Odds and ends: bloggers react to water allocation, but forget about Oregon says the USGS, some eco innovations, why isn’t groundwater in CA regulated, and more!

My cup simply runneth over with interesting odds and ends today….

Housing meets its ultimate adversary – water, says the Westchester Parents blog, who points out that this is a disaster that city leaders themselves have created: Our city leaders need to now come to grips with the problem and recognize that their policies have contributed significantly to the problem. Regardless of desktop projections that the city will need ten’s of thousands of new housing units, the reality is that there are not enough water resources to fulfill that fantasy. Ignoring the practical limits of supply, cities have built-out so significantly that they have finally reached the point where consumption exceeds supplies. It’s a fantasy, he says, that we can build enough homes to accommodate the expected increase in population forecasted for Southern California. From the Westchester Parents blog – click here.

Meanwhile, Spreck Rosekranz of the Environmental Defense Fund says the allocation figure released by DWR is meaningless, as it will be revised later anyway after we see what precipitation actually occurs. So why are they really doing it? The reason for issuing a forecast earlier than ever before appears to be that it is simply one more opportunity to advocate for new dams and a peripheral canal. Lester Snow, DWR’s Director of the Department of Water Resources is clear on that point, stating that the initial allocation “… further dramatizes the urgent need for additional investments in water storage and conveyance infrastructure to assure an adequate and reliable water supply…”. From Spreck Rosekranz of the Environmental Defense Fund’s On the Waterfront blog – click here.

Don’t look north to that groundwater in Oregon, says the USGS, as it’s already spoken for: Water Wired has a response from the USGS taking an issue with the recent article in the Oregonian that implied that there was a vast, unused amount of groundwater that could be available for use or for export: the concept of a “secret stockpile” of water that “someone, someday may want to use” is not only incorrect, but troubling because it implies that ground water in the Cascade Range is not already being used. In reality, ground water from the Cascades supplies much of the flow to major streams on both sides of the range, and, consequently, is already being relied upon by communities, irrigators, and important aquatic ecosystems. More from the USGS via the Water Wired blog by clicking here.

Water your lawn With your *ahem* waste? No, I’m not talking about a “Women & Sitters Only” policy for your bathroom: Biokube, a Danish company, is bringing the BioKube Venus to America. The Venus is a septic tank advanced enough that it can make your waste water clean enough for use in agriculture (i.e. watering your lanw.) The device would produce more than the 15,000 gallons used by most households. The excess would just be released into groundwater like current septic systems. But, I suppose you’d want to limit the amount of frolicking in the sprinklers your kids were doing. The product will debut right here in California. More from the Eco-Geek blog by clicking here.

First solar thermal plant in 20 years launches in Bakersfield: Only serving 3500 homes homes right now, this plant could serve as a gateway to a much larger plant in the future. Here’s how it works: Unlike solar photovoltaic systems that convert sunlight into electricity, this plant will focus sunlight on tubes that contains water. The light heats the water, creating steam, thus turning turbines. This is important because steam storage will allow the plant to run after sunset. From the Clean Technica blog – click here.

GOAT blog asks why California does not regulate groundwater (only CA & TX don’t, by the way) and says “the environmental establishment has become much too cozy with the purveyors of environmental destruction”. Why? … in the wine country north of San Francisco stream flow is decreasing at an alarming rate. Groundwater pumping is implicated along with illegal surface diversions and the rapidly expanding wine industry is known to be the main culprit. Yet the environmental and fishing group Trout Unlimited recently accepted over a million dollars in state funding to “form partnerships” with the wine industry. Trout Unlimited is unlikely to support limits on groundwater pumping which would surely be seen as a threat to its new wine industry partners. Also, the blog discusses how irrigators and some farmers in the Klamath region have been selling groundwater at unsustainble rates. Check it out from High Country News’ GOAT blog by clicking here.

San Francisco’s Proposition R to rename the sewage plant in honor of George Bush just oozes respect, says the Golden Gate Xpress: “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it,” he [the chairman of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco] wrote in his proponent’s argument. “President Bush has left us with a gigantic mess, and this facility symbolizes the city’s deft ability to clean up its share of the financial and diplomatic mess left in the administration’s wake…we think President Bush deserves immediate recognition for his eight years of public service.” Before you dismiss it as silly, the Xpress wants you to remember the wooden dummy named Brendan O’Smarty. From the Golden Gate Xpress – click here.

For all of you storm water and urban runoff people, bookmark this new blog from the Los Angeles Stormwater Quality Partnership: Stormwater Trends.

Pictures, pictures, pictures! Here’s a great article about Mono Lake, the most unique & bizarre lakes from around the world – and there’s a lot of them, Imperial Valley officials and their secret twins, and a the BBC has a slideshow of Prix Pictet winners featuring amatuer & professional photos of water.

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