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The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has announced final approval for integrated water management funding including $8.2 million for the North Coast region and $30.1 million for the Bay Area region.
The North Coast plan designates $1 million for the Sonoma County Water Agency’s Copeland Creek project. The Bay Area plan includes $765,000 for local water conservation programs and $2 million for the North Bay Water Reuse Authority.
The money is part of Proposition 84, which provides funding for projects that assist local public agencies in meeting the long-term water needs of the state, including the delivery of safe drinking water and the protection of water quality and the environment.
The $1 million awarded for the Copeland Creek Project will fund the first phase of a multi-phase effort to improve flood protection and fish habitat, and reduce the sediment deposited in the Copeland Creek Watershed.
Final Estuary Management Project Environmental Review Certified and Project Approved
On August 16, the Sonoma County Water Agency Board of Directors (Board) certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and approved a project to change the way the Russian River estuary is managed between May 15 and October 15.
The purpose of the project – which includes a new way of managing the sandbar that sometimes closes the mouth of the Russian River, where it flows into the Pacific Ocean near Jenner – is to improve habitat conditions for young salmon species, particularly steelhead, while minimizing flood risk. The changes in estuary management are required by the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Russian River Biological Opinion.
“Closed lagoons at river mouths are a critically important habitat for juvenile steelhead in many coastal California watersheds,” said NMFS biologist Dr. William Hearn. “The Russian River once had one of the largest steelhead runs in California; its populations are now threatened with extinction.”
Read more: New management plan for Russian River's mouth approved
Just how bad was that storm last March?
California's Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) has just released a compelling 9-minute documentary that tells the story of this year's spring storm and flooding. The video, embedded below, shows how a persistent low pressure system parked itself over the Pacific Ocean, and spent 12 days pushing relentless bursts of heavy rains, paralyzing snow and high winds across the state. When it was all over,the resylt was more than $50 million in damages that left dozens of major roads impassable, and the town of Capitola flooded. Gov. Jerry Brown was forced to declare a state of emergency for 17 counties. The status of the federal response to California's aid request is a kicker near the end of the video.
"It's difficult for people to appreciate the sheer magnitude of this disaster because of the wide spread affects in different parts of the state," said Mike Dayton, Acting Secretary of Cal EMA. "We decided the best way to educate people about this disaster was to document the impacts on video and talk to experts who explain how unusual, and powerful, this storm system really was."
The video includes as-it-happened video footage of a major landslide on Nelson Road in Santa Cruz County, as well as home-video of flood waters raging through downtown Capitola, inundating their police department and emergency operations center. It also features interviews with an expert from the National Weather Service in Monterey; officials from Santa Cruz County, the most severely affected area in the state, and California emergency managers.
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The Climate Protection Campaign has just released a new video explaining their work and unveiling a new initiative to help achieve Sonoma County's goal of dropping emmissions levels to 25% below 1990 levels by 2015.
The Campaign is leading efforts to create a sustainable local model for energy conservation that other communities can follow. Toward that end, they’ve just announcedtheir new “Real-Time Ride Sharing Program” which pairs drivers and riders using Smart Phone technology, and provides stipends for the drivers.
The Sonoma County Transit Authority has put out an RFP to provide and customize real-time ridesharing software for the pilot program. Here’s the link for more information: http://climateprotection.org/request-for-proposals-real-time-ridesharing-software
Watch the Video:
Denise Cadman, a biologist and educator working for the City of Santa Rosa and a long time supporter of the Laguna Foundation, is requesting your stories and art for a Laguna Bird Anthology project. If you would consider contributing or want to know more about the project please read her invitation below.