Santa Cruz County Water Digest

Following an outpouring of support, the United States Coast Guard announced it is no longer considering the removal of the Mile Buoy.

Local opposition is growing in response to a petition before the California Fish and Game Commission to establish a new marine reserve off Pleasure Point and expand an existing reserve next to Natural Bridges State Beach.

The Soquel Creek Water District board of directors voted unanimously to appoint veteran staff Melanie Mow Schumacher as general manager.

Following two decades at the Ron Duncan announced his retirement, ending his tenure at the district, including nine as general manager.

In this regular Our Ocean Backyard column, UCSC Professor Gary Griggs tells the story of the building of the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor.

Reprepresentatives Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta, and Senators Laphonza Butler and Alex Padilla sent a letter to the Biden administration are requesting full funding for the Pajaro River Levee project.

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.

The agency announced it has secured two Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which will push the construction of the Watsonville Slough System closer to fruition.

U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Zoe Lofgren, and U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, urged the prioritization of the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project in a letter to the Biden administration.

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.

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.

Mark Strudley, executive director of the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency, estimates that work will begin in late summer or early fall, starting at the Corralitos Creek Bridge.

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

When it comes to managing its coast, California is far ahead of other states in preparing for climate change, at least one environmental advocacy group says.

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.

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.

Students throughout the nation have been engaging in environmental stewardship projects, as part of NOAA’s Ocean Guardian School program.

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.

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.

After absorbing a heavy one-two punch by way of mammoth waves and a high tide, local crews and community members cleaned up the mess that was left behind while preparing for an imminent round of storm activity.

On Dec. 28, coastal storm surges damaged waterfront restaurants in Capitola and Aptos. Less than a year ago, the same businesses required lengthy repairs after similar storms caused major destruction.

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.

The California Department of Water Resources has approved building a tunnel between the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The approval could signal a new wave of legal challenges to the long-running and controversial project.