Safeguarding California: Implementation Action Plans

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | April 8th, 2016

Science tells us that the Earth’s climate is changing, and human activity is the primary cause of these changes. Climate disruption drives extreme weather events such a

Science tells us that the Earth’s climate is changing, and human activity is the primary cause of these changes. Climate disruption drives extreme weather events such as coastal storm surges, drought, wildfires, floods and heat waves. As Californians are painfully aware, these events can be devastating. It is imperative that we act to reduce the vulnerability and increase the resilience of our residents, communities and natural resources. California released its first comprehensive plan for adapting to climate change in 2009, and updated that strategy with the 2014 report Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk. Since 2009, California has experienced several of the most extreme natural events in its recorded history: severe drought, an almost non-existent Sierra Nevada winter snowpack, five of the top 20 largest forest fires ever recorded in the state in terms of acreage burned, and back-to-back years of the hottest average temperatures. According to the California Climate Tracker, the winter average minimum temperature of 2014-15 for the Sierra Nevada region was 32.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the first time this value was above water’s freezing point in 120 years of record-keeping. As greenhouse gas emissions continue to accumulate and climate disruption grows, such destructive events will become more frequent. The historical record, which once set our expectations for the traditional range of weather and other natural events, is becoming an increasingly unreliable predictor of the conditions we will face in the future. This document details how California will build the resilience of our residents, communities, and ecosystems to the emerging impacts of climate change. The ten implementation plans presented here represent a master blueprint for executing actions recommended in the 2014 report Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk, as called for in Governor Brown’s April 2015 Executive Order (B-30-15).

Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk An update to the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | July 31st, 2014

California and the world’s climate are changing, posing an escalated threat to health, well-being, nature, and property. Extreme weather, rising sea levels, shifting sn

California and the world’s climate are changing, posing an escalated threat to health, well-being, nature, and property. Extreme weather, rising sea levels, shifting snowpack, among other impacts will touch every part of peoples’ lives in the next century. Planning key actions now will help us lessen impacts and cope with changes. Many aspects of the environment face historic displacement. In government at every level, we must work together to safeguard our state. And ultimately, each and every one of us needs to take steps to reduce our own impacts and increase our resilience in the future. The Safeguarding California Plan provides policy guidance for state decision makers, and is part of continuing efforts to reduce impacts and prepare for climate risks. This plan, which updates the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy, highlights climate risks in nine sectors in California, discusses progress to date, and makes realistic sector-specific recommendations. California is a leader in the global effort to fight climate change. The state is pursuing a broad, integrated strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build the foundation for a new clean energy economy. While these efforts will reduce the magnitude and impact of climate change, they will not prevent it from occurring. Given the potential impacts and the long-term nature of effective planning, it is only prudent to begin preparing for these impacts. Actions needed to meet these challenges will not be cheap, but will cost far less than taking no action. Every step that we take today helps save valuable resources in the future. To that end, the plan details 11 current efforts already underway. Right now, more extreme fires, storms, and heat waves are costing lives and property damage. State of the art modeling shows that a single extreme winter storm in California could cost on the order of $725 billion – with total direct property losses of nearly $400 billion and devastating impacts to California’s people, economy and natural resources. The health and fiscal consequences are dire. Climate change poses a threat not just to lives and health, but the financial resources of governments and the insurance industry. More broadly – and likely more costly – are rising seas that threaten our coast, while disappearing snowpack in the Sierra Nevada presents new challenges for our state’s water management. In the near term, we must take practical, affordable steps to maintain our water, power, and transportation infrastructure, and plan for longer term actions as well.

Salton Sea Management Program Conceptual Project Implementation and Cost Estimates to Meet State Board Targets

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | April 27th, 2017

The Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) has developed a 10-year plan for Phase I that envisions a range of activities for habitat creation and dust management as

The Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) has developed a 10-year plan for Phase I that envisions a range of activities for habitat creation and dust management as the Salton Sea recedes over 2018–2028. The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), through an order revising Order WRO 2002–0013, outlines annual and cumulative target areas for restoration through creation of habitat and dust suppression projects. These targets are defined for each year, ranging from a cumulative 500 acres by January 1, 2019, to a cumulative 29,800 acres by January 1, 2029, with a minimum 50 percent of the area being designated for fish and wildlife habitat projects. Areas around the sea are proposed for restoration projects, specifically at the southern end of the sea near the inflows of the Alamo and New rivers, and the northern end of the sea near the inflow of the Whitewater River. In a prior document (Salton Sea Management Plan Phase I: 10 Year Plan, March 2018), an overview of the project areas and activities was presented. This document presents a high-level plan for achieving the annual goals in the SWRCB order, by means of creation of wet habitat and dust control areas in different parts of the Salton Sea lakebed. This document identifies conceptual habitat ponds to be created, the associated wetted areas, and the additional dust control areas required to meet the order targets. For each of the conceptual project areas, there are estimates for berm lengths, heights, and needs for additional infrastructure, such as pumps and pipelines, causeways for equipment access, and levee extensions along river channels for flood protection of newly created habitat. Planned cross sections for the different types of linear structures are shown. Cost estimates are provided for each of the project areas over time to develop a total cost estimate. The conceptual habitat and dust control areas are based on the best current information on Salton Sea bathymetry, and demonstrate a reasonable path forward to attain the State Board order targets. The costs associated with these targets as presented in this document can be used for additional planning as part of the SSMP over the next decade. It is recognized that the actual footprints of individual projects may change in future years as better information becomes available on lakebed elevations, and relationships with other non-SSMP projects for habitat and dust control are better understood. These cost estimates are a refinement of estimates presented in the Salton Sea Management Plan Phase I: 10-Year Plan (March 2017). The cost estimates incorporate the best available cost information, and include the development of conceptual berm designs and supporting infrastructure, such as water diversions, pumps, and pipelines, and levees for river extensions. For these reasons, the cost estimate presented here supersedes the March 2017 estimate of $383 million for the 10-year implementation. But, all cost estimates at this stage are considered preliminary, and subject to revision as new field and construction data become available, and as designs are adjusted to best meet overall program needs. In the remainder of this document, two key topics are presented. In Chapter 2, there are estimates of the projected elevations of the Salton Sea over the 2018–2028 period, based on a hydrologic model of the sea. This is needed to allow estimation of exposed lakebed with the goal of constructing new habitat under dry conditions. Proposed conceptual project footprints, design and cost assumptions, and cost summaries are presented in Chapter 3.

Salton Sea Management Program Phase I: 10-Year Plan Appendix 1. Figures

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | March 1st, 2017

Salton Sea Management Program Phase I: 10-Year Plan Appendix 2. Cost Projections

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | March 1st, 2017

Salton Sea Management Program Phase I: 10-Year Plan Appendix 3. Plan Schedule

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | March 1st, 2017

San Diego County Ecosystems: Ecological Impacts of Climate Change on a Biodiversity Hotspot

California Energy Commission (CEC) | August 27th, 2018

The diverse ecosystems, habitats, plants, and animals in the San Diego County region will be impacted by climatic shifts in multifold ways due to current and future vari

The diverse ecosystems, habitats, plants, and animals in the San Diego County region will be impacted by climatic shifts in multifold ways due to current and future variability, along with other factors including habitat loss and fragmentation, land use shifts, and changing fire regimes. While home to a major metropolitan area, San Diego County still hosts expanses of native and preserved habitats where management and conservation action could be greatly enhanced through science-based assessments and planning for climate change and increased climate variability. Projections of climate change in the region include warming by 4-9° F on average, and a 15-25% decrease in fall and spring precipitation with an increase in variability resulting in more frequent and intense droughts punctuated by increasingly rare yet extreme precipitation and flooding events. In addition, an increase in fire events and potential lessening of coastal marine influence may also affect San Diego’s ecosystems. Climate warming superimposed upon the pronounced spatially-varying temperature in the San Diego region will likely be associated with range shifts for many species resulting in novel community assemblages and biotic interactions and could create phenological mismatches. More frequent and intense heat waves may disproportionately affect younger age classes and reduce reproductive and survival rates of species sensitive to temperature extremes. With increasingly variable precipitation, drought may occur more frequently due to increased occurrence of dry days and could intensify because of warmer temperatures. Since drought disproportionately affects some species, these projected changes may cause structural changes to ecosystems. Santa Ana winds, occurring during increasingly dry fall months, would create ideal fire conditions. Coastal low clouds and fog along San Diego’s coast buffer this zone from the effects of warming and drying through shading and cooling. Although these marine stratus clouds will remain a presence, future changes in this phenomenon are uncertain. The spatial and temporal scales at which climate variations and change operate must be considered to build resilience into natural systems. Effective conservation actions will need to build on ongoing efforts focused on landscape-scale planning rather than more traditional single-species approaches. To carry this out will require cross-jurisdictional, multidisciplinary collaboration by scientists, policy-makers, planners, land managers, and the broader conservation community, which has a decades-long history of accomplishment in San Diego County.

San Francisco Bay Hydrologic Region Groundwater Update

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | April 1st, 2015

The primary goal of the San Francisco Bay Hydrologic Region (San Francisco Bay region) groundwater update is to expand information about region-specific groundwater condi

The primary goal of the San Francisco Bay Hydrologic Region (San Francisco Bay region) groundwater update is to expand information about region-specific groundwater conditions for California Water Plan Update 2013 and to guide more informed groundwater management actions and policies. A second goal is to steadily improve the quality of groundwater information in future California Water Plan (CWP) updates to a level that will enable regional water management groups (RWMGs) to accurately evaluate their groundwater resources and implement management strategies that can meet local and regional water resource objectives within the context of broader statewide objectives. The final goal is to identify data gaps and groundwater management challenges that will guide prioritizing of future data collection and funding opportunities relevant to the region. This regional groundwater update is not intended to provide a comprehensive and detailed examination of local groundwater conditions, or be a substitute for local studies and analysis. Nonetheless, where information is readily available, this update does report some aspects of the regional groundwater conditions in greater detail.

San Francisco Bay Plan

San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission | May 1st, 2012

The San Francisco Bay is an irreplaceable gift of nature that man can either abuse and ultimately destroy-or improve and protect for future generations. The Bay Plan p

The San Francisco Bay is an irreplaceable gift of nature that man can either abuse and ultimately destroy-or improve and protect for future generations. The Bay Plan presented in this report recognizes that the Bay is a single body of water, in which changes affecting one part may also affect other parts, and that only on a regional basis can the Bay be protected and enhanced. Protection of the Bay and enhancement of its shoreline are inseparable parts of the Bay Plan. Clearly what happens to the shoreline helps determine what happens to the Bay; if, for example, the relatively few shoreline areas suitable for water-oriented industry are used for housing, pressures will develop to provide new industrial land by filling the Bay. Therefore, in the public interest, the Commission is authorized to control both: (1) Bay filling and dredging, and (2) Bay-related shoreline development.  

San Francisco Bay Shore Inventory Mapping for Sea Level Rise Planning

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 5th, 2016

With rising sea levels and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events, it is important for regional agencies and local municipalities in the San Francisco Bay Are

With rising sea levels and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events, it is important for regional agencies and local municipalities in the San Francisco Bay Area to have a clear understanding of the status, composition, condition, and elevation of our current Bay shore, including both natural features and built infrastructure. The purpose of this Bay shore inventory is to create a comprehensive and consistent picture of today’s Bay shore features to inform regional planning. This dataset includes both structures engineered expressly for flood risk management (such as accredited levees) and features that affect flooding at the shore but are not designed or maintained for this purpose (such as berms, road embankments, and marshes). This mapping covers as much of the ‘real world’ influence on flooding and flood routing as possible, including the large number of non-accredited structures. This information is needed to: 1. identify areas vulnerable to flooding; 2. identify adaptation constraints due to present Bay shore alignments; and 3. suggest opportunities where beaches, wetlands, and floodplains can be maintained or restored and integrated into flood risk management strategies.