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Trump Plan Delivers More Water for Valley Farmers

/in , /by /GV Wire

The Trump administration unveiled a new plan Tuesday to govern California’s water usage that would deliver more irrigation water for Valley farmers. But the proposal is ringing alarms from environmental groups that say it would have a negative impact on endangered species such as salmon and delta smelt. An analysis by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, however, says the plan “will not jeopardize threatened or endangered species.” The plan includes spending $1.5 billion to support endangered fish such as the delta smelt. The government would also monitor rivers for endangered fish, with commitments to reduce pumping when they are present.

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DWR Celebrates The Completion Of Tidal Habitat Restoration In The Delta

/in , , /by /California Department of Water Resources

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) gathered with its partners and contractors Oct.15 to celebrate the completion of the 460-acre tidal wetland known as Tule Red in the Suisun Marsh.

More than 100 attendees watched as a giant excavator perched on top of a 200-foot wide levee removed the earth separating the high tides of Grizzly Bay from the interior channels. The crowd cheered as tides began flowing over the breached levee. With the site opened to the daily tides, this ideal location along the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area will provide much needed habitat to benefit endangered fish and wildlife species.

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Public Officials Say Desal Is A Bad Deal

/in , /by /Voices of Monterey Bay by Royal Calkins

More than two dozen elected officials have signed a letter urging the California Coastal Commission to pull the plug on a desalination plant proposed by the California American Water Co. to serve Monterey Peninsula residents.

The letter was released during an event held by Pure Water Monterey on the lawn in front of Monterey City Hall.

Among those signing the letter were the entire board of the Marina Coast Water District, Monterey Mayor Clyde Roberson, Seaside Mayor Ian Oglesby, Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado Del Rey Oaks Mayor Alison Kerr and Monterey County Supervisor Jane Parker.

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OPINION: A New Approach For Managing California’s Water And Improving The Environment

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Paul Souza, Barry Thom, and Ernest Conant

Water is at the center of California’s economic and environmental health. The need to maintain reliable water supply for California’s farms, families and cities while protecting the environment has been at the forefront of our minds as we have worked to review and finalize a new operations plan for the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project.

Together, these projects provide water for 25 million Californians and millions of acres of some of the most productive farmland in the world.

The projects impact but also protect important commercial and recreational fisheries, wildlife refuges, and rare species.

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Climate Change Making Stronger El Ninos, Study Finds

/in , , /by /ABC Newsby Seth Borenstein

Climate change is making stronger El Ninos, which change weather worldwide and heat up an already warming planet, a new study finds.

Scientists examined 33 El Ninos — natural warming of equatorial Pacific that triggers weather extremes across the globe — since 1901. They found since the 1970s, El Ninos have been forming farther to the west in warmer waters, leading to stronger El Ninos in some cases.

A powerful El Nino can trigger drought in some places, like Australia and India. And it can cause flooding in other areas like California. The Pacific gets more hurricanes during an El Nino and the Atlantic gets fewer.

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Central Valley Water Board Plan to Reduce Nitrate Contamination in Groundwater Gets Approval

/in , , /by /California Water News Dailyby California Water News Daily

Help is on the way, both immediate and long-term, for the nitrate and salt contamination of groundwater basins and surface water in the Central Valley. Although the long-term resolution may be a multi-year process, stakeholders have developed a plan to address one of the region’s most challenging water quality problems.

After more than 13 years in development by stakeholders and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) a plan was approved earlier this week by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to address the buildup of salt and nitrates in Central Valley groundwater basins and surface water.

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Millions of People Are Running Out of Water – How Desalination Plants Are Trying To Fix That

/in , /by /CNBCby Adam Isaak

Today, one out of three people don’t have access to safe drinking water. One reason is that 96.5% of that water is found in our oceans. It’s saturated with salt, and undrinkable. Most of the freshwater is locked away in glaciers or deep underground. Less than 1% of it is available to us. Desalination is an important tool in the fight against water scarcity. Its reliability is becoming critical.

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California’s Delta Smelt Are Dying: How This Affects The State’s Water

/in , , /by /ABC 10by Tyler Horst

The Delta smelt is such a small and translucent fish that it often disappears from view when it swims in the turbid waters of its home in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

However, it’s also been disappearing from the Delta entirely.

“The Delta smelt has gone from being one of the more abundant fish in the Delta to being just on the verge of extinction today,” Peter Moyle, an Emeritus Professor of Fish Biology at UC Davis, said.

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To Fund Water Plan, Colorado Lawmakers Want To Gamble On Sports Betting

/in , , /by /KRCCby Luke Runyon

Music is blaring and grills are firing up at a parking lot awash in navy blue and orange outside Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

Todd Endicott of Lafayette stands outside an ambulance turned Broncos fan-mobile. He outfitted this orange and blue rig for tailgates. It’s plastered in life-size stickers of players, and the football team’s logos, vintage and new.

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Lake Mendocino Gets More Water Under New Dam Operating Rules

/in , /by /Argus Courier

Lake Mendocino made it through a typically long, hot summer with an abundance of water and now, thanks to an ongoing experiment with high-tech weather forecasting, the reservoir can retain more water through the winter, benefiting people, fish and farmers along the Russian River.

A dollop of spring rain pumped up the 3-square-mile reservoir near Ukiah, and water managers are now hailing the initial success of an experimental program intended to maximize storage in the second largest source of water for more than 655,000 people in three North Bay counties.

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