From the Maven’s Notebook
In 1990, Gary Estes moved to Auburn, a town of nearly 14,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills on the North Fork of the American River. Estes, an environmentalist, immediately joined the fight against Auburn Dam. The proposed dam site was only about one mile from his house. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wanted to build Auburn Dam to boost flood control in the city of Sacramento, which is about 30 miles downstream of Auburn and which the Corps considers to be the region most at-risk for catastrophic flooding nationwide. But the American River already had the 340-foot high Folsom Dam between Auburn and Sacramento. (more)
From the Department of Water Resources; from Maven’s Notebook.
For the first time in 100 years, tidal waters are flowing to 3,400 acres of restored habitat that will support fish and wildlife species and provide new flood capacity in Solano County. Today, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Ecosystem Investment Partners (EIP) held a levee breaching ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project (Lookout Slough). This multi-benefit project restores tidal wetland habitat and produces food for Delta smelt and other fish species, while reducing overall flood risk in the Sacramento area. (more)
Press release from the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley and the Southern California Water Coalition; from Maven’s Notebook,
The Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California Water Coalition submitted a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, advocating for the temporary suspension of the Fall X2 component of the Summer Fall Habitat Action for the 2024 water year. This request is based on scientific findings that demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the measure for its intended purpose of aiding the delta smelt and highlights its detrimental impacts on water supply. (more)
From the Maven’s Notebook, from the Department of Water Resources
The Department of Water Resources released its final 2023 State Water Project Delivery Capability Report, which presents a new and enhanced analysis of current and future expectations for the SWP water supply if no new adaptation actions are taken. According to the report, SWP delivery capability and reliability could be reduced as much as 23 percent in 20 years due to changing flow patterns and extreme weather shifts – underscoring the need for California to continue addressing the impacts of climate change and upgrading infrastructure. (more)
From the Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation seeks public input on the Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The draft document considers revised operations of dams, powerplants, and related facilities of the Central Valley Project and Delta facilities of the State Water Project. “An unprecedented display of openness has gone into the process to work through technical analyses and develop options for new operating rules with monthly interested party meetings, quarterly public meetings, and numerous direct outreach efforts,” said California-Great Basin Regional Director Karl Stock. “We are pleased to present the comprehensive results of this effort to the public for comment.” (more)
From Maven’s Notebook
By Senator Alvarado-Gil, Assemblyman Heath Flora, and Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria
We all know it. You shouldn’t wait to close the barn door until after the horse has bolted. That’s an important lesson for Central Valley communities today. California didn’t experience floods this past winter like we did in 2023. But given that the legislature is writing a bond now, this is the time to speak up to keep our communities safe from catastrophic flooding in the future. A year and a half ago, the town of Planada was hit by a devastating flood. When a debris-clogged Miles Creek overflowed, the resulting flood hit like a gut-punch. UC Merced researchers found that 83 percent of all households suffered, and many lost everything. (more)
From American Society of Civil Engineers
The Sacramento River East Levee (SREL), part of the American River Common Features (ARCF) 2016 Project, was executed by USACE under four different contracts. The project assumes significance due to its location and importance for public safety and asset protection. The first two contracts were supported by GEI and HDR who provided engineering during construction services related to civil and geotechnical engineering. The third and fourth contracts were supported by Kleinfelder and Stantec, which are the topic of this presentation. Contract 3 involved construction of 2 miles of seepage cutoff walls in the Pocket area in 2022 and Contract 4 involved construction of seepage cutoff walls at 4 separate locations in 2023 and 2024 from the Broadway Avenue area to the Freeport area. Contracts 3 and 4 flood protection features are intended to reduce the flooding risk to critical infrastructure in Sacramento, California. The project was constructed through a USACE Sacramento District contract. This presentation will summarize the contract design and construction stages. Various types of cutoff walls will be reviewed and design and construction challenges will be discussed. (more)
From California Water Blog
Tidal wetlands in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta used to be vast. You may have seen artistic renditions of how the landscape may have looked with meandering channels weaving through a mosaic of land and water and with teaming wildlife. In fact, prior to European colonization, the Delta used to be a whole 95% tidal freshwater wetlands covered in tule and cattail vegetation, stewarded by a number of Indigenous Tribes. We know this historical landscape was forever changed when settlers forcibly removed Indigenous people and their stewardship practices from the landscape, and spent the subsequent hundred and fifty years diking and draining the wetlands to create farmland. In one of the most ambitious restoration efforts of the State, and to help reverse the ecological decline this transformation caused, a network of California State agencies, Federal agencies, private institutions, and non-governmental organizations have spent the last decade trying to restore some of these wetlands. (more)
From NOAA Research, From Maven’s Notebook
For more than 75 years, high-hazard structures in the United States, including dams and nuclear power plants, have been engineered to withstand floods resulting from the most unlikely but possible precipitation, termed Probable Maximum Precipitation or PMP. More than 16,000 high-hazard dams and 50 nuclear power plants are located in the United States, many of which are approaching or exceeding their design lifetime. Failure of any one of these structures will likely result in loss of life and could impose significant economic losses and widespread environmental damage. While engineers continue to rely on PMP estimates when designing these large, critical facilities, the estimates themselves and the science behind them are based on outdated work. As climate change continues to supercharge storms, including rainfall amounts, that threaten existing infrastructure, there’s an urgent need to modernize PMP estimates and improve the science behind them, according to a new report by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. (more)
From Environmental Monitor
When it comes to environmental monitoring, new stream survey methodologies have revealed a great deal about water quality and streambed conditions over time. Such information can be particularly important in leading restoration initiatives and prioritizing management decisions. Historically, stream surveys have been conducted at a single point along the stream, with data then extrapolated for miles up and downstream. However, Brett Connell, Hydrologist and Director of Sales at Trutta Environmental Solutions, started developing a more intensive stream survey format in his master’s program in 2010 at the University of Tennessee. Having grown up fishing in Lake Erie and the Maumee River, Connell chose to pursue a career initially in fisheries biology because he loved being outdoors and working in the landscape he was studying. (more)
