TOP STORIES
By The California Department of Water Resources, 6/16/22
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) was one of two public agencies to be inducted into the first-ever Climate Leadership Awards Hall of Fame at the national Climate Leadership Conference for its ongoing work to address California’s changing climate and evolving water management challenges. DWR joined 28 organizations in the Hall of Fame including Fortune 500 companies like Bank of America, UPS, Ford Motor Company, and Microsoft.
By the Los Banos Enterprise, 6/16/22
The Department of the Interior announced in March that the Bureau of Reclamation is providing project-specific funding of $100 million for the modification of B.F. Sisk Dam at the San Luis Reservoir, west of Los Banos. The funding, authorized by the federal infrastructure package, was highlighted in an addendum to the Bureau’s initial spend plan for fiscal year 2022 funding allocations.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
By the Marysville Appeal-Democrat. 6/15/22
With an ongoing drought and water restrictions currently in place for much of California, being able to detect water losses and better serve water customers has been a high priority for many municipalities and jurisdictions in the state. With this heightened awareness, the city of Wheatland with the help of Yuba Water Agency is installing about 1,200 new and modern water meters throughout the city that will not only do a better job of detecting water loss, but also hopefully save the city and its water customers money in the long run.
By The Sacramento Bee, 6/15/22
As the California drought heads into its third punishing summer, the Sacramento region finds itself in the unusual position of having decent water supplies. Now it’s angling to sell millions of dollars worth of its supplies to other parts of the state — even as officials ramp up the pressure on the region’s residents to take shorter showers, let their lawns turn yellow and do whatever else is needed to conserve.
WATER SUPPLY & QUALITY
By The New York Times, 6/14/22
As California increasingly slips into extreme drought and calls intensify to reduce water use, the state’s water savings in 2022 remain bleak. The average Californian used 83 gallons of water per day in April, compared with 73 in April 2020. That’s far from the 15 percent decrease that Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for as our reservoirs and the snowpack dwindle. (This underperformance has persisted since January.)
By the Palm Springs Desert Sun, 6/16/22
A top federal water official told Congress on Tuesday that shortages on the Colorado River system have taken an even grimmer turn, with a whopping 2 million to 4 million acre feet of reduction in water use needed by 2023 just to keep Lake Mead functioning and physically capable of delivering drinking water, irrigation and power to millions of people.
CLIMATE & WEATHER
By ABC News 10, 6/16/22
California is a state of extremes with two distinct periods of wet and dry seasons. During the wet season, water must be stored to prepare for months without any precipitation. With a changing climate, water storage is becoming one of the biggest challenges facing California. The system set up throughout the state is a complex myriad of above and below-ground storage, but what worked decades ago is no longer serving our water needs.
By The Guardian, 6/16/22
Scientists predict that the spiny trees are unlikely to survive through the end of the century due to climate crisis. California officials have deferred a decision on whether to list the western Joshua tree as a threatened species after hours of public comment and debate this week ended in a deadlocked vote.
CALIFORNIA WATERSHEDS
By Roseville Today, 6/15/22
Approximately 487 acres of open space might be saved forever due to recent actions taken by the Placer County Board of Supervisors, William Jessup University and Placer Land Trust. The property commonly known as Clover Valley, located in Rocklin, is rich in historical and ecological significance and could provide educational and recreational opportunities.
By the Del Mar Times, 6/16/22
Caltrans and SANDAG, with their community partner The Nature Collective, hosted a ribbon cutting and community exploration day on June 4 celebrating the San Elijo Lagoon’s completed restoration and new trail connections.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
By the Fresno Bee, 6/16/22
Yosemite National Park officials want to clear standing and dead trees from alongside 40 miles of roads and trails and across 2,000 acres to reduce the chance of wildfires. But an environmental group has sued to stop the Park Service from conducting such work. Among the claims are that the federal government did not follow its own rules for sizing up impacts to plants and animals in the targeted areas.
By the San Francisco Chronicle, 6/15/22
Summer officially begins next week — and in California, it may be a cruel one. Even with the upheaval of the pandemic mostly behind us, the menace of drought and rising temperatures is threatening to derail the return to normal.
AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE
One of the most innovative ways to engage Californians to take climate action is through the California Climate Action Corps. Do you know someone who would like to spend a year helping to engage their communities in climate action, education, and volunteerism? CalVolunteers is actively recruiting 2022-23 California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) Fellows to start this fall. It’s an incredible opportunity for Californians to make a difference and become part of a statewide force of emerging leaders.
Fellows will spend 11 months supporting projects that build climate resilience in California’s most vulnerable communities. Fellows will earn a stipend of $30,000, health insurance, and a scholarship of $10,000 to pay for school or repay college debt upon completion of service.
By CBS News Bay Area, 6/16/22
Officials with the Contra Costa Water District approved a temporary 15% surcharge as California's drought drags on for a third straight summer. In a meeting on Wednesday night, the agency's Board of Directors approved the surcharge, which goes into effect on July 1.
By the San Diego Union-Tribune , 6/17/22
The Poseidon desalination plant in Carlsbad — by far the San Diego region’s most expensive supply of water — is about to get even more costly. Under pressure from state environmental regulators, the company is now scrambling to complete an estimated $159-million overhaul of its system for pulling ocean water from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon up to its $1-billion reverse-osmosis facility perched atop a nearby hill.
EVENTS
DWR will host three hybrid public workshops on the Riverine Stewardship Program: San Joaquin Fish Population Enhancement Program (SJFPEP) & Urban Streams Restoration Program (USRP) Grants Final Guidelines and Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP).
When: June 17 | 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Where: 26800 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA, 91302
The next Tribal Water Summit Planning Team meeting to be held over Microsoft TEAMS on June 20, 2022 from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
By the California Extreme Precipitation Symposium - The American River has been a focus of several past Symposiums due to the potential high flood risk to the Sacramento area located at its confluence with the Sacramento River. It has been 36 years since the February 1986 flood which resulted in the creation of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. Also it has been 25 years since the January 1997 flood. We are looking back at past historic floods, examining what has been done to manage flood risk, and thinking about future flood risk in a climate change world.
When: June 21 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:25 p.m. Where: Lake Natoma Inn, 702 Gold Lake Drive, Folsom, CA & Virtual Option
The third meeting of the California Water Plan Update 2023 Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) will be a hybrid meeting. The third meeting of the California Water Plan Update 2023 Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) will be a hybrid meeting
When: June 28 | 1 - 3:30 p.m. Where: 715 P Street, Sacramento, CA, 95814 & Virtual Option
By the California Water Boards - The California Water Boards' Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) and the California Water Quality Monitoring Council are hosting the Seventh Annual Water Data Science Symposium on June 28-30, 2022. This is a free, annual event that aims to enhance how water quality monitoring generates and uses meaningful data to inform equitable water quality management decisions. This year's event is also the kickoff to the 5 CA Water Data Challenge!
June 28-29 | 9 a.m.
Join the California Department of Water Resources and Project WET for a special workshop for educators working with grade 3 through 12 students on climate change and its impact on California’s water resources.
When: July 28, 2022 | 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Where: Grasslands Environmental Education Center 18110 Henry Miller Road, Los Banos, CA, 93635 Register Here
By the California Data Collaborative - This August, the CaDC will return in-person host its 7th Annual CA Water Data Summit! Bringing together individuals from water agencies, research teams, and other areas of the water sector, the CA Water Data Summit aims to encourage collaboration and provide opportunities for members of different organizations to interact and engage with new ideas and approaches to water data.
When: August 17-18, 2022 Where: UC Irvine, CA
Join us for our 30 Year Anniversary to celebrate how GRA was built to last, and "Built for Change". This year’s event will include Individual, Panel and Poster Presentations as well as Technical Workshops that cover the following subject areas: Water Resources Exploration and Development; Groundwater Management; Contaminant Assessment and Remediation; Unique Challenges and New Opportunities
When: Sep. 19 - 21, 2022 | 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Where: Sacramento Convention Center & Hyatt Regency & Virtual Option
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