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Napa County Watershed Divide Widens

/in , /by /The North Bay Business Journalby Jeff Quackenbush

Napa County is known for the stories behind its world class wines, and recent public policy actions on tree removal and permitted rural winery activities are mobilizing groups to have a hand in writing the future story for local business. On April 9 after three years and two unsuccessful ballot measures. Measure C failed by a razor-thin margin in June the Napa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved greater protections for native woodlands from development and buffer zones for watersheds. But the contentious path to the Water Quality and Tree Protection ordinance vote may not be the last word from supporters and opponents of tougher rules, from inside and outside the wine business.

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Public Meetings On Permitting For Long-Term Operations Of The California State Water Project Planned

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times (Mariposa, Calif.)

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has issued a notice that it will seek an updated environmental permit to operate the State Water Project through a state-based approach in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The department’s notice that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Report for long-term operation of the SWP is available here. “The State Water Project provides many benefits from flood protection to water supply and is operated to ensure the health of California’s ecosystem,” said Karla Nemeth, DWR Director.

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Colorado River Drought Plan Could Improve Local Drought Resilience

/in , , /by /Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo.)by Hannah Holm

Even as successive snowstorms obliterated drought conditions in the state of Colorado, the states that share the Colorado River put the final touches on a plan to use less water. On March 19, representatives from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado asked Congress to approve their “Drought Contingency Plan.” Congressed obliged, and President Trump added his signature on April 16. The lightning speed with which the Drought Contingency Plan was approved in contentious Washington, D.C. reflects the plan’s importance. Over the past two decades, water use from the river has regularly exceed inputs from snow and rain, leading water levels in Lakes Mead and Powell to drop perilously low.

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Cal Am Desal Plant Project Goes To Monterey County Planning Commission

/in , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

Considered by many the key to long-running efforts to cut unauthorized pumping from the Carmel River, California American Water’s proposed desalination plant project is headed to the Monterey County Planning Commission next week. On Wednesday, the commission is set to conduct a public hearing on a combined development permit for the proposed 6.4-million-gallon-per-day desal plant on Charlie Benson Road off Del Monte Boulevard north of Marina. The commission is charged with considering a use permit and administrative permit and design approval, for the desal plant and related facilities based on consideration of a combined environmental impact report and environmental impact statement certified by the California Public Utilities Commission in September.

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California And The West Prepare To Get By On Less Water From The Colorado River

/in , , /by /Berkeley Newsby John Hickey

A century of water management in the western United States is on the verge of being restructured and two UC Berkeley water experts approve. Under a plan recently passed by Congress, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior is charged with implementing an agreement among seven states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — in which each agrees to take less water from the Colorado River. The plan, more than two years in the making, now is headed to the desk of President Donald Trump for his signature.

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Cancer-Causing Chemical Taints Water After California Blaze

/in , /by /AP News

The drinking water in Paradise, California, where 85 people died last year in the nation’s worst wildfire in a century, is contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical benzene, officials said. Officials said they believe the contamination happened after the November firestorm created a toxic combination of gases in burning homes that got sucked into the water pipes as residents and firefighters drew water heavily, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported Thursday. Officials say that may explain why benzene, which has been linked to anemia and leukemia, has been found in tests at various spots rather than from one source in Paradise, which was largely destroyed.

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Secretive ‘Harbor Master’ Steers Colorado River Campaign

/in , /by /E&E News (Washington, D.C.)by Jeremy P. Jacobs

For six years, a coordinated campaign has fought to save the Colorado River, influencing policy decisions like a recent interstate drought plan. But you can’t find it on Google. The Colorado River Sustainability Campaign has been an important behind-the-scenes player for environmentalists working on the waterway, which provides water to 40 million people. It is housed at the New Venture Fund, a tax-exempt charity based in Washington, D.C., that funnels money to dozens of advocacy campaigns on a variety of issues. There is no mention of the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign on the fund’s website, or anywhere in its tax filings. And those tax returns are opaque.

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Rare ‘Toxic Cocktail’ From Camp Fire Is Poisoning Paradise water. It Could Cost $300 Million To Fix

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Tony Bizjak

The discovery was as surprising as it was ominous. Weeks after the Camp Fire roared through Butte County last November, devouring entire towns, officials made an alarming find: The Paradise drinking water is now laced with benzene, a volatile compound linked to cancer. Water officials say they believe the extreme heat of the firestorm created a “toxic cocktail” of gases in burning homes that got sucked into the water pipes when the system depressurized from use by residents and firefighters.

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State Treasurer Announces Sale Of $299.6 Million In Bonds For State Water Project

/in , , /by /The Lake County News

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma announced the competitive sale this week of $299.6 million in California Department of Water Resources water system revenue bonds to refinance certain State Water Project capital improvements, including a portion of the costs of the Oroville Dam Spillways Response, Recovery and Restoration Project. “These funds will be used to finance the reconstruction of the Oroville dam spillways to help provide flood control and water supply throughout California,” said Treasurer Ma. The main spillway chute of Oroville Dam experienced damage in 2017 due to heavy rains during the wettest January and February in 110 years of Feather River hydrologic record.

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California Warmth Fades This Weekend; A Drier Pattern Overall Out West

/in , /by /The AccuWeather by Brian Thompson

As the month of April continues to chug along, the weather maps are looking more and more like the end of the wet season. Dry weather is starting to take hold. Thursday will likely be the warmest day of the week along the California coast, with highs reach the 70s in San Francisco and the 80s in Downtown Los Angeles. Across the interior, Friday could be even a touch warmer with temperatures approaching record levels in places like Merced and Fresno.

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