A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Director Chris Bowman.
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Cal Fire on Sunday announced it is suspending burn permits in
state-managed areas east of Sacramento due to worsening summer
fire conditions. The agency’s Amador-El Dorado unit moved to
limit burning due to “increasing fire danger posed by the high
volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the
region,” according to a news release. The suspension applies to
Cal Fire-managed areas in Alpine, Amador and Sacramento
counties, as well as El Dorado County west of Echo Summit and a
portion of San Joaquin County. It does not apply to areas of
AEU territory in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Firefighters are battling wildfires in Brazil’s Pantanal, the
world’s largest tropical wetland. The Pantanal is home to
jaguars, giant anteaters and giant river otters. Close to
32,000 hectares have already been destroyed by the fires in the
state of Mato Grosso do Sul, local media report. Climate
experts say this year’s wildfire season has started earlier and
is more intense than in previous years. Firefighters said their
efforts to extinguish the flames were being hampered by high
winds over the weekend. The region has also seen less rain than
in other years, which has made it easier for the fires to
spread.
Amid the debate over how to account for water shared by 40
million people, a top Nevada official asserted Thursday there
is at least one point that is unlikely to trigger any new
divisions: Election Day. President Joe Biden is headed toward a
November rematch with former President Donald Trump — setting
up a potential change of party control in the White House, or,
alternately, shifts in executive branch agency leadership that
would likely accompany a second Biden term. John Entsminger,
general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said
Thursday that Colorado River negotiators are focused on the
long term, regardless of who is in the White House.
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 developed by scientists to end 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. Known as
the California Environmental Flows Framework, the
scientists’ strategy shifts the focus of environmental
water management from single species to entire ecosystems.
… The 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.
The Department of the Interior announced a $700 million
investment in water conservation projects across the Lower
Colorado River Basin on Thursday that has the potential to save
more than 700,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead. The funds,
which come from the Inflation Reduction Act, will go toward
water distribution structures, farm efficiency improvements,
canal lining, turf removal, desalination, recycling water,
water purification and other projects, according to a statement
from the Department of the Interior.
From brown trout becoming “addicted” to methamphetamine to
European perch losing their fear of predators due to depression
medication, scientists warn that modern pharmaceutical and
illegal drug pollution is becoming a growing threat to
wildlife. Drug exposure is causing significant, unexpected
changes to some animals’ behaviour and anatomy. Scientists have
said that modern pharmaceutical waste is having significant
consequences for wildlife exposed to discharges in their
ecosystems, and warned it could have unintended consequences
for humans.
California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan this week removed
the most controversial parts of her bill to expand the state’s
ability to fine illegal water diverters, resolving a yearslong
fight with public water agencies and farmers. What happened:
After Monday’s amendments, Bauer-Kahan’s AB 460 (23R) would
still increase the penalties for those who steal water or
exceed their allotted share during times of drought. But it no
longer expands the Water Resources Control Board’s overall
power to investigate and punish what it sees as violations of
water rights, which business and water groups said last year
would have robbed them of due process. Water users have already
begun dropping their opposition.
For California’s Sierra Nevada, the winter of 2022-2023
delivered an epic snowpack that broke many records and busted a
severe drought. … Both hazardous and helpful, the banner year
was also of interest to snow scientists, such as Adrienne
Marshall, an assistant professor of geology and geological
engineering at the Colorado School of Mines in
Golden. Marshall was lead author of a paper published in
April in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
that introduces the term “snow deluge” to describe extreme snow
years like the one California weathered.
The San Jose City Council yesterday approved increased costs
for drinking water and wastewater services for some local
residents and businesses. The cost of drinking water will
increase $10-$11 per month for customers of the San Jose
Municipal Water System living in North San Jose, Alviso,
Evergreen and Edenvale. Services for wastewater management will
also increase by 9% per month. The changes are expected to go
into effect on July 1. San Jose Municipal Water System provides
drinking water to 12% of residents in the city, according to
the city. It is one of three drinking-water suppliers in San
Jose, along with San Jose Water Company and Great Oaks Water
Company, which are both privately owned. City councilmembers
voted 10-1 in favor of increasing rates for wastewater
management services and 8-2 in support of raising rates on
drinking water.
Yesterday, Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced
Senate Joint Resolution 18, which urges the Center for Disease
Control to conduct an investigation into the health impacts
surrounding the ongoing pollution crisis in the Tijuana River.
For decades, the Tijuana River has been contaminated with
billions of gallons of trash, sediment, and wastewater as a
result of sewage infrastructure inadequacies has created
recurring and worsening pollution problems for the County of
San Diego and the southern California coastline. Just this past
January, a storm surge caused 14.5 billion gallons of raw
sewage and pollution to wash up on the banks of the River as
well as overflow into the nearby coastal wetlands, one of the
few remaining such ecosystems left in Southern California.
California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) on Thursday
issued a warning about an invasive species damaging the state’s
waterways, including its reservoirs. The warning advises
swimmers and boaters to be on the lookout for the water
hyacinth, a type of aquatic plant that can clog waterways with
its tendency to form a mat as it spreads. In a DWR post shared
on X (formerly Twitter), a mud-covered hand is seen rising from
swampy waters clogged with the water hyacinth. From the
“depths of the darkest swamps and rivers, comes Water Hyacinth.
Watch out for this non-native aquatic invasive species that can
create hazards for boaters and swimmers,” the DWR warns.
The state engineer recently approved water rights for lithium
drilling on the Green River. She is now reconsidering her
decision. Lithium extraction requires a lot of water. An
Australian company promises that a new method uses virtually no
water to draw out the metal, which is a fundamental element for
rechargeable batteries used in phones, computers, cameras — and
especially electric vehicles. The Biden administration
considers lithium vital to the nation’s transition to cleaner,
renewable energy, and in her approval, Utah State Engineer
Teresa Wilhelmsen cited a growing demand for lithium and
batteries. But a group of farmers, residents and
environmentalists said that using water from the
drought-plagued Colorado River system for an unproven project
opens a dangerous door.
One year after the U.S. Supreme Court removed federal
regulations protecting wetlands and streams from development
pressures in its Sackett v. the EPA decision, Colorado is the
first state in the nation to pass legislation replacing those
regulations, according to a new national report. The report, by
the Clean Water For All coalition and Lawyers for Good
Government, shows that eight other states have taken action to
restore some level of protection or are trying; five launched
failed attempts to impose further cutbacks; and one state,
Indiana, rolled back protections further. Thirty-five states
have taken no action. Environmentalists say the spotty response
is a clear indication that Congress must intervene to create
consistent, clearly defined protections that work for all
states, and which protect rivers and wetlands that cross state
boundaries.
The City of Corning will now be represented by Martin Spannaus
on the Tehama County Flood Control and Water Conservation
District Groundwater Commission upon the resignation of Cody
Lamb, who had served on the commission since June 2023.
Spannaus’s appointment received unanimous approval from the
City Council during its May 28 meeting. Spannaus is the city’s
former fire chief. … Spannaus and his wife, Joann, live on a
cattle and hay ranch west of Corning in the Corning Groundwater
Subbasin, which currently sits at a “high” priority rating.
A major project to build a new massive reservoir in Northern
California got a step closer to the start of construction, when
a judge rejected a lawsuit from environment groups that don’t
support the development, the California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
office said Tuesday. The Yolo County Superior Court
approved the Sites Reservoir project within 148 days from when
the suit was filed, in part due to a new law signed
last year by Newsom to speed up the process to build
projects geared at meeting the state’s climate goals. The
court released its ruling on May 31.
The trial dates for two related lawsuits filed against the city
of Newport Beach accusing it of negligence in the maintenance
of a water main that burst and flooded a local home twice has
been set for this fall, according to attorney Jesse Creed. Amy
and Marshall Senk have owned their home on Evening Canyon Road
in Corona del Mar since 2002 and, after remodeling it, began
living there in August 2006. In October 2020, a water main
owned and operated by the city failed and burst, which led to
“catastrophic” flooding of the property with 500,000 gallons of
water, according to a complaint filed in Orange County Superior
Court in April 2023 by the Senks’ attorneys from
Panish|Shea|Ravipudi LLP. The damage left in the wake of the
failure made the house uninhabitable.
The people who decide the fate of the Colorado River are
gathering in Boulder this week for an annual conference. Their
meeting comes at a pivotal time for negotiations on the river’s
future. Negotiators from all seven states that use the river
will be speaking publicly at the two-day conference. They’re in
the middle of tense talks about how to cut back on demand as
climate change is shrinking water supplies. They’ve got to come
up with new rules for sharing the river before the current
guidelines expire in 2026. … This week’s conference will also
feature speakers from tribes, cities and farm districts.
California is a semi-arid state in which the availability of
water determines land use, and in turn shapes the economy.
That, in a nutshell, explains why Californians have been
jousting over water for the state’s entire 174-year history.
The decades of what some have dubbed “water wars” may be
approaching a climactic point as climate change, economic
evolution, stagnant population growth and environmental
consciousness compel decisions on California’s water future. A
new study, conducted by researchers at three University of
California campuses, projects that a combination of factors
will reduce California’s water supply by up to 9 million
acre-feet a year – roughly the equivalent of all
non-agricultural human use. -Written by CalMatters columnist Dan Walters.
The grey smoky skies can be seen for hundreds of miles. But now
researchers are on the trail of wildfire threats that are
invisible to the naked eye. The result of intense heat, from
wildfires burning longer and hotter. “When we start getting
really severe fires, we see a transformation where the really,
really intense fires leave these lasting impacts on the soil,”
says Professor Scott Fendorf, Ph.D., of Stanford’s Doerr School
of Sustainability. Fendorf is leading a multi-year study.
The team examined soils in forest areas that have been slow to
recover from recent wildfires in the Sierra and elsewhere.
Although early research has pointed to cycles of drought,
Fendorf and his colleagues identified toxic concentrations of
chemicals in the soil which could also be slowing regrowth. …
Researchers say another key concern moving forward will be the
safety of drinking water. And they’re hoping to learn more
about the effects of runoff from contaminated soils.
With temperatures spiking across California this week, now
is a great time to reserve your spot on our Headwaters Tour July
24-25 when we’ll explore the role of the Sierra
Nevada snowpack in the state’s water supply and how heatwaves
can accelerate snowmelt. The state’s critical ‘frozen
reservoir’ was slightly above average at the end of
the 2024 snow survey season, following an epic snowpack in 2023
that prompted widespread flooding and the resurrection of
Tulare Lake. During the July tour, we’ll also learn how
snowpack is measured and translated into forecasts of
California’s water supply for the year.
… The 2-day, 1-night
tour with an overnight in Lake
Tahoe travels up the Sierra foothills and into
the mountains within the American River and Yuba River
watersheds. Meadow restoration, climate change, wildfire
impact and more will be discussed as we pass through
Eldorado and Tahoe national forests.
