TOP STORIES
The Los Angeles Times, 11/7/22 - For decades, environmentalists have decried ocean desalination as an ecological disaster, while cost-savvy water managers have thumbed their noses at desal’s lofty price tag. But as the American Southwest barrels into a new era of extreme heat, drought and aridification, officials and conservationists are giving new consideration to the process of converting saltwater into drinking water, and the role it may play in California’s future.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
San Joaquin Valley Water, 11/5/22 - Both sides of a controversial proposed Central Valley dam hailed a Nov. 3 court ruling kicking back the project’s environmental documents as a success. A Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge ruled there was insufficient information about a road relocation that is part of the proposed Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir project, which would sit just above the town of Patterson in the Diablo Range on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.
Whittier Daily News, 11/4/22 - A proposal to place solar panels over the 370-mile Los Angeles Aqueduct in an attempt to reduce evaporation and add capacity for renewable energy for residents was approved by a council committee this week.
Around one-tenth of the water in the aqueduct is lost from evaporation each year due to the length of travel for water to make it through the aqueduct, according to the office of Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who introduced the motion.
WATER SUPPLY & QUALITY
CalMatters, 11/7/22 - Over and over again, drought launches California into a familiar scramble to provide enough water. Cities and towns call for conservation and brace for shortages. Growers fallow fields and ranchers sell cows. And thousands of people discover that they can’t squeeze another drop from their wells. So where can California get enough water to survive the latest dry stretch — and the next one, and the next?
The Colorado Sun, 11/7/22 - For the past 20 years, two small satellites orbiting 250 miles above Earth have tracked a stark reality about the nation’s groundwater supplies, including across the parched Colorado River Basin: The water underground is vanishing.
The NASA satellites began gathering data in 2002. Since then, Colorado River Basin groundwater has depleted much faster than water storage in the nation’s two largest reservoirs, according to research that underscores concerns about the increasingly tight water supply in the drought-stricken West.
Marin Independent Journal, 11/4/22 - The Marin Headlands’ unique offering of breathtaking landscapes mixed with former military bases dating back to World War II has been a draw for millions of visitors through the decades. But the combination has not been without downsides. In the hills overlooking Rodeo Beach, the remnants of former U.S. Army buildings of Fort Cronkhite have slowly been eroding parts of the landscape, gouging deep trench-like gullies into the hillside that have drained natural wetlands.
CLIMATE & WEATHER
KCRA, 11/7/22 - The first significant storm of the season is forecast to hit Northern California this week, KCRA 3 meteorologist Eileen Javora said, with Monday and Tuesday designated as KCRA 3 Impact Days for travel in the Sierra. The cold front with rain and snow arrived overnight on Monday through the Valley. That's also when the snow started to pick up in the Sierra.
The Washington Post, 11/7/22 - As world leaders gather in Egypt this week for the annual United Nations climate summit, known as COP27, China and the United States are no longer talking about their mutual efforts to slow Earth’s catastrophic warming, creating yet another obstacle for the already strained negotiations.
But former California governor Jerry Brown (D), who founded the California-China Climate Institute at the University of California at Berkeley, remains optimistic that the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters will resume their cooperation on climate change soon.
CALIFORNIA WATERSHEDS
SF Gate, 11/6/22 - Local wildlife specialists are preparing for the worst as avian influenza, also known as bird flu, spreads in the Bay Area. The virus is highly contagious, has no cure and impacts species ranging from pigeons and poultry to owls and raptors. If it continues to spread, millions of Bay Area birds could die.
The Sacramento Bee, 11/6/22 - Lyn Jutronich knew immediately that she’d been bitten by a shark while swimming off Del Mar Beach in Southern California. “I felt a huge, like a really hard hit right, I don’t know how else to say this, like right between my legs and it pushed me, it hurt and it pushed me up and out of the water,” she told KGTV.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
The San Jose Mercury News, 11/7/22 - After a long dry summer, the Santa Cruz Mountains were cool and damp on Friday morning, signaling the perfect time for crews to gather in an open meadow, drip torches in hand.
Their goal: fight fire with fire.
KTLA, 11/5/22 - Southern California wildfires are squeezing the region’s mountain lion population into smaller hunting spaces and pushing them toward increased run-ins with the human world, a joint study between UCLA and the National Park Service found. The study found that mountain lions are more likely to experience risky or fatal encounters after fires destroy their habitats.
AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE
The Department of Water Resources, 11/4/22 - The Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the State Water Project Delivery Capability Report 2021, which is generated every two years for the State Water Project’s (SWP) 29 water agencies for water supply planning.
With California entering a possible fourth dry year, the report will help water managers better understand how key factors like climate change and regulatory and operational considerations affect the operation of the SWP under historical and future scenarios.
Palm Springs Desert Sun, 11/7/22 - At the tail end of another marathon Lithium Valley Commission meeting last Monday, Jared Naimark, an organizer for an environmental nonprofit called Earthworks, asked a question: "When will commissioners discuss the public comments that were received on the draft report?" But the nearly four-hour meeting was adjourned with both that question and earlier comments Naimark made left unanswered.
EVENTS
Public Policy Institute of California - 2022 Annual Water Conference | In-Person and Online - As climate change accelerates, it’s bringing more extreme weather to California: the dry periods are hotter and drier than ever before—and the wet periods can be torrential. The only certainty is that water managers at every level will have to plan for and respond to extremes. How can we cope with the increasing volatility of our water cycle? We bring together three panels of experts to find out.
When: November 18, 2022 | 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Where: Sheraton Grand Hotel -1230 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 (In-person) & Online
California Rural Water Association (CRWA) in partnership with the Department of Water Resources is offering no-cost workshops for Water Operators and System Managers of Private, Public and Tribal Systems.
When: November 22, 2022, 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM
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
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