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Appetite For California Almonds Still Growing, But Farmers Feel Squeeze From New Water Rules

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Candice Wang

The California almond has proved resilient under fire. During the late years of California’s most recent drought, from 2015 through 2016, the almond came under attack from a variety of sources, including news outlets such as Mother Jones, Forbes and the New Republic, labeling it a horticultural vampire. It was, they said, sucking California’s groundwater reserves dry, leaving behind brittle, drought-stricken trees and causing the dusty land in San Joaquin County to cave in. But the nut and the crop have not just survived, but thrived.

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Proactive Partnerships Keep Pipelines In Top Shape

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

This summer, the Water Authority is partnering with three technology companies to test the condition of the agency’s oldest pipelines forming the First Aqueduct in Valley Center. Technology providers test their new and improved tools on Water Authority and member agency pipes. The tools are then used to assess the condition of those same pipes. This efficient strategy ensures maximum condition assessment accuracy. The strategy also allows for technology to keep up with what water agencies need and minimizes costs. Targeted repairs and maintenance activities maximize the life expectancy of some of the region’s most critical infrastructure.

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Farm Bureau Says Goodbye To Longtime Executive Director

/in , , /by /Valley Roadrunner (Valley Center, Calif.)

The San Diego County Farm Bureau’s longtime executive director Eric Larson retired recently after leading the Bureau for 23 years. He told the newspaper two weeks ago, “I decided 70 was a good age to exit. I will be working through the end of September. My replacement will begin July 22 giving us a good transition.” His replacement is Hannah Gbeh (pronounced bay). Gbeh is an environmental impact report preparer, organic farmer, environmental science teacher and researcher who has served for several years on the board of the San Diego County Farm Bureau.  She is also a commissioner on the County’s Fish and Wildfire Advisory Commission and serves on the Jamul-Dulzura Community Planning Group.

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New Delta Tunnel Project Begins Taking Shape

/in , , /by /The Press (Brentwood, Calif.)by Tony Kukulich

Opponents of the twin tunnels breathed a collective sigh of relief in April when Gov. Gavin Newsom put a formal end to the California WaterFix project, but that action also called for the assessment of a single-tunnel project in the Delta. The first major step in that direction took place last week when the Department of Water Resources (DWR) initiated a series of negotiations with public water agencies that participate in the State Water Project (SWP), to amend SWP contracts to accommodate the construction and operation of a single Delta tunnel, referred to as the Delta Conveyance Project. Of the 29 state contractors, five agencies that operate north of the Delta are expected to opt out of participation in the project.

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Is Hetch Hetchy Worth $100 billion?

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Gregory Thomas

Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley was dammed and flooded nearly 100 years ago, but the prospect of draining the reservoir continues to inspire romantic imaginings about unlocking a brand-new outdoor-recreation mecca in one of the country’s most popular national parks. If we could return Hetch Hetchy to a more natural state — of the variety that stirred John Muir’s soul a century ago — would we be clearing a path for the emergence of Yosemite Valley 2.0?

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Dam Spillway Near SLO County Has Significant Cracks, Is ‘Unsafe For Use,’ State Says

/in , , /by /The Tribune by Monica Vaughan

Remember when the concrete spillway of the nation’s tallest dam developed a giant hole, and downstream communities were evacuated out of fear that a wall of water would charge down the river?

It turns out that the same structural problems that caused the failure at Oroville Dam in February 2017 also exist at the spillway of San Antonio Dam, just two miles north of Lake Nacimiento and above the community of Bradley.

Those problems have been known “for quite sometime,” according to the current manager of the dam operator. But the state didn’t take notice or downgrade the dam’s safety condition until after it revamped its oversight process following the massive failure in Northern California.

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Water Systems Must Notify Californians About These Cancer-Linked Chemicals Under New Law

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Sophia Bollag

Starting next year, California water systems must notify residents if their water sources contain potentially toxic levels of cancer-linked chemicals called PFAS under a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Wednesday.

The new law, AB 756, will also expand state regulators’ ability to test for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. The compounds can be found in everyday plastics and products like floss and are concentrated in firefighting foam that the military and commercial aviation industry has used for decades.

That foam has seeped into groundwater and wells surrounding military installations and commercial airports, and has been found in drinking water sources at more than 712 locations in 49 states, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization.

 

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Lawsuit Threatens Arroyo Grande Oil Field Aquifer Exemption

/in , , /by /New Times (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)by Camillia Lanham

The Center for Biological Diversity is threatening to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision earlier this year to exempt portions of the Arroyo Grande Oil Field from the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Maya Golden-Krasner, the center’s climate deputy director and senior attorney, said that the federal agency didn’t complete its due diligence before issuing a decision in April, violating both the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Protection Act.

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Western Municipal Water District Acquires Its First-Ever Groundwater Right

/in , , /by /California Water News Daily

Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) announced earlier this week that it has acquired nearly 23,000 shares of common stock in the Meeks and Daley Water Company (M&D), a private individual shareholder. This purchase will further ensure WMWD’s long-term water reliability and is the water district’s first-ever groundwater right in the San Bernardino Basin.

“The acquisition of M&D water is part of Western’s ongoing plan to decrease dependence on imported water, expand affordable local water supplies, and ensure long-term water reliability for our 25,000 residential and business customers,” said General Manager Craig Miller.

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Opinion: Sites Reservoir Needed For Reliable Water Future

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Andrew Meredith

A flexible, reliable water supply is essential to California’s economy and to the job creation and job security goals of California’s working families. Reliability and flexibility in our water supply has become elusive in drought-prone California, thanks in large part to a changing climate and an obsolete water storage system that was designed to utilize a steady and massive Sierra snowpack. It’s well past time to make critical investments in water infrastructure — particularly water storage — to sustain us through future droughts and help us adapt to our new normal, one which includes extended droughts, diminished snowpack, warmer winter storms and a need for a more flexible water storage portfolio.

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