TOP STORIES
By DWR, 10/3/22. Conserving water has become a way of life in California, especially as projections forecast warmer, drier conditions. The State’s new water year has begun and with it comes fresh concerns about a fourth year of extreme drought for the state.
California’s water year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is the official 12-month timeframe used by water managers to compile and compare hydrologic records.
Water Year 2022 ended on Friday and featured continued extreme drought with historically dry months and a record-shattering heatwave. Now, the focus shifts to the months ahead with state officials preparing for a fourth dry year.
By DWR, 9/30/22. State and federal biologists and engineers, in partnership with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, have begun testing an experimental system in Shasta Reservoir that could help collect young salmon from the McCloud River in future years.
The Juvenile Salmonid Collection System, a pilot project six years in the making, is part of a long-term effort to help fish better survive California’s hotter, drier future and more extreme droughts.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
By Los Angeles Business Journal, 10/3/22. Downtown-based water infrastructure company Cadiz Inc. last month encountered yet another legal setback in its 25-year effort to convey water from its desert aquifer to a regional water aqueduct when a federal judge revoked a permit to use an old natural gas pipeline.
But far from putting its project on hold, Cadiz in subsequent days announced it would begin digging three new wells atop its aquifer and that it had completed an engineering study on converting the natural gas pipeline to carry water.
WATER SUPPLY & QUALITY
By ABC10, 10/1/22. California finds itself in desperate need of a wet winter as drought continues to grip the state with the new water year beginning October 1.
The drought monitor paints a bleak picture for the state as the new water year begins. Exceptional drought conditions, the highest such level, engulfs most of the San Joaquin Valley and surrounding areas.
By Los Angeles Times, 10/3/22. As California fast approaches what is likely to be a fourth year of punishing drought, residents are being asked to cut their water use to historic lows. But while city dwellers are rising to the occasion — including record reductions in Los Angeles in August — urban consumption still represents only a small fraction of total water use in the state.
Where the rest of it goes depends on whom you ask. The California Department of Water Resources says 50% of the state’s water goes toward environmental purposes, 40% toward agriculture and 10% toward urban areas.
By the Desert Sun, 10/2/22. Jon Becker is the CEO of Global Water Farms, a La Quinta-based company that purchased the 641-acre site with views of the Chocolate Mountains and the Salton Sea in 2020. Global Water Farms envisions building a pilot desalination project, using the company’s proprietary thermal desalination technology to remove salt from the briny groundwater. That swath of land represents the beginnings of Becker’s plans to turn the Salton Sea region into “the water capital of the Western world.”
CALIFORNIA WATERSHEDS
By the Desert Sun, 9/29/22. An independent review panel convened to evaluate water importation concepts for the shrinking Salton Sea is advising against water importation plans, instead recommending a combination of desalination and water from the Imperial Irrigation District.
CLIMATE & WEATHER
By the San Jose Mercury News, 10/1/22. The day before the state’s “water year” ended, Silicon Valley leaders gathered on Google’s campus in Mountain View and urged residents to continue conserving water as California’s drought drags on.
“It’s the third straight year of a bad and worsening drought,” said Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, on Thursday. “Our scientists and climatologists predict that as we move into the winter, we can expect another, fourth dry year.”
Not exactly, say experts.
By the San Francisco Chronicle, 10/1/22. Anchored by the cities of Eureka and Arcata and known for its redwood forests, cannabis tourism and cool, misty beaches, Humboldt Bay also has an unwelcome distinction: It has the fastest rate of sea level rise on the West Coast.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
By CBS News, 10/02/22. Grizzly Flats had stood in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California since 1851. Lumber was the economic backbone of the region for decades. But it took only 15 minutes one night last August for area of the town to be destroyed, engulfed by the Caldor Fire that had roared out of the Eldorado National Forest.
AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE
By the Almanac, 9/29/22. A group of state and local water system officials gathered at Google's Mountain View campus Thursday, Sept. 29, to tout the benefits of conservation as California faces the likely prospect of a fourth consecutive year of drought.
By the Guardian, 9/30/22. The California State Board of Food and Agriculture will hear updates and discuss issues related to the State’s Water Supply Strategy at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
EVENTS
By the Water Education Foundation - This 3-day, 2-night excursion across the Sacramento Valley travels north from Sacramento through Oroville to Redding and Shasta Lake. Experts will talk about the history of the Sacramento River as the tour winds through riparian woodland, rice fields, wildlife refuges and nut orchards across the region.
When: October 12 – 14, 2022
The California Department of Water Resources is hosting an event centered on the impacts of climate change extremes in California. The agenda features speaker presentations and insightful panel discussions about how to build climate change resiliency in water resources and flood management. Topics will include flood management equity, ARkStorms, and the innovations and funding necessary to prepare for—and respond to—inevitable weather extremes. Please register to attend.
When: Oct. 17, 2022 | 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Where: CNRA Auditorium - 715 P St., Sacramento, CA 95814 & Virtual option available
The California Water Plan team will provide an overview of content present in Update 2023. Please join us at a virtual public workshop.
When: October 27, 2022 | 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
By the Water Education Foundation - Features engaging conversations about critical issues impacting water statewide and across the West revolving around this year’s theme: Rethinking Water in the West.
When: October 27, 2022 | 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Where: The Westin Sacramento
ACWA conferences are the premier destination for water industry professionals to learn and connect. Program offerings include statewide issue forums, roundtable talks, and region discussions along with sessions covering a wide range of topics including water management, innovation, public communication, affordable drinking water, energy, finance, federal forum, and more.
When: Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, 2022 Where: Renaissance Esmeralda and Hyatt Regency in Indian Wells, CA
|