Posted on Categories Agriculture/Food System, WaterTags , , Leave a comment on Healdsburg gets OK to use treated wastewater for vineyards

Healdsburg gets OK to use treated wastewater for vineyards

Clark Mason, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

After months of delay, Healdsburg finally has approval to use reclaimed water from its sewer treatment plant to irrigate vineyards in a wide swath beyond the city.

The program, intended to offset the use of potable water during the drought, will allow for the irrigation of up to 25,000 acres in the Alexander, Dry Creek and upper Russian River valleys.

“There will be trucks ready to take the water beginning Tuesday, at 10 a.m.,” said Mayor Jim Wood.

The near-drinkable water can only be used for drip irrigation of vines and not frost control. Its use will be subject to monitoring to make sure there is no runoff, or potential infiltration of groundwater, something that has concerned some landowners in Dry Creek.

via Healdsburg gets OK to use treated wastewater for vineyards | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & EnergyLeave a comment on Climate change is already affecting all of U.S., report says

Climate change is already affecting all of U.S., report says

Kathleen Hennessey and Neela Banerjee, THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Climate change is already being felt in every region of the United States, resulting in hotter summers, shorter winters, extreme precipitation, even worsening allergies that will change the way Americans live, according to a government report released Tuesday.
The National Climate Assessment mandated by Congress and published every four years to guide policymakers, offers sobering details of climate change’s immediate effects.
us-temperature-change-20140506
“The overall message is that climate change is happening right now – we can’t think of this as an issue for future generations,” said Radley Horton, one of the lead authors and a climate scientist at the Earth Institute’s Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University. “We know that the effects on ecosystems, infrastructure, economics and public health are going to grow.”
The report sketches out grim scenarios for different regions. The Northeast and Midwest, for instance, would see many more heavy downpours that could lead to flooding and erosion. The Southwest, including California, would be more prone to extreme heat, drought and wildfire, while the Northwest could see widespread tree die-off because of wildfire, insect outbreaks and disease.
via Climate change is already affecting all of U.S., report says – Wire Lifestyle – The Sacramento Bee.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , Leave a comment on Climate change: Pacific Ocean acidity dissolving shells of key species

Climate change: Pacific Ocean acidity dissolving shells of key species

Paul Rogers, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

In a troubling new discovery, scientists studying ocean waters off California, Oregon and Washington have found the first evidence that increasing acidity in the ocean is dissolving the shells of a key species of tiny sea creature at the base of the food chain.

The animals, a type of free-floating marine snail known as pteropods, are an important food source for salmon, herring, mackerel and other fish in the Pacific Ocean. Those fish are eaten not only by millions of people every year, but also by a wide variety of other sea creatures, from whales to dolphins to sea lions.

If the trend continues, climate change scientists say, it will imperil the ocean environment.

"These are alarm bells," said Nina Bednarsek, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle who helped lead the research. "This study makes us understand that we have made an impact on the ocean environment to the extent where we can actually see the shells dissolving right now."

Scientists from NOAA and Oregon State University found that in waters near the West Coast shoreline, 53 percent of the tiny floating snails had shells that were severely dissolving — double the estimate from 200 years ago.

via Climate change: Pacific Ocean acidity dissolving shells of key species – San Jose Mercury News.

Posted on Categories Water, WildlifeTags , , , , , Leave a comment on Turning water Into wine: An “unreasonable use” of water in California?

Turning water Into wine: An “unreasonable use” of water in California?

Richard Frank, LEGAL PLANET

On May 1, a California appellate court in San Francisco heard arguments in a case that is likely to affect how broadly–or narrowly–California’s State Water Resources Control Board can apply the state’s most powerful water law.

The case, Light v. California State Water Resources Control Board, involves a challenge by wine grape growers in the Russian River watershed of Northern California to a SWRCB rule limiting growers’ ability to divert water from the Russian River in order to spray their vineyards for frost protection purposes.  The Board adopted its “Frost Protection Regulation” in 2008, following complaints from federal wildlife officials that the grape growers‘ water diversions during cold spells resulted in rapid lowering of Russian River water levels and the resulting death of migrating salmon in the river.  (Federal biologists estimate that the growers’ 2008 diversions resulted in the deaths of 25,000 salmon, several species of which are threatened with extinction.)

The Board expressly relied on Article X, section 2 of the California Constitution in issuing and enforcing the regulatory limits on Russian River water diverted for frost protection purposes.  Enacted in 1928, Article X, section 2 proscribes the “waste or unreasonable use” of California’s water resources.  The Board cited this constitutional provision as authority to apply its Frost Protection Ordinance to almost all diverters of water from the Russian River and its tributaries, as well as to hydrologically connected groundwater.

via Turning Water Into Wine: An “Unreasonable Use” of Water in California? | Legal Planet.

Posted on Categories WaterTags , , Leave a comment on Well water under strain across California

Well water under strain across California

Matt Weiser, SACRAMENTO BEE

A new analysis of groundwater levels across California has found historically low water levels in thousands of wells in all areas of the state, another telltale of the drought’s intensity.

The report by the California Department of Water Resources, released Wednesday, was ordered by Gov. Jerry Brown as part of his January emergency drought proclamation. It analyzes thousands of wells across the state, based on available data submitted by well drillers and owners.

In examining about 5,400 wells that represent a subset of the total, about half have shrunk since 2008 to water levels lower than any seen over the preceding century.

The San Joaquin Valley is particularly hard hit, where wells are commonly used to irrigate large farms when water diverted from rivers becomes unavailable. Many of those wells have groundwater levels as much as 100 feet lower than historical norms, according to the report. Many wells in the Sacramento Valley, the Sonoma Valley and the Los Angeles basin have shrunk as much as 50 feet.

via Report: Well water under strain across California – Our Region – The Sacramento Bee.

Posted on Categories Sustainable Living, WaterTags , Leave a comment on Is voluntary water conservation enough?

Is voluntary water conservation enough?

Brenda Adelman, Russian River Watershed Protection Committee

SCWA’s conservation goal was to motivate people to cut 20% of their water use voluntarily. If successful, we would expect the result to be a 20% drop in contractor water sales. But at least five of the eight prime contractors purchased MORE water in the 2013-2014 water year than in 2012-2013.

Giving credit where it is due, because of Sonoma County Water Agency’s extensive year long media campaign calling for voluntary conservation, it’s hard to imagine that many water users in our County do not know we have been experiencing the worst drought of recorded history, even when substantial rain finally poured on our parched area in February and March.

Thankfully, after only 8.5” of rain in Santa Rosa during all of 2013 (normal is 32”), we were graced with over 17” rainfall so far this year and maybe more to come. (Numbers higher in western Sonoma County.)  Lake Mendocino, with water supply pool less than one third full at the end of January, is now at 50%, still causing severe water shortages north of Dry Creek, including Healdsburg.

Lake Sonoma, upon which SCWA contractors and the lower river depends, contains triple Lake Mendocino’s capacity, and is at 76.43% as of late April. SCWA’s on-going vigorous media campaign assures that water saving messages continue to be heard.  While we are in a better water supply position for 2014 compared to last year regarding Lake Sonoma, the drought has provided a wake up call about water supply limits and has stimulated new considerations for the management of water resources with more future shortages in mind. 

via Is Voluntary Conservation Enough?.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable LivingTags , , Leave a comment on Sonoma Clean Power flips switch for first customers

Sonoma Clean Power flips switch for first customers

Eric Gneckow, NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL

After three years of planning, Sonoma County’s new renewable energy-focused electricity provider, Sonoma Clean Power, on Thursday officially began serving its first group of more than 20,000 customers.

It marks the second launch of service in California for a community choice aggregation–type power agency, a model that purchases power on behalf of its customers and delivers it over the power grid largely maintained by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The start of Marin Clean Energy in Marin County in May 2010 was the first.

Officials in the Sonoma County effort celebrated a higher-than-expected rate of enrollment during a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing Sonoma Clean Power Authority on May 1.

“Today’s the day,” said Susan Gorin, chair of the agency’s board of directors and a Sonoma County supervisor. “It’s going to be a day of celebration.”

via Sonoma Clean Power flips switch for first customers – North Bay Business Journal – North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties – Archive.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Public workshop for Sebastopol general plan update

Public workshop for Sebastopol general plan update

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The City of Sebastopol is launching its general plan revision with a community “visioning” workshop Wednesday night.

The session is designed to introduce the public to the process and solicit comments on goals and priorities that should guide future development and growth.The workshop also will introduce the city’s 12-member General Plan Advisory Committee, which was appointed to provide a forum for discussion and to help sift through the issues and policies to be incorporated into the revised plan.

Mayor Robert Jacob said the general plan rewrite provides an opportunity for the city to codify, for instance, a strong community interest in promoting pedestrian and bicycle travel in a town currently ruled by the automobile.

That may mean strategic placement of “human friendly” pathways, re-evaluation of the one-way traffic scheme through downtown or defining limits to the city’s core and other commercial zones, he said.

via Sebastopol readies general plan update | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Agriculture/Food System, Climate Change & Energy, Sonoma CoastTags , , Leave a comment on Oyster company balances demand, climate change impact

Oyster company balances demand, climate change impact

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

With consumers wolfing down millions of its shellfish every year and clamoring for more, Hog Island Oyster Co. should be sitting pretty on the east shore of scenic Tomales Bay, a bountiful estuary abutting Point Reyes National Seashore.

Co-founder John Finger, a surfer-entrepreneur with a degree in marine biology, decided to farm the mile-wide and 15-mile-long bay due to its productivity and proximity to the Bay Area’s food-savvy multitudes.

Seeded by a $500 family loan in 1983, the oyster farm has prospered — propelled by a nationwide yen for raw oysters on the half shell — into a business that sells about $10 million worth of bivalves a year, employing about 120 workers who feel a bit like family themselves.

via Ground zero for future of oyster farming | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & EnergyTags , Leave a comment on A battle is looming over renewable energy, and fossil fuel interests are losing

A battle is looming over renewable energy, and fossil fuel interests are losing

Steven Mufson and Tom Hamburger, THE WASHINGTON POST

In state capitals across the country, legislators are debating proposals to roll back environmental rules, prodded by industry and advocacy groups eager to curtail regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gases.

The measures, which have been introduced in about 18 states, lie at the heart of an effort to expand to the state level the battle over fossil fuel and renewable energy. The new rules would trim or abolish climate mandates — including those that require utilities to use solar and wind energy, as well as proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules that would reduce carbon emissions from power plants.

But the campaign — despite its backing from powerful groups such as Americans for Prosperity — has run into a surprising roadblock: the growing political clout of renewable-energy interests, even in rock-ribbed Republican states such as Kansas.

The stage has been set for what one lobbyist called “trench warfare” as moneyed interests on both sides wrestle over some of the strongest regulations for promoting renewable energy. And the issues are likely to surface this fall in the midterm elections, as well, with California billionaire Tom Steyer pouring money into various gubernatorial and state and federal legislative races to back candidates who support tough rules curbing pollution.

via A battle is looming over renewable energy, and fossil fuel interests are losing – The Washington Post.