Blogger finds 1989 draft report of Southern Nevada Water Authority pipeline project; document “has lots of ugly implications for the environment, the economies and the governments of rural Nevada”
Posted by: Maven on March 31, 2008 at 12:18 pmFrom Rake’s Green Vegas Blog:
Hey, remember how the Southern Nevada Water Authority bought up just about every ranch in White Pine County’s huge Spring Valley and claimed that it was doing so to “manage” groundwater levels? And remember how we thought that was a lot of cowflop because the SNWA doesn’t do anything if it doesn’t serve the interests of the Las Vegas developers who call the shots?
Well, funny enough, I found a document last week that dates way back to the antediluvian days of 1989. It appears to be the first draft of the study of the impacts of the Southern Nevada Water Grab, and lays out a road map for the exportation of many billions of water from the rurals to the urban area.
The study notes that if the state Water Engineer denies a large portion of the SNWA request (then under the auspices of the Las Vegas Valley Water District) the agency will buy up ranches and take the water anyway in what the authors call “water ranching.”
“In the event the District (the SNWA) is unable to win approval of enough of it’s (sic) applied for water, outright purchase of existing water rights within Lincoln, Nye, Clark and White Pine counties is another vehicle available to acquire enough water to meet the anticipated needs of Las Vegas,” it says.
Find out more of what this blogger has to say about this by clicking here.
Weekend odds and ends from the blogosphere
Posted by: Maven on March 29, 2008 at 11:01 am
It’s time once again to clear off all the interesting tidbits I have collected over the week.
Water Wired Wisdom: As always, there’s been some interesting posts on the astute Water Wired blog. Michael weighs in on California’s salmon crisis, the price of ignoring our ecosystems, and a story about how some Oregon farmers are installing pipes instead of using leaky canals, and how this might help the salmon.
Climate Change: adaptation vs. mitigation debate: Such a busy week, I haven’t had time to catch up on all of this until now, but Aqua Blog Maven doesn’t want you to miss a good debate. Is it cheaper to adapt to climate change, or should we try and stop it? It all starts with this article from the LA Times where Roger Pielke argues that it is indeed cheaper and perhaps a better alternative than to try and stop climate change. But not everyone agrees: “You can’t adapt to melting the Greenland ice sheet,” said Stephen H. Schneider, a climatologist at Stanford University. “You can’t adapt to species that have gone extinct.” The Daily Grist responded, saying Pielke’s remarks were mischaracterized. John Fleck at Inkstain takes a different view, saying: Over and over, I see climate change in the west used as an argument in favor of greenhouse gas reductions, and over and over I have seen the necessary political and policy discussions of what might be needed for adaptation either implicitly or explicitly off the table, most often because of a fear that such discussions will somehow sap the political will needed to change our energy habits. John Fleck follows it all up this morning in this post about New Mexico’s climate change policy, and yet again in this post about the latest report from California’s state government interagency Water-Energy Subgroup of the Climate Action Team (WET-CAT). In order for it to make sense, though, you’ll have to start at the beginning!
Bottled Water Woes: I am proud to say I have kicked my bottled water habit. I’ve purchased regular water bottles and have the family trained to fill up a bottle here before heading out. I’ve discovered the added advantage of being able to fill it up with ice, ensuring a long cool drink on my travels – yum! Tom Chandler over at the Trout Underground wraps up the latest news in the bottled water wars in this post from the Trout Underground.
Are beavers good or bad? Good, says this group, whose blog is about beavers in Southern California. According to beaverdam.info, “A keystone species is one that modifies the natural environment in such a way that the overall ecosystem builds upon the change. The ponds, wetlands, and meadows formed by beaver dams increases bio-diversity and improves overall environmental quality.It is our opinion that many environmental decision makers do not fully understand the positive effects that beavers and dams bring to ecosystems.” Check out Martinez Beaver’s Blog by clicking here.
Just for fun: Ok, I admit it: these next two have nothing to do with water. I just thought they were funny! Only in Los Angeles would you have a blog solely dedicated to abandoned couches. And I thought this post from the Borowitz Report was funny: Bush to phase out environment by 2009.
May I suggest you get out and enjoy the wildflowers if you haven’t already done so, but above all, enjoy your weekend!
California’s plan to reduce water use and the connection to global warming
Posted by: Maven on March 29, 2008 at 6:53 amFrom the California Progress Report:
Last Thursday, representatives of the Governor’s interagency Water-Energy Subgroup of the Climate Action Team (WET-CAT) unveiled five broad strategies to reduce global warming pollution from water use in California.
The strategies, which will be submitted to the California Air Resources Board for inclusion in the Scoping Plan for AB 32 implementation, include increasing water recycling, water conservation, water infrastructure efficiency, and the use of renewable energy, along with better management of storm water in urban areas.
The WET-CAT has also proposed two specific targets: increasing water recycling to 23 percent by 2030 and increasing urban water use efficiency by 1.76 million acre-feet (MAF) by 2020.
Although the WET-CAT has received detailed recommendations by PCL and other organizations about the creative water management tools at their disposal, they have released few details about how they plan to carry out their strategies. And while their targets are a good start, the latest State Water Plan and several other statewide evaluations show that they could be substantially more aggressive.
WET-CAT co-chair Fran Spivy-Weber has asked for outside input, particularly suggestions for measures that state agencies should be taking. You can email Fran and her co-chair Mark Cowin or contact PCL’s Global Warming Program Manager, Matt Vander Sluis for more information.
Click here for more information on legislative bills which will aid in reaching the governor’s 20% conservation mandate, and an update on proceedings at the State Water Resources Control Board.
Native intelligence: Native plants can be both beautiful and drought tolerant
Posted by: Maven on March 29, 2008 at 6:22 am
From High Country News:
Smell this, it’s called ’Cowboy Cologne.’ ” Lili Singer stands in the nursery rubbing the leaves of a small gray-green plant between her fingers and takes a deep whiff. I follow her lead. The scent is pungent and heady – pure California hillside. We are visiting a new shipment of native plants that has just arrived at the Theodore Payne Foundation – a Sunland, Calif., organization dedicated to restoring native California landscapes and habitats and educating people about them. Singer greets the plants like old friends. “Somewhere around 18, I discovered my God was in a carrot seed,” she says. “To me, that process alone – growing something from seed – is miraculous.”
So it’s fitting that Singer, a brusque, apple-cheeked woman with a ragged, ready laugh, took a position at the foundation as the director of special programs. Theodore Payne also found God in a seed. A young British horticulturist, Payne settled in Santiago Canyon in Orange County in 1893. “While he was there, he discovered matilija poppies and other California natives, and he saw development coming in,” Singer explains. “He saw that people in California had no affection for their own beautiful plants. So he started collecting seeds and promoting them.”
Now, Singer carries on Payne’s legacy, bringing native plants to the masses at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market and coordinating the foundation’s popular garden tour, where members can see firsthand the beauty of native gardening.
There is far more at stake here than pretty flowers, Singer says. “There are shrinking wilds out there and the garden can play an important role in preserving local plants and animals” by maintaining the continuity of native habitat.
More on this story from the High Country News by clicking here.
Here’s another related article from High Country News about native plants in the west: click here.
Support habitat restoration in the Delta, says blogger commentary
Posted by: Maven on March 28, 2008 at 6:25 amFrom the California Progress Report:
“Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, is authoring legislation for the state to purchase a trio of Delta properties – Prospect Island, the Little Holland Tract and Liberty Island – which are now owned by the federal government and a nonprofit land trust. Wolk’s Assembly Bill 2502 “would transform these tracts into a state recreation area, with an endowment fund to help restore marshes and levees.” (Sacramento Bee March 25, 2008) California residents should write to their state representatives to express support for this proposed legislation.
• California State Legislature – Find Your Legislator & Contact Information.
• Know Your Legislators – leginfo.ca.gov.
On many California Delta islands farming has caused soil erosion as much as 10 to 20 feet below the level of the river that surrounds them. Due to their ancient inadequate levees, these islands are certain to become flooded during one of our next big storms or earthquakes. Perhaps we should take advantage of this opportunity to buy-out the most severely eroded islands and add them into the habitat restoration program.
Read the rest of this story from the California Progress Report by clicking here.
The writer, Bruce Thomas, writes the blog BRT Insights about whitewater kayaking and water issues in general. You can visit his blog by clicking here.
New report: “Hotter and Drier: The West’s Changed Climate”
Posted by: Maven on March 27, 2008 at 8:05 pmFrom the California Progress Report:
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) have released a report, “Hotter and Drier: The West’s Changed Climate” which analyzes temperature data from Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The full report runs to 64 pages and has an appendix with state-by-state figures. There also is a 4 page Fact Sheet that has also been released.
This is not just about global warming as some isolated concept—this report shows the effects of what is happening on water—the subject of much discussion in California.
Read this and you’ll find out that the American West is heating up more rapidly than the rest of the world. This new finding is based on an analysis of the most recent federal government temperature figures. The news is especially bad for some of the nation’s fastest growing cities, including Los Angeles and San Diego, which receive water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. The average temperature rise in the Southwest’s largest river basin was more than double the average global increase, likely spelling even more parched conditions.
For the report, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization analyzed new temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for 11 western states. For the five-year period 2003-2007 the average temperature in the Colorado River Basin, which stretches from Wyoming to Mexico, was 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the historical average for the 20th Century. The temperature rise was more than twice the global average increase of 1.0 degree during the same period. The average temperature increased 1.7 degrees in the entire 11-state western region.
Read the rest of this story from the California Progress Report by clicking here.
Nuclear power won’t make California green, commentary says
Posted by: Maven on March 27, 2008 at 5:44 amSince I recently posted an article for nuclear power, I feel obligated to also post a commentary against nuclear power. From the California Progress Report, this commentary from Assemblyman Lloyd Levine:
Here we go again. The issue of renewing the development of nuclear power is rearing its ugly head under the guise of making California the happiest, greenest place on earth. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing this Disney-like scenario and it needs a reality check. Nuclear power simply has no future in California’s new energy era.
If Californians give nuclear power a new lease on life we will be moving in the wrong direction and relying on false promises. Today, even during a housing and economic slump, homeowners and businesses are turning to affordable, safe, clean and dependable energy in record numbers.
The Governor believes nuclear power is the answer to global warming but nothing could be farther from the truth. Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous, too expensive and cannot exist without massive taxpayer subsidies.
A vicious pollution cycle also comes with the nuclear power package. The production process of mining uranium to fuel nuclear plants requires massive diesel powered machinery that grossly pollutes the air. The mined uranium would then have to be shipped to the United States in large, diesel powered ships and reprocessed into nuclear, fuel in pollution producing coke ovens.
In the meantime, uranium resources within the United States are growing scarce and driving up prices. We already import most of the uranium needed to run existing plants. New plants would require even more imported uranium and for much of that we would need to become vulnerable to unstable African dictatorships.
Read the rest of this article from the California Progress Report by clicking here.
Snowpack is at normal levels, but pumping is curtailed due to Wanger smelt ruling
Posted by: Maven on March 26, 2008 at 4:55 pm
From the Department of Water Resources:
SACRAMENTO – The 2008 winter snow survey conducted today by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) indicates that snowpack water content is near normal this year. Despite this fact, the news is not good for water deliveries. Although there has been a return to average snowpack figures, State Water Project (SWP) deliveries remain near record lows because of a federal court ruling restricting Delta pumping to help protect the threatened Delta smelt.
“The snowpack is back to normal, but a broken Delta means water deliveries to millions of Californians will be far below normal this year,” said DWR Director Lester Snow. “We must move ahead on the comprehensive plan outlined by Governor Schwarzenegger to invest in our water systems, restore the Delta and ensure clean, safe and reliable water supplies.”
The pumping reductions are a result of federal Judge Oliver Wanger’s decision in December 2007 to curtail pumping by state and federal water projects to protect the tiny fish vital to the ecosystem that has seen its population decline drastically in past years. Delta smelt populations are also adversely affected by other activities such as other water diversions, water pollution, and non-native species.
Currently, the SWP is projected to deliver only 35 percent of requested amounts this year to communities, farmers and businesses in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California.
Manual snow surveys are conducted monthly from January through May to help forecast the amount of spring and summer runoff into reservoirs. The readings at this time of year are generally considered the most significant in gauging how much water is being held in the Sierra snow pack.
Meanwhile, electronic sensor readings posted on the California Data Exchange Center’s Web site show Northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 105 percent of normal for this date, Central Sierra at 89 percent, and Southern Sierra at 103 percent. Statewide, the percentage of normal is at 97 percent. The figures last year were 53 percent for the Northern Sierra, 48 percent Central Sierra, 39 percent for Southern Sierra, and 47 percent statewide.
DWR 3/26/08 Manual Snow Survey Results
Location
Elevation
Snow Depth
Water Content
% of Long Term Average
Alpha
7,600 feet
63.5 inches
32.6 inches
98
Phillips Station
6,800 feet
53.4 inches
27.8 inches
98
Lyons Creek
6,700 feet
80.0 inches
33.0 inches
106
Tamarack Flat
6,500 feet
64.0 inches
30.4 inches
112
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 DWR 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 snowpack.
You can visit the Department of Water Resources on web: http://wwwdwr.water.ca.gov/
Assembly approves salmon relief bill as fishery collapses
Posted by: Maven on March 26, 2008 at 4:49 pmSubmitted to Aquafornia by Dan Bacher:
The California Assembly on March 24 approved Senate Bill 562, legislation by North Coast State Senator Patricia Wiggins to provide $5.3 million in “urgent funding” for salmon restoration.
The 59-11 vote took place as recreational and commercial salmon fishermen on the California and Oregon coast and recreational anglers in the Central Valley face unprecedented fishing closures, due to the collapse of the Sacramento River fall chinook salmon population. The money is intended to assist declining salmon populations by funding habitat restoration projects that improve cover, spawning gravel and pool habitat, remove barriers to fish passage and reduce or eliminate erosion and sedimentation impacts.
“SB 562 is about this legislature taking action to protect California’s $100 million dollar salmon industry,” said Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D – Eureka), who presented the bill on the floor of the Assembly.
Continue reading “Assembly approves salmon relief bill as fishery collapses” »
Plastic waste turning Pacific Ocean into a garbage dump
Posted by: Maven on March 26, 2008 at 5:30 amFrom Nature News:
A swirling, floating garbage dump in the North Pacific Ocean twice the size of the United States has been noticed in recent years and is growing at a swift pace. It is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The number of plastic pieces in the Pacific Ocean has tripled in the last ten years and the size of the accumulation is set to double in the next ten unless the use of disposable plastics is reduced.
While this “trash continent” is not thick enough to be walked on, from the ocean surface to a depth of 30 feet, the plastic is floating at a concentration six times that of its neighboring zooplankton, the most abundant animal type of life both by number and total weight. The plastic can reach concentrations of a million pieces per square mile.
Most of this plastic debris originates from land as trash, being swept out by rivers or the tide. About one fifth comes from ships’ cargo and oil platforms. Toothbrushes, cigarette lighters and syringes have accumulated here and everything from Nike sneakers to plastic yellow ducks has been lost from cargo ships.
Due to undesirable wind patterns, most sailors have avoided this area and a natural lack of nutrients in this ocean region has given fishermen reason to look for fish elsewhere. The translucent quality of the plastic just below the water’s surface prevents satellites from detecting it. These two factors have prevented the sheer vastness of the garbage accumulation from being noticed until recently.
Read the rest of this story from Nature News by clicking here.
KNX Radio covers Los Angeles water crisis
Posted by: Maven on March 25, 2008 at 6:04 am
From KNX Radio, a series of three segments on Los Angeles water issues. From the website:
The future looks dry and expensive. KNX 1070′s Michael Linder has three investigative reports on LA’s worsening water crisis.
Michael reports from the Hoover Dam where Lake Mead stands half empty. One expert is saying that there is a 50/50 chance that the lake might go dry in the next 13 to 15 years.
Experts say that L.A. cannot afford to take it easy. The city needs to make substantial investments in its water infrastructure to survive in a drier environment.
The growth of the America West happened during one of the region’s wettest centuries on record. Los Angeles, and the entire state, will have to find a way to satisfy the needs of millions of people in an environment that is almost sure to be drier than what we are use to.
Click on the above links to listen to the program, or click here to visit the KNX website.
Aerial photo of Los Angeles by Bureau of Reclamation.
Lake Tahoe could turn murky green within a decade
Posted by: Maven on March 25, 2008 at 5:36 am
From the Los Angeles Times:
Global climate change may be causing a pivotal shift in the depths of Lake Tahoe that could fundamentally alter its ecology by the end of the next decade and turn its famed jewel-blue waters a murky hue, according to a recent study.
For the full text of this story from the Los Angeles Times, click here.
A story in the San Jose Mercury-Times adds this about the mixing of the lake:
The lake is made up of many layers of water, with the surface being rich in oxygen. When the wind is right and temperature is ideal, the top layer sinks, and in the best years goes to the bottom. This is not a constant process, but happens, on average, about every four years, usually in late February. Through the process, oxygen from the surface is distributed throughout the lake, benefiting plants and fish at the bottom that are dependent upon it to survive, especially trout.
7
Read the full text of this story from the San Jose Mercury-Times by clicking here.
Picture of Lake Tahoe by flickr photographer Leto A.
Water recycling stirs policy debate in California
Posted by: Maven on March 24, 2008 at 10:25 pmFrom PBS’s Online News Hour:
Finally tonight, a very different way of dealing with water shortages in Southern California. NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Kaye of KCET-Los Angeles reports.
JEFFREY KAYE, NewsHour Correspondent: In Orange County, California, officials thought their best chance for getting more water for the area’s three million residents was going down the drain, billions of gallons of wastewater going to waste.
Then, local water and sanitation officials bought into an idea: turning that wastewater into clean drinking water.
MIKE MARKUS, Orange County Water District: This project is extremely important today, because the southland is facing a water crisis.
JEFFREY KAYE: Mike Markus is general manager of the Orange County Water District. He oversaw the design and construction of a recently opened water purification plant, the largest of its kind in the world.
MIKE MARKUS: It’s important that we develop new water supplies locally so that we can help somewhat drought-proof this area. And that’s exactly what this project does: It gives us a water supply that we have control over that will provide enough water for a half-million people in northern and central Orange County.
Read the rest of this story from PBS’s Online News Hour (or listen, if you’d prefer) by clicking here.
California has lowest level of Fish and Game Wardens in United States and is not enforcing our laws including protecting endangered fish
Posted by: Maven on March 24, 2008 at 10:09 pmFrom Dan Bacher and the California Progress Report:
California Department of Fish and Game wardens arrested nine suspects Friday morning for violations involving the illegal take of white sturgeon, a native species whose population has declined in recent years, in Operation Sacked Again.”
The DFGs Delta Bay Enhancement Enforcement Program and Special Operations Unit (SOU) carried out the arrests and searches after an investigation of two groups of local sturgeon anglers observed fishing in the Sacramento River, according to the DFG press release. In addition to the illegally-caught sturgeon seized, wardens also confiscated juvenile chinook salmon that the poachers had caught to use for sturgeon bait.
“We continue to throw all resources we can afford at the sturgeon poaching problem plaguing our river system this time of year,” said Assistant Chief of Enforcement Tony Warrington. In this case, not only do we have illegal take of sturgeon, we have repeat violations of illegal use of young salmon as bait when the rivers salmon population is significantly low.
The poaching of juvenile salmon is particularly alarming as commercial and recreational fishermen face fishing closures off the California and Oregon coast due to the unprecedented collapse of Central Valley chinook salmon.
Water storage is crucial to the Delta, as well as the state’s future, says editorial
Posted by: Maven on March 24, 2008 at 10:05 pmFrom Inside Bay Area, this editorial:
Adding an aqueduct around the Delta to either replace or supplement current pumps could help protect fish in the Delta and improve water dependability. But there are legitimate concerns that an aqueduct would be a reincarnation of the dreaded Peripheral Canal. Voters rejected it in 1982 because of fears that it would reduce water flowing into the Delta that is necessary for fish and a healthy ecosystem.
The hope is that the studies sought by state water officials will provide answers on just how much water can be sent south without jeopardizing efforts to restore the Delta ecosystem and fish populations.
What should be increasingly clear is that there is no way to provide adequate and reliable water supplies to users and the Delta environment in dry as well as wet periods without substantial water storage.
That means any of the possible courses being studied by water officials should include water storage in reservoirs and aquifers. There is no way to assure enough water for the Delta, farms and urban users in dry years without a major increase in storage.
Without storage there is a very real threat that either the Delta or agriculture will lose out. California cannot afford to let either take place.
Read the full text of this editorial from Inside Bay Area by clicking here.
The folly of biofuels: agribusiness and politicians could suck the country dry with biofuel mandates
Posted by: Maven on March 24, 2008 at 6:15 am
From AlterNet:
With corn selling at record-high prices, Steve Albracht expects to have no trouble paying his electric bills this year. Albracht irrigates 1,000 acres of corn near the town of Hart in the Texas Panhandle and expects to shell out $180 to $240 per acre to run his pumps through the spring and summer. “In this area,” says Albracht, “the water table has dropped, but nobody’s cutting back on watering yet. There’s still plenty down there.”
Albracht won the 2005 National Corn Yield Contest in the “irrigated” category, producing a whopping 352 bushels per acre. In a region that gets an average of less than 18 inches of rain annually, Albracht and his neighbors apply anywhere from 28 inches to more than 3 feet of water to their corn each year. With the prospect of a highly profitable harvest, Albracht says he can afford to water generously this year. And he’ll need to, he says, “because it’s been a dry winter.”
For once, times are good in the High Plains. Corn and other grains are selling like precious metals, and there is every reason to believe that prices will stay high. At the heart of the boom is the U.S. government’s decision to rely on corn-based ethanol to meet a big part of the nation’s demand for “renewable” fuels.
Most recent controversy over ethanol has focused on the its poor energy return; in growing corn and turning it into ethanol, you have to burn three calories to get four. With prices of fuel and other inputs rising fast, corn farmers won’t be getting rich (except for those who happen to have oil wells on their property.) But selling their corn for such high prices, they can afford to sow more acres and burn more propane, diesel or electricity to pump more water than ever. A torrent of cash will be flowing through the nation’s corn-growing regions, but the biggest price will be paid in water.
Ethanol production burns three calories to make four; not a good return on investment. And while the price of corn is rising, farmers won’t necessarily get rich, but they’ll have money to sow more acres and buy the fuel that will pump ‘more water than ever’.
To hear agribusiness boosters and politicians tell it, corn-based ethanol is a miraculous solution to the nation’s hunger for liquid fuels. But as miracles go, it’s not all that impressive. When Jesus, according to Biblical reports, converted approximately 150 gallons of water into an equivalent quantity of wine, his conversion rate was about a cup of ethanol per gallon of water invested (given the typical alcohol content of wine). Compare that to current processes that use irrigated corn as their carbon source and get less than a teaspoon of ethanol for each gallon of water consumed.
In dry areas of the High Plains where irrigation is the most crucial to corn production and the ethanol-to-water ratio even lower, agriculture is dependent on a one-time drawing of groundwater that hasn’t seen daylight for 11,000 years or more. The vast Ogallala aquifer, stretching from not far south of Steve Albracht’s Texas farm all the way up into South Dakota, is being mined at a rate that, in some areas, will drain it sometime in the relatively near future — at least before the oil wells of the Persian Gulf run dry.
The Ogallala was trapped underneath the High Plains around the time of the last ice age. The formation holds enough ancient water to fill Lake Huron, the second-greatest of the Great Lakes — or at least it did before being exploited for agriculture. In the High Plains, raising a single bushel of irrigated corn slurps up 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of water, and more corn than ever is being raised there.
Read the rest of this story from AlterNet by clicking here.
Photo of corn plants by flickr photographer MarS.
Looming salmon closures will hurt coastal and inland communities
Posted by: Maven on March 23, 2008 at 10:13 amFrom IndyBay.org:
Coastal communities will be devastated by the looming closure of commercial and recreational ocean salmon fishing seasons off the California and Oregon coast. The cities of Sacramento, Knights Landing, Colusa, Corning, Red Bluff and Redding and other Central Valley communities will also also face losses of revenue generated by recreational salmon fishing.
Although the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations have tried to avoid any responsibility for this fishery collapse, it becomes clearer every day that federal and state mismanagement of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Central Valley rivers have played a huge role in the collapse.
“In California and Oregon south of Cape Falcon (in northern Oregon), where Sacramento fish stocks have the biggest impact, the commercial and recreational salmon fishery had an average economic value of $103 million per year between 1979 and 2004,” according to a statement from the Pacific Fishery Management Council on March 21. “From 2001 to 2005, average economic impact to communities was $61 million ($40 million in the commercial fishery and $21 million in the recreational fishery).”
The Bush administration says that the reason for the sudden collapse of the Sacramento fall Chinook stock is “not readily apparent,” but fishing, tribal and environmental groups point to massive water exports from the California Delta in recent years and rapidly declining water quality in Central Valley rivers as the key factors behind the fishery collapse. Although the ocean conditions were undoubtedly poor, many of the fish never made it to the ocean because they were sucked into the massive state and federal export pumps in the Delta or starved as they migrated through the estuary, due to the collapse of the Delta food chain.
Read the full text of this story from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org by clicking here.
Water issues highlighted in this month’s Nature magazine, and more on the plan to move Canadian water south to the U. S.
Posted by: Maven on March 22, 2008 at 12:05 pmFrom the Water Wired blog, here are two interesting posts:
Nature Magazine, a science journal, is highlighting water issues. For a review of the issue, plus links to the Nature Magazine website, click here.
Earlier this month, Michael posted a piece on a new plan to move Canadian water into the U.S. Today’s post points out that the proposed dam across St. James Bay would require close to ten times the fill used in China’s Three Gorges Dam – now that’s big! For more on this story from Water Wired, click here.
On World Water Day, fresh water is out of reach for many worldwide
Posted by: Maven on March 22, 2008 at 11:56 amFrom NPR’s Talk of the Nation, also via Water Wired, global water issues highlighted in honor of World Water Day:
Talk of the Nation, March 21, 2008 · Saturday, March 22 is annual World Water Day, a tradition started by the United Nations in the early 1990s. This year’s World Water Day will focus on sanitation issues, as part of a larger project headed by the UN.
“Every 20 seconds,” says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “A child dies as a result of the abysmal sanitation conditions endured by some 2.6 billion people globally. That adds up to an unconscionable 1.5 million young lives cut short by a cause we know well how to prevent.”
How will policies and attitudes need to shift to help provide needed clean water to growing populations worldwide?
Click here to visit the NPR website for a link to listen to the show.
California’s “water bubble”: State Water Project Reliability Report reflects more realistic water exports
Posted by: Maven on March 22, 2008 at 6:02 amFrom the California Progress Report:
Just like the bursting of the housing bubble when the sub prime mortgage reality set in, the 2007 State Water Project Delivery Reliability Report signals a similar burst of California’s water bubble. The 2007 Draft Report reveals that the State Water Project (SWP) will deliver 20 to 30 percent less water to agricultural, commercial, and residential users than it had estimated in 2005. The draft report is the first to reflect more realistic water export levels, although it still masks the underlying problem that expectations for SWP water are still much higher than nature can accommodate.
The bi-annual reliability report is the product of a settlement agreement between PCL and the Department of Water Resources over our legal challenge to proposed amendments to the State Water Project contracts. This report is the basis of many major water plans across the state, as well as the foundation for water supply assessments required for new development.
In much the same way that irresponsible loan practices fueled unrealistic expectations in the housing market, previous reports, including the 2005 report, inflated predictions of Delta exports by ignoring the mounting problems in the Delta and the impacts of climate change on California’s hydrology. As a result, water managers, cities, and counties have falsely assumed the SWP can deliver more water than it actually can.
For the full text of this article from the California Progress Report, click here.
Press Release: Pacific Fisheries Management Council will decide fate of season at April meeting; public comment is invited
Posted by: Maven on March 20, 2008 at 10:02 pmPacific Fishery Management Council NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 20, 2008
Contact: Ms. Jennifer Gilden, Communications Officer, 503-820-2280
Dr. Donald McIsaac, Executive Director, 503-820-2280
PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL TO CHOOSE FINAL OPTION FOR 2008 SALMON SEASON
Portland, OR. – Today the Pacific Fishery Management Council formally announced its April 7-12 meeting in Seattle, Washington, where an option for managing West Coast salmon fisheries will be chosen and recommended to National Marine Fisheries Service. The Council invites public comment on the options; details for commenting are provided below.
On March 14, the Council adopted three public review options for the 2008 salmonseason, two of which would totally close fisheries for Chinook salmon off California and most of Oregon. Seasons for northern Oregon and Washington were also drastically reduced. The Council is scheduled to take final action to choose a single option on Thursday, April 10.
“The 2008 salmon season considerations have been dominated by the unprecedented collapse of the large Sacramento River fall Chinook stock,” said Council Executive Director Donald McIsaac. “Council members will now take a final vote on whether any fishing on Sacramento fish should be allowed in the ocean this year.” [Read on for details on the possible options, plus useful links for more information] Continue reading “Press Release: Pacific Fisheries Management Council will decide fate of season at April meeting; public comment is invited” »
Broad Coalition Proposes Solutions to the Salmon Crisis
Posted by: Maven on March 20, 2008 at 9:54 pmFrom Dan Bacher and Fish Sniffer:
A panel of representatives from fishing, tribal and environmental groups held an historic news conference in Sacramento on Friday, March 14, to discuss proposed solutions to the huge crisis in California Delta fisheries and the unprecedented collapse of the Central Valley chinook salmon runs.
The event took place during the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting at the Double Tree Hotel. Over 14 newspaper, television and radio reporters from throughout the state and U.S. attended the conference, while 6 others joined the event via phone. Representatives of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Miwok Tribe, commercial fishing groups, recreational fishing groups and environmental organizations packed the room in support of measures to restore Central Valley chinook salmon and Delta fish populations after decades of mismanagement by the state and federal governments.
The coalition proposed immediate, practical and necessary measures that will begin to rebuild salmon stocks. They believe these solutions could help prevent future fishery disasters for California and Oregon. These solutions were led by the urgent need to reduce the destructive impacts of export pumping and diversions in the Delta and to improve water quality in the Delta and on Central Valley rivers.
Other solutions proposed included improving access to blocked salmon habitat; improving habitat in Central Valley rivers and streams by enhancing flows, providing cooler temperatures and restoring functional floodplains; reducing the impacts of hatchery operations on fish of native origin; and providing effective governmental leadership.
State and federal fishery managers have already closed early commercial and recreational salmon seasons that begin May 1. The PFMC crafted three options for salmon season, including two proposals for a complete closure of salmon fishing south of Cape Falcon, Oregon and other option with an extremely limited “token” season, during the afternoon after the conference.
“We’re facing a total salmon closure for first time since commercial salmon fishing began on the San Francisco Bay and Delta in 1848,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). “There are many factors that went into our salmon decline, but none as significant as the loss of freshwater flows to the Delta and San Francisco Bay which are essential for maintaining the biological function of this estuary and sustaining native salmon and other fish populations.”
Continue reading “Broad Coalition Proposes Solutions to the Salmon Crisis” »
Odds and ends from the blogosphere: pictorial tour of the Delta, zanjeros, frog sex and more!
Posted by: Maven on March 20, 2008 at 10:47 amA pictorial view of the Delta: Here’s a post from the a blogger in Boston, who is an English professor on sabbatical to write a book about water. His travels recently brought him to California, where he had a chance to visit the Delta, and gives us a photo tour with some narrative. An interesting and beautiful picture tour of the Delta – click here. (Note: Delta Vision Task Force is meeting today & tomorrow – click here for links.)
More on the zanjeros: Favorite occaisional water blogger Megan over at From the Archives gives her perspective on the zanjero story, adding more technical details of irrigation systems – interesting information you probably won’t read elsewhere. Think of it as irrigation science for the regular person. If it’s the kind of thing you’re interested in, I encourage you to take the links in the article for even more information. Good stuff from the From the Archives blog – click here.
Frog sex and snake snacks make golfing tough: How could I not link to an article with a title like that? Good thing it is remotely related to water so I can post it. Take the link and click here so the San Francisco Chronicle can tell you all about it!
DamEffects.org: The Hydropower Reform Coalition has a new flash player video on the effects of dams on rivers. The intro says that dams can be run in a way that lightens their environmental impact; even so, some dams may need to be removed. I couldn’t get the flash video to work, but maybe you can. Click here for dameffects.org.
More water blogs, and a fishing one too! For global water news, check out the Circle of Blue blog. And the Officially First California Water Blog (that’s Aquafornia) welcomes the First Official California Water Blog, The Water Cooler, a blog written and maintained by the Central Basin Municipal Water District. Also new to the blogroll: The Misu Blog mentioned last week, and The Fly Fishing Community, with pictures, links to other fishing blogs, plus lots more.
New research analysis shows water & energy demands on a collision course
Posted by: Maven on March 20, 2008 at 9:55 amJohn Fleck over at Inkstain has written an article on the connection between water and energy; John writes:
The water-energy interface is a problem area. Energy production requires water. Water production requires energy. We don’t have enough of either, which is the makings of a serious problem.
There’s a new report out, written by Mike Hightower and Suzanne Pierce from Sandia Labs. Click here for links to the report, and click here for a link to John Fleck’s article in the Albuquerque Journal.
Delta Vision Task Force to meet Thursday and Friday
Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2008 at 3:50 pmThe Delta Vision Task Force meets tomorrow (Thursday, 3/20) and Friday (3/21).
Webcast links and meeting agenda can be found by clicking here.
Landmark Indian water rights settlement fully implemented
Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2008 at 1:27 pm
From the U. S. Department of the Interior:
Following approval by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, the largest Indian water rights settlement in U.S. history is now fully in effect, concluding more than three decades of extraordinary effort by federal, state and tribal leaders to resolve critical water use issues facing tribal communities and the State of Arizona.
“The Arizona Water Rights Settlements Act is a triumph of cooperation and consensus over conflict and litigation,” said Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman, who spoke on behalf of Secretary Kempthorne at an event celebrating the historic legislation. “This landmark agreement offers us a model of how states, Indian tribes, cities, farmers and the federal government – working together as neighbors and partners – can overcome deep-seated disputes with creative solutions that allow equitable benefits for all water users.”
The legislation, approved by Congress and signed by President Bush in 2004, was fully implemented after Secretary Kempthorne signed two Statements of Findings on Dec. 10, 2007, finishing all actions necessary to complete the Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement and amend the Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 1982, involving the Tohono O’odham Nation.
“The Settlement Act provides the Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O’odham Nation access to assured water allocations and the financial resources necessary to develop their land and water resources, expand their economies and ensure a better quality of life for tribal members, their children and grandchildren,” Artman said. “Now that the legislation is fully and finally effective, all of the benefits promised can be delivered and these tribal water rights claims, among the largest in the West, can be put to rest.”
Continue reading “Landmark Indian water rights settlement fully implemented” »
More information on Indian water rights (edited)
Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2008 at 1:26 pmIndian water rights in the news lately (see above), and Aqua Blog Maven’s crystal ball says this is only the first of more to come.
If you’re looking for more information, here’s a link to a recent High Country News Article: click here, and click here for analysis from the astute Water Wired blog.
Also from Water Wired, a direct link to a film about the Navajo water situation called “The Water Haulers” – click here for the link and Michael’s analysis. Note: Michael has some second thoughts on the Water Hauler’s movie – click here.
The USA Today ran an article on the issue last month – click here.
For even more information, here is an article from the Universities Council on Water Resources on Indian water rights – click here.
California groups urge mining reforms, including funds for clean-up of toxic mining pollution
Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2008 at 12:43 pmFrom the California Progress Report:
Last Thursday at the State Capitol, the Planning and Conservation League joined with Assemblymember Lois Wolk, Environment California, the Environmental Working Group, and the Sierra Fund, to call upon the U.S. Congress to make significant environmental reforms to the outdated 1872 Mining Act.
Specifically, the group urged Congress to ensure that the reforms of the 136 year old law include a key provision requiring prospectors to pay a royalty for mining activities on public lands. This would provide desperately needed money to clean up the pollution caused by mining.
Mining is currently the number one source of toxic pollution in the country and is having a devastating effect on California’s natural environment and public health. In particular, as polluted rivers and creeks wind their way down to the Bay Delta, toxics are poisoning fish and fouling the food chain. Currently, one-fourth of all the fish sampled in the Delta have “high” or “very high” levels of mercury in their tissues, including the large striped bass, largemouth bass, catfish, and sturgeon which are popular among anglers in the Delta. These toxins bio-accumulate, traveling up the food chain, where they can harm humans as well.
Read the rest of this article from the California Progress Report by clicking here.
Groups to file complaint over ‘unreasonable use’ of California Delta water
Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2008 at 5:48 amFrom the Central Valley Business Times:
Two environmental groups say they are preparing to haul officials of the State Water Resources Control Board into court for failing to protect the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta.
As a prelude to the probable lawsuit, the California Water Impact Network and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance on Tuesday filed a public trust, waste and unreasonable use of water and method of diversion petition with the State Water Resources Control Board.
It says the board has failed to halt the continuing ecological collapse of the estuary by permitting excessive amounts of water to be pumped to western San Joaquin Valley farms and to Southern California.
There was no immediate comment from the Water Board.
The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) contend the Water Board has allowed the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) to pump so much water each year from the beleaguered Delta that
The draining of the Delta has pushed many fish species to the brink of extinction and forced citizen groups to turn to the courts instead of the Water Board, which has primary authority for protecting the state’s surface water supplies, the two groups contend.
“The Water Board has served as a handmaiden for decades to special interest groups instead of doing its job as a regulatory agency,” says Carolee Krieger, chairwoman of the California Water Impact Network board of directors. “Dying fish populations and degraded drinking water are the result of this shocking dereliction of duty.”
More on this story from the Central Valley Business Times by clicking here.
From IndyBay.org:
The petition occurs at a time when the fisheries of the Central Valley and the California Delta, the largest and most significant estuary on the Pacific Coast, are in a state of unprecedented collapse. All commercial and recreational salmon fishing is likely to close on California coast and most of Oregon this year because of the collapse of Central Valley chinook salmon. The Bush administration claims that the collapse is due to “ocean conditions,” but a coalition of fishing, tribal and environmental groups points to increased water exports out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and declining water quality as the key factors in the sudden decline.
At the same time that Sacramento River fall run chinook salmon have reached a record low population level, populations of four pelagic (open water) species – delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad – have collapsed also. These species have declined to record lows over the past year, due to massive increases in water exports, combined with the impact of toxic waste and invasive species.
Water Board action demanded by the two groups includes: (1) modification of existing water rights to improve the fishery; (2) mandatory daily flow requirements; (3) mandatory pulse flows during salmon migration; (4) functional fish passage facilities on all dams; (5) state-of-the-art fish screens on all diversion points to prevent young fish from being ground up in the Delta pumps or sucked down irrigation ditches; (6) requiring DWR and the Bureau of Reclamation to begin actually complying with all water and fishery protection laws; and (7) establishing minimum pool and temperature requirements on all water storage reservoirs to protect fish.
“The petition requests the board to begin holding evidentiary hearings including testimony under oath, cross-examination and rebuttal on the issues raised as soon as possible,” according to a news release from the two organizations.
Click here for more on this story from IndyBay.org, which includes the press release from the CSPA & CWIN.
Everyone needs to work together on invasive species; California needs an “Invasive Species Council” to coordinate efforts
Posted by: Maven on March 18, 2008 at 4:49 pmFrom the California Farm Bureau:
Those working in agriculture are no strangers to the impacts of invasive species. Non-native weeds, plant diseases and insect pests have challenged producers for millennia. In California, the Department of Food and Agriculture and the state’s network of county agricultural commissioners have a long-running commitment to limiting the introduction of such agricultural pests.
Only in recent years have those working in another field, that of natural resource protection and habitat restoration, begun to recognize the full extent to which invasive species impact their work as well. Invasive species are now acknowledged as a top threat to biodiversity, second only to outright habitat destruction. For lands that have been protected from development, invasives are the No. 1 threat.
At least half of the species federally listed as threatened or endangered are significantly impacted by invasive species, and invasives are implicated as primary stressors for 415 special status species in California according to the Department of Fish and Game. From Scotch broom in the Sierra foothills to pampas grass along the coast, from Saharan mustard in the Mojave Desert to knapweeds at the Oregon border, invasive plants are wreaking havoc on native ecosystems.
DWR crafting plan to fix repair the broken Delta
Posted by: Maven on March 18, 2008 at 4:39 pmFrom Earth News:
The Schwarzenegger administration is moving as quickly as possible to stem the ecological collapse of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, California’s chief water regulator said yesterday.
The delta supplies water to about 25 million northern Californians but is facing a long list of threats, among them: invasive species, toxics, increased flooding, deteriorating levees, endangered fish, earthquakes and saltwater tidal surges from the San Francisco Bay. All this has Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) urging swift action, including a 20 percent reduction in water use statewide by 2020, new conveyance methods and better floodplain management. His marching orders in hand, Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow said he is piecing together a master plan as quickly as the law allows.
“To avert an ecological disaster and ensure reliable water supplies for Californians now and in the future, we must act now,” Snow told reporters yesterday.
But “now” in bureaucratic terms likely means years. Snow announced a series of workshops under the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and discussed a number of options to better balance water supply with imperiled fish, but he offered no tangible policy proposals beyond those already outlined by the governor. In fact, Snow said the process to develop a comprehensive restoration plan under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will take about 30 months. “It’s a very long, deliberative process,” he said.
The goals are to restore habitat, save fish and plants and continue supplying water, all while water levels continue to rise in the delta as snowpack in the Sierra Nevada melts faster and more rain enters the picture. The picture is bleak, Snow said, with fish populations having already declined dramatically, floods on the rise and climate change threatening to displace 5,000 island residents in the delta (Greenwire, March 11).
“The delta is pretty much broken,” DWR spokesman Matt Notley admitted.
Read the rest of this story from Earth News by clicking here.
ACWA responds to DWR’s press release, welcomes the start of immediate Delta actions
Posted by: Maven on March 18, 2008 at 6:52 amFrom Business Wire:
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) today praised the Department of Water Resources for launching the public environmental review process for the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and moving ahead with new statewide conservation initiatives and emergency response plans for the Delta.
“The situation in the Delta is so urgent that we must get the ball rolling now on what will be a very lengthy process,” ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn said. “Combining these actions makes sense because only a comprehensive approach can address this crisis. There is broad agreement that beginning the environmental review process now is a prudent step that does not pre-determine the outcome. It is time to move ahead and ensure the public remains engaged in every step of the process.”
The BDCP is collaborative planning effort by state and federal agencies and stakeholder groups aimed at developing a long-term protection plan for key Delta species. DWR will prepare an environmental study in cooperation with lead federal agencies. A public workshop is set for March 24 to discuss the scope and timeline of the environmental review process.
“DWR’s plans are entirely consistent with the framework for Delta sustainability outlined by Governor Schwarzenegger last month,” Quinn said. “The framework enjoyed broad support at a recent state legislative hearing. If we are to meet the co-equal objectives of protecting the environment as well as our economy, this is the path we need to follow.”
Quinn noted that the Delta ecosystem is in a downward spiral that continues to threaten species as well as the water supplies for 25 million Californians and 2.5 million acres of farmland. Those supplies are conveyed through the Delta via an outdated conveyance system that is subject to court-ordered restrictions to protect the Delta smelt. The restrictions are reducing water deliveries by up to 30% this year, and will likely remain in place until the underlying problem is resolved.
ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 450 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.
Secretary Kempthorne Issues the 2008 Annual Operating Plan for the Colorado River; plan includes provisions to protect, conserve water supplies
Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2008 at 2:35 pmFrom the U. S. Department of the Interior:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today issued the 2008 Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the operation of Colorado River reservoirs and distribution of Colorado River water to Arizona, Nevada and California. A letter transmitting the approved AOP was sent to the governors of each of the seven Colorado River Basin States.
The AOP is normally issued in December, but was delayed this year to allow the incorporation of new interim river operating guidelines. Those guidelines, contained in the Record of Decision for Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Ope
rations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead (Interim Guidelines), were approved by the Secretary on December 13, 2007.
“The Interim Guidelines ensure the Colorado River will be managed to protect and conserve its water supplies for current and future generations,” Kempthorne said. “Developed through a collaborative and cooperative effort by the Department, the basin states, and other interested stakeholders, they encourage water conservation, allow us to plan for potential shortages, implement closer coordination of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and provide the flexibility to deal with such potential challenges as climate change and persistent drought.” [Read on for a link to the report.] Continue reading “Secretary Kempthorne Issues the 2008 Annual Operating Plan for the Colorado River; plan includes provisions to protect, conserve water supplies” »
DWR initiates environmental review of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and announces public meetings to discuss water conservation goals and Delta emergency response planning
Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2008 at 1:21 pmDWR Logo: From the Department of Water Resources:
SACRAMENTO – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced today immediate actions to implement Gov. Schwarzenegger’s plan for Delta sustainability. DWR will start the public process to study the environmental impacts of a Delta conservation plan, implement new statewide water conservation initiatives, and strengthen emergency response plans for the Delta.
“The Delta is a great natural treasure and a vital link in the state’s water system, but it is teetering on the edge of collapse,” said DWR Director Lester A. Snow. “To avert an ecological disaster and ensure reliable water supplies for Californians now and in the future, we must act now.”
Last month, Gov. Schwarzenegger outlined a comprehensive plan for Delta sustainability that includes more water conservation, better emergency response and flood protection, and actions to ensure a cleaner, safer water supply.
Initiate Delta Conservation Plan EIR/EIS Continue reading “DWR initiates environmental review of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and announces public meetings to discuss water conservation goals and Delta emergency response planning” »
Bottled Water World: one of the water testers from the Berkeley Springs water tasting competition tells her story
Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2008 at 1:12 pmFrom The Smart Set at Drexel University:
When I was a youngster in Appalachia, my grandfather and I would sometimes go to the Black Valley Spring to fetch water. Granddad’s summer cottage had no plumbing. We made do with rain barrels, a couple of intermittent springs near the house, and extreme conservation methods that included an outhouse. It was never absolutely necessary to tote water from Black Valley Spring, but Granddad liked the taste of it. The spring stood on county land, and as we sank extra-large mayonnaise jars and ceramic jugs into its depths, he would say, “If this gusher was on someone’s private property, it would be worth a lot of money.”
Granddad was right on two counts: The consistent flow of straight-from-the-mountainside water, so clear you could see the minute ridges in the stones at its bottom, would have brought a private farmer a tidy extra income. And the water tasted wonderful. To me its cold perfection conjured up sensations of sweet cinnamon candy, of autumn mornings after an all-night rain, of silver bells and big drifts of fresh snow. Granddad and I agreed that Black Valley Spring must have the best-tasting water in the world.
From such humble childhood origins I have arisen to become an internationally-recognized water taster. Bottlers in exotic locales from Bosnia to Tasmania, from Saskatchewan to Daytona Beach, all look to me for corroboration that they produce the most delicious water on the planet. My carefully considered judgments, culminating in gold, silver, and bronze medals, can elevate an obscure spring source to prominence in the crowded, competitive, multi-billion-dollar bottled water business.
Sounds far-fetched? Well, yes and no. You be the judge.
Read the rest of this story from one of the testers at the recent Berkeley Springs water tasting competition by clicking here.
Pictures of how some Southern Californians have implemented “California Friendly” drought-tolerant landscaping
Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2008 at 12:43 pmFrom the Water Cooler Blog – which bills itself as “California’s First Official Water Blog”, although it’s only been online since January of this year, and Aquafornia has been here since April of 2007. Yet another snub for Aquafornia! (this water blogger gets no respect, I tellya … first UC Davis, then Mr. Wright, and now … {haughty sniff} )
Just to show you I’m a good sport, anyway … here’s a post which features pictures of Southern California drought tolerant landscapes. Great shots! I’d pull an excerpt but it is very short and pretty much just features a link to the pictures.
Check it out The Water Cooler Blog (California’s second official water blog, if you ask me!) by clicking here.
Comedy event at Hollywood Improv to benefit “Water for People”
Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2008 at 12:29 pmMark your calendars for Sunday, April 13th at 2008, for a comedy show to benefit “Water For People”. Tickets are $30 each, $100 for 4 tickets, of $35 at the door if any tickets are left. Comedians to be announced, but past events have featured comedians from Comedy Central, Saturday Night Live and others.
Proceeds from the event will help support Water for People’s work in bringing clean water and sanitation to rural communities in countries such as India, Malawi, Bolivia, Guatamela, and others.
From the brochure: “Water for People” brings hope to communities around the globe by providing locally-appropriate drinking water systems, latrines, and helath education programs. WFP is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and is the charity of choice for the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation. Water for People’s vision is a world where all people have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation; a world where no child suffers or dies from a water-related disease.
For more information about Water for People, visit www.waterforpeople.org.
For more information on this event, click here.
State Water Resources Control Board evaluates role in recycled water and the Delta
Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2008 at 5:15 amFrom the California Progress Report:
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is looking for input on two very important policies that will shape California’s water future for the coming decades.
First, the SWRCB will consider whether to adopt a statewide recycled water policy. Water recycling in California has the potential to produce nearly 1.5 million acre feet of new water annually. That much-needed water could help quench the thirst of growing cities and help absorb the impact of climate change on California’s water resources.
While the Board’s intentions are laudable, the draft policy proposed was widely criticized by environmental groups and water agencies alike for missing the mark and actually decreasing the chances that recycled water will be developed in California. PCL, the Association of California Water Agencies, and others have come together to urge the Board to hold off on adopting the flawed policy. As an alternative, these stakeholders have volunteered to come to the table and help the Board hammer out a policy that will actually achieve the Board’s desired results of tapping California’s significant recycled water potential.
We’ll see on Tuesday if the Board takes us up on the offer.
Second, the SWRCB has signaled that they are ready to get back in the driver’s seat when it comes to management of the Delta — or at least they want to plan to get back in the driver’s seat. Next week the SWRCB will follow up on the December 2007 resolution to develop a workplan that “prioritizes actions needed to protect beneficial uses of the Bay Delta Estuary.”
Find out more from the Calfironia Progress Report by clicking here.
Forests are the West’s most ignored reservoir
Posted by: Maven on March 15, 2008 at 4:48 pmFrom the High Country News Goat blog:
In California and throughout the West everyone seems to be talking about global warming. Dominating the conversation are dire predictions about diminished water supplies that will result from shrinking snow pack in the West’s mountains. Conspicuously absent from the debate has been discussion of the impact of forest management on dry season water supply – “baseflow” in the lexicon of hydrologists.
The Western US may be the only place in the world where the connection between trees – or more precisely upland forests – and water supply is not recognized. Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai’, whose organizations have planted millions of trees in Africa, claimed in an interview with Sierra Magazine that everyone knows that where there are trees there is also water. She was wrong. With a few notable exceptions, the Western US is in denial about the connection.
This denial is reflected in research programs and management plans being crafted to address global warming. The Forest Service, for example, has a massive global warming research program underway with a focus in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. One would think that the relationship between forest management and water supply would figure prominently in that research. But one would be wrong. The connection is not a focus for research and is barely even mentioned on the research programs web site. You can check it out for yourself at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pep/climatechange/.
Forest Service climate change research has instead focused on how climate change will change forests and habitats. Most prominently, the Forest Service projects larger and more intense fires and prescribes intensive forest management to reduce fire risk. Is it just coincidence that this emphasis coincides with the Forest Service long standing institution bias in favor of cutting trees?
Intensified forest management would result in increased compaction of forest soils and forest soils, it turns out, are the West’s #1 reservoir. On average 1/3 of healthy forest soil is empty spaces. These spaces fill with water during the wet season and release that stored water to groundwater, springs and streams throughout the dry season. Logging involves soil disturbance which compacts forest soils diminishing their ability to store water; the more intense the logging, the less storage capacity and the greater the negative impact on base streamflow and groundwater.
Read the rest of this post on the High Country News GOAT blog by clicking here.
Water: the next energy crisis? Panelists discuss the topic at Pasadena forum
Posted by: Maven on March 15, 2008 at 8:36 amFrom the Huffington Post, here’s a blog written by Paige Donner, reporting from a meeting held in Pasadena earlier this month. The keynote speaker was Timothy Brick from the Metropolitan Water District, plus other respected academics and entrepreneurs. The subject of the meeting was “Water, The New Energy Crisis?”
So, what’s the connection between Southern California and the Global state of water? California is a world center for water technology. The MWD of SoCal is used as a global measuring stick in terms of water purification and distribution, and in 2007 they were ranked #1 in water tasting in a global competition. “Maybe we don’t need bottled water as much as we thought,” commented Brick.
But more to the point, Southern California’s scarce indigenous water resources make for a great problem/solution laboratory because if there’s an issue concerning water – conservation, scarcity, recycling, purification, distribution, desalination, sustainability, invasive species – Californians have it and are trying to fix it.
“The water crisis is in need of creative thinking,” stated Brick. “Developing sustainable water supplies for the future is a watershed science. We must change everything we do to make sure our water supplies are sustainable.” The world has seen its global water supply drop 33% since 1970. The MWD encourages a collaborative for development and commercialization of water technology and is interested to hear ideas to this end. It even offers grants to students who pursue this field of research. “There is tremendous commercialization potential in this field,” said Brick, noting that water is still a heavily subsidized commodity and costs roughly $1 for 1,000 gallons.
Panelist Charles “Chubb” Michaud, CEO and Technical Director of Systematix Company:
There are 55 billion gallons of water per person on the planet. Michaud pointed out (PDF) that “all water is used water. We’ve had the same amount of water on the planet for millions of years. Sewage is 99% water. We must overcome the ‘Yuck!’ factor of recycled water. Maybe call it ‘previously experienced water.’”
Kidding aside, panelist Dr. Yoram Cohen, Director of UCLA’s Water Technology Research Center pointed out that in Singapore, they have successfully done just that, calling it “new water.” Cohen pointed out that they educate kids starting in kindergarten to prefer “new water” over bottled water. He also cited Israel’s success at recycling 70% of their water as opposed to California’s stats of 1-2%. Israel has also successfully implemented desalination plants and provides 35% of their drinking supply from seawater.
Read the full text of the story from Paige Donner at the Huffington Post by clicking here.
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