Predator fish that anglers love faces uncertain future in California water wars [Sacramento Bee]
In California’s never-ending water and fish wars, the striped bass doesn’t get nearly the publicity as its celebrity counterparts, the endangered Chinook salmon and Delta smelt….Next month, the five-member California Fish and Game Commission could decide to remove a decades-old state policy that sought to dramatically increase the numbers of striped bass to benefit the fishing industry. The vote comes after years of lobbying from farming groups and urban water associations that have sought to reduce the numbers of hungry striped bass to benefit salmon and smelt….Anglers have swarmed commission meetings in recent months protesting the proposal.
https://www.sacbee.com/sports/outdoors/hunting-fishing/article239531963.html
Editorial: Newsom’s delta tunnel plan could work — but only as part of a more comprehensive water effort [Los Angeles Times]
…Newsom promised to go to court to fight Trump’s move to further endanger iconic species like salmon. It’s high time to follow through. There should be stronger standards for the state permits that allow pumping in order to protect the delta ecosystem. Californians should demand stronger standards for the volume of water allowed to move unimpeded through our great rivers to keep the delta flushed of toxins and to keep residents, as well as the environment, healthy….Then, and only then, it might be time to plan an underground aqueduct, or tunnel, or conveyance, as a necessary part of a comprehensive program to ensure California’s limited water supply is allocated wisely and equitably.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-01-26/newsom-delta-water-tunnel-trump
New water recycling projects will help battle Central Coast’s seawater invasion [Monterey Herald]
For decades, California’s coastal aquifers have been plagued by invading seawater, turning pristine wells into salty ruins. But the state’s coastal water agencies now plan to get more aggressive in holding back the invasion by injecting millions of gallons of treated sewage and other purified wastewater deep underground….More than two decades ago, the Salinas Valley won a victory in its long-running war against seawater intrusion after farmers there experienced first-hand the damage it could do….As a result, the saltwater intrusion slowed and the crops recovered in the northern stretch of the fertile Salinas Valley.
Water agency adopts groundwater plan [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
The Yuba Water Agency, along with other local groundwater sustainability agencies like Cordua Irrigation District and the city of Marysville, recently developed an official groundwater sustainability plan that outlines how to best utilize the county’s groundwater subbasins in a sustainable manner….The Yuba Subbasins Water Management Plan, approved last week by the water agency and set to be discussed by the other agencies in the coming weeks, is one of the first completed plans in California and is two years ahead of the state’s deadline….To help with the process, a Groundwater Sustainability Committee comprised of 17 local districts and regional stakeholders was formed….Before the plan can be implemented, it must first be adopted by Cordua and Marysville.
Opinion: Trump administration’s WOTUS definition ends decades of confusion, federal overreach [Fresno Bee]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army fulfilled yet another one of President Donald Trump’s promises by issuing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule on Thursday….The new rule protects the environment and our waterways while respecting the states and private property owners….Now, thanks to our new rule, our nation’s farmers, ranchers, developers, manufacturers and other landowners can finally refocus on providing the food, shelter and other commodities that Americans rely on every day, instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on attorneys and consultants to determine whether waters on their own land fall under the control of the federal government.
https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/article239612438.html
Woman dies at raisin processing plant after clothes get caught in machine [Visalia Times-Delta]
A farmworker died tragically Friday morning after her clothes got caught in machinery at a raisin packing plant, authorities said. Fresno County deputies say Yaneth Lopez Valladares, 33, was clearing debris from machinery at Del Rey Packing Company when a piece of loose clothing became trapped in the equipment used to process raisins….Cal/OSHA, the state agency tasked with investigating workplace safety and job hazards, now leads the investigation….Agriculture work remains among the most dangerous in the nation, with a rate of 11 fatalities per 100,000 workers — five times the state average — according to a 2018 Cal/OSHA report.
