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Remember, The Drought Could Come Back Next Year

/in /by /Los Angeles Daily Newsby Kevin Smith

When it comes to emergencies and disasters, people tend to have short memories. Much of this is human nature. When something bad happens and we’re in the thick of it we generally do whatever’s necessary to deal with the situation. But once the crisis has past we want to move on with our lives. That’s fine because it’s certainly not healthy to wallow in despair over something that has already come and gone. But I say again that people have short memories. And I don’t mean that literally. I simply mean that we tend to forget how bad something really was. California’s recent drought is a case in point.

 

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A ‘Quick Yes’ On Delta Tunnels? Advocates Concerned Over New Language

/in /by /Stockton Recordby Alex Breitler

Proposed changes to a plan that is supposed to guide the Delta through the 21st century have advocates on red alert, as they worry that the new language locks in Gov. Jerry Brown’s $15 billion twin tunnels. The revised plan does not explicitly endorse the California Water Fix, as the tunnels proposal is formally known. It does, however, promote building one or more new intakes to pump water from the Delta, with a new underground conveyance system that would be operated in tandem with existing Delta channels. The twin tunnels proposal satisfies all of those criteria.

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State of California’s Last 2017 Snow Survey Set for May 1

/in /by /Sierra Sun Times (Mariposa)

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducts five manual snow surveys at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada from around the first of January through May each calendar year. The snowpack’s water content usually peaks around April 1, after which the sun’s higher position in the sky contributes to rapid melting and a diminished snowpack. DWR’s May 1 survey will be the last one of 2017. Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, will conduct the survey beginning at 11 a.m. just off Highway 50 near Sierra-at-Tahoe Road, about 90 miles east of Sacramento.

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Power Industry Consultant Proposes Dual Design Oroville Dam Spillway

/in /by /Oroville Mercury Registerby Risa Johnson

A power industry consulting firm has proposed a design for the Oroville Dam spillways which involves not repairing the current one, but building a new, wider spillway. The designer says the structure’s capacity would handle flows of 300,000 cubic-feet per second. Kenneth Viney, manager of CoastalGen Inc., based in Napa, filed suggestions Monday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. He said he first shared his ideas with engineers with the state Department of Water Resources about a month ago and was encouraged by FERC and DWR spokespeople to submit his plans through a FERC filing.

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After Two Years Without Water, The Tap Will Be Turned On Again At Silver Lake Reservoir

/in /by /NBC Los Angeles

Water will once again start flowing today into the Silver Lake and Ivanhoe reservoirs after having sat dry and empty since 2015. A ceremony marking the return of water to the reservoirs will be held at 5 p.m., where Councilmen David Ryu and Mitch O’Farrell will help open the valve releasing the first water running into the Silver Lake Reservoir Complex, starting at the smaller Ivanhoe Reservoir. Water will then start filling into the Silver Lake Reservoir in approximately two weeks.

 

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City Of Oceanside Recognized For Indirect Potable Reuse Program By Water Reliability Coalition

/in /by /Water World Magazine (Tulsa, Okla.)

The City of Oceanside was honored for its leadership in Aquifer Augmentation and Indirect Potable Reuse and was awarded “2016 Agency of the Year” by the Water Reliability Coalition (WRC). The award was delivered at the WRC annual Spring Reception on Thursday, April 20, 2017, in San Diego. Matt O’Malley, executive director of San Diego Coast Keeper delivered the award saying, “We are excited to see North County San Diego opening up its doors to potable reuse and aquifer augmentation with the City of Oceanside completing its Feasibility Study and Pathogen Removal Study last year.”

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Napa County Says Groundwater Picture Continues To Be Good

/in /by /Napa Valley Register

Napa Valley’s annual groundwater checkup yielded the verdict that the water table in the world-famous grapegrowing region is “generally very shallow” and that the basin is “full.” There are problem spots, such as the Petra Drive area northeast of the city of Napa that the county is studying. The Coombsville area still faces groundwater challenges, though the county sees the situation as having stabilized. But overall, the county’s 2016 groundwater report by consultating engineers Luhdorff & Scalmanini to the Napa County Board of Supervisors last week emphasized the positive, especially when it came to the valley floor.

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Will California’s Twin-Tunnels Delta Water Project Become Reality?

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Angela Hart

Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17.1 billion plan to build two massive tunnels through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta relies on key changes to the water rights permit held by the Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which are seeking to add new water diversion points. Brown’s administration has said construction of the twin Delta tunnels could begin as soon as 2018, clearing the way for a massive alteration in the way water is diverted from the Delta to the Central Valley and Southern California.

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Fixing Oroville Dam Will Cost Hundreds Of Millions. Who Should Pay The Bill?

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Jim Miller

The damage has been done and the repair contract awarded. Yet more than two months after damaged spillways at the Oroville Dam prompted authorities to order the evacuation of 188,000 people, the question of who will ultimately pay the bill remains murky. How much will be the responsibility of homeowners, businesses, farmers and other customers of the more than two dozen local and regional agencies that contract with the State Water Project?

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Heavy Rain Won’t Lessen Calif. Wildfires – It Will Fuel Them

/in /by /SF Gateby Michelle Robertson

California emerged from its five-year drought after heavy winter rains filled reservoirs and turned our golden hills green. But don’t be fooled by the emerald hues. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) expects wildfires to burn just as fiercely as they did during drought years – if not more so.

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