Russian River Water Update, 6/26/23
Reservoir Storage & Operations:
Water supply information provided by Sonoma Water (more info here).
Russian River Water Forum Updates
(https://russianriverwaterforum.org/)
Mendo Fever: Russian and Eel River Advocates Gather at Planning Group meeting of June 12, 6/19/23
El Niño is Back – Good or Bad?
“El Niño is a climate pattern that starts with warm water building up in the tropical Pacific west of South America. This happens every three to seven years or so. It might last a few months or a couple of years.
Normally, the trade winds push warm water away from the coast there, allowing cooler water to surface. But when the trade winds weaken, water near the equator can heat up, and that can have all kinds of effects through what are known as teleconnections. The ocean is so vast – covering approximately one-third of the planet, or about 15 times the size of the U.S. – that those sloshings of warm water have knock-on effects around the globe.” What does this mean for Northern California? Read more: Maven's Notebook: THE CONVERSATION: El Niño is back – that’s good news or bad news, depending on where you live, 6/9/23
- NOAA Climate on YouTube: Understanding El Niño
- Courthouse News: West gets reprieve from drought, but forecasters predict change as El Niño approaches, 6/15/23
- Bloomberg via Business Standard: Return of El Niño threatens new levels of economic destruction, 6/14/23
- San Fran Chronicle GIFT ARTICLE: El Niño typically means wet California winters. These charts show what might be in store, 6/24/23
- Scientific American: El Niño May Break a Record and Reshape Weather around the Globe, 6/21/23
- Earth Observatory: El Niño Returns, 6/21/23
Is California Prepared for Climate Change?
As directed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, the Audior of the State of California office conducted an audit of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board. The assessment focused on DWR’s water supply forecasting and surface water management, and determined that DWR has made only limited progress in accounting for the effects of climate change in its forecasts of the water supply and in its planning for the operation of the State Water Project. Until it makes more progress, DWR will be less prepared than it could be to effectively manage the State’s water resources in the face of more extreme climate conditions. Find out more here:
Auditor of the State of California web page and Full Report from CA Auditor
In the press:
- LA Times via ArcaMax: Commentary: Finding a new path to water conservation for the next millennium, for California and the world, 6/16/23
- Maven's Notebook: THIS JUST IN … State Water Board announces tentative schedule for probationary hearings for 6 critically overdrafted groundwater basins, 6/21/23
- PPIC: Renewing California’s Groundwater: Ready, Set, Recharge, 6/21/23
- AgNet: Grower Taking Initiative to Recharge Groundwater, 6/21/23
- Comstock's Mag: Farming to Save Water; Water experts seek new ways to capture groundwater, 6/21/23
- The Revelator: The Future of Water - A new book from water expert Peter Gleick urges a rethinking of how we use, manage and value one of our most important resources., 6/12/23
- Press Democrat: Aging infrastructure keeps largest Lake Sonoma campground closed for another summer, 6/23/23