Dam builders celebrate memories of Shasta Dam
Posted by: Maven on May 5, 2011 at 8:25 am
From the Bureau of Reclamation, this press release:
“The Bureau of Reclamation’s Northern California Area Office, Shasta Damboree, and the Shasta Lake Heritage and Historical Society are sponsoring the annual Shasta Dam Workers’ Reunion and Celebration on Saturday, May 7, 2011, at the American Legion Hall in Shasta Lake City.
The dam workers’ reunion is part of the Shasta Damboree weekend, a celebration honoring the construction of Shasta Dam. This event is an example of others in the America’s Great Outdoors initiative in which Americans celebrate a vast and varied natural heritage through various activities. … “
Find out more from the Bureau of Reclamation by clicking here.
State’s water resource data find home at Cal State San Bernardino
Posted by: Maven on April 25, 2011 at 7:23 amFrom the Riverside Press-Enterprise:
“Cal State San Bernardino will be the new home to a portion of the nationally acclaimed Water Resources Center archives, which were previously housed at UC Berkeley.
Founded in 1958 by the California Legislature, the Water Resources Center archives contain historical and contemporary materials of great value to water agencies, governmental bodies, environmental groups, engineering firms, attorneys, historians and researchers, including faculty and students. It consists of about 200 archival collections, 200,000 technical reports, 1,500 specialized newsletters, 5,000 maps and videos, 2,200 serials, 25,000 land photographs, 45,000 aerial photographs of coastlines, and digital resources in the form of CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, and websites. … “
Continue reading from the Riverside Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
In 1962, Dodger Stadium lacked a key liquid asset: When the stadium opened 49 years ago, it was ‘state of the art’ except for one thing: It had no drinking fountains
Posted by: Maven on April 3, 2011 at 8:08 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
“When Dodger Stadium opened 49 years ago, historian Kevin Starr observed, it was “state of the art,” from its “column-free construction” and “unobstructed view of home plate from every seat” to its “escalators serving four levels” and “comfortable seats for fans.”
There was just one problem, he noted: There were no drinking fountains.
Well, actually there were two, one in each team’s dugout. But, of course, the fans in the 56,000-seat ballpark were not allowed to get in line with the players when they needed a sip. … “
Continue reading from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
Reclamation’s Newlands Project: Making the desert bloom *corrected link*
Posted by: Maven on April 1, 2011 at 8:05 am
From the Lahontan Valley News, this in-depth look and historical retrospective of the Newlands Project, the very first project from what would become the Bureau of Reclamation:
“The lifeblood for many residents in Lyon and Churchill counties begins at the Derby Dam.
Constructed in 1906, the dam diverts water from the Truckee River to Fernley and Fallon. Truckee-Carson Irrigation District Project Manager Rusty Jardine, board president Ernie Schank and director Eric Olsen spearheaded a tour of the canal in March and of the overall operations of providing water for irrigation.
The canal’s purpose is simple: To divert water for the irrigation season to farmers and agriculture workers in Fernley, Hazen and Fallon. Most of the water supplies Fernley and Hazen, as only one-third of the Lahontan Valley relies on the diversion because of the Carson River. … “
Continue reading from the Lahontan Valley News by clicking here.
Historical photo of the Derby Dam dedication by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Storm of 1862 made an inland sea
Posted by: Maven on February 27, 2011 at 8:24 amFrom the San Luis Obispo Tribune:
“My mother’s ancestors came to California by covered wagon over the Sierra Nevada in the summer of 1847, a few months after the Donner Party tragedy. They settled in the vast Sacramento Valley in what is now Colusa County and tried to build a future along the fertile banks of the Sacramento River.
About 13 years later, they took refuge on the nearby Sutter Buttes because of one of the worst floods ever to hit California.
Many years ago, my grandmother, Frances Graham, passed along this bit of family folklore to me from her mother about a deluge of biblical proportions that occurred in 1862. … “
Continue reading from the San Luis Obispo Tribune by clicking here.
Interested in written historical literature on water? Then check this out …
Posted by: Maven on February 9, 2011 at 9:22 amFrom the Water Librarian’s blog:
“If you read this blog, I’m assuming you’re interested in the written literature of water. If you’re specifically interested interested in the written historical literature of water in the Western U.S., then you must contact Marc Selvaggio. … “
More from the Water Librarian’s blog by clicking here.
Water research archive arrives in Southern California
Posted by: Maven on January 25, 2011 at 9:08 amFrom the University of California:
“The University of California, Riverside is now home to a significant portion of the nationally acclaimed Water Resources Center Archives (WRCA), which began its move two weeks ago from Northern California to Southern California. Movers completed the transfer of the prized collection from UC Berkeley to UC Riverside last week.
The move of the WRCA to UC Riverside sets the stage for planning a statewide network to be collaboratively supported by UCR and California State University San Bernardino (Cal State San Bernardino will receive WRCA materials at a later date).
“Water has played an enormous role in the development of Southern California, and UC Riverside, as the former long-time home of the systemwide Water Resources Center, has conducted research on water quality, availability, and management for decades,” said Thomas O. Baldwin, the dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. “Having the WRCA located here will allow access to the collection by a large number of environmental researchers and managers.” … “
Continue reading from the University of California Newsroom by clicking here.
San Bernardino: The Swing Brothers helped bring region water
Posted by: Maven on January 24, 2011 at 6:58 amFrom the Riverside Press-Enterprise:
“Gov. Jerry Brown and Ralph Swing might have gotten along pretty well, despite the fact that Swing was a lifelong Republican.
In his budget proposal of last week, one of the things the Democratic governor put forward was a shifting of power and money from state agencies to local government.
Swing was way ahead of him.
When he died in 1961, one of the things the former state senator was most remembered for was crafting and passing legislation that decentralized state agencies and gave more control to city and county governments. That was more than 60 years ago. … “
Continue reading from the Riverside Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Historian ties PG&E’s genesis to Browns Valley Irrigation District
Posted by: Maven on January 16, 2011 at 8:35 amFrom the Appeal-Democrat:
“Every time most people in Northern California turn on a light, they owe a bit of gratitude to Thomas Edison, Nikolas Tesla … and the Browns Valley Irrigation District .
That’s according to Nevada City resident and amateur historian Dale Johnson, whose research into the early history of BVID led him to believe it played a direct role in the formation of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. , the utility serving most of the north half of the state.
“They’d bought two-thirds of the generating capacity,” said Johnson, 73, laying out the situation of more than century ago during the BVID board meeting Thursday. “The only thing they didn’t have was San Francisco.” … “
Continue reading from the Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Blast from the past: Governor comes out fighting for State water bond issue
Posted by: Maven on December 24, 2010 at 7:48 amFrom the Oroville Mercury Register, Aug. 30, 1960:
“Gov. Edmund G. Brown came out fighting today for the $1.75 billion water bond issue on the November ballot.
Obviously upset by criticism from labor some independent consultants and some members of the legislature, Brown labeled opponents of the bond issue “irreconcilables, doubters, obstructionists, quibblers and sectionalists.”
“This is not the Brown water program, this is not a Democratic Party water program, this is not a south water program or a north water program,” he said.
“This is the California water plan and we are going to continue to fight for this project right down to Election Day.” … “
Continue reading from the Oroville Mercury-Register by clicking here.
The Water Resources Center Archives prepares to move to Southern California
Posted by: Maven on October 6, 2010 at 7:56 amFrom the Water Librarian’s Blog:
“Dear friends, colleagues, supporters, and members of the water community,
Much progress has been made since July 16, 2010 when the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) announced its decision regarding WRCA’s future home. Following a thorough review of the three proposals that were submitted from UC Berkeley, Davis and Riverside to house WRCA, UC Riverside was selected as the new academic home.
The UC Riverside campus (UCR) is partnering with California State University. San Bernardino (CSUSB) to continue to provide access to and development of this world-renowned collection. In fact, the move will allow UCR and CSUSB to build a statewide collaborative network that will enhance access to WRCA’s unique materials. This network will not diminish services to the UC campuses but increase support for water research agendas of the UC and CSU campuses and external clientele of WRCA. … “
Continue reading from the Water Librarian’s blog by clicking here.
UC water archive to leave Berkeley campus, go to two campuses in south state
Posted by: Maven on July 20, 2010 at 7:16 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“The West’s premier archive of historical materials about water development is being moved from UC Berkeley to two universities in Southern California.
The Water Resources Center Archives, a unique collection of technical reports, speeches, photographs and other historical materials, has been housed at the Berkeley campus for more than a half-century.
However, budget worries and concerns that the Agriculture and Natural Resources Division of the UC president’s office lacked the expertise to maintain the archive led university officials to seek proposals from other schools interested in housing the collection.
Late last week, UC Senior Vice President Dan Dooley announced that the archive would be moved to libraries at UC Riverside and Cal State San Bernardino. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Sunday’s top of the scroll: Water Resources Center Archives to move to Southern California
Posted by: Maven on July 18, 2010 at 7:03 amFrom the University of California Riverside:
“The premier collection of information and materials about water development in California and the West will soon move to a new home: Southern California.
The nationally acclaimed Water Resources Center Archives (WRCA) is being transferred from its previous location at the University of California, Berkeley to the libraries at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB), the University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) division announced today.
Founded in 1958 by the legislature as part of the California Water Resources Center, WRCA contains historical and contemporary water-related materials of great value to water agencies, governmental bodies, environmental groups, engineering firms, attorneys, historians and researchers.
Recently, ANR sought new guardians for the center’s archives. UCR and CSUSB developed an innovative and collaborative plan for joint management of the collection.
“Water is the lifeblood of this state, and it’s vital that all students of water issues and decision makers have access to this material,” said Timothy P. White, chancellor of UCR. “As guardians of knowledge and centers of water research, our campuses have an obligation to preserve and disseminate this material.” … “
Continue reading from the University of California Riverside by clicking here.
July 2010 update on status of Water Resources Center Archives
Posted by: Maven on July 15, 2010 at 5:55 amFrom On Water, the blog of the Water Resources Center Archives:
“In October 2009, UC Office of the President’s, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) decided that WRCA would best be supported by a UC campus and vowed to find WRCA a “new home” by June 30, 2010. In April 2010, ANR issued a Request for Application (RFA) to four UC campuses: Berkeley, Davis, Riverside and Merced. The applications were due May 21, 2010.
I believe that the five-person review panel met sometime during the week of June 21st. As I understand the process, the Review Panel submitted a recommendation to Dan Dooley, Vice President of ANR, and he made the final decision. Unfortunately, I can only guess at some of the dates, because ANR has chosen not to keep WRCA staff updated during this process. … “
Continue reading from On Water by clicking here.
ACWA Centennial Video: Part 1
Posted by: Maven on June 22, 2010 at 7:39 amFrom ACWA’s Water News:
“ACWA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010. Since its formation in 1910, ACWA has been a guiding force in California water. From early irrigation statutes to the historic legislative package signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger in November 2009, ACWA continues to help shape the laws and policies that affect California’s water resources.
During ACWA’s Spring Conference & Exhibition in Monterey California we presented a video to help commemorate leadership in water for the past 100 years.”
ACWA Centennial Video from Nikko Ambroselli on Vimeo.
Response from UC President Mark Yudof regarding Water Resources Center Archives
Posted by: Maven on June 4, 2010 at 8:00 amFrom the Water Librarian’s blog:
“I (and many others) received the following e-mail:
Thank you for your e-mail expressing your concern about the future of the University of California’s Water Resources Center archives. As I hope you will understand, because of the volume of messages I have received on this topic, I am sending the same response to all.
The academic home for the Archives, the ANR Water Resources Center, closed December 31, 2009, and ANR is seeking a new, appropriate home for the Water Archive resources. The intrinsic research and societal value of the Archives is not in dispute. How to best manage the Archive resources into the future, where to house the Archive resources, and how to ensure that the resources are available to future researchers, students, and policymakers are being discussed. … “
Water Wired blog: Earth To UC Regents: Are you stupid, clueless, or what? Save the Water Resources Center Archives!
Posted by: Maven on May 13, 2010 at 8:41 amFrom Michael Campana at the Water Wired blog:
“Earth is more than a little perturbed this week: first Science magazine, now the University of California Regents, who seem intent on dismantling the Water Resources Center Archives (WRCA) at the University of California-Berkeley, the most comprehensive collection of water materials in the USA.
Even The Dickster thinks it’s a dumb thing to do, as does his former boss.
It costs all of about $300,000 per year to maintain the WRCA. … “
Read more from the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
Click here to find out what you can do to help save the WRCA.
Ditch is getting some historical attention
Posted by: Maven on February 18, 2010 at 5:59 amFrom the Riverside Press Enterprise:
“Parts of it are gone, but a 12-mile ditch is getting more attention these days as part a new book about its part in the San Bernardino area’s history.
The Mill Creek Zanja (pronounced sahn-ha), or ditch, is probably the oldest remains from the Mission Era of the San Bernardino Valley and was constructed by Serrano and Cahuilla Indians to bring water from the Mill Creek Canyon to the San Gabriel Mission Rancho in 1819-1820.
During its history, the zanja has supplied water for life and irrigation to the San Bernardino pioneer ranchers, the San Bernardino Estancia, Rancho San Bernardino, Mormon settlers and the Redlands water supply. And these days it is getting more attention from Tom Atchley, author of the newly released book “Mill Creek Zanja Driving Tour and Brief History.” … “
Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Notorious in Jackson, Brown routed foothills water south
Posted by: Maven on January 29, 2010 at 8:04 amFrom the Amador Ledger Dispatch, this third part of a four-part series (you can find part 1 here and part 2 here):
“At the same time Attorney General Pat Brown sent investigators to bore enough holes in the city of Jackson’s 1950s vice establishment to cause it to collapse under the weight of grand-jury hearings, he was becoming the state’s chief player in moving foothills water to Southern California.
Elected attorney general in 1950, Edmund G. Brown in 1951 pushed to the forefront of state water politics by gaining appointment to the California Water Project Authority governing board.
At around the same time, in September 1951, Brown wrote to Jackson Police Chief George Milardovich.
Brown, according to author Allen De Grange, referred Milardovich to a report that a Jackson man named Red Kelliher tried to bribe a state district attorney’s investigator Sept. 17, 1951 for advance warning of raids on a “Charter Club” in Jackson.
Brown’s Sept. 21 letter states, “Whatever is meant by the term ‘Charter Club,’ it is perfectly certain that it is nothing more than a subterfuge devised to cloak an illegal operation,” and urged that Milardovich “forestall this plan.” … “
Read more from the Amador Ledger-Dispatch by clicking here.
75-year-old Marin water tank wood reused, scattered around Bay Area
Posted by: Maven on January 3, 2010 at 6:19 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“A 75-year-old, 100,000-gallon Marin Municipal Water District wooden water tank that was taken down in San Rafael last year lives on in restaurant tables, whiskey bar walls, fire house entries and trellises, tables, shelves, paneling, shelving and mantels throughout the Bay Area.
Michael “Bug” Deakin, founder of the Heritage Salvage building-materials-recycling yard in Petaluma, made it happen.
When the water district put the tank’s deconstruction out to bid in summer 2008, all of the submitted bids were too pricey for the district’s coffers. So the jovial junkman lowered his bid to $1.
“I’m into salvaging the heritage wood,” Deakin said. “I’m into the story of where it came from and what happened to it, so this tank made perfect sense for us.” … “
Find out where the wood went in the rest of this story from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
1920s: The Great Drought hurts Manteca economy
Posted by: Maven on December 23, 2009 at 6:12 amFrom the Manteca Bulletin:
“It wasn’t the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929 that was the defining economic development for Manteca in the 1920s.
It was the Great Drought of 1924. It was also the same year the dreaded hoof-and-mouth diseases decimated dairy herds.
The drought was the catalyst for the single most enduring economic investment made by Manteca’s voters.Up until 1924, bonds to build the Melones Dam were soundly defeated. Manteca farmers and residents couldn’t see the benefit of the dam for flood protection or water supplies since the Woodward Reservoir completed in 1916 seemed to serve the South San Joaquin Irrigation District well.
But the drought of 1924 changed all of that. … “
Read more from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.
1910s: Water brought prosperity to Manteca
Posted by: Maven on December 22, 2009 at 7:00 amFrom the Manteca Bulletin:
“Water.
It drove back the efforts of a 20-man Mormon contingent led by William Stout in 1846. They had established a colony southwest of Manteca near the Hays Road bend in the San Joaquin. They were the first to build an irrigation ditch for farm crops, a modest three-quarter of a mile perfectly graded ditch that was still visible in 1910.
The devastating floods of the winter of 1846-47, though, swelled the San Joaquin turning it into a three-mile wide river.
But while too much water forced the area’s first settlers to give up and head back to San Francisco, by the time 1910 rolled around Manteca’s handful of residents were anxious to solve the problem of not enough water.
It was during the 1910s that several private efforts to build irrigation canals to bring water to the Manteca-Ripon-Escalon triangle from the Stanislaus River near Knights Ferry enjoyed limited success. … “
Read more from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.
Water History: Transcript of 1967 interview with Harvey O. Banks
Posted by: Maven on December 12, 2009 at 8:20 am
From the University of California at Berkeley, a transcript of an interview from 1967 with Harvey O. Banks regarding California’s water development:
“Brown: This is an interview with Mr. Harvey Banks of Leeds, Hill and Jewett on August IT, 1965. The interview is conducted on behalf of the Water Resources Center Archives at the University of California. The interviewer is Gardner Brown.
Mr. Banks, let s start off by having you give some of your professional background prior to your coining to the Department and the kinds of activities that you are involved in. When did you come to the California Dept. of Water Resources?
Banks: My undergraduate work was taken at Syracuse University from which I was graduated in June of 1930, with a degree of Bachelor of Sciences in Civil Engineering. Upon completion of undergraduate work I attended Stanford University for three years with a half time instructorship in Civil Engineering and taking graduate work in Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineering the other half of the time. I received a Master of Science Degree from Stanford. … “
Read the full text of this transcript by clicking here.
Check this out, water history buffs: ACWA launches its centennial website
Posted by: Maven on December 10, 2009 at 7:51 amNext year, ACWA will celebrate it’s centennial, and in preparation, has launched a new website. The website includes historical photos, timelines, and more. Information will be added throughout the year, so bookmark the site so you can check back later.
Check it out by clicking here.
The diplomacy of water: “Water and the West: The Colorado River Compact and the Politics of Water in the American West” enters second printing
Posted by: Maven on October 27, 2009 at 7:35 amFrom High Country News:
“Norris Hundley’s book Water and the West has long stood as the classic account of the epic negotiations to divide up the Colorado River’s water. First published in 1975, the book quickly went out of print. Yet it is such an essential history of the river’s politics that, for the last several years, it’s been hard to find a used copy for less than $150.
Now, Water and the West is back, in a second edition with a new preface and epilogue. Many good books on the topic have followed in its wake, but Water and the West remains the single most important source for understanding the origins of (and the seemingly incomprehensible political gyrations behind) the 1922 Colorado River Compact. Hundley’s painstakingly assembled account of the Compact negotiations was drawn, in part, from a long-lost set of minutes that he rediscovered. It was like unearthing the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Colorado. …”
Read more from High Country News by clicking here.
UC water archive needs new home
Posted by: Maven on October 26, 2009 at 8:21 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“The future of water in California is a well-known point of contention. Now the history of water has become a subject of concern.
State budget problems have driven the University of California to seek a new home for the Water Resources Center Archives, a repository of research and historical documents unique in the nation.
The archives, housed at UC Berkeley, hold thousands of studies, maps and photographs documenting the struggle over water in California and throughout the arid West. For decades it has served as a shrine for engineers, lawyers and academics working to understand and improve the management of water, California’s most precious resource.
Though housed at UC Berkeley, the archives are funded by the UC Office of the President as a systemwide resource. The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the president’s office recently said that, to save money, the archives must be moved by June 30, 2010. …”
Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
You can check out all the Water Resources Center Archives have to offer by visiting them online: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/
California has a wild water history
Posted by: Maven on October 18, 2009 at 8:30 amFrom the Santa Cruz Sentinel:
“California’s water history has the intrigue of a spy novel and content of a thousand Hollywood movies. As Mark Twain once said “Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting over.”
American Indians used streams and springs as their main water sources. Then in the late 1700s, the Spanish started digging ditches to divert water from these natural water bodies to irrigate land for crops. The Spanish established their own law that stated their villages had rights to the water from these streams.
In 1850, California became the 31st state, and England’s riparian water law was adopted. Riparian law states that those who own land bordering a water body have the right to that water.
Gold Rush Period
With the onslaught of the Gold Rush, miners started using hydraulic mining techniques and water use rose dramatically. About 4,000 miles of canals were built just to convey water so the miners could blast sides of mountains with powerful jets of water to wash out the gold. In fact, this new type of mining used such large quantities of water that this time period could have been called the “Water Rush.” …”
Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel by clicking here.
Peter Gleick: Destroying our libraries: A water story
Posted by: Maven on October 17, 2009 at 8:54 amFrom Peter Gleick at the City Brights blog:
“In 49 BC, parts of the priceless Library of Alexandria burned, when Julius Caesar set a fire to the Egyptian fleet in the harbor and the fire spread. Portions more burned or were destroyed by barbarians over the next few centuries as Alexandria fell from grace as the world’s leading center of knowledge and learning. Today, the destruction of the Library is considered one of the worst tragedies of ancient times.
Well, the barbarians are back.
One of the most remarkable library treasures of the University of California system is the Water Resources Center Archives, a unique and irreplaceable collection of current and historical scientific, political, educational, and personal materials on California, western US, and global water history, science, and policy. The WRCA is at UC Berkeley.
In a stunningly shortsighted, self-serving, and disgraceful move, those responsible for the Archives, in particular, the Agricultural and Natural Resources Division (headquartered in Oakland), have announced that the Archives may be shut down in June, unless they can find some other University home for it willing to cover the costs. The move is ostensibly for “budget” reasons, but the budget involved is pathetically small — on the order of $300,000 a year, supporting four staff. Just for comparison the top administrator of the ANR division receives salary and benefits on the order of $400,000 a year (yes, for a single person).
In fact, the budget crisis is being used as an opportunity (or excuse) for ANR to restructure in a way to support new initiatives that apparently don’t require the kind of critical fact- and information-based services that the Archives provides. …”
Read the rest of Peter Gleick’s post by clicking here.
Peter Langley: Kevin Starr’s latest historical book gives background to today’s problems
Posted by: Maven on October 15, 2009 at 8:38 amFrom the Contra Costa Times, this commentary/book review by Peter Langley:
“If you’re interested in better understanding the California we live in, I have a must-read for you: “Golden Dreams, California in an Age of Abundance 1950-1963,” written by former state librarian Kevin Starr.
It’s long (480 pages) and fact-filled, although sometimes trivial. (You learn, for example, that actress Natalie Woods’ real name was Natalia Zakharenko.)
But on the big issues: water, transportation, civil rights and the environment, Starr marshals the historical record to show how and why decisions were made that we are living with now for better or for worse.
Take water; in 1960 the voters approved Proposition 1, which authorized $1.75 billion in bonds to build the State Water Project. The project’s goal was to capture “wasted” water flowing from Northern California rivers into the Pacific Ocean and redirect it to Southern California.
Viewed as an absolute necessity by Los Angeles residents and a water grab throughout Northern California, the measure passed by a mere 174,000 votes out of 5.8 million cast. …”
Read more of Peter Langley’s commentary by clicking here.
Oakdale Irrigation District to mark centennial
Posted by: Maven on September 26, 2009 at 6:28 am
From the Modesto Bee:
“One hundred years ago this fall, civic leaders got a flood of support for harnessing the Stanislaus River. Area residents voted 849-27 on Oct. 23, 1909, to create the Oakdale Irrigation District.
Over the next century, it would build and improve dams and canals that helped farmland flourish in northeastern Stanislaus and southeastern San Joaquin counties.
It also got into the hydroelectric power business, which has helped pay for the irrigation.
All this will be celebrated Saturday with a free barbecue for district residents. It will be a chance for them to see what the district is doing to enhance the system and improve the Stanislaus River fishery, General Manager Steve Knell said. …”
Read more from the Modesto Bee by clicking here.
Key dates in California water history
Posted by: Maven on September 20, 2009 at 8:15 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“1919. Lt. Col. Robert B. Marshall, chief geographer for the U.S. Geological Survey, publishes a pamphlet that first lays out a vision for moving Northern California water south. Bills to turn his vision into law are defeated in 1922, 1924 and 1926.
1920. Irrigated land in California totals about 4 million acres.
1928. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is organized.
1933. California voters approve the Central Valley Project to move water from Northern California to the Central Valley, and $133 million in bonds to begin building it. But because of the Depression, the state never sells the bonds, and the project languishes. …”
More from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
‘You Have The Water’: A historical restrospective of the Oakdale Irrigation District
Posted by: Maven on September 16, 2009 at 7:58 am
From the Oakdale Leader, this historical retrospective of the Oakdale Irrigation District:
“From the time of the first families settling in the greater Oakdale area, the main way of life in the area was agriculture and could be easily divided into two types — livestock or crop farming.
The original settlers brought their livestock with them. Be it cattle or sheep, they walked the animals across the plains with the wagon trains and put the herds to pasture on this fertile land. Both the cattle and sheep multiplied and a livestock industry was born in the area that later would support the town of Oakdale and it continues today in an expanded form.
On the land southeast of Oakdale early settlers who felt more comfortable working the land engaged in a different agricultural industry. They sowed grain seeds and harvested the resulting crop. Thus was established a reputable grain industry in the area.
Both of these groups needed the same commodity — water! And, it should be controlled water. Too much at the wrong time or not enough at the correct time was a prescription for disaster. The only solution was a controlled irrigation system. The first thought or reference to irrigation was by Silas Wilcox, the county’s first surveyor in 1854 when he made the suggestion of taking water from nearby rivers to use on crops. Although the interest in irrigation goes back to the time of the county’s organization, George H. Tinkham, in his History of Stanislaus County, published in 1921, states, “the actual use of irrigation began in the area with the law that was approved by the legislature on May 30, 1878 establishing the Modesto Irrigation District that was divided later into three districts – Modesto, Turlock and Oakdale.” …”
Read more from the Oakdale Leader by clicking here.
Hermann Schussler: A water-systems engineer and architect of Bay Area dams
Posted by: Maven on June 8, 2009 at 6:36 amFrom the Daily Journal:
Hermann Schussler was born in Rastebe in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Germany, on Aug. 4, 1842.
His father, a physician, sent Hermann to be educated at the Prussian Military Academy of Oldenburg. After graduation in 1862, he spent two years in Zurich and Karlsruhe schools enrolled as a civil engineer. During these years, he gained practical experience at the Lucerne Vulcan Iron Works in Germany where he learned to fabricate pipe. This experience helped him immensely in designing water systems on the various water projects he undertook in the United States.
In 1864, he headed for California to practice his vocation. The Spring Valley Water Works of San Francisco hired him at a salary of $50 per month. The president of the SVWW, a Mr. Babcock, sent Schussler down the Peninsula where they were constructing a dam on the Pilarcitos Creek. In 1858, George H. Ensign had formed the Spring Valley Water Works and obtained water from springs on Washington Street. As the demand for water increased, the SVWW began buying land on the Peninsula for expansion of needed water sources. The Pilarcitos Creek originated in mountains to the east of Montara Mountain and west of Skyline Boulevard. The SVWW secured land in a valley to the west of the San Andreas Valley and began construction of a dam. Schussler, who spoke only German, was sent to help build this dam. He studied English and mastered the language within a short time. Throughout his life, he tackled all problems with the same determination as he did in learning his new language, working hard until he conquered the problem.
Read more from San Mateo’s Daily Journal by clicking here.
Saturday morning top of the scroll: Ancient sea life thrived in Central Valley
Posted by: Maven on June 6, 2009 at 6:45 amSomething different for the top of the scroll today…. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
In a coastal bay fronting an ancient sea where Bakersfield now stands, the waters once swarmed with giant 40-foot sharks, ancestral seals larger than any known today, and the ancestors of countless other marine animals long extinct.
That was 15 million years ago, but evidence of their existence lies in a priceless layer of fossils where a team of scientists from UC Berkeley has discovered clues telling how that fantastic fossil-rich site known as Sharktooth Hill formed in the water and was exposed to the surface much, much later.
The area was shallow and rich with sea life. The marine animals lived and died there by the millions for as long as 700,000 years, the scientists say. And there is no evidence, they say, that the animals all died at once from some lethal red tide or in a violent earthquake. The loss of life there was gradual. Eventually, sediments buried the bones and created a fossil-rich underwater shelf that is arguably the richest “bone bed” in the world, the scientists say.
Much, much later, earthquakes heaved the undersea burial ground upward as the restless San Andreas Fault lurched and lurched again. Even more fossil layers were uncovered as sea-level surges during a long period of global warming finally subsided, the scientists said.
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
The vote that changed Manteca: SSJID formed 100 years ago today to deliver water, prosperity
Posted by: Maven on May 11, 2009 at 6:22 amFrom the Manteca Bulletin:
Manteca was anything but a prosperous bustling community back in early 1909. Area farmers were struggling to produce dry land farm corps. Wheat and water melon yields were strong at first but with each successive year the sandy plains produced less and less. The Manteca town site had just a handful of homes with a couple of stores. It was a mere wide spot on the road and a rail stop for fledgling dairies.
There had been several previous attempts to bring water from the Stanislaus River to Manteca via private ventures but none got very far off the ground either due to squabbles or farmers refusing to spend money to buy water convinced it wouldn’t be that beneficial.
The first system to actually bring water to the South County was established by the San Joaquin Water Company formed by H.W. Cowell and N.S. Harrold. They put in a series of ditches covering 47 miles from the Stanislaus near Knights Ferry to the center of Manteca in 1895. The main conveyance – the Tulloch Ditch – was completed in 1905 and provided water to just 3,000 acres.
Read more from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.
On this day in 1934, FDR asked Congress for massive drought relief
Posted by: Maven on June 4, 2008 at 2:17 pmFrom Politico.com:
On this day in 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to appropriate $52.5 million to mitigate widespread suffering in the Midwest, brought on by severe droughts throughout much of the Great Plains.
The economic and social problems that came to the fore as the Dust Bowl in the 1930s actually began in the ’20s, triggered in part by poor land-management practices. The area, home to millions of American farm families, already faced difficult conditions in the wake of the Great Depression.
For days at a time, thick dust clouds all but blotted out the sun. Farm-related businesses, including banks, were forced to close, creating even more unemployment. Water supplies ran low after years of unabated droughts. As a consequence, many farmers abandoned their parched homesteads and headed to other parts of the country — notably California — in search of work.
Read the rest of this article from Politico.com by clicking here.
California’s early water plan – just 13 pages! plus land-use and GIS data for the Delta
Posted by: Maven on November 28, 2007 at 10:03 pmTake a trip through early California history and check out this old water plan posted on the Department of Water Resources website. It’s just thirteen short pages – and the first five are practically a biography of the author. This brief plan was written in 1919 – which was prior to the Central Valley Project (& of course, the State Water Project). The Owens Valley aqueduct had already been completed, and the Hetch-Hetchy project was under construction.
Colonel Robert Bradford Marshall, the author of the plan, envisions irrigating 12 million acres of farmland, saying:
“The people of California, indifferent to the bountiful gifts that Nature has given them, sit idly by waiting for rain, indefinitely postponing irrigation, and allowing every year millions and millions of dollars in water to pour unused into the sea, when there are hungrty thousands in this and other countries pleading for food and when San Francisco and the Bay Cities, the metropolitan districit of California, are begging for water. Is it indifference or unreasonable procrastination that makes the people of California neglect this wealth, or do they not know what they have or how to use it?”
Regarding population expansion – something being actively encouraged at the time, he writes:
“Consider also that our west coast, particularly that of California, needs protection, and that there can be no better propaganda for patriotism than to place owned homes in the hands of present and prospective citizens, for it is well known and recognized the world over that every man will defend to the death his tract of land, his home, his castle. Place 3,000,000 more in happy country homes in the Valley of California, and she will forever defend herself from invasion”.
You can check it out by clicking here.
GIS fans rejoice! Updated land use data and GIS coverage is now available, and just in time for Christmas! Just the thing for the GIS analyst on your list. Check it out by clicking here.
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