Antelope Valley concerned about future water supplies
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 30, 2007 at 5:55 pmBy ALISHA SEMCHUCK
Antelope Valley Press Staff Writer
PALMDALE
The Antelope Valley hasn’t been drained of all its groundwater - not yet.
A group representing water purveyors, agricultural users, builders and government agencies intends to keep the water table from running dry by implementing the Antelope Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, a comprehensive measure.
Approximately 50 stakeholders met Wednesday at the Larry Chimbole Cultural Center to discuss declining water levels in the Valley and agree upon a set of goals that possibly would remedy the problem.
Ken Kirby, of Kirby Consulting Group Inc. in Northern California, led the meeting and emphasized the need for a commitment to specific objectives, plus the means to attain those goals by a target date. Before touching on potential solutions, he described factors that compounded the problem.
“Your demand is continuing to go up, but your supply is not,” Kirby told the crowd.
For the rest of the story from the Antelope Valley Press, click here.
A new company wants to start a water bank project in the Antelope Valley:
Western Development and Storage, a private Los Angeles-based firm, is finalizing the engineering design for a 1,500-acre “water bank,” in which water transported by the California Aqueduct would piped into manmade basins, soak into the ground and recharging the Valley’s underground water table.
For the full story, also from the Antelope Valley Press, click here.
Ethanol - is it even possible?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 30, 2007 at 4:34 pmFrom the Sacramento Bee:
Businesses in California are racing to build plants to make ethanol, a substitute for gasoline that may or may not (depending on the study) lower greenhouse gas emissions. But it will take the state’s most fought-over resource — water — to grow the crops used to produce ethanol.
Many crops can be used for that purpose, but at the moment ethanol plants are picking corn — the most water-intensive ethanol crop there is. How much water? How much corn? The answer is startling.
For the rest of the article, click here.
Here’s a version of the same article at the Modesto Bee, which I don’t think requires registration - click here.
Aquafornia home page: http://aquafornia.com.
Environmentalists: Fish & Game ignored fish data
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 30, 2007 at 1:53 pmContra Costa Times – 4/27/07
By Mike Taugher, staff writer
FRESNO — The federal agency responsible for protecting endangered species ignored information that showed the Delta smelt population crashed to its lowest level before approving a plan to increase water pumping out of the Delta, lawyers for environmental groups charged Thursday.
By disregarding that information, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowed farms and cities across the state to take water that was needed to help prevent the fish from going extinct, environmentalists contend.
For the full text of this article from the Contra Costa Times, click here.
For the Waterlog point of view, including Tom Philip’s prediction of the outcome, click here.
Various views on the water storage issue
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 30, 2007 at 1:39 pmThere was a lot of commentary over the weekend regarding water storage and new dams. Here is a rundown of the commentary:
In support of new dams, an editorial from the Contra Costa Times:
With a population growing at nearly 600,000 a year and the threat of ever-decreasing snowpacks linked to global warming, there will be an increasing strain on water supplies.
It should be obvious to our lawmakers and the public that the state’s water systems are not adequate to meet future needs. That is particularly true if even some of the more benign global warming forecasts are accurate.
California needs a comprehensive water policy that includes greater efforts at conservation. But more efficient use of water will not be enough.
For the full text of this article from the Contra Costa Times, click here.
For another view, the Sacramento Bee wrote against the new dams proposal - at least for now, saying:
The Delta is the proverbial hub of Northern California’s water system. Any new reservoir proposal anywhere in Northern California can’t be pondered without knowing first how to fix the Delta. Time and political energy are precious things. The Delta needs to be center stage, with distractions kept to a minimum.
For the rest of the Sacramento Bee story, click here.
The LA Times ran an editorial on Saturday against dams altogether, saying:
Of the many ways to save and store water, dams are among the most expensive. They also alter the natural landscape in violent and often irreversible ways. The trend in the modern West is to tear down dams, not build them. Water solutions going forward should be based on cooperating with nature, not continuing the legacy of manhandling river systems into unrecognizable forms.
For the full text of the LA Times article, click here.
So there are plenty of diverging views on the water storage issue. We certainly haven’t heard the end of it yet!
Conserving water - time to get serious
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 30, 2007 at 1:29 pmFrom recordnet.com:
Coming soon to San Joaquin County: the summer of serious water conservation.
If not this year, next. If not now, soon.
It’s time to look at the tap as a limited source to be treasured, not as an infinite supply to be squandered. California’s 2007 water-supply picture is mixed - some areas have enough in storage to do just fine; others are worried already.
The water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack is at its lowest level in almost 20 years, and it is less than 40 percent of normal, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
For the full text of this story from recordnet.com, click here.
Water shortages for San Diego a real possibility
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 30, 2007 at 1:24 pmMonday, April 30, 2007
VoiceofSanDiego.org
By Rob Davis
San Diego’s two largest water sources — the Colorado River and the Sierra Nevada range — are at their lowest levels in decades, raising concerns that the arid region may face water shortages as soon as next year.
The Colorado River is enduring its eighth year of drought, and the winter snow that blanketed the Sierras contains just 40 percent of the water content it typically does. San Diego County relied on the two sources for 78 percent of its fresh drinking water last year. The region, in recent years, has had to import up to 95 percent of its water a year from those two sources.
The prolonged drought on the Colorado — the worst in a century — is not news to water agencies. But the state Department of Water Resources is now reporting that the water stored in the Sierras is at its lowest level since 1988. If next year’s winter is similarly dry, water shortages could follow.
For the full story, click here.
Salton Sea plan might be presented today
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 30, 2007 at 8:52 amThe LA Times has an article in today’s California regarding efforts to save the Salton Sea. Details may be released today on a plan to save it. State water officials are proposing $6 billion over 75 years to create a series of ponds for wildlife habitat and a sea about 1/6th of its current size.
The Salton Sea was created by accident in 1905 when a levee holding back the Colorado River broke and filled the basin, creating a lake 35 miles long. At one point, it was envisioned as a resort area, but the dead fish washing up on the shore didn’t fit the vision. With no water source but agricultural runoff, the lake has deteriorated in to a smelly puddle of water, 25% saltier than the ocean. Now even the agricultural runoff won’t be going there, and without any intervention, it will dry up altogether.
Even with it’s high salt content, some fish do survive, and it has become an important spot for birds. Since the Colorado River’s water has been so heavily allocated, water doesn’t even reach the Colorado Delta for many months out of the year. As the west coast continues to become more urbanized, the loss of any of the remaining wetlands, even the Salton Sea, will have a devastating impact on wildlife.
Besides being a critical habitat for birds, allowing the Salton Sea to dry up now will cause the lake bed to dry up, and the wind will start blowing the accumulated toxins and dust around, making some liken the potential situation to the dried up Owens Lake (currently trying to be mitigated by DWP). Out of the worst 100 dust events from 2000 to 2005, 78 of the 100 occurred in the Owens Valley.
In an article last Thursday in the ivpressonline, a consultant raised the question that if the efforts to save the Salton Sea fail or don’t serve the interests of the Imperial Valley, can the IID break from the controversial 75-year QSA pact? Craig Morgan, consultant, said the IID shouldn’t have the commitment to transfer water to San Diego if the sea is not restored. Attorney David Osias, lead water attorney for the IID, said that whether the sea is restored or not, the IID will still be held to its obligations under the QSA.
“For those of you who have spread the myth that in exchange for the water transfer, not only would we get money but a recreational lake in the form of the Salton Sea, that myth is not grounded in any facts that I know of”, Osias said in the article. For a full text of the article, click here (registration required).
In today’s tough budgetary climate, finding any money at all to restore the Salton Sea will be a challenge. To find enough ongoing funds to make it a recreational lake and sustain it as such seems like a near impossibility.
Tom Graff: Governors water plan significantly flawed
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 27, 2007 at 8:06 am“I think the governor’s water plan is significantly flawed in its emphasis on dams and surface storage. Dams are a sideshow; the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta should be center stage”, says Tom Graff, regional director for Environmental Defense in this month’s edition of the Metro Investment Report.
He says that the Governor’s plan gives large subsidies to water and energy use, leaving taxpayers to pick up the bill while receiving little benefits. “Water should not be made artificially cheap so that demand rises and ever more of it taken out of the Delta and the state’s few remaining ecologically viable rivers and streams.”
Click here to read the full text of the interview.
More calls for conservation in the Bay Area
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 26, 2007 at 1:09 pmWith the Sierra snowpack at a 19 year low, the Bay Area and Central California are bracing for a drought. Farmers have been told to only expect half of their normal water deliveries. The Bay Area water districts are calling for conservation measures. Tuolomne County’s largest water district is also asking residents to conserve.
The State Water Project is projecting being able to supply 60% of the requested water this year, and the Central Valley Project (mainly for agricultural irrigation) will only be supplying half of its normal water deliveries.
The good news is that after last years record rainfall & precipitation, reservoirs are in good shape. But concern is mounting that if 2008 is another dry year, drought conditions will worsen.
For coverage from the Fresno Bee, click here. For coverage from the SF Chronicle, click here.
MWD: Band Aids for the levees
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 26, 2007 at 12:50 pmHere’s an article that appeared in today’s Stockton Record:
By Alex Breitler, staff writer
The best way to save the Delta’s fresh water from a levee-crumbling earthquake may be to wait until the quake strikes before taking major action, Los Angeles-area water providers have decided.
The Metropolitan Water District recently approved a plan that would repair broken levees after a temblor rather than shoring them up beforehand.
District board members voted to stockpile repair materials at strategic spots around the Delta; then, if a quake occurs, that rock could be used to patch up levees perhaps along the Middle River, creating a sort of pathway channeling fresh water from the central Delta to the export pumps near Tracy.
It’s a cheaper plan, said Roger Patterson, Metropolitan’s assistant general manager.
For the full text of the article, click here.
Aquafornia comment: Why is it MWD’s job to fix the levees? Isn’t that what Cal-FED is supposed to do? Are we going to have various agencies with an interest in the Delta applying piecemeal plans instead of a coordinated solution?
Ethanol, a water guzzler?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 25, 2007 at 9:02 pmTom Philips, of the Sacramento Bee’s water log, has written an interesting piece about the production of Ethanol, pointing out that it may be totally unfeasible to produce substantial amounts here in California. Check it out here.
The ticking clock for the Delta pump shutdown
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 25, 2007 at 3:47 pmWhat is going to happen next? Anyone’s guess at this point. The record.net has a good editorial today that explains the details and the players in this water drama. Click here for the full article.
Bay Area residents & Imperial Valley farmers being asked to conserve,
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 25, 2007 at 3:35 pmMore calls for conservation in the Bay Area as the region records its seventh driest year in eight decades.
The East Bay Municipal Water District is asking for a 15% cutback from its users. Residents are being asked to cutback their outdoor watering to only three times a week, and to restrict outdoor water use during daytime hours. Large industrial users are being asked to cutback 25%.
Two weeks earlier, the San Francisco Public Utilities District asked residents for voluntary conservation of 10%, and water restrictions begin in Santa Cruz on May 1st.
Meanwhile, the farmers in the Imperial Irrigation District are struggling with the mandatory cutbacks required in order to reduce California’s draw on the Colorado River. Here’s the report from the California Farm Bureau.
The New York Times ran a story about the ongoing drought in the West. For the full story, click here.
Today’s big news you won’t see the the LA Times or the Daily News…
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 25, 2007 at 9:59 amThe news all over Northern California today is that the Senate committee rejected Schwarzenegger’s proposal to build two new dams. This issue is not dead, however; expect it to resurface again later on this year.
The story wasn’t even covered in the LA Times or the Daily News today, yet it has received wide coverage up north. So why should we care about two new dams?
A dam provides two main functions: water storage and flood control. As the climate continues to get warmer, snowpacks are diminishing and melting earlier, and more precipitation is going to fall as rain. During heavy rainfalls, dam operators must balance between the need to capture the water for storage and the need to maintain space for flood control. Without dams to catch it all, the water will simply run out to sea.
Now I’m not necessarily for the building of dams, but the water storage needs to be addressed. As the population of California continues to grow, there is great concern for our water supply. In a drought situation, multiple dry years could mean severe water shortages statewide. Southern California receives its imported water from three areas: the Owens Valley, the Colorado River, and the State Water Project. All three of these areas are experiencing drought and impacts from the water diversions that help sustain us.
Two-thirds of California gets at least a portion of its drinking water from the Bay-Delta area, and ecologically and functionally, this area is in trouble. The levees, most of which were built after the Gold Rush era, are over a hundred years old and are not reliable. It is not a question of ‘if’ there will be a levee failure, but a matter of ‘when’. The Delta is threatened by floods, earthquakes, sinking land, regional climate change, invasive species and increasing urbanization. More is needed to be done for the Delta area, and we’re going to have to spend some money to do it.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to tell you, the pumps that draw water from the Delta to feed the SWP are due to be shut off in less than 60 days. Those pumps are trapping a lot of endangered species and contributing - at least in some portion - to the decline of salmon and the Delta smelt, an endangered species. These fish populations have dropped off preciptously in recent years.
So we haven’t heard the end of it yet. There will be more talk about new dams, the Delta, conservation, water recycling, and of the peripheral canal. And we here in Southern California need to be part of that dialog. We need to be aware of where our water comes from, and how it is impacting the areas that we draw it from. Whether there are new dams or not, new canals or not, conservation is - has to be - part of our future.
For more information on the dam proposeal and it’s defeat yesterday, here’s Hank Shaw’s story - you can also visit his blog by clicking here or by using the link on the blogroll. And, here’s the story from the Sacramento Bee, and click here for Tom Philip’s blog.
For more information on general water issues, click here.
Democrats: No new dams
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 24, 2007 at 2:07 pmBy Judy Lin, Sacramento Bee:
(Excerpts from the Sacramento Bee’s coverage)
Saying they preferred to champion water conservation and protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem, Senate Democrats on Tuesday (April 24) voted down Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $4 billion plan to put two dams on the 2008 ballot.
In a statement, the governor said he would “continue to utilize all available means to push for a solution that includes surface storage, allowing California to implement a water plan to endure longer drought periods and higher flood peaks.”
For the full story from the Sacramento Bee, click here.
Of course, Tom Philips Water Log as the latest! Click here.
Inland Valley Residents: Great job, now keep it up!
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 24, 2007 at 9:24 amFrom Daily Bulletin.com
Inland Valley residents have done it again.
After the Metropolitan Water District and local water agencies appealed for consumers to conserve water so that a large supply pipeline could be repaired last week, customers voluntarily reduced their usage by up to 45 percent.
MWD finished the repair job in Rancho Cucamonga Friday night, about three days ahead of schedule, and the immediate need to conserve has passed. Residents of nine Inland Valley cities rose to the occasion again as they have in similar situations in the past.
But there is a longer-term need to conserve water - to a lesser degree, of course, than during the pipeline patch job. So it would be great if each water customer would adopt one or two of the water-saving strategies used last week going forward, and make it a part of his or her family’s lifestyle.
Why? Because our water supply faces many challenges more serious and more lasting than a repair.
To read the rest of this opinion article from DailyBulletin.com, click here.
Latino Water Coalition formed in Sacramento
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 24, 2007 at 9:20 amStockton Record – 4/24/07
By Hank Shaw, Bureau Chief
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger picked up some new allies Monday in his push to pass legislation to borrow $6 billion to bolster California’s drinking-water supply.
Flanked by a squad of Latino mayors, comedian Paul Rodriguez - who grew up in Tulare County - and about 50 placard-carrying supporters, Schwarzenegger announced the creation of the California Latino Water Coalition. ….
My favorite part: Rodriguez said the coalition was formed to lend its support to the larger effort and to highlight the fact that many Latinos live or die off the state’s $37 billion agricultural industry. “We came to this country to make sure Caucasians had salad,” said Rodriguez, who was born in Sinaloa, Mexico.
To read the full text of this story, click here.
The new coalition first appeared on Tom Philip’s Water Log yesterday - click here.
USA Today: Lack of late snow raises risk of fires
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 24, 2007 at 9:11 amBy Patrick O’Driscoll, USA TODAY
DENVER — Unexpected dryness and near-record warmth in March have melted much of the West’s mountain snows early, worsening the potential for wildfires and extending the region’s drought, federal water agencies reported Monday.
Late-season snow in March and April is a critical addition to the West’s winter snowpack. Gradual meltoff in late spring and summer supplies water to most of the region.
The snowpack has shrunk by more than 30% in some places because of the warm, dry spring, according to the National Water and Climate Center. Many sites were at 25% to 50% of normal accumulation before the unseasonable warm temperatures hit.
For the rest of this article, click here.
Some opinions and viewpoints on the Salton Sea …
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 24, 2007 at 8:29 amHere’s a great article from Ecogrrl, who traveled through the Salton Sea area last year, and posted this entry on her blog. She’s got some pictures of what it is like out there, good information with a humurous twist at the end. To read Ecogrrl’s post, click here.
One blog that I visit frequently is Tom Philip’s Water Log, which is a blog out of Sacramento. He writes mostly about the players on the legislative scene, describing his blog as this: “We tend to fight over water out here. The Waterlog is a way for all of us to share a ringside view of the latest action.” He posted on the Salton Sea issue in March, and for his take on it, click here. You can visit his blog site by clicking here, or by using the link in the Blogroll.
There is also a documentary being shown on some PBS stations and at the Laemmle Theatres in downtown Los Angeles for a brief period of time, called “Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea” which chronicles the history of this unique place. To view a short description of the movie and check out theatre times in the LA area, click here.
Salton Sea dust bowl compared to Owens Valley
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 23, 2007 at 10:02 amFrom the Desert Sun: Imagine a desolate construction site the size of the Coachella Valley. As the wind kicks up, envision the wall of dust rising, blanketing communities for miles and causing major respiratory problems and health issues, especially in children. Officials say this is the future for the Coachella Valley and Imperial County if nothing is done to salvage the Salton Sea.
The state’s largest lake is dying. Without intervention, it will dry up, creating a dust bowl spanning roughly the distance from Desert Hot Springs to Coachella. “Basically you’d have a permanent brown cloud, 35 to 40 miles,” Salton Sea Authority Executive Director Rick Daniels said of the dust storms a dry lake bed would create. To read more from the Desert Sun, click here.
The drying up of the Salton Sea causes fears of similar problems that are occuring in the Owens Valley: the Owens Lake bed, dry from years of water diversions to Los Angeles, has some of the worst air quality in the nation. In the period from 2000 to 2005, 78 of the 100 worst dust events in the US occurred in the Owens Valley. To read more, click here.