Category Archives: safety

California Drought Loosens Some Environmental Rules

The American River during the 1977 drought, when freshwater flows were drastically low. (Photo: CA DWR)
The American River during the 1977 drought, when freshwater flows were drastically low. (Photo: CA DWR)

Governor Jerry Brown is calling for water conservation as the primary strategy against California’s record drought, but his emergency declaration on Friday also opened the door for weakening some environmental rules.

State regulators can now relax water quality standards, allowing rivers and estuaries to be saltier and warmer, as they try to manage the state’s limited supplies.

The change is making some fishing and environmental groups wary, who fear that wildlife concerns will come second to the needs of parched cities and farms.

“There will be some tough choices coming down the road on how we balance protections for the environment and water supply,” said Doug Obegi of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “There’s just no getting around it in critically dry years like this one.”

The change focuses on water quality control plans, like the one for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the hub of the state’s water supply. The plan assures that a minimum amount of water is released from dams, so freshwater is provided for downstream water users and wildlife, including salmon.

“This year, everybody is going to feel some pain”

“They’re minimum standards for protection of the estuary and they really are minimums,” said Obegi.

Under the drought declaration, regulators can “consider modifying requirements for reservoir releases or diversion limitations.” Dam operators may ask to reduce releases to keep water in the reservoirs, so it can be used later in the year. That could violate water quality standards in rivers below the dams.

“It’s critical that we really maintain those minimal protections so that we don’t further exacerbate the precarious nature of our native fisheries,” says Obegi.

“The rivers are going to be super warm and super low,” says John McManus of the Golden Gate Salmon Association. “Salmon are going need to help because we’ve got tens of thousands of jobs hanging in the balance that depend on California salmon runs.” Several fishing groups are concerned that young salmon released from hatcheries won’t survive the dry conditions.

More at KQED.org >>>

California Drought: Jerry Brown Declares Emergency, Asks Public To Ration Water

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday officially declared a drought emergency in California, asking residents to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent and committing to bolster the state’s dwindling water supplies with better management and federal assistance.

The order, announced at a news conference at the governor’s San Francisco office, comes as the state is gripped by a third consecutive year of dry weather.

Rivers are running low. Snowpack is meager. And communities across California are worried about having sufficient water for homes, businesses and farmland. The dry weather also has increased the threat of wildfire, with record acreage burning this month, including a 1,700-acre fire that continues to char the hills above Los Angeles.

With the emergency declaration, Brown said he would make it easier for communities to transfer water from wetter parts of the state to dryer areas. He also said he would seek federal assistance, though he didn’t detail that effort.

“We are in an unprecedented and very serious situation,” Brown said. “It’s important to awaken all Californians to the serious matter of drought and the lack of rain.”

More at SFGate.com >>>

Sacramento Council Votes To Enact Severe Water Rationing

Faced with historically low water levels on the American River and a long-range forecast providing little relief, the Sacramento City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to enact severe water rationing on residents and businesses, while also boosting enforcement efforts against water scofflaws.

The council approved what city officials described as a “stage 2 water shortage plan,” requiring those who live and work in Sacramento to reduce their water use by between 20 percent and 30 percent.

Amid a sharp increase in the number of resident complaints against those violating winter outdoor watering restrictions, the city also plans to dispatch a task force of monitors to patrol city streets and enforce those rules. To assist in that effort, city officials said they would launch a $200,000 public outreach campaign to persuade city residents and businesses to cut back on water consumption.

“We’re the river city and yet here we are having to make very difficult decisions,” said Councilman Allen Warren.

Tracking the city’s precise water use could be difficult in the short term. With less than half the homes in the city using water meters, officials said they would not use those devices to track consumption and penalize metered homeowners and businesses that do not cut water use by 20 percent.

“It’s not our intent to treat those with meters differently than those without,” said Dave Brent, the director of the city’s Department of Utilities.

Instead, Brent said the city will increase its efforts to enforce winter outdoor watering restrictions that prohibit outside irrigation during the week. The city will also enforce regulations that also ban the use of water to wash sidewalks and driveways, demand that parks and cemeteries reduce watering and require residents washing automobiles at home to use buckets, not hoses.

Repeat offenders could face fines up to $1,000.

More at ModBee.com >>>

Whitewater Rafting To Continue Despite Dry Winter

Some rafting companies say despite the dry winter, whitewater river rafting conditions in the south and middle forks of the American River should be relatively normal this year.

That’s because of an arrangement between recreational companies and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

SMUD has agreed to release water flows for hydro-electric generation at times when rafters are out on the water, primarily on the weekends.

Scott Armstrong owns All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting.

On Capital Public Radio’s Insight today, Armstrong said weekday rafting could be a little too calm…

“…There will be water on weekends, there’ll be water at good flows. It’ll be a little bit less than it has been in the last couple of years. But because of the agreement and because of what SMUD has to release anyway for hydro-power, we will have good recreational flows.”

~Scott Armstrong, All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting

Armstrong predicts flows will be strongest from mid-June through Labor Day Weekend.

From CapRadio.org >>>

American River Flows At Lowest Level In 21 Years

Fishermen, bicyclists and hikers trudged along the American River on Saturday, surveying the historically low flows and wondering about the impact.

In response to extreme dry conditions, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation cut water releases from Folsom Dam into the river gradually last week from 1,100 cubic feet per second to 500 cfs Friday. About half a million residents in suburban Sacramento rely on the dam for water.

The strict water-conservation measures have created the lowest flows anyone has seen in a generation, which stands in contrast to the median flow for January of 1,700 cfs for the past 15 years.

At William Pond Park, Carmichael native Amy Musial, 32, snapped a couple photos of the exposed rocks and islands.

“It’s crazy,” said Musial, who grew up playing in the river. “I’ve never seen it this low.”

Musial ventured out with her husband and 3-year-old son just to see the water level.

“We would be standing in a few feet of water here,” Musial said, “but not anymore.”

The last time American River flows were dropped to this level was in 1993, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Folsom and Nimbus dams on the river.

More at MercedSunStar.com >>>

State Water Officials Considering Drought Declaration

Kayakers row near the area of Folsom Lake formerly known as Dyke 8.
Kayakers row near the area of Folsom Lake formerly known as Dyke 8. Photo: AmericanRiverWildlife.com

The California Department of Water Resources is planning to draft an emergency drought declaration for Gov. Jerry Brown’s consideration as dry winter conditions continue.

DWR Director Mark Cowin told the California Board of Food and Agriculture at a meeting Tuesday that his agency is weighing whether to present the governor with a drought declaration. Spokeswoman Nancy Foley said that declaration could be forthcoming “within a couple weeks.”

“We will likely, given the circumstances, make a recommendation for a drought declaration,” Foley said. “The snow survey last Friday was so dismal and there doesn’t seem to be any storms on the horizon, so it just seems we’ve got to start preparing a drought declaration.”

She was referring to the first regular snow survey of the winter season, conducted by DWR on Jan. 3 at locations throughout the Sierra Nevada. It found the snowpack at 19 percent of average on that date. In the five days since, the snowpack has shrunk to 17 percent.

This comes after two dry years, which left many reservoirs in the state depleted. Folsom Reservoir in the Sacramento area was at 18 percent of capacity on Tuesday. Water agencies that depend on the reservoir have begun enacting water conservation orders. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has cut flows into the American River to levels not seen in 20 years.

More at MercedSunStar.com >>>

Drought Prompts Deep Cuts In American River Flows

Water levels are at historic low levels at Folsom Lake. Photo: AmericanRiverWildlife.com
The water is at historically low levels in Folsom Lake. Photo: AmericanRiverWildlife.com

By the end of this week, water flows in the American River will be lower than anyone has seen in a generation. And soon, many residents of suburban Sacramento could be banned from watering their lawns.

Unusual winter drought conditions are driving Sacramento-area water agencies to make difficult choices. Starting today, the effects will be visible to anyone who walks, fishes or boats along the American River, one of the largest in California.

Early this morning, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was expected to cut water releases from Folsom Dam into the river from 1,100 cubic feet per second to 800 cfs. This will drop the river’s elevation within its bed by about 6 inches.

It won’t stop there. Each night this week until Friday, dam releases will be cut in stages until flows reach 500 cfs. At that point, it will likely be easy to walk across the river in many locations.

Such flows have not been seen in the American River since January 1993, according to Reclamation, which operates Folsom and Nimbus dams on the river. In comparison, the median January flow in the river over the past 15 years was about 1,700 cfs.

The reduction is intended to prolong the water supply stored behind Folsom Dam, a source of drinking water for some 500,000 people in the suburban Sacramento area. With no rain in the forecast, and the water level behind the dam shriveled to 18 percent of capacity after a dry start to winter, officials said dramatic conservation efforts are necessary.

Reclamation officials reached the decision on Friday after meeting with area water providers and wildlife agencies.

“The watershed is so dry right now, there’s such limited snowpack and the lake is already so low that we’re trying to look ahead and be conservative,” said Shana Kaplan, a Reclamation spokeswoman. “I think everybody’s trying to be as proactive as we can.”

Dropping the river so low will be deadly to some fall-run Chinook salmon eggs now waiting to hatch from nests, or redds, in the gravel riverbed. Tom Gohring, executive director of the Sacramento Water Forum, said flows of only 500 cfs could mean that 10 to 15 percent of the redds in the river will be lost because they will go dry as the river drops.

More at MercedSunStar.com >>>

 

In Delicate Balancing Act, Folsom Dam May Cut Outflows

In a desperate attempt to avoid a water crisis in the coming months, the operator of Folsom Dam may reduce outflows to the bare minimum necessary to protect spawning steelhead trout in the American River.

Bureau of Reclamation Central California area manager Drew Lessard said his staff was in talks with federal and state wildlife officials to determine how much outflows could be cut without harming the winter run of the trout, a federally-protected species.

At 363 feet above sea level, Folsom Lake has never been so low in January; the dam is currently releasing four times more water than is flowing into the reservoir.

“We’re proposing to reduce our flows into the American River so we can maintain water conservation in the dam,” Lessard said.

More at News10.net >>>

Placer Water Has 2014 Supply Concerns

The Placer County Water Agency is saying that a good rainfall year is needed in 2014 to restock mountain reservoirs.

And the Water Agency is already looking at the possibility of water-use reductions.

The Auburn-based agency is expressing concerns as a very dry 2013 draws to a close. Tony Firenzi, deputy director of technical services, said a dry 2014 could cause problems.

“Right now, our water storage is at 90 percent of average for this time of year, so we’re in good shape for the time being,” Firenzi said, “but we’re very concerned about the continuing dry forecasts.”

Looking into the coming year’s projections, Firenzi said better-than-average precipitation would be needed to restore average storage levels on the upper Yuba-Bear and American river watersheds. Placer Water depends on the two watersheds for its surface water supplies.

Water storage in reservoirs that serve Water Agency customers has remained at or near average levels despite back-to-back unusual water years. The 2011-12 water year (measured from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30) was dry but ended near average after the so-called “Miracle March” in spring 2012. It was followed by a 2012-13 water year that produced near record precipitation in November and December 2012 but then turned unusually dry.

“In fact, the 2013 calendar year is on track to close as one of the driest ever measured, which is the basis for serious concern as we look ahead at water availability for 2014,” Firenzi said.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>