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SoCal Water Managers Want to Know Who – Exactly – is Sinking the California Aqueduct

/in , /by /SJV Water (San Joaquin Valley, Calif.)by Lois Henry

A state report released in December pinned blame for sinking along the California Aqueduct on excessive nearby groundwater pumping to irrigate vineyards and nut orchards.

That was a pretty pointed finger, but not pointed enough for some committee directors in the large and powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

They wanted names.

The issue came up at a meeting of MWD’s Water Planning and Stewardship Committee on Feb. 10 where a presentation was given about subsidence along the Aqueduct. Ted Craddock, acting Deputy Director of the Department of Water Resources gave the presentation and answered questions.

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Climate Change Has Stolen More Than a Billion Tons of Water From the West’s Most Vital River

/in , , /by /Washington Postby Juliet Eilperin

The Colorado River’s average annual flow has declined by nearly 20 percent compared to the last century, and now a new study has identified one of the main culprits: Climate change is causing mountain snowpack to disappear, leading to increased evaporation.

Four recent studies have found that up to half of the drop in the Colorado’s average annual flow since 2000 has been driven by warmer temperatures. Now, two U.S. Geological Survey researchers have concluded that much of this climate-induced decline — amounting to 1.5 billion tons of missing water, equal to the annual water consumption of 10 million Americans — comes from the fact that the region’s snowpack is shrinking and melting earlier. Having less snow to reflect heat from the sun, known as the albedo effect, creates a feedback loop, they say.

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Water Board OKs $3.2M Live Oak Water Plant Land Purchase

/in , /by / Santa Cruz Sentinelby Jessica A. York

CAPITOLA — A planned water recycling plant project took a leap forward this week after approval of a new land purchase.

The Soquel Creek Water District board voted unanimously Tuesday night to exercise its $3.2 million option to purchase nearly 2 acres of Live Oak light industrial property at the corner of Chanticleer and Soquel drives. The site at 2505 Chanticleer Ave. will be the future home of an advanced purification water plant, which the district’s dubs its Pure Water Soquel project.

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Trump Brings More Water — and Himself — to Central Valley Farmers

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite

BAKERSFIELD — President Trump swooped into California farm country Wednesday and, with a flourish, signed off on a plan that would take water away from fish and ship more to farmers in the Central Valley.

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Fact Check: Trump says California is Rationing Water. Here’s What’s Really Going On

/in , /by /Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler

President Donald Trump had a lot to say about his efforts to fight off water rationing in California Wednesday before a cheering crowd of farmers in Bakersfield tired of seeing their water deliveries reduced to protect endangered fish.

But Trump’s claims — about how much of California’s water flows to the Pacific Ocean, and claims the state had set limits on daily water — left out key nuances that make his statements misleading.

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Trump Vows More Water for Central Valley Farmers, Less for Fish. Can He Deliver?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall
Following a golf fundraiser outside Palm Springs, President Trump swung through Bakersfield on Wednesday to claim credit for sending “a magnificent amount” of water to Central Valley farms.

As a cheering crowd of supporters watched, Trump signed a memo directing federal agencies to move ahead with relaxed endangered species protections that have curbed water deliveries to San Joaquin Valley agriculture and the urban Southland.

Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s administration said Wednesday that it would challenge the federal action in court.

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Trump OKs More California Water for Valley Farmers. Gavin Newsom Promises to Sue

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler, Briannna Calix, and Carmen George

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a preemptive strike against President Donald Trump, said Wednesday he plans to sue Trump’s administration to block a controversial plan to increase water deliveries to the San Joaquin Valley.

Newsom’s office said he “will file legal action in the coming days … to protect highly imperiled fish species close to extinction.”

The announcement came just minutes before Trump appeared in Bakersfield to announce he’s finalized an order removing regulatory roadblocks and enabling the giant Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumps to deliver additional water to the southern half of the state.

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California Farm Bureau Federation Will Fight ‘Split-Roll’ Ballot Measure

/in , /by /POLITICOby Carla Marinucci

The state’s largest agricultural organization will oppose a proposed “split-roll” ballot measure that would increase commercial property taxes, saying it will cost farmers and consumers billions by mandating costly reassessments for California barns, wineries and processing plants.

Jamie Johansson, president of the 34,000-member California Farm Bureau Federation, said in an interview that it was highly unusual for his organization to oppose a ballot measure at this early stage, “but our board of directors is very concerned about the impact this initiative would have on rural California.”

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New Project to Tackle Puget Sound’s Growing Polluted Stormwater

/in , , /by /KOMO News (Seattle)by Abby Acone

Local researchers say at least 14 to 94 million pounds of contaminants like oil, grease and toxic metals get mixed with stormwater in Puget Sound every year. Now a new public-private partnership is tackling the growing problem.

The runoff from the Aurora Bridge is the target for a new project. Nonprofits like The Nature Conservancy are working together with local companies like Stephen C. Grey & Associates and Boeing to address the issue. Even the Washington State Legislature approved $500,00 to help with this project.

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Sierra Snowpack Withering in California’s Dry Winter. New Satellite Image Shows the Bad News

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Bee by Dale Kasler

The image is disturbing and leaves little doubt about California’s growing predicament: The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is a sad whisper of it was a year ago, a withering testament to the lack of precipitation in the state’s increasingly dry winter.

The National Weather Service tweeted satellite images of the Sierra on Tuesday, showing the stark difference between this year and the above-average snowfall from 2019. The mountain snowpack — a crucial element in the state’s annual water supply — is 53 percent of normal for this time of year, according to the Department of Water Resources.

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