BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 758 Hearing Date: April 28,
2015
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|Author: |Block | | |
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|Version: |April 21, 2015 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Dennis O'Connor |
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Subject: Atmospheric Rivers Research and Mitigation Program.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The Natural Resources Agency's (NRA's) mission is to "restore,
protect and manage the state's natural, historical and cultural
resources for current and future generations using creative
approaches and solutions based on science, collaboration and
respect for all the communities and interests involved." It
does this largely through the 7 departments, 2 museums, 17
boards and commissions, and 9 conservancies organized under it.
One of the departments under the NRA is the Department of Water
Resources (DWR). DWR's mission is "to manage the water
resources of California in cooperation with other agencies, to
benefit the State's people, and to protect, restore, and enhance
the natural and human environments." Among the various divisions
and offices with DWR is the Hydrology and Flood Operations
Office. That office is responsible for directing the DWR's
flood and water supply forecasting operations, hydrology and
climatology studies, emergency flood operations, and flood
control project inspections and encroachment permitting. The
Office also includes the California State Climatologist.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would establish within the NRA the Atmospheric Rivers
Research and Mitigation Program (program). Under the program,
the NRA would be required to research the causes and effects of
atmospheric rivers, and take all actions within its existing
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authority to capture water generated by atmospheric rivers in
order to increase the water supply and reliability of water
resources in the state and to operate reservoirs in a manner
that improves flood protection in the state.
The bill would also create the Atmospheric Rivers Research and
Mitigation Fund for the deposit of moneys to be expended by the
NRA for the program.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, "California has the most variable
precipitation annually of any location in the U.S., ranging from
severe drought to major floods. Research has shown that this
variability is largely due to a weather condition known as
"atmospheric rivers" (AR). AR are responsible for 30-50% of
California's precipitation and water supply in just a handful of
days each year. Pineapple Express Storms are a common example
of AR."
"Better forecasting of ARs (from hours, to days, weeks and
seasons) has the potential to enable new levels of both water
supply and flood protection through the use of
"Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations" (FIRO). A pilot
project to test the feasibility of FIRO is being planned by an
expert committee on a vital reservoir on the Russian River, Lake
Mendocino. It is led by researchers at the Center for Western
Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California San
Diego and the Sonoma County Water Agency. This pilot project has
the potential to predict AR patterns to make intelligent water
management decisions in order to both collect additional water
supply and protect against floods. Seasonal AR outlooks are
another promising direction that could help water managers and
emergency preparedness officials anticipate and prepare for
drought and/or flood. Developing such outlooks is on the
cutting edge of science today and SB 758 ensures the state
develops a program to study AR."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None received
COMMENTS
Current Operation Of Flood Control Dams. When dams are built
for flood control, a flood operations curve is developed to
govern flood operations throughout the year. Also known as "rule
curves," these curves define how full a reservoir can be for
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each day of the year, versus how much space must be reserved for
potential flood flows. Rule curves are determined based on an
analysis of historic weather and runoff patterns and the
potential economic loss due to flooding.
Because most of California's dams were built in the mid-1900s,
the historical record used to create rule curves includes only
the first half of the 20th century. While our knowledge of and
ability to forecast weather has improved, and land use patterns
have changed significantly since the initial rule curves were
calculated, the rule curves have not typically been updated.
Indeed, one common complaint about rule curves is that they do
not take into consideration weather forecasts.
Why The Natural Resources Agency Instead Of DWR? It is not
clear why the program should be housed in the NRA instead of
DWR. As noted in the background, DWR is home for the Hydrology
and Flood Operations Office, which is responsible for directing
the DWR's flood and water supply forecasting operations,
hydrology and climatology studies. The program proposed by this
bill would seem like a natural fit within that office. (See
suggested amendment)
What Type Of Program Is Envisioned? The language of the bill is
rather broad in its direction. It is not clear from the
language whether the program would be some sort of research
grant program, a staff driven research program, or something
else.
The supporting materials provided by the bill's proponents
suggest something else - an autonomous program ostensibly run by
or through University of California San Diego/Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. Specifically, they are proposing a
Lake Mendocino FIRO study, which would include identifying,
assessing and enhancing the best science available to improve
operations to maximize food control, water supply and ecosystem
benefits.
(Lake Mendocino is located on the East Fork of the Russian River
in Mendocino County. The reservoir provides both flood control
on the Russian River and water supply to Sonoma County Water
Agency.)
Carve-Out For Scripps? The Scripps Institute includes many of
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the top researchers in atmospheric science. But, they are far
from the only California based institution investigating the
climate in general or AR specifically. Such institutions
include a number of the UCs, such as UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC
Berkeley, as well as private institutions such as Stanford,
CalTech, and JPL. If this is to be a state program, perhaps a
more open directed research program would be more appropriate.
Where Is The Funding Coming From? The bill creates the
Atmospheric Rivers Research and Mitigation Fund to fund the
program. The appropriations committee will likely explore the
potential sources for funding the program as well as the amount
of funds requested.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENT
Move the program to DWR, amend the current language into the
Water Code as a new article within Chapter 2.5 Miscellaneous
Powers of the Department (WC §§200 et seq.) to be titled Article
8. Atmospheric Rivers Research and Mitigation, and make other
conforming changes.
SUPPORT
Bay Area Flood Protection Agencies Association
Orange County Water District
Sonoma County Water Agency
OPPOSITION
None Received
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