Newly Appointed Board Member: Brian Johnson
The Central Valley Flood Protection Board is happy to announce its newest Board member, Brian Johnson, has been appointed today by Governor Newsom. Johnson has been California director at Trout Unlimited since 2011, where he was director of the California water program from 2005 to 2011. He was an associate at Shute, Mihaly & Weingerger LLP from 2000 to 2005, associate director for communications at the Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President from 1993 to 1997, and manager of Energy Star Computers for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation from 1991 to 1993. Johnson earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School. Welcome, Brian!
From The Association of California Water Agencies – ACWA has created and released all 10 episodes of the video series, “California H2O: Flowing For the Future” to help member agencies inform their customers, elected officials and key stakeholders about critical water issues. The final four videos debuted last week at ACWA’s Fall Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. The videos offer a statewide perspective on important water issues and feature interviews with member agencies to highlight the innovation and collaboration of local agencies. (
From The Northern California Water Association – The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Water Center today published a new report on 
From The Press Democrat – Sonoma County sustained more than $5 billion in damage from megastorms known as atmospheric rivers over 40 years, the hardest hit among 414 counties in 11 western states, according to a new study. The flood-prone county’s economic toll was tops by far, with Lewis County, Oregon in second place with $3 billion in damage, according to the study, which calculated the cost of 1,603 atmospheric rivers from 1978 to 2017. The 1995 storm that inundated Guerneville for three days, pushing the Russian River to its second highest flood level since 1940, was ranked the most destructive atmospheric river in the study period.
From Recordnet.com – There’s progress to report in the momentous task of ensuring that San Joaquin County and surrounding communities have enough water to meet anticipated needs for the next 20 years. Earlier this month, the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Authority — or ESJGWA, comprised of 16 area agencies including cities, counties and water districts — recommended that each of its member agencies adopt a mutually agreed upon Groundwater Sustainability Plan by Jan. 8. Each Groundwater Sustainability Plan should outline how the individual agency will achieve groundwater sustainability by 2040 and include measurable objectives and milestones in five-year increments. (
From ACWA – Five ACWA member agencies recently celebrated the completion of a habitat restoration project on the Sacramento River that produced results within a week.
From mavensnotebook.com – The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act was enacted by Congress on December 16, 2016. The purposes of the WIIN Act include improving water infrastructure across the country. Section 4007 addresses water projects in California and makes funding available to build water storage projects in California. The proposed regulations provide the process for a project proponent to obtain the California Water Commission’s determination that the project is consistent with Proposition 1, which was codified as Division 26.7 of the California Water Code and approved by voters in November 2014. 
From AgAlert – A technique that would help California manage floodwater and replenish groundwater has gained more attention, and removing barriers to the strategy known as Flood-MAR provided the focus for a conference in Sacramento. Flood-managed aquifer recharge involves moving floodwater from surface streams onto land where it could percolate into a groundwater basin. Though the concept sounds simple, it brings complications that include managing the floodwater, finding appropriate land to accept it and establishing rights to the water involved. At last week’s conference, about 200 state water officials, farmers, researchers and representatives of non-governmental organizations gathered to discuss aspects of Flood-MAR such as formulating multi-benefit projects, incentivizing aquifer recharge, its application to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and improving policy and regulations to support the strategy.