Governor signs disaster assistance order
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 4, 2009 at 7:24 amFrom The Turlock Journal:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took the next step in assisting drought decimated areas of the Central Valley by activating the California Disaster Assistance Act.
On June 19, Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-11-09 to activate the act and also waive the one-week waiting for unemployment insurance.
This executive order will provide local governments and non-profit agencies with temporary assistance to supply food and other aid to those who are impacted by the drought. This money would go, for example, towards food banks and other organizations that provide temporary assistance to those impacted directly by drought conditions.In addition, the governor set a July 15 deadline for the California Emergency Management Agency, Department of Social Services, Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and California Department of Food and Agriculture to provide adequate nutrition for California residents who can not afford food as a result of the drought conditions.
Read more from The Turlock Journal by clicking here.
Dry conditions continue
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 4, 2009 at 7:21 amFrom the La Canada Valley Sun:
Southern California has just experienced its fourth year of below normal rainfall. According to the National Weather Service, from July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009 Los Angeles has received 9.08 inches of precipitation, well below the 15.15 inch average. “That is a -6.06 departure from normal,” said David Gomberg, meteorologist from the National Weather Service. “Last year [rainfall] was 13.53.”
“It’s not a happy story,” said Bill Patzert, climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
This June was gloomy and wet with rain on occasion but that only amounted to about 0.15 inches. The fourth year of drought has made water conservation even more of an issue. Recently the major supplier of imported water to regional water companies, Metropolitan Water District informed their distributors they would be receiving less water.
“We have a growing population,” Patzert said. “It’s the old supply and demand thing.” Californians have always been used to their English-type gardens, he added. “But those good old days are in the rearview mirror. Now it is time for a reality check.”
Read more from the La Canada Valley Sun by clicking here.
Gov. Schwarzenegger announces water release to Central Valley farms
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 7:38 amFrom the Office of the Governor:
Today the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will release up to 100,000 acre-feet of water to aid Central Valley farms. Today’s action comes after the Governor visited the farming community of Mendota June 19 where he met with local elected officials to discuss the three-year drought and its effects throughout the region.
“Nothing is more important to Central Valley farmers than ensuring there is water to fuel jobs and feed families, and with today’s announcement, we are taking quick action to deliver water to those who need it most,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger. “This situation further highlights the seriousness of our state’s water crisis and the critical need to upgrade California’s water infrastructure for our jobs and our families.”
The release represents a “water loan” from State Water Project (SWP) supplies to the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) conditioned on “repayment” of the water after this summer’s irrigation season. The emergency action will allow Central Valley farmers to continue receiving water supplies promised by the federal CVP. It will not result in a net reduction of supply for users of SWP water, which will be repaid no later than November 30, 2009.
DWR will continue to work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on possible additional support subject to “repayment” by the CVP. With California in its third year of drought, compounded by federal restrictions on Delta pumping, the CVP has less water than expected to deliver to Central Valley farms.
To help those impacted by the drought, the Governor last month requested a federal disaster declaration from President Obama for Fresno County and issued Executive Order S-11-09, activating the California Disaster Assistance Act. And in February, the Governor declared a state of emergency due to water supply shortages and associated drought impacts. The Governor has called for a comprehensive habitat and species conservation plan to better protect all Delta species while ensuring more reliable water supplies for farms, homes, industry and wildlife.
Governor directs more aid to state’s water-short areas
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 7:37 amFrom the California Farm Bureau Federation:
After meeting with farmers and elected officials from the western San Joaquin Valley, Gov. Schwarzenegger took action to bring additional relief to the parched region.
The governor asked President Obama to issue a federal disaster declaration for Fresno County and signed an executive order that he said would result in the distribution of $3 million to $4 million a month in emergency food and unemployment assistance for areas wracked by water shortages.
Speaking at a news conference in Mendota last week, Schwarzenegger also expressed support for a proposed, temporary project that could increase the reliability of water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and he reiterated his commitment to securing a comprehensive water plan for California.
“I will fight, fight, fight and do everything I can to create the immediate water that is needed,” Schwarzenegger said, “and also the infrastructure for water.”
Read more from the California Farm Bureau Federation by clicking here.
Peter Gleick: Wake up - Here is what a real water crisis looks like
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 6:52 amFrom Peter Gleick at his City Brights blog:
California is in the midst of an ugly debate about water–uglier than normal–because of a confluence of events, including a “hydrologic” drought caused by nature, a longer-term trend to restore some water back to failing ecosystems, and the gross mismanagement of the state’s water, which has been going on for a century, but is affecting us now more than ever.
But despite all of the rhetoric, news stories, name-calling, yelling, and screaming, Californians have very little clue about what a real water crisis looks like. It looks like what’s happening in Australia. Today’s Water Number:
Water Number: 18,000 tons of rice. That is the total rice production from all of Australia last year, compared to the long-term average from 1970 of over 720,000 tons, and the high (in 2000) of over 1.6 million tons. Effectively, Australian rice production has dropped to zero because there is not enough water. And that is only one measure of the severity of their water crisis.
Read more from the City Brights blog by clicking here.
Rainfall year still falls short of average for Northern California
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 6:19 amFrom the Chico Enterprise-Record:
Many north state cities saw an increase in rainfall over the past year, but generally precipitation remained below average as California’s three-year-old drought continued. The Enterprise-Record’s weather station in Chico recorded exactly 20 inches of rain for the precipitation year ending June 30 — an 8-percent increase over the prior year. The 2008-09 total was about 79.8 percent of the average total of 25.09 inches.
The precipitation picture was similar across the north state. E-R weather observer Ron Ullman reported 26.15 inches in Oroville, a 29 percent increase over 2007-08’s 20.15 inches. In Paradise, E-R weather observer Jay Castor reported 52.88 inches, 29 percent more than the prior year’s 40.95 inches. The Paradise Irrigation District recorded 47.17 inches at its station, 90 percent of its average 51.86 inches.
Although the past year’s rainfall is below normal, it is an improvement over 2006-07 and 2007-08. In Chico, there were 16.17 inches and 18.49 inches of rain respectively.
Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record by clicking here.
January’s rain deficit hurt Sacramento annual total
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 6:17 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
As the Sacramento region settles into its annual stretch of dry summer weather, data from the official rain season that ended Tuesday show that though it could have been worse, a little more precipitation would not have hurt.
Predictions from the National Weather Service provide no hope that the new rain season – it runs annually from July 1 through June 30 – will start any differently than the previous one ended: It will be warm and dry.
This holiday weekend forecast is for mostly clear skies and high temperatures in Sacramento reaching 96 degrees on Independence Day.
Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
GOP ads link Dems to Valley water crisis
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 2, 2009 at 2:12 pmFrom the Fresno Bee:
Republican strategists are now roughing up San Joaquin Valley congressional Democrats with radio ads linking them to the region’s water woes. In an aggressive new tack, the National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday began running a 60-second radio ad attacking Reps. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, and Jim Costa, D-Fresno. The ad running throughout the week links the two Democrats to systemic irrigation-water shortages.
“Cardoza and Costa can’t persuade Democrat leaders to change radical environmental laws,” the ad intones. “So while the congressmen fail … the Valley goes dry.”
The Republican Congressional Committee did not offer further explanation for this particular ad or the targeting. The campaign committee is, however, running a number of ads against Democrats. For instance, this week, the committee also initiated ads attacking 14 other Democrats on energy issues.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
The Fight for Valley Water is Far from Over
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 2, 2009 at 2:07 pmFrom Fresno’s CBS 47:
Valley growers hope lawmakers will not forget they need water desperately. Thousands of farmers and workers marched through downtown Fresno Wednesday. They’re trying to get lawmakers to turn the pumps in the San Joaquin River Delta back on and they don’t plan to stop the protests until they get their water.
Thousands of farmers, workers and water rights supporters asked to be heard.
Valley Congressman George Radanovich, who took part in the rally, said, “The important thing is to focus the energy so that we make sure that we get an interim project in this fall.”
Read more from Fresno’s CBS 47 by clicking here.
Ag board hears farmer’s plight; Irrigation cuts have cost $830 million in farm revenue
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 2, 2009 at 2:05 pmFrom the Capital Press:
Corporate ag can have dirty boots too. To be sure, there are plenty of large-scale farms on the San Joaquin Valley’s west side and some, even though they are family owned, are corporations. In many instances the farms are owned and operated by people like Bob Diedrich, who took time June 24 to tell members of the state’s board of food and agriculture what restrictive water policies have done to his livelihood.
Diedrich, a fourth-generation farmer, normally grows almonds, tomatoes, garlic, onions, beans, cantaloupes and wheat on 1,100 acres on the west side of Fresno County. This year he’s down to 400 acres, hoping to save a block of five-year-old almond trees.
The announcement that federal water deliveries to the valley’s west side water districts would be 10 percent of normal this year has had large and small growers scrambling for water to irrigate their crops. A third year of drought has reduced run-off from the Sierra, but restrictions on pumping water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect several species of fish have many farmers calling this year’s shortage a “man-made drought.”
Read more from the Capital Press by clicking here.
Rally for water rights hits downtown Fresno
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 2, 2009 at 8:00 am
From the Fresno Bee:
Ron Schafer and Alice Powlick aren’t farmers or farmworkers. They are middle-school teachers who came to Wednesday’s water rally in downtown Fresno on behalf of their students. The teachers joined several thousand who jammed the front of City Hall to plead with the state and federal governments to provide the Valley with more irrigation water. Mike Lukens, city of Fresno spokesman, estimated the crowd at between 3,500 to 4,000 at its peak.
More than a dozen speakers, including Congressmen Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, and George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, blamed environmental protections along with a third dry year for the shortage of water for Valley farmers.
Schafer and Powlick say they see the ripple effects of the drought in their southeast Fresno classrooms. “We hear the students talk about their parents being out work because of the drought,” Schafer said. “And it is hard for them.”
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
From Stockton’s Record:
“Water makes the difference between the Garden of Eden and Death Valley,” said comedian Paul Rodriguez, who acts as a spokesman for the Latino Water Coalition, a group lobbying for changes in water delivery policy regarding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The noon rally was organized by the grower-funded group, which also organized an April march from Mendota to the San Luis Reservoir hoping to draw national attention to the issue.
On Wednesday, nearly 4,000 people carrying professionally printed signs proclaiming, “No water, no jobs, no hope, no future,” marched through downtown. One man who declined to give us name said his Kettleman City employer had driven him and other workers there and were paying them for their time. Another woman said she came with 50 other employees of a Tulare agriculture contractor for free, to protect their jobs.
Speakers stressed the importance of San Joaquin Valley agriculture, which they said produces more than half of the domestically grown U.S. food supply. “If you like foreign oil, you’ll love foreign food,” some signs read.
More from The Record by clicking here.
More Coverage:
- The Packer: San Joaquin Valley water rally attracts 2,000
- Photo essay at IndyBay.org: Another Right Wing March and Rally for Water
Happy New Water Year! Here’s a look at statewide drought conditions
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 1, 2009 at 7:16 amHappy New Water Year, folks! Here’s a look at major reservoir conditions across California:
Here’s the latest drought report to the Governor - Even though it says June, I think this was posted yesterday: California Drought, An Update June 2009
And here’s a look at the Metropolitan Water District gauge:
Forecasters unsure how much rain El Nino will bring
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 1, 2009 at 6:52 am
From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:
Warming surface temperatures off the coast of Peru in the eastern Pacific Ocean are sending signals to weather forecasters that we are headed for another El Niño this fall.
But don’t run out and buy a new umbrella just yet.
The suggestion of an El Niño conjures memories of the 1997-98 winter, which led to the Inland area’s fourth wettest rainy season on record. Riverside got a total of 21.35 inches that year and Riverside and San Bernardino counties suffered $65 million in flood damage. “That was the El Niño of El Niños,” said Steven Vanderburg, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in San Diego. “It was the gold standard. Most El Niño’s are not nearly that severe.”
It will take at least three months of sustained water temperatures of at least half a degree Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare that an El Niño is in effect.
Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Fresno ends rain year at 69% normal
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 1, 2009 at 6:06 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
On Sunday, you needed an umbrella to ward off the scorching heat. Tuesday morning, as Fresno awoke to overcast skies, it looked like you might need one to fend off raindrops.
But the clouds were only for show. A weather spotter for the National Weather Service reported a few sprinkles in Clovis overnight, but no measurable rainfall. “There was not even enough to splash the rain gauge at the airport,” said Gary Sanger, meteorologist at the weather service office in Hanford.
Fresno ended the official rain year at 87% of normal rainfall for the month of June. Normal rainfall for June is 0.23 of an inch.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Peter Gleick: Truth drought - California’s real shortfall
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:49 amFrom Peter Gleick and his City Brights blog:
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar came to California on Sunday to hear firsthand about California’s drought. Unfortunately, some of what he heard was misleading or false. Certainly farms and farmers are suffering, so are fish and ecosystems. But so is the truth. Here are three oft-repeated falsehoods.
Myth 1: Farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley are receiving “just 10 percent of their allocation this year.”
Myth 2: Water shortages are causing massive new farm unemployment.
Myth 3: Farmers are bearing disproportional impacts of water shortfalls because of court rulings in favor of fish.
All three of these statements are false, and they’ve been shown to be false so many times that continuing to repeat them verges on intentional deception on the part of those who repeat them to gullible politicians or lazy reporters.
Read more from Peter Gleick and the City Brights blog by clicking here.
Hopes for rain drying up in Valley: “El Nino is El Wimpo,” says Bill Patzert: “He’s late. He’s stunted. He’s definitely not the great wet hope.”
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:15 amLast week, when the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center announced an El Nino condition forming in the Pacific, there have been numerous stories, most of which have been rather optimistic. And so, from the Contra Costa Times, yet another story on El Nino:
… weather forecasters are keenly watching the warming Pacific current that could spell dark clouds in the fall. In 1997-98, El Nino dumped 31 inches across the Southland.
“Nobody is rooting for a stronger El Nino than I am,” said Michael Anderson, climatologist for the state Department of Water Resources. “We are scrambling year to year to try to find enough water. Trust me, I would love to see rain. I am hoping.”
But what could kill an El Nino is the weather condition blamed for the drought. Climatologists say a system of currents known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO, could overpower the warming trend and parch the Southland.
El Nino or no El Nino, that is the question. And if so, will it be rain or no rain? “We’re still trying to figure it out,” said Bill Hoffer, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “If we get one, it generally means moisture, but not necessarily.”
Read the full text of this article from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
L.A. is set to record a fourth straight year with below-average rainfall
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:17 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
Despite a gloomy June, Los Angeles is poised today to record its fourth year in a row with below-normal rainfall. From July 1 of last year to today, a period designated as a “rain year,” only about 9 inches of rain fell compared to an average of slightly more than 15 inches, said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.
Southern California hasn’t had an above-average rain year since 2004-05, when L.A. experienced its second-wettest year on record, with rain totaling 37.25 inches. The next year, some meteorologists forecast that El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean could lead to a wet winter for Southern California. Instead, L.A. experienced its driest year on record, with only 3.21 inches.
This June was cooler than previous ones. Almost every day was overcast. And the first days of the month were marked by something unusual: rain. This June had twice as much rain as normal, but it only amounted to about 0.15 inches, Patzert said. “That’s just enough to push the dirt around your car,” he said. “It’s definitely not a drought buster.”
Read more from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Monday afternoon update: Salazar doesn’t quench farm thirst for water in California, announces aid to valley agribusiness, but doesn’t endorse canal
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:51 pmFrom the Capital Ag Press:
A who’s-who of San Joaquin Valley agriculture was part of the crowd that packed a Fresno State student union on a blistering Sunday afternoon, June 28, to hear what they hoped would be good news from Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Salazar, dressed in boots and jeans, didn’t deliver any immediate relief to their water woes. Instead, he announced plans for some short-term and long-term fixes for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta so more water could be delivered to farms and communities to the south.
Hundreds of thousands of acres have been fallowed on the west side of the valley this year due to lack of surface water deliveries. The announced allotment is at 10 percent of normal. Unemployment in west side communities is near 40 percent.
Frustration with lack of action was apparent as audience members interrupted speakers shouting, “We don’t want welfare, we want water.” Four valley congressmen attending the meeting also drew loud cheers when they said the time for meetings and talk is over.
From The Packer.com:
Of the California speakers invited to address the officials, the warmest welcome was for Paul Rodriguez, president of the Sacramento-based Latino Water Coalition. The comedian and grower told the federal officials not to be confused by the coalition’s name. Its members include all ethic groups, he said.
“We grow the best produce and we grow patriots,” said Rodriguez, himself a veteran. “But while our young men and women are risking their lives to protect our freedoms abroad, back home, bureaucrats and court rulings are taking from their families the freedom to farm.”
The federal Endangered Species Act is flawed because it ignores the effects on human beings, said Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of Western Growers, Irvine, Calif. “Confidence in federal agencies cannot be restored until those agencies begin to make science-based decisions,” he told the officials.
Four members of Congress, Republicans George Radanovich and Devin Nunes and Democrats Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa, said the lack of rainfall in California during the past three years is not the only culprit in the irrigation water dilemma. During their comments, each of the lawmakers, all of whom represent chunks of the San Joaquin Valley, used the phrase “regulatory drought.”
They referred to the Endangered Species Act and biological opinions from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that have resulted in reduced exports of water from Northern California to the valley and to Southern California.
Well, if the farmers weren’t impressed by the visit, the environmentalists weren’t either, according to Dan Bacher:
Salazar didn’t outright endorse a peripheral canal and more dams as requested by Valley Congressmen and agribusiness representatives as the solution to their “water supply problems,” nor did he agree to their request to convene the “God Squad” to gut protections for Delta smelt, Chinook salmon, green sturgeon and killer whales mandated under the Endangered Species Act. “Water supply and infrastructure are options that need to be looked at,” Salazar said. “However, we are are not at a point where we are supporting a peripheral canal or new reservoirs.”
He said that he has appointed Deputy Secretary David J Hayes as the lead official to coordinate federal response to California water supply and related environmental issues with the state and stakeholders, including the peripheral canal and Temperance and Sites Reservoirs.
“I’ve assigned the Deputy Secretary to find those solutions,” said Salazar. “I do expect that there will be a significant water supply component to these efforts.”
He also refused to convene the “Gold Squad” as requested by Representatives Nuns, Radanovich, Cardoza and Jim Costa, who slammed the ESA and the Delta smelt and salmon biological opinions for putting “fish over people.”
“To convene the God Squad would be admitting failure in the recovery of these species under the ESA,” said Salazar. “Where the God Squad has been invoked, it just created more litigation and compounded the problems it sought to address.”
He said that the administration must both establish the “certainty” and “realiabity” of water supplies and to fulfill the responsibilities for endangered species, unfortunately invoking the “co-equal” goal rhetoric of water supply and ecoystem restoration that led to the current ecosystem crash in the Delta under CalFed.
To the chagrin of recreational and commercial fishermen, Indian Tribes, and environmental justice groups, Salazar, Hayes and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor said they would continue to work through the controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan that includes a peripheral canal and more dams.
In fact, Salazar pledged “renewed federal involvement and leadership” in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and “federal engagement in water supply issues that extend beyond the scope of the BDCP and the immediate geography of the Bay Delta.”
“Significant progress will be made on the most contentious water supply and environmental issues by the end of 2009, including but not limited to the issues raised by the BDCP,” according to Salazar.
Read more:
Another dry year on the Central Coast
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:21 pmFrom the Santa Maria Times:
For the third straight year, Santa Maria has been drier than normal, according to figures from the National Weather Service which closes its books on the rain year June 30. Assuming there is no more rain between today and Tuesday — and forecasters say there won’t be — Santa Maria will have reported 9.12 inches for 2008-2009.
Normal rainfall is 14.01 inches. Rainfall records here are tabulated from July to June since little rain normally falls in summer months.
But hold on your rain hats. Dust off those boots. The government’s Climate Prediction Center has issued its first-ever El Nino watch for the coming months, said Weather Service meteorologist Stuart Seto.
El Ninos occur when ocean temperatures heat up in the tropical Pacific Ocean, causing shifts in weather patterns, and typically bring wetter years to Southern California. The name came after Peruvian fishermen observed warmer waters around Christmas and called the phenomenon El Nino for the Christ child.
When Southern California experienced its last major El Nino in 1997-1998, Santa Maria got a whopping 32.56 inches of rain.
Read more from the Santa Maria Times by clicking here.
Monday’s top of the scroll: Interior chief offers water help to California; Feds take action on Central Valley water problems
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 7:57 amFrom the Associated Press & the Merced Sun-Star:
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Sunday announced several steps he hoped would ease the toll the state’s water shortage is taking on farmers and said he would assign a top deputy to help find solutions. At a spirited town hall meeting in California’s agricultural heartland, Salazar told a packed auditorium that Deputy Interior Secretary David J. Hayes will “bring all of the key federal agencies to the table” to coordinate efforts.
Salazar said he wanted to direct $160 million in Recovery Act funds to the federal Central Valley Project, which manages the dams and canals that move water around the state, and will expedite water transfers from other areas.
Members of the San Joaquin Valley congressional delegation told Salazar that three years of drought were forcing farmers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres and idle farmworkers. “The time for meetings and talk is over,” said Rep. George Radanovich. “We need action now.”
From KMPH Channel 26:
Salazar said his trip was aimed at listening to the needs of Valley farmers, announce some actions, and see where things go from there. He told the crowd environmental restrictions protecting the delta smelt are set to expire Wednesday, July first… and the pumps will go back on.
He added a study, looking at the so-called “Two-Gates” project, will be put on the fast track. The project would place gates at the two tributaries where the water flows from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, protecting fish from the pumps, while still allowing water to flow.
Salazar later added that the solution of convening a so-called “God Squad” may not be the way to go. The ‘Squad’ would consist of leaders who have the power to bypass environmental regulations, and turn on water pumps at the delta immediately.
“This would be to admit failure, it would defeat eco-system restoration efforts,” Salazar said. “It has been rarely invoked, and usually leads to litigation.”
From the Central Valley Business Times:
Mr. Salazar says he has assigned Deputy Secretary David Hayes to coordinate the federal response to California water supply and related environmental issues with the state and stakeholders.
Other steps are to include:
• Renewed federal involvement and leadership in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and federal engagement in water supply issues that extend beyond the scope of the BDCP and the immediate geography of the Bay Delta.
• Significant progress will be made on the most contentious water supply and environmental issues by the end of 2009, including but not limited to the issues raised by the BDCP, he says.
• Continued efforts to distribute $220 million in Recovery Act funding for specific water and environmental infrastructure projects in California. Of this amount, $160 million will be directed to the Central Valley Project. An additional $40 million in drought relief funds will be announced within the month, the majority of which will go to California’s Central Valley.
• The expedited review of infrastructure projects that could potentially add flexibility to water delivery systems, including the proposed “Two Gates” project and the canal “intertie” project.
And lastly, this from the Merced Sun-Star article:
Comedian Paul Rodriguez, who owns 40 acres of nectarines near Dinuba and heads the Latino Water Coalition, mocked environmentalists’ argument that the decline in smelt is the “canary in the coal mine” warning of a declining ecosystem.
“The canary is there so it will perish and the miner can live, but these people got it backward: They want the fish to live so we can die,” Rodriguez said as audience members stood and cheered.
Read more:
- Coverage from the Associated Press/Merced Sun-Star
- Coverage from KMPH Channel 26
- Coverage from Central Valley Business Times
- Coverage from the Fresno Bee
El Nino…realities and myths
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 6:23 amFrom Examiner.com:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently issued an El Nino Watch about the possible return of El Niño later this summer. And even before the ink was dry on the release, yet another round of El Niño hype was beginning, with the media expectation that California was about to be washed into the Pacific.
But what really is El Niño, and what does it really mean for Californians? Let’s try to put some of these myths about this weather phenomenon into perspective.
Myth 1: El Niño will come to California this year. No — El Niño never comes to California. It is a phenomenon that periodically occurs in the warm equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. Normally the trade winds along the equator push the warmest waters into the western portions of the Pacific. But on an irregular basis of two to seven years the trades slacken, or sometimes even reverse direction, and warmer-than-normal water accumulates along the equator in the central and eastern Pacific. This warming is called El Niño, referring to the “Christ child” because its effects are greatest in the winter and often disrupt fishing along the South American coast around Christmas. (The converse case, La Niña, is when the waters of the eastern Pacific are cooler than normal.)
Read more from examiner.com by clicking here.
Dan Bacher commentary: Secretary Salazar to speak at town meeting on drought in Fresno; Valley politicians perpetuate the myth of “fish versus people”
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 26, 2009 at 7:25 amFrom Dan Bacher:
Bowing to pressure from Representatives Devin Nunes, Jim Costa, Dennis Cardoza and George Radanovich, the Department of Interior will hold a “town hall meeting on the drought in California” on Sunday, June 28, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in Fresno at a site to be announced.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce new stimulus monies for the Central Valley and talk about the Bay Delta Conservation Plan process. Salazar, Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor are also expected to field complaints from corporate agribusiness interests that they are not receiving enough water from the Central Valley and California Water Projects.
You can expect San Joaquin Valley agribusiness representatives to blame all of their economic problems, real or imagined, on Delta smelt and the recent NMFS biological opinion to protect Central Valley salmon stocks. You can also be sure that Westlands and other agribusiness interests will put intense pressure upon Salazar and the other Interior officials to support the peripheral canal and dams proposal that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein are campaigning for.
Since President Obama took office in January, Congressmen Cardoza and Costa have requested that the incoming Interior Secretary come to the San Joaquin Valley, according to a joint press release from Cardoza and Costa that falsely portrays the battle to restore the California Delta and the thousands of jobs that depend on it as a “fish versus peoples” scenario. They claim that unemployment is the result of a “regulatory drought” caused by relatively modest court-ordered restrictions on pumping to protect Delta smelt and Sacramento River winter run and spring run Chinook salmon.
American Rivers calls for water management overhaul, supports disaster relief on eve of Secretary Salazar’s visit to Fresno
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 26, 2009 at 7:22 amFrom American Rivers, this press release:
American Rivers today called for fundamental changes to the way water is managed in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river system to improve conditions for farms, fisheries and the environment, on the eve of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s visit to drought-stricken Fresno. The nation’s leading river conservation organization also pledged to support disaster-relief efforts to help Central Valley farming communities and coastal fishing families who have been impacted by the state’s water problems.
American Rivers recently expanded its operations in California to better address the critical challenges facing the state’s rivers and water supply.
“Outdated water management in the Delta has put our water supply, the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen, and the health of our environment in jeopardy,” said Steve Rothert, California regional director for American Rivers. “This crisis is exactly why we named the Sacramento-San Joaquin river system the nation’s #1 Most Endangered River for 2009. We need to overhaul the way we manage water so we can protect people, jobs, and the environment.”
American Rivers recommended the following short, mid, and long-term solutions to the current water crisis:
1) Disaster relief: American Rivers supports the disaster relief approved by the Obama administration for farming families and is calling for federal disaster relief for fishing families whose jobs have been lost as a result of recent fishing restrictions.
2) Water conservation and efficiency: Farms, cities and businesses must use the water we have more wisely. The state must implement water conservation and efficiency measures on a scale not yet attempted. Conservation and efficiency would save significant amounts of water, money, and energy.
3) Overhaul Delta water management: Water management decisions must meet the dual purposes of water supply and ecosystem recovery. We must scale back the reliance of municipal and agricultural interests on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and the state must invest significantly in alternative water supply initiatives. Science-based processes like the Bay Delta Conservation Plan that are developing comprehensive solutions to meet multiple water needs must be given a chance to work.
“Now is not the time for rash measures that will further cripple this fragile river system, cause key wildlife to go extinct forever, and set us up for bigger crises down the road,” said Rothert. “American Rivers is committed to working with our partners to develop long term, durable solutions for water supply and river health.”
Much of the irrigation water for Central Valley crops comes from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A court recently ordered cutbacks in water pumping from the Delta to protect the critically endangered delta smelt and the overall health of the ecosystem, which is on the brink of collapse. California’s salmon fishery has been largely closed the past two years, resulting in economic losses of $270 million and nearly 2,700 lost jobs in 2009 alone.
American Rivers named the Sacramento-San Joaquin river system the nation’s #1 most endangered river on April 7 because of the threats that outdated water and flood management pose to people and the environment statewide. Learn more at www.AmericanRivers.org/endangeredrivers
American Rivers is the only national organization standing up for healthy rivers so our communities can thrive. Through national advocacy, innovative solutions and our growing network of strategic partners, we protect and promote our rivers as valuable assets that are vital to our health, safety and quality of life.
Founded in 1973, American Rivers has more than 65,000 members and supporters nationwide, with offices in Washington, DC and the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, California and Northwest regions.
Thursday’s top of the scroll: Interior secretary, top aides to visit drought-stricken Fresno; plus coverage of the Food & Ag hearing yesterday
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 25, 2009 at 8:47 amFrom McClatchy Newspapers:
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his top staff will soon be feeling Fresno’s pain, in a high-profile town hall meeting now being organized for Sunday afternoon in the drought-stricken city.
Making his first official on-the-ground visit to the southern San Joaquin Valley, Salazar will be coming with Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor and several Valley lawmakers. They plan a 90-minute public session focused on the Valley’s profound water shortage. “They’re going out to listen to people on all sides of the issue,” Salazar’s spokeswoman, Kendra Barkoff, said Wednesday afternoon. “This is an issue the secretary has been working on for a while.”
Interior Department officials have not yet identified a location for the meeting, which is scheduled to run from 2:30-4 p.m. Officials also have not indicated whether Salazar plans additional announcements at the Fresno session, although Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, observed that “people don’t usually show up with nothing.”
Low precipitation and the diversion of irrigation water to protect salmon and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have prompted Californians to request everything from federal funding and streamlined rules to new water project approvals. “He isn’t going to solve every California water problem on this trip,” Cardoza cautioned. “It’s a fact-finding trip.”
Read more from McClatchy Newspapers by clicking here.
The Fresno Bee’s coverage weaves the upcoming visits with the Food & Ag board hearing held yesterday:
On Wednesday, meanwhile, state agriculture officials said that a combination of drought and federal environmental regulations have the potential to turn a short-term water crisis into a long-term agricultural and economic disaster.
During a hearing Wednesday of the state Board of Food and Agriculture at Mendota High School, panelists raised many of the same issues as at rallies this spring: Less water for west-side growers means less acreage planted, creating a spike in unemployment and economic hardship for farm laborers and their communities.
“With this regulatory and geologic drought, we’ve seen really how agriculture touches every life,” state Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura said. “Especially in this region, so many lives are being affected beyond the farmers and farmworkers. … The communities impacted go well beyond the farm sector.”
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Fresno’s CBS 47 also covered the hearing:
Just a week removed from Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visit to the Valley, where he vowed to take the water issue to President Obama, members of the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture met in Mendota to speak with city and county officials to discuss the impact of the drought on communities in the Central Valley.
The California State Board of Food and Agriculture convened a meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss the statewide drought. The meeting, held at the Mendota High School, provided a platform for officials to voice their struggles with water shortages.
Mendota Mayor Robert Mendota said that things will change as long as everyone bands together to build a strong case. “It’s very critical that everyone give their testimony to either private sectors, city sector, or to the farmworker’s sector to gather information for what the Gov. should be doing at the federal level.”
Read more from CBS Channel 47 by clicking here.
El Nino appears to be developing rapidly, could signal drought’s end; But scientists, water officials caution against getting hopes up
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 25, 2009 at 8:30 amFrom the North County Times:
Just as residents of San Diego and Riverside counties start adjusting to life with lawn-watering restrictions, there are signs California’s drought may be coming to an end next winter.
Climate scientists say conditions are ripe for the formation of an El Nino over the Pacific Ocean, an intermittent weather condition that brings wet winters to the southern United States. And that means there is a good chance Southern California will get above-normal rainfall next year. It also means Mother Nature may dump huge amounts of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains, the source of much of the region’s water, though that is less certain, scientists say.
“There are no guarantees, but we’re unlikely to have another dry winter,” said Dave Pierce, climate researcher at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in a recent telephone interview.
From the OC Register’s Science Dude:
The U.S. Climate Prediction Center, which said only a couple of weeks ago that an El Niño might arise in the equatorial Pacific, now says that the periodic natural climate change seems to be evolving rapidly. The result, if the forecast turns out to be right, could mean an unusually wet winter for drought-plagued Orange County. It also might mean that the monsoonal flow into this area will be much stronger this summer.
In an analysis (read it) of the monsoon season for southeast Arizona, the CPC says online, “The forecast for the second half of the monsoon remains uncertain due to what appears to be a rapid-developing El Niño. An El Nino, which is a warming of water temperatures across the tropical East Pacific Ocean, causes significant changes in both monsoon and jet stream patterns, as well as the number of tropical cyclones in both the eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Neither of these articles is really mentioning though that El Nino conditions do not always mean extra-wet years for California, depending upon where the jet stream positions itself.
And then there is this from the North County Times article:
John Liarakos, a spokesman for the San Diego County Water Authority, which distributes the bulk of water that San Diego County’s 3 million residents use, said any boost in rainfall would be welcome. But don’t expect watering restrictions to disappear anytime soon.
“The restrictions are going to be in place for at least the next year, regardless,” he said.
The problem, said Peter Odencrans, spokesman for Riverside County’s Eastern Municipal Water District, is that rain can help only so much. That’s because much of the reduction in water deliveries from Northern California was the result of environmentally based, court-ordered restrictions on pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta.
“We do not have just a weather drought, but a regulatory drought as well,” Odencrans said. And the regulatory drought is forecast to continue.
Read more from the North County Times by clicking here, and more from the OC Register’s Science Dude by clicking here.
Wednesday’s top of the scroll: Boxer & Feinstein join the call, but odds are against California getting disaster declaration for Fresno County
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 24, 2009 at 8:21 am
From Stockton’s Record:
California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein are joining Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in calling on the Obama administration to issue a federal disaster declaration for Fresno County.
In a letter to the president Monday, the senators said the county has been hit hard by water shortages from a lack of rainfall and the need to protect endangered species. A disaster declaration would help the region obtain emergency unemployment and other benefits.
More on this brief story from The Record by clicking here. Read the text of the Boxer-Feinstein letter to President Obama by clicking here.
However, the chances of obtaining the federal disaster declaration aren’t good, according to McClatchy Newspapers:
Presidents rarely designate drought-stricken regions as major disaster areas. That could prove a problem for Fresno County, which is both dry and hurting.
The last time drought was the basis for a major presidential disaster designation within the continental United States was in 1980, in New Jersey. California officials are hoping that President Barack Obama will buck that historical trend on Fresno County’s behalf.
But while the presidential disaster request made June 19 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on sounds powerful, it may not be well targeted.
“The programs provided under a presidential declaration generally are not the kind most needed in a drought,” Ernest Abbott, former general counsel for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, noted Tuesday.
More from McClatchy Newspapers by clicking here.
Governor directs more aid to state’s water-short areas
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 24, 2009 at 8:12 amFrom the California Farm Bureau Federation:
After meeting with farmers and elected officials from the western San Joaquin Valley, Gov. Schwarzenegger took action to bring additional relief to the parched region.
The governor asked President Obama to issue a federal disaster declaration for Fresno County and signed an executive order that he said would result in the distribution of $3 million to $4 million a month in emergency food and unemployment assistance for areas wracked by water shortages.
Speaking at a news conference in Mendota last week, Schwarzenegger also expressed support for a proposed, temporary project that could increase the reliability of water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and he reiterated his commitment to securing a comprehensive water plan for California.
“I will fight, fight, fight and do everything I can to create the immediate water that is needed,” Schwarzenegger said, “and also the infrastructure for water.”
Observers termed the request for a federal disaster declaration unusual, because those declarations usually come following natural disasters such as floods but not as frequently for drought. A federal declaration could bring direct aid, low-interest loans and other resources to California.
The executive order signed by Schwarzenegger directs the state government to provide temporary, supplemental assistance to local governments and nonprofit organizations that supply food and other help to Californians affected by water shortages. The order also waives the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance benefits, for people unemployed as a direct result of the drought.
Read more from the California Farm Bureau Federation by clicking here.
Kings County drought crop damage up to $58.4 million
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 23, 2009 at 7:04 am
From the Hanford Sentinel:
Dry weather and pumping restrictions in the delta are continuing to take their toll on Kings County. Kings County officials reported this week that the ongoing drought conditions have caused more than $58.4 million in crop damage so far this year. Officials say the drought has especially affected the county’s acres of cotton, tomatoes and alfalfa as well as grazing land for beef cattle on the county’s westside.
“It’s still going to get worse,” said Kings County’s Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Steve Schweizer. “With everything else going on in the economy, who knows what’s going to happen? The dairy industry is in trouble with the price of milk. Add on drought. Add on the problem with SK Food’s bankruptcy.”
While growers continued to manage their operations by switching crops and pumping well water, meager spring rains have parched the area’s grazing land and hurt farmers who depend on pasture land to feed their livestock. Continued lack of water has also forced many growers to leave the ground fallow. Some were forced to abandon their crops mid-season.
Read more from the Hanford Sentinel, which includes a rundown of losses by crop, by clicking here.
Corona replacing grass guzzlers with plants that need little water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 22, 2009 at 7:06 amFrom Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:
Corona officials are embroiled in a turf war.
With water supplies under tight control and the threat of drought looming, the enemy — lush, green and requiring countless gallons of water to sustain — is grass. The battlefields are city properties that have water-hogging grass but don’t need it. The city has launched a campaign to save water and money by replacing the turf at some facilities with drought-resistant plants that sip rather than gulp liquid resources.
Corona’s water rates are likely to rise next month, so property owners watching their water bills may want to take note. A square foot of grass drinks about 50 gallons of water a year.
Early victories have been scored at four Department of Water and Power facilities, including a sewer booster station on Promenade Avenue, where workers removed 7,000 square feet of grass this month. “Grass is everywhere,” city water resources supervisor Rob Johnson said on a recent visit to two project sites. “People like to look at it. However, it soaks up a lot of water.”
Read more from the Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Fish or families? Comedian Paul Rodriguez on Hannity
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 21, 2009 at 10:28 amPosted on YouTube, here’s a Sean Hannity segment featuring comedian Paul Rodriguez:
Dan Bacher: Schwarzenegger amps up canal campaign, war on fish
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 21, 2009 at 10:05 am
From Dan Bacher, this commentary:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, after protesters in Fresno Thursday accused him of not doing enough to support San Joaquin Valley growers in their battle to export more water from the imperiled California Delta, yesterday amped up his campaign to build the peripheral canal and more dams and affirmed his opposition to increased protections for salmon and other fish.
“We need to rethink the Delta, fix the Delta, and build a canal around the Delta,” said Schwarzenegger, in pushing a project that would cost an estimated $12 to $24 billion at a time when the state budget deficit is the largest in California history and thousands of teachers, health care workers and game wardens face layoffs.
Schwarzenegger, who appeared at a meeting and press conference Friday in Mendota, also emphasized the necessity to build Temperance Flat Reservoir on the San Joaquin River and Sites Reservoir on the west side of the Sacramento Valley. “Dams need to be built,” he stated. “We need above ground storage, below ground storage, new infrastructure.”
In a similiar vein, the Governor stated, “We urgently need a clean, reliable water supply, and I am committed to getting comprehensive water reform done once and for all. We must invest in our future, protect our precious resources and protect the state of California.”
He also again slammed the court ordered federal biological opinion, released on June 4, that directed the state and federal governments to change export pumping operations out of the Delta to avoid jeopardizing the continued survival of Sacramento winter run and spring run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, green sturgeon and the southern resident population of killer whales.
“I think the judge’s decision is wrong,” said Schwarzenegger. “If you start choosing species, and the smelt and salmon over people, I think you’re wrong. I think it’s a mistake when you see the impacts that it has.”
Schwarzenegger yet again parrotted the false claim by Westlands Water District and corporate agribusiness giants that the biological opinion chooses “fish over people.” In fact, the conflict is in reality a conflict between restoring salmon and other fish populations and the thousands of jobs they support and keeping in production drainage-impaired land in the west side of the San Joaquin, land laced with selenium that should have never been irrigated.
Saturday’s top of the scroll: Governor gets firsthand look at water shortage; sends aid to drought-stricken areas
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2009 at 9:00 am
From the Fresno Bee:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met Friday with a group of frustrated farmers on the edge of a dry, dusty field in Mendota — and then asked for federal disaster money to help them. He also promised to deliver help from the state.
In an unusual request, Schwarzenegger asked President Barack Obama to declare Fresno County a disaster area due to the water shortage, a move that could bring money to the central San Joaquin Valley.
The governor’s visit focused on the west side of Fresno County, where communities are suffering as the Westlands Water District receives 10% of its federal water allotment this year. The cutbacks stem from the three-year drought and are exacerbated by federal protections for the threatened delta smelt. Mendota’s unemployment rate is 41%.
The governor’s visit Friday was in response to a request by Mendota Mayor Robert Silva during Schwarzenegger’s visit to Fresno on Thursday. Schwarzenegger came to Fresno to promote his budget plan at The Tower Theatre and during a question-and-answer session received an earful from the audience about the state’s water problems.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here. A related Fresno Bee story notes that the Governor issued a statewide order and requested federal assistance:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a statewide executive order to send drought-stricken communities money to help fill their food banks.
Schwarzenegger says the state will send between $3 million and $4 million in emergency food and unemployment assistance to local governments and nonprofits.
Also on Friday, the governor petitioned the White House to declare Fresno County a federal disaster area in a bid to get more money. Local officials had requested the petition.
Read more of this brief story from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Other coverage of this story:
Gov. Schwarzenegger requests federal disaster declaration, issues Executive Order to provide assistance
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2009 at 8:45 amFrom the Office of the Governor, this press release:
Showing that government still works for the people, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today requested a federal disaster declaration from President Obama for Fresno County and issued Executive Order S-11-09, activating the California Disaster Assistance Act. By taking this action, the state will be able to provide temporary supplemental assistance to the local governments and non-profit organizations that supply food and other aid to those who are impacted by the drought statewide. The order also waives the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance.
“California’s Central Valley is our nation’s agricultural engine and unemployment here is devastating the economy and hurting the people of California,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “These are dire circumstances - no water means no work - and no work means people cannot feed their families. This drought is truly an emergency, and the actions we are taking today show how government can still work for the people when they need it most.
“We urgently need a clean, reliable water supply, and I am committed to getting comprehensive water reform done once and for all. We must invest in our future, protect our precious resources and protect the state of California.”
In February, Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency due to drought conditions statewide and ordered immediate action to manage the crisis. In the proclamation, the Governor exerted his executive authority to direct all state government agencies to utilize their resources, implement a state emergency plan and provide assistance for people, communities and businesses impacted by the drought. Today’s executive order builds on the earlier proclamation and allows for additional assistance.
Text of executive order:
EDF & The Bay Institute responds to Governor Schwarzenegger issuing Executive Order to direct financial aid to Central Valley
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2009 at 8:35 amFrom the Environmental Defense Fund & The Bay Institute, this press release:
We applaud Governor Schwarzenegger for issuing an executive order to direct much needed financial aid to those in need in the Central Valley. We wholeheartedly support getting economic relief to those in the Valley and throughout California that are in urgent need of food and shelter. Relief should also be directed to salmon fishermen along the California coast, whose industry has been shut down for two years as a result the state’s ecosystem collapse.
To blame the Central Valley’s unemployment problems on court decision that reinforces regulations designed to protect fisheries on the brink of extinction is to misdiagnose the problem. In reality, unemployment in the Central Valley has historically been high even in non-drought years and is currently exacerbated by the worldwide recession and precipitous decline in housing construction. No doubt the drought plays a role, but its role has been greatly exaggerated. Even if the pumps that divert water from the Delta to the Central Valley and Southern California were run at full capacity, and drove certain species into extinction, the Valley’s problems would not be solved.
Efforts to dismantle the recently released Biological Opinion and court decisions for salmon and Delta Smelt will only prolong and fuel the decades-long conflicts that have plagued water management in California and derail the promising planning efforts underway to develop a comprehensive water supply and ecosystem plan that can assure a reliable water supply and healthy ecosystems for future generations of Californians.
We are encouraged by the latest reports our of Department of Water Resources and Central Valley Project showing that water supply in most parts of the valley will be in excess of 80 percent of average levels. Central Valley Project deliveries to the Westlands Water District, for example, were forecast to be zero as recently as March. The district now expects to use 86 percent of average annual supplies this year.
Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members nationwide and 100,000 in California. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
The Bay Institute was founded in 1981 by pioneers of a new advocacy approach that viewed the entire Bay-Delta ecosystem as a single, interdependent watershed. They claimed that environmental reform benefiting the Bay must recognize the importance of events in the farthest reaches of the watershed just as urgently as those along the Bay shoreline, and that reduced freshwater flow was the biggest factor in the decline of the estuary’s fish and wildlife resources. For more information, visit www.bay.org.
Digging deep: Red Bluff’s Antelope area wells drying up, redrilled
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2009 at 6:58 amFrom the Tehama Daily News:
When Lawanna Ross and her husband bought property in east Red Bluff, they assumed they would never have to drill another well. “We’ll have plenty of water always, because it’ll never go dry as long as it’s with the river,” Ross recalled her husband saying.
For 30 years, they were right. Ross, whose husband has since passed on, estimates she is spending $10,000 for each new well she has to have drilled to keep water flowing on her properties. She was able to save costs on two properties by connecting them to an agricultural well used by Crown Nursery, which Ross also rents to.
With wells she thought would go on forever suddenly drying up, Ross reasoned Lake Red Bluff’s late appearance this year could have reduced recharge to the aquifer her wells draw from from.
Because of a July 2008 court ruling that states the dam poses a hazard to some species of endangered fish, the gates at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam were kept up past May this year. Recently, a federal biological opinion that recommends the gates continue to be lowered on an abbreviated schedule for the next three years was released, and Lake Red Bluff returned Monday.
But county officials say the Antelope area’s dry wells have more to do with when they were built than the seasonal lake.
Read more from the Tehama Daily News by clicking here.
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