Delta Vision taskforce wraps up meeting with list of recommendations

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 11:53 pm

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A state advisory panel called Friday for a new system of delivering water to urban users from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, but stopped short of backing an updated version of the peripheral canal proposed in 1982. The much-anticipated report from the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed in February, said the current system for providing delta water to cities in the East Bay, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California is no longer sustainable.

The panel, which will undertake the job now of trying to put their plan into motion, asked state and federal water officials to assess the options for a new water-delivery system and report back to them by June. But the panel said any new facilities aimed at fixing delivery issues must be built in concert with measures that restore the delta’s ecosystem. “The two are co-equals,” said Phil Isenberg, chairman of the task force. “You cannot address the water supply issues without also addressing the restoration issues.”

To read the rest of this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, click here.

The panel did not endorse or reject the peripheral canal idea, but did make twelve specific recommendations, some of which are recapped in this story from the San Jose Mercury News:

— Government agencies must better support native species, recreational fishing and natural flood flows in the delta ecosystem. Invasive species must also be reduced.

— Require communities from Sacramento to Bakersfield to take less water from the rivers that flow into the delta during certain times of the year. Also reduce exports to the Bay Area and southern California.

— New dams and facilities should be built to channel water to the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California.

To read the rest of this article from the San Jose Mercury News, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues, Delta Vision Task Force

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How safe is Southern California’s water?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 11:46 pm

From the Los Angeles Times, on the heels of last week’s story about contaminated water 20 to 30 years ago in the San Fernando Valley & San Gabriel Valley, today a story about just what is in Angeleno’s water:

For years before the mid-1980s, groundwater in parts of Southern California was contaminated with toxic solvents, yet the federal body responsible for tracking this didn’t investigate the potential health threat to people who were drinking contaminated tap water. A congressional committee is now investigating why that neglect occurred.

Here’s a closer look at what scientists know about the main solvents of concern and their health effects.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and the related compound tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene (PCE or PERC), are industrial solvents still used to clean up grease and to dry-clean clothes. For a long time, their use was unregulated and many companies across the nation disposed of them in such a way that they leached into drinking water sources.

In 1980, the Environmental Protection Agency started a Superfund project to clean up a variety of chemical pollutants. The effort includes getting the perpetrators of improper TCE and PCE disposal, many of them defense contractors, to help remove the worst of the contamination across the country.

So should you be drinking bottled water? No need for that, officials say:

Researchers and the EPA say there’s no need, because even with the contamination, people in Southern California are drinking solvent-free water.

Not all water sources in the L.A. area are contaminated. Also, although not all of the groundwater in regions of concern in the L.A. area have been treated to contain less than the federal limit of 5 parts per billion, what comes out of your tap is not the same as what’s in the groundwater.

To read the rest of this story from the Los Angeles Times, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Drinking Water

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Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 11:10 pm

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:

Bureau of Reclamation and DFG staff met today with Bob McDaris, owner of Cliff’s Marina in Freeport, Bob Simms, KFBK Radio Outdoor Program host and Jerry Nash, local angler, at the Bureau of Reclamation offices on Cottage Way. A total of 15 people showed up for the meeting.

Jeff McCracken, Bureau spokesman, said he had already consulted with the Solicitor’s office and the Department of Justice to get the go-ahead for the rescue. McDaris explained that he already had a pipe ready to transport fish through from the island to Miner Slough, so he could begin the rescue this afternoon. The volunteers will transport the fish in ice chests or small kid’s swimming pool placed on ATVs and send them through the pipes into the slough. McDaris and volunteers are also ready to install another pipe to put oxygen in the water at the island.

When I went to the Slough with McDaris on Wednesday, the vast majority of fish that were still alive were striped bass. Jeff Nash also reported big schools of threadfin shad and silversides in a sump on the island.

Terry Foreman, Fisheries Program Manager of the DFG’s Fisheries Branch, urged caution in doing the fish rescue to make sure that the fish were transferred into the slough alive. “If the fish die after being released, it won’t look good,” he said. In response to a direct question by McDaris, “Can we do the rescue today?,” Foreman said that he couldn’t give approval since the levee repair was a Bureau project, not a state project. “We’re giving you information,” said Foreman. “We are not giving you permission to do the fish rescue. We are just consulting with you before you do it.”

He made it clear that the DFG wouldn’t have staff assisting with the rescue, but that game wardens would be on site during the rescue.

To read the rest of this story from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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Solutions needed for California’s water crisis

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 5:52 pm

From the Capital Ag Press:

California farmers and ranches are hoping for a white Christmas to soften the blow of what could be one of the bleakest water years ever. Severe drought conditions last winter and a federal court decision three months ago have left major reservoirs in the state depleted as farmers prepare for their 2008 growing season.

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and key legislative leaders huddled in Sacramento earlier this week to try and reach consensus on a fix to California’s severe water crisis, worry rippled across farm country. This is the time for farmers to make planting schedules, get their capital in place and set their course for the new year. But 2008 will be anything but easy for California agriculture. In fact, it could be an outright disaster.

Hanging over the state are two droughts: one imposed by Mother Nature, and another imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger, who in August, ordered massive pumps near Tracy shut down to restrict water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Steve Patricio, chairman of Western Growers Association, said the farmers are finding ways to cope with the upcoming cutbacks:

Like they have always done, farmers are trying to cope. They are drilling new wells, deepening old ones and installing water-conserving irrigation systems to try to stave off the effects of drought. Some are contemplating selling what little water they get to forgo the misery in 2008.

Western Growers has estimated that 82,000 acres of farmland could be fallowed next year even if the state gets average rain and snow this winter. That will inflict at least a $69 million hit to farm production, according to a Western Growers study.

To read the full text of this article from the Capitol Ag Press, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Agriculture

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Engineering our way out of climate change

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 5:47 pm

From the Island of Doubt blog, a post about “geo-engineering”. Some sectors of the scientific community have given up trying to reverse global warming and instead, are trying to figure out ways to deal with it instead. From the blog:

Among the ideas floating around — and considered at a recent conference in Cambridge, Mass. — are injecting into the atmosphere enormous quantities of heat-reflecting aerosols, sending millions of tiny mirrors (or building a few very big ones) into orbit to divert some of the sunlight, installing floating pipes in the ocean to drawn down CO2-rich waters to the depth, and seeding those same oceans with plankton to absorb carbon in hopes they fall to the seabed when they die.

No one really knows exactly how any of these ideas will actually work or what unintended consequences come with them. All very theoretical, at this point. The thing they all have in common is degree of confidence in science and technological R&D to solve the problem of climate change. Sheril describes proponents of such plans as “folks who believe ’science will solve all our problems, so why worry?’ which sounds to me like suggesting we need not take responsibility for our actions in the here and now.” And she’s bang on.

The obvious problem with any approach that relies on tinkering with the planetary ecosystem is we know so little about the thing in the first place. We just have no bloody clue what will happen to our air if we fire millions of tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere. Did someone mention acid rain? And what about the oceans? Counteracting the effects of greenhouse gases in the air will be do nothing to stop the falling pH of the oceans, with the likely massive loss of biodiversity that will bring.

To read the rest of this article from the Island of Doubt science blog, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Climate change & water supply

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Holy smokes! The most important drought story of the year and somehow I missed it!

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 5:42 pm

I heard it from JFleck Inakstain, who heard it from Waterblogged, and I have to agree, it is, like, the most important drought story missed by Aquafornia! This, from ABC News:

Sheriff Garrett Roberts hasn’t needed a machete to cut any of the scrawny marijuana plants he has confiscated this year. A severe drought that has parched corn and soybean fields across the Southeast has also scorched marijuana crops, leaving plants that should be 10 feet tall so puny that Roberts and his deputies simply pull them up.

“The plants we’ve seen have been anywhere from 2 inches to 5 1/2 feet tall,” said Roberts, the chief law enforcer in eastern Kentucky’s Lawrence County. Kentucky, one of the nation’s top producers of marijuana, has seen a sharp decrease in production of the illegal crop this year. The weather there and in neighboring states is cutting into the supply, and street prices for the drug could rise, authorities say.

For the rest of this news story from ABC News, click here.

And, well, while I’m at it, what’s cool about a drought? Waterblogged asked the same question:

… We were puzzled when we saw it, not only because we don’t recall using the word cool in any of our entries, but also because dude, what could possibly be cool about a drought? After an emergency meeting about the matter, the Waterblogged.info editorial team determined that either this visitor is an idiot, or worse, knows something about long periods without normal precipitation leading to severe water shortage that we don’t. After putting our crack team of researchers to work we’re embarrassed to report that the latter is true. The web abounds with cool facts about Georgia’s drought and, with deep apologies for not having done so earlier, proudly present the ten coolest.

Click here to read the rest of Waterblogged’s post about what is cool about the Georgia drought.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Weird & Wacky Water News

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Salton Sea Spectacular, part 1

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 10:15 am

Here’s the first post in a series of three posts today regarding the Salton Sea. First, from MyDesert.com, some good news that the tilapia count in the Salton Sea is at it’s highest in five years:

More tilapia means more pelicans. State officials recorded 6,000 brown pelicans at the sea this year, the most since 2000. And 14,000 American white pelicans spent time at the sea, the most since 2001.

But the good news is only temporary, as the sea’s steady deterioration continues. “The sea is going to die here in the next decade – that’s a given if nothing is done,” said Dale Hoffman-Floerke, head of the state Department of Water Resources’ Colorado River and Salton Sea office.

The sea’s steady drop in elevation has produced one of its first major impacts – there’s no longer an adequate boat-launching facility to get out on the lake, Nicol said. It’s a bitter reality for a sea that in the 1950s abounded with marinas, boating and fishing.

A thriving sport fishery that once included corvina, sargo and croaker is also a thing of the past, Nicol said. “The marine sport fishery has been undetectable since 2003,” she said. “That means in our gill nets we haven’t found any, and no anglers have reported any. So for all intents and purposes, it no longer exists.”

California’s largest lake, the Salton Sea has been slowly dying for decades as water salinity increases. The sea is expected to shrink significantly by 2018, when water transfers will reduce agricultural runoff, its primary source of water. Fish and bird habitats could be severely impacted, and an exposed dry lake bed could spew dust into the air for miles into the Coachella Valley.

The sea’s salinity rose this year to 50 parts per thousand, Nicol said. That’s more than the ocean but far less than that of Utah’s Salt Lake and Israel’s Dead Sea.

When the full impact of a 2003 water transfer agreement comes in 2017, the Salton Sea’s salinity is expected to rise above 60 parts per thousand, when biologists believe tilapia will no longer be able to reproduce, she said. Once the fishery is gone, the birds – more than 400 species that travel along the Pacific Flyway and visit the sea – will go with them. “Other factors could come into play to make that happen sooner,” Nicol said.

To read the rest of this story from MyDesert.com, click here.

The current restoration plan would cost $8.9 billion over 75 years. A bill to provide funding to get started was stalled in the legislature last year, and so far just $23 million has been earmarked to begin the process. The ambitious plans call for over 50 miles of dikes and a much smaller sea area, maintaining only a recreational lake and bird habitat, and applying dust control measures to the rest of the dried lake bed. This option has not been popular with many residents, and even some state officials remain skeptical.

The idea of sustaining the Salton Sea by bringing in water from the Gulf of California remains popular among locals. So, today, let’s take a look at the pipeline concept in this multi-post Aquafornia discussion of the Salton Sea.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Salton Sea

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Salton Sea, part 2: An open waterway (or pipeline) from the Gulf of California

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 10:15 am

Options for saving the Salton Sea have been being discussed for nearly forty years now. At one time, there was even discussion dating back to 1971 about building a shipping canal to the area. Pipelines and canals that would draw water from the Gulf of California in various forms are alternatives that are still favored by many local residents.

Back in August, I wrote an article regarding the feasibility of a pipeline from the Gulf of California to the Salton Sea. In my post, I quoted Indio resident Richard B. Speed, who believes passionately in an open waterway solution to the Salton Sea. Read on for Richard’s remarks about my article, my response to Richard, and even read comments from Rick Daniels on the canal/pipeline idea. Read more

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Salton Sea

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Salton Sea, part 3: The ‘Dead Sea’ option

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 10:15 am

Jim Cornett, a writer from the Salton Sea area, recently took a trip to the Middle East, and when he returned, he wrote a column paralleling the Dead Sea with the Salton Sea, which appeared on MyDesert.com recently.

The Dead Sea has been gradually losing water as diversions for irrigation and municipal use have taken most of the Jordan River, the Dead Sea’s source of water. As a solution, a canal is going to be built from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea (the “Red to Dead” canal), and Mr. Cornett sees a similar solution for the Salton Sea:

There are many great features with regard to this particular solution. First, the water will flow mostly downhill into the Dead Sea. There will be relatively small amounts of energy to pump water. In fact, the force of the falling water will be used to generate electrical energy resulting in a positive energy balance. There are no foreseeable ecological issues, the sea is already dead.

Finally, the solution is based upon natural processes (gravity) and the acceptance of the inevitable increasing salinity of an enclosed desert basin. No one in Israel or Jordan has any desire to forever use precious monetary and energy resources to fight the natural process of desert basin salinization. On the contrary, both countries are capitalizing on the therapeutic benefits of very salty water. That the cost of channel construction will be partially be offset by the generation of electrical power is an added bonus.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Salton Sea

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Friday’s odds and ends from the blogosphere

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 9:00 am

It’s Friday desktop cleaning time, so here are some interesting blogs I’ve come across this week.

My new favorite blog, Waterblogged, has a story about the most dangerous dam on the planet, which happens to be in Iraq. The dam is so bad, a concrete mixture must be continuously injected into it so that it doesn’t collapse. Now that’s bad! They follow it up today with a post about the most hated dam on the planet.

How much water is used to download a song? Doesn’t seem connected at first, although it is true that there is a big connection between power and water use, as water is a necessary component for electrical generation – and I’m not talking about hydropower. Check it out watercrunch’s blog about water use and song downloading by clicking here.

Officials are starting to use the “R” word (rationing), but this blogger says maybe they should be using the “M” word – for moratorium. Is excessive development straining our limited resources? Check out this Westchester Parents blog post by clicking here.

Finally, check out this potentially life-saving inflatable bikini, brought to Aquafornia’s attention by the always refreshing Trout Underground blog – another one of my favorites, and I don’t even fish. Hey, I don’t even eat fish! Click here for a life-saving device that will ensure you’ll have a seat on the rescue boat (if you’re a woman, that is) …..

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Odds and Ends

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ACWA conference discusses California’s water crisis

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 8:37 am

From MyDesert.com, a story on the ACWA conference, which has been happening in Indian Wells this week:

Worry over California’s future water supply has reached “crisis” levels in government and among water agencies. But concern by most Californians over the issue is still at a trickle, officials said at the Association of California Water Agencies’ annual fall conference on Wednesday. “Despite intense media attention, a governor that put his star power on the line traversing the state talking about water problems and a Legislature that was really engaged, the public is still unaware of the problem,” association spokeswoman Jennifer Persike said.

The weeklong conference attracted more than 1,600 local water deliverers and experts to the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa and Hyatt Grand Champions Resort and Spa in Indian Wells.

A survey conducted before the association launched a public awareness campaign this fall found that most people were unaware of the water crisis. The campaign has since increased awareness, which officials will continue to work on.

Paul Mandabach, a political consultant who helped put together the campaign, said the debate over how bluntly to put the state’s water woes was short-lived.

“There is a crisis,” he said. “The crisis is not looming. It is now.”

To read the rest of this article from MyDesert.com, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Water Agency News (all)

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Weather in the Sierras: dry now, but who knows what the season will hold

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 7:45 am

From the Tahoe Bonanza:

With Thursday’s snowpack at 4 percent of average and Lake Tahoe two feet lower than last year at this time, the calendar year 2007 is in the running to be the second driest winter for weather records. However, weather in the Sierra is always a wild ride. “We’re definitely way, way down. If December got zero precipitation, which would really be amazing in Tahoe, this would be the second driest year in 70 years (for Reno),” said Jim Ashby, climatologist with the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno’s Desert Research Institute.

The driest year was 1976 with 9.34 inches of precipitation recorded at Lake Tahoe’s only outlet, the Truckee River in Tahoe City. Right now, 14.71 inches has been recorded in Tahoe City for the year – the long-term average is 32.6 inches of precipitation. But as weather watchers warn, you never know in the Sierra. The average precipitation in Tahoe City for December is 5.66 inches; however in 1989, there was 0 inches and in 1964, there were 27.55 inches in the wettest month of Tahoe City data going back 94 years.

“The point is, it could happen, it could be a monster month,” Ashby said.

To read the rest of this article from the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Lake Tahoe & the Sierra's

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Mesa, Arizona: catching a wave in the wrong direction?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 30, 2007 at 7:40 am

From the New York Times opinion section:

The Atlanta metropolitan area has been hit by a drought so severe that Georgia’s governor has resorted to praying for rain. Lake Mead has been drying up so quickly that there is now a giant chalky ring around it.

Then there’s Mesa, Ariz., where voters this month overwhelmingly approved a water park called the Waveyard.

It is not a couple of water slides and a kiddie pool. Pictures from its Web site make parts of this sprawling water wonderland look like a surf break off Oahu, with tubular waves big enough to hide in, or a fish-dotted reef in the Bahamas, or a whitewater river in British Columbia.

In a region where yearly rainfall is about 8 inches, the Waveyard would use 50 million gallons of water on its first fill-up, then go through 60 million to 100 million gallons a year. About 50 million of those would be lost to evaporation, and 5 million to splashing.

Only as much water as an 18-hole golf course, it’s proponents say.

To read the full text of this editorial from the New York Times, click here.

To visit the website for The Waveyard, click here.

November 30, 2007 · Filed Under Weird & Wacky Water News

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Following a drop of water through Yucaipa Valley’s water system

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 29, 2007 at 9:02 am

From the Yucaipa/Calimesa New Mirror, an interesting article which follows the travels of water as it goes through the Yucaipa Valley Water District’s system – from the trip in from the mountains to the sewer output:

Reservoirs, pumps, faucets and valves do not make a water company. What does, however, can be seen by taking a lighthearted journey to unearth the process Yucaipa Valley Water District goes through to provide every day water. What also can be discovered is why the YVWD water resource is being jealously scrutinized by other water agencies.

It’s interesting to find what is done within YVWD’s system as each drop of water travels from the mountain streams, collectors, treatment plants, reservoirs, pumps, pipes, homes, faucets, businesses, and finally the sewers. The first source is the San Bernardino mountains.

Melted ice and snow link up with rain water to travel downhill in streams both above and below the surface. This water follows the slope of the mountains to east of Oak Glen. Here, at the elevation of 5,400 feet, water meets Charlie Bailey, YVWD’s operations manager. He divides the water into two groups. One group will continue its freshness trek downstream to the aquifers and wells of the Oak Glen area, supplying campers, homes, businesses and helping to make those appetizing apples.

To read the rest of this article from the Yucaipa Calimesa Daily Mirror, click here.

November 29, 2007 · Filed Under General Water Issues

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Inland Empire water agencies react to low allocation from Dept. of Water Resources

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 29, 2007 at 8:52 am

From the San Bernardino Sun:

The Inland Empire’s water supplies from Northern California next year are going to be cut in half thanks to a drought as well as an endangered fish swimming in a delta near Sacramento that needs the water.

In the face of less water flowing locally, landscapers, golf courses and even citrus growers might get socked with higher water bills. “We might hand water (with a hose) the dry spots,” said Bill Henning, superintendent of Shandin Hills Golf Club in San Bernardino.

The water cuts are the result of some of the driest weather in years. The Inland Empire’s apportionment of water next year has been cut because of the drought hitting the state, according to the State Water Contractors, a nonprofit of 27 public agencies that buys water under contract from the California State Water Project. San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, which serves about 600,000 residents in an area from Fontana to Yucaipa, is part of this water group.

In 2008, the water district is expected to get 58 percent less water than this year from the state, said Randy Van Gelder, water district general manager. “I don’t know if there’ll be a raise in rates,” said Joe Zoba, Yucaipa Valley Water District general manager. “Just because there’s a shortage of water from the state doesn’t mean there’ll be an increase in water rates.”

To read the full text of this article from the San Bernardino Sun, click here.

November 29, 2007 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Other Water Agencies

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Delta Vision task force to meet today, peripheral canal on the agenda

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 29, 2007 at 7:47 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A state advisory panel is expected this week to rekindle debate over one of the hottest political issues in state history – a peripheral canal to divert water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta largely for use in Southern California.

After nearly a year of study, the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force will hold its last two meetings beginning Thursday in Sacramento in hopes of reaching consensus on how to resolve the long-standing conflict in the delta: protecting a delicate ecosystem while providing water to millions of urban users across the state, including parts of the Bay Area.

Although the panel, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, will offer a long list of recommendations, water and resource experts said Wednesday they expected the panel to vote by Friday to build a new system to deliver delta water to urban users that is physically separate from the delta itself – a system like the peripheral canal that California voters rejected 25 years ago.

A peripheral canal, or some sort of variation thereof, is certainly on the agenda. Bitterly fought over in 1982, many feel that much has changed in California since then, and the time may now be right for such a peripheral-type canal. But not all see the peripheral canal as the main solution:

State Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden (San Joaquin County), a long-time Central Valley farmer, said he believes the most critical issue isn’t necessarily how water is moved but how the whole delta is managed. “The challenge is the governance issue – who is going to take control,” he said, adding that today there are more than 200 federal, state and local agencies that share some responsibility over delta activities.

“We all know the risks and what the fixes are,” he said. “We cannot continue to take the amount of water we are taking and still have a healthy delta. The question is who is going to enforce the laws we already have.”

To read the rest of this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, click here. Click here for coverage of this story from Inside the Bay Area.

November 29, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues, Delta Vision Task Force

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Weblinks & resources for today’s Delta Vision Meeting

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 29, 2007 at 7:47 am

Meeting materials, weblinks, and other resources regarding today’s Delta Vision meeting are available by clicking here (http://deltavision.ca.gov/).

The website has links to watch the meeting over the web if you are interested but cannot attend.

November 29, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues, Delta Vision Task Force

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Writer sees comparison in California problems to Texas problems

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 29, 2007 at 7:22 am

The writer of this Capitol Weekly article, Rick Keene, recently went on a policy tour of several other states which are all experiencing similar issues and problems. The tour focused on the states of Texas, Florida and Virginia, which share similarities with California in terms of population, demography, infrastructure, education, public safety and other issues. From the article:

But what I found most useful was Texas’ approach to its water infrastructure problems. Like California, the state currently faces a rapidly growing population, recurring droughts, environmental concerns, and a water supply shortage that is increasingly unable to meet demands. However, unlike California, Texas is approaching the issue in a cooperative, comprehensive manner. In crafting a long-term solution to the problem, Texas policymakers have had the foresight to develop a 50-year planning period, project future populations and the corresponding water demand they will require, and plan for record drought conditions.

Texas’ plan to provide more water is a comprehensive one that includes many strategies; however, its main source of future water supplies will come from new reservoirs. The Texas Water Development Board (the equivalent to our Department of Water Resources), in conjunction with the Legislature, identified 19 potential new reservoir sites across the state to meet the its growing demand for water. This is a stark contrast to our Legislature, where Democratic leaders will not agree to three new reservoir sites in the state.

Texas has made surface storage part of their long-term plan, says Keene:

… the TWDB [Texas Water Development Board] identified the leading impediments to construction of water infrastructure; among the top reasons cited were environmental opposition, parochialism, and lack of public awareness of water supply needs. I found these reasons particularly applicable to California.

The water bond plan introduced by the governor and Senator Dave Cogdill, R-Fresno has been criticized by environmental alarmists who have no concern for the state’s water needs. It has also been written off by many urban lawmakers who oppose surface storage projects that are not in their districts and who fail to realize the statewide benefit that they provide. And finally, I believe that the public has not been made aware of the looming crisis that our water infrastructure faces.

To read the full text of this article from Capitol Weekly, click here.

November 29, 2007 · Filed Under Water Storage

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Is the failure to reach compromise on water plan bad for California ? …

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 11:04 pm

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Last week, Schwarzenegger and Perata seemed close to a deal. They had agreed in principle on a $10.7 billion bond proposal that included about $3.5 billion for surface storage and water transport projects – the things Republican legislators care about.

But partisan differences about oversight of the money derailed the compromise. Republicans wanted a “continuous appropriation” that would have given state water officials power to spend the project money without ongoing legislative review. That kind of blank check authority is a bad idea, and Democrats were right to oppose it.

All sides must recognize the growing urgency of California’s water problems. A dry year already has forced water use restrictions in some areas, especially in Southern California. If this winter is the same, rationing will be likely in parts of the Bay Area. Sharp cuts in the amount of water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are expected to start in January under a judge’s order protecting the delta smelt. The health of the delta is failing, risking water supplies for 25 million Californians. Global warming keeps shrinking the snowpack that supplies much of our water, and California’s population keeps growing.

Compared with this past year, it may only get tougher to secure bipartisan consensus, let alone voter approval of a bond measure next year.

To read the full text of this article from the San Jose Mercury News, click here.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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… or is it better not to rush a hasty plan on to February’s ballot?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 11:01 pm

From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise, this editorial:

California needs to address soon the long-term challenges of ensuring a sufficient supply of water for a growing population living in an arid climate. But that complex task requires a coherent strategy; merely throwing taxpayers’ money at new water projects will not suffice.

So the Legislature’s failure to put a water bond on the February ballot gives legislators additional time to do the hard work they have so far sidestepped: crafting a consensus on the most practical, cost-effective way of bolstering state water supplies for the future. And the first step toward reaching that goal involves setting aside partisan prejudices in favor of hard facts.

Attempts to put a $10 billion water bond on the Feb. 5 ballot appeared to founder last week, as negotiations hung up on the same issue that stalled water bond legislation during the regular legislative session: new dams. Republicans wanted money to build two dams and expand a third. Democrats favor increased conservation and underground storage in place of new dams.

But delaying the bond until the June or November election could result in a more sensible and effective measure, if the Legislature can address the topic without the partisan blinders.

To read the full text of this article from Riverside’s Press-Enterprise, click here.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Water concerns delay permit extensions in the Antelope Valley

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 10:58 pm

From the Antelope Valley Press:

As new-home sales continue to lag, housing developers are trying to delay deadlines for projects submitted for approval back when the market was booming. Members of the city’s Planning Commission spent more than an hour Tuesday discussing whether to extend those deadlines for seven builders holding plans to construct 773 homes in various locations.

The commission’s discussion focused on the lack of direction from the City Council concerning water use in the city and how best to obtain the governing body’s opinion.

In Lancaster, tentative tract maps for housing developments are valid for two years after they have been accepted by city planners. The validity of those maps can be extended at the discretion of the Planning Commission for three years, for a total of five. In the past, such extensions would have been granted with little or no comment. Now, commission members are discussing whether the extensions should be limited until more is learned about the future supply of water.

To read the full text of this article from the Antelope Valley Press, click here.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Water & Development

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California’s early water plan – just 13 pages! plus land-use and GIS data for the Delta

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 10:03 pm

Take 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.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues, Water Agency News (all), Water History

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DWR releases it’s first water supply estimate for 2008

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 6:57 am

From the North County Times:

State officials said Monday that Southern California’s life-sustaining supplies of Northern California water are expected to cover just 25 percent of demand in 2008, far less than the 60 percent allocation level the region got this year. However, officials said that the estimate could improve dramatically by early next year, after winter rains and snow actually fall and can be measured in Northern California and the Sierra Nevada.

In fact, in any other year, the state’s initial allocation wouldn’t have drawn any attention at all, because it comes too early to be considered reliable. That’s because the initial prediction is made mainly by looking at historical weather patterns and guessing that they will be repeated — something that does not always occur.

The Association of California Water Agencies & the State Water Contractors issued press releases stating that this is further proof that the state is facing a water crisis, and a comprehensive solution is needed.

However, many water officials, including some from the association and contractors group, downplayed the initial estimate, and agreed that it was too early to be worried about the initial prediction. “This (low estimate) was expected given the current dry conditions,” said Metropolitan spokesman Bob Muir. “The initial allocation’s history has been based on a conservative estimate that typically increases over the year based on winter storms.”

Tracy Pettit, chief of the state Department of Water Resources’ forecasting division, said the first meaningful allocation estimates will come in February — when state crews measure the first snow pack levels.

Meanwhile, officials from the San Diego County Water Authority said the publicity surrounding the low initial estimate would serve a purpose — to remind people that they should conserve water if they can. Metropolitan, Water Authority, and local agencies have started campaigns to urge conservation, saying that cutting water use now could leave more precious stored water available to offset supply shortages in 2008, 2009 and beyond.

To read the full text of this article from the North County Times, click here.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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Dry year and low water allocations underscore need for water plan compromise (and, it’s all about growth, too), says Dan Walters

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 6:39 am

From the Sacramento Bee, this editorial by Dan Walters. After first pointing out the low water levels in the state’s reservoirs and the chances for another dry winter, he goes on to say:

This is the immediate crisis, and there’s very little that politicians can do to avert it. But it’s part of a longer-range crisis that’s been developing for decades in a political vacuum. It may worsen if the warnings about global warming prove true, because winter snows will lessen, and more of the state’s precipitation will come in the form of rain.

Against that background of immediate water shortages and long-range peril, are the Capitol’s politicians rising to the occasion? Not noticeably.

Yes, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders are talking about making a multibillion-dollar investment in water conservation and storage. And talking. And talking. But the philosophical and partisan conflicts that have stalled water policy for decades are as strong as ever. Tellingly, on the day that state water officials delivered the bad news to Californians, Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders met again to discuss the long-stalled water plan and failed again to reach agreement.

Dan points out the sticking point in reaching any compromise:

The lead Democrat on the issue, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, finally agreed to place $3 billion in the proposed water bond for reservoirs. Republicans, however, are insisting that the money be appropriated permanently, fearing that environmentalists would block its use if it remains subject to legislative appropriation.

Their fear is well-founded. Environmental groups see water supply as the key element in land use and other development issues and believe that restricting supply will somehow slow growth – disregarding the simple demographic fact that California’s population growth stems almost entirely from immigration and babies. Thus, the never-ending debate over water really isn’t about water so much as it is about how and if California will continue to grow.

To read the rest of this article from Dan Walters at the Sacramento Bee, click here.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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The Delta as photographed from space

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 6:29 am

Here’s an interesting link sent to me via jfleck at Inkstain. It is a picture of the Delta from space. From the website:

On April 30, 2006, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) flying onboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. In this image, red indicates vegetation—the brighter the red, the more lush the vegetation. Dark blue indicates water, including the Sacramento River in the west, the San Joaquin River in the east, and a network of smaller tributaries and reservoirs in between. Blue-gray areas indicate buildings and paved surfaces, appearing in their customary rectangular shapes. The “islands” between these waterways don’s rise above the water but survive below it, thanks to levees surrounding them.

For more information on the Delta, or to view more satellite pictures, click here.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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‘Greenies’ position on desalination is all about growth, says Cheat Seeking Missiles blog

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 28, 2007 at 6:22 am

From the Cheat Seeking Missiles Blog:

You’d think Greenies would be big fans of desalination since the alternative is big dams creating reservoirs where natural valleys once stood.

You’d be wrong.

Environmentalism is a zero-like game; you don’t have to like any solution whatsoever. It’s OK to oppose everything — and opposing desalination has become a major cause fund-raiser for California environmental groups.

The day after my project’s Coastal Commission hearing, Poseidon’s proposal for a desalination plant in Carlsbad CA came before the Commission. Eight and a half hours later, the proposal passed — with 20 ball-breaking conditions that mean the project is anything but slam-dunk approved.

Why 8 1/2 hours? Here’s the public excuse Greenies give for fighting desal, as told in a San Diego Union Tribune article:

The most stringent condition is a requirement that Poseidon devise a plan to offset the number of tiny marine organisms – fish eggs, larvae and plankton – the desalination plant would kill while processing seawater.

Note that the article does not say “fish kill.” We are talking, rather, about tiny critters that would slip through the mesh over intake pipes and are sacrificed so we can get some fresh water.

But the writer does not see the plankton as the real issue:

Smart readers will ascertain by now that this is not about plankton, fish eggs or greenhouse gases. It’s about growth.

To read the full text of this post from the Cheat Seeking Missiles blog, click here.

November 28, 2007 · Filed Under Desalination

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Ants and their pivotal role for Lake Tahoe

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 6:07 pm

From USA Today, more about ants and Lake Tahoe:

A tiny insect appears to be linked to two big problems at one of the West’s most famous lakes.

The insect? The aerator ant. Various species range in length from a quarter of an inch to a half-inch and are black or brown. The problems? Clarity, which Lake Tahoe’s water is losing, and wildfires, which are a growing threat in the area.

Lake Tahoe, which straddles the California-Nevada line, is the country’s largest Alpine lake. Its crystal waters are among the biggest attractions for the lake’s 3 million annual visitors, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno, are studying aerator ants, and Dennis Murphy, a lead biologist in the research, said the role of the aerator ant reminds him “that we tend to overlook the little things that run the world.” The ants are believed to play an important role in protecting lake clarity, Murphy said. That’s because the nests and extensive tunnel networks they dig help water soak into the forest floor rather than run directly into the lake, polluting it with clarity-robbing sediment, he said.

To read the rest of this article from the USA Today, click here.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Lake Tahoe & the Sierra's

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Proposed expansion of Clean Water Act would cause serious problems for farmers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 6:04 pm

From the California Farm Bureau:

Clements winegrape grower Brad Goehring said he understands how difficult it can be to comply with the federal Clean Water Act as it is now. In 2004 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a cease and desist order on his family farm for alleged Clean Water Act violations.

“We were planning to transition a parcel of grazing pasture into winegrapes and were accused of deep-ripping the ground and filling and destroying waters of the United States,” said Goehring, whose great grandfather established one of the first vineyards in the Lodi-Clements area in the late-1800s. “In reality, we had simply disked the ground once annually as part of our normal and routine farming practices to reduce the fire hazard and regenerate the grasses for winter cattle feed.

“The cease and desist order remained in place for two years, during which time we weren’t able to graze cattle or begin planting the vineyard like we planned,” said Goehring, who is a San Joaquin County Farm Bureau director. “We lost two years’ worth of production income, in addition to hours of time and energy spent proving the parcel did not contain navigable intrastate waters of the U.S. that are subject to the CWA.”

Goehring said unfortunately that’s not the only experience his family has had where the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act has been “misinterpreted and misimplemented” to the detriment of his family’s operation. “Now, with the introduction of H.R. 2421, which deletes the word ‘navigable’ from the original law, nearly every wet area in the nation–even if water were only present for a few days, and despite California’s existing environmental protections–would come under federal jurisdiction,” he said. Read more

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Agriculture

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DWR sets 2008 initial allocation for water deliveries at 25%

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 2:05 pm

Not surprising news from Department of Water Resources today. Here’s the press release:

SACRAMENTO – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has announced its initial allocation for water delivery to the State Water Project (SWP) contractors in calendar year 2008.

The initial allocation is 25 percent of the water contractors’ total requested amounts, or 1,038,861 acre-feet, and may increase during the winter months. This is significantly less than the initial allocation for calendar year 2007 of 60 percent, which remained unchanged throughout the year.

Hydrologic conditions this year resulted in a “dry” water year in the Sacramento region and a “critically dry” water year in the San Joaquin region. Subsequently, SWP storage conditions going into the 2008 water year are less than average.

DWR records indicate that 25 percent is the lowest initial allocation since 2003. Should California experience another dry winter, more severe water delivery shortfalls and associated impacts to end water users will result next year.

To assure water supply for California’s future, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is urging passage of a comprehensive water bond measure that includes new funding for above and below ground water storage. Additional funding would go to Delta restoration, water supply reliability and specified watersheds throughout the state.

SWP water is distributed among 29 long-term SWP contractors who serve more than 25 million Californians and about 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland.

In making this allocation of SWP water, a major source of water for many Californians, the department considered a conservative projection of hydrology, SWP operational constraints and 2008 contractor requests. SWP Contractors’ Table A water for 2008 totals 4,165,931 million acre-feet, of which 4,145,124 million acre-feet were requested. Table A water is the maximum contractual amount that SWP contractors can request each year. The department will revise the allocation as hydrologic and water supply conditions develop and provide for additional deliveries.

A Notice to SWP contractors appears on DWR’s State Water Project Analysis Office Web site at: http://www.swpao.water.ca.gov/notices/#

The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.

www.water.ca.gov

Press Release can be found by clicking here.

So what does this mean to you?

Note that this does not necessarily mean that there will be only 25% of your normal water supply available to you next year. It really depends on how much the water contractor that serves your area relies on State Water Project water. Depending upon where you live, your contractor likely utilizes a combination of groundwater, Owens Valley water, Colorado River water, and/or State Water Project water.

Here in Santa Clarita, Aquafornia’s home base, 40 to 50 percent of water here is from groundwater sources, and the rest is from the State Water Project. It would mean that my water contractor can expect 25% of the approximate half of the State Water Project, or 62.5% of the normal water supply will be available. Now, my water contractor could decide to pump more groundwater, purchase water from other districts if they have any, or withdraw water from a water bank, so no need for me to panic.

And likely no need for you to panic either. Chances are your water contractor has some reserves they might choose to draw on, so just be aware that it is pretty much guaranteed to be less water around next year, and conservation will remain important. The more water we conserve now, the more that can remain in reserves.

And, who knows, if the winter surprises us all and ends up being very wet, DWR will likely adjust these numbers upward (subject to restrictions by the Wanger court ruling, but this has yet to be worked out.)

You can find out where your water comes from by visiting this website: Where Does My Water Come From? More specific information can be found by reading your contractor’s water plan, which nowadays is likely posted on their website.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project

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Talks to begin on perchlorate plume in the Inland Empire

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 2:01 pm

From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:

Settlement talks have started in the Inland region’s largest unabated groundwater pollution case, officials said Monday. Three companies accused of contributing to perchlorate pollution over the past 55 years in Rialto and Colton have agreed to hold confidential talks for the next 60 days with officials of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Riverside-based regulator.

Since 2002, the board has been trying to find those responsible for perchlorate pollution in order to prompt a cleanup of the 6-mile-long plume that has tainted more than a dozen drinking wells that serve the two cities.

Kurt Berchtold, the board’s assistant executive officer, said confidentiality is typical. “That is standard in any settlement process, for the purposes of encouraging a free discussion,” he said.

To read the rest of this story from Riverside’s Press-Enterprise, click here.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Perchlorate

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Palmdale to shore up water supplies by buying water from farmers

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 8:43 am

From the Antelope Valley Press:

Directors of the Palmdale Water District don’t want to run dry in 2008, so they approved an initial $150,000 payment for the option to obtain supplemental water in the coming year to meet customer demands.

Board members acted in response to a report from Jon Pernula, district water and energy resources director, which recommended that the district utilize the State Water Project Contractors Authority Dry Year Water Transfer Agreement. The initial payment enables the district to reserve 10,000 acre-feet of dry year supplemental water. Each acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons, the amount used in a single-family home in a year, or as water resources manager Claudette Roberts described it, a football field of water, one foot deep.

In his report, Pernula cited “persistent inadequate rainfall and recent judicial actions, which have effectively reduced pumping capacity” in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta as the cause of California’s “chronic and continuing water shortage.”

The district plans to purchase options on water that normally would be used for growing crops in Northern California. The options won’t be exercised unless the winter is as dry as predicted:

The contractual agreement stipulates that the actual “amount of water available for purchase by the buyers will not be known until the … agreements are executed.” Furthermore, the agreement points out that the water purchased “will be subject to normal carriage water losses and the water actually delivered by the Department of Water Resources could be reduced based on regulatory or judicially imposed restrictions on the DWR ability to operate the export pumps.”

In other words, there exists some slight risk that the rice farmers water can’t be delivered through the delta. Either way, the farmers still need to get paid for not growing their rice, as AVEK General Manager Russ Fuller had explained in a presentation to that agency’s board. Despite the uncertainties, Pernula stated in his report, the transfer program provides PWD with a “much needed increment of insurance to help meet projected demands in the event that the 2008 season turns out to be as extensively dry as predicted.”

To read the rest of this article from the Antelope Valley Press, click here.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Water Transfers

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Commentary asks, should we rely on desalination or the Delta?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 8:37 am

From the OC Register, this commentary:

What do the delta smelt and Poseidon Resources have in common? Actually, one is the source of a monumental problem for Southern California and the other represents a very practical solution. Currently, more than 50 percent of Orange County’s water comes from the Sacramento Delta and the Colorado River. Any significant reduction in this supply poses problems for the county and all of Southern California.

This is where the delta smelt comes in. Some overly zealous protectors of little fishies have arrived at the conclusion that the 4-inch delta darling is somehow endangered. Consequently, we are under an order to reduce our delta usage by 30 percent.

Now, it is not that I don’t like the delta smelt; in fact, they are quite tasty on party rye after sauteing in lemon butter. But the might-as-well-be-separate state of Northern California seems to take great delight in making things difficult for us here in Southern California – the state that pays the overwhelming portion of taxes collected in both.

Something smells funny to me about the whole fishy deal, but we’re going to have to live with it. We have an extremely delicate water supply and delivery system, and it is not going to get any better until we have more complete control over it.

To read the rest of this commentary in the OC Register, click here.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues, Desalination

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Rising sea levels threaten Delta levees

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 6:59 am

From Stockton’s RecordNet.com:

A predicted sea level rise of greater than 3 feet could inundate the Delta and flood portions of west Stockton by the end of the century unless levees protecting the city are strengthened, experts say. In the latest in a series of reports, an international team of scientists said this month that average sea level is rising faster today than it did in the mid-20th century and that evidence of climate change is “unequivocal.”

Closer to home, CALFED scientists believe sea levels this century will likely rise anywhere from 2 feet, 3 inches to 3 feet, 3 inches. If ice caps melt faster than expected, a 61/2 foot rise is possible. These surging seas could overwhelm 1,100 miles of Delta levees.

Ron Baldwin, director of the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services, said some levees protecting Stockton are not capable of withstanding a more-than-3-foot rise in sea levels. The good news, he said, is that there are decades to do something about it. “It’s kind of hard to believe that over 100 years we would sit here with the same levees and just watch the water come creeping up,” he said.

To read the full text of this article from Stockton’s RecordNet.com, click here.

You can check out maps of the impacts of sea level rise on the Delta and any other areas you might be interested in, created by the University of Arizona, by clicking here.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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Still hope for a compromise water plan on the February ballot, says the San Diego Union Tribune

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 6:52 am

From the San Diego Union-Tribune, more on the negotiations for a compromise on the water plan, which, apparently, still could possibly be on the February ballot:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders thus far have failed to strike a compromise on shoring up California’s dwindling water supplies – despite threats of a dramatically slowed spigot to Southern California and warnings that winter storms could be disappointing. Talks to place a $10.7 billion water bond measure on the Feb. 5 ballot produced little progress yesterday, just four weeks before a federal court order goes into effect cutting deliveries south out of the Sacramento delta, potentially by a third.

Closed-door negotiations were adjourned after the governor and leaders struggled for more than an hour about how to resolve differences tied to storage, a canal to deliver water to Southern California and who would control the flow of money to approved projects. The Legislature was originally planning to take up the water bond and health reform measures this week, but there is nothing to vote on.

The governor and leaders parted ways without resuming their quest for a $14 billion comprehensive health care reform package, which included greatly expanded coverage and tax increases. They appear somewhat more optimistic about a water-bond agreement. “It’s getting late in the game, but there’s still time,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, D-Oakland, who crafted one of the proposed water bonds.

To read the full text of this article from the San Diego Union-Tribune, click here.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Orange County leading the way in recycled water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 27, 2007 at 6:44 am

From the New York Times, (hat tip to WaterCrunch blog for this one!):

It used to be so final: flush the toilet, and waste be gone. But on Nov. 30, for millions of people here in Orange County, pulling the lever will be the start of a long, intense process to purify the sewage into drinking water — after a hard scrubbing with filters, screens, chemicals and ultraviolet light and the passage of time underground.

On that Friday, the Orange County Water District will turn on what industry experts say is the world’s largest plant devoted to purifying sewer water to increase drinking water supplies. They and others hope it serves as a model for authorities worldwide facing persistent drought, predicted water shortages and projected growth. The process, called by proponents “indirect potable water reuse” and “toilet to tap” by the wary, is getting a close look in several cities.

Other cities are considering using recycled water. The San Diego City Council approved a resolution to do so, although the Mayor has vetoed it. San Jose and the Central Valley have been considering it, as has Florida.

“These types of projects you will see springing up all over the place where there are severe water shortages,” said Michael R. Markus, the general manager of the Orange County district, whose plant, which will process 70 million gallons a day, has already been visited by water managers from across the globe.

The finished product, which district managers say exceeds drinking water standards, will not flow directly into kitchen and bathroom taps; state regulations forbid that. Instead it will be injected underground, with half of it helping to form a barrier against seawater intruding on groundwater sources and the other half gradually filtering into aquifers that supply 2.3 million people, about three-quarters of the county. The recycling project will produce much more potable water and at a higher quality than did the mid-1970s-era plant it replaces.

The Groundwater Replenishment System, as the $481 million plant here is known, is a labyrinth of tubing and tanks that sucks in treated sewer water the color of dark beer from a sanitation plant next door, and first runs it through microfilters to remove solids. The water then undergoes reverse osmosis, forcing it through thin, porous membranes at high pressure, before it is further cleansed with peroxide and ultraviolet light to break down any remaining pharmaceuticals and carcinogens.

To read the rest of this article from the New York Times, click here.

November 27, 2007 · Filed Under Recycled Water

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