Rancho Palos Verdes: Unlikely Ally

Homes in Rancho Palos Verdes (Getty/SFGate)

Three months ago we wrote about the slow-moving disaster in Rancho Palos Verdes, where some homes are sliding toward the ocean. However, the slippage has slowed for an unexpected reason.

Recently, though, the rate of failure has slowed somewhat, giving new hope to those on the edge. And it’s thanks to an unlikely ally: drought.

At a May 6 city council meeting, Rancho Palos Verdes geologist Mike Phipps explained that the land movement across much of the peninsula has stabilized (or at least decelerated) recently. “Mr. Phipps believes this is largely due to significantly below-average rainfall through April,” according to a news update on the meeting from the city’s website, which added that “winterization measures” last fall and “ongoing dewatering efforts” have also contributed to the slowdown. Since the start of the rainy season back in October, the region has received only 46% of its average seasonal rainfall total this year.

In California we're lucky to have had three wet winters in a row, but in Rancho Palos Verdes that's too much of a good thing.

Shasta Lake: No Drought Restrictions This Year

Shasta Lake, January 2025 (active norcal)

The state's largest reservoir is nearly filled to capacity:

Shasta Lake, about 10 miles north from the city of Redding, is at a surface level of 1,061.70 feet as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which is just shy of its full capacity of 1,067 feet. That puts the lake at 96% of its total capacity, or 114% of its historical capacity for this time of year, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

Shasta Lake can hold about 1.5 trillion gallons of water, which can “cover the entire state of California in half an inch of water,” Colin McCarthy, an atmospheric science student at UC Davis who runs US Stormwatch, wrote in a post on X.

The reservoir began seeing a major jump in water levels after several atmospheric river-fueled storms brought heavy downpours during the holiday season. And last year, the reservoir also rose to nearly full capacity around the same period.

The capacity levels mark a notable comeback after a long-lasting, extreme drought period depleted the reservoir. Photos from summer 2021, published by Record Searchlight, a local media outlet in Redding, show the bone-dry lake with cracks and hardened mud.

Shasta Lake isn’t the only reservoir seeing exceptional water levels. Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir, is currently at a surface level of around 891 feet as of Friday afternoon, according to the California Department of Water Resources, which puts the reservoir at 96% of its total capacity and 120% of its historical capacity for this time of year.

After three wet winters in a row California is lucky that its failure to build more water storage won't restrict residents' water usage...this year.

Silver Lining

Parts of Southern California are in extreme drought:

New data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that large swaths of both California and Nevada are facing down a summer of extreme drought, particularly in the southeast corners of those states. And the summer heatwaves haven’t even hit yet...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already designated much of Southern California and southern Nevada (and all of Arizona) as being in a drought so severe that growers and farmers are now eligible for emergency financial relief. Counties such as Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino are considered primary natural disaster areas, meaning they’ve been in a severe drought (or worse) for at least eight consecutive weeks. By June, the National Interagency Fire Center said that “above normal [significant fire] potential” is forecast for “portions of central and Southern California.” By July, that potential “will expand into more of California and much of the Northwest.”

The silver lining is that the reservoirs are full:

Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom. Farther north, California’s water levels are robust, thanks in part to a healthy Sierra Nevada snowpack. The state’s major reservoirs are “well-above average” right now, and there’s even optimism up in far Northern California after researchers in the region stumbled upon a giant, 21-trillion-gallon aquifer just over the border in Oregon. Still, just months after a cascade of devastating wildfires ravaged Los Angeles, there’s already a sense from some prognosticators that this summer could be hot, dry and dangerous.

California is fortunate that it has had three wet winters in a row. It won't have to pay the price this year for its inexcusable delay--to 2032--in bringing the Sites Reservoir on stream. Let's hope our luck lasts for seven more years.

God Giveth, and California Regulators Take It Away

"Lake" Oroville on July 22, 2021 (Chronicle photo)

In 2017 the Oroville dam was in danger of breaching, and downstream communities had to be evacuated. In 2021 the Oroville hydroelectric plant was shut down due to lack of water (picture, right).

Today the Oroville reservoir is at capacity. [bold added]

Lake Oroville contains 28% more water than it historically has on this date. While the lake also filled to the brim last year, three years ago water levels sank to their lowest point ever, a testament to California’s increasingly variable climate.

Oroville today (Chron photo)

This year, snowpack in the northern Sierra measured 123% at its peak, according to state data, helping boost flows in the Feather River, which feeds Lake Oroville.

Federally managed Shasta Lake, which is California’s largest reservoir, was 97% full on Monday, or about 115% of average.

At the beginning of this rainy season water managers were worried about too much rain.

Heading into the winter, many water managers were concerned that if huge atmospheric river storms pounded the state in November and December, that could have caused major flooding because there was less space left in the big reservoirs than in most years to catch runoff

Whether by luck or divine intervention California had a Goldilocks winter--above average rainfall but not too much to cause flooding. With plentiful water for everyone there would seem to be no need for austerity---unless regulators make Californians cut back because they know what's best for everyone.

Even with Lake Oroville at capacity, and other reservoirs above average, state water officials have said they expect to provide only 40% of the water requested by communities and irrigation districts in the coming year...

One of the reasons for the limited deliveries, state officials say, is an ongoing issue with the pumps that move the water. The State Water Project pumping facility in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta often draws in fish and kills them, including delta smelt, chinook salmon and steelhead trout. In response, the state reduces how much water is pumped.

Who built the faulty pumps? Who decided that fish were more important than the needs of millions of Californians? Those questions are never answered in the one-party State, whose decrees must be obeyed.

Sites Reservoir May Come On Stream in 2032

Sites Reservoir will cover some of this
area in Colusa County (Merc photo)

The long-delayed Sites Reservoir will start construction in 2026 and come on stream in 2032, all contingent upon overcoming objections by the usual suspects:

If the project overcomes opposition and a lawsuit by environmental groups, the 1.5 million-acre-foot Sites Reservoir would be California’s eighth largest. It would be four times the size of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park, which is the main water supply for San Francisco and the Peninsula. It would provide water to 500,000 acres of Central Valley farmlands, and 24 million people, including parts of Silicon Valley, the East Bay and Los Angeles.

The $4.5 billion project will be funded from a half-dozen different sources and has been "discussed on and off since the 1950s." With over 90% of the financing in place, and with a signoff from all major State and Federal agencies, Sites looks likely to happen. It's nice to know that California can still get things done.

Lake Manly

Death Valley, the hottest and driest place in North America, has a lake. [bold added]

recent rains have submerged the salt flats of Badwater Basin in a foot of water — a temporary lake large enough for park visitors to even go out in kayaks...

While water that falls typically evaporates, Death Valley received a surplus of rain over the past six months — two and half times what it normally tallies in an entire year, [park ranger] Abby Wines said.

The park had its rainiest day on record on Aug. 20, when remnants of Hurricane Hilary dropped 2.2 inches of rain. That brought the reemergence of an ancient lake, dubbed Lake Manly in honor of pioneer William Manly.

By the end of January, the lake had shrunk to half its size from when it formed in August. But an atmospheric-river-fueled storm in early February replenished it to its current dimensions: about 6-miles long, 3-miles wide and 1-foot deep.

Without more rainfall, Lake Manly will not be able to accommodate kayaking and paddle boarding in two weeks and will likely be gone by summer. However, to those of us who have had to listen to the incessant drumbeat of desertification doomsaying by climate alarmists, its unexpected reappearance was pleasure indeed.

Short-Term Good News About California's Water Supply

1/30/24: Oroville Reservoir is at 76% capacity

The recent storms have had a salutary effect on California's water picture:

Nearly all of California’s major reservoirs are holding more than 100% of their historic average water levels for this time of year after recent storms across the state gave several a boost.

Average total water storage across the state’s 48 biggest reservoirs has also been climbing upward since the beginning of the year, topping an 70% of capacity as of Thursday, according to state data. California’s reservoirs overall are holding 118% of their average levels of water for this time of year.

Reservoir levels are 118% of average, which is basically good news, but being at 70% of capacity is slightly worrisome at this point in the rainy season. [bold added]

Officials are carefully managing reservoirs, planning releases to ensure they do not overflow and cause floods while also maintaining enough water in case of another drought, according to the state water department.

The science of weather forecasting hasn't reached the stage where officials can predict confidently how much rain and snow will fall during the remainder of the wet season. Consequently the upcoming release of water from the reservoirs is educated guesswork.

The good news is that we won't have to let our gardens shrivel this summer. The bad news is that, because of the failure to build more storage capacity, we can't be confident about the following summer.

Goldilocks Weather

1/2/24: the snowpack near Tahoe (Mercury photo)

Years of drought were alleviated by the 2022-2023 wet winter, so a once-dreaded headline is actually good news:

Sierra Nevada snowpack at lowest level in 10 years [bold added]

California’s statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack — the source of nearly one-third of the state’s water supply — is at its lowest level in a decade, a major turnaround from last year when huge storms ended a three-year drought and buried ski resorts in massive amounts of snow.

On Tuesday, the snowpack was just 25% of its historical average for Jan. 2. A year ago on the same date, it was a staggering 185% of normal. The last time there was less snow at the beginning of a new year was 2014 when it stood at just 19%.

The lack of snow so far this year is due to fewer big storms hitting the state than normal. And when storms have come, they have been warmer, depositing snow mostly at higher elevations.

But the meager totals so far across California’s pre-eminent mountain range are not a cause to panic, experts say.

Not only are there three months left in the winter season, which typically ends in early April, but last year’s soaking winter filled reservoirs across the state. That “money in the bank” means chances are low that there will be significant urban water restrictions across the state this summer, even if the winter ends with below-average snow and rain.

Why a low snowpack is good news in 2023-2024:

Heading into the winter, many water managers were concerned that if huge atmospheric river storms pounded the state in November and December, that could have caused major flooding because there was less space left in the big reservoirs than in most years to catch runoff

We got rain when we needed it, and now dryness when that was called for.

That fortunate sequence was rare even in the supposedly halcyonic 19th century. (See the Great Flood of 1862, and the three severe droughts of the 19th century.)

If global warming causes weather events (as all the smart people believe), I'll have more of the same.

Note: But don't be stupid. Build more water storage like the already-approved Sites Reservoir.

Environmental Lawsuits: Sure as Night Follows Day

Location of the Sites Reservoir, proposed in the 1980's

Earlier this year we repeated our lament that, despite the voters having approved $7.5 billion for new water storage in 2014, no reservoirs have been built.

The delays haven't all been due to government incompetence, however. Sure as night follows day environmental groups are suing to halt construction of the Sites Reservoir.

The $4.5 billion project, which seeks to boost water supplies for drought-plagued cities and farms, was recently put on the fast track by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The suit, though, alleges the reservoir’s environmental impact report was insufficient, failing to address harm to fish and greenhouse gas emissions — problems opponents say make the additional water hard to justify...

Sites Reservoir, planned in rural Colusa and Glenn counties, would be the state’s eighth biggest reservoir. Its water would be piped across the state, including to the Bay Area.

The facility is designed to capture water from the Sacramento River during wet years and store up to 1.5 million acre-feet for dry years, enough to meet the annual needs of more than 3 million households.

One of the lawyers for the environmental groups declared,“There are other alternatives that were really not considered that might achieve some of the same benefits.”

Since "other alternatives" included converting sewage into drinking water, he was wise not to elaborate.

Lahaina No Ka Oi, Hopefully Again

As of this writing (4 p.m. HST) there are 53 confirmed dead in the Maui wildfires that started on Tuesday. 1,000 people are unaccounted for, historic Lahaina town is completely destroyed, and basic communications and infrastructure are heavily damaged. Flames are 80% contained.

The videos are similar to those that Californians saw during the 2018 Camp Fire that leveled the City of Paradise. In Maui too we watch residents given only seconds to flee, trees burning on both sides of the road, and winds spreading flames faster than people can run. In California people jumped into rivers and lakes, in Maui they leaped into Lahaina Harbor.

Before the Camp Fire Paradise was a city of 14,000 homes and 27,000 residents. 4½ years later Paradise is less than half what it once was: "more than 1,400 homes have been rebuilt and now nearly 10,000 people call Paradise home again."

Because of the importance of Lahaina to the State of Hawaii, your humble blogger hopes that Lahaina's restoration will be faster and more complete than California's rebuilding of Paradise. And, selfishly, it will raise the probability that I can visit Lahaina one more time before age and infirmity prevent me from doing so.

Bay Area Water Outlook: Underground Storage to the Rescue

Recharge ponds in Campbell (Mercury photo)

We've written before how the replenishment of underground aquifers is a relatively low-cost alternative solution to California's failure to build more reservoirs.

It may take years for the Central Valley to recover, but there is good news already about groundwater levels in the Bay Area. [bold added]

Groundwater provides 40% of the water supply for 2 million people in Santa Clara County. Following more than a dozen major atmospheric river storms this winter, the main water table in the county has risen 35 feet since last June — and is up 51 feet since the most extreme part of the drought in September 2021 — returning to pre-drought levels. The county’s main groundwater basin is now about 90% full.

...Readings taken two weeks ago show that groundwater is just 64 feet below the surface at the district’s main monitoring well in San Jose near the corner of Hamilton and Leigh avenues. That’s the highest level ever recorded since readings began there in 1936.

Similar rebounds have occurred in wells in Sunnyvale, Milpitas and Morgan Hill, where the main index well came up 50 feet since September of 2021 and is now at its highest level in five years.

A similar trend has unfolded at the Alameda County Water District, which provides water to 345,000 people in Fremont, Newark and Union City.

There, the water table has risen 13 feet since Dec. 31 at the Niles Cone Groundwater Basin, which provides 40% of the district’s supplies.

On a State-wide level recovery is less robust:

But some clues are emerging. Of 3,400 wells monitored by the State Department of Water Resources where measurements were taken this spring, 35% showed groundwater increases of at least 5 feet — however, 59% showed no change and 6% showed a decrease when compared with levels a year ago.

Regardless, California's water outlook is much better than it was a year ago.

This year's reprieve should not cause reservoir construction to slow, but historical performance would not make that a safe bet.

Two Floods Coming

We've been given ample time to prepare for two floods, but readiness is questionable.

El Niño is coming

The chances of any El Niño forming are now 82% by July and 94% by November, according to the NOAA report.

More significant for California, there’s a 46% chance of a strong El Niño by November, increasing to 54% by January, NOAA researchers concluded Thursday...

Since 1951, there have been 26 El Niño events. Of those, 11 have been weak, 7 moderate, 5 strong and 3 very strong. Overall, rainfall in Southern California averaged 126% of normal. In the Bay Area it was 109% of normal.

But two of the three very strong El Niños, during the winters of 1982-83 and 1997-98, were associated with seasons that were among the wettest in recorded California history, with massive Sierra Nevada snow packs and major flooding.

More Migrants are Coming

A pandemic-era public health policy known as Title 42, used to turn away asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border, is coming to an end just before 9 p.m. tonight, prompting concerns about unprecedented migration flows.

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants have been waiting outside between border walls in San Ysidro for days, sometimes with nothing more to eat all day than a single granola bar handed out by Border Patrol officers.

Federal, state and local officials have had more than two years to prepare for this moment. But officials running migrant shelters on both sides of the border say they have very little information about how to handle the anticipated increase in asylum seekers trying to cross from Mexico into California and other states.

Update: Border appears calm after lifting of pandemic restrictions

The border between the U.S. and Mexico was relatively calm Friday, offering few signs of the chaos that had been feared following a rush by worried migrants to enter the U.S. before the end of pandemic-related immigration restrictions...

“We did not see any substantial increase in immigration this morning,” said Blas Nunez-Neto of the Department of Homeland Security. He said the agency did not have specific numbers because it was early in the day.

By the way, I hope this guy makes it:

“I hope it’s a little better and that the appointments are streamlined a little more,” said Yeremy Depablos, 21, a Venezuelan traveling with seven cousins who has been waiting in the city for a month.

Fearing deportation, Depablos did not want to cross illegally. “We have to do it the legal way.”

Snowpack Feast or Famine

The satellite images show what a difference a year makes. In 2022 (left) the snowpack was under 60% of average for the third straight winter. On May 1, 2023 (right) it was 254% of average.

Twelve months ago, California was entering year three of an extended drought. On the heels of the driest January-April period in 128 years, the state’s two largest reservoirs were down to critically low levels, and a skimpy snowpack meant little additional water was on the way...

This year has been a complete turnaround.

Storms drenched California for months and piled on epic amounts of snow in the Sierra Nevada. The state’s May 1 snowpack clocked in at 254% of average for the date.

California regularly sees variability in Sierra snow from season to season, or a “snowpack whiplash.”

Dry winters have been the norm over the last two decades, but snowpacks above 150% have appeared four times, including this year (graph).

There appears to be little that California can do to reduce the variability of winter storms, but it's obvious that investing in water storage, including underground aquifers, can mitigate the worst effects of drought years. $7.5 billion was approved by the voters in 2014, but nothing has been built, truly an outstanding example of incompetence and unseriousness.

Planting Lilies

A month of rain has washed the drought away.

The downside: weeds have sprung up in all the bare patches and flower beds.

The rain stopped from Sunday to Wednesday. It was a window that enabled this homeowner to start the refurbishment.

They're not Easter lilies, but calla lilies are a nice-looking substitute.

Prioritizing Underground Water Storage

Ways of recharging the aquifer (Water Education Fdn)

We've lamented that California has built very little water storage though

State voters have approved eight water bonds since 2000 that authorize some $27 billion in funding for various water projects.

California is now known for being a State that can't get any important project built, whether it be high-speed rail, low-cost housing, or hydroelectric dams.

It's time to prioritize below-ground storage.

Winter storms have filled California’s reservoirs and built up a colossal Sierra snowpack that’s nearly twice its normal size for this time of year. But years of dry conditions have created problems far beneath Earth’s surface that aren’t as easily addressed.

Groundwater — found in underground layers containing sand, soil and rock — is crucial for drinking water and sustaining farms. During drought years, 60% of California’s annual water supply comes from groundwater. This water is not easily replenished, especially as many groundwater basins across the state are critically overdrafted...

Compared with 2004, the amount of water on and below the ground in 2022 has dropped by nearly 55 cubic kilometers.

Recharge site in Selma, CA.

Hydrologist Jay Famiglietti, a professor at Arizona State University, and NASA scientist Pang-Wei Liu used satellite data and surface measurements to determine groundwater depletion. Of the 55 cubic kilometer total diminishment in California's water supply since 2004, approximately 40 cubic kilometers, or 73% came from groundwater.

Time for a little arithmetic. The acre-foot, which is the quantity of a sheet of water one acre in area by one foot deep, is a standard measure of water volume. The average household uses between one-half and one acre-foot per year. There are 810,714 acre-feet in 1 cubic kilometer. The two largest reservoirs in California, Shasta and Oroville, hold 5.6 and 4.3 cubic kilometers of water, respectively.

To create additional above-ground reservoirs the equivalent of Shasta and Oroville would cost many billions of dollars. If water from the snowpack could be directed to underground storage and then withdrawn when needed (we know that California has already taken out 40 cubic kilometers net), that method would be much more cost effective then building dams. Without human intervention six to nine wet years in a row would be required to replenish the aquifer.

Farmers, hydrologists, and agronomists realized one century ago that underground wells could fill faster if the land were managed to absorb flood waters. Today much more is known about Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), but little has been done since we last wrote about this subject seven years ago.

It makes sense to build more recharge stations on land that's already equipped for them. The financial, environmental, and regulatory obstacles are much less than other water-storage alternatives. If Californians blow it again, we are truly an undeserving people.

Oroville at 65%

Lake Oroville's water level has certainly seen its ups and downs:

Built in the 1960s by former Gov. Edmund “Pat” Brown, Jerry Brown’s father, Oroville reservoir holds 3.5 million acre feet when full — enough water for about 18 million people a year. The massive reservoir in Butte County captures water from the Feather River watershed. Its dam is the tallest in the United States. At 770 feet, it towers more than 200 feet higher than the Washington Monument...

Over the past 20 years, Oroville has filled to the top seven times: 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2017 and 2019. It is currently holding 2.3 million acre feet of water.

The Mercury News' "juxtapose" illustration shows the change in Oroville's water level between September, 2021 (22% full) and January, 2023 (65% full). Just drag the bar up and down with the cursor.



As noted above Oroville "filled to the top" in 2017 and 2019. In 2017 the snowmelt was so plentiful that the dam almost collapsed. Yet in 2021 the water was so low that "for the first time since it opened in 1967, its power plant had shut down."

Years alternate between extreme drought and heavy rains, as they have throughout California's recorded history. One of these decades I hope that we'll get leaders who will invest in water infrastructure instead of chasing windmill dreams.

Cause for Celebration

One month ago your humble non-meteorologist stated that it felt like the drought was over, though no authorities made such a declaration. The Sierra snowpack provides another piece of evidence: [bold added]

The snowpack was 205% of its historical average for this time of year on Wednesday....The last time there was as more snow, 28 years ago, on Feb. 1, 1995, it was 207% of normal.

The huge bounty is the fourth largest statewide since 1950, when consistent statewide records began, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of historical data. Only 1952 (267% of average) and 1969 (230%), and 1995 (208%) had larger amounts on Feb. 1.

In a few places, like Highland Meadow in Alpine County, the snowpack is the largest in recorded history.

Around Lake Tahoe, stop signs and fire hydrants have been buried in snow. Ski resorts that struggled during three years of drought, wildfire and COVID are seeing a banner year. The snow base Tuesday at Palisades was 11 feet deep. At Kirkwood it was 12 feet. And at Mammoth Mountain, south of Yosemite National Park, it was nearly 20 feet deep.

The good news is that, even if the winter rains stop, the Northern California water supply is in good shape for the current year:

“The storms could shut off,” said Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis. “That’s the worst case. But even in the worst case, we’re still going to have a good snowpack. Most of it is in the bank, and will appear as streamflow.”

More heavy rains could cause flooding, however.

But if California receives big, warm, soaking storms that park over the Sierra, much of the snowpack could melt suddenly, causing mayhem.

The ideal water scenario would be the following:

If the rest of the spring plays out well, moderate storms will come in, with dry spells in between, allowing reservoirs to gradually continue filling just as summer is starting and the risk of floods is ending.

It's not enough for Californians that the December and January precipitation has chased away extreme drought. We want the storms to be "moderate" and short-lived so that the reservoirs fill while no floods occur.

There's no harm in hoping for the best, but hope should not turn into disappointment if we don't get a perfect rainy season. The water we've received so far is enough cause for celebration.

Water Storage Funding: Fooled Again for the Umpteenth Time

Location of the Sites Reservoir, proposed in the 1980's

We've posted frequently (for example here, here, and here) on California's failure to add more water storage to get it through the drought years. The SF Chronicle notes that it's not the fault of the voters, who approved a $7.5 billion bond measure in 2014:

Nearly 10 years later, none of the major storage projects, which include new and expanded reservoirs, has gotten off the ground.

As the state experiences a historic bout of rain and snow this winter, amid another severe water shortage, critics are lamenting the missed opportunity to capture more of the extraordinary runoff that has been swelling rivers, flooding towns and pouring into the sea.

The seven dedicated storage projects funded by voter-approved Proposition 1 remain in various stages of planning. Many are big ventures, including the proposed Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley that would be California’s eighth-largest reservoir. Such efforts require years of design, permitting and fundraising and are not easy to build. Still, some say progress has been too slow given the dire need for water.

The WSJ assigns blame for the delay and waste of the allotted funds:

State voters have approved eight water bonds since 2000 that authorize some $27 billion in funding for various water projects, but little of the money has gone to storage or flood control. That’s because politicians buy off green support for water bonds by promising to spend a large share of their proceeds on ecosystem restoration.

Only $2.7 billion of a $7.5 billion water bond that voters approved in 2014 was allocated for storage. None of the seven storage projects selected by the state for funding has begun construction. Blame in part a government permitting morass. Most aren’t expected to be completed until the end of this decade, assuming they aren’t marooned by lawsuits.

Voters support water bond measures because they think the money will be spent on drought preparation. But it never is. Liberals use droughts and floods to campaign for water bonds that end up funding pet environmental causes. Rinse and repeat. Mr. Newsom last week floated another bond measure for water projects and wildfire mitigation

Your humble blogger confesses that water storage proposals are among the few bond measures that he has voted for in the past three decades.

Even knowing that much of the monies would be wasted, misdirected, and even stolen, I hoped that some projects would be completed by now.

But I was mistaken in thinking that California government still retained a minuscule amount of competence and honesty. Fooled again, shame on me.

The Delta Smelt: Let's Have a Debate

Delta smelt (Mercury News photo)

Environmental regulations that protect endangered species, specifically the delta smelt, have drastically reduced the amount of storm water that can be pumped to reservoirs:

But 94% of the water that has flowed since New Year’s Eve through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a linchpin of California’s water system, has continued straight to the Pacific Ocean instead of being captured and stored in the state’s reservoirs.

Environmental regulations aimed at protecting a two-inch-long fish, the endangered Delta smelt, have required the massive state and federal pumps near Tracy to reduce pumping rates by nearly half of their full limit, sharply curbing the amount of water that can be saved for farms and cities to the south...

In the 1950s, the federal government built huge pumps near Tracy to send water south to farmers and cities through the Central Valley Project. In the 1960s, former California Gov. Pat Brown built even bigger pumps two miles west, near Byron, that pumps Delta water into the State Water Project, which serves 27 million people.

The pumps are enormous and over time have disrupted fish and wildlife in the Delta, including smelt and salmon, sometimes grinding them up, sometimes making sloughs run backward, and other times removing up to half the Delta’s fresh water. Once plentiful, smelt and salmon numbers crashed. This winter, only five smelt have been found in the Delta by scientists.

A small fraction of the Delta storm water can be diverted by the pumps to storage, and smelt restrictions reduce even that amount by 40%:

When the state and federal pumps are fully running, they can move roughly 10,800 cubic feet per second. That means they are unable to catch most of the current deluge even if maxed out. But since Jan. 1, they have averaged just 6,415 cfs per day — far less than their capacity.

The water districts say that they "do not have much flexibility under the law." The law is a creation of men and can be undone by men. It's time to have a full-throated debate over why preventing the extinction of a small fish is more important than the lives and livelihood of millions of Californians.

A Water-ful New Year

We try not to limit our reading to stories that confirm our biases (or our wishes), but we can't help it if this Mercury-News headline is above the fold. It feels like the drought is over. [bold added]

As the new year begins, California’s Sierra is closing in on the second-largest snowpack we’ve seen at this time of year in the last two decades, with more snow expected to pummel the mountain range in the coming days.

To be sure, the writers are cautious about jumping to conclusions (a caution they hardly ever display when they attribute every wild fire, hurricane, and dry spell to global warming):

On Saturday, the statewide average stood at a whopping 162% of normal compared to historic averages for this time of year, just eclipsing last year’s figure. But a Bay Area News Group analysis found that of the seven times in the last 20 years that California started the new year with an above-average snowpack, only twice — 2005 and 2011 — did it finish the snow season in April still above average.

We're not so cautious. It looks like a water-ful new year.