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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — In the face of the climate crisis, the Newsom Administration announced actions to protect water supplies when it’s dry and to capture more water during wet seasons.
In addition to investing billions of dollars to boost water supplies and drastically expanding the state’s storage capacity, the updated California Water Plan demonstrates how planning at a watershed scale provides the most comprehensive solutions for climate resilient water supplies for all Californians.
This plan is directly tied into Tuesday’s snow survey, a key indicator of expected runoff that this plan helps both state and local governments capture and store.
It recorded 64 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 27.5 inches, which is 113 percent of average for this location and above average overall.
“In the past few years alone, we’ve gone from extreme drought to some of the most intense rain and snow seasons on record — showcasing the need for us to constantly adapt to how we manage our water supplies,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “The water plans and strategies we’re implementing are each targeted components of our overall effort to deliver clean water to Californians by capturing, storing, and conserving more water throughout the state. This plan is a critical component of that effort.”
Here are just a couple examples of what California has implemented since the last Water Plan, highlighting its importance:
• Created a Flood-Managed Aquifer Recharge program, capturing and spreading flood flows to recharge aquifers – boosting the state’s water capture and storage abilities.
• Integrated climate science and research to help vulnerable communities defend against floods and drought.
This plan is a critical component of how California plans to capture more water, store it in reservoirs, replenish and recharge groundwater aquifers, protect against floods, and more. It’s directly tied to the state’s other water strategies:
• Water Resilience Portfolio. Outlines 142 state actions to protect our water supply from climate impacts by boosting water supplies, restoring natural ecosystems, and building infrastructure to store and move more water.
• Water Supply Strategy. Hotter and drier weather could diminish our water supply up to 10% by 2040, and this strategy offsets that loss – adding enough storage, recycling, and smarter water use to supply 8.4 million households every year.
These plans and reports are all intertwined, serving as critical blueprints for managing different parts of California’s complex water supply system – the Supply Strategy is offsetting the 10% loss we’re facing, the Resilience Portfolio boosts water supplies on top of that by building more and restoring natural water sources, and the Water Plan guides California's water management and conservation.
California’s other actions to boost water supplies include:
• Nearly $9 billion in water investments over the last three years. Track water projects in your community here.
• Expanded water supply and storage through groundwater recharge and other projects by over 400 billion gallons.
• Streamlining projects and limiting litigation delays to spur new and improved water infrastructure.
• Large-scale environmental restoration, including the removal of four dams from the Klamath River – the nation’s largest dam removal project.
More is needed to expand California’s water supplies. During this year's storms alone, the Delta Conveyance Project could’ve captured enough water to supply 9.4 million people; the streamlined Sites Reservoir Project could hold enough water for three million households’ yearly usage.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The city of Lakeport is the only place in Lake County where safe and sane fireworks can be bought, sold and used for a four-day period each July.
The city previously had attempted to stop the sales of safe and sane fireworks. However, in November 2009, city voters approved Measure C, which requires the city to allow the sales by a group of designated nonprofits.
At the council’s March 19 meeting, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said a new Assembly bill, AB 1403, which went into effect on Jan. 1, allows cities to implement a 2% surcharge, or permit fee, on gross sales in order to recover more of the actual costs to respond to and deal with fireworks impacts.
“There’s a lot of different work that goes into dealing with that,” Rasmussen said of the fireworks sales and use.
Rasmussen explained that the city’s handling of fireworks begins with the city clerk processing the permits by the nonprofits to sell them, then work in the field to enforce rules, setting up a special discharge area on Fourth Street during the Independence Day festivities and, finally, cleanup of the debris left behind by the fireworks.
“Annually the costs just for police and public works — not counting any other department — is between $25,000 and $30,000 a year for us to deal with and respond to fireworks issues,” Rasmussen told the council.
Measure C allowed for a 5% surcharge. However, Rasmussen said that doesn’t come close to covering the city’s costs to deal with fireworks.
Over the past six years, Rasmussen said the 5% surcharge averaged $4,000 to $6,000 annually. Then, in 2023, that amount went up to $11,200 because one nonprofit vendor did very well and sold more than previous years. Also, the Lakeport Police Department worked with TNT Fireworks and Revell Communications, who voluntarily gave another 2% over that 5% surcharge.
Rasmussen said last year the city had planned to hire a private company to do fireworks enforcement due to not having capacity. However, that contractor couldn’t provide the necessary insurance documents.
The city has put that additional 2% from last year aside to use this year, Rasmussen said.
“We only recover a very small percentage of our costs to deal with the impacts,” he said.
Rasmussen reported that all current fireworks permit holders — Clear Lake High School Boosters, Lake County Channel Cats, Lake County Realtors Scholarship & Community Fund and Terrace School Parent Teacher Organization — were notified of the proposed fireworks sales permit fee for sales within the city and were invited to give public input.
Dennis Revell of Revell Communications, who represents TNT Fireworks, said the fireworks company and the nonprofits who sell the fireworks in the city support the new surcharge.
Jen Richardson, representing the Clear Lake High Boosters and Terrace Middle School Parent Teacher Organization, confirmed those groups also are on board.
The only person speaking against the surcharge was business owner Nancy Ruzicka, who had been a proponent of the ballot measure to allow fireworks sales in the city. She said it would dip into the nonprofits’ profits.
District 4 Supervisor Michael Green — also a former Lakeport City Council member — said he respectfully disagreed with Ruzicka, that the city needed to be able to cover the impacts. He called fireworks sales in the city “an attractive nuisance.”
Green — referencing the city’s new Xabatin Park — said there is now twice as much park area to patrol as before. He said he wasn’t swayed by Ruzicka’s claims, although he understands the difficulties of fundraising.
The surcharge, he added, “in no way is a responsive to the larger issue of the disconnect between the city's policy and the county's policy on fireworks, and I know we're not here to talk about a ballot measure that would be needed to change that but that's front and center on my mind, and has been for several years.”
Lakeport Fire Chief Patrick Reitz said the surcharge is needed to help the city. He recounted how last year outside and partner agencies came in to help assist the city with enforcement, which he called “a tremendous effort.”
Reitz said they did a lot of confiscations, with a number of citations and a handful of arrests resulting. He said it takes a very big team to make that happen.
He also clarified that the fire district does not receive any of the mitigation funds. “An event like this is an out of pocket expense for the district.”
Reitz said they tried to trace the illegal fireworks confiscated in the city to find out where they were purchased. He said they found that quite a few of them had been purchased in Colusa County on “sovereign nation property,” referencing tribal lands. Some also came from outside of the state.
He encouraged the council to accept the surcharge, adding, “I don't see a significant impact to the nonprofits.”
Mayor Michael Froio said the surcharge would help the city offset the costs, and Councilwoman Stacey Mattina agreed that it would help.
Councilman Brandon Disney moved to adopt the resolution establishing a 2% permit fee for permit processing inspections, public awareness and education, campaigns and fire operations and suppression efforts related to the sale of safe insane fireworks, with councilman Kenny Parlet seconding and the council voting 5-0.
Also at the March 19 meeting, the council met new city employees Bryan Carlson, Mel Olea, Jen Baker and Michelle Brown, adopted a resolution to submit an application to the California State Department of Housing and Community Development for funding under the HOME Investment Partnership Program and got a progress update from staff on accomplishments and progress toward the fulfillment of the city’s 2023-24 departmental goals.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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UPDATE: The Clearlake Police Department reported that she has been located.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department is asking for the community’s help in locating a missing woman.
Police are seeking information about 47-year-old Leslie Likens.
Likens was last known to be in Oregon on her way to California.
She is described as a white female adult, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 130 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes.
If you have any information regarding her whereabouts please contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 1 for dispatch.
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The legislation is intended to help address the ongoing insurance crisis in California and other states, as the rising frequency and intensity of natural disasters has led insurers to raise rates and, in several cases, exit certain markets entirely.
“Property insurance has quickly become one of the single biggest issues I hear about in my district. People can’t get covered: either the available options are completely unaffordable, or there are no options available at all. It’s an untenable situation — which is why this legislation is necessary,” said Thompson. “By incentivizing homeowners to mitigate disaster risks on their property, we aim to bring insurers back into the market and bring rates back into more affordable territory.”
“Homeowners must be able to harden their property as they see fit, especially as the risk of wildfires due to poor forest management escalates,” said LaMalfa. “With this bill, we’re bolstering resilience, but this will also hopefully reduce overall insurance rates and bring back suppliers that have left California entirely because of the risks.”
The legislation includes four main provisions.
The first creates a grant program, administered through state governments, through which individual households in designated disaster-prone regions (with certain limitations) are eligible for up to $10,000 for specified disaster resiliency work on their homes.
The second and third provisions (Sections 3 and 4 of the legislation) mirror existing legislation (H.R. 4070) stipulating that payments from state-run disaster resiliency programs and payments from various federal emergency agricultural programs are not considered income for federal tax purposes.
The final section, which also mirrors legislation previously introduced by Rep. Thompson, provides a 30% tax credit for qualified disaster risk mitigation activities conducted by individuals or businesses. The credit is meant to complement the grant program by providing meaningful assistance to larger property owners for whom mitigation activity costs would far exceed $10,000.
The text of the legislation is published below.
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