Salmon collapse as Delta water exports top record

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 10:40 pm

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:

John Beuttler, conservation director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, in his latest advisory emphasizes the catastrophic nature of the sudden and unprecedented crash of Central Valley fall run chinook salmon to the California environment and economy.

Could it be that this salmon collapse, along with the crash of delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass, and threadfin shad, has been engineered by the Bush and Schwazenegger administrations to destroy what is left of the commercial and recreational sport fishing industry? By removing the commercial and recreational anglers from the water, the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations will effectively remove the strongest opponents of their environmentally destructive water policies.

The state and federal governments exported 7,000,000 acre feet of water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in 2007, a record year for water exports. So whatever garbage you have heard in the media about “poor farmers” suffering from mythical “water cuts,” subsidized agribusiness in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California received record water shipments in 2007.

“The Department of Water Resources and federal Bureau of Reclamation cannibalized the storage in our northern California reservoirs to provide the largest amount of water exported from the Delta in California history last year,” said Bill Jennings, chairman of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.

With the opposition to their water policies removed or seriously weakened, subsidized agribusiness and greedy developers will see their ultimate dream fulfilled: the construction of the peripheral canal, the building of more dams and the destruction of the Bay-Delta Estuary as an ecosystem. The Delta then will be maintained by the state and federal governments as just a water supply for the corporate water barons and southern California, with no pesky delta smelt, chinook salmon, striped bass or fishermen in their way.

Click here to read the rest of this article from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org.

Trout Underground wants *you* to submit comments against the toll road

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 9:38 pm

From Tom Chandler & the Trout Underground:

Jim Troyer – the Underground’s Director of Saltwater Fly Fishing and Beach-Related Alcohol Consumption – asked for some quick help on this one.

In Southern California, they’re fighting a pretty desperate battle to keep some yutzes form building a private, freeway-sized toll road that would run right through San Onofre State Park and Beach in Southern California. (As if SoCal needs ONE MORE DAMNED FREEWAY to clog.)

This would put the boots to San Mateo Creek — the southernmost home to steelhead (which just happen to be endangered). Not to mention doing a number on famous surf spot Trestles beach.

This isn’t some idle threat — they’re on the verge of approving this “let’s privatize a public resource for someone else’s profit” thing, and even Ahhnold the Terminator has thrown his considerable, steroid-enhanced weight behind it (”Ahllll be back… for your pawks and beaches).

Tom’s looking for a few good men & women to submit comments against the toll road. For the rest of this post from the Trout Underground, including a link where you can send your comments to, click here. And if you haven’t already, check out the Trout Underground blog. It’s chock full of good stuff – and be sure to read the comments; they’re great!

Scripps Institute researchers say people are to blame for climate change in the west

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 5:10 pm

Thanks to Aquafornia reader Daniel, who sent me this link from Yahoo News:

Human activity such as driving and powering air conditioners is responsible for up to 60 percent of changes contributing to dwindling water supplies in the arid and growing West, a new study finds. Those changes are likely to accelerate, says the study published Thursday in Science magazine, portending “a coming crisis in water supply for the western United States.”

The study is likely to add to urgent calls for action already coming from Western states competing for the precious resource to irrigate farms and quench the thirst of growing populations. Devastating wildfires, avalanches and drought have also underscored the need.

Researchers at Scripps Institute studied climate changes in the west during the latter half of the twentieth century and determined that human activity was the cause:

The changes they observed differed significantly from trends that could be attributed to natural fluctuations between wet and dry periods over time, they said. “The climate’s changing in the West. We’ve known that. The question is why, and no one’s really addressed that,” Barnett said in an interview. According to his study, “The answer is it is us.”

“The picture painted is quite grim so it’s time to collectively sit down and get our act together,” Barnett added, suggesting the need for conservation, more water storage, and a slowdown on development in the desert Southwest. “The building is just going crazy, so it would be a pretty good idea to put a curb on that unless they can figure out how to get more water,” he said.

To read the full text of this article from Yahoo News, click here.  And read on to the article below for more coverage on this study.

Coverage from around the web: Study says drought & global warming in the Western U. S. are man-made

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 5:09 pm

From National Geographic News:

The U.S. West will see devastating droughts as global warming reduces the amount of mountain snow and causes the snow that does fall to melt earlier in the year, a new study says. By storing moisture in the form of snow, mountains act as huge natural reservoirs, releasing water into rivers long into the summer dry season. “We’re losing that reservoir,” said research leader Tim Barnett, an oceanographer and climate researcher at the University of California, San Diego.

“Spring runoff is getting earlier and earlier in the year, so you have to let water go over the dams into the ocean.” Summers are also becoming hotter and longer. “That dries things out more and leads to fires,” Barnett added.

“Our results are not good news for those living in the western United States,” the scientists write in their report, which appears in today’s online edition of the journal Science.

But wait a minute, some of you are thinking, there’s so much snow this year! Whatever do you mean?

Those findings may come as a surprise this year, when the West is getting so much snow that skiers and snowmobilers are dying in avalanches in places that normally don’t get that much snow. But that doesn’t mean the future won’t see significantly less snowfall. “We’ll still have wet years and dry years,” Barnett said. “People have a problem distinguishing weather events and things that happen on a long scale. … It’s important to think of climate on time scales of a decade or more.”

Sadly, he said, residents of states like California, Utah, and Arizona are in line for some rude surprises. “Global warming is an abstraction to most people,” he said. “Well, the people who live in the West, if they haven’t already, are going to very shortly find out what global warming really means to them.”

Barnett predicts a crisis in water management that will require not only government action but individual sacrifices.

To read the full text of this story from National Geographic News, click here.

The National Geographic News article does see some positives in climate change, and the Pacific Institute’s Peter Gleick does as well, in this article from the New Scientist:

Hopes that the drought is temporary have been dashed by the analysis, prompting leading researchers to intensify their calls for policy change.

Peter Gleick, a water policy expert at the Pacific Institute, an independent think tank based on Oakland, California, says that water use in his state could be reduced by a fifth by 2030, even if the population and economy continue to grow.

Many sectors need to change to achieve that goal. Agriculture would have to shift towards drip irrigation, in which small amounts of water are focused on individual plants, rather than whole areas being sprayed. Home owners would also have to adopt toilets and washing machines that use less water, he says.

Gleick is cautiously optimistic about the chances about the willingness of politicians to make the necessary changes. New standards for water-saving toilets were adopted in 2007, for example. “We can do the things we want for less water,” he says. “But we need more federal and state legislation.”

To read the full text of the article from New Scientist, click here.

From Wired News, which is also reporting on the same study:

The new research comes as Western states are already struggling to supply water for both their farms and cities. Increased migration to the water-poor regions of the Southwest into cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas has increased the amount of water necessary to support the rising U.S. population. With such a constrained supply and rising demand, the cost of water is likely to rise, experts said. Some California farmers, responding to a record water shortage, are even beginning to consider selling their water rights, instead of their crops.

Barnett’s team worked with climate models to simulate the impact of greenhouse gases on the Western water cycle. If their models for the future prove as accurate as their modeling of the past, the paper predicts unprecedented water shortages.

“We’re already at a level that can’t be sustained,” said Barnett. “Climate models show there will be less water supply while we continue to grow more cities out in the desert.”

Under the new conditions, what to do with the water we do have will become increasingly important, said Erik Straser, a partner at the venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures, a firm that invests in clean technologies.

“Four out of five gallons of water go to agriculture,” Straser said. “We have to make hard choices and the choices are going to be between agriculture and people.”

To read the full text from Wired News, click here.

The U.K.’s Nature.com adds this:

“What they’ve got is quite scary,” comments Ian Cluckie, a hydrologist at the University of Bristol, UK. The trend looks likely to make water shortages even more severe for residents of southern California, Arizona and New Mexico, he says. These naturally arid regions already receive a lot of their water by ‘north–south transfer’ — careful manipulation of water flow through damming and aquifer management — from wetter regions to the north, Cluckie says. “This area only survives by major water transfer and it’s going to get much, much worse,” he adds.

Just how much worse is difficult to say. Much of the rainfall in the region occurs through thunderstorms and these are too localized to be predicted accurately by climate models, which are usually organized in grids with squares several hundred kilometres across.

Other regions likely to suffer similar problems include the entire area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and the southern parts of Africa, says Chris Milly, of the US Geological Survey. Syria, for example, looks set to suffer a more than 40% drop in freshwater runoff by 2050, according to computer models based on IPCC emissions predictions (see Map).

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

Second snow survey shows snowpack is about 119% of normal

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 3:32 pm

From the Department of Water Resources:

SACRAMENTO – Results of the manual snow survey completed today by the California Department of Water Resources off Highway 50 near Echo Summit are as follows:

Location	Elevation	Snow Depth	Water Content	% of Long Term Average
Alpha	7,600 feet	89(e) inches *	26(e) inches *	123
Phillips Station	6,800 feet	73.1 inches	23.6 inches	123
Lyons Creek	6,700 feet	81.8 inches	23.5 inches	120
Tamarack Flat	6,500 feet	74.3 inches	21.9 inches	115

* (e) electronic sensor reading

Today’s survey was DWR’s second of the 2007-2008 snowfall season and shows the Echo Summit area’s snow pack water content to be about 75 percent better than this time last year.

“January is typically the wettest month of the water year,” said DWR Hydrology Branch Chief Arthur Hinojosa, “and this month’s storms have been an excellent shot in the arm to the State’s water supply. January’s precipitation has bolstered the snow pack and made up for a sub par December. Season to date is just above average and 65% of the April 1 average peak.”

In addition to the snow survey results issued today, reporters can find real-time readings of statewide water content posted on the Internet at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/DLYSWEQ. The latest electronic sensor readings show Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 119% of normal for this date, Central Sierra at 102%, and Southern Sierra at 122%. Statewide, the percentage of normal is at 111%.

The next manual survey is scheduled for early March. DWR’s Public Affairs Office will issue a news advisory before the event.

Importance of Snow Surveying

Snow-water content is important in determining the coming year’s water supply. The measurements help hydrologists prepare water supply forecasts as well as provide others, such as hydroelectric power companies and the recreation industry, with much needed data.

Monitoring is coordinated by the Department of Water Resources as part of the multi-agency California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program. Surveyors from more than 50 agencies and utilities visit hundreds of snow measurement courses in California’s mountains each month to gauge the amount of water in the snow pack.

For more information on snow surveys and California’s snow pack, click here.

Answers needed to ‘unprecedented collapse’ of the salmon, editorial says

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 3:16 pm

From the Sacramento Bee, an editorial that notes the ‘unprecedented’ decline of the salmon and the strong possibility of fishing restrictions in the upcoming season – if salmon fishing is allowed at all. From the editorial:

If only it were easy to understand what is driving this downturn. Dams, water diversions, pollution and loss of shady river habitat clearly are hurting the effort to rebuild numbers of natural spawners.

But water diversions have spiked steadily since the 1990s in the Central Valley, and salmon nonetheless had impressive runs from 2001 to 2003. That suggests that stresses on salmon go beyond the Valley’s water projects and extend far out into the ocean.

While out at sea, salmon eat shrimp-like creatures called krill, as well as anchovies and other small fish. Some scientists have found that changes in West Coast wind patterns have disturbed a normal “upwelling” of the ocean that helps energize the food chain. This could be a harbinger of climate change or just a temporary cycle. Much more research is needed to understand the links.

In coming decades, California is expected to invest billions of dollars in new water projects, including a possible canal to divert fresh water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But will such projects help or hurt salmon? Or have no impact? Californians will want answers before opening their wallets.

To read the full text of this article from the Sacramento Bee, click here.

Draft State Water Project Delivery Reliability Report 2007 offers ’sobering assessment’

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 2:58 pm

From the Central Valley Business Times:

 

January’s series of storms merely masks a deeper problem that will see the amount of fresh water available to Californians dwindling year after year, a report from the Department of Water Resources says.  Its “Draft State Water Project Delivery Reliability Report 2007” updates estimates of its ability to maintain current (2007) and future (2027) State Water Project delivery reliability.  The report, issued every two years, also identifies factors that may impact water availability and changes that can be made to improve future water supply reliability.

It says continued declines in water supply reliability are likely if water delivery through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta remains unchanged.  Delta pumping restrictions imposed by a federal court to help protect threatened and endangered fish and the near-term effects of climate change are two of the major factors.

Based on historical data, the analysis shows that annual SWP deliveries would decrease virtually every year in the future, and by as much as 20 percent from current levels one-quarter of the time.

To read the full text of this article from the Central Valley Business Times, click here.  For the press release and the report, click here.

Northern California water transfer to Palmdale Water District has a big benefit for Butte County

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 2:49 pm

From the Oroville Mercury Regsiter, the water transfer between Butte County and the Palmdale Water District. Butte County holds rights to more SWP water than it can use, and in previous years was not required to pay for its unused water. However, this year, DWR informed Butte County that they would have to pay for the unused water. At the same time, DWR changed the rules, making it easier for the water to be transferred elsewhere. From the article:

Previously State Water Project contractors, including Butte County, could only sell water within their designated service areas. However, DWR changed the rules to allow contractors to sell water to each other, even outside of the service area. That gave Butte County authority to peddle its allocation elsewhere.

Tuesday, Paul Gosselin, director of the county Water and Resource Department, and assistant director Vickie Newlin, briefed the Board of Supervisors on a proposal to sell the local share. Newlin said her department had received a “letter of intent” from the Palmdale Water District seeking to purchase the county’s water.Just how much water the county would be allowed to sell is dependent on DWR’s water guarantees to its contractors. Late last year, before the arrival of the current rains, DWR predicted it would provide 25 percent of the contractors’ maximum allotment in 2008. If the 25 percent allocation holds for 2008, according to Newlin’s figures, the county could receive $1,437,500 from a deal with Palmdale.

As the percentage of the allocation the county gets grows, the per-acre-foot payment for the water would drop. However the increasing amount of water sold would more than make up the difference. Newlin told the board if the county could sell 100 percent of its water allotment, Butte could receive $4.4 million.

“Although the cost to the county for water year 2009 and future years is still unknown at this time, using the 2008 price as an indicator, the county could meet and exceed its costs for 2008 through 2010 with the revenue generated through the sale” of the water in 2008 and 2009, states a report prepared for the board by Newlin.

To read the full text of this article from the Oroville Mercury Register, click here.

Farmers coalition sues over striped bass – more information from the Sacramento Bee

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 9:01 am

From the Sacramento Bee, finally more on this story about the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta’s lawsuit over the non-native striped bass:

After months of losing fights over how much water can be pumped to farms from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a coalition of farm groups is striking back with a federal lawsuit blaming state agencies for endangering native fish in the Delta.

In a suit filed in Sacramento federal court, the groups ask for a halt to California’s practice of maintaining predatory, nonnative striped bass in the Delta for the benefit of fishermen, claiming the policy violates the Endangered Species Act.

The bass feed on spring- and winter-run chinook salmon, steelhead and Delta smelt – all protected by the Endangered Species Act – and their dwindling populations harm the overall health of the estuary, ultimately resulting in reduced water deliveries to farmers, the lawsuit charges.

“Allowing this destruction to continue when the populations of several of these species – including the Delta smelt – are crashing is outrageous,” said Michael Boccadoro, spokesman for the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, the lead plaintiff in the suit filed late Tuesday.

Just who makes up this coalition?

Members of the coalition include four large agricultural water districts in Kern County, at the southern tip of the San Joaquin Valley. The districts supply State Water Project deliveries to land within their respective boundaries through contracts with the Kern County Water Agency.

The agency has grown over the past 10 years into one of the most powerful and wealthy water players in California.

The coalition’s tactics suggest it aims to draw attention from the effects of water exports on the Delta’s habitat and fish. Its Web site, for example, offers information about virtually every other problem affecting the Delta except the major pumping systems.

The Delta ecosystem is deteriorating due to a number of factors, including degradation of water quality from urban and agricultural runoff and water withdrawals to support the needs of the state’s growing human population.

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

To visit the website for the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, click here.

Dan Bacher at the Fish Sniffer weighs in on this issue here.

Salmon report spells disaster for local fisherman; “it’s probably going to be worse than anything we’ve experienced before”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 8:53 am

From Inside Bay Area:

Local fishermen saw doom in a report released Tuesday warning that the Sacramento River’s fall chinook salmon population fell by two-thirds in 2007 and is headed for collapse, according to data from the federal government. The sharp drop in chinook, or “king,” salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River led the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which released Tuesday’s report, to suggest that it may be necessary to close the salmon season entirely.

That would spell disaster for both commercial and recreational fishermen at Pillar Point Harbor, who typically depend on the salmon and Dungeness crab seasons for their entire incomes. Poor salmon returns from the Klamath River in 2006 and 2007 previously caused regulators to cut the first month and a half of salmon season, which normally starts May 1, resulting in untold financial losses for fishermen.

Those losses would be compounded by an even poorer season this year. And the pain would be borne not just by fishermen, but by all the groups that benefit from salmon season — from processors to bait shops, RV parks, and fishing guides along the Klamath River.

Duncan MacLean, a Half Moon Bay fisherman who is on a team that advises the fishery council, said he’s bracing for hard times.

“It’s probably going to be worse than anything we’ve experienced before,” said MacLean, 58, who relies on salmon fishing for as much as 70 percent of his income.  “It’s going to put a lot of us out of business.”

To read the full text of this article from Inside Bay Area, click here.

Recent rains shouldn’t dampen conservation efforts, editorial says

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 8:43 am

From the North County Times:

Our view: Recent rains shouldn’t dampen conservation efforts

If you think recent rains mean the drought is over, think again.

As of Monday, this season’s storms had dropped 5.53 inches of rain at Lindbergh Field, San Diego’s official weather station. That’s compared with droughtlike conditions that brought only 1.71 inches by that same date last year. Total rainfall for all of 2007 was only 3.85 inches. The rainy season in California is tracked from July until June.

That is certainly good news, but thus far, it is not enough to make up for years of drought. And it is nowhere near the 13-plus inches that had been measured at Lindbergh by January 2005, one of the wetter rainy seasons on record.

In fact, most weather forecasters are standing by predictions that this winter will be drier than normal.

Bill Patzert, a climatologist for CalTech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also is predicting that annual rainfall in Southern California could be 20 percent below average by the end of the rainy season.

At best, the recent rains have given us a little breathing room. We’ve still got a long way to go before reservoirs and lakes are replenished, and we still face the long-term challenges posed by environmental problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin bay delta.

To read the rest of this story from the North County Times, click here.

Builders see profit in installing smart water management systems

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 7:38 am

From Greener Buildings:

As American consumers and businesses look for new ways to reduce the environmental impact of daily life, the notion of green buildings is extending beyond their four walls and into the surrounding landscape. Certifications such as LEED and others provide a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction, including landscaping and grounds keeping.

Developers, builders and contractors can leverage smart water management technology to gain points necessary to achieve LEED certification of their outdoor areas. Smart water management uses smart irrigation controllers that monitor and use information about site conditions (such as soil moisture, rain, wind, slope, soil, plant type and more), and apply the right amount of water to the landscape based on those factors. Once the smart controller is installed and set up, it automatically makes seasonal weather and site-specific adjustments, and does not require ongoing monitoring.

Water consumption is being targeted because, quite simply, it is becoming a scarce commodity — and its price is rising. More than half the U.S. suffers from drought conditions and, as a result, water rates are rising faster than energy costs. In fact, water use also consumers energy; every one billion gallons of water consumed requires 4 billion watt-hours of power, and results in an environmentally unfriendly 5.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Awareness of water conservation is growing, particularly in western states, some of which are enacting laws to enforce recommendations to lower consumption. Conservationists have zeroed in on landscapes, which typically contribute 20 percent of a property’s value, because they account for 58 percent of all urban water usage. Landscapes are routinely over-watered by 30 to 300 percent, presenting a high-value target for sustainability programs.

In addition to water, energy and cost savings, any reduction in over-watering also lowers the damaging environmental effects of runoff, which transports landscape chemicals and other contaminants into the local water supply.

There are sound business reasons for building houses with water-saving landscapes, too. Click here to read the rest of this article from Greener Building.

As water conservation gets tougher, the City of San Diego is spending less

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 31, 2008 at 7:30 am

From the Voice of San Diego:

When a major drought hit San Diego from 1987 to 1992, the region’s water conservation began. To save water from being wasted, the initiative focused indoors: replacing showerheads and toilets. As the threat of another water shortage looms, that effort is shifting outdoors, an area where water managers say saving water is harder. At the same time that shift is occurring, though, the city of San Diego is spending less to promote conservation.

The city’s Water Department will spend $2.7 million this year on everything from a staffer who investigates complaints of water waste to educational campaigns. Spending is down 20 percent compared to last year (and 5 percent compared to 2006). The cut comes at a time when attention is increasingly focusing on the region’s precarious water supply. Court-ordered reductions in water exported from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and an almost decade-long drought on the Colorado River have left the region facing one of its tightest water supplies since a drought ended in the early 1990s.

That drought launched water conservation efforts throughout Southern California. But as another possible shortage sets in, many of the early efforts have run their course. The city of San Diego has lowered its annual conservation targets for its residents — though it has set informal internal goals that boost those figures.

To read the full text of this story from the Voice of San Diego, click here.

Official surveyors sent out to determine which city owns dead whale on the beach; plus a dead whale video you don’t want to miss

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 11:01 pm

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A whale carcass that has lain on a Pacifica beach for seven months was the stuff of high intrigue Wednesday when an official surveying party was dispatched to do a little official surveying. It was the first dead whale survey that anyone could remember. “We’re here to lay this matter to rest,” said whale surveyor Sean Stasio, staring at the remains of the whale halfway down the beach.

The whale washed up in the summer on the beach opposite Sharp Park Golf Course, west of the 16th hole. The golf course is located in Pacifica, but the property belongs to San Francisco.

For months, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department has received calls about the whale. On Wednesday, the department at last decided to dispatch two staffers to Sharp Park Beach to figure out which city was on the hook for the whale and its possible removal. Their instructions were nothing less than to take an official reading of the dead whale’s latitude and longitude with an electronic gizmo.

It turned out to be a beautiful day to survey a dead whale. The rains let up and the sun poked out. Dog walkers and kite fliers, unaware of the history about to be made, went about their business. A dozen crows pecked at the twisted, leathery remains of the whale which, after so many months, looked less like a dead whale than a pile of coiled rope or a collapsed old tent.

But the crows scattered when Stasio, a Recreation and Park Department planner specializing in geospatial information, arrived on the beach, accompanied by a colleague. Stasio stood beside the whale and unholstered his electronic device, a Thales Mobile Mapper, Model CE. It was a honey.

He punched a few buttons and the device sprang to life and began flashing numbers.

After a moment, the screen gave its verdict.

The whale, it declared, was located at 38 degrees 16 minutes 31 seconds by minus 114 degrees 37 minutes 29 seconds. That information turned out to be historic, too, as it meant that the official location of the whale was 50 miles south of Ely, Nev.

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

Okay, so dead whale on the beach. Whatcha gonna do about that? Here’s an lesson in what not to do in this classic video that I found on youtube: click here and prepare to laugh.   (Hint:  Dynamite is not the answer!)  Stay with it – it starts out slow, perhaps, but only gets better. Definitely worth taking the link!

Lobbyist tells Castaic Lake Water Agency that 2008 ‘looks good for water infrastructure bonds”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 10:44 pm

From the Santa Clarita Signal:

A state lobbyist acting on behalf of the Castaic Lake Water Agency assured some members of the board this week that state politicians and, particularly the governor, remain committed to plans to store water and, at the same time, find ways to conserve it.

Lobbyist Ralph F. Simoni, in a report presented to the agency’s Governmental Relations and Outreach Committee, said the future for 2008 looks good for water infrastructure bonds set up to protect the state against diminishing resources.

Simoni prefaced his sentiments by referring to the State of the State speech delivered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month in which he called for California to invest in itself.  “Most importantly,” Simoni said in his report, “he specifically stated that he would continue to pursue a water infrastructure bond proposal to protect the state and plan for future population growth.  “He (Schwarzenegger) invited the Legislature to continue the dialogue to resolve what he described as the few remaining details — in reality, the tension between storage versus conservation measures.”

To read the full text of this story from the Santa Clarita Signal, click here.

Swift water rescue teams patrolling Los Angeles area flood channels

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 10:40 pm

From the Long Beach Gazette:

Robert Hamilton drives a red, four-wheel drive pickup truck loaded with lifejackets, helmets, bodysuits and other gear. Next to him in the passenger seat, Scott Mitchell rolls down his window to a gaunt man in frayed clothes standing beside a rusty shopping cart. “You need to find somewhere else to go,” he says to the homeless man. “It’s dangerous to be down here.” The man nods as Hamilton presses his foot gently on the accelerator, the truck steadily climbing up the narrow bike path adjacent to the San Gabriel River flood channel, which on this day runs a few feet deep between two steep, angled cement walls.

“Most of the speed is in the center of the river,” says Mitchell, who wears a red protective bodysuit in case he needs to jump into the channel. “The bottom of the water is (slippery) like ice. It’s slower along the edges, so that benefits us.”

Several storms blew through Long Beach last week, prompting these swift water rescue team members to patrol the area for people who may have fallen victim to the river. It’s a regular protocol for these Long Beach Lifeguard and Fire Department professionals, even through it puts their lives at risk. So far this year, there have been 25 “advisals,” warning people away from the rivers, but no water rescues.

Using their equipment, which includes flotation gear, helmets and other water rescue devices, the team uses every method possible to extract the victim from the water before actually entering the water.

“You’re looking for movement — something out of the ordinary,” says Mitchell, whose rescue experience includes helping pull a man who was under the influence of drugs out of the Los Angeles River in an earlier rainy season.

To read more about the Swift Water Rescue Team, click here.

Photo of the LA River by flickr photographer Peggy Archer.

Residents of Central Nevada gearing up for Southern Nevada Water Authority hearings next week

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 9:46 pm

From the Ely Times, locals are getting ready for the upcoming hearings regarding the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s plans to pump groundwater from White Pine County to send south to Las Vegas. Local satellite links will be available for residents who cannot make the long trip to Carson City, state capital and site of the hearings. From the article:

At issue are the SNWA’s application for substantial water rights in Cave, Dry Lake and Delmare valleys. A set of SNWA water rights applications in Snake Valley will be considered separately after a ruling is made for the Cave, Dry Lake and Delmare applications.

This hearing is critical to water rights in White Pine and Lincoln counties according to Simeon Herskovits, an attorney from Taos, N.M., representing several protesters to the SNWA’s plan to acquire water rights and pipe water to Clark County. He is affiliated with Advocates for Communities and Environment, a non-profit organization. Herskovits said his clients for the hearing include White Pine County, the Lund Irrigation Company, Preston Irrigation Company, several White Pine County ranchers and the Sierra Club.

“This hearing will determine whether the Southern Nevada Water Authority is granted water rights for that ground water they’ve applied for across three valleys. It’s about 35,000 acre feet total,” Herskovits said.

“This hearing will determine if there is any water available to them (SNWA),” Herskovits said, adding that the upside for the SNWA is if they won the full amount of water rights they are seeking. “The downside would be if they get nothing. For White Pine County it’s the opposite.”

Herskovits said the hearing will lead to a final decision as far as the state engineer is concerned. Whatever decision is made it is likely that someone will not be satisfied.

Further court proceedings are possible. To read the full text of the article from the Ely Times, click here.

Photo by Kristi Fullman, courtesy of Great Basin Water Network.

Delta Vision Task Force meets tomorrow and Friday (Jan 31st – Feb 1st)

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 5:34 pm

The Delta Vision Task Force will be meeting tomorrow and Friday in Sacramento. The meeting will be webcast. Agendas, meeting materials and links for the webcast can be found by clicking here.

New York Times: The Preservation Predicament – how global warming could impact our conservation efforts

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 3:37 pm

From the New York Times:

Conservation organizations that work to preserve biologically rich landscapes are confronting a painful realization: In an era of climate change, many of their efforts may be insufficient or beside the point.

Some scientists say efforts to re-establish or maintain salmon runs in Pacific Northwest streams will be of limited long-term benefit to the fish if warming makes the streams inhospitable. Others worry about efforts to restore the fresh water flow of the Everglades, given that much of it will be under water as sea level rises. Some geologists say it may be advisable to abandon efforts to preserve some fragile coastal barrier islands and focus instead on allowing coastal marshes to migrate inland, as sea level rises.

And everywhere, ecologists and conservation biologists wonder how landscapes already under preservation will change with the climate.

“We have over a 100-year investment nationally in a large suite of protected areas that may no longer protect the target ecosystems for which they were formed,” said Healy Hamilton, director of the California Academy of Sciences, who attended a workshop on the subject in November in Berkeley, Calif. “New species will move in, and the target species will move out.”

As a result, more and more conservationists believe they must do more than identify biologically important landscapes and raise money to protect them. They must peer into an uncertain future, guess which sites will be important 50 or 100 years from now, and then try to balance these guesses against the pressing needs of the present.

“It’s turning conservation on its head,” said Bill Stanley, who directs the global climate change initiative at the Nature Conservancy. He said the organization has a goal to protect 10 percent of major habitat types — like grasslands, forests and freshwater systems — by 2015.

“We are not sure exactly how to treat this yet,” Mr. Stanley said. “Areas that we preserved as grasslands are going to become forests. Does this mean we are going to have to have more than enough forest and less grassland than we had before? Or does it mean we should fight it — try to keep the forest from coming into those grasslands? Or should we try to find new areas that are least likely to change, that seem to be the least susceptible to change, and prioritize those areas?”

As Dr. Hamilton put it, “Our whole strategy is going to have to shift.”

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

Wet weather is great, say Antelope Valley officials, but we still need to conserve

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 3:31 pm

From the Antelope Valley Press:

After a weekend awash in heavy rains and avalanche-inducing snowfall, Antelope Valley experts said the water situation is looking up but still urged residents to conserve. “Having rainfall is a good thing. It’s much better than no rain, which is what we were afraid of,” said Melinda Barrett , water conservation program manager for the Los Angeles County Waterworks District. But she added, “The local supply is not sufficient by itself, rain or no rain. That’s something to be aware of. … Hopefully it will keep raining.”

So far, precipitation seems to be on a positive trend, with more rain falling last week than in the previous year. In the 2006-07 rain year, which started July 1 and ended June 30, Lancaster saw only 1.4 inches of rain, and only 0.65 inches fell on Palmdale. Between Wednesday and Sunday, 2.41 inches of rain fell on Lancaster, while Palmdale got 0.68 inches. That puts Palmdale still slightly behind its average for this point in the year, but Lancaster is more than an inch ahead of the curve.

The wet weather brought problems, including local flooding in the lower elevations, winter road restrictions and avalanches in the upper elevations.

The Valley draws 40% of water from area sources and 60% from state supplies via the California Aqueduct, she said, so “it’s still really important to conserve.” She urged residents to continue measures like turning off sprinkler systems on rainy days.

“In ‘07 we started with full reservoirs from a very wet ‘06. … That’s like having money in the bank,” said Russ Fuller , general manager of the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency. “In ‘08 what we’re starting with is very dry reservoirs. We’re already in much better shape this year, (but) we’re really counting on the precipitation we get this year to get us through.”

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

Low salmon numbers “part of the natural population cycle”, says a fisheries biologist

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 3:23 pm

From the Lodi Sentinel:

Like other Central Valley waterways, the Mokelumne River’s salmon figures are quite low. However, it’s no cause for alarm, said Michelle Workman, a fisheries biologist for the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which operates a salmon hatchery on the river.

The fall Chinook salmon has been completed, and the run is about one-fourth of the average total. But Workman disagrees with the description that the Chinook salmon population faces “unprecedented collapse.”

“We’ve had 15,000 some years and other years in the hundreds,” Workman said. “It is part of the natural population cycle.”

To read the full text of this article from the Lodi Sentinel, click here.

Hey Bakersfield residents! If you want water back in the Kern River, act quickly

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 3:16 pm

From the Bakersfield Californian:

Rivers help define the cities they flow through, and in many cases the cities also define the rivers. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Sacramento — all are situated on rivers of historical import and aesthetic character. Bakersfield, by comparison, has the Kern River — or, more accurately, it has the Kern Riverbed.

Now, thanks to a recently settled lawsuit, Bakersfield may soon be able to enjoy the many benefits of a river. A wet river.

But we have to speak up, and quickly.

Californian columnist Lois Henry has stumbled upon a rare opportunity for this community to weigh in on the possibility of a flowing, trans-urban Kern River. In April 2007, a judge hearing a 12-year-old lawsuit between two local water districts found that one of the districts had forfeited its rights to some Kern River water. He said the Kern might no longer be “fully appropriated,” meaning some water might be available to a water district that did not previously have a recognized claim to it. He said it was up to the State Water Resources Control Board to decide.

The City of Bakersfield filed an application, asking that it be awarded this “spare” water. The city said it would run that water down the natural channel of the Kern River.

Allowing the water to run in the river again will help recharge the aquifer. If you want to help out, contact the State Water Resources Board in support of the city, but they are only taking comment through tomorrow. To read the rest of this editorial by the Bakersfield Californian, click here. To read the original article by Lois Henry, which includes talking points & contact info, click here.

Chinook salmon on verge of collapse, email warns; fishing restrictions likely

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 8:36 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The state’s largest salmon run is suffering an “unprecedented collapse,” part of a broader decline throughout the West that has scientists vexed and will likely trigger severe fishing restrictions, according to federal fishery regulators.

The number of chinook or “king” salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries this past fall dropped 67 percent from a year earlier, according to an internal memo to members of the Pacific Fishery Management Council that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The Central Valley salmon population has fallen by more than 88 percent from its all-time high five years ago, when salmon restoration efforts in the Sacramento watershed were being touted as a wildlife management success story. But recent years have seen salmon populations steadily dwindle in the Sacramento and many other western rivers, and scientists are trying to understand why. Some believe it’s related to changes in the ocean linked to global warming. Others blame the troubles in California on increased pumping of freshwater from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.

In his e-mail to members of the fishery management council, executive director Donald McIsaac offered “an early alert to what at this point appears to be an unprecedented collapse in the abundance of adult California Central Valley … fall Chinook salmon stocks.” “The magnitude of the low abundance … is such that the opening of all marine and freshwater fisheries impacting this important salmon stock will be questioned,” he said.

Salmon that spawn in Central Valley rivers form the backbone of the West Coast’s commercial and recreational salmon fishery and are caught by fisherman from southern California to British Columbia. More than 90 percent of the wild salmon harvested in California originate in the Sacramento River system, officials say.“Sacramento fish are really what the fishery depends on,” said Chuck Tracy, the council’s salmon management officer. “When Central Valley fish are low, it gets really hard to catch fish even if you’re given the opportunity.”

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

The Sacramento Bee’s coverage also tries to answer the question, why is this happenning?

It remains unclear why the run fell off so sharply in 2007. But many indicators point to poor ocean health, which may, in turn, be caused by factors linked to global warming, according to researchers.

For several years, changes in wind patterns have halted or delayed deep upwelling currents in the ocean. The upwelling drives a food cycle that produces plankton, which in turn feed tiny shrimp-like krill. The krill, in turn, are the primary food for young salmon spending their first year in the ocean. The upwelling disruptions may have contributed to a decline in krill along with their salmon predators. Krill also feed a variety of seabirds, many of which also have declined in number.

Other experts said they believe poor environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are to blame. Six other fish species are declining there due to a combination of near-record water exports, poor water quality and competition for food from invasive species.

“It’s just another piece of evidence that our management of the rivers and the estuary are insufficient to support these species,” said Tina Swanson, senior scientist at the Bay Institute. “We need to do better, and really quickly.”

To read the full text of this story from the Sacramento Bee, click here.

Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org weighs in on the possible causes:

The federal and state governments will probably try to blame “ocean conditions” for the unprecedented collapse of salmon fisheries. Others will cite the increase of sea lion and harbor seal populations along the coast, the invasion of the highly predatory Humboldt squid, the change in forage fish populations off the coast and other factors.

Although ocean conditions and other factors are important to consider, I believe that unprecedented water exports out of the California Delta in recent years play a major role in the collapse of Sacramento and San Joaquin chinook populations.

The salmon are apparently the victims of the Delta food chain crash that has resulted in record low numbers of delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad in the California Delta since 2005. During 2005, an unprecedented 6.4 million-acre feet of water was exported out of the Delta by the state and federal governments.

The salmon that returned in 2007 as “jacks and jills” – two year old fish – would have migrated downriver in 2005 at the same time that record water exports were taking place. Those smolts may have starved from lack of food as they migrated through the Delta, never making it to the ocean. Or they may have ended up stranded in South Delta sloughs and channels, sucked in by powerful reverse flows caused by export pumping, if not destroyed in the pumps themselves.

Another factor that probably played a role was the fact that the pen release program of the Fishery Foundation of California was not in place in 2004 and 2005. Through this program, the salmon smolts are released into brackish water after being acclimated for 1 to 2 hours. This program cuts down greatly on smolt mortality. The absence of the pens apparently contributed to increased salmon mortality when the DFG released them into San Pablo Bay those years. Fortunately, the program will be in place this year when the salmon are released into the bay.

“This news about the salmon population collapse is not surprising considering the decline of the California Delta food chain caused by increased export pumping by the state and federal governments,” said Dick Pool, owner of Pro Troll products and coordinator of Water4Fish.org. “We need the state and federal governments to solve this problem.”

To read the full text of this article from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org, click here.

The Trout Underground weighs in here.

Fishing restrictions are likely, and closure of the entire season is an option. The council will be meeting in March, with a final decision in April.

Photo of Chinook salmon by Dan Bacher.

Water officials acknowledge to House panel that efforts to save Delta smelt aren’t working

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 8:09 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

Millions of dollars and untold gallons of water have failed to save the environmentally prominent Delta smelt, officials acknowledged Tuesday.

In a sobering assessment, state and federal officials told a House panel that their big investment in the smelt hasn’t paid off yet. The concession comes as officials contemplate spending an additional $10 billion or more for new California water projects and related environmental work.

“Obviously, we haven’t had the success with the Delta smelt that we would have wanted,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Robert Johnson said. “It has declined significantly.”

This, despite Endangered Species protection and water set aside for environmental restoration.

State and federal officials likewise acknowledged they didn’t know precisely how much of the smelt’s population decline has been caused by something other than irrigation pumping.

Repeatedly Tuesday, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and other San Joaquin Valley lawmakers insisted that numerous small pumps not part of the state and federal water projects could account for some of the Delta’s problems. The political implication is that Valley farmers are shouldering too much of the burden for restoring the smelt’s Delta habitat.

To read the full text of this article from the Sacramento Bee, click here.

Environmentalists file suit against state over striped bass

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:44 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A group of environmentalists is suing two state agencies they claim violated federal law by protecting a nonnative fish species that preys on threatened fish populations.

The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta says state laws protecting the striped bass go against the federal Endangered Species Act, and have helped cause the population of the threatened delta smelt to crash.

The group filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento against the California Fish and Game Commission and the California Department of Fish and Game.

Striped bass feed on Sacramento River chinook salmon, Central Valley chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead and delta smelt.

Burbank concerned about Metropolitan’s shortage allocation plan

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:42 am

From the Burbank Leader:

As Southern California dries itself off from the latest winter storm, some in Burbank are concerned that the city could lose some of its imported water supply in the face of rights it has laid claim to for more than 70 years.

Glenn Brown, Burbank’s representative on the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, is scheduled to appear Tuesday in front of the City Council to detail, among other things, the supply allocation plan for the area.

The perfect storm of an eight-year drought in the Colorado River, record low snowpack levels from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and a federal court decision tying up water deliveries from Sacramento have forced the water district to consider cutting water supply to participating cities, water district spokesman Bob Muir said.

“The supply allocation plan is a plan to deal with shortages this year and in the future,” he said. “We try to make it as equitable as possible so no one community has to shoulder more than others. We want to make it as fair and even-handed as possible.”

Brown will address the council on the proposed shortage allocation plan.

The allocation plan has its critics, who say that Burbank’s past affords the city certain preferential rights today. “They want to take our preferential rights away and have us share water with Orange County,” said Burbank resident Mike Nolan, a former water district representative for Burbank. “This new formula takes some of our water away so their growth won’t be stymied. At the time of a drought, we should exercise our right to demand our fair share of water.”

Burbank is a charter member of 26 cities that make up the water district’s consortium.

Since 1928, when the group was first established, Burbank has ensured future residents would receive their fair share of water by paying an annual tax to the water district, even throughout one of the more turbulent economic times in this nation’s history, Nolan said. “We’ve paid into the system since 1928, even during the Great Depression,” he said. “At the time, people risked losing their land, but they taxed themselves to guarantee that the imported supply of water would never be in doubt. That is our insurance policy and we’ve never had to cash that in. Now, we should cash out our insurance policy.”

To read the full text of this story from the Burbank Leader, click here.

Are our water worries over? Experts answer those questions in this Sacramento Bee article

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:32 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

This month’s weather has done little to cure our winter blues. Most of the month was wet, cold and dreary. We could see more of the same in February.

But, heck, February is a short month. And, the water watchers keep insisting, all this rain and snow is good for us.

We asked consulting meteorologist Tom Loffman and California Department of Water Resources Chief Hydrologist Maury Roos how this winter compares to previous years and if our drought fears are over.

Q: Are we seeing record-breaking rainfall?

A: Sorry, folks, the showers we’ve seen are far from record-breaking. According to Loffman, January saw about 20 days of rain, dropping an average of 6 to 7 inches across the Sacramento area.

In years with heavy rainfall, such as 1995 and 1997, the region saw closer to 15 inches of precipitation, so we’re seeing about half of record-breaking rain levels, Loffman said.

While the recent precipitation has added to reservoir storage, and the snowpack is 10% above normal, the weather guys remain cautiously optimistic.  To read the full text of this article from the Sacramento Bee, click here.

Recent rains are helpful, but pumping restrictions could still make for a dry summer

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:26 am

From the Tracy Press:

Storms during the past week added lots of water to local creeks and kept local residents wet, but state and federal water officials say it still could be a dry year for farmers.  A federal court ruling this past summer regarding the threatened Delta smelt could mean water curtailments for irrigation districts. 

In the meantime, farm water officials say they are happy with any rain they can get.  “We’re liking this wet weather,” said Bill Harrison, manager of the Patterson-based Del Puerto Water District, which serves about 45,000 acres of farmland between Vernalis and Santa Nella.

Del Puerto Water District and several other irrigation districts south of Tracy get water from the Central Valley Project, a series of conveyance systems and reservoirs that transports water to cities and farms throughout the state.  The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimated earlier this month that contractors south of the Delta would only receive 25 percent of their normal allocations if the 2007-08 rainy season was a critically dry one, but that was before the recent storms hit.

“What you see there (in the early estimates) is even worse than the worst-case scenario,” said Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.  He said the bureau will have an updated estimate Feb. 15.

 

 To read the full text of this story from the Tracy Press, click here.

The ‘Terminator’ tackles Lower Owens River vegetation

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:24 am

From Lawrence Journal World & News (Kansas, I think):

Noxious species sprouting in the bed of a California river diverted nearly a century ago are proving to be no match for a plant-eating device devised by a former Lawrence city commissioner.  Known as “The Terminator,” the machine designed by Dave Penny of De Soto-based Masters Dredging Co. recently finished tearing out and chewing up cattails and other plants that had been blocking progress on a $24 million river-restoration project northeast of Los Angeles.

Without the Kansas-born buoyant weed whacker, the free flow of the Lower Owens River might not have resumed, and the wildlife now residing there — birds, fish and other animals — might never have returned.

And the clearing work cost less than $150,000, the “project demonstration” charge that Penny accepted to get his technology in the field and noticed by people who need it.  “It’s a very specialized business,” said Penny, president and CEO of Masters Dredging. “The jobs are very spectacular, but it’s not like we’re mass-producing these things.”

The thing formally is known as the Aquaplant Shredder: a steel, flat-bottom boat powered by a 300-horsepower Caterpillar engine that drives two front cutters designed to grind through the most dense vegetation Mother Nature can dream up.

To read the rest of this story from the Lawrence Journal World & News, click here.

Waiver repealed for San Onofre toll road; it must now conform to tougher state regulations

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:18 am

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Congresswoman Susan Davis has successfully led the repeal of a waiver that would have made it easier to build a toll road across a nature reserve in Orange County and a campground at San Onofre State Beach.

Davis, D-San Diego, sponsored an amendment to reverse legislation that exempted the proposed construction project from California’s environmental laws. Her measure was attached to the military appropriations bill that President Bush signed into law Monday.

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

The Los Angeles Times adds this:

In a prepared statement, Davis said the road would have a “devastating impact” on the “unique environment” and recreational resources at San Mateo campground and Trestles Beach, one of California’s premier surfing breaks. “There is no reason why it should have received a special exemption,” Davis said.

San Onofre, a state park, is on land leased from Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. The exemption had allowed federal law to apply to the controversial project when it conflicted with state law, which is often more stringent. Lance MacLean, a Mission Viejo councilman and chairman of the board that governs the Foothill-Eastern tollway, said the agency sought the exemption because it needed to determine which authority — state or federal — it was to follow for the proposed route. “We needed to know what laws would be enforced on federal property,” MacLean said. “Opponents will call it special legislation. It was not special legislation but clarifying legislation.”

Removal of the federal exemption no longer allows the agency to defend lawsuits against the Foothill South by contending that state courts have no jurisdiction, said James Birkelund, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, a tollway foe.

“The big picture here is the toll road agency has been trying to avoid both state and federal environmental laws and has lobbied for and gotten riders to defense bills to do so,” Birkelund said. “We applaud Davis because the law now ensures that this project will comply with state law as with any other project.”

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

Central Valley reservoirs to require boat inspections in an effort to keep invasive mussels out

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:07 am

From Stockton’s RecordNet.com:

 Every boat to hit the water at Camanche or Pardee reservoirs east of Stockton first must be inspected starting Friday – and some vessels will be turned away entirely.  All to keep out fingernail-size mussels that can produce more than 40,000 eggs each and, in great numbers, can disrupt the public water supply and steal food from native fish.

Until recently, the quagga and zebra mussels were a Southern California problem, although officials have warned for months that they could spread north by latching onto the hulls of recreational boats towed from lake to lake.  And indeed, earlier this month, a clump of zebra mussels was landed by a fisherman in a reservoir northeast of Salinas in San Benito County.

Now, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which manages Camanche and Pardee lakes, says it will place “severe” restrictions on boating. The reservoirs are important parts of a system that delivers Mokelumne River water to 1.3 million people in the Bay Area.  “This is a big deal for us,” said EBMUD spokesman Charles Hardy. “Every boat that comes in has to be inspected.”

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

Water district to consider using solar power to run waste water treatment plant

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 30, 2008 at 7:03 am

From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:

Rancho California Water District wants to use the sun to power its wastewater-treatment plant, a move expected to save nearly $4 million over time while providing an earth-friendly means of electricity.

A committee of water district board members this morning will discuss a project adding 5,370 solar panels to run the Santa Rosa Water Reclamation Facility in Murrieta. The panels will be installed on 9 acres next to the plant, which is also undergoing an expansion.

The plant processes 2.7 million gallons of wastewater a day, enough to service 10,000 homes. It is the first solar-energy project for the Temecula-based district, which serves more than 120,000 people in Temecula, Murrieta and nearby unincorporated areas.

The cost to install the panels? Merely $225,000, says the article. What a deal! To read the rest of this article from the Press-Enterprise, click here.

No Water bonds likely this year; however it is becoming increasingly clear: either increase storage or decrease agriculture, says commentary

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 29, 2008 at 9:37 am

Whew! I am so glad there’s virtually no limits on titles. From Inside Bay Area:

THE LATEST casualty of the declining economy and state budget crisis appears to be a bond measure effort to improve California’s ailing water system. With the dismal fiscal situation, and a lack of agreement on whether to build dams, the California Alliance for Jobs has withdrawn funding for a water measure. The labor and business group was expected to fund one-third of the cost of what was expected to be an expensive campaign to get a water measure on the ballot and approved by voters. Without the support of the group, the bond measure is all but dead. A competing bond, supported by state Senate leader Don Perata also is not going to be on any ballot this year. Perata withdrew his measure because of the state’s budget crisis.

There still is a slim chance of getting some kind of water bond on the ballot in June or November this year, but no one should count on it. Perhaps that is a good thing. With the state in such a deep financial hole and a troubled national economy, voters are not likely to approve more borrowing, especially another $11.7 billion.

However, that does not mean California can afford to ignore its water problems indefinitely. It certainly cannot.

The commentary discusses water transfers, adding this:

It is becoming increasingly clear that California has two choices regarding water. Either storage is increased, or agriculture will be decreased. Agriculture uses at least 80 percent of the state’s water supplies and is likely to feel effects of shortages first. When farmers find it more economically advantageous to sell water than use it, that is a good indication that we have a supply problem in much of the state.

With adequate storage capacity, there should be enough water to meet demands in all parts of California, even in dry years. That is the goal of a water bond measure. Unfortunately, no such measures are apt to be on any statewide ballot before 2009.

To read the full text of this commentary by Inside Bay Area, click here.

Eastern Sierra Land Trust adds 480-acre parcel around Mono Lake to the list of protected lands

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 29, 2008 at 9:37 am

From Bishop’s Inyo County Regsiter:

Longtime residents of the Eastern Sierra recall Mono Lake’s level dropping ever-lower, its water siphoned off to quench Southern California’s rapacious thirst. Turning that tide required an unrelenting effort spearheaded by the Friends of Mono Lake, whose commitment protected nature.

Now a new friend has committed to protecting nature in the Mono Basin. New landowner Ted Yednock recently helped ensure open spaces in the hills to the north and east above Mono Lake will remain undeveloped by working with the Eastern Sierra Land Trust to secure a conservation easement. “It was an interesting project for us,” ESLT Lands Director Karen Ferrell-Ingram said, “as the prior landowners came to us asking if we knew someone that might buy their property, and preserve the property in its natural state.”

Mr.Yednock plans to use the 480-acre parcel for a family retreat, leaving most of it undistrubed. This has benefits for the public as well as Mr. Yednock:

“In addition to acquiring a beautiful place to enjoy time spent with family,” Ferrell-Ingram said, “Mr. Yednock will also enjoy significant federal tax breaks in exchange for his willingness to enter into this conservation easement.”
According to the ESLT, each conservation easement requires a very individual approach to reach a common goal. “While every easement we oversee will have some distinct aspect,” said Ferrell-Ingram, “each of them is created to protect the land from significant development and the conservation mandate remains with the deed to that land, so it lasts forever.”

To read the full text of the story from the Inyo County Register, click here.

San Onofre toll road damage estimates adjusted downward slightly, but opposition remains strong

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 29, 2008 at 9:15 am

From the North County Times:

State regulators have decreased the amount of environmental damage they think would be caused by the toll road Orange County officials want to lay down across North San Diego County.

But California Coastal Commission staffers say that the toll road would still do “irreparable harm” to a sensitive coastal wetland, home to a half-dozen imperiled animals.

In a report filed over the weekend in preparation for a key commission hearing next week, the commission’s staff downgraded, from 66 acres to 50 acres, its estimate of how much of the potential habitat would be destroyed. But the damage still would be unacceptable and the project could trigger the extinction of one species, the report says. The Orange County transportation agency looking to build the road strongly disputes that conclusion.

The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Authority sharply criticized the initial findings, causing state regulators to go back and recalculate their estimates.

But the staff’s underlying conclusion remains unchanged: The $875 million project would exact a terrible toll on the environment within California’s fifth-most popular state park – San Onofre State Beach – and is in direct conflict with state and federal environmental laws.

Representatives of Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, the group that wants to build the toll road, stood by its critique Monday. “We still believe that there are major errors” in the report, said Jennifer Seaton, a spokeswoman for the Irvine-based agency. The toll-road builder contends the project would tread lightly on the fragile coastal environment.

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

The Los Angeles Times has a critical editorial of the proposed toll road:

Maybe Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was trying to make up for planned cuts to state parks. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine what could have led to his recent support for the Foothill South toll road.

In announcing his change from neutral on the highway that’s proposed to take traffic pressure off Interstate 5 in San Clemente, the governor said the project was “essential to protect our environment” and could be built in a manner “that will enhance and foster use of the coast.” This is environmental doublespeak. As planned, the toll road would cut through a wilderness preserve in eastern Orange County and then traverse the length of a narrow, pristine canyon that makes up most of San Onofre State Beach, one of the most popular California state parks. The government Schwarzenegger heads is suing to stop the project.

The editorial also makes this point:

Both metaphorically and geographically, the Foothill South tollway would lead the state down a bad route. As proposed, it would go where few are interested in heading — eastern Orange County. Commuters on the I-5 are generally headed toward the central county; the toll road agency is betting that to beat the traffic, motorists will pay a substantial toll to drive out of their way, a strategy that has failed before.

For the full text of this story from the Los Angeles Times, click here.

The Coastal Commission is set to hear this project on Wednesday, February 6th. The hearing has been moved to the Del Mar Fairgrounds as the commission is expecting up to 2000 people to attend.

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• National Academies deliver mixed message on California Delta dilemma
• Statement of California Secretary for Natural Resources Lester Snow on the NAS report
• Senator Cogdill: California is rain rich, water poor
• Friday’s top of the scroll: NAS report backs biological opinions but still needs further study; also finds other ’stressors’ have hurt delta fish
• Links for National Academies of Science report
• Secretary Salazar’s statement on National Academy of Sciences review of California Bay Delta water issues
• National Academies of Science Report: Most federal actions to protect endangered fishes in California’s Bay-Delta ’scientifically justified,’ but additional clarification needed
• Costa and Cardoza deny health bill for water vote swap

Aquafornia's Mission

Aquafornia's mission is to educate readers about the complex and often controversial issues surrounding water in California.
 
Aquafornia is affiliated with the Water Education Foundation, an impartial non-profit organization, whose mission is to create a better understanding of water issues and help resolve water resource problems through educational programs.

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Web Resources

• Agriculture

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• Climate Change & Water

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• Conservation

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  • H2O Conserve Website
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• Employment & Water

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