Dear Western Water readers:

Of California’s many tough water challenges, few are more intractable than regulating how much water must be kept in rivers and streams to protect the environment.

But now, a new strategy devised by scientists to break through the stalemate is gaining momentum. Gov. Gavin Newsom has already made the blueprint a key element of his plans to recover salmon populations and build climate resilience in California’s water systems.  

“We’re trying to take a step back and think more holistically,” said Sarah Yarnell, a University of California, Davis research hydrologist who helped develop the California Environmental Flows Framework with a consortium of scientists at universities, state agencies and nonprofit groups.

Read more about how this blueprint is already being used for rivers that wind through California’s famed vineyards and ancient redwood groves and streams that feed a Northern California lake of cultural importance to Native American tribes.

Water Around the West

Five don’t-miss articles from California and across the West:

This pioneering study tells us how snow disappears into thin air: Alex Hager of KUNC (Greeley, Colorado) unfolds a new study explaining for the first time how much of the snow in the Rocky Mountains is getting “lost” and when it’s disappearing.

California’s General Sherman, world’s largest tree, just got a health check. Here’s what scientists saw: Researchers in the Sierra Nevada, home of the virtually indestructible giant sequoia, have found several of the world’s largest trees unexpectedly infested with beetles, some dying from the attacks. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Kurtis Alexander explains.

Feds say he masterminded an epic California water heist. Some farmers say he’s their Robin Hood: Jessica Garrison of the Los Angeles Times unspools the story of a local San Joaquin Valley irrigation official masterminding the theft of more than $25 million worth of water out of a federal canal over two decades and selling it to farmers and other local water districts.

A tech giant is helping restore these Sacramento Valley rice fields to a floodplain. Here’s why: Writing for the Sacramento Bee, Ari Plachta details how Apple Inc. and a nonprofit plan to restore 750 acres of natural floodplains near the Sacramento River, potentially laying the groundwork for California’s next state park.

From California to Greece to China, excessive water use and urbanization is collapsing the ground: Salon’s Matthew Rozsa highlights how subsidence is becoming a threat all across the globe. 

Water Word of the Day

California’s “first-in-time, first-in-right” water rights system, known as appropriative rights, dates back to the Gold Rush, when miners diverted water from its source, often for hydraulic or placer mining. Miners posted a notice of their claim at the point of diversion to stake their water claims. Learn more about Appropriative Rights in Aquapedia, our free online water encyclopedia. 

At the Foundation

Venture with us through the Sierra on our Headwaters Tour July 24-25 to explore water issues of statewide importance. Learn how climate change, overgrown forests and severe wildfires are changing the upper watershed in ways that affect our water supply. Find more details here and how to register.

Water Resource

Our set of all 18 layperson’s guides is an excellent resource for teachers, students, journalists, lawmakers or anyone interested in learning more about the West’s most precious natural resource. Topics include climate change, major water projects, water rights law, groundwater, and the Colorado and Klamath rivers.