October begins water year with prospect of tighter restrictions [Los Angeles Times]
As
the state ends the fourth-driest water year on record with no guarantee of
significant rain and snowfall this winter, Californians face the prospect of
stricter rationing and meager irrigation deliveries for agriculture. California
begins a new October-September water year Wednesday with total reservoir
storage at 36% of capacity, or 57% of average for this time of year. Although
some private domestic wells `have dried up and a scattering of isolated little
communities are in danger of running out of supplies, the drought's effect on
most Californians has so far been modest. Another rainless winter would
probably change that.
Farmers
convince supervisors to postpone ag development freeze [Bakersfield
Californian]
Kern
County supervisors, feeling heat from agricultural developers in the Indian
Wells Valley, postponed an emergency ordinance that would have temporarily
frozen ag development in the water poor desert region. But Supervisor Mick
Gleason said change is coming to the region and people need to be ready for it.
The aquifer under the Indian Wells Valley has been slowly drained by decades of
pumping, he said, and recent changes in state law are forcing the county to
take a hard look at agricultural development that would empty it faster….But,
facing backlash from farmers, real estate business executives and Ridgecrest
News-Review Publisher Pam Farris, Gleason and the other four supervisors agreed
to take up the ordinance again in 30 days after a more robust discussion of the
ordinance in the Ridgecrest community.
County
begins look into water supplies for today and the future [Santa Maria Times]
On
orders from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, the county's Water
Agency began the lengthy process of studying local water supplies on Tuesday
evening, asking the public to pinpoint options that could keep the area afloat
into the future amid concerns about the ongoing drought….The Long Term
Supplemental Water Supply Alternatives Report, however, will look at different
strategies for boosting the county's water supply through 2040, specifically
focusing on the reliability of different sources and the costs involved,
according to Naftaly, who opened his second public meeting of the week on this
topic. Possible strategies discussed at the meeting in Santa Barbara include using
desalination, modifying reservoirs, using recycled water and creating more
surface water storage so heavy rains can be trapped. The report also will
likely address groundwater recharge and banking, using nonlocal supplies and
new ways of using State Water Project supplies.
Salmon
recovery plan IDs Humboldt marijuana cultivation as threat [Eureka
Times-Standard]
An
extensive coho salmon recovery strategy released Tuesday by the NOAA Fisheries
Service names marijuana cultivation in Humboldt County and the surrounding
region as a threat to the dwindling species. From damage to streams and rivers
caused by clear-cutting and illegal road grading to water diversions and
chemical pollution associated with marijuana grows, the action plan calls for
steps to address many of those issues alongside hundreds of other recovery
strategies for salmon populations in an area stretching from the Mattole River
near Petrolia to southern Oregon, said Julie Weedly, NOAA recovery coordinator
for the Northern California office….One of the many threats is diverting water
for agricultural purposes, including marijuana, she said….The spotlight on
marijuana stemmed from a California Department of Fish and Wildlife study that
estimated pot growers suck millions of gallons of water from salmon streams.
"Logging is regulated. Vineyards are regulated. It is time this industry
was willing to be regulated," said Scott Bauer, an environmental scientist
on the watershed enforcement team of the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife and lead author of the study.
New
law protects female field workers from sexual harassment [KXTV Sacramento]
California
farm workers welcome a new law that will protect women from sexual harassment
on the job. It's one of the many new laws Gov. Jerry Brown signed this week
before Tuesday's midnight deadline….Senate Bill 1087 requires agricultural
supervisors to take sexual harassment prevention training. Many who work the
fields are calling the move a step towards battling a longtime problem….SB
1087, which was signed on Sunday, came as a response to reports of frequent
sexual assaults against women -- including undocumented immigrants -- who work
in the fields. These women were often afraid to report these crimes, worried
that calling the authorities could get them deported. Brown signed the
legislation that would not only mandate training for supervisors, it would
require all employees to be TRAINED when hired and at least once every two
years.
Spraying
for Asian citrus psyllids begins in Tulare [Visalia Times-Delta]
In
mid-September, two psyllids were found in separate central Tulare
neighborhoods, which prompted the CDFA to take action to see if more are there
and to kill them off….In fact, on Tuesday a separate CDFA work crew began going
to the first of more than 1,300 homes with citrus trees. Crews will spray and
chemically treat the roots of the citrus trees to kill any psyllids. It may
seem a lot of fuss in light of finding just two tiny insects, but officials
from the CDFA and California's citrus industry say the threat of the psyllid is
enormous….Growers and government officials are particularly concerned about the
threat here because Tulare County is the top citrus-producing county in the
U.S., with commercial sales of Valencias and navel oranges alone totaling more
than $854.6 million last year.
Ag
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