Water Education Foundation

Chamber of Commerce group files proposals for ballot initiatives

Posted by: Maven on December 8, 2007 at 1:47 pm

From the California Progress Report:

While the State of California faces a multi-billion dollar deficit, the California Chamber of Commerce has decided to go to the voters with a proposal for a multi-billion dollar taxpayer-subsidized dam building boondoggle.

Yesterday, the Chamber officially submitted four versions of a water bond ballot initiative to the Attorney General, each totaling about $11.7 billion, and each including over $3 billion for construction of dams. If any one of these initiatives is approved, California’s taxpayers would be committed to paying over $700 million in tax dollars per year to pay off this new debt.

According to their press release, the Chamber would pursue one of their initiatives if the Legislature fails to produce a water bond in time for the February or June 2008 statewide ballots.

To read the rest of the story from the California Progress Report, click here.

December 8, 2007 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal

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Restore the Delta’s view of water bonds & the Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Posted by: Maven on December 7, 2007 at 10:55 am

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay, org:

In the latest Delta Flows newsletter, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla updates us the latest developments in the battle of the water bonds and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan process.

Parrilla is very concerned that some environmental NGOs have signed on to the peripheral canal concept in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan process. “While Restore the Delta has had a productive working relationship with these environmental groups in other arenas and a good deal of respect for their past work, we are extremely disappointed that they have made a theoretical statement supporting a peripheral canal without including language that would guarantee flows, water quality, and water quantity in order to protect the needs of Delta fisheries and Delta communities. Habitat restoration without freshwater restoration for the Delta is simply not achievable,” she stated.

I agree completely with Parrilla’s comments. The Governor has put tremendous pressure on environmental NGO’s to support the peripheral canal – and these latest developments are very alarming. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the worst governor in California history for fisheries and the environment, is using the age-old tactic of “divide and conquer” that all corrupt rulers employ to attack those opposing their policies.

Click here to go to the IndyBay.org site and read Restore the Delta’s newsletter.

December 7, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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Nahai speaks his vision for the DWP at city council meeting

Posted by: Maven on December 6, 2007 at 12:38 pm

Here’s a great article from LA’s CityWatch website. Written by Marc B. Haefele, he fills us in on what really went on at the city council meeting yesterday, convened to confirm Nahai to GM of DWP:

Maybe I've been too critical of Mayor Villaraigosa's choice of attorney David Nahai to helm the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Lack of both executive experience and nuts- and-bolts engineering savvy — these were my problems with his resume. But Nahai sounded pretty good as he presented himself to the LA City Council's Energy and Development Committee Tuesday morning. He seemed to win the members' approval (but didn't get it–see below). He was fast on his feet and knew how and when to dodge gracefully. He also is more committed to change than anyone who's ever held the job. Maybe David Nahai could be a better DWP head than his resume suggests. Maybe the best in decades.

Nahai boldly refused to promise to hold back on rate hikes. “I just don't know what the needs will be. I just can't rule out increases,\” he said.

He discretely indicated no support for proposed hot-weather reductions in Valley property owner rates. Nahai also spoke of weaning LA of the imported water that, 100 years ago, made its explosive growth possible. He said, “We can't look to more water imports. We have to develop water self sufficiency,\” he said. Including storm water capture and, much more controversial, water recycling — sometimes, inaccurately, termed “toilet to tap. No one in the committee or audience raised even an eyebrow at this last. Were former Councilman (and anti-wastewater reuse zealot) Joel Wachs not actually still alive and well, you would have heard him spinning in his grave.

But it was not just Wachs who opposed more enlightened city water policy. Generations of LA public-utility culture were wholly committed to grabbing LA's water from the rest of California, not to mention the multi-state area drained by the Colorado River. Alternate sources are readily at hand; the aquifer of the San Fernando Valley for instance, which happens to be the state's second largest and perhaps least utilized reservoir, needs to be cleaned up and to have a greater role, both to store storm water and to recycle waste water. Along with the ambitious green energy proposals that have been floating around City Hall, this kind of talk was sheer heresy in the DWP headquarters 20 years ago. I know because I was there. The Valley well fields were a system asset and water reuse was being pioneered at that time. But you simply didn't get promoted to DWP General Manager then if you even suggested that the city could depend less on the Owens River and the Metropolitan Water District.

Great reporting & insight from someone who was obviously there. To read the rest of this article from CityWatch, click here.

December 6, 2007 · Filed Under Water Agency News

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Delta Interactive Map – very cool!

Posted by: Maven on December 6, 2007 at 9:14 am

The state of California has been doing a major overhaul of it’s websites. They all getting a new look and better arrangement of resources. Maybe they have had this all along or maybe because of the redesigned website, I have found it, but check out this very cool interactive Delta map. It’s available under the “Research and Tools” tab on the Delta Vision Task Force home page.

You can look at the map of the Delta and choose from a myriad of information to put on it: roads, land use, elevations, location of agricultural drains, etc. The list is endless. Very cool!

Check it out by clicking here.

December 6, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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Delta Vision chairman Phil Isenberg speaks at Indian Wells ACWA conference

Posted by: Maven on December 6, 2007 at 9:09 am

Last week, the Association of California Water Agencies held a conference in Indian Wells, and Delta Vision chairman Phil Isenberg addressed the attendees. The video address is posted online. It lasts about 12 minutes, and Mr. Isenberg says plenty of interesting and important things about the water in California, and the Delta, such as ” … the ability of the Delta to sustain and endless increase in demand for supply, has probably already been reached.” Of California’s water supply, he says “the water supply is not growing, the demands are growing.”

He also had a message for the members of the ACWA and the water community:

“You are the exemplar of the water family, the fraternity in California, but you, the business community, the water districts, the state officials, the local officials, the feds, the environmental movement, the cities and counties. You are a hopelessly dysfunctional family. You barely trust yourselves and you don’t trust much of anybody else.”

You can watch a video of his address by clicking here.

December 6, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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City council confirms Nahai as head of DWP; then blasts them for the proposed rate hike

Posted by: Maven on December 6, 2007 at 8:45 am

First, news that the city council has confirmed David Nahai as the new general manager for DWP. From the DWP press release:

“David Nahai is the right man at the right time to make our Department of Water and Power the leader in renewable energy and green power,” said Mayor Villariagosa. “David has the background and commitment to modernize the DWP, protect the ratepayers, and preserve our environment and natural resources”.

From the Daily Breeze, it looks like his mission of protecting the ratepayers begins immediately, as the city council dealt with the issue of the proposed DWP rate hike:

Controversial DWP water and power rate hikes stalled Wednesday as Los Angeles city leaders demanded that the nation’s largest municipal utility answer a growing number of questions and better justify the need.

Three City Council members called for at least a two-month delay so Department of Water and Power officials can provide more information about the proposed increases.

Under the plan, electric rates would rise 9 percent over three years and water rates would climb 6 percent over two years.

DWP officials unanimously approved the rate increases in October, despite criticism that the massive utility has for years mismanaged its money and that its workers are among the highest paid in the city.

“What we want is a sense of transparency and to re-create trust in the Department of Water and Power,” council President Eric Garcetti said of the motion that will be considered by the full City Council next week.

To read the full text of the press release from DWP, click here. To read the full text of the article from the Daily Breeze, click here.

December 6, 2007 · Filed Under Water Agency News

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DWR news article highlights water plan process

Posted by: Maven on December 6, 2007 at 8:28 am

Here’s an article from the fall DWR news that highlights the water plan process, currently underway:

Every five years, the Department of Water Resources produces an updated California Water Plan, a framework for water managers, legislators, and the public to make decisions on California’s water resources. Work on the next Water Plan Update, due in 2009, began as soon as Update 2005 went to the printers.

“Update 2005 represents a fundamental transition in how we look at water resource management in California; and a fundamental transition in the way State government needs to be involved with local entities and interest groups to deal with water issues in the state”, said Director Lester Snow. And for the first time, in a long time, DWR was embarked on organizational and business process changes consistent with the key initiatives of the California Water Plan to promote integrated regional management, and to improve and integrate statewide water management systems.

To read the full text of this article from the DWR News, click here.

December 6, 2007 · Filed Under Water Agency News

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Delta plan aims to fix ecosystem and water supply

Posted by: Maven on December 4, 2007 at 11:01 pm

From the California Farm Bureau:

With the year-long effort to create a road map for the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta coming to a close, a blue-ribbon task force is putting the final touches on a plan that will guide public policy and operations for this vital resource now and in coming decades.

The plan for sustainable management of the delta was mandated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 and requires the Delta Vision Committee to submit its report to him by Jan. 1, 2008. The report and its recommendations will also go to the Legislature. A strategic plan is required by executive order by Oct. 31, 2008 and work on that phase will begin shortly.

The report has been developed with input from a broad cross section of citizens, scientists, subject matter experts and a variety of organizations, including the California Farm Bureau Federation, through a series of stakeholder meetings and extensive public comment opportunities.

“We congratulate the task force on completing this phase of the process for restoring and protecting the delta and we look forward to analyzing the final report,” said CFBF President Doug Mosebar. “Farm Bureau has devoted considerable resources to the effort to ensure the voices of all California farmers and ranchers are heard as we move toward workable solutions for this vital resource.

Continue reading “Delta plan aims to fix ecosystem and water supply” »

December 4, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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Volunteers Save Thousands of Fish as Investigations into Prospect Island Fish Kill Proceed

Posted by: Maven on December 3, 2007 at 4:27 pm

From Dan Bacher, at www.fishsniffer.com:

Volunteers descended on Prospect Island, located on the north end of the California Delta between Miner Slough and the Sacramento Deepwater Channel, and saved thousands of fish that otherwise would have perished.

A force of 42 volunteers rescued 1466 stranded striped bass on Saturday, December 1 from a certain death on the island. On Sunday, the volunteers saved an additional 177 striped bass before concluding the operation early because of rising water conditions on the island, bringing the number of total of fish rescued since Friday to 1831 stripers.

In addition, anglers using nets and buckets transported largemouth bass, bluegill, Sacramento blackfish (a native minnow), tule perch, Sacramento splittail, catfish, golden shiners and other fish from a seep in the levee where a variety of fish species were concentrated. When you include baitfish and fry, many thousands of fish in addition to the stripers were saved.

After receiving permission from Bureau of Reclamation personnel on Friday morning, a dozen volunteers that afternoon rescued 188 striped bass from Prospect Island and put them into Miner Slough, according to Bob McDaris, owner of Cliff’s Marina in Freeport. Continue reading “Volunteers Save Thousands of Fish as Investigations into Prospect Island Fish Kill Proceed” »

December 3, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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Public hearings to begin on Monterey Amendments

Posted by: Maven on December 2, 2007 at 7:26 am

From the California Progress Report:

Next week the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will hear from the public on whether or not to eliminate a drought safeguard for over 20 million Californians.

Millions of Californians now receive a portion of their water supply from the State Water Project (SWP). As part of the original agreement to purchase SWP water, these Californians were given priority for water deliveries during times of drought or shortage. However, in 1995, the State and a handful of SWP contractors attempted to amend the SWP contracts. As part of those negotiations, the urban safeguard was eliminated from the water contracts. As a result, urban areas are at greater risk of water cutbacks during droughts.

Fortunately, the amendments have not been adopted permanently. As part of a lawsuit by PCL and two other plaintiffs, the State was forced to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the effects of the proposed amendments and present that EIR to the public for full review. After responding to all public comments, DWR must decide whether to adopt the original amendments, including elimination of the urban safeguard. Alternatively, DWR could choose to implement other water management strategies that would better serve California.

These amendments are called the “Monterey Amendments”, and you can have an opportunity to comment on them. Click here to read the full text of this article from California Progress Report, with listings of public hearings on this issue. To read the EIR, and for more information on the Monterey Amendments, click here.

December 2, 2007 · Filed Under State Water Project (DWR)

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State Water Resources Board to consider considering if water exports violate the Public Trust Doctrine

Posted by: Maven on December 1, 2007 at 10:45 am

From the California Progress Report:

As you may be aware, the California Bay Delta Estuary is in critical condition, in part due to the massive export of water from the Delta. For the past seven years, the state and federal governments have been pumping record amounts of water from the Delta at the same time that native fish populations have been crashing and Delta water quality has declined. Due to the growing threat of extinction and the requirements of the California and federal Endangered Species Acts, several recent court decisions have determined that those excessive water exports must be reduced.

Now the State Water Resources Control Board is planning to address the crisis. On December 4th, the Board will consider adopting a resolution to review whether Delta water exports are consistent with the Public Trust. The Board is responsible for making sure that all water use and water diversions in the State are reasonable, beneficial, and consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine.

To read the rest of this article from the California Progress Report, click here.

December 1, 2007 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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