HomeMy WebLinkAboutOak Trees Dying From Groundwater Depletion Stafford, Kathleen
From: Snyder,Ashley
Sent: Wednesday,January 4, 2017 5:17 PM
To: Stafford, Kathleen
Cc: Menchaca, Clarissa
Subject: FW: Oak Trees Dying From Groundwater Depletion
Importance: High
BOS Correspondence
AshLeU N. svuUder
Assistant Clerk of the or
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From: Bennett, Robin
Sent:Wednesday,January 04, 2017 4:05 PM
To: Snyder, Ashley
Cc: Hahn, Paul
Subject: FW: Oak Trees Dying From Groundwater Depletion
Importance: High
See the BOS correspondence from Jim Brobeck of AquAlliance, attached below.
Robin Bennett,
E'xecutive Assistant
(53o)$72-6 O4
Supervisor Doug `teeter.d.f.f.e.f.f.f.gb u tteco tin nit
.5th District Supervisor's Office,
County 91'Butte, Board J'Supervisors
747 Elliott Road
Paradise, CA. 9.5969 3939
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Subject: Oak Trees Dying From Groundwater Depletion
Dear Supervisors,
Groundwater Sustainability Plans must be based on the DWR BMP HCP (Hydrogeologic Conceptual Model)
specific to the planning area. HCM requirements include a narrative/graphical representation of the basin's
geographic setting including the relationships between people and their environment. The DWR BMP HCM
explains on pdf pg 13 that "Identification of data gaps and uncertainty within the HCM is a necessary
element in the HCM." .1.h.11 ://wwwowateirocaocaov/oirouindwateir/spm/ipdfs/BMP HCM Fuinal 20:1.6..1.2 23oipdf
Under the NSV IRWMP Butte County has identified a significant data gap and has applied for funding to
work toward protecting groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs). Project 19 is called the
Environmental Monitoring Program: "While the County has developed demand projections for municipal
and agricultural water use, the County's environmental water needs are less well quantified. Better
quantifying current and projected environmental water needs will allow the County to plan for its future
water needs and to protect the potential for beneficial, in-county use of its water resources. The County
will implement an environmental monitoring program to increase knowledge regarding environmental
resources and water demands. The purpose of the project is to design a long-term monitoring program
that can be used to 1) estimate the water demand of natural ecosystems in the County; and 2) monitor
the health of terrestrial and aquatic habitats under changing water and land-use. Data obtained from the
monitoring program will facilitate ecosystem management at the County-level through implementation of
the Plan. Implementation will include determining environmental monitoring objectives, forming an
Environmental Committee to implement the program, identifying potential funding sources, partnering
with CSU-Chico and with State and Federal agencies for ongoing environmental monitoring activities, and
using the information gathered to develop detailed estimates of environmental water needs to support in-
stream flows that sustain appropriate fishery and terrestrial habitat."
htt : insvwateir �ain.oir mdocumeints hlbirair #
An effective GSP requires filling this knowledge gap and, in order to identify habitat impacts associated
with potential changes in water management practices, a program-specific network of shallow monitor
monitoring wells must be developed to detect changes in water levels over the shallowest portion of the
aquifer.
The ongoing California drought has killed more than 100 million trees, according to a recent U.S. Forest
Service estimate. Many of these, it turns out, are very old oaks — trees that are known to be drought
resilient and have survived numerous droughts in the past.
So what happened to these oak trees?
Todd Dawson, a biology professor at U.C. Berkeley, and several colleagues investigated that issue at three
sites in Central California over the past couple of years. They found that these stately, mature oak
trees fell victim to severe groundwater depletion.
In short, even the very deep roots of ancient oak trees could no longer reach the aquifers that
have sustained them for centuries. That's because the groundwater shrank amid a combination of
historic rainfall deficits, high temperatures and unprecedented groundwater pumping by urban and
agricultural Californians.
Oaks are very resilient to drought. But the groundwater receded below their rooting zone, so they simply
died. We need to strictly regulate groundwater use. Agriculture in the state has gotten a free ride with
pumping this water, yet they are only one place where the water is needed. The over-extraction of this
water is killing some of our state's natural resources.
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Jim Brobeck, water policy analyst, AquAlliance
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