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Topic: Southern California

Aquafornia news January 23, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Storm flooding compounds misery for California farms and workers

The sun was shining again recently when Fidencio Velasquez visited what used to be 90 acres of prime Ventura County strawberry fields. He pointed to a 40-foot storage container that Santa Clara River floodwaters had swept off a neighboring farm and deposited before him. Overturned tractors and fertilizer bins were strewn about like toys, while the deep channels between crop rows were filled with mud. A harvesting machine was damaged beyond repair. Metal pipes, hoses and trash littered the farm’s outskirts. … Velasquez, a supervisor at Santa Clara Farms in Ventura, estimates that the expense of cleaning up and replacing damaged crops, machinery and equipment could run upward of $900,000. 

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Aquafornia news January 23, 2023 Stocktonia

Rep. Harder calls Delta tunnel project ‘Boondoggle’ during townhall meeting

U.S. Rep. Josh Harder didn’t have to convince an overflowing crowd in French Camp this week that the Delta Tunnel is a bad idea. Instead, the town hall served as a sort of call to arms for those who do not want to support what many called a “water grab” by Southern California in the longtime-going war of words and policies in the fight for ownership of the state’s water resources. A crowd of more than 150 Wednesday night gathered in the community room at Health Plan of San Joaquin on Manthey Road to listen to harder speak about one of the state’s most studied, talked about and debated issues — water. The hour-long meeting saw discussions on flooding, water storage and, of course, the divisive Delta Tunnel, a $16 billion project from that would divert water from the Delta down to our SoCal neighbors that is supported by both Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Department of Water Resources.

Related article: 

  • Manteca Bulletin: Instead of fighting the woke war, SJ Valley congressmen need to fight the water war
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Aquafornia news January 23, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Harris visits Southern California stormwater runoff project

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday joined state and local leaders at a Los Angeles County site recently upgraded to increase groundwater retention, where they touted ongoing efforts to improve drought resiliency across California and neighboring states. Harris’ visit came on the heels of a series of storms that battered the state for weeks, causing fatalities, flooding and extensive damage — but also provided record-setting precipitation needed in the water-starved West. Harris said the climate whiplash — from years of severe drought to pummeling rain — was indicative of the climate crisis, requiring better preparation for such weather extremes. And with much of that recent stormwater already flowing into the Pacific, the situation has renewed calls to change how the state collects and stores rainwater.

Related articles: 

  • Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Why the era of big water projects passed into history
  • Bloomberg: Global warming is testing California’s innovative spirit
  • Santa Cruz Local:  Water projects try to capture more rain in Santa Cruz County
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Aquafornia news January 23, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Editorial: L.A. doesn’t need a water czar to solve its water woes. It’s already on it

The recent onslaught of storms and the backdrop of relentless drought might make Los Angeles residents wish we had an old-school water czar to tap distant rivers. But the days of having William Mulholland single-mindedly create a system to quench Los Angeles’ perpetual thirst are long gone. … Still, as Los Angeles residents watched the winter storms drench the region with billions of gallons of water — most of which rushed, unused, to the Pacific — it’s natural to wonder why our water systems don’t capture that water to use when we need it. … Adopted by voters in 2018 as Los Angeles County Measure W, the program is building a network of small, local rainwater- and runoff-retention projects, anchored by several larger catch basins that together will increase by at least a third the amount of water that seeps into groundwater basins. 

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Aquafornia news January 20, 2023 Voice of San Diego

Tijuana is again buying emergency water from California after aqueduct outage

There’s a problem with Tijuana’s lifeline to its single water source – the Colorado River– which forced it make more, costly emergency water purchases from California. The San Diego County Water Authority recently learned that problems emerged with Tijuana’s aqueduct in December, according to a press release this week. Tijuana requested emergency water from San Diego on Jan. 2, which the Water Authority expedited through a typical months-long approval process involving water agencies that also have to sign-off on emergency orders from Mexico.  

Related article: 

  • Voice of San Diego: Where San Diego gets its water
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Aquafornia news January 20, 2023 Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: Tackling “forever chemicals” in the water supply

Much has been made of two drinking water pollutants recently: PFAS and microplastics. We spoke with Jason Dadakis, executive director of water quality and technical resources with the Orange County Water District, to find out how worried we should be. What are PFAS and microplastics, why are they in our water supply, and why should we care? “PFAS” is an acronym for a large family of manmade chemicals that all feature the carbon-fluorine bond, one of the strongest bonds in nature. They resist degradation in the environment, which is where they get their nickname “forever chemicals.”

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Aquafornia news January 19, 2023 Bay Area News Group

Editorial: Steinbeck, rainstorms and California’s water challenges

“During the dry years, the people forgot about the rich years, and when the wet years returned, they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.” Sadly, nothing much has changed in California and the Salinas Valley since 1952, when John Steinbeck wrote those words for the opening chapters of his novel, “East of Eden.” As a result, the atmospheric rivers drenching the state have been a decidedly mixed blessing. The rainfall means for the first time in more than two years, the majority of California is no longer in a severe drought. The Sierra snowpack is at 226% of average for this time of year, the largest we’ve seen in more than two decades. Reservoirs are filling at a rapid rate. … Then there’s the bad news, starting of course with the deaths of 17 Californians …

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Aquafornia news January 19, 2023 The Guardian

Saved by a rainy day? Californians ‘harvest’ water during historic storms

When Kitty Bolte looked at her yard at the start of California’s powerful winter storms, she saw more than half a foot of standing water behind her house. At first Bolte, a horticulturalist by trade, contemplated pumping it out onto the street. But with the historic rains coming in the midst of a historic drought, that seemed oddly wasteful. So instead, she and her boyfriend decided to save it. They found a neighbor selling IBC totes – large 330-gallon plastic containers surrounded by wire – on Craigslist, and filled them up using an inexpensive Home Depot pump. They also dragged some spare garbage cans outside to sit under the downpour, gathering 800 gallons in all. … One inch of rain on a 1,000 sq ft roof can result in 600 gallons of water – enough to water a 4 by 8 ft food garden for 30 weeks. In her cisterns, Dougherty collects much more – 2,000 gallons at a time that are stored in large plastic vessels that can be closed off.

Related articles: 

  • Fox 40 – Sacramento: Where does the stormwater in Sacramento go?
  • The Public’s Radio: California storms feed systems set up to capture rainwater
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Aquafornia news January 18, 2023 San Diego County Water Authority

News release: Water authority delivers emergency water supply to Tijuana

Emergency water deliveries started last week after a coordinated effort between the Water Authority, Otay Water District, and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The typical multi-month approval process was compressed into a few days to avoid additional water supply shortages in Tijuana. … Cross-border emergency deliveries started more than 50 years ago and are governed by an agreement between the United States and Mexico to provide Tijuana with a portion of Mexico’s Colorado River supply. The Water Authority provides emergency water deliveries to Mexico through a cross-border connection in Otay Mesa.

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Aquafornia news January 18, 2023 ABC7 - Los Angeles

Recent rain inundates SoCal fields, destroying crops and keeping farmworkers out of work

Some might think that the recent rain would be good for Southern California’s farms. But, water has inundated fields, destroying crops and putting some farmworkers out of work. Some workers were out in the muddy fields Monday trying to pick fruits and vegetables as quickly as possible to get them out to market. Berta Leon works in a strawberry field and says the fruit can get damaged when the fields get too much water. It’s a complete loss for the owner of the field, as well as the workers because they lose out on work. Some workers said while the rain is welcome, some can’t be out in the fields because it’s too dangerous.

Related article: 

  • Agri-Pulse: Storms hammer major California farming areas, while offering drought relief
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Aquafornia news January 18, 2023 CalMatters

Imperial Valley growers brace to give up Colorado River water

Across the sun-cooked flatlands of the Imperial Valley, water flows with uncanny abundance. The valley, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, is naturally a desert. Yet canals here are filled with water, lush alfalfa grows from sodden soil and rows of vegetables stretch for miles. … But now, as a record-breaking megadrought and endless withdrawals wring the Colorado River dry, Imperial Valley growers will have to cut back on the water they import. The federal government has told seven states to come up with a plan by Jan. 31 to reduce their water supply by 30%, or 4 million acre feet. The Imperial Valley is by far the largest user of water in the Colorado River’s lower basin — consuming more water than all of Arizona and Nevada combined in 2022 — so growers there will have to find ways to sacrifice the most.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: Want to solve climate change? This California farm kingdom holds a key
  • Denver Post: “We are not going to be afraid to litigate” to protect Colorado’s water rights, AG says
  • 9 News – Colorado: Winter storms give Colorado a big boost in snowpack totals 
  • Newsweek: Is the Colorado River rising?
  • NPR: A course correction in managing drying rivers
  • Desert Review: IID talks of moving to biannual budget
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news January 17, 2023 California WaterBlog

Blog: Nature’s gift to nature in early winter storms

The current wet spell, made up of a parade of atmospheric rivers, is a welcome change from the last three years of record dry and warm conditions. For very good reasons, the focus during these big, early winter storms is first and foremost on flood management and public safety. There is of course also great interest in the potential of these storms to relieve water shortages for communities and farms. What is not always appreciated is the role of these early winter storms in supporting the health of freshwater ecosystems. For millennia, California’s biodiversity evolved strategies to take advantage of these infrequent, but critical high flow events. Benefits from recent storms are now being realized throughout the state, from temperate rainforests of the North Coast to semi-arid and arid rivers in the south. 

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Aquafornia news January 17, 2023 The Washington Post

In California, a drought turned to floods. Forecasters didn’t see it coming.

Coming into this winter, California was mired in a three-year drought, with forecasts offering little hope of relief anytime soon. Fast forward to today, and the state is waterlogged with as much as 10 to 20 inches of rain and up to 200 inches of snow that have fallen in some locations in the past three weeks…. The [Climate Prediction Center's] initial outlook for this winter, issued on Oct. 20, favored below-normal precipitation in Southern California and did not lean toward either drier- or wetter-than-normal conditions in Northern California. … The stark contrast between the staggering amount of precipitation in recent weeks and the CPC’s seasonal precipitation outlook issued before the winter, which leaned toward below-normal precipitation for at least half of California, has water managers lamenting the unreliability of seasonal forecasts.

Related articles: 

  • Reuters: California rainstorm death toll reaches 20, Biden plans visit 
  • KCRA – Sacramento: Biden to survey storm damages, roadway closures due to flooding
  • Axios: California faces weeks of cleanup as “one last” major storm lashes state
  • KCRA – Sacramento: More than a dozen homes uninhabitable after major flooding in Calaveras County
  • ABC 15 – Arizona: Arizonans volunteer to help amid historic California flooding
  • The Guardian: How fast-moving floods took a deadly toll on California’s capital: ‘No one expected it’
  • Sacramento Bee: These are 6 of the worst floods in Sacramento history. One made an ‘inland lake’ to the Sierra
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news January 13, 2023 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

News release: Metropolitan dedicates Lake Mathews reservoir facilities in honor of former board directors

In honor of their contributions to advancing water reliability in Southern California, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California today named two facilities at Lake Mathews in memory of former board Directors Lois B. Krieger and Donald Galleano. Family, friends, local elected officials and community members gathered to dedicate the naming of the Lake Mathews Multi-Species Reserve in honor of Lois B. Krieger and the Don Galleano Overlook at Lake Mathews. Both directors represented Western Municipal Water District during their service on Metropolitan’s board and also served as commissioners at the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.

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Aquafornia news January 13, 2023 Desert Sun

Water officials’ message: Golf industry must do more to meet ongoing drought

Even in the middle of a cool and wet winter in the Coachella Valley and California in general, officials of the Coachella Valley Water District have a blunt message for the desert’s golf course industry: Take the ongoing drought seriously, because changes could be coming to water availability sooner rather than later. … Golf course superintendents and general managers from throughout the desert listened to presentations on advances in drought-tolerant grasses and technological advances that can help save water on the desert’s 120 courses. But Cheng and Pete Nelson, a director of the CVWD, made the more important presentation on the state of the Colorado basin and how water from the Colorado River can no longer be counted on as a long-term solution to irrigation needs for golf courses or agriculture in the desert.

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Aquafornia news January 13, 2023 BBC News

California’s homeless battle floods and storms

Up and down the coast, they have endured torrential rain, flood waters, mudslides, lighting strikes, and downed trees, often with little more than tents or bridges for shelter. “The water backed up to my tent, it’s still going,” said Maurice, who lives in San Francisco and who declined to provide his last name. “Ninety percent of my stuff is still wet. I’m trying to salvage the stuff I do need to keep on going.” … The storm has placed a spotlight on the Golden State’s staggering inequality, and its decades-long failure to adequately shelter and support its homeless residents.

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Aquafornia news January 13, 2023 Spectrum News 1

State Republican leaders call for more water storage amid record rainfall

A group of Assembly Republican lawmakers gathered on a levee on the American River in Sacramento to call out the state’s Democratic leadership for failing to invest in water infrastructure to aid with flooding and water storage. Around 22 trillion gallons of rain will fall in California according to estimates. However, state Assembly Republicans blame the lack of infrastructure as the root cause for why most of the water will go uncaptured. … In 2014, voters supported a water bond that authorized billions of dollars to go toward state water supply infrastructure and water storage projects. Since then, no new reservoir or other water project has been built. 

Related articles: 

  • Sacramento Bee: California Republicans renew call for quicker movement on water storage projects
  • New York Times: Opinion - In a drought, California is watching water wash out to sea 
  • NPR: Heavy rain is still hitting California. A few reservoirs figured out how to capture more for drought
  • Marketplace: Capturing stormwater to deal with California’s drought is complicated 
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Aquafornia news January 13, 2023 Courthouse News Service

California drought outlook improves after weeks of historic storms

No, California’s drought is not over, not by a long shot. But weeks of near-constant rainfall have improved the situation considerably, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s weekly report released Thursday. The map updated Thursday shows most of the state in moderate or severe drought after about seven atmospheric river storms swept through the state since Christmas Day. Only a small portion in the extreme northeastern portion of the state remains in extreme drought, while the northwestern corner of the state and much of Imperial County dropped to the lowest level of drought, termed abnormally dry. The Sacramento and Central valleys, which were in extreme and extraordinary drought just three months ago, have seen conditions improve to severe.

Related articles: 

  • Sacramento Bee: California reservoirs and snowpack see big boosts as storms ease drought conditions
  • Los Angeles Times: Nearly all of California exits the worst drought categories in U.S. Drought Monitor
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Is California still in drought after storms? What maps and charts show
  • Los Angeles Times: How California’s slew of storms stack up to previous drought-busters
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Aquafornia news January 13, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Friday Top of the Scroll: In extraordinary move, California mulls crackdown on Los Angeles’ water draws at Mono Lake

Even as a storms shower California with rain and snow, state water regulators announced this week that they’re revisiting their effort to protect Mono Lake from the ravages of drought, agreeing to review how much water the city of Los Angeles is taking from the basin and whether it’s too much. The announcement, which has already begun drawing backlash from Southern California, comes as the giant salt lake and ecological curiosity on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada has becoming increasingly dry in recent years. The freshly exposed lakebed has been sending toxic dust into skies and creating a land bridge to islands where hungry coyotes threaten to prey on nesting birds.

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Aquafornia news January 12, 2023 NBC 7 San Diego

San Diego farmers say rain will let them go weeks without irrigation

Vendors at the Ocean Beach farmers market are singing rain’s praises after a series of storms that have passed through San Diego. … While farmers say the rain makes their fruits and vegetables pop, they say it also helps them save money and the environment. … Pasqual said the farm he works for could save a couple grand from being able to turn off the irrigation system. … As California has suffered through a devastating multi-year drought, giving irrigation systems a vacation after the rain is a critical part of much-needed conservation, according to the San Diego County Water Authority.

Related article: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: One thing the California storms are good for - vineyards
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