Aquafornia

From the Fresno Bee: “A story worthy of Hollywood will soon unfold in California courtrooms — allegations of government corruption and corporate greed to rival the infamous Los Angeles water grab that inspired the film “Chinatown.” Call it “Chinatown II,” a tale beginning 15 years ago — when, according to lawsuits filed in the last three months, [...]

From the California Farm Water Coalition, this commentary by Dan Errotabere, President of the Fresno County Farm Bureau: “At Fresno County Farm Bureau, we spend considerable time educating people who are not involved in farming about the value of local agriculture, how food is produced and the broad economic benefits that derive from crops produced in [...]

From Barbara Barrigan-Parilla of Restore the Delta, this commentary: “Last week the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) adopted an interim plan for the Delta as required by last year’s Comprehensive Water Package. This is the plan that the DSC will use to guide its actions until the Delta Plan is adopted and implemented, by January 1, [...]

From the Chico Enterprise-Record: “Two lawsuits filed against the city of Orland’s decision to approve a Crystal Geyser sparkling mineral water bottling plant continue to work their way through the legal process. During a hearing Friday, the date of Oct. 20 was set for the case will come before a visiting judge, either in Willows or Orland, [...]

From the Tahoe Daily Tribune: “A water quality restoration plan that will change how Lake Tahoe Basin agencies manage clarity-reducing runoff, and has been in development since 2001, could be approved in two months. The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board will meet in South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday to give staff direction on how to incorporate [...]

From the Sacramento Bee: “What would a Rio Linda-Elverta Community Water District election be without a lawsuit? The current board president went to court Aug. 18 to force another candidate to change the profession the candidate wanted listed on the Nov. 2 ballot. Given the little district’s propensity for legal proceedings and the fact there still are two [...]

From the Vallejo Times-Herald: “For the first time in three years, fishermen today can chase Chinook king salmon in the Bay-Delta estuary, from the Carquinez Strait in the west to the Sacramento River at Knights Landing in the north. To mark the occasion, a crowd of anglers is expected to gather at noon at the First Street [...]

From the Santa Clarita Signal: “In the midst of discussion — or argument or mudslinging, depending whom you ask — about the issue of chloride levels in the Santa Clara River and the water we send downstream to neighboring farmers, an important point may be lost. This is not a matter of Santa Clarita Valley residents versus [...]

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise: “From their homes perched among the dusty hills overlooking the Chemehuevi Reservation, most of the residents of Havasu Lake can see the water. There’s lots of it. They sit at the widest spot in Lake Havasu’s 45-mile-long expanse. But many worry that some day soon when they turn the kitchen faucet, nothing will [...]

From the Chance of Rain blog: “There may be a plan in place to keep the West in water in the face of climate change, population growth and sluggishness to conserve. Or there may simply be plans for plans. The image above comes from a federal Bureau of Reclamation May 2010 Tribal outreach PowerPoint to do [...]

From the Sacramento Bee: “Sacramento may not be able to rely on nature to wash away its sewage problems much longer. Instead, residents might have to pay for treatment system upgrades that could add $40 to a monthly utility bill. The metro area’s 1.3 million people have long depended on persistent flows in the Sacramento River to dilute [...]

Laura King Moon, spokesperson for the State Water Contractors, issued this statement regarding the wastewater discharge requirements for Sacramento (received via email): “As we try to move toward a healthy Delta ecosystem, it’s critical that we address all the stressors on the estuary. Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District has been discharging significant amounts of ammonia into [...]

From the Valley Economy blog: “According to the Sac Bee, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board draft permit requires both microfiltration and the nutrient reduction program. We knew this was possible, but we did not analyze this scenario in our earlier report since we wanted to stay focused on the ammonia issue and did not [...]

From YubaNet.com: “A report issued today by key environmental and scientific federal agencies assesses the increasing prevalence of low-oxygen “dead zones” in U.S. coastal waters and outlines a series of research and policy steps that could help reverse the decades-long trend. The interagency report notes that incidents of hypoxia—a condition in which oxygen levels drop so low [...]

From the Siskiyou Daily News: “A case expected by both sides to set a landmark precedent in California water law may be considered in Siskiyou County, with the county recently filing for a change of venue in Environmental Law Foundation, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resources v. State Water Resources [...]

From the Contra Costa Times: “A suite of regulations for the Klamath River could be adopted by the state on Tuesday, but the owner of four dams on the river is going into that hearing fighting against strict provisions proposed to clean up the polluted waterway. The State Water Resources Control Board will consider a package meant [...]

From the Willits News: “The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has issued its fourth abatement order in a 10-year history of regulatory oversight of Jon and Deann Green’s land improvements on 520 acres along Tomki Road east of Willits. According to the water board, the Greens have cut too many trees, graded too many areas, [...]

From the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by Huey Johnson: “In the 1960s, while I was with the Department of Fish and Game, it was my sad task to study the trout of Lake Tahoe. Few remember that an atrocity against Tahoe occurred there, an atrocity comparable to the slaughter of the once great buffalo herds [...]

From the California Department of Fish and Game: “State and federal agencies have settled an environmental injury case with Chevron, providing $2.85 million to restore 200-plus acres of San Pablo Bay wetlands. The settlement agreement compensates for natural resource injuries from past contaminant releases from Chevron’s Richmond refinery into Castro Cove, an isolated San Pablo Bay [...]

From the USGS: “High concentrations of naturally occurring inorganic constituents – including arsenic, boron and lead – are found in about 14 percent of the primary aquifers in Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report prepared in cooperation with the California Water Resources Control Board. Primary aquifers are those that supply [...]