Climate change makes projecting Lake Mead and Colorado River levels…

Spectrum 1 News — There's a white line that's known as the bathtub ring around Lake Mead. It's a constant reminder for Boating Lake Mead's Director of Operations, Bruce Nelson. The lake is at a historically low 1,067-feet above sea level, affecting boat launch ramps and customers. "Now, they're down to one or two lanes and you might have to wait awhile, and that's problematic for boaters Read More…

Harmful algal blooms detected at Lake Tahoe beach

FOX 40 — If you’re visiting South Lake Tahoe, there’s two beaches you might want to avoid. City officials announced on Saturday they’ve detected harmful algal blooms at El Dorado Beach. This comes after blooms had also been detected at Regan Beach the previous week, forcing its closure. Signs dot these beaches at South Lake Tahoe, warning people that algae may be present in the Read More…

California records driest year in a century

Los Angeles Times — In a year of both extreme heat and extreme drought, California has reported its driest water year in terms of precipitation in a century, and experts fear the coming 12 months could be even worse. The Western Regional Climate Center added average precipitation that had been reported at each of its stations and calculated that a total of 11.87 inches of rain and snow Read More…

Shifting pattern to dump mountain snow, raise flood threat across the…

AccuWeather — Multiple storms are expected to march into the West Coast this week, bringing along a changeable mixture of rain, wind and snow for many places. While a dent in the ongoing drought is expected, it will come at a cost. This week has already kicked off with a storm marching into the Pacific Northwest. The grey skies and spits of rain that are typical of autumn led to a dreary end Read More…

County of Sacramento Sued in Polluted Discharge Litigation

Law Street — On Thursday in the Eastern District of California, plaintiff California Coastkeeper Alliance filed suit against three defendants, the County of Sacramento, the Sacramento Area Sewer District, and the Sacramento County Department of Water Resources. The Alliance is accusing the defendants of knowingly letting point source discharges into the waters of the United States absent the Read More…

Should State Earmark Billions for Water Projects Every Year? Voters…

GV Wire — A proposed ballot measure aims to increase spending for California’s storage and supply of clean, safe drinking water. The proposed Water Infrastructure Funding Act of 2022 would allocate 2% of the state’s general fund every year to invest in California’s sustainable water supply without increasing state taxes. California voters could see the proposed measure on the Read More…

Development and Evaluation of a Chinook Salmon Smolt Swimming…

MDPI — Hydrologic currents and swimming behavior influence routing and survival of emigrating Chinook salmon in branched migratory corridors. Behavioral particle-tracking models (PTM) of Chinook salmon can estimate migration paths of salmon using the combination of hydrodynamic velocity and swimming behavior. To test our hypotheses of the importance of management, models can simulate Read More…

Determining salmon provenance with automated otolith reading

bioRxiv — Synthetic otolith marks are used at hundreds of hatcheries throughout the Pacific Rim to record the release location of salmon. Each year, human readers examine tens of thousands of otolith samples to identify the marks in salmon that are caught. The data inform dynamic management practices that maximize allowable catch while preserving populations, and guide hatchery investments. Read More…

The Long-Stalled SJ River Bypass May Move Forward

Manteca/Ripon Bulletin — Efforts to complete the widening of Paradise Cut that would significantly improve flood protection for urbanized areas of Manteca, Lathrop, and Stockton may finally move forward. The San Joaquin Area Flood Control Area (SJAFCA) is positioning itself to be the lead agency to shepherd the project involving widening the seven-mile long Paradise Cut where it branches Read More…

Reclamation Implements Folsom Reservoir Power Bypass to Help Protect…

Water Forum — Last week, the State Water Resources Control Board received presentations from the directors at State and Federal agencies focused on the unwelcome new challenge of planning for a worse-case water year, which starts on Friday, October 1st. The presentations echoed messages that Water Forum members recently heard from Reclamation’s Kristin White, that conditions are historically Read More…