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See Four Months Of Oroville Dam Spillway Construction In One Minute

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby David Caraccio

The California Department of Water Resources has released a time-lapse video showing four months of daily construction progress from June 26 through October 31. The camera angle looks up the lower chute of the spillway from the diversion pool until mid-August, then shifts to the middle chute from August 15 to September 11, where roller-compacted concrete was placed,” DWR said in an Nov. 1, 2018, YouTube post with the video. “The timelapse video then resumes footage from the lower chute vantage point from mid-August through October 31.”

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If Proposition 3 Passes, 2018 Could Become California’s Highest-Funded Year for Water Projects in Decades

/in , /by /Pacific Standard Magazineby Kate Wheeling

California voters will weigh in on 11 statewide ballot propositions on November 6th—a relatively small number for a state where the record number is 45. Still, the measures cover a lot of ground: everything from gas taxes to housing to breaks for emergency workers to daylight savings time to water conservation. There was even a ballot measure (Proposition 9) that could have split California into three states, before the state Supreme Court struck it from the ballot over the summer. Some of the remaining propositions are more straightforward than others, and Proposition 3, which would authorize the state to sell $8.9 billion in bonds to pay for water infrastructure and environmental projects, has left many voters confused.

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OPINION: State’s Water Grab Includes Stunning Groundwater Restrictions

/in , /by /Merced Sun-Starby Daron McDaniel

The State Water Resources Control Board will vote Wednesday on a proposal to send more of our river water out to the Delta – a move that would decimate the Central Valley’s economy, water quality and quality of life. The water board claims this is to save some fish. But many believe there are ulterior motives. In October 2016, water board staff spoke to the Merced board of supervisors for the first time about the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan Update and its impacts on our disadvantaged communities. This plan will send significant amounts of surface water – up to 50 percent of unimpaired flows – out into the ocean from the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers.

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How Next Week’s Expected State Water Board Vote Could Trigger a Flood of Lawsuits

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Ken Carlson

Most signs point to the State Water Board approving a much-disputed river flow plan next week that will mean less water for farms and cities in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. The board, also known as the State Water Resources Control Board, is set to vote Wednesday to require irrigation districts to leave more water in the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers in an effort to restore salmon. Local irrigation districts and county and city leaders have promised a prolonged battle over the water board’s final plan released in July, saying it will devastate the region’s economy and won’t help the fish.

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SF Mayor Breed Vetoes Supervisors’ Resolution that Supported State River Plan

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

San Francisco Mayor London Breed broke her silence on California’s latest water war Friday, saying she wouldn’t support a state river restoration plan that would mean giving up some of the city’s pristine Hetch Hetchy water. In addition to her unexpected announcement, Breed vetoed a resolution passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors earlier this week that offered the city’s blessing for the little-known, but far-reaching state initiative.

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U.C. Davis Law’s Environmental Law Center Releases Proposition 3 White Paper

/in , /by /California WaterBlog (Davis)by Richard Frank

The U.C. Davis School of Law’s California Environmental Law & Policy Center has published a detailed analysis of one of the most controversial initiative measures facing California voters on the November 6, 2018 general election ballot: Proposition 3.  California’s Proposition 3: A Policy Analysis provides a detailed summary and analysis of the proposed “Water Supply and Water Quality Act of 2018.”  If enacted, Proposition 3 would authorize the sale of $8.877 billion in state general obligation bonds to finance a wide array of water infrastructure, safe drinking water, groundwater management and watershed and fisheries improvement projects.

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Oroville Dam Repairs Aren’t Enough, Feds Warn. Should State be Forced to Plan for a Mega-Flood?

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

Federal regulators are raising new concerns about the troubled Oroville Dam, telling California officials their recently rebuilt flood-control spillways likely couldn’t handle a mega-flood. Although the chances of such a disastrous storm are considered extremely unlikely — the magnitude of flooding in the federal warning is far greater than anything ever experienced — national dam safety experts say the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s concerns could have costly repercussions for California. The public agencies that store water in Lake Oroville may be forced to spend millions of dollars upgrading the dam.

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Water Managers Along Colorado River Figure Out How To Live With Less

/in , /by /KJZZ 91.5 (Tempe, Ariz.)by Bret Jaspers

Climate change is growing the gap between the river’s supply, and the demands in the communities that rely on it, including seven western U.S. states and Mexico. The federal government recently released proposals called Drought Contingency Plans designed to keep the Colorado River’s biggest reservoirs from falling to levels where water is unable to be sent through the dams that hold up Lakes Powell and Mead.

 

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Officials: Oroville Dam Spillway Will Be Ready For Rain

/in , /by /Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)by Jonathan J. Cooper

California water officials said Wednesday that the $1.1 billion spillway at the nation’s tallest dam will be in full working order if it’s needed this winter, nearly two years after it was damaged and thousands were forced to flee. Crews have finished pouring concrete on the main spillway at Oroville Dam, though it still needs to cure for a month and other work is necessary before it can be used, the California Department of Water Resources announced. Crews will also continue pouring concrete on an adjacent emergency spillway.

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Battle Ahead in Colorado on Water Conserved for Lake Powell Storage

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Brent Gardner-Smith

Colorado’s western slope water managers have doubled down on their position that they will oppose federal legislation creating a new regulated pool of water to boost the falling level of Lake Powell unless Colorado adopts a policy that the pool should be filled only on a voluntary basis. At a well-attended water meeting last week, Andy Mueller, the general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District, said that without a new state policy putting limits on how water can be stored in the big reservoir, “You will find that our district, the Southwest District and hopefully others will be, frankly, opposing the federal legislation.”

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