News articles and links from July 31, 2013

Water Supply 

Yolo crops may go thirsty in '14 due to water shortage

From: Elizabeth Kalfsbeek, Woodland Daily Democrat

Yolo County crops are making their way through the season, but farmers are already concerned about how they will irrigate next year's fields. Due to dry conditions and low precipitation, growers were allocated water this year, the first time since 2009.

"We're still delivering irrigation water," said Tim O'Halloran of the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. "We're releasing about 1,300 acre-foot per day now, and it will start dropping off as harvest finishes up."

Rivers

Kings high and dry with nowhere to go

From: Seth Nidever & Joe Johnson, Hanford Sentinel

For floaters looking for that traditional summertime journey on the Kings River, this has been a year to forget. First, near-record dry conditions in the mountains produced feeble flows from Highway 43 to Laton Park that were barely deep enough to wade in.Now it has stopped flowing completely.

Kings River running dry

From: Staff, KMJ Radio

The long, hot, dry summer is taking its toll on a popular place to cool off. Lazy tube trips on the Kings River are nothing more than a memory for many these days.

The reason? Little to no snowfall in parts of the Sierra that feed the waterway and major cut backs in allocation Pine Flat Dam. 

Fisheries

Large Loss of Salmon on Colusa Basin

From: Amy Quinton, Capital Public Radio

It's not unusual for salmon to get stranded on the Colusa Basin.

But the National Marine Fisheries Service says the magnitude of the loss in April May and early June was significant.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan 

Comment: Fracking and water tunnels: Is there a link?

From: Thomas Elias, Salinas California

By now, most Californians have probably heard that a huge geologic formation known as the Monterey Shale contains oil and natural gas in Saudi Arabian-style quantities, locked up in underground rocks lacing an area extending more than 100 miles along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.

Getting that oil out would require hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, a process involving high-pressure underground injection of water and chemicals. No one has yet said publicly how much water it would take to exploit the oil and gas in quantities large enough to make America energy independent.

Enter the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), which includes two parallel 35-mile-long freeway-width tunnels to bring Sacramento River water under the Delta formed by that river and the San Joaquin. This region now supplies much of the water used by California's largest cities and farms.

People

Obama taps Interior official for deputy secretary post

From: Ben Geman, The Hill  

President Obama will nominate Michael Connor to be deputy secretary of the Interior Department, a promotion from his current job heading Interior's water and hydropower agency called the Bureau of Reclamation.

Connor would replace former deputy David Hayes in the number two role at Interior, a department that regulates oil-and-gas drilling on federal lands and runs national parks, among its myriad energy and environment roles.

Secretary Jewell Lauds President's Intent to Nominate Michael L. Connor to Serve as Deputy Secretary of Interior Department

From: Press Release, USBR

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today praised President Obama's intent to nominate Michael L. Connor to serve as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Since 2009, Connor has served as Commissioner of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation.

Bureau of Reclamation's Lower Colorado Region assistant regional director named

From: Staff, Imperial Valley Press  

Jennifer McCloskey has been selected as the Bureau of Reclamation's Lower Colorado Region assistant regional director, according to a press release from the bureau.

McCloskey, formerly the area manager for Reclamation's Yuma Area Office, began her new position in the Lower Colorado Regional Office in Boulder City on July 22, 2013.

Meetings 

Weighing Water

From: Staff, Capitol Alert/Sacramento Bee

The California Latino Capitol Association is sponsoring an event on water quality today. Speakers include Anton Favorini-Csorba from the Legislative Analyst's Office, who will address the intersecting governance roles of local, state and federal entities, followed by Jennifer Clary of Clean Water Action and Omar Carrillo of the Community Water Center, who will talk about barriers to providing communities with clean water. From noon to 1:30 p.m. in room 2040 of the State Capitol building.