Modesto Bee editorial: Why Stanislaus County should protect groundwater

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 28, 2010 at 7:22 am

From the Modesto Bee:

“Don’t let the rain of the past few weeks fool you. Water remains a scarce commodity in most of California, and there will be no let-up in the creative ways people will seek to satisfy their thirst.

It is in this high-demand climate that Stanislaus County officials have initiated a discussion of whether to limit — probably through a permit process — the “mining” of groundwater for sale outside the county. Specifically, the county is concerned that property owners will drill wells to export our valuable resource elsewhere, with the potential to degrade the quantity and quality of water available to grow crops and orchards here.

This is a very serious and legitimate issue. There already is at least one case on the West Side of the county where groundwater is being shipped to thirsty farmland farther south.

At the request of Stanislaus County leaders, the county’s Agricultural Advisory Board formed a subcommittee to study the issue. In January, the subcommittee presented a draft ordinance, which is now being circulated for comments. … “

Continue reading this editorial from the Modesto Bee by clicking here.

February 28, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Pesticide banned for good reason, says commentary

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 18, 2010 at 6:23 am

From the Bakersfield Californian, this commentary by Susana De Anda, co-executive director of the Community Water Center:

“Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. It’s not hard to remember the use of soil fumigants DBCP and EDB in the Central Valley in the 1950s through 1970s and the toxic legacy it leaves with us today. In Fresno alone, 20 percent of the city’s wells were closed due to contamination by these pesticides, now known to cause both cancer and sterility in workers who formulated and applied the pesticides. Many valley towns still face high water treatment costs for these chemicals.

In a Feb. 11 Community Voices article, “Department of Pesticide Regulation stonewalling approval of key chemical,” state Sen. Roy Ashburn explained that in 2007, under the Bush Administration, the USEPA registered methyl iodide as a soil fumigant. He failed to add that this registration was completed despite the objection of over 50 eminent scientists, including five Nobel Laureates.

These scientists stated, “As chemists and physicians familiar with the effects of this chemical, we are concerned that pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farm workers and other people living near application sites would be at serious risk if methyl iodide is permitted for use in agriculture.” … “

February 18, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Assemblywoman Galgiani: A variety of solutions can add up to benefit farmers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 16, 2010 at 6:41 am

From the Modesto Bee:

“On Jan. 28, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) met to consider amending the regulations concerning diesel engines used in water well drilling rigs.

The CARB hearing was the culmination of work by me, the Assembly Agriculture Committee, the California Groundwater Association (CGA), and the results of the amendments to my AB 1416.

In early 2009, the CGA, a 450-member association of water well drilling and pump contractors, suppliers and manufacturers, geologists, engineers, hydrologists, government employees and others, asked me to help rejuvenate negotiations with the CARB that had stalled due to constraints of the Federal Clean Air Act.

New air quality regulations by the CARB would require all drilling rigs to be retrofitted with new diesel engines that emit lower levels of pollutants. Not only would this take all rigs out of service during the retrofitting, but limited availability of the engines would probably created a backlog and inflated costs. Thus the number of rigs operating would be dramatically decreased at the very time that the demand for them has increased due to the drought and federal court constraints pumping water from the Delta.

I was pleased to help, having seen the effects that the drought, compounded by the recession and the delta reductions, was having on farmers, community water systems and rural homeowners in my district and across the state. … “

Continue reading this commentary at the Modesto Bee by clicking here.

February 16, 2010 · Filed Under Agriculture, Groundwater

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Assemblymember Galgiani: We need emergency fixes to California’s water problems

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 13, 2010 at 8:20 am

From the Merced Sun-Star, this commentary by Assemblymember Galgiani:

“Although it is tempting to focus on the big solutions to “fix” our water problems, we now understand that emergency solutions are needed to address the crisis immediately.

As your assembly member, I am pleased to have been involved in recently achieving an emergency fix that will have an immediate effect on farmers impacted by the water shortage.

Working with the California Groundwater Association, I amended a bill, AB 1416, with emergency language to extend the implementation date of regulations by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requiring all portable drilling rigs to be retrofitted with new less polluting diesel engines by Jan. 1.

As a result of my bill, CARB agreed to consider the issue at their Jan. 28 meeting where they approved an extension of the deadline for water well drillers to comply with new regulations. … “

Continue reading this commentary by Assemblymember Galgiani by clicking here.

February 13, 2010 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack, Groundwater

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East Mojave groundwater basin might hold more than Lake Mead, CH2M Hill geologists say; Really? say bloggers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 9, 2010 at 8:28 am

That’s a picture taken from the desert in the vicinity of the proposed Cadiz project. Do you think there’s an aquifer the size of Lake Mead underneath that desert? Apparently so, some say in today’s story from the Riverside Press Enterprise:

“More water could exist below privately owned valleys in the eastern Mojave Desert than in all of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, according to a geological study released Monday by the company that hopes to tap the vast supply.

The study by CH2M Hill, a Colorado-based environmental consulting firm, also estimated that rain and snowmelt add about 32,000 acre-feet of water a year into the aquifer below the Cadiz Valley and nearby areas. That’s more than three times as much as previous estimates, a company official said.

“We always believed that this is a significant water resource, but having these findings, we are now able to point to the science behind it,” said Courtney Degener, investor relations manager for the Los Angeles-based Cadiz Inc. … “

It’s the same old story, says the Chance of Rain blog:

” … Environmental reviews carried out ten years ago by the Department of Interior, and now available through the Pacific Institute, reveal what US Geological Survey hydrogeologists called “gross exaggeration” by Cadiz of the amount of water available. Their estimates of the sustainable yield, which were roughly 15 times lower than Cadiz’s, may be found in Volume II of the federal review.

But since signing on as Cadiz chief counsel last year, Southern California water lawyer Scott Slater has argued that those reviews no longer apply. Everything about the project is new, he told Larry Mantle on KPCC’s “Air Talk” last September. It’s now a “conservation” project, he said.

The odd thing is, it turns out from today’s new release about the new study for the new conservation project, the amount of water they hope to mine from the desert is exactly the same as found grossly excessive by the original environmental impact review. … “

The Mojave Desert blog says there’s trouble ahead:

“That’s right folks, if you are special enough to have access to ample capital, financing and real estate in the Mojave you can lay claim to thousands of acre-feet of water (1 acre foot = 325,851 gallons) deposited underneath the Mojave Desert, and earn $50 million dollars per year for as long as the water lasts, according to a Business Week article.

Unfortunately, this treasure hunt can impact the wildlife and people of the Southwest long after the treasure is spent. Cadiz Inc, which has been growing lemons and raisins on some of its Mojave land as it conducted studies to ascertain the volume of subterranean water it could sell, is planning to pump that water as soon as it can manage the paper work. … “

February 9, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater, Southern California

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Cadiz study shows enough desert water to supply 400,000 people

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 8, 2010 at 8:18 am

From Business Week:

“Cadiz Inc., the owner of thousands of acres of California desert, said a study shows there’s more water under its land than the company previously estimated, giving it enough to supply 400,000 people.

A study conducted by engineering company CH2M Hill shows the aquifer under the Mojave Desert land ranges in size from 17 million to 34 million acre-feet, potentially larger than the Lake Mead reservoir near Las Vegas, according to Cadiz. The data will be presented today at a water-resources conference in Ontario, California.

“It’s as close to a lake as you’re going to find in sub- surface geology,” Scott Slater, general counsel for Los Angeles-based Cadiz, said in an interview. “I don’t think there’s new water like this anywhere.” … “

From MarketWatch, this press release from Cadiz:

“Today the internationally respected environmental firm CH2M Hill will unveil the findings of a comprehensive year-long study measuring the vast scale and recharge rate of the Cadiz aquifer system. The study, to be presented at a conference of the Association of Ground Water Agencies and American Ground Water Trust, describes a groundwater basin consisting principally of an alluvial and carbonate aquifer ranging in size between 17 and 34 million acre-feet, a volume of water larger than Lake Mead, the nation’s largest surface reservoir.

The findings also confirm the presence of highly permeable limestone carbonate rock lying beneath the alluvium, which contributes significantly to the productivity of the aquifer system.

CH2M Hill’s findings have been peer-reviewed by leading hydrology experts and the results corroborated by extensive field research and pump testing involving the excavation of four borings and test wells to depths of between 1,000 and 1,947 feet beneath the earth’s surface. Based on this study of natural recharge in the aquifer system, Cadiz Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!cdzi/quotes/nls/cdzi (CDZI 11.99, +0.51, +4.44%) will develop a groundwater management plan providing for the safe long-term annual withdrawal of 50,000 acre-feet of water each year, an amount that can sustainably supply the total water needs of 400,000 Southern California residents. … “

Plenty more on the study in this press release from Cadiz posted at MarketWatch by clicking here.

February 8, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater, Southern California

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Groundwater cleanup at UC Davis Superfund site

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 5, 2010 at 3:47 pm

From U. C. Davis:

“A chain of chemical reactions between organic waste and naturally occurring chromium appears to explain the long-standing elevated levels of the chemical chromium-6, a human carcinogen, in groundwater at a federal Superfund site on the southern edge of the UC Davis campus, according to university environmental professionals.

But the UC Davis officials emphasize that those chemical reactions and the resulting chromium-6 have not increased concentrations of the contaminant in neighboring drinking-water wells above background levels.

“Based on our sampling, there is no indication that the contamination at the site has affected local drinking water or agricultural uses, but we are going to take steps to make sure that this contaminant is addressed or mitigated,” said John Meyer, vice chancellor for administrative and resource management at UC Davis. … “

Put surface water to good use growing food for all, says commentary

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 3, 2010 at 8:52 am

From the Modesto Bee, this commentary by John Michelena:

“Many economic sacrifices have been made to save one species of fish, but we may be damaging the environment in that process. Farmers are presumably pumping much of our precious groundwater to replace surface water they have lost through environmental regulations. Those liquid natural resources under the ground are disappearing quickly, and the Delta smelt populations are not improving either.

According to NASA and University of California at Irvine researchers, the Central Valley pumped approximately 24 million acre feet of groundwater from October 2003 through March 2009. That’s almost 8 trillion gallons, or enough water to fill Lake Mead.

That’s three times more being depleted than previous estimates by the Department of Water Resources.

This over-drafting of groundwater coincides with reductions in the amount of surface water that’s been available, with 2009 being the most severe, with only 10 percent delivered to West Side farms. … “

Continue reading this commentary by clicking here.

February 3, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater, San Joaquin Valley

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EPA to investigate cluster of birth defects in Kettleman City, Calif.

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 27, 2010 at 7:52 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that it plans to investigate a cluster of facial birth defects and other health issues among migrant farm workers in the impoverished California enclave of Kettleman City as part of the Obama administration’s pledge to shift the agency’s attention toward issues of environmental justice.

Residents suspect the facial deformities are linked to a nearby toxic waste dump. The dump is set to be expanded to accommodate waste from large population centers, including Los Angeles, and residents have filed a lawsuit against the Kings County Board of Supervisors challenging its approval of the expansion.

In an interview, Jared Blumenfeld, administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region, said the case meets the standards of the Obama administration’s decision this month to make environmental justice a priority. … “

January 27, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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No solutions for rural water pollution problem

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 15, 2010 at 7:51 am

From the Voice of San Diego:

“When Sarmed Badri makes coffee in his store, he only uses bottled water.

He refuses to drink tap water during his long shifts at Oak Shores Liquor & Grocery in Lake Morena Village, and he won’t let his customers drink it either. Since the Iraqi native bought the store in East County in 2008, he’s taken a gallon of water from its shelves every other day, at a cost of $25 a month.

“I don’t even give it out when customers ask for a glass from the faucet,” he said. “I don’t want that liability, to be responsible for them.” … “

So what’s the deal here?

” … Drive through the winding roads around Lake Morena Village and one possible contamination source is easy to see. Many houses have fenced-in horses loitering on their front lawns. Nitrates and coliform bacteria in the waste from these horses, as well as cattle and other animals, can seep into the groundwater supply, said Marylynn Yates, an environmental microbiology professor at the University of California, Riverside.

A 2002 county assessment of the water sources for Lake Morena Oak Shores points to another less visible cause: septic systems. The assessment found that the village’s water is most vulnerable to contamination from the area’s high density of septic systems — more than one per acre.

In rural areas like Lake Morena Village, residents use septic systems because their houses are spaced far apart, making a community sewer system too expensive. … “

January 15, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Santa Rosa Plain groundwater management study to start

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 13, 2010 at 8:41 am

From the North Bay Business Journal:

“On Jan. 12 the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency took an important step forward on a project to address groundwater issues in the Santa Rosa Plain.

A work plan unanimously approved by the board allows SCWA, in collaboration with stakeholders, to begin preliminary planning and education on groundwater management in the Santa Rosa Plain. The board’s action is the continuation of a process that began in 2005 when a study of the groundwater basin was initiated. The study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, will be complete in December 2010 and published in the early 2011.

A stakeholder assessment conducted by the nonprofit Center for Collaborative Policy (a program of California State University, Sacramento), found people would benefit from a better technical understanding of groundwater issues and have misperceptions of groundwater management and planning. The Center conducted in-depth interviews of 55 stakeholders representing 37 organizations. … “

January 13, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater, Northern California

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Will drilling more wells in California help or hurt? A $40 million federal stimulus project to drill up to 50 new wells in California moves forward despite drying aquifers and community complaints

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 12, 2010 at 8:08 am

From the Christian Science Monitor:

“The government is spending $40 million in federal stimulus funds to pull water from underground aquifers in drought-stricken California, even as evidence is growing that the well-drilling boom could degrade the quality of water delivered to millions of residents.

Farmers, conservationists and engineers are criticizing the Interior Department’s plan to spend taxpayer money on digging more wells, saying the approach risks marring the environment. Canals buckle, aquifers collapse and drinking water turns saltier due to so much pumping, and studies show that the state’s water supplies are dwindling.

“We don’t need any more straws going down there ’cause we’re already doing a pretty good job of sucking it dry,” says farmer Dan Errotabere, who has dug three wells as deep as 1,200 feet to irrigate his tomatoes, almonds, and garlic in recent years. “We’re using this water as a last resort, but pretty soon we’re going to need a policy to protect ourselves from ourselves.”

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the government is targeting its well-drilling effort to serve remote communities and prop up California’s agricultural economy, a $36 billion industry that grows nearly half the country’s fruits, nuts and vegetables. … “

January 12, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Water 2010: County should be able to protect this resource

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 11, 2010 at 6:21 am

From the Modesto Bee:

“The issue: Exportation of groundwater out of Stanislaus County.

The sale and transfer of water out of the county from which it is derived is a very real issue. It is happening today and has happened in the past on a moderate scale. With the current drought, these transfers could occur a much larger scale.

The issue becomes moot when water is abundant, as the groundwater is being recharged and surface water is readily available for the farmers.

However, when water is in short supply and after years of drought, the issue of mining groundwater to be moved out of the county becomes problematic, especially for those farmers who use wells that border the property mining water. The surrounding farmers face lowering water levels and the possibility of increased salt intrusion and poor water quality in the water they pump out for their crops. … “

January 11, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Farmers face falling groundwater levels

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 10, 2010 at 8:57 am

From the Visalia Times-Delta:

“When it came to water, 2009 wasn’t a good year for Tulare County farmers.

Take Terry Langiano, who spent about $47,000 to drill a new well and install a new well pump for his 40-acre walnut farm near Tulare after discovering his groundwater levels had dropped to about 116 feet below the surface, nearly the full depth of his old well.

“And it was a foot from breaking suction,” Langiano said. In 1987, he said, the standing water level in the aquifer below his farm was 26 feet below the surface.

Langiano is far from the only Tulare County farmer facing dramatic declines in groundwater levels.

Well drillers report waiting lists of farmers and homeowners needing their wells deepened or relocated.

Photo by flickr photographer Cowgirl Jules, who has a set of photos of a well being drilled in Merced County, which you can check out by clicking here. (Creative Commons).

January 10, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Why we’re sucked dry: “the real cause of the loss of water has been by the legislators who have not corrected the Endangered Species Act,” says farmer’s commentary

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 10, 2010 at 8:54 am

From the Bakersfield Californian, this commentary written by Kern County farmer Fred Starrh:

“I am writing in response to the Associated Press article titled “California’s groundwater much lower than expected,” from the Dec. 15 issue of The Californian.

The article’s page-one “teaser,” “Sucked dry: Farm drawdowns taking big toll on state’s largest river basins,” states a fact that is partially true; however, it completely ignores one factor. It basically accused farmers of the Central Valley of drawing down the aquifers. The farmers should not be blamed for using the groundwater which by law they have the right to use.

It is true the farmers are using water, but the real cause of the loss of water has been by the legislators who have not corrected the Endangered Species Act. This law empowers the environmentalists to file lawsuit after lawsuit diverting fresh, good water to the ocean instead of allowing it to be delivered to farmers and urban areas, who are paying for water and not receiving it. Two local congressmen, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Devin Nunez, have submitted legislation which would help in solving the water crisis. … “

Read more of Fred Starrh’s commentary published in the Bakersfield Californian by clicking here.

January 10, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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WATER 2010: Can Stanislaus County keep its groundwater to itself?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 10, 2010 at 8:50 am

From the Modesto Bee:

“Last week, a subcommittee of the Stanislaus County Agriculture Advisory Board released a proposed ordinance to prohibit the sale or transfer of groundwater from Stanislaus to other places. Many people and groups have fought any sort of restrictions on groundwater, so this issue is likely to be controversial.

This is an edited version of the summary prepared by the subcommittee, which was chaired by John Herlihy.

On April 3, Stanislaus County Chief Executive Officer Rick Robinson requested that the Agricultural Advisory Board explore groundwater protection options for our county.

In May, the advisory board established a subcommittee to research the subject and study the feasibility of a groundwater ordinance. … “

January 10, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Commentary: Gauging ground water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 5, 2010 at 4:38 pm

From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, this commentary by Shirlee Zane, a Sonoma County supervisor and a director of the Sonoma County Water Agency:

“The fear of the well going dry is a real one for the thousands of Sonoma County residents who rely on ground water for drinking, farming and business operations.

After three years of drought — and a winter that is shaping up to be dryer than we hoped — many folks are questioning the health of our aquifers. Specifically, they are wondering whether people are using more water than can be replenished by nature; if the level of water in wells is declining; whether the quality of ground water has changed; and if development patterns and uses have reduced opportunities to replenish aquifers.

The Sonoma County Water Agency, of which I am a director, has no regulatory control over ground water. But that doesn’t mean the agency should ignore these questions. … “

January 5, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Oceano: Saltwater intrusion effects could be far-reaching

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 31, 2009 at 6:20 am

From the Santa Maria Times:

“The possibility that saltwater is seeping into the Five Cities aquifer was raised when tests conducted in May and August showed rising levels of chlorides, sodium and potassium in a sentry well in Oceano.

If further tests show saltwater is invading the groundwater basin, it could have serious implications for not only the Five Cities area but also the Nipomo area.

Saltwater intrusion would mean more water is being pumped from the basin than is being replaced, causing seawater to flow in to fill the void.

Once saltwater infiltrates a groundwater basin, it is virtually impossible to remove, and when the dissolved chemicals reach a certain level, the water becomes undrinkable.

Officials cautioned that the tests only show the potential for saltwater intrusion, and more monitoring will be required to verify suspicions. … “

December 31, 2009 · Filed Under Central Coast, Groundwater

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Groundwater mining: The American experience

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 30, 2009 at 8:34 am

From Michael Campana at the Water Wired blog:

“In October 2008 Todd Jarvis and I co-chaired the First International Conference on Nonrenewable Ground Water Resources. It was a landmark event, attended by 55 of the most engaged people I’d ever encountered at a conference venue.

Here is a copy of the conference report.

For our keynote speaker we were fortunate to have Dr. T.N. Narasimhan, Professor Emeritus, Narasimhan1 Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California at Berkeley. Nari is a friend, scholar, gentleman, and one of the world’s foremost hydrogeologists. … “

December 30, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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The Treasure Beneath Our Feet

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 26, 2009 at 7:07 am

From the Water Replenishment District of Southern California:

December 26, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater, Southern California

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Stimulus funds to pump more water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 25, 2009 at 9:10 am

From the Capital Press:

“As a new study points out the dire condition of California’s aquifers, farmers will pump more ground water to cope with three years of drought.

USDA is funneling $40 million to help increase the pumping of well water in the Central Valley.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in July the department would send emergency drought aid from President Barack Obama’s stimulus package to drill and renovate up to 135 wells, a number that has since decreased.

Meanwhile, California’s Department of Water Resources in early December projected an allocation of 5 percent of requested deliveries to water contractors next year. It was the lowest projection since 1993, when the state predicted a 10 percent allocation. … “

December 25, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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We suck at managing exempt wells: Is there big trouble in Big Sky?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 24, 2009 at 7:09 am

From Michael Campana at the Water Wired blog:

“Cally Carswell’s recent post on the Goat Blog of the High Country News relates the story of exempt well problems in Montana’s Gallatin Valley. There, rancher Joseph Miller is claiming that exempt wells, aka domestic wells, are depleting his water. These wells supply water to the new homes and subdivisions in the valley. Miller believes thay have been responsible for drying up at least one stream on his ranch. The rub is that Miller likely has permitted rights to his water, whereas the exempt wells, by definition, are exempt from permits.

Carswell reports:

To address the problem, Miller and a few other ranchers recently petitioned Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to stop letting residential developments use exempt wells to skirt the state’s water laws. They claim exempt wells will draw down water supplies that they have senior rights to.

I have previously posted on Western exempt well issues including the Bounds case in New Mexico, which sounds similar to the situation Carswell describes. This case, still under appeal as far as I know, found for the rancher who claimed domestic wells were impairing his water right. … “

Continue reading at the Water Wired blog by clicking here.

December 24, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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NASA report reveals California is drawing too much out of its groundwater account

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 20, 2009 at 8:31 am

From Barry Nelson at the NRDC Switchboard blog:

“A new report from NASA reveals that the Central Valley has lost enormous amounts of groundwater over the past six years. Taken together, the Sacramento and San Joaquin drainages have lost more than 30 cubic kilometers of water since 2003–enough to fill Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the country.

These stark numbers reveal how severe California’s groundwater overdraft problem is.

What happened to all of the water? Most of it was pumped out and used for irrigation. But because this groundwater has been drained out faster than Mother Nature can replenish it, wells are starting to run dry.

Think of some Central Valley irrigators as the guy who writes too many checks on the family bank account. After a string of bad checks, the bank simply shuts the account down, and the rest of the family members are left in the lurch. In the case of groundwater, the overdraft is depleting one of the most precious resources we have in our semi-arid state. California has hit peak water. We have run out of rivers to tap and dams to build. With a finite water supply, we can’t afford to squander groundwater too.

That’s why, as in all Western water conflicts, people are quick to assign blame. … “

Continue reading Barry Nelson’s post at the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.

December 20, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Troubling water report: Better policies needed

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 20, 2009 at 8:26 am

From the Vacaville Reporter:

“It’s no secret that farmers in California’s Central Valley have had to rely more on groundwater in recent years as they struggled to keep crops alive during drought conditions and while facing reductions in the amount of Delta water they could tap.

What surprised many people this week was the realization of just how much Central Valley groundwater has been used up during the past six years: Enough to fill the nation’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead in Nevada.

That is not a rate that can continue indefinitely.

Not only will the water eventually run out, there are already concerns that emptying underground aquifers will destabilize the land above them, perhaps even causing the California Aqueduct to sink. That’s a major source of drinking water for Southern California residents.

Unfortunately, the water taken from the underground aquifers has not been enough to save the agricultural industry in the Central Valley, which is suffering widespread unemployment because so many farms have been forced to reduce or eliminate production.

Now comes word that a $40 million federal stimulus proposal to boost the Central Valley economy would drill up to 50 new wells.

This is a plan that needs more thought. … “

December 20, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Water drain: Groundwater is not merely a local concern anymore, but a statewide issue, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 20, 2009 at 8:19 am

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise, this editorial:

“The days when Californians could sink a well and pump as much water as they wanted should have ended years ago. But the shrinking aquifers in the Central Valley show the need for the state to take a more active role in overseeing groundwater. California cannot craft sensible water policy by ignoring a source that accounts for 30 percent of the state’s water supplies.

At the least, the Legislature should require rigorous statewide monitoring of underground basins. And the state needs the enforcement muscle to stop pumping that threatens to dry up underground water supplies.

But satellite data released by NASA this week showed the futility of California’s hands-off approach to groundwater use. The satellite measurements tracked water loss between 2003 and March of this year. They revealed that the two largest aquifers in the Central Valley had lost nearly enough water to fill Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir. The water is being pumped out faster than it flows back in, depleting the underground basins — a practice NASA scientists termed “unsustainable.” … “

December 20, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Water Wired blog: Groundwater mining in the Central Valley: Something new?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 20, 2009 at 8:08 am

From Michael Campana at the Water Wired blog:

“Last week, there was much interest in the news that satellite data indicated [thanks to colleague John Lambie for this link] that groundwater pumping in California’s Central Valley had extracted the equivalent of one Lake Mead (about 24 MAF at full pool) during the past six years. The data confirmed an earlier report by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Yes, Virginia, that’s a lot of water, almost double the average annual flow of the Colorado River.

Recent reductions in surface water for irrigation have no doubt contributed to the high pumpage figures (see quote below on click-through). But this realization is nothing new, although the amount of pumpage may be. … “

December 20, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Lois Henry column: Shocking groundwater drop raises eyebrows and concerns about Kern Water Bank withdrawals

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 20, 2009 at 7:37 am

From Lois Henry at the Bakersfield Californian:

“A battle is brewing among some of Kern County’s heaviest hitters, but you probably haven’t heard about it because it’s underground. I mean, really, it’s under the ground — as in groundwater.

Don’t hit the snooze button just yet, because if it weren’t for the giant sponge full of water we’re all sitting on, good old Bakersburg wouldn’t exist as we know it.

Shortly after the present drought settled in, around 2007, the City of Bakersfield and two ag water districts noticed a sharp drop in groundwater levels west of town. The drop coincided with increased groundwater withdrawal by the massive Kern Water Bank, which occupies 32 square miles mostly west of Highway 43 and north of the Kern River all the way to the California Aqueduct.

Members of KWB include the Kern County Water Agency’s Improvement District 4 (ID4), which supplies drinking water to a large swath of town, and a number of other districts, most of which are associated with Paramount Farming (owned by multigazillionaire Stewart Resnick). … “

December 20, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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GRACE offers broad snapshot of groundwater

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 18, 2009 at 7:57 am

From the Chico Enterprise-Record:

“New satellite data showcased at the American Geophysical Union meeting this week in San Francisco illustrated the degree to which groundwater has dropped over the past several years in California’s Central Valley.

GRACE, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, through a partnership with NASA and the German Aerospace Center, tracks the monthly changes in the earth’s gravity field caused by the movement of water.

The focus of the presentation was groundwater, and the rate at which groundwater levels have changed from October 2003 through March 2009 in the Central Valley.

The trend for the Central Valley overall is unsustainable, the presentation concluded, with areas in the San Joaquin Valley dropping 2-6 feet a year. In the Northern Sacramento Valley, these numbers range from .5 to 1.3 feet a year over that time period.

Lester Messina, who works in water issues for the Glenn County Department of Agriculture, said the NASA work is “a good wake-up.” … “

December 18, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Thursday’s top of the scroll: As California’s underground water vanishes, stimulus funds help drill new wells

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 17, 2009 at 8:22 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

“DOS PALOS, Calif. (AP) — The government is spending $40 million in federal stimulus funds to pull water from underground aquifers in drought-stricken California, even as evidence is growing that the well-drilling boom could degrade the quality of water delivered to millions of residents.

Farmers, conservationists and engineers are criticizing the Interior Department’s plan to spend taxpayer money on digging more wells, saying the approach risks marring the environment. Canals buckle, aquifers collapse and drinking water turns saltier due to so much pumping, and studies show that the state’s water supplies are dwindling.

“We don’t need any more straws going down there ’cause we’re already doing a pretty good job of sucking it dry,” said farmer Dan Errotabere, who has dug three wells as deep as 1,200 feet to irrigate his tomatoes, almonds and garlic in recent years. “We’re using this water as a last resort, but pretty soon we’re going to need a policy to protect ourselves from ourselves.” … “

The On the Public Record blog has some thoughts on this article, too, about the contraction of agriculture in California, and some thoughts on how it will come about. But then, the OTPR blog gets some more info on a detail in the article:

” … then I saw a mention to a guy who says that his canal is cracking, because the ground is subsiding under it as the aquifer gets drained. I was all, huh. What district, I wonder? I want to see pictures of cracking canals. Is it, like, a lateral or something? So I searched for the guy’s name, and found a picture.

JESUS CHRIST! That is a serious canal! That’s no district canal or puny lateral. That’s big! What is that, the Friant? It is cracking?! That got me curious, so I tracked it down. That’s the Delta-Mendota Canal (connecting the Delta and Mendota, which is the city that gets all the press for feeling the brunt of the drought). It is run by the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Users Authority, which has the kind of website I haven’t seen since GeoCities.

To me, this is such a fantastic example of the real world policing itself. Growers in the SJV can fight for their inalienable rights to groundwater self-determination all they want. But if they suck that commons dry, it will break the canal above it. … “

Read the full text of this post from the On the Public Record blog by clicking here.

December 17, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Peter Gleick: Stealing water from the future: California’s massive groundwater overdraft newly revealed

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 16, 2009 at 8:23 am

From Peter Gleick at the City Brights blog:

“A NASA report summarizing data collected from new satellites confirms what most water observers have known for a long time. Massive amounts of groundwater are being sucked out of California’s Central Valley groundwater aquifers — unreported, unmonitored, and unregulated.

Water Number: Between October 2003 and March 2009, more than 24 million acre-feet (30 cubic kilometers) of groundwater were pumped out of California’s Central Valley. This is overdraft of groundwater — the pumping of groundwater faster than nature recharges it. Most of the overdraft is occurring in the San Joaquin Valley and it is occurring at a rate far faster than previously reported by the California Department of Water Resources.

This rate of overpumping is more than 4.4 million acre-feet per year — more than three times above DWR’s previous estimates. DWR estimates are grossly unreliable because, as I have discussed many times in this column before, no one actually measures, monitors, or reports groundwater use. Whoever can pump it can have it, to the detriment of everyone else, our wetlands, and runoff into our rivers and streams. As one of the scientists on the project, Jay Famiglietti said, “GRACE data reveal groundwater in these basins is being pumped for irrigation at rates that are not sustainable if current trends continue.” … “

Continue reading Peter’s commentary at the City Brights blogsite by clicking here.

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater, San Joaquin Valley

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U.S. Geological Survey digs Trinitas

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 16, 2009 at 6:42 am

From the Calaveras Enterprise:

“The mystery surrounding the exact nature of the aquifer that feeds the western end of Calaveras County may soon be solved.

The U. S. Geological Survey is in the process of digging a 500-foot well on The Ridge at Trinitas property in Wallace. Mike and Michelle Nemee, who own the Ospital Road property, deeded an easement to the Calaveras County Water District for the project late last year.

“The Nemees are still keeping their promise to the community,” CCWD Director Jeff Davidson said Thursday at the drill site. “They are the only ones who stepped up to offer property for this project.”

Davidson said CCWD appreciates, despite the Nemees’ losing their bid to build a golf resort and then to have their 18-hole golf course deemed an agritourism activity, that they kept their word and let the monitoring well be installed. … “

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Tuesday’s top of the scroll: Satellites detect dramatic Valley water loss; “The data is telling us that this rate of pumping is not sustainable”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 15, 2009 at 9:12 am

From Stockton’s Record:

“FRESNO – The San Joaquin River basin is being sucked dry by aggressive agricultural pumping, according to new satellite data.

Measurements acquired for the first time from outer space show the combined amount of water lost in the San Joaquin and Sacramento river basins within the past six years could almost fill the nation’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead in Nevada.

The research shows that the vast underground pools feeding faucets and irrigation hoses across California are running low, a worrisome trend that federal scientists attribute to farmland irrigation practices.

A shrinking underground aquifer has long been a problem in eastern San Joaquin County.

The data – gathered from October 2003 through March of this year – was obtained by scientists tracking how Earth’s gravitational pull on twin satellites changed as the amount of water stored in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins dried up. … “

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

” … Famiglietti presented the research, based on data from satellites that track fluctuations in the movement of water around the globe, at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco on Monday. In addition to monitoring decreasing water supplies in the Central Valley, NASA satellites are being used to study droughts in India, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.

For California, Monday’s report lends clarity to an area of the state’s water supply that is little understood and virtually unregulated – the Golden State is one of the few states that don’t require individual well owners to account for how much water they use.

Groundwater “overdrafting” in the Central Valley has reached such a critical point that federal geologists began studying land subsidence this fall below the California Aqueduct, the pipeline that delivers water to about 25 million state residents.

Though Monday’s report focused on the past six years, other research shows that groundwater depletion is a historic problem in California. The U.S. Geological Survey’s study this summer found that in the San Joaquin Valley alone, aquifer levels have dropped almost 400 feet since the early 1960s. … “

From the Fresno Bee:

” … “The [depletion] rates we found are bigger than what USGS reported,” Famiglietti said. “And when you think of it, it makes sense because of the drought, the reduced water allocations for agriculture and the reduced snowpack. But it’s still a surprise.”

Famiglietti reported that the San Joaquin River basin, which includes the Tulare Lake Basin, is losing water at the net rate of 3.5 cubic kilometers a year (about what more than 6 million families of four would use in a year) — most from groundwater pumping. Agriculture typically uses about 80% of groundwater compared to municipal needs, he said.

In the central San Joaquin Valley, every city except Fresno and Clovis relies solely on pumped water for municipal supplies. Fresno and Clovis have small surface-water supplies to augment what they pump from underground.

NASA’s twin GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites were launched in 2002. By measuring minute changes in gravity and mass on Earth, scientists can determine the amount of water under the ground.

The GRACE findings were no surprise to either Valley water officials or conservationists.

“The trend for years has been down, and we all know that,” said Randy McFarland, a spokesman for the Friant Water Authority and the Kings River Conservation District. … “

From the Associated Press:

” … “All that water has been sucked out of these river basins. It’s gone. It’s left the building,” said Jay Famiglietti, an earth science professor at the University of California, Irvine, who led the research collaboration. “The data is telling us that this rate of pumping is not sustainable.” … “

December 15, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Declining groundwater levels in the Central Valley endangers food security, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 14, 2009 at 8:31 am

From TheDay.com, news for Southeastern Conneticut, this editorial:

“The nation cannot afford to ignore declining water tables in California’s Central Valley that will soon threaten the food security of the United States if current trends continue unabated. NASA researchers delivered that warning at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco last week.

The valley is among the world’s most productive agricultural regions. While it accounts for less than 1 percent of all U.S. farmland, it represents one-sixth of all the irrigated land in the United States and produces about one-quarter of all the food consumed in our nation.

Only by manipulating Mother Nature can corporate farms make the valley so productive. With only modest rain, the valley is dependent on irrigation from a combination of groundwater pumped from wells and surface water diverted from other regions. … “

December 14, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater, San Joaquin Valley

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Colorado issues well permits despite declining groundwater

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 6, 2009 at 7:26 am

From the Denver Post:

“State water stewards have continued to permit groundwater pumping south of Denver, despite data and near universal agreement that underground water levels are falling and the resource is being depleted.

The number of pumping permits sought, and issued, has been falling for years, but regulators say they are still required to issue permits without regard for conservation.

In fact, a state permit application fee raised in 2003 for budgetary reasons from $60 to $480 was lowered in 2006 to $100.

“We may worry about it, but we issue the permits according to statutes,” Assistant State Engineer Kevin Rein said. “The question of whether or not it makes sense is something that counties, or the General Assembly, may address.”

Metro area water suppliers say the number of wells being drilled is likely to continue to fall, a sign of how deep, difficult and expensive drilling has become.

“You have to build more and more wells to get the same amount of water,” said Douglas County Commissioner Steve Boand, a hydrologist by training and longtime leader in high-growth suburbs. … “

December 6, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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Ground water worries mount for Kings County farmers after water rights sale to Mojave Water Agency

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 2, 2009 at 6:18 am

From the Hanford Sentinel:

“The battle over Kings County’s dwindling water supplies is going underground.

Fresno County farmer Philip Erro is circulating a petition asking Kings County supervisors to pass an ordinance prohibiting anybody from pumping ground water after selling their surface water rights.

The target of Erro’s petition is no mystery: Sandridge Partners, a Bay Area business partnership with 50,000 acres of farmland in western Kings County. Earlier this year, Sandridge sold $73 million in state water rights to the Mojave Water Agency in San Bernardino County. … “

December 2, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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