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Gravel Project Aims To Replenish Critical Nursing Areas Of The American River For Fish

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks

thousands of tons of gravel is being laid in the American River this month, re-establishing a crucial spawning area for hundreds of native salmon and steelhead trout.

On Friday, crews used rocks and stones dredged up from the river more than a century ago during Gold Rush to create opportunities to find shelter and food for the fish at Sailor Bay.

The project will ultimately add 14,000 tons from the floodplain to the flowing water near Fair Oaks before Chinook salmon begin to make the grueling trek from the Pacific Ocean up to the American River starting in October.

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The ‘Blob’ Is Surging Back In The Pacific, Leading To Fears Of Mass Die-Offs Of Marine Life And Unusual Weather Patterns

/in , , /by /The Washington Post by Andrew Freedman and Lauren Tierney

Across vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean extending from Hawaii north to the shores of Alaska, and southeast to near California, a new marine heat wave is underway. This event is widely referred to as “The Blob Part Two,” or just another “Blob,” after the first event, which took place 2014 through 2016, earned that odd moniker based on its bold red appearance on maps of ocean surface temperatures.

The new incarnation has already caused coral bleaching in the Hawaiian islands, and it may be tied to strandings of marine mammals along the California coast.

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OPINION: Gov. Gavin Newsom Should Sign Senate Bill 1 Into Law. Without Its Environmental Protections, Californians Will Suffer

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jerry Butkiewicz

At least 85 different federal laws and regulations affecting California have been weakened or undermined by the Trump administration since January 2017.

Vital clean air, water, and endangered species standards have been weakened or eliminated, while federal agencies that are supposed to protect worker health and safety are now being run by people with strong industry backgrounds.

That’s why I, along with many proponents, believe that Senate Bill 1 would safeguard our state from the anti-science, anti-environment and anti-worker deregulation derby taking place under the Trump administration.

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Repeal Of Federal Water Rule Brings Comfort To Agricultural Communities

/in , /by /The Journal by Ayelet Sheffey Herald

Lawmakers, ranchers and agriculturalists are lauding last week’s decision by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to repeal the 2015 Waters of the United States rule.

The WOTUS rule defines all bodies of water that fall under U.S. federal jurisdiction, and it was established in response to concern from legislators and experts about the lack of clarity over the scope of the jurisdiction. However, the rule has received backlash from agricultural communities and lawmakers because it allows the federal government to control most bodies of water, including those already regulated by states, placing essentially no limits on the EPA’s control.

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Smart Treatment, Smart Investment: New Report Details Impact Investment Strategies In Water

/in , /by /Water Finance and Management

Our water-stressed, climate-changing world is a major resilience challenge for communities. But there’s also an upside to meeting this challenge. Building resilient water solutions can create important, and sometimes catalytic, opportunities for private investors.

That’s especially so in the wastewater treatment world. It’s not sexy, but treating dirty water is essential to a sustainable water future. A lot of money is being spent to do so, and a cutting edge new report details how those capital streams could be deployed for good.

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How Rock Expands Near Soil Surface In Southern Sierra Nevada

/in , /by /Science Daily

A University of Wyoming researcher and his team discovered that weathering of subsurface rock in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California occurs due more to rocks expanding than from chemical decomposition, as previously thought.

Porosity, the void space in rock, was conventionally thought to be produced when water flows through the rock, thus resulting in minerals chemically dissolving. Because mountain watershed provides large reservoirs of water, the new findings are relevant to water resource management throughout the U.S.

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Eyes In The Sky Help Farmers On The Ground

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Lauren Smiley

The Central Valley of California doesn’t begin so much with a gradual change in the landscape as with an abrupt line. Suddenly, a barren plain that looks like an apt cue for “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” theme song is interrupted by the first row of leafy, irrigated crops.

Since the 1930s, the region has run on human control of water, carefully distributing the melting mountain snowpack through reservoirs and dams, pumping stations and irrigation pipelines, through drips, sprinklers and intentionally flooded fields.

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Demise Of Key Environment Bill Could Escalate California’s Water Wars

/in , , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Julie Cart

The smoke has (partly) cleared from the legislative battlefield, in the aftermath of a struggle pitting the leader of the California Senate against not only powerful water and agricultural interests but also Gov. Gavin Newsom. And California’s two largest water-delivery systems may soon be operating under rules that differ ever more significantly.

Newsom has said he won’t approve Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ bid for a legal backstop against environmental rollbacks by the Trump administration. And Washington is poised to reduce protections for endangered fish species in the state’s largest watersheds.

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Cities In North Santa Clara County Explore Water Recycling Technologies For a Sustainable, Resilient Water Supply

/in , /by /Santa Clara Valley Water News

With increased water demands due to climate change and population growth, solutions for a sustainable and resilient water supply are more critical than ever. That’s why the Santa Clara Valley Water District, now known as Valley Water, and the cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View are exploring a potential partnership to help fill the need for future drinking water supplies through new regional water reuse programs. Water reuse can include either traditional recycled water for non-drinking purposes such as irrigation and industrial needs, but it can also include reusing water for future drinking water supplies through advanced water purification technologies.

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Drought Tolerant Crop Being Studied In The Valley

/in , /by /ABC 30by Cristina Davies

Big research is happening at the Kearney Agriculture and Extension Center in Fresno County.

Sorghum, a crop that looks similar to corn, is under a microscope.

Jeff Dahlberg, director of the center, said that sorghum is very drought tolerant.

“What we are looking for is the mechanism behind the drought tolerance in sorghum and if we can elucidate the genetics behind that, what we believe is we can use those genetics to see if the genetics in corn, or in rice, or in wheat,” he said.

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