San Joaquin County Water Digest

In their April 9 meeting, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved allopcating $7.7M in federal funds for county infrastructure projects.

The California Department of Water Resources announced the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack at 110% of the April 1 average.

Following strong February rains, the Bureau of Reclamation announced increases in Central Valley Project water allotments.

The City of Ripon is evaluating the condition of a currently unused water well originally commissioned in 1991 to determine feasibility and cost of bringing it back into service.

The City of Manteca is preparing for alternative means of disposing of biomass solids resulting from the treatment of city wastewater to comply with a state mandate.

The Lathrop Planning Commission is reviewing plans for River Islands neighborhood designs which includes a football stadium, lakes, parks, housing and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial use space.

Director of Public Works James Pease reported ongoing reduction of water usage by residents at a recent City Council meeting.

California, Arizona and Nevada would cut their allocations about 20% when reservoir levels drop. But other states have their own more aggressive plan. Now the federal government has to decide how to manage the drought-plagued river.

California’s snowpack has surged to above average conditions following the recent Sierra blizzard.

A temporary lake in Death Valley National Park doubled after recent rains and is now deep enough to launch a kayak. Prior to August, ghostly Lake Manly hadn’t appeared in 19 years.

Efforts to squeeze out more capacity from Manteca’s wastewater treatment plant continue, with the City Council expected to approve an additional $100,000 expenditure with Pacific Advanced Civil Engineering for a study.

Atmospheric rivers are well-known weather phenomena along the West Coast. But the intensity of recent atmospheric rivers is almost certainly affected by human-caused climate change.

Los Angeles County flood control network withstands punishing rains—for now.

The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

Chinook and other salmon runs are collapsing. Conservation groups call it too little, too late. Plan includes dam removals and restoring river flows.

What is an ARkStorm and why is everyone talking about it on social media right now?

Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a “hot drought”—dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.

The Mazapeta, a 1940s-era military tugboat, is on the way to its final port of call. The city of Stockton coordinated with Lind Marine, which barged the vessel to Mare Island, where it will eventually be dismantled for salvage.

In a sign of the ongoing threats to its precious groundwater stores, half a dozen regions in California rank among the world’s most rapidly declining aquifers.

Groundwater depletion is worsening in many of the world’s farming regions. But a global study also found that some efforts are helping to boost aquifers.

A California judge says a nearly 65-year-old law does not give the state permission to borrow the billions of dollars it would need to build a large water project.

The removal entered a critical phase with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River. “This is historic and life-changing,” tribal attorney Amy Cordalis said. “And it means that the Yurok people have a future.”

In the Little Potato Slough of the San Joaquin Delta, a cluster of old ships, which stand tall on the horizon amid miles of crops, was topped with a 10-story crane.

New rules took effect Jan. 1 permanently protecting the most fragile deep sea corals off Southern California. Simultaneously, more than 4,500 square miles of ocean waters are now reopened to fishing after more than 20 years of closures.

Raging storms brought major damage to California’s coastline last winter. But in Half Moon Bay, a different kind of coastal upheaval is gaining momentum—one that could decide the fate of billions of dollars of property and affect hundreds of public beaches.

The Bay Area’s fog is iconic. But the latest episode of KQED podcast “Bay Curious” looks at how climate change could reduce the number of foggy days in the area.

Munition boxes, depth charges and smoke floats have been found 3,000 feet underwater off the coast of Los Angeles. More than 100 square miles of ocean might be contaminated.

Bright blue waves have been spotted in Long Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. The bioluminescence is caused by organisms known as dinoflagellates and can impact fish populations.

The California Department of Water Resources has found that the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains is at just 25% of normal levels for this time of year. This could potentially impact water supply and wildfire protection.

The year rang in with rains so heavy that Stockton flooded, and ended with state approval of a Delta Tunnel that may deplete our region’s water. In between was a year as remarkable for what didn’t happen as what did.

The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages federal water such as the Central Valley Project, has a new regional director for the California-Great Basin Region.

The Hoopa Valley Tribe announced it is acquiring about 10,000 acres of land in Northern California for $14.1 million. As part of this, the tribe will remove dams along the Klamath River and restore salmon runs.