Russian River Water Update 10/16/23
ARTICLE: MendoFever: The Four-Phase Plan to Restore the Eel River Watershed, 10/11/23
Reservoir Storage & Operations:
Water supply information provided by Sonoma Water (more info here).
Winter Outlook and Rainfall Totals for the last Water Year
NOAA has issued an on the winter outlook and the ENSO status for this winter. ENSO is a seasonal pattern that includes El Nino, La Nina, and Neutral. An El Nino is ongoing and may strengthen this winter. Attached below is a graphic showing the typical El Nino pattern and it's weather impacts. Also attached below is an outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center For more details on the ENSO status visit: https://www.climate.gov/enso. For the official outlook for this winter visit:https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/
Also, attached below are the rainfall totals compared to the seasonal normals for the 2022/2023 water year.
Conference Invitation: Stewarding California’s Wet Years
California has made great strides in preparing for a drier, hotter future, but it remains a challenge to harness the bounty of wet years while also reducing flood risk. How did California’s water sector manage the unusually wet conditions of the 2023 water year—and what lessons can we glean for the future? We will speak with three panels of experts to find out. Find out more about the PPIC hosted event: 2023 Annual Water Conference - in person and online
State grant funds two more years of invasive quagga mussel prevention program at Lake Sonoma
The Sonoma County Water Agency’s watercraft inspection program at Lake Sonoma will continue for another two years, thanks to almost $400,000 in state grant funding awarded in August and that went into effect as of Oct. 10. The California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways grant will fund the program to continue to prevent invasive quagga mussels from entering Lake Sonoma until October 2025.
Quagga and zebra mussels are an invasive mussel which, if introduced into a waterway, can devastate the natural environment, clog water and flood protection infrastructure, and cost millions of dollars in maintenance. Mussels are transported between waterways by watercraft, primarily recreational boats.
Sonoma Water self-funded infestation prevention efforts at both Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma beginning in 2012, and in 2020 was able to successfully obtain funds from the Division of Boating and Waterways to support these efforts.
The Division of Boating and Waterways in 2022 awarded Sonoma Water a $400,000 grant supporting two more years of the program at Lake Mendocino. The agency applied for a $400,000 grant in support of the Lake Sonoma program in May.
Stay up to date on which California water bodies are infested by checking the Division of Boating and Waterways website routinely before taking your watercraft anywhere. If you do end up launching in a known lake with quagga and zebra mussels, just remember to Clean, Drain, and Dry your boat! It is highly recommended you let your boat endure a dry out period of 30 days to ensure no unwanted passengers are aboard your vessels during your next voyage.
For more information about the invasive mussel prevention program visit dontmoveamussel.com.
Governor Signs RWA-Sponsored Legislation SB 659, The California Water Supply Solutions Act of 2023
In a landmark moment aimed at addressing California's pressing water challenges exacerbated by climate change in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law SB 659, officially titled the California Water Supply Solutions Act of 2023.
The legislation directs the California Department of Water Resources to provide actionable recommendations to develop additional opportunities that increase the recharge of the state’s groundwater basins without reducing the amount of water available for environmental purposes. The bill also requires the plan to protect safe drinking water and maintain a high level of water quality.
‘Making Conservation a California Way of Life’ Regulation
Related to the rulemaking to Make Conservation a California Way of Life:
Staff slides from the October 4th Board Workshop, as well as the recording, are now available online in the “Public Meetings” section of the rulemaking website.
Water Board staff have released a provisional dataset containing reported 2017-2021 data on water use and population, as well as examples of calculated water use budgets based on proposed water use standards. The reported data is also the basis for the Water Use Objective Exploration Tool located on the same page. If your agency would like to change any of the information contained within the provisional dataset, please contact orpp-waterconservation@waterboards.ca.gov by October 31st, 2023, with the requested changes.
CA Water Plan Update 2023
City of Ukiah Celebrates Recycled Water Milestone
Mendocino Voice: Ukiah celebrates one billion gallons of recycled water served, 10/8/23
California's Groundwater Conditions
The Department of Water Resources is sharing new data on the state’s groundwater basins that is starting to bring into focus how last winter’s storms impacted a critical water supply for millions of Californians.
Released today, the October 2023 Semi-Annual Groundwater Conditions Update provides a look back at groundwater conditions during the last year informed by DWR’s groundwater data and tools.
In the press:
- CA Water Education Foundation: Gov Newsom signs law to permanently ban watering grass at certain CA businesses, VARIOUS ARTICLES 10/16/23
- CA Water Education Foundation: CA's Spring-run Chinook Salmon in Rapid Decline VARIOUS ARTICLES, 10/13/23
- CA Water Education Foundation: What El Niño Could Mean for CA This Winter VARIOUS ARTICLES, 10/13/23
- CA Water Education Foundation: Groundwater VARIOUS ARTICLES, 10/13/23
- Nevada Independent: To tackle groundwater overuse, Nevada takes new approach: buying back farmers’ rights, 10/16/23
- UC Riverside news: Rivers may not recover from drought for years, 10/11/23
- PPIC Blog: Seasonal Weather Predictions Are Elusive in California, 10/16/23
- UC Merced: Future of Water in California - Bleak or Promising? A Discussion, 10/12/23
- Farm Progress: Irrigating almonds with inches, not feet of water, 10/5/23
- CA Water Blog: Strategic Decision Making for Dam Removal Planning, 10/15/23
- Maven's Notebook: What is a strong El Niño? Meteorologists anticipate a big impact in winter 2023, but the forecasts don’t all agree, 10/12/23