includes the cities of Santa
Rosa, Ukiah and Sebastopol. Some 360,000 people live in the
area.
Visit key infrastructure and environmental restoration
sites along the lower Colorado River during our online
tour May 20 of the iconic river as it weaves through the
Lower Basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. Our
Lower Colorado
River Tour starts at Hoover Dam near Las Vegas and
stops at major agricultural regions, tourist
destinations and key wildlife areas such as the Salton Sea
and a wildlife refuge in Yuma, Ariz. resulting from a
tribal-city partnership.
If the San Diego-Tijuana region were a human body, it’d have
the stomach flu: Bad stuff is coming out of both ends. But
instead of tackling the complicated source of the infection,
the border towns are fighting over where to put a Band-Aid. Six
miles from the U.S.-Mexico border lie three giant ponds full of
really old poo that regularly flush into the Pacific Ocean and
flow north along the Southern California coast during summer
tourist season.
Just how bad is the drought in the Western US? The
shrinking of Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, is a
troubling indicator. The massive man-made lake, which
straddles the border of Arizona and Nevada, is now only
at 39 percent of its full capacity, down from 44
percent in April 2020. That’s equivalent to a 10-foot drop
in the water level, according to the latest data from
the Bureau of Reclamation. Which means mandatory
restrictions on the amount of water surrounding states draw
from Lake Mead could be triggered in the next few months.
Last Tuesday, American Rivers released its annual America’s
Most Endangered Rivers list for 2021. Because of a Trump-era
proposal to raise Shasta Dam, the group named northern
California’s McCloud River as the nation’s 7th most threatened
river. Over the past century, California has engineered the
structure of water capture and distribution in the state.
… During the Trump administration, then Secretary of the
Interior David Bernhardt advanced plans to increase the height
of Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet and to expand Shasta Lake by more
than 200 billion gallons.
