Draft versions of regional water reports for California Water Plan update now available online; public comment sought
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 17, 2008 at 8:53 amEvery five years, the Department of Water Resources updates it’s water plan. From DWR’s Water Plan website:
The California Water Plan provides a framework for water managers, legislators, and the public to consider options and make decisions regarding California’s water future. The Plan, which is updated every five years, presents basic data and information on California’s water resources including water supply evaluations and assessments of agricultural, urban, and environmental water uses to quantify the gap between water supplies and uses. The Plan also identifies and evaluates existing and proposed statewide demand management and water supply augmentation programs and projects to address the State’s water needs.
The water plan is currently being updated for 2009, and the draft regional reports are now available online. Each regional report includes a discussion of the geography & hydrology of the region, key challenges facing it, ongoing programs and data on water supplies and uses.
DWR is seeking public comment which can be submitted online. All written comments will be posted online for review. The deadline for commenting is August 1st.
Click here to check out your regional report. Unfortunately, if you are looking for our region, the South Coast, the working draft is not posted yet. Since the public comment deadline is only about two weeks away, it should be posted soon.
The second part in a two-part series: How does tap water get to Santa Clarita?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 15, 2008 at 7:43 amFrom Aquafornia’s hometown newspaper, the Santa Clarita Signal, the second of a two-part series that follows a drop of water from it’s origins in Northern California to our taps here in Santa Clarita. The article briefly covers the history of the State Water Project, noting that once the drop arrives in Santa Clarita, it has traveled more than 480 miles from the snow pack on Kettle Rock, pushed turbines at more than half a dozen hydro-electric plants and crossed two major mountain ranges:
So, when a Santa Clarita ratepayer turns on the tap and our sample drop of water - that began as melted snow on the peak of Kettle Rock - helps fill a glass of water; half the glass is typically filled with water that has travelled the same route from Northern California. The remaining half of the glass is water that has come from four local sources: groundwater wells, including shallow wells that tap the Alluvial Aquifer and from water deposits set deep in the earth inside the Saugus Formation.
Last month, Masnada , speaking at a luncheon of the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce, told local business people, warned them about the consequences of diminishing snow packs. “The most recent effects of climate change are reflected in the Department of Water Resources’ State Water Project delivery regarding reduced availabilities of water,” he told The Signal last week.
Continuing dry conditions and court-ordered restrictions on Delta water exports are limiting water deliveries to farms and urban areas. DWR estimates that it will only be able to deliver 35 percent of requested SWP water this year to the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and Southern California.
“We’re looking at a 35 percent allocation for this year,” Masnada said. “The long-term average will see 66 to 69 percent (allocation). Some years, its been 80 to 90 percent allocation. Two years ago, it was 100 percent allocation. “It really depends on what mother nature does.”
Read more from the Santa Clarita Signal by clicking here.
EBMUD wastes thousands of gallons of water a day
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 12, 2008 at 7:47 amFrom the Bay Area’s KTVU Channel 2:
The East Bay Municipal Water District (EBMUD) is demanding that its million-plus customers conserve water, threatening financial penalties if they don’t comply. But at the same time, the utility is wasting thousands of gallons of water each day, right down the drain.
As KTVU’s John Sasaki reports from Lafayette, a drain pipe that runs off the Lafayette Aqueduct dumps water straight into a storm drain.
A nearby resident calls the leak “disturbing,” but what’s even more disturbing is how much water is being wasted. Apartment manager Mark Hurst decided to measure the amount of water going down the drain. He used a “five gallon bucket and a stopwatch. And we came up with 25-plus gallons a minute. That’s 36,000 gallons a day.”
Read more and/or watch the news story from KTVU by clicking here.
Water board turns off rate hike: Long Beach rates will not increase yet, pending implementation of a tiered water rate system
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 11, 2008 at 10:15 amFrom the Long Beach Press-Telegram:
Water and sewer rates will not increase, at least not yet.
The Board of Water Commissioners on Thursday rejected a plan to increase residential water and sewer rates, postponing what the department says is inevitable. The increase has been delayed until the Long Beach Water Department can create a tiered system to encourage commercial, industrial, irrigation and business sectors to conserve water and pay for what dean of the Commissioners Stephen Conley calls a commodity.
“I felt that we’ve addressed this issue for three years, and it’s time to do it on a simplistic basis. Simplistic basis being that we’re talking about water as a commodity, so the more you use, the more you ought to pay. That’s what the residential people do, so it ought to be the same for the other people,” Conley said.
Conley suggested that the water department look at Los Angeles, Irvine and other cities that have tiered rate systems to come up with its own, more simplistic two-tiered system. “We don’t have the detail and the data to be able to create a very refined method of allocation,” Conley said.
However, Kevin Wattier, the general manager of the water department, said that it would probably take many years for the entire project to be implemented.
Ryan Alsop, the director of government and public affairs, said he agrees with Wattier and that the new utility billing system is a multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative. The millions of dollars go toward the software, hardware, infrastructure and other necessities for the installation of the new comprehensive utility billing system for the City of Long Beach, headed by the city’s technology services group. This system would include not only water, but sewer, gas, garbage and possibly other services.
The city’s technology services will be going to the City Council on July 22 to award a contract for this project, said Wattier via e-mail.
Read the full text of this story from the Long Beach Press-Telegram by clicking here.
L.A. fiddles around while Long Beach breaks records for water conservation
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 9, 2008 at 7:46 amFrom Ron Kaye LA Blog:
Did you hear the one about the top L.A. water official who wants you to drink toilet water and personally uses twice as much as the average guy?
Not funny? How’s this: The head of the Long Beach water agency uses one-sixth as much water for his family of five as David Nahai, the head of L.A.’s DWP, does for his family of five.
I’m dying out here trying to get a laugh.
So not only does Long Beach water chief Kevin Wattier conserve himself but he’s got the whole town doing it. Water consumption in Long Beach in June was at a 10-year-low for that month. It was 5.7 percent lower than any in June in a decade, 10.5 percent below the 10-year average and for that last 12 months Long Beach is using 7 percent less water than the average of the last 10 years.
Now that’s funny, you got to admit. Especially when you know L.A.’s water use is just about at the average of recent years — 2.4 percent lower than last year but 20.5 percent higher than two years ago.
So next time you hear the mayor, your City Council member or David Nahai talk about how “green” they are, you can laugh in their face certain in the knowledge that they are hypocrites and deceivers.
It’s Long Beach that’s green and every water official knows why. Kevin Wattier didn’t talk about conserving water, he did something about it — last September — when he figured out that California is facing a water crisis. Demand exceeds supply and it’s not a temporary problem. “We’re really in trouble,” Wattier told me. “We need to make permanent lifestyle changes. Everybody in Southern California needs to permanently reduce their water use. We’re at the tipping point and we need to face reality.”
Read the rest of Ron Kaye’s article by clicking here.
Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners to consider water hike: Rates may rise by about $7 a month for residential customers
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 9, 2008 at 7:09 amFrom the Long Beach Press-Telegram:
The Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners likely will pass a proposed 15.8 percent increase in residential water and sewage monthly bills Thursday. Residential customers with an approximately $42 monthly bill will see an increase of about $7 per month, according to a water department staff proposal.
The water department is forced to raise rates for water and sewer services as construction and water treatment prices increase and water consumption decreases, said Ryan Alsop, director of Government and Public Affairs for the water department. “Our water conservation efforts and our success will translate into a rate increase of some kind, but we have no choice,” Alsop said.
The board will discuss fee increases at its meeting Thursday at 9:15 a.m. at the water department’s administration building at 1800 E. Wardlow Road.
The department must increase rates because prices for electricity, steel production, water treatment and other construction costs have increased, Alsop said. Imported water, which increased by about 14 percent, also will have a significant effect on water and sewer service prices, he said.
“Just the core services of providing you with water and sewer service are increasing substantially, but along with all of those increased costs is a decrease in revenue due to conservation. But, again, it’s either conserve or don’t have any,” Alsop said.
Read the rest of this story from the Long Beach Press-Telegram by clicking here.
Long Beach hits record low water use in June; June ‘08 is 10.5% below 10-year-average; FY’08 YTD tracking at new 10-year record low
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 9, 2008 at 6:56 amFrom the Long Beach Water Department:
LONG BEACH, CA - Today, Bill Townsend, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners, announced that Long Beach has hit another record low for water consumption, this time for June. Water consumption in June 2008 was 5.7 percent below the lowest consumption for any June in the last decade and 10.5 percent lower than the 10-year-average. For entire Fiscal Year 2008, Long Beach is tracking nearly 7 percent below the 10-year-average, which will set a new 10-year, annual water consumption record.
On September 13, 2007, the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners issued a Declaration of Imminent Water Supply Shortage and activated the City’s Emergency Water Supply Shortage Plan. As a result, the Board has issued mandatory prohibitions on certain uses of water. “The Board took the action it did, nearly one year ago now, to forestall lessen the impact of an expected water supply shortage,” stated Bill Townsend, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. “We took the action we did last September because we wanted Long Beach to be the very best prepared city in southern California to deal with a regional water supply shortage. We continue to be encouraged by the response we are getting from the community and we are hopeful others in southern California will join the effort.” The City of Long Beach has set a new 10-year record for low water consumption in six of the last ten months.
The Water Commission’s September 2007 Declaration was necessitated by the profound impact of a U.S. District Court’s August 31st, federal Endangered Species Act ruling; the dramatic, rapid reductions in water storage levels in key reservoirs in northern California; and drought conditions. Nearly half of the City’s water supply is imported.
The Long Beach Water Department is an urban, southern California, retail water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.
YLWD breaks ground to replace one of California’s oldest reservoirs; YLWD’s AAA credit rating means customers save hundreds of thousands of dollars
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 8, 2008 at 11:20 pm
This press release is from Orange County’s Yorba Linda Water District:
YORBA LINDA, Calif. (June 17, 2008) — The Yorba Linda Water District broke ground this week on a replacement for the 95-year-old Highland Reservoir – one of the oldest water-storage facilities in California. The $11.2 million-project will be funded through long-term revenue bonds that sold quickly thanks to YLWD’s recent AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s, which has allowed the District to finance improvement projects at a much lower interest rate, saving customers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the loans. YLWD is one of only three public agencies in the nation to receive the prestigious rating.
The Highland Reservoir was originally built in 1911 as an open-air reservoir and was eventually covered with a roof and surrounding enclosure walls in the late 1950s. The aging 4.6-million-gallon reservoir will be replaced with a 6 million-gallon underground reinforced concrete reservoir that will bring added supply reliability to the central portion of the YLWD service area and improve views for customers in the western portion of Yorba Linda. Construction is scheduled for completion by June 2010.
“Having sufficient water storage capacity is critical to ensuring a low-cost, reliable supply,” said YLWD General Manager Michael Payne. “And our long-term commitment to fiscal conservatism is now paying dividends, as we’ll be able to provide this capacity at a much lower cost thanks to the AAA rating.”
Necessary tree removal and clearing began earlier this year in preparation for the groundbreaking. In the coming weeks, two temporary steel reservoir tanks will be placed at the site to hold the Highland water while the new reservoir is constructed. Once they are in place, work will begin to demolish and remove the existing reservoir and old pipelines, and remediate several abandoned oil wells that once operated on the site.
“The Highland Reservoir was YLWD’s oldest storage facility, and successfully operated far beyond anyone’s original expectations,” Payne said. “We’re confident its predecessor will live up to a similar standard far into the future.”
About YLWD
The Yorba Linda Water District traces its roots back to 1909 and is one of Orange County’s oldest utility companies, providing water and wastewater service to more than 75,000 residents in portions of Yorba Linda, Placentia, Anaheim, Brea and unincorporated Orange County. For more information please visit www.YLWD.com.
Santa Clara water board’s part-time CEO draws high salary
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 8, 2008 at 8:43 amFrom the San Jose Mercury News:
Olga Martin Steele was brought in to temporarily lead the Santa Clara Valley Water District in January after its former CEO Stan Williams resigned under a cloud of controversy for excessive spending. But under a contract that the board will consider extending Tuesday, Steele is making more money than Williams - $252,000 a year - while working less time, only 32 hours a week.
She maintains a part-time status so she can continue drawing her $180,000 state pension, which she earned from previous government jobs. If the water board extends Steele’s contract another six months, she’ll receive $432,000 this year.
On Monday, Steele and the chair of the water district board defended the arrangement. “I came here with a lot of experience and hit the ground running,” Steele said. “I’ve made significant changes and have initiated a number of initiatives to streamline and better leverage resources and position the district for the difficult challenges that lay ahead. And I’m doing that for less money than if they had hired a permanent CEO.”
Based in San Jose, the district provides drinking water and flood protection to 1.8 million Santa Clara County residents. Its $364 million annual budget comes from water bills and property taxes.
Board chair Rosemary Kamei said that Steele, 60, came in on short notice and has worked hard to bring stability to the agency. Under her contract, she does not receive paid vacation, a car allowance or health benefits - benefits worth tens of thousands of dollars. Kamei negotiated the deal, though she said Monday she was unaware how much Steele is earning in pension benefits.
“But we are paying her less than we paid Stan because we are not providing her any of the benefits that we provided him. In terms of what she brings to the district, I think she’s doing an excellent job. In a very short time frame she has been able to do a lot of good things.”
Steele said other governments agencies, including the city of San Jose, had temporarily brought back retirees. However, critics said such deals are often bad for taxpayers.
“We would not say that anybody pulling a pension should never be able to work again,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “But the purpose of a public employee retirement system is to take care of people in their old age. When people are able to retire relatively young, they are able to double dip. The effect on the taxpayers means that there is less money for current services.”
Read the full text of this story from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.
Vandenburg Village district fighting drought by offering more rebates and encouraging conservation
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 6, 2008 at 7:02 amFrom the Lompoc Record:
With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent declaration that California is in a drought, water conservation is becoming a hot topic.
The Vandenberg Village Community Services District is ahead of the game, offering new rebates to encourage water conservation so soon after the governor’s statement. “We initiated water conservation in 1996, and about a year ago we asked what we could do to expand our efforts,” said VVCSD General Manager Joe Barget.
So the district increased its rebate for ultra-low flow toilets to $160 per toilet, and offered two new rebates: $150 for high-efficiencey clothes washers and a “cash for grass” program that offers $2 per square foot of grass that is replaced with low-water use plants, rocks or synthetic turf.
With the governor’s call to local water agencies to reduce water consumption, Barget said the district’s efforts are coming at a good time. “We were just trying to do the right thing,” he said. “Mainly we did it just to sustain the water supply.”
The Vandenburg Village CSD receives no imported water, relying on groundwater only. Read more from the Lompoc Record by clicking here.
DWR announces water transfer agreements
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 1, 2008 at 12:33 pm
From the Department of Water Resources:
More water is flowing to drought-stricken Central Valley farms as a result of new Department of Water Resources (DWR) water transfer agreements. The agreements come after Gov. Schwarzenegger’s State of Emergency proclamation on June 12 for nine counties affected by severe water shortages and his statewide drought proclamation on June 4.
“I continue to push for a comprehensive plan to address California’s water supply issues and the environmental crisis we face in the Delta. The drought has only intensified our need for immediate actions like conservation, increased groundwater storage and financial support for local water agencies and non-profit organizations,” Gov. Schwarzenegger said. “The steps that the Department of Water Resources is announcing today—like expediting $12 million in grants for water conservation—not only represent real action in response to my recent Executive Order, but they demonstrate our unyielding commitment to our immediate water needs and California’s long-term vision to restore the Delta.”
Responding to the Governor’s emergency declaration, up to 50,000 acre feet of groundwater will be pumped into the State Water Project this summer. This water comes from groundwater wells in the Westlands Water District (WWD) and will be transferred to other parts of the WWD service area that do not have groundwater access.
DWR is lending 37,500 acre feet of water to Central Valley Project (CVP) contractors out of the San Luis Reservoir. An additional 25,000 acre feet is being made available by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for the benefit of both CVP and SWP contractors.
“Thanks to the Governor’s leadership and the tremendous cooperation between water agencies, Central Valley farms will have more water during the peak growing season for many crops,” said DWR Director Lester Snow. “These actions will help ease what could otherwise be a dire situation for our farms, our economy and our way of life.”
In addition to the water transfers and exchanges, DWR will expedite $12 million in grants to water agencies and non-profit organizations. The funds can be used for water conservation activities including rebate programs, public education and outreach, leak detection, and retrofit of systems for greater water efficiency. Of the $12 million, $2 million is earmarked for disadvantaged communities and $10 million for other agencies and organizations. DWR will hold an online workshop on the grant program July 8 at 10 a.m. More information on the workshop and the grant program is available at: www.owue.water.ca.gov/finance/index.cfm
To help communities finance new investments in water management funding DWR has awarded $6.4 million in grant funding to 31 public agencies from the Local Groundwater Assistance Program. Funding will support development of groundwater management plans and programs, installation of groundwater monitoring wells, hydro geologic studies of groundwater basins, development of groundwater models and data storage systems, and many other actions to enhance groundwater management and usage throughout California. A listing of the agencies and projects receiving grants is posted at: http://www.grantsloans.water.ca.gov/grants/assistance.cfm
DWR and the State Water Resources Control Board will also award up to $58 million to four Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) efforts. DWR will provide the San Diego County Water Agency up to $25 million and the County of Humboldt up to $2.1 million. The State Water Resources Control Board previously awarded $25 million to the Santa Barbara County Water Agency and $6 million to the Kings River Conservation District. The funding will support a wide variety of water management activities including landscape water efficiency projects, recycled water and desalination projects, groundwater recharge facilities, water and wastewater infrastructure improvements, watershed management activities, and design work for new water management facilities. Additional information about the IRWM program is available at: http://www.grantsloans.water.ca.gov/grants/irwm/integregio.cfm
The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.
Fontana Water Company files plan to increase its rates 26 percent
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 1, 2008 at 12:29 pmFrom the San Bernardino Sun:
The Fontana Water Company is seeking a 26 percent overall increase on user rates for its 44,000 meters effective July 1, 2009.
The company plans to file a general rate case this week with the California Public Utilities Commission to cover increasing costs of operations and new projects, such as a $35 million treatment plant in Lytle Creek and new headquarters in the city, said President Michael Whitehead. “We’ve done our best to minimize this increase,” Whitehead said. “The PUC will ultimately decide what the increase will be.”
The company, a division of the privately owned San Gabriel Valley Water Company, is required by law to file a case every three years. Rates will vary among customers, depending on the type of meter they have and how much water they use, officials said.
Meanwhile, they’re about to pay a little more for water every month, as third-year rate increases from the last general case filing kick in. Starting July 1, the average cost customers will pay goes from $52.69 to $54.01, according to officials.
Read the full text of this article from the San Bernardino Sun by clicking here.
With major water line back in service, Metropolitan thanks 12 million consumers for their water-saving efforts
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 1, 2008 at 6:08 amFrom Business Wire:
Two days ahead of schedule, the major pipeline that carries imported water to much of Los Angeles County was returned to service early this morning after around-the-clock repairs were completed.
“We sincerely appreciate the assistance of consumers throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties who took extra steps to save water at their homes and businesses since we shut down 12 miles of the Sepulveda Feeder June 21 and asked the public for its help,” said Debra C. Man, Metropolitan Water District’s assistant general manager and chief operating officer.
Metropolitan returned the 45-mile Sepulveda Feeder to service at 5 a.m. today after water quality in the pipeline was tested following the repairs. During the shutdown, consumers and businesses in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, Torrance, Fullerton, Compton, Santa Ana, Anaheim, and cities served by Central Basin Municipal Water District, West Basin Municipal Water District, and Municipal Water District of Orange County were asked to cut their water use to help meet demands and maintain reserves.
“Despite temperatures reaching over 100 degrees early on during the shutdown and hot weather again this past weekend, no one in Los Angeles or Orange County—or elsewhere in our six-county service region, for that matter—was without water due to the pipeline shutdown and repairs,” Man said.
“The public water agencies we serve in the affected areas decreased their calls on us for wholesale water by effectively managing local supplies and system storage, and at the local retail level it appeared that—despite the hot temperatures when water use usually increases—conservation held levels constant,” Man said.
“While the Sepulveda Feeder repairs are now completed, and we appreciate everyone’s help over the past 10 days, we need to remind the region that Governor Schwarzenegger has officially proclaimed that California is in a drought and urged everyone to conserve water every day,” Man said.
Metropolitan’s 8-foot-diameter Sepulveda Feeder pipeline, much of it made of reinforced concrete, carries water from Metropolitan’s Joseph Jensen Water Treatment Plant in Granada Hills south to the Palos Verdes Reservoir. Electric-current testing last March showed three areas in the Westside where the reinforcing wire imbedded in the concrete pipe had deteriorated, causing concern that internal pressure could cause the weak spots to rupture.
Replacement sections of welded steel were fabricated at Metropolitan’s shop at La Verne to repair deteriorated sections of pipe under Sepulveda Boulevard adjoining the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood, and in Ladera Heights at 64th Street and Le Doux Road. Another section of pipe, under Slauson Avenue at Hannum Avenue adjoining Fox Hills Mall, was repaired with layers of carbon fiber lining.
“Metropolitan especially wants to thank the neighbors near these repair sites for their patience and understanding over the past 10 days,” Man said. “Their understanding of the urgent necessity for these repairs, and their patience throughout the around-the-clock work, has been exceptional.
“We also extend our appreciation to the many state and local permitting agencies and utilities, elected officials, and homeowner groups with whom we worked closely and cooperatively over recent months to plan and execute these repairs,” Man said. “Their understanding and assistance has been invaluable.”
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving 18 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.
Inland water agencies take water conservation steps
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 28, 2008 at 7:29 amFrom the San Bernardino Sun:
The Boy Scouts have a motto, “Be prepared.” As the providers of water service to an Inland Valley population that is nearing 500,000, we share this philosophy.
The Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD) and the cities of Ontario and Upland, as well as other producers in the Chino Groundwater Basin, claim this as our own motto based on how we operate our business. The concept of being prepared does not only extend to emergency situations, but we also use it as the measuring stick when accommodating growth and the changing characteristics of our region from agricultural based to a more urban setting. Today, while agencies throughout the region are developing projects that address an impending drought, our commitment remains the same: to ensure a reliable water supply for the region.
Last year was the driest year on record. Even with recent rains at the end of May, there has not been nearly enough precipitation to pull us through this dry period. Agencies throughout this region are working together and crafting plans to disseminate and educate businesses and homeowners alike regarding the need to use the region’s water resources as efficiently as possible.
Today, we are not only facing the impacts of an impending drought, but we are also confronted with the likelihood of imported water supply reductions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as the result of a recent court decision addressing the decrease of an endangered fish species in the Delta. Nearly 30 percent of the water supply Chino Basin water agencies receive is from imported water coming from Northern California. Agencies - such as CVWD - receive as much as 50 percent of their water from Northern California. Any reductions in this supply would have a significant impact on the region.
This may not paint a positive picture of the region’s water supply future; however, as a result of smart choices agencies throughout the Inland Valley have made to manage water supplies more effectively we have been able to keep pace with growth while making efforts to conserve when possible. Although we know that future water supply reductions may be inevitable, our region is much further along because of the efforts of water agencies within the Chino Basin have made to implement innovative water supply management programs that have helped “drought-proof” the region.
Read the full text of this story from the San Bernardino Sun by clicking here.
Water rates going up; San Diegans can expect to pay more for water beginning January 1, 2009
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 27, 2008 at 8:04 amFrom San Diego’s KOGO AM 600:
Faced with additional costs sparked by growing water supply challenges, the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors Thursday approved an 11.9 percent increase in wholesale treated water rates and charges and a 15.0 percent increase in untreated water rates and charges. The new rates will become effective January 1, 2009.
Drought conditions in California, limited water supplies from the Colorado River and court-imposed restrictions on pumping in the Bay-Delta have reduced imported water deliveries from the State Water Project are the driving forces behind increased supply costs.
The Water Authority’s increase follows the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s 14.3 percent increase in the cost of treated water and 17.4 percent increase for untreated water to its member agencies. MWD currently supplies up to 80 percent of the water to the San Diego region.
“These rates and charges are necessary to continue diversifying our water supply portfolio, improve water supply reliability and complete vital infrastructure projects to meet the needs of our 3 million residents and $163 billion economy” said Fern Steiner, Water Authority Board Chair.
Read the full text of this article from KOGO AM 600 by clicking here.
Confessions and manipulations of Nahai, the water-waster
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 27, 2008 at 6:51 amFrom the Los Angeles Daily News, this editorial:
Auditors of the spacious spread owned by H. David Nahai on Beverly Hills-adjacent Deep Canyon Drive found that the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is one of those very water-wasters that the city is, under his own leadership, cracking down on.
In fact, Nahai’s lawn is so overwatered by sprinklers that it’s sitting in a foot of subsurface moisture.
Those were the revelations that Nahai made to the Daily News in a story this week. In that story, Nahai acted contrite - and seemed ready to take action to trim his average $232 monthly water bill.
It was embarrassing for Nahai, to be sure. And it reinforced the belief by many that Los Angeles’ leaders regularly engage in hypocrisy. Here was the man scolding Angelenos for using too much water caught in the wasteful act himself.
But shouldn’t Nahai be forgiven for generously opening his home and his water usage to the public - a commitment to model good conservationist behavior? Certainly, if that were the whole story.
Yes, apparently annoyed by a reporter (Alan Mittelstaedt) who was pestering him to release his water bills, pursuant to legal requirements, Nahai decided to take his water bills to another reporter instead. It also tends to show that Nahai only did the right thing only after being exposed as a water waster. But that’s not the only issue, says this editorial:
Besides, the real problem is not so much that Nahai runs a wasteful home, but that he runs a wasteful utility. If Nahai is willing to sidestep legitimate requests for information and manipulate the public on a simple question of his water bill, imagine what he might do to sidestep legitimate requests on the DWP’s proposed expansion, future rate increases and capital improvement construction.
Read the full text of this editorial from the Los Angeles Daily News by clicking here.
David over at Westchester Kids charts Nahai’s use against other city council members:
The average per person water consumption of LADWP customers is 56,576 gallons per year or 163,000 gallons for the average 3 person household.
* H. David Nahai (DWP General Manager) - 434,220
(a staggering 310% times more than my household!!)
* Rocky Delgadillo (City attorney) - 423,368 gallons
* Mayor Villaraigosa - 386,716 gallons
* Jack Weiss - 254,320 gallons
* Bill Rosendahl - 230,384 gallons
* Tony Cardenas - 219,912 gallons
* Greig Smith - 219,164 gallons
* Dennis Zine - 194,480 gallons
* Wendy Gruel - 190,740 gallons
* Jose Huizar - 142,120 gallons
* Eric Garcetti - 88,264 gallons
* Janice Hahn - 83,776 gallons
* Bernard Parks - 35,156 gallons
Mayor Villaraigosa should be happy to hear that once Nahai goes through the twelve step program gets his water use under control, the mayor and his planning commissioners will be able to entitle that water to downtown developers for another 8 housing units and keep us trapped in a cycle of perpetual water shortages.
More from Westchester Kids blog by clicking here.
Los Angeles DWP suit alleges Colorado firm overbilled for Owens Lake work
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 25, 2008 at 7:07 am
From the Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against a Colorado-based construction and engineering firm, accusing it of overbilling the utility over a seven-year period.
The lawsuit alleged that the Englewood-based company conspired to defraud the DWP by preparing and approving numerous invoices that “artificially inflated the value of the work performed by CH2M Hill and its subcontractors.”
The lawsuit comes one year after an audit commissioned by the DWP concluded that CH2M Hill had overbilled the municipal utility by as much as $4.5 million.
Although the lawsuit does not say how much the city believes it is owed by CH2M Hill, DWP General Manager H. David Nahai said his agency would seek at least $13.5 million, plus punitive damages and $10,000 for each allegedly false claim submitted by the company. “This lawsuit doesn’t specify a number because it’s possible that by the time that other damages are added, the number could be much larger” than the original amount that was overcharged, Nahai said.
CH2M Hill received contracts worth $106 million since 1998 to control dust on the dry bed of Owens Lake, which is about 200 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
A spokesman for CH2M Hill said he had not seen the lawsuit, but denied the allegations of fraud. “We did what we believe, and what others believe, was good work for the city,” said Martin Nicholson, CH2M Hill’s regional manager for the Southwest region. “We stand behind that work.”
Read the rest of this story from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
Audit finds DWP chief’s yard to be overflowing
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 24, 2008 at 3:58 pmFrom the Daily News:
As city leaders urge residents to trim energy and water usage amid the sweltering summer months, a home audit of the chief of L.A.’s Department of Water and Power has found that even the champion of conservation is not doing enough to cut back.
Auditors last month found that lawn sprinklers at General Manager H. David Nahai’s 6,000-square-foot Deep Canyon Drive home had come on every single night for more than a year - summer or winter, rain or shine. The watering resulted in about a foot of subsurface moisture and boosted the general manager’s average water consumption - 36,185 gallons a month, or 1,190 gallons a day - higher than most of his neighbors.
And while auditors found some energy-saving efforts at Nahai’s home - and noted that his average bimonthly electric bill of $414 for 1,762 kilowatt hours a month was slightly less than those of his neighbors - they still found plenty of inefficiencies and energy-wasting appliances.
“I’m offering myself up as an example,” said Nahai, who requested the audit of his home in the community north of Beverly Hills. “Yes, I have a house that’s larger than most, and smaller than some. But we all face the same challenges. We can all take a look at where it is in our personal lives and our residences and see where water is being wasted and make a choice whether we want to cut back on that waste or not.”
Nahai - who said he is now on a personal quest to cut energy and water consumption - said that like most people, he didn’t question his average bimonthly $464 water bill and assumed that his gardener had properly adjusted the automatic lawn sprinklers. And he said he and his family - his wife, a 21-year-old and two teenagers - have taken energy-saving steps including using recirculated water in the swimming pool, low-flow toilets and a new high-efficiency washing machine.
Still, the audit’s findings come as new energy and water rate hikes are taking effect, the city is considering fines for water-wasters, and soaring summer temperatures sent energy usage Saturday to a record for weekend utility usage in June. And Nahai’s usage is significantly higher than average ratepayers citywide - who use about 18,092 gallons of water per month and 500 kilowatt hours of electricity every month.
“If he’s going to whack us with higher rates and restrictions, he better do it,” said Mel Flohr, a retired West Hills resident. “The public will cooperate without fines if they get the proper example.”
Read the rest of this story from the Los Angeles Daily News by clicking here.
Ron Kaye responds:
Like Nahai, I have low-flush toilets and I recirculate water in my pool and I have a low-energy, low water consuming washing machiine. Unlike him, I have other low energy appliances as well. You could fit five of my houses inside his so you can bet I don’t have anywhere near the amount of light bulbs or air conditioning use.
Here’s an idea: Instead of gouging the little people with endless rate hikes, what if we determine the average residential use of water and power and start charging people sharply higher rates when they go above that. And for people like Nahai maybe we should charge five to 10 times the average rate.
Read the full text of Ron Kaye’s response by clicking here.
Troubled Waters: the good side and bad side of Nahai
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 24, 2008 at 3:52 pmFrom Los Angeles Magazine:
“Isn’t this beautiful?” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asks through his biggest smile, a walking Eddie Bauer ad in blue jeans, a wool scarf, and hiking boots untouched by trail dust. His helicopter has just dropped him in the Owens Valley, next to the sluice gate where snowmelt enters the Los Angeles Aqueduct for the 223-mile trip across the desert. Comet tails of white powder blow off the peaks of the eastern Sierra to provide a dream backdrop. Villaraigosa has come to release water into the Lower Owens River as proof that he is a friend of the environment. It’s a nice gesture, but hardly impressive to Inyo County’s ranchers and fishermen. They’ve heard everything in the eight decades since Los Angeles dried up the Lower Owens. This morning, though, they are laughing easily with a natty figure who is sporting a black turtleneck and an English boarding school accent and hovering at the mayor’s shoulder.
H. David Nahai is the one Angeleno the locals trust—so far. At the podium he quotes Jackson Browne lyrics about repairing history’s excesses and vows to “preserve this Eden we see around us.” He’s been preaching this message across the state. It’s persuasive stuff here because Nahai is the new chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power—an environmentalist in charge of an agency whose tentacles extend across the West.
Nahai got the job last year despite his lack of the usual credentials. He’s a real estate lawyer, not an engineer or a city hall insider, and managing a firm with a dozen attorneys is not like running a department with 8,500 employees. Nahai is something of a policy wonk about water and the perils of global warming, but that doesn’t necessarily qualify him to lead a $4.2 billion monolith whose storied history begins with aqueduct builder William Mulholland. Lately the DWP’s image has taken some hits. Too many summer blackouts. Threats of water rationing. An unruly union and a scandal over public relations contracts that helped bring down Mayor Jim Hahn.
Read the full text of this story from Los Angeles Magazine by clicking here.
Ron Kaye doesn’t think too much of this article and has posted this response:
Every story needs a villain, and DWP General Manager David Nahai has achieved that status in the political story of L.A. in record time. At least that’s what many members of neighborhood councils, community activists, DWP managers and media mavens who have encountered Nahai’s arrogance and glib glossing over of the truth are saying.
But that’s only the half full glass of water view of the real estate millionaire turned environmentalist.
Every story also needs a hero and David Nahai is definitely that if you read the hagiographic puff piece in L.A. magazine’s July issue by Kevin Roderick, the expert in all things media in L.A., defender of the L.A. Times’ hack pack and public relations consultant.
Normally, I’d hold my nose and look the other way but given my passion for exposing the waste, inefficiency and corruption at the City Hall’s most powerful and insulated institution and Roderick’s holding himself as up the ultimate arbiter of all things journalistic, I cannot let this article headlined “Troubled Waters” go unnoticed.
Let’s start with the fact that the closest there is to a critical voice comes from a group out in Mojave worried about power lines. The rest is quotes that glorify and turns of phrase that befit a man who walks on water.
Read the rest of Ron Kaye’s blog post by clicking here.
Nahai. Good guy or bad guy? You decide.
Water use cuts fall short of goals in East Bay
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2008 at 6:08 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
Gus Kriletich’s backyard has roasted to paper-bag brown. The property, which sits in a quiet hillside neighborhood in San Leandro, used to be a gathering spot for church groups and family. With this year’s drought and mandatory water rationing, Kriletich shut off the spigot and abandoned plans to fill wooden planters with flowers. “My grandchildren used to love to come over here and run around in the sprinklers,” said Kriletich. “Not anymore.”
The East Bay Municipal Utility District in mid-May ordered its 1.3 million customers to slash water use by 15 percent overall to protect a fast-dropping water supply hammered by two years of below-average rainfall and the driest spring on record. Gus and Clare Kriletich took the emergency measure to heart, saving water “scraps” from washing vegetables and from waiting for hot shower water. They only run full loads of laundry and are considering planting native species that tolerate heat and dry weather.
But less than a month before new drought rates are supposed to go into effect, few are following suit. Water use across the district, which includes parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, has only dropped 4 percent, or 183 acre-feet (an acre-foot equals about 326,000 gallons). That doesn’t bode well as the region heads into summer.
“Water consumption is related to the weather outside. … If we get more hot spells, I wouldn’t be surprised if we fell short of our goal,” said Eileen White, water department manager at EBMUD.
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.