TOP STORIES
By DWR, 5/6/22. California’s severe climate-driven drought is having a significant impact on the state’s water supply, but it’s also putting the state’s salmon population at serious risk. Managing California’s water needs during this water supply crisis means minimizing the impacts of drought and water management on the environment while meeting the health and safety needs of communities and supporting the economy and agriculture. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) are actively working to respond to drought and climate change impacts on native species and ecosystems.
By the Los Angeles Times, 5/9/22. At a point in the year when California’s water storage should be at its highest, the state’s two largest reservoirs have already dropped to critically low levels — a sobering outlook for the hotter and drier months ahead.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
By the San Francisco Chronicle, 5/8/22. Benicia ordered residents and businesses Sunday night to immediately cut their water usage by 30% because of a pipeline break at a water treatment plant.
By the San Mateo Daily Journal, 5/7/22. A groundbreaking plan to construct a comprehensive network of seawalls and levees to protect the Peninsula from sea level rise took a major step forward this week, with design work for the Burlingame and Millbrae portion of the undertaking officially underway.
WATER SUPPLY & QUALITY
By the Los Angeles Times, 5/7/22. Almost a year after Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded with Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 15% amid a worsening drought, water conservation figures are still nowhere near that mark.
CLIMATE & WEATHER
By the Washington Post, 5/9/22. From behind the wheel of his work van, Fernando Gonzalez took in the immaculate front yard amid the arid and affluent hills north of Los Angeles. The red and white rose bushes. The loquat and pear trees. The expanse of lush green grass and the two peacocks lounging beneath the portico.
By the San Francisco Chronicle, 5/8/22. While ski slopes are shuttered and spring flowers are blooming, a late season snow storm hit the Lake Tahoe region, with up to 10 inches of snow expected across the mountains.
By NASA, 5/8/22. When it comes to mountain snow, the Sierra Nevada is notorious for booms and busts: One year is bad, while another can be exceedingly good. In 2021-22, there were booms and busts all within the same snow season. The result has been another year of inadequate snowfall and concerns about the impact on water supplies.
CALIFORNIA WATERSHEDS
By the Sierra Sun Times. 5/8/22. State and federal biologists have begun moving threatened spring-run Chinook salmon(opens in new tab) to Clear Creek in northern California, where colder water temperatures will better support spawning and help their eggs survive the continuing drought. Teams from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are relocating the fish. Together, they will return about 300 adult winter-run Chinook salmon to native habitat above Eagle Canyon Dam on North Fork Battle Creek, about 20 miles east of Cottonwood, in Shasta and Tehama counties for the first time in more than 110 years.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
By KSBY, 5/8/22. 2020 was a catastrophic year for wildfires in California. More than 4.3 million acres burned, and some fires burned for months. While that is above the five-year average of 1.6 million acres, it actually might be more normal than almost anyone realized.
By the East Bay Times, 5/9/22. Firefighter Chuck Stark summed up life in the 2020s for crews at the Contra Costa Fire Protection District and throughout the state: “If I could describe it in one word: Unrelenting,” he said. “There used to be an ebb and a flow to this. Not anymore.”
AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE
By DWR, 5/6/22. Collaborating to Support Salmon, Wildfire Preparedness Week, Mapping State’s Groundwater Basins, and more...
By the California Water Blog, 5/8/22. The Yolo Bypass is one of two large flood bypasses in California’s Central Valley that are examples of multi-benefit floodplain projects. Originally constructed in the early 20th century for flood control, up to 75% of the Sacramento River’s flood flow can be diverted through a system of weirs into the Yolo Bypass and away from nearby communities.
EVENTS
Join us help plan for the Tribal Water Summit in 2023.
Start: Mon 16 May 2022, 2:00 PM
End: Mon 16 May 2022, 4:00 PM
The California Financing Coordination Committee (CFCC) conducts free funding fairs statewide each year to educate the public and offer potential customers the opportunity to meet with financial representatives from each agency to learn more about their available funding.
Start: Tue 17 May 2022, 9:00 AM
End: Tue 17 May 2022, 2:00 PM
California Water Plan Update 2023 Tribal Advisory Committee Meeting
Start: Mon 23 May 2022, 1:00 PM
End: Mon 23 May 2022, 3:00 PM
The California Financing Coordination Committee (CFCC) conducts free funding fairs statewide each year to educate the public and offer potential customers the opportunity to meet with financial representatives from each agency to learn more about their available funding.
Start: Wed 25 May 2022, 9:00 AM
End: Wed 25 May 2022, 2:00 PM
This is the first of three webinars to inform and solicit input from stakeholders on the development of a guidebook to support the preparation of County Drought Plans which focus on state small water systems and domestic wells as required under SB 552. During this first webinar, DWR and State Water Board will review the SB 552 requirements for counties and the plan to develop a guidebook as technical assistance, and solicit input on needed tools and considerations that could help counties meet the requirements.
Start: Thu 2 Jun 2022, 10:30 AM
End: Thu 2 Jun 2022, 12:30 PM
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