Editorial: Two big water deals now gain traction

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 17, 2008 at 7:30 am

From the Sacramento Bee, this editorial:

Will Barack Obama bring peace to Western rivers?

No, we are not that audacious. Nor do we presume the president-elect is spending much time getting briefed on Western water politics.

But it’s hard not to notice that, just two weeks after the election, negotiators have announced breakthroughs on once-stalled talks to restore two California rivers.

On Thursday, federal officials, environmentalists, Indian tribes and others announced agreement with a utility, PacifiCorp, to remove four dams that block the Klamath River. This pact could potentially end years of litigation and fighting over the Klamath, while restoring salmon to a river that once was a major fish factory.

Two days earlier, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced a final deal among parties that have been trying to implement a restoration settlement for the San Joaquin River.

Read more from this Sacramento Bee editorial by clicking here.

November 17, 2008 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley, Water Storage

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State’s water revocation lets Auburn Dam die a little more

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 25, 2008 at 6:28 am

From Stockton’s Record:

Criminal. That’s how one San Joaquin County water official described the state’s decision this week to revoke water rights for the Auburn Dam, a long-promised source of water for this area. “When you look at what’s been done to San Joaquin County over the years, it’s criminal,” said Ed Steffani, manager of the North San Joaquin County Irrigation District. “This is disappointing, and I think it was a dumb move by the state.”

San Joaquin is still in line to get water from the American River under a newer, junior water right. But the Auburn Dam - or at least a right to the water that was to have been stored there - might have provided more water as well as seniority over other thirsty areas.

San Joaquin is scrambling for more surface water to take pressure off of over-tapped groundwater. The American River is just one of several possible solutions.

Why are San Joaquin County officials upset?

San Joaquin officials say they were urged for half a century to seek surface water from the American River, only to be denied by circumstances beyond their control. However, while the board recognized the problem here, it said it never denied the county the right to take water from other sources.

Pointing San Joaquin to that river in the north “did not guarantee water supply contracts to the counties,” the ruling said. Nor was there a guarantee that Reclamation would enter into contracts with San Joaquin to actually deliver Auburn Dam water.

Read more from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

October 25, 2008 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley, Water Storage

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Calaveras chips in funds for Integrated Regional Management Plan

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 8, 2008 at 6:09 am

From Stockton’s Record:

Among Modesto, Stockton, various irrigation districts and federally mandated programs to protect fish, users already try to consume more water than actually flows in the Stanislaus River. But representatives in the upstream counties of Tuolumne and Calaveras still worry they may lose water rights to thirsty downstreamers if they can’t find a way to use more water. And they want to be eligible to get state funding, where possible, for water projects. So they will soon start work on a regional plan to use more Stanislaus water as well as water from the Tuolumne River.

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 Tuesday, with Supervisors Tom Tryon and Bill Claudino absent, to chip in $13,500 and participate in the Tuolumne-Stanislaus Integrated Resources Water Management Planning process. Calaveras County already is part of a similar planning process on the Mokelumne River.

Edwin Pattison, water resources manager for the Calaveras County Water District, said state water regulators encourage local agencies to cooperate to make such regional water plans, and the state offers plenty of money to local governments that do so.

Read more from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

October 8, 2008 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley

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San Joaquin River maneuvering continues as Congress nears end

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 1, 2008 at 7:29 am

From the McClatchy Newspapers:

Political maneuvering over the San Joaquin River’s future continues even as Congress grinds to a halt. In a last-minute bid, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has rewritten a river restoration bill so that it might avoid budgetary obstacles. Feinstein says stripping out money could ease passage of the environmentally ambitious bill.

“The only viable option is to make the bill (budget) neutral, then pursue legislation in the next Congress to fully restore the original funding provisions,” Feinstein advised the Friant Water Users Authority late Friday. Feinstein added that “this will give us momentum going forward,” as environmentalists and Friant-area farmers try to complete a lawsuit settlement. Water would be flowing and salmon swimming again below Friant Dam by 2013 under the settlement.

But Feinstein’s move caught even some of her Capitol Hill allies by surprise, and the odds still appear heavily stacked against success. “I don’t think that will fly,” said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno.

Read more from McClatchy Newspapers by clicking here.

October 1, 2008 · Filed Under San Joaquin River Restoration, San Joaquin Valley

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SSJID sells surplus water for $224,000; Conservation allows district to help two neighbors

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 28, 2008 at 5:55 am

From the Manteca Bulletin:

South San Joaquin Irrigation District has helped two neighbors out and received $224,000 for their efforts. The district had 4,800 acre feet of water left from its Bureau of Reclamation allocation after filling Woodward Reservoir so they could have another irrigation run prior to Oct. 15 as well as take care of municipal water needs through next spring and handle of early 2009 irrigation runs for SSJID farmers.

SSJID General Manager Jeff Shields said the board had numerous offers to buy the water from up and down the state but opted to keep it within San Joaquin County.

The Central Irrigation District north of French Camp took 1,600 acre-feet for agricultural uses at $20 per acre foot. The Stockton East Water District bought 1,600 acre feet at $20 per acre foot for agriculture and another 1,600 acre feet for urban uses in Stockton at $100 per acre foot.

Read more from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.

September 28, 2008 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley, Water Transfers

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Tulare County homeowners call drilling companies to find water sources

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 2, 2008 at 7:35 am

From the Visalia Times-Delta:

Business has never been better for Loudie Crisp — but you won’t find her bragging about it. As one of the owners of Visalia’s Crisp Well Drilling, Crisp has been running from site to site all summer as wells throughout the Valley start to run dry. “I received eight calls today,” she said. “Everyone’s running out of water. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it.”

The problem: A water table that has been steadily dropping throughout the Valley, a situation made worse by the exponential growth during the last decade. And this year’s early spring and hot weather have meant hundreds of homeowners have put in calls to local well drillers —and have been given a spot on the waiting list. “A lot of them have old wells that are too shallow now, maybe 80 to 120 feet deep,” she said.

This year drillers are boring down to more than 250 feet to find reliable water supplies — and in many cases that means drilling an entirely new well. The pipes in older wells can be incompatible with simply drilling an existing well farther down.

The price tag for a 200-foot well can run more than $13,500. “I don’t take payments,” Crisp said. “It’s really difficult because I know people are really hurting now — but they have to pay it in full or use a credit card.”

Crisp is booked solid for the next six weeks — a new record for the 30-year-old company. Other Visalia well drillers are in the same boat.

Read more from the Visalia Times-Delta by clicking here.

September 2, 2008 · Filed Under Groundwater, San Joaquin Valley

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South San Joaquin Irrigation District saves enough water to supply 120,000 families

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 24, 2008 at 5:30 am

From the Manteca Bulletin:

South San Joaquin Irrigation District is on target to save enough water to serve 120,000 typical California families for a year when flows from the Bureau of Reclamation ends on Sept. 30.

That savings - projected at more than 30,000 acre feet of water - is the direct result of SSJID division managers successfully executing water conservation measures the board put in place in May. An acre-foot consists of 325,851.4 gallons of water or enough to met the needs of four typical families in California for a year. At the time, the SSJID board made it clear they felt they had an obligation as a California entity to do whatever they could to conserve water with much of the state facing water shortages due to the drought even though the SSJID was in good shape.

The board will decide Tuesday during their 9 a.m. meeting at the district office, 11001 East Highway 120, what to do with the water.

The board could seek a Warren Contract with the Bureau of Reclamation to hold over their water in storage in light of their obligation to district farmers as well as the cities of Manteca, Tracy and Lathrop to provide water next year should the drought continue in 2009 and get more severe. If the Bureau is willing to execute such a contract, it would cost the SSJID around $20 an acre-foot to have the Bureau store it at New Melones and guarantee its use for the SSJID in 2009.

SSJID General Manager Jeff Shields said in conversations with the Bureau that indicated they normally don’t do Warren Contracts but they have been asked to do so by a number of agencies this year due to the prospective of a drought in 2009.

August 24, 2008 · Filed Under Other Water Agencies, San Joaquin Valley

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Wells running dry in Visalia; Water table low because of housing, retail development

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 2, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Thanks to Aquafornia reader John for sending me this link! From the Visalia Times-Delta:

Lane Fye was surprised last week to discover that his water well in south Visalia had come up dry. “[It] cost me $1,800 to get it drilled deeper,” he said.

Fye called on the services of Brian Geary, manager of Visalia-based Carver Pumps. The call came as no surprise — a combination of mediocre rainfall and high demand are causing wells to dry up throughout the Central Valley, Geary said. The problem is particularly acute in south Visalia, he said. “We’ve been very, very busy lately,” he said.

Ever-expanding housing developments, farm irrigation and the construction of major retail outlets in the Packwood Creek area have created a “perfect storm” of water demand in south Visalia, officials say. Projects such as the new Costco store and various McMillin Homes projects use a lot of water, Fye said.

With no irrigation water scheduled to be delivered until late June, farmers are also relying more on groundwater, which isn’t helping. Check out the rest of this article from the Visalia Times-Delta by clicking here.

June 2, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture, San Joaquin Valley

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