WATER CALIFORNIA, MAY 20, 2016, By Jennifer Clary On Wednesday, the California Water Commission approved emergency regulations for the implementation of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). These regulations are a significant milepost in what will be a very long journey towards groundwater sustainability in California. The regulations are intended to provide requirements for […]
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2016 National Monitoring Conference, May 2-6, Tampa FL
Please visit the 2016 National Monitoring Conference Website to view the draft conference agenda. The Conference-at-a-Glance and Concurrent Session Details, including speaker names and presentation titles, are available on the Agenda page for planning and registration purposes. This national forum is designed for all water stakeholders, including federal, state, tribal and local water professionals, non-profits, […]
Read More10th National Monitoring Conference
Please visit the 2016 National Monitoring Conference Website to view the draft conference agenda. The Conference-at-a-Glance and Concurrent Session Details, including speaker names and presentation titles, are available on the Agenda page for planning and registration purposes. This national forum is designed for all water stakeholders, including federal, state, tribal and local water professionals, non-profits, […]
Read MoreState Water Board and Human Rights to Water
At its February 16, 2016 board meeting, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) will consider adopting the attached draft resolution pertaining to the human right to water, as established by Water Code section106.3, subdivision (a). On September 25, 2012, the California Legislature adopted Assembly Bill 685, which added section 106.3 to the […]
Read MoreAttack on Clean Water Rule gets Vetoed!
So you know… The House of Representatives voted on S.J. Res. 22, a “Resolution of Disapproval” under the Congressional Review Act attacking the Clean Water Rule, the Obama administration’s landmark initiative to restore safeguards against pollution and destruction for lakes, streams, wetlands and other water bodies. Fortunately, President Obama vetoed it and opponents of the […]
Read MoreDamage from Sinking Land Costing California Billions
AP News | Dec 27, 2015 DOS PALOS, Calif. (AP) — A canal that delivers vital water supplies from Northern California to Southern California is sinking in places. So are stretches of a riverbed undergoing historic restoration. On farms, well casings pop up like mushrooms as the ground around them drops. Four years of drought […]
Read MoreDWR has Identified 21 Groundwater Basins in Overdraft
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has identified 21 groundwater basins and subbasins in which excessive groundwater pumping has resulted in significant overdraft. Overdraft impacts can include seawater intrusion and land subsidence, in addition to chronically lowered groundwater levels. As a result, those basins and subbasins fall under the earliest deadlines required by the Sustainable […]
Read MoreSGMA implementation: A first look at the emerging Groundwater Sustainability Plan and Alternatives Regulation
November 23, 2015 Maven — California Water Commission The regulation will address required components of groundwater sustainability plans and how those plans will be evaluated With the first set of regulations now completed, staff at the Department of Water Resources Sustainable Groundwater Management Program are well underway with development of the second set of regulations […]
Read MoreAttend Groundwater Meetings in Sonoma County
Learn about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in Sonoma County Three public workshops will be held to review the new law, why it’s needed, how it affects Sonoma County, and to discuss the formation of local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies. There will be time to ask questions and provide input. PETALUMA VALLEY GROUNDWATER BASIN WORKSHOP Monday, […]
Read MorePublic Meetings on New Water Measurement Law
To All, WOW! This could prove to be beneficial for efforts to improve flows. Chris The purpose of this message is to provide information about a new water measurement law which will affect water right holders and diverters who divert more than 10 acre-feet of water per year. The law includes a new reporting requirement […]
Read MoreSummary: Groundwater Adjudication Reform
October 12, 2015 Groundwater Act Blog Prior to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the primary method for solving groundwater disputes and protecting groundwater basins was litigation. When over-pumping led to a crisis like seawater intrusion or chronic overdraft, people had little choice but to file a massive lawsuit—called an adjudication—in which all rights to […]
Read MoreWine Industry Impacts: Wine and Water Watch (WWW)
I began sending out my article on the founding of the Wine and Water Watch (WWW) group yesterday. It has already been published in at least the following places, which include India and Virginia. It will likely be published elsewhere in the next few days. If you google the words “wine and water watch” with […]
Read MorePPIC Report: If Drought Continues: Environment and Poor Rural Communities Most Likely to Suffer
August 19, 2015, Maven Urban areas in best shape; Farmers adapting but vulnerable If the California drought continues another two to three years, the state will face increasingly acute challenges in two areas: water supply in some low-income rural communities, where wells are running dry; and ecosystems, where the state’s iconic biodiversity is under severe […]
Read MoreComment on California’s Drought Response
To All, There are many facets that must be considered if were are to find solution(s) to our water supply and drought issues. Of course, bottom line, we all must conserve. That means every person, business, or industry. Agriculture is not living up to their responsibility in the area of conservation. Agriculture, via the California […]
Read MoreSome addresses may be hidden as California well reports become public
By Ryan Sabalow rsabalow@sacbee.com After more than six decades of secrecy, the reports that water well drillers file with the state are set to become public under a bill signed into law this week. But because of privacy concerns, it’s still not clear whether the public will get to see the precise locations of the […]
Read MoreCalifornia Is Literally Sinking Into the Ground
And it’s going to cost taxpayers big time. Nathan Halverson Jun. 10, 2015 This story was originally published by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and is republished here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. California is sinking—and fast. While the state’s drought-induced sinking is well known, new details highlight just how severe it has become and how little […]
Read MoreCompromising the groundwater law
California won’t identify who’s draining the state’s groundwater Lance Williams and Katharine Mieszkowski, Reveal, June 2, 2015 A new law that attempts to preserve California’s precious groundwater comes with a catch: The state will hide the names of people draining this vast underground water source, Reveal has learned. The secrecy provision could make it impossible […]
Read MoreTurning Water into Wine
The unregulated growth of California’s wine industry in the state’s coastal regions is depleting groundwater supplies and devastating rivers and fisheries. By Will Parrish Along the border of Sonoma and Napa counties, roughly seven miles northeast of Santa Rosa, hydrologist and forester Jim Doerksen took me to the southeastern end of his house, where he […]
Read MoreCrystal Geyser to tap Siskiyou County groundwater
By Peter Fimrite May 9, 2015 Updated: May 12, 2015 Shara Fish of Mount Shasta carries bottles filled with spring water from the headwaters of the Sacramento River in Mount Shasta, Calif., on Tues. April 28, 2015. Crystal Geyser is opening a bottling plant nearby without any environmental review or limits at a time when […]
Read MoreStatus on Attack on the Clean Water Rule, HR 1732
Last night the House of Representatives voted on H.R. 1732, a bill which would require the EPA to withdraw their proposed clean water rule and essentially start the process over from scratch. With the Republican majority in the House, the bill passed by a vote of 261-155. 24 Democrats voted the wrong way, but the […]
Read MoreLawsuit Seeks to Halt Illegal Dumping of Toxic Oil Waste Into California’s Imperiled Water Supplies
Will Rostov Staff Attorney, Earthjustice May 7, 2015 San Francisco, CA Environmental groups challenge ‘emergency’ rules permitting unlawful contamination of protected aquifers This is DOGGR outrageously re-writing the law to allow needless and unlawful contamination of drinking water during a severe drought for the benefit of the oil industry. A lawsuit filed today by environmental […]
Read MoreComment on the Problem of CA Water and Drought
There are many facets that must be considered if were are to find solution(s) to our water supply and drought issues. Of course, bottom line, we all must conserve. That means every person, business, or industry. Agriculture is not living up to their responsibility in the area of conservation. Agriculture, via the California Farm Bureau […]
Read MoreWater and Sediment Movement
The geometry of a stream channel is controlled by both water and sediment movement, which reflect regional climate, geology, and human land use in a given drainage basin. The amount and timing of water moving downstream depends on precipitation rates in the drainage basin, and on how water that falls as precipitation moves downslope into […]
Read MoreAction: Comment on Clean Water Act
Water Community: Thanks for taking the initiative to write comments. Comment Deadline is February 5, 2015 by 12 noon. See below. The main idea behind listing streams as impaired by low flows is, like you probably already know, that water bodies are currently listed under the Clean Water Act when they are seriously impaired for […]
Read MoreThe Delta Smelt: A Tiny Fish with Big Implications
By Trent Orr, January 21, 2015 The delta smelt is a fish that grows to no more than three inches in length, but over the years this threatened species has made big headlines in California’s dusty, water-rights battleground. One congressional representative, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), is even on record as calling the smelt a “stupid […]
Read MoreWhose Groundwater Is It? From tiny Scott Valley flows a huge issue: the scope of the public trust doctrine.
by Glen Martin | November 2014 From his ranch headquarters – a ramshackle office liberally festooned with mounted deer heads and waterfowl – Tom Menne has a lovely view of Scott Valley, just west of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County. Or he would if the vista weren’t utterly obscured by smoke from a large complex […]
Read MoreGroundwater Monitoring in Areas of Oil and Gas
Greetings: WebEx capabilities are now included for the Expert and Public Stakeholder Meeting on Model Criteria for Groundwater Monitoring in Areas of Oil and Gas Production. The meeting is scheduled for December 11, 2014 at 8:00 a.m.. However, due to WebEx audio and attendees limitations we highly recommend that you personally attend the meeting. WebEx […]
Read MoreWebinar: Keeping Our Watersheds Frack Free
Sign up and listen and watch, “Keeping Our Watersheds Frack Free” webinar on Thursday, December 4th, 2014 at 11 am PST. From Pennsylvania to California, from Colorado to Texas, the dirty form of gas drilling known as fracking is contaminating our water and threatening our communities. Join Clean Water Network’s webinar to learn about the […]
Read MoreProposed Riparian Corridors (RC) Ordinance and Zoning Code Changes
David Rabbitt, Chair Sonoma County Board of Supervisors 575 Administration Way, Room 100 A Santa Rosa, CA 95403 November 23, 2014 Subject: Proposed Riparian Corridors (RC) Ordinance and Zoning Code Changes The Sonoma County Water Coalition (SCWC) comprises 31 organizations, representing more than 24,000 concerned citizens. SCWC is especially concerned about the preservation of a […]
Read MoreSonoma County Water Coalition Comments on proposed “Waters of the United States” Definition
The Sonoma County Water Coalition (SCWC) comprises 31 organizations, representing more than 24,000 concerned citizens. SCWC is especially concerned about the preservation of a safe, economical and reliable water supply for all living things. SCWC also works to preserve healthy ecosystems, supports watershed restoration and protection and careful oversight of all public trust resources, including […]
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