Tribal Water Summit underway this week in Sacramento
California's 2023 Tribal Water Summit is underway this week in Sacramento; it runs through tomorrow, April 13. Today’s agenda includes a film festival that runs until 4 p.m. The summit is covering issues and strategies related to watershed resilience of California’s sacred waters. The proceedings will help inform State water policy and the Tribal chapter and recommendations of California Water Plan Update 2023 (Update 2023).
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Conference on Tribal water to be presented in an online format
The annual conference on Tribal Water in the Southwest will run April 27 and 28, in an online format. This year's program, presented by Law Seminars International, will include collaborative efforts to adapt river management to new climatological realities. There will also be discussion on effective Tribal engagement on water management issues, as well as discussion on overcoming obstacles to claiming Tribal water rights.
Revised guidelines posted for meadow restoration grants
The Sierra Meadows Partnership (SMP) has posted revised proposal solicitation notice and guidelines for grants that would fund projects to restore mountain meadows. Approximately $20 million in grants will be available through the program with the goal of restoring 6,000 meadow acres and planning for another 4,000 acres. The SMP Management Board will meet four more times this year to vote on applications. The deadlines for submissions are listed in Table 1 of the revised guidelines.
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CWC commissioners to receive briefing on Update 2023
A briefing on Update 2023 is on next week’s agenda for the California Water Commission (CWC). DWR staff will report on the progress in developing Update 2023. The agenda also has a presentation by commission staff on a draft California Native American Tribal Leadership Comment Policy for commission consideration and possible adoption. The CWC meeting will be Wednesday, April 19, in Sacramento.
DWR sends $17 million to counties with water quality issues
DWR is expediting more than $17 million in funding to two counties dealing with water quality issues. San Benito County will receive $13.2 million to support the consolidation of four failing small water systems, while in neighboring Monterey County, $4.2 million will be used to consolidate six failing small water systems. The water systems that will benefit from this funding are facing critical emergencies caused by contaminated groundwater wells and depleted groundwater supplies.
Brochures align groundwater management and well protections
DWR has released two brochures with information designed to align groundwater management actions with protections for drinking water well users. One brochure is a guidance document for groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) that help drinking water well users who could be affected during implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The other brochure encourages collaboration between counties and GSAs to coordinate water-shortage-planning efforts in rural communities.
Confluence West Lauches Watersheds for Firesheds project
Confluence West has launched its new Watersheds for Firesheds project. Its objective is to help advocates for watersheds and listed species access U.S. Forest Service grants earmarked for protecting communities and forests from wildfires. Confluence West is working to get investments in watersheds, wildlife habitat, and climate resilience projects to be on par with the funding focus on community hardening and thinning.
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