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Topic: Southern California

Aquafornia news January 3, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Mono Lake advocates ask L.A. to stop exporting its water

As California enters what is expected to be a fourth year of drought, the State Water Resources Control Board is reviewing a request from environmentalists to suspend Los Angeles Department of Water and Power diversions from Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. In its request, the nonprofit Mono Lake Committee argues that the combination of drought and diversions from streams that feed the lake are exposing the lake bottom near islands that host one of the world’s largest nesting gull populations. Unless this is addressed, they say coyotes will be able to access the islands and feast on the eggs of 50,000 California gulls.

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Aquafornia news January 3, 2023 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Court fight averted: San Diego makes a deal with East County water project over contested pump station

The city of San Diego and East County leaders have resolved a months-long dispute over a planned water recycling project, heading off a potentially expensive court fight over what to do with the plant’s waste. The two sides are set to sign a series of agreements early next year concerning the Advanced Water Purification Project, which is projected to help make the region less dependent on outside water sources. … The agreements were approved by the Joint Powers Authority, the water project’s governing body, on Nov. 17 and by the San Diego City Council on Dec. 6. … Leaders of the $950 million water project said the dispute threatened to delay construction and drive up costs, and they filed a motion in California Superior Court to seize the station from San Diego.

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Aquafornia news January 3, 2023 California WaterBlog

Blog: The collapse of water exports – Los Angeles, 1914

This is a re-post from 2019 with updated links for pictures and further readings. … Collapse of Los Angeles aqueduct pipeline through Antelope Valley from a major flood in February, 1914 (3-months after the aqueduct’s official opening) “In February, 1914, the rainfall in the Mojave Desert region exceeded by nearly fifty per cent in three days the average annual precipitation. Where the steel siphon crosses Antelope valley at the point of greatest depression, an arroyo or run-off wash indicated that fifteen feet was the extreme width of the flood stream, and the pipe was carried over the wash on concrete piers set just outside the high water lines. The February rain, however, was of the sort known as a cloud-burst, and the flood widened the wash to fifty feet, carried away the concrete piers, and the pipe sagged and broke at a circular seam.

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Aquafornia news January 3, 2023 Fox 5 - San Diego

San Diego weather: Gusty wind, rain lead to flooded streets, debris, polluted water

Just days after rain left the city with flooding waters and streets covered in debris, runoff is also leading to unsafe swimming conditions along our coast. Right now, there are currently four beach closures in our region: Imperial Beach Shoreline, Tijuana Slough Shoreline, Silver Strand Shoreline, and Coronado Shoreline. The San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality warning beachgoers to stay away until further testing. Along the Coronado shoreline water contact warning signs line the sand, alerting beachgoers to steer clear. … Ringing in the new year with moderate rain and gusty winds has led to these south swell conditions and urban runoff across the U.S. Mexico border raising bacteria levels in ocean and bay water here at home.

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Aquafornia news December 22, 2022 San Diego Union-Tribune

Ramona water district considers waiving fees for granny flats

Ramona Municipal Water District directors next month will discuss a proposal to waive water and sewer service fees for accessory dwelling units built at the same time as a single-family home. Directors reviewed fees for small accessory dwelling units, also known as ADUs or granny flats, at their Dec. 13 meeting. But instead of approving the proposal, they asked staff to research how other water districts manage the fees for those types of buildings. The state’s government code already exempts ADUs from water and sewer fees if they are added to a property with a single-family home. Going forward, the water district will consider exempting ADUs from the fees if they are built simultaneously with a single-family home.

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Aquafornia news December 22, 2022 California Trout

Blog: Over $13m recommended for funding CalTrout-led fish passage projects

On December 14, NOAA announced recommendations for funding through the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal grant program. In California, NOAA recommended over $21 million to fund transformational projects across the state that reopen migratory pathways and restore access to healthy habitat for fish. Of that total, NOAA recommended more than $13 million (approximately 60%) for projects led by California Trout, the largest freshwater conservation organization in California. The award recommendation would fund two of CalTrout’s fish passage projects in the Mt. Shasta/Klamath ($9.9 million) and the South Coast ($3.2 million) regions. 

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Aquafornia news December 22, 2022 Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Hot off the press! Layperson’s Guide to Water Conservation is now available

The Water Education Foundation’s seventh edition of the Layperson’s Guide to Water Conservation is hot off the press and available for purchase. With California and the West in the grip of persistent drought, the guide provides an excellent overview of the forces driving conservation and the measures water users are taking to more efficiently use our most vital natural resource. The 20-page guide covers such topics as how drought and climate change are affecting California and the Colorado River Basin, how some Southwestern cities are stretching supplies, the impact of landscape choices on water use, how farms are changing to more efficient irrigation practices, and what homeowners can to do save water.

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Aquafornia news December 21, 2022 Office of Senator Alex Padilla

Padilla secures over $54 Million for 24 projects in the Inland Empire

Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that he secured over $54 million in federal funding for 24 projects across the Inland Empire in the bipartisan FY 2023 appropriations package. The bill now heads to both chambers of Congress for final passage and then on to the President to be signed into law.  “I am proud to have secured funding for projects in the Inland Empire to provide clean drinking water, upgrade roads, and make the region more resilient to flooding and drought,” Senator Padilla said. “This funding will support local governments and community organizations that work to directly benefit our neighborhoods. Federal dollars will create jobs and invest in upgraded infrastructure, community safety, and the removal of harmful chemicals from water supplies to improve the quality of life throughout the Inland Empire.”

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Western Water June 3, 2022 Nick Cahill California Groundwater Map WESTERN WATER-As New Deadline Looms, Groundwater Managers Rework ‘Incomplete’ Plans to Meet California's Sustainability Goals By Nick Cahill

As New Deadline Looms, Groundwater Managers Rework ‘Incomplete’ Plans to Meet California’s Sustainability Goals
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: More than half of the most critically overdrawn basins, mainly in the San Joaquin Valley, are racing against a July deadline to retool their plans and avoid state intervention

A field in Kern County is irrigated by sprinkler.Managers of California’s most overdrawn aquifers were given a monumental task under the state’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Craft viable, detailed plans on a 20-year timeline to bring their beleaguered basins into balance. It was a task that required more than 250 newly formed local groundwater agencies – many of them in the drought-stressed San Joaquin Valley – to set up shop, gather data, hear from the public and collaborate with neighbors on multiple complex plans, often covering just portions of a groundwater basin.

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Western Water March 25, 2022 Douglas E. Beeman California Water Bundle WESTERN WATER-New EPA Regional Administrator Tackles Water Needs with a Wealth of Experience and $1 Billion in Federal Funding By Douglas E. Beeman

New EPA Regional Administrator Tackles Water Needs with a Wealth of Experience and $1 Billion in Federal Funding
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Martha Guzman says surge of federal dollars offers 'greatest opportunity' to address longstanding water needs, including for tribes & disadvantaged communities in EPA Region 9

EPA Region 9 Administrator Martha Guzman.Martha Guzman recalls those awful days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible time.”

She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely greatest opportunity.”

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Tour March 8, 2023 - 7:30am - March 10, 2023 - 6:30pm Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2023
Field Trip - March 8-10

SOLD OUT! – Click here to join the waitlist.

Explore the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.

Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
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Tour March 16, 2022 - 7:30am - March 18, 2022 - 6:30pm Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2022
Field Trip - March 16-18

The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
View map
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Western Water May 21, 2021 Colorado River Bundle Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project MWD's Jeff Kightlinger Reflects On Building Big Things, Essential Partnerships and His Hopes For the Delta By Gary Pitzer

MWD’s Jeff Kightlinger Reflects On Building Big Things, Essential Partnerships and His Hopes For the Delta
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Veteran Water Boss, Retiring After 25 Years With SoCal Water Giant, Discusses ‘Permanent’ Drought, Conservation Gains & the Struggling Colorado River

Jeff Kightlinger, longtime general manager of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.When you oversee the largest supplier of treated water in the United States, you tend to think big.

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for the last 15 years, has focused on diversifying his agency’s water supply and building security through investment. That means looking beyond MWD’s borders to ensure the reliable delivery of water to two-thirds of California’s population.

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Aquafornia news February 24, 2021 The Sacramento Bee

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Red alert sounding on California drought, as farmers get less water

A government agency that controls much of California’s water supply released its initial allocation for 2021, and the numbers reinforced fears that the state is falling into another drought. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that most of the water agencies that rely on the Central Valley Project will get just 5% of their contract supply, a dismally low number. Although the figure could grow if California gets more rain and snow, the allocation comes amid fresh weather forecasts suggesting the dry winter is continuing. The National Weather Service says the Sacramento Valley will be warm and windy the next few days, with no rain in the forecast.

Related articles: 

  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: Reclamation outlines Central Valley Project initial 2021 water allocation
  • San Joaquin Valley Sun: Feds start 2021 with light water supply for Valley farmers
  • ABC 30 action News: Valley farmers disappointed at low reservoir water allocation this year
  • Friant Water Authority: Statement from Friant Water Authority on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Initial 2021 Central Valley Project Allocation for the Friant Division
  • Westlands Water District: Westlands Water District Responds to Reclamation’s Five Percent Allocation for South-of-Delta Repayment and Water Service Contractors
  • News release: Costa Statement on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Initial 2021 Central Valley Project Water Allocation Announcement 
  • News release: California Republican Delegation urges Biden administration to ensure continued California water supply 
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Tour May 20, 2021 - 2:30pm - 5:30pm Nick Gray Learn About Infrastructure and Environmental Restoration During Lower Colorado River Tour

Lower Colorado River Tour 2021
A Virtual Journey - May 20

This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour. 

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Western Water January 16, 2020 Douglas E. Beeman Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Douglas E. Beeman

Water Resource Innovation, Hard-Earned Lessons and Colorado River Challenges — Western Water Year in Review
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK-Our 2019 articles spanned the gamut from groundwater sustainability and drought resiliency to collaboration and innovation

Smoke from the 2018 Camp Fire as viewed from Lake Oroville in Northern California. Innovative efforts to accelerate restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires. Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address persistent challenges facing the Colorado River. 

These were among the issues Western Water explored in 2019, and are still worth taking a look at in case you missed them.

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Western Water November 21, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Can a New Approach to Managing California Reservoirs Save Water and Still Protect Against Floods?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Pilot Projects Testing Viability of Using Improved Forecasting to Guide Reservoir Operations

Bullards Bar Dam spills water during 2017 atmospheric river storms.Many of California’s watersheds are notoriously flashy – swerving from below-average flows to jarring flood conditions in quick order. The state needs all the water it can get from storms, but current flood management guidelines are strict and unyielding, requiring reservoirs to dump water each winter to make space for flood flows that may not come.

However, new tools and operating methods are emerging that could lead the way to a redefined system that improves both water supply and flood protection capabilities.

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Western Water November 7, 2019 Douglas E. Beeman Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources Gary PitzerDouglas E. Beeman

As Wildfires Grow More Intense, California Water Managers Are Learning To Rewrite Their Emergency Playbook
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Agencies share lessons learned as they recover from fires that destroyed facilities, contaminated supplies and devastated their customers

Debris from the Camp Fire that swept through the Sierra foothills town of Paradise  in November 2018.

By Gary Pitzer and Douglas E. Beeman

It’s been a year since two devastating wildfires on opposite ends of California underscored the harsh new realities facing water districts and cities serving communities in or adjacent to the state’s fire-prone wildlands. Fire doesn’t just level homes, it can contaminate water, scorch watersheds, damage delivery systems and upend an agency’s finances.

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Western Water October 10, 2019 California Groundwater Map Gary Pitzer

Recharging Depleted Aquifers No Easy Task, But It’s Key To California’s Water Supply Future
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: A UC Berkeley symposium explores approaches and challenges to managed aquifer recharge around the West

A water recharge basin in Southern California's Coachella Valley. To survive the next drought and meet the looming demands of the state’s groundwater sustainability law, California is going to have to put more water back in the ground. But as other Western states have found, recharging overpumped aquifers is no easy task.

Successfully recharging aquifers could bring multiple benefits for farms and wildlife and help restore the vital interconnection between groundwater and rivers or streams. As local areas around California draft their groundwater sustainability plans, though, landowners in the hardest hit regions of the state know they will have to reduce pumping to address the chronic overdraft in which millions of acre-feet more are withdrawn than are naturally recharged.

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Western Water September 26, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Often Short of Water, California’s Southern Central Coast Builds Toward A Drought-Proof Supply
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Water agencies in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties look to seawater, recycled water to protect against water shortages

The spillway at Lake Cachuma in central Santa Barbara County. Drought in 2016 plunged its storage to about 8 percent of capacity.The southern part of California’s Central Coast from San Luis Obispo County to Ventura County, home to about 1.5 million people, is blessed with a pleasing Mediterranean climate and a picturesque terrain. Yet while its unique geography abounds in beauty, the area perpetually struggles with drought.

Indeed, while the rest of California breathed a sigh of relief with the return of wet weather after the severe drought of 2012–2016, places such as Santa Barbara still grappled with dry conditions.

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