Monthly Archives: March 2023

ECOS Water Committee Issues List

March 2023

Here is a list of regional water issues. Click here to view the responses of the ECOS Water Committee.

Regional Long Term Water Issues

  1. Regional hydrology
  2. Regional water supply reliability
  3. American River health

General Activities of the ECOS Water Committee

  1. Water Forum participation
  2. Groundwater sustainability planning
  3. Folsom Reservoir operations
  4. Urban Water Management Planning (UWMP)
  5. Climate Action Planning (CAP)

Near Term Committee Priorities and Issues

  1. Completing Water Forum 2 negotiations
  2. Regional water planning and groundwater management coordination
  3. Local Native Plants as a climate adaptation and water conservation strategy
  4. Federally Authorized Regional Groundwater Bank development
  5. Groundwater Sustainability Plan annual reports
  6. Operations of Folsom Reservoir
  7. Flood Control and SAFCA’s excess storm water management projects
  8. Use of the Folsom South Canal for groundwater recharge
  9. Cosumnes Subbasin overdraft condition
  10. Looking for multibenefit projects and funding sources to address the Cosumnes Subbasin overdraft condition
  11. Regional Conjunctive Use
  12. Monitoring New Water Supply Projects
  13. Demand Management 
  14. Equitable Rates and Social Justice
  15. Water Rights Transfers Outside of the Region
  16. Water Issues Related to Habitat

Click here to learn more about the ECOS Water Committee.

ECOS Letter to State Lands Commission re gas pipeline

On March 27, 2023, ECOS submitted a comment letter to the State Lands Commission on the potential impacts, burdens, or benefits resulting from the issuance of a 20-year lease renewal for a horizontal directionally drilled, 12-inch-diameter highpressure natural gas pipeline lease No. 8450, between Brannan Island in Sacramento County and the Montezuma Hills in Solano County.

Click here to read the letter.

Climate Conversations: Tipping Points 3/30

Join us for a conversation about how to prepare for the consequences of abrupt changes in human and natural systems, and how to encourage positive social tipping points.

Thursday, March 30, 2023 12:00pm PST

With continued climate change, elements of the Earth system may reach tipping points—abrupt, dramatic changes with irreversible consequences—like the rapid collapse of ice sheets or dieback of the Amazon rainforest. Tipping points also exist in human systems: devastation from extreme weather and major stresses on food, energy, and water could accumulate and tilt society into a radically different state with new dynamics, including mass migration or major economic shifts. However, tipping points in human systems can also be positive and stem from rapidly spreading norms, behaviors, and technologies, such as how battery storage could tip the power sector irreversibly towards renewable energy. Laurie Goering (Thomson Reuters Foundation) will moderate a conversation between Ilona M. Otto (University of Graz) and Rachael Shwom (Rutgers University) about the tipping points we are approaching, how to prepare for those we may reach, and how to encourage positive social tipping points for action on climate change.

The conversation will be webcast on the Climate Conversations: Tipping Points webpage on Thursday, March 30, 2023 from 12:00 to 1:15pm PST. Closed captioning will be provided. The conversation will include questions from the audience and will be recorded and available to view on the page after the event.

Click here to learn more and register.

Sacramento Region’s Water Future 3/29

At the ECOS MTG/Board on March 29, 2023, join us for a presentation, Sacramento Region’s Water Future.

Jessica Law, Executive Director of the Sacramento Water Forum and Ashlee Casey, the Forum’s Senior Engineer are joining the ECOS membership and guests on March 29 at 6:00 pm to present and discuss the results of a Water Forum Ad Hoc Technical Team GAP Analysis Report. This Report is an important step in the Water Forum’s efforts to revise the current Water Forum Agreement to accommodate the Region’s anticipated water demand growth and potential impacts from a changing climate. Ashlee managed the staff and consultant effort to develop the Report. Jessica and Ashlee will describe the findings of the report including the significant changes in Northern California hydrology brought about by the increasing temperatures that are projected to occur over the next decades. These warmer temperatures and shifting global conditions will cause longer and more frequent droughts and will shift the region’s runoff pattern earlier in the season. Coupled with planned increases in water use, our region will likely experience significant water management and environmental challenges.

Some of the Report’s findings indicate that the greater Sacramento area’s future water supply reliability will be reduced as the result of both planned growth and increasing temperatures caused by climate change. These rising temperatures will reduce the “snowpack reservoir” and increase the probability that in some years Folsom Reservoir will be at or near deadpool conditions. Surface water modeling of these impacts indicates lower flows in the Lower American River that will affect our ability to preserve the fishery, wildlife, recreational, and aesthetic values of the lower American River causing the region’s salmonid species to encounter near‐fatal or fatal conditions in many years primarily due to higher water temperatures.

Completion of the GAP Analysis Report is a significant step in the Water Forum 2 negotiation process. Water Forum members are beginning work on discussions and proposed actions for a new Water Forum Agreement to address the issues described in the Report. Jessica will provide insights into some of the areas the Water Forum members are discussing, and the process being used by the Forum to reach agreement on a new Water Forum Agreement 2. One that provides a roadmap for the region’s water future.

Join us on March 29 at 6:00 pm to learn about the GAP Analysis Report findings. Bring your questions and suggestions on what we should do to provide a reliable and safe water supply for the region’s economic health and planned development through 2040 and beyond; and preserve the fishery, wildlife, recreational, and aesthetic values of the lower American River.

Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155
To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155