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Spillway Could Be Used Next Week, DWR Says

/in , /by /Chico Enterprise-Record

The newly-renovated Oroville Dam spillway could be used as early as next week, the state Department of Water Resources said Tuesday. DWR is “closely monitoring Oroville reservoir levels and current forecasts,” the water agency said in a press release. With storms forecast in the Feather River basin, DWR said it is taking steps to prepare for use of the main spillway by the first week of April. Although the state water agency said the spillway was usable in October 2017 if needed, water has not flowed in significant amounts since the spillway crisis in February 2017, when a hole in the enormous concrete structure led to use of the emergency spillway concrete weir for the first time in history and eventually the evacuation of more than 188,000 downstream residents.

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Twelve Bay Area Water Agencies Award Outstanding Student Projects In Water Disciplines

/in , /by /California Water News Daily

Eleven Bay area water, wastewater and recycled water agencies have joined forces to form the Excellence in Water, Wastewater and Recycled Water Research award category at the annual Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair. The water division recognizes outstanding student projects in the disciplines of water.  The category is one of many as part of fair which was held at on March 14-16 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburgh, CA.

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Use a variety of contouring methods in your sustainable landscape design. Photo: Water Authority

Contouring Tips Help You Make The Grade  

/in , /by

It’s smart to use existing depressions, slopes and contours for guidance when planning your landscape grading. If your yard is perfectly flat, you’ll need to move soil and features around to create more rain-holding contour areas.  

Do a Percolation Test, and prep your soil as needed to make it as much of a water-retaining sponge as possible before getting to work on rainwater capture plans.  

NOTE: If you are working with existing hillsides, it’s best to get professional advice before grading or other significant changes. Before any digging, call Dig Alert 8-1-1 or visit digalert.org  

Basins and swales 

Homeowners learn through the Water Authority's Landscape Transformation program that sustainable landscaping can be as lush as a lawn. Photo Water Authority turf

Basins and swales can take the form of dry creek beds, as in this award-winning water smart landscaping project. Photo Water Authority

Basins and swales are shallow depressions or channels no more than 24 inches deep on gently sloped or nearly flat landscapes. Basins and swales move water over short distances. The plants in and around the depressions capture and sink small volumes of surface water.   

Small, shallow depressions work best in clay soil areas, while sandy soils may accommodate deeper depressions up to two feet. Channels can be planted or lined with rocks and small boulders to resemble natural creek beds. 

Berms 

Berms are mounds of raised soil, usually planted, that can border basins and swales or be used alone. They help contain and move water around, increasing the holding capacity of basins and swales   

Boulders 

Boulders can add points of interest and slow down water runoff in your landscaping. Photo: Water Authority

Boulders can add points of interest and slow down water runoff in your landscaping. Photo: Water Authority

Boulders are useful to retain small berms or the edges of swales. They also create points of interest in your landscaping.   

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.    

 

 

  

A Closer Look At Environmental Impact Bonds

/in , /by /Water Finance and Management

Across the nation, countless cities with antiquated sewer and stormwater systems are under orders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce stormwater runoff to decrease the amount of pollution entering local waterways. When Washington, D.C., faced this problem, city officials decided to experiment with green infrastructure rather than investing in expensive new pumps and pipes. Since green infrastructure had never been implemented on such a large scale, however, the city faced a huge challenge when it came to financing the project.

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OPINION: New Path On California Water Must Include Delta Communities

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

Delta advocates agree about the need to break out of our silos. And we all agree, the Delta is an amazing estuary, and a vital water supply source for the state. But any new path on California water must bring Delta community and fishing interests to the table. We have solutions to offer. We live with the impacts of state water management decisions from loss of recreation to degradation of water quality to collapsing fisheries.

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Environment Report: What The Super Bloom Says About Backcountry Development

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard

People are scrambling to find the so-called “super bloom” flowers in the far reaches of Southern California. People have taken off for the Anza-Borrego Desert or, less exotically, parked along the shoulder of Interstate 15 to photograph themselves serenely sitting in a flower patch by a six-lane highway. Getting out there is a healthy reminder that so much of San Diego County – 4,200 square miles of it – is undeveloped. It’s a bit amazing to stand in the dusty, often barren Anza-Borrego only to look up at the mountains and realize that 90 miles west is the country’s eighth-largest city and the world’s largest ocean.

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San Dieguito River Conservancy Cleaning Up Watershed

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan Brennan

The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy is eradicating invasive weeds from the river course, and replacing them with native plants, in order to control fire risk and and improve the natural habitat. The restoration project covers almost 95 acres, and takes place along a 2.5-mile stretch of the San Dieguito River between Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe. That area is part of an ongoing revegetation program to improve the streamside environment.

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OPINION: California Water Tax Plan Is Back — And Newsom’s Version Is The Worst Yet

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Two years ago, The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board opposed a bill that would add a maximum 95-cents fee to the monthly bills of all but low-income water customers to help pay for water infrastructure improvements in some 300 communities with about 1 million residents. These residents, clustered in agricultural areas in the Central Valley, have to rely on unsafe water supplies.

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Reservoir Releases Shift From Flood Control To Storage

/in , , /by /KCRA (Sacramento)by Vicki Gonzalez

Water managers are shifting from flood control to water storage at reservoirs across the California. Folsom Lake is at roughly 70 percent capacity, with about twice the amount of inflow as outflow. “We can kind of buffer up and down — give or take — to try and get that target,” said Todd Plain with Bureau of Reclamation. “That target, as time goes on, is moving up as we fill. So, it’s OK to be to be a little bit above average right now.”

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As Trump Tries To Roll Back Clean Water Rules, California Seeks Stronger Protections

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

When grower Brad Goehring looks across his rows of grapes, he can’t help but see a pool of murky water that breaks the rhythm of his vines, which otherwise stretch steadily into the Sierra foothills. The pool is relatively small, maybe half an acre, but vital, according to environmental regulators. They say it helps to clean the runoff from Goehring’s fields and provides a home for critters such as marsh birds. And by law, it can’t be disrupted, which is what makes this mini wetland a headache for Goehring.

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