News
California legislators reject bill to curb agricultural groundwater pumping
The Bakersfield Californian – September 4
California lawmakers have rejected proposed legislation seeking to rein in agricultural groundwater pumping. Under the proposed bill, authored by Assemblymember Steve Bennett, D-Santa Barbara, local groundwater management agencies, largely in the Central Valley, would have been required to weigh in on whether a new, enlarged, or reactivated well would harm the local aquifer before a local government can grant a permit. The applicant also would have had to submit a study by an engineer or geologist confirming that the well is unlikely to interfere with nearby wells.
Why California’s largest reservoir in nearly 50 years may be derailed by water shortages
San Francisco Chronicle – August 26
A coalition of water agencies is proposing to build the first major reservoir in California in nearly half a century, north of Sacramento. The $4 billion Sites Reservoir proposal calls for flooding ranchlands with Sacramento River water and sending it to cities and irrigation districts as far away as Los Angeles. Much of the funding is lined up, and the project has won increasing bipartisan support, including from Governor Gavin Newsom. But, the State Water Resources Control Board told project officials in an August 26 letter that their application for a water right is incomplete because they failed to show that there’s sufficient flow to draw from in the Sacramento River.
Arizona loses more of its Colorado River water allocation under new drought plan
Arizona Republic – August 16
The federal government will impose deeper cuts on the drought-stricken Colorado River, officials said on August 16, reducing water deliveries to Arizona by one-fifth starting in January 2023. Nevada will give up about 8% of its allocation, and Mexico's share will be cut by 7%. California will not lose any of its share under the blueprint. The moves are meant to protect two major dams from structural damage and the ability to generate electric power. Currently, Lake Mead holds just over 25% capacity and Lake Powell just less than 25%. The seven basin states and tribes are negotiating new Colorado River water management guidelines to replace the current guidelines, which expire at the end of 2025.
Governor Newsom pushes desalination, rain capture, and cutting red tape, as California dries out
The Center Square – August 11
Governor Gavin Newsom and state water officials unveiled a multi-pronged plan on August 11 intended to bolster the state’s water supply. The plan lays out specific targets in anticipation of the state preparing to lose 10% of its water supply by 2040, according to projections by the Department of Water Resources. The plan’s goals include developing storage for 4 million acre-feet of water, recycling and reusing a minimum of 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030, reducing water demand in towns and cities by 500,000 acre-feet through conservation by 2030, and pushing forward more projects to capture storm runoff and desalinate ocean water.
New Russian River curtailments imposed in Sonoma County
The Press Democrat – August 5
Several hundred ranchers, grape growers, tribes, landowners, and community water suppliers, including the city of Healdsburg, were barred on August 5 from exercising some of their rights to water from the Russian River amid tightening supplies in an unrelenting drought officials say is likely to get worse. The third round of curtailments imposed by the State Water Resource Control Board (Board) was prompted by drastic reductions in Eel River water diversions. The Board also formally suspended a new voluntary sharing arrangement that allowed some of those with older, “senior” water rights to share water with those whose rights have been curtailed due to a lack of sufficient water supplies.
Does the Bay Area have enough water to build housing during the California drought?
The Mercury News – August 22
When Contra Costa County supervisors last summer signed off on 125 new homes in Tassajara Valley, they were warned water was going to be an issue. Supervisors pushed ahead, and the East Bay Municipal Utility District promptly sued to halt development plans. The dispute illustrates the challenges the Bay Area faces in its push to build more homes to ease its housing affordability crisis, while local water systems are under strain by a warming climate and years of drought. But experts and municipal planners say the region can still balance its water and housing needs – as long as it continues to bolster conservation efforts for homes and businesses while promoting denser development and finding sustainable ways to increase water supply.
California legislators urge DOJ to investigate ‘drought profiteering’ as water prices soar to historic highs
Fortune – August 25
A bipartisan group of California legislators is asking the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate potential water crimes as the state battles continued drought. The group told U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that, along with ongoing concern about possible “drought profiteering” and water theft, worry is building that “fraud and market manipulation” is constraining already severely limited water availability. California water prices hit an all-time high of $1,233 an acre-foot on August 24 on the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index, which tracks the average price of water-rights transactions in five markets in the state.
Los Angeles has plans to put recycled water in your tap
Los Angeles Times – July 22
The city of Los Angeles and agencies across Southern California are looking into direct potable reuse: putting purified recycled water directly back into our drinking water systems. Their efforts hinge on the State Water Resources Control Board, which has been tasked by legislators to develop a set of uniform regulations on direct potable reuse by Dec. 31, 2023. A reuse demonstration facility near the Headworks reservoir will probably be the state’s first approved direct potable reuse project, said Jesus Gonzalez, manager of water recycling policy at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Conserve groundwater. Fallow farmland. Increase dust?
High Country News – September 8
California’s San Joaquin Valley produces over $34 billion worth of food each year, facilitated by its large-scale irrigation projects and unrestrained groundwater pumping. However, in 2015, California passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, making it the last Western state to regulate its groundwater — and bringing the San Joaquin Valley into compliance with the law will require retiring over 500,000 acres of its farmland in the next 20 years. According to a July 25 report from the Public Policy Institute of California, taking this land out of production and leaving it unused is likely to create significant amounts of dust in a region that already has the country’s worst air quality.
Becoming water wise in an era of scarcity
Urban Land – August 26
With the combination of water scarcity, population growth, and water quality issues, many communities are beginning to forecast an inability to accommodate future water needs. Some communities are halting real estate development, and others are requiring that developers acquire their own water supplies. In June 2022, ULI released Water Wise: Strategies for Drought-Resilient Development, featuring best practices for incorporating water-saving measures into real estate development projects and policy recommendations for integrating land use and water management.
In dry California, salty water creeps into key waterways
ABC News – August 8
The Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River, central arms of California’s water system, have become too salty to use in some places amid the state’s continued drought. In dry winters, less fresh water flows down from the mountains into the Sacramento River, the state’s largest, allowing saltier water from Pacific Ocean tides to push farther into the state’s main water hub, known as the Delta. The state’s drought and sea level rise are forcing state water managers, cities, and farmers to look for new ways to stabilize their supply of fresh water.
*This article may require a subscription to read.
|