Nevada County Water Digest

A Trump administration plan for delivering more water to Central Valley farmers—bottled up in court by opponents for almost four years—could be returned from legal limbo this summer by House Republicans.

One hundred fifty years of physical and ecological impacts associated with natural resource use, development of major infrastructure and land development, Donner Lake and the larger Middle Truckee River Watershed have actually been listed as impaired for sediment under the Federal Clean Water Act for many years.

Clean Up the Lake, known for its 72-mile cleanup project around the shores of Lake Tahoe, has opened its Environmental Dive Center at Lake Tahoe.

Much has changed in a short time at Nevada Irrigation District. Fewer than five years ago, the water district was laying the groundwork for construction of the controversial Centennial Dam. Now there’s a new general manager and the dam has been back-burnered.

There’s a possible rise of four invasive animals in California—another consequence from downpours last winter and spring. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services warned about a potential population surge due to storm-related flooding.

The Department of the Interior announced the distribution of $24,881,884 to the state of California today as part of the $295,582,830 granted this year from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

Raising Shasta Dam to increase its capacity would provide 634,000 more acre-feet of water per year, legislators say. But that assumes there will always be enough precipitation, and the move risks flooding sacred Native American lands and harming local habitats.

After 14 years, the Grass Valley Family Resource Center, located next door to the Grass Valley Charter School, has closed its doors. Full services will continue at locations in Penn Valley on the Ready Springs campus and San Juan Ridge on the Oak Tree campus.

In the magazine Nature, a team of scientists reports that they have detected changes in ocean color that cannot be explained by natural, year-to-year variability alone. These color shifts have occurred over 56 percent of the world’s oceans.

The environmental costs of ending water diversions from Mono Lake to Los Angeles would be mixed: It might help a shore bird habitat but would require changes that increase carbon emissions.

Small fragments of fibers from clothing, packaging and other plastic residue have invaded freshwater lakes and watersheds globally and in alarming quantities, according to new research.

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced $3.1 million in funding she secured for Lake Tahoe in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prevent and combat the spread of aquatic invasive species in the lake through the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana ruled the U.S. Forest Service can continue to use aerial fire retardant to fight wildfires while waiting on a Clean Water Act permit.

The Town of Truckee Town Council meeting will review a proposal to use funds generated by SB 1 for both the Railyard Mobility Hub Project and the West River Street Streetscape Improvement Project.

The inaugural Lake Tahoe Litter Summit, hosted by nonprofit Clean Up the Lake, brought together 50 of Lake Tahoe's agency leaders and citizens fighting litter in the basin.

The unseasonably warm temperatures at Lake Tahoe have prompted officials to issue a flood warning for a rapidly melting snowpack.

From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, SYRCL’s volunteer River Ambassadors educate the community to care for the South Yuba River. The team promotes an ethic of responsible use of the river by speaking with visitors at crossings, beaches, and on trails.

The North Tahoe Public Utility District announced the addition of Kim Harris as the district's new human resources manager.  Harris comes to the NTPUD from the town of Truckee.

The Bureau of Land Management named the Yuba Watershed Institute its Conservation Partner of the Year for 2023. The local nonprofit has been operating on the San Juan Ridge for more than 30 years under a series of cooperative agreements with BLM.

Fort Bragg is embarking on an innovative pilot project to desalt ocean water for the Mendocino Coast community using carbon-free wave action to power an energy-intensive process that in other cases generates climate changing greenhouse gases.

The South Yuba River Citizens League will throw its annual Wild for the Yuba dinner and auction on June 3 at the Wheelhouse Event Center. The event is a fundraiser SYRCL’s many programs to keep the river healthy.

And neither was 1952. The top honor should really go to 1983, which clinched first at 231% of normal, an analysis by the Bay Area News Group found.

The mantra “Keep Tahoe Blue” has become synonymous with the region. But far fewer people know the history of the movement it represents. Here’s a glimpse of the story behind the sticker.

For the last five months of 2022, Lake Tahoe was the clearest it has been since the 1980s. That is due in part to a resurgence of the lake's native zooplankton.

One of the options would override California’s water rights and split the cuts evenly between California, Nevada and Arizona—which would be a big blow to Imperial Valley farmers.

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center is sponsoring its third annual circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe, a kayaking journey that takes place June 19-25.

After conducting its April snow survey, Nevada Irrigation District reports that the water content in the snowpack is 198 percent of the usual average for this time of year.

California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways, the Department of Water Resources and Cal Fire are urging the public to be aware of cold-water dangers this spring as record snowpack is causing flow levels not seen in years.

According to a new study, ponderosa pine forests in the Sierra Nevada that were wiped out by western pine beetles won’t recover to pre-drought densities. But there’s less risk of another huge die-off this century because the bark beetles will have fewer host trees.

“The Lake of the Sky” is grabbing attention this winter for more than one reason. Emerald Bay froze completely, including the inlet, for the first time in many years.

The California Tahoe Conservancy Board approved a $250,000 grant to Tahoe Resource Conservation District for aquatic invasive plant surveillance and rapid response.

Many people are looking at the snow and water levels and asking that question. The answer depends on where you are in the West and how you define “drought.” A researcher at the Desert Research Institute’s Western Regional Climate Center explains.