Water Education Foundation

Researchers race to make desalination eco-friendly while there’s still time

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 11:16 pm

From YubaNet.com:

There’s one way Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego researchers see the future of desalination in California going.

Before a regulatory structure can take shape to govern how seawater is treated and transported to a thirsty public, a gubernatorial order will be handed down that fast-tracks the construction of desalination plants during an episode of extreme drought when battles over water turn violent. Ecological casualties would be assured.

It’s decidedly not what coastal engineer Scott Jenkins and marine biologist Jeffrey Graham hope for. Since 2000, the two have served as consultants to two desalination projects in Southern California that have been proposed by the Connecticut technology firm Poseidon Resources. In the course of their inquiry, the two scientists have come to see widespread construction of desalination plants as inevitable for California but hope that when they debut, state regulators and nature itself are ready for them.

“Are these plants really going to be there when we need them?” said Jenkins, “Will they be there to drought-proof us?”

Read more from Yuba.net by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Desalination

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How can Schwarzenegger campaign for his water bond while slashing salaries?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 11:09 pm

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger must live in a parallel reality from the one that Californians actually live in.

The same Governor who is working relentlessly to pass a budget-busting $9.3 billlion water bond today, with absolutely no sense of irony, issued an executive order slashing the salaries of 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $ 6.55 per hour and immediately laying off 20,000 temporary workers until California passes a budget.

“Today I am exercising my executive authority to avoid a full-blown crisis and keep our state moving forward,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “This is not an action I take lightly, but we do not have a budget, and as Governor, I have a responsibility to make sure our state has enough money to pay its bills.” …

On Schwarzenegger’s watch, Central Valley king salmon have collapsed to the lowest recorded population level, due to the Governor’s zeal in increasing water exports to his buddies in corporate agribusiness. The same increase in water exports is also the key factor in the collapse of three pelagic species - the delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass, and threadfin shad - as documented by a team of federal and state scientists.

The same Governor who is slashing Governor’s salaries last week spoke at a Capitol rally touting the “benefits” of a $9.3 billion “compromise” water bond sponsored by him and Senator Dianne Feinstein. The proposal, opposed by a coalition of fishing groups, Indian Tribes, conservationorganizations and Delta residents, includes two new dams and a peripheral canal. The bond would build the infrastructure to export more even more water out of the Delta, further imperiling collapsing salmon and other fish populations.

Read more from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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California water operations threaten survival of iconic salmon fishery; Fishermen, seafood restaurant and conservationists call for improved water management in the San Francisco Bay-Delta

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 11:00 pm

From the NRDC, this press release (hat tip to Joy - thank you!)

SAN FRANCISCO (July 24, 2008) – California salmon could soon disappear permanently from the state’s rivers, restaurant menus and supermarkets if massive water diversions from the San Francisco Bay-Delta continue unabated, according to a new report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association (PCFFA) and Water 4 Fish.

The report, “Fish Out of Water: How Water Management in the Bay-Delta Threatens the Future of California’s Salmon Fishery,” describes how the State Water Project and Central Valley Project contribute to declining salmon populations, by reducing the availability of water necessary for migration and spawning, killing tens of thousands of juvenile salmon by sucking them into giant pumps used to export water, and blocking salmon’s migration route with their dams. The report comes on the heels of a federal court ruling that water project operations in the Central Valley jeopardize the survival of several salmon runs, and a few months after state and federal agencies closed California’s commercial salmon fishery for the first time ever due to record low numbers of fish returning to spawn.

“The future of California’s salmon fishery is completely dependent on how we manage water in the Bay-Delta ecosystem,” said Doug Obegi, NRDC staff attorney and lead author of the report. “California agencies must implement existing requirements to restore salmon, reform management of the water projects, and reduce water diversions. California can meet its water supply needs and restore salmon and the health of the Delta ecosystem by investing in fish friendly water supply alternatives, including water conservation and recycling. If we do so, Californians will once again be able to enjoy abundant local salmon in their rivers, on their lines, and on their plates.”

Read on for more information and a link to the post: Read more

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Tap water has 1/100 impact of bottled water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 10:50 pm

From AlterNet:

We have forgotten about our closest source of water at home - the tap. Yet one of the simplest ways to reduce our environmental impact, to save money (not a ton…yet!) and to free ourselves from shopping and storage hassle, is by saying goodbye to bottled water. A life cycle assessment commissioned by the Swiss Gas and Water Association traced the entire life cycle from water extraction to serving it up in a glass.

Their findings showed that tap water has less than one percent of the impacts of un-refrigerated bottled water. Even when the tap water is refrigerated its impact is only one quarter of that of bottled water. These astonishing figures show that tap water is hands-down the greenest and most responsible choice.

The biggest impacts for bottled water come from the refrigeration, packaging and transport. Refrigeration also substantially increased the impacts of the tap water scenarios thanks to the energy consumed to power the fridge. Returnable bottles and jugs had lesser overall impacts when the distances for their transport were short. But as the distances increase, the higher weight glass bottles resulted in an “on the whole” higher environmental impact as compared to the PET bottles.

Read more from AlterNet by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Bottled water

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Blooming deserts turn Israeli water industry into money magnet

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 10:46 pm

From Bloomberg News (hat tip to JFleck at Inkstain):

At the end of a road winding through Israel’s Negev desert, the entrance to Kibbutz Hatzerim is flanked by jojoba shrubs jutting from the arid earth.

The grove is the result of drip irrigation developed by Israeli engineer Simcha Blass in the 1960s that enabled the kibbutzniks to farm the desert. The company they started, Netafim Ltd., has sold the product in 110 countries from Germany to Peru.

“The founders were living in the middle of the desert and saw one agricultural failure after the other,” Naty Barak, 64, a director at Netafim, said at the kibbutz visitors center. “Back then it was their problem, but now it’s a global necessity.”

Today, some 300 Israeli companies make equipment to deliver water or purify it with lasers or diffusion, putting them in a position to profit as climate change, population growth and food shortages strain supplies. With agriculture accounting for about two-thirds of global water use, the Israeli government predicts overseas sales of the technology will top $10 billion by 2017.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under International Water Issues

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Turning the tide in the water crisis: Unless Sacramento acts soon, California’s future water security is in jeopardy

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 7:18 am

From the Los Angeles Times, this commentary, written by Governor Schwarzenegger & Senator Feinstein, which begins by discussing the challenges facing California’s water supply: drought, court rulings, low reservoir levels & the like:

Clearly, the state is in crisis. Yet, to this point, we’ve been unable to forge a common path forward.

For the last 18 months, the two of us have worked to develop a water infrastructure investment bond to put before California voters. We have listened carefully to legislative leaders and the many diverse stakeholders — environmental and agricultural leaders, business, labor and urban and rural communities. We built on the areas of general agreement, and the common goal is clear: a clean and reliable water supply and healthy environment for the future of California.

Our hope is that the plan we have put together will serve as a solid starting point for negotiations with the Legislature.

Our proposal includes modernization of our aging water systems, significant investment in healing and safeguarding the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and other important ecosystems, increased water storage in reservoirs and underground aquifers, improved conveyance and a strong focus on conservation programs.

We believe this is a balanced and comprehensive approach that will help meet the needs of a growing population — expected to reach 50 million in the next decade. It will help us bank more water in wet years for use in the dry years. And it will meet our common goal of a healthy environment and reliable water supply.

Although there are efforts each year to address one piece of the puzzle or another, none of them has yet solved our crisis. What is needed is a comprehensive, statewide plan — and we must move swiftly. The impact of even one more dry season could be devastating — we cannot afford to wait any longer.

Read the full text of Governor Schwarzenegger & Senator Feinstein’s commentary in the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Dropping Lake Oroville levels may require boat launch ramp extensions

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 7:11 am

From the Department of Water Resources, more bad news for Lake Oroville, the main reservoir on the State Water Project, in this press release:

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) reports that Lake Oroville’s boat launch ramps will soon be left high and dry by the rapidly dropping water level. The reservoir currently holds about 1,315,000 acre feet of water with a surface level of 707.85 feet. That’s only 37 percent of capacity and just 49 percent of average for this time of year.

When the level drops to 707 feet at Lime Saddle Marina (probably tomorrow or Friday), 705 at Bidwell, and 700 at the Spillway, normal boat launch operations will cease. At that point, DWR will use steel mat extensions to allow one-lane launching at Bidwell or Spillway, depending on conditions. Boaters are advised that conditions are subject to change due to weather, changing lake levels or other variables. Four wheel drive vehicles are recommended when using the temporary ramps.

Lake Oroville’s lowest historical level was 645 feet above sea level (when it held 882,000 acre-feet) on Sept. 7, 1977. DWR officials fear the lake may drop below this level before wet weather returns.

Specific information about the daily launch conditions can be obtained by calling the California Department of Parks and Recreation at: (530) 538-2200. Lake Oroville elevations can be obtained by calling the DWR Lake Conditions Recording at (530) 534-2307, or accessing the DWR Web site at http://www.lakeoroville.water.ca.gov/about/stats/levels.cfm

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project

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State begins survey to determine possible peripheral canal routes

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 7:02 am

From Stockton’s Record, this article from the opinion section (which seems to be to be more of a news article than an opinion article):

About 1,000 property owners in the Delta are going to get a wake up call from state officials. Letters are going out from the state Department of Water Resources saying that surveyors may need access to private land to begin planning a canal to carry fresh water to Southern California.

California voters overwhelmingly rejected a similar project, known as the peripheral canal, in 1982. But it’s back as state officials and thirsty water consumers - and that would be all of us - try to balance the needs of the environmentally fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta against the growing demand for water, especially in the Bay Area and Southern California.

About 25 million Californians drink water from the Delta.

Water planners have identified four tentative canal routes on the east and west of the Delta. In addition, there is talk of a “through Delta” canal.

Read more from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Peripheral Canal

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New reports available on economic efficiency of water use & allocation, tribal communication, and financing Delta improvements and environmental mitigation

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 6:53 am

From the California Water Plan E-news:

Economic efficiency of water development & allocation:
A paper recently submitted to the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force examines the economic efficiency of water use and allocation in California. It was written by economist Roger Mann. The paper identifies key issues related to the economic efficiency of water development, allocation and use in California and discusses general policy changes that might improve economic efficiency. Click here to read the report.

Tribal Communication Plan:
A Tribal Communication Plan has been posted on the Water Plan Web site. It is intended to help everyone involved in the California Water Plan – including the Department of Water Resources and all
other state and federal agencies – to communicate appropriately and effectively with all California Native American Tribes about water issues that may affect them in their territories and ancestral
homelands. Click here to read the report.

And from my own wanderings, this report from the California Research Bureau, commissioned by the Delta Vision Task Force titled “Financing Delta Improvements and Environmental Mitigation”:

Resolution of the Delta’s water supply, water quality, and fish problems may involve
building various structures, possibly including gates, pumps, canals, levees, and dams, and undertaking landscaping rearrangements to improve habitat for several species of flora and fauna. Resolution also involves changing water flow regimes in ways that would make more or less water, but probably less, available for human uses. This work and these changes will cost serious money. Cost estimates for many of these actions have not yet been developed. This paper explores approaches to financing these “improvements” and “mitigations.” While a little abstract, this is abstraction that matters. It will determine from whose pockets a good deal of money will come.

California has a long history of financing water projects. The first section of this paper reviews this history, in hopes of identifying water-financing principles that might be adapted to Delta improvements and mitigation. Some deep-seated controversies about how Delta improvements should be financed have roots in this history, and it may be helpful to point them out.

A core idea in California’s approach to financing water projects is that beneficiaries should pay for them. Decades ago, this was a straightforward proposition – people or water districts should pay for the necessary dams, canals, and pumps and the costs of operating them in proportion to the amount of water they received. In the current age of rising environmental sensitivity, it is a little muddier. An alternative formulation that applies, at least crudely, to housing developments and highway projects, is that project proponents should pay to mitigate at least some of the environmental harm that their project is likely to cause. The second section of this paper explores this controversial subject. It seems unlikely that any consensus can be reached about how to finance facilities in the Delta without reaching some agreement about how to deal with this matter.

Read the full text of this report by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Vision Task Force, Indian Water Rights, Uncategorized, Water Rights

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If you have turf, use it or lose it!

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 6:38 am

From the Petaluma Argus-Courier:

Let’s get something straight; I don’t hate turf. I love playing on it with my daughters, camping out on it in the summer, and feeling green grass under my bare feet. What bothers me is the turf that just lies there wastefully soaking up water, fertilizer and fossil fuels with the only footsteps it ever feels being those of the person mowing and fertilizing it.

A perfect example of what I am talking about is the narrow strip of turf between sidewalk and street that has no purpose other than to fill space. Talk about a waste of water and resources! If your landscape has turf and you don’t use it, lose it! If you want to do more than you already are doing to conserve water, consider removing your unused turf and replacing it with something a little less demanding on our natural resources. You may develop a greener thumb in the process!

When the city of Petaluma performs a Water-Wise House Call — a free service in which conservation technicians evaluate indoor and outdoor water use at your home, apartment or condo and give you free water saving devices and recommendations (call 1-800-548-1882 to schedule) — customers frequently tell our technicians that they take short showers, have high-efficiency toilets, and are doing everything possible to conserve water. But when the technician takes the customer to the front yard and asks how often they use their large expanse of thirsty lawn, the answer is very often, “Uh, well … never.”

Aqua Blog Maven totally agrees! I have a neighbor, two doors down, with a beautiful, thick green carpet of grass out in front of his house, which he waters at least twice a day. It’s the perfect lawn, no doubt. One of the reasons why it is so perfect is because no feet ever touch it. He’s a single man with no kids, works a zillion hours a week, comes home and puts his car in the garage. I’m not sure he even looks at it himself, let alone walk on it. What a waste!

Read more from the Petaluma Argus Courier by clicking here. Check out options for low water lawns & more from High Country Gardens by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Drought Tolerant Landscaping

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Kings County extends its year-plus drought emergency

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 6:27 am

From the Hanford Sentinel:

In what has become a nearly automatic move, Kings County supervisors on Tuesday extended a drought emergency declaration that has been in effect continuously since June 2007. The declaration comes at a critical water time for local farmers, who have been dealing with a second consecutive year of low rainfall and snowfall and a federal court decision last year to cut the pumping of Sacramento River Delta water into the California Aqueduct. Aqueduct water supplies millions of city residents and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland to the south, including thousands of acres on the west side of Kings County.

Local farmers are growing increasingly concerned that a third year of drought could send the economy into a tailspin. “If this thing continues, we’re going to be in deep doodoo,” said Brent Graham, former general manager of the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District in southern Kings County.

Area growers and Kings County’s representative in Congress said that it makes sense to keep the emergency declaration going. “It’s been needed, because we’re still in jeopardy and we continue to be in jeopardy,” said Jim Verboon, a Kings County farmer with 100 acres of walnuts in the Kings River-Excelsior Avenue area.

Because the farm is near the Kings River, it has access to groundwater supplies that many growers in the Westside region of Kings County don’t, Verboon indicated. “Some are going to be a hit a lot harder than I am,” Verboon said.

“It’s probably accurate to maintain the (emergency resolution),” said Rus Waymire, who has 40 acres of wheat in Kings County. “Well, it’s having an impact on our economy, and I think it’s important for them to maintain that,” Waymire said. “It’s the lifeblood of our economy here.” Waymire said that farmers “have to keep the political pressure on or we’re going out of business.”

Jim Costa, whose 20th Congressional district includes all of Kings County, expressed support for the supervisors’ action. “We have to continue to press the magnitude of these impacts because it isn’t immediately felt in Sacramento and Los Angeles,” Costa said.

Read more from the Hanford Sentinel by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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“An implementation strategy for the California Ocean Protection Council resolution to reduce and prevent ocean litter” named California Progress Report’s site of the day

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 6:22 am

From the California Progress Report:

California’s Ocean Protection Council (OPC) staff today released “An Implementation Strategy for the California Ocean Protection Council Resolution to Reduce and Prevent Ocean Litter”. This is a 23 page “final draft,” open for comments, that contains the strategy to reduce and eliminate ocean litter by banning plastic bags and containers statewide. Recommendations also call for plastic manufacturers to recover and dispose of their products and for product user fees to be assessed.

If you read this report, you will find out how serious the problems our ocean has from litter, how it affects fish and marine mammals, and why it is so important that California take bold action.

Action will not come without strong opposition from the plastics industry. This report sets the stage for action that will have far reaching benefit for ocean health—but only once it has been adopted by the OPC. Most of the recommendations will require legislation to be enacted.

The implementation strategy identifies three primary approaches that California should take to eliminate marine debris. California should: (1) establish a “take-back” program for many types of product packaging that would require plastic packaging manufacturers to take these products back and dispose of them properly; (2) institute a statewide prohibition on single-use plastic bags and polystyrene takeout containers; and (3) impose fees on other packaging.

OPC staff is seeking comments on the draft in writing by August 21. Staff will incorporate changes to the draft based on comments received. The OPC is also soliciting public comment during its meeting September 11 at 9 a.m. in Half Moon Bay.

Just take a look at how the report begins in describing the current situation off California’s coast and you will recognize what is at stake:

“Ocean litter – also commonly referred to as “marine debris” – is a persistent and growing problem worldwide. The general composition of ocean litter is 60-80% plastics, although it has reached 90-95% in some areas. Plastic debris in an area north of Hawaii known as the Northwest Pacific Gyre has increased 5-fold in the last 10 years. Similarly, off Japan’s coast, researchers found that floating particles of plastic debris increased 10-fold in 10 years from the 1970s through 1980s, and then 10-fold again every 2-3 years in the 1990s. In the Southern Ocean, the amount of plastic debris increased 100 times during the early 1990s. These are just a few examples of an expanding body of research that demonstrate that, despite the MARPOL international treaty prohibition on dumping plastics at sea, debris in the oceans is increasing at an alarming rate. This is due to the fact that 80% of the debris comes from land-based sources, particularly trash and plastic litter in urban runoff, and the generation of trash and waste is increasing.”

Read more from the California Progress Report by clicking here.

Read the final draft of the report by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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Federal agencies and Pacific Coast governors embark on ocean action plan

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 6:13 am

From the Environment News Service:

The governors of California, Oregon and Washington Tuesday announced the details of their plan to address ocean and coastal management issues such as polluted runoff, oil spills and marine garbage along the West Coast.

The West Coast Governors’ Ocean Action Plan is the result of a 2006 agreement signed by the three governors that established a long-term partnership to tackle obstacles facing the Pacific Ocean and its coastal communities.

The three states will work together on 26 actions. They promised to advocate for stricter ocean going vessel emission standards, prevent the introduction of invasive species, explore the feasibility of offshore alternative ocean energy development, improve ocean research, increase ocean education and prevent and respond to offshore oil spills, among other efforts. Each action within the plan contains benchmarks and a timeframe for action. The governors have formally committed to report on the status of actions at the end of two years.

“This agreement is another key step in our aggressive efforts to maintain clean water and beaches along our coast,” said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, speaking with his fellow governors via satellite. “I believe our commitment to working together and putting this plan into action will help effectively tackle critical issues up and down the West Coast,” he said, “ensuring a healthy ocean environment for current and future generations.”

More on this story from the Environment News Service by clicking here.

Multiple Federal agencies are also involved, according to this press release from the Department of the Interior:

Today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined the governors of California, Oregon and Washington to launch an historic action plan addressing challenging ocean and coastal management issues along the West Coast.

The action plan implements the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health, a 2006 agreement signed by the governors of the three states involved to forge a long-term partnership to tackle obstacles facing the Pacific Ocean and its coastal communities.

“Close collaboration on a regional basis between the states and the federal government is a critical piece of the President’s Ocean Action Plan,” said James L. Connaughton, Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality. “The new Action Plan for the West Coast is a testament to what we can accomplish when we align our efforts and work together for a better future for our oceans and coasts.”

“The federal partners are pleased to support this commitment of the West Coast governors to ocean health and conservation,” said Kameran Onley, Acting Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior. “The Department of the Interior provides ocean research and resource management experience to help the states achieve our mutual goal of providing a healthy ocean for future generations. Interior agencies including the U.S. Geological Survey, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Minerals Management Service share a long and close working partnership with all three states.”

The plan commits the three states to collaborate closely with federal agencies, as well as ocean users, academic institutions, the public, and other regional entities on 26 bold actions to meet seven priority goal areas related to ocean protection. The federal partners are providing the states with scientific expertise and other support from their programs that correspond to the goals of the action plan.

“This plan will work to focus everyone on common goals to protect the marine environment,” said Alexis Strauss, Water Division Director for the EPA Pacific Southwest. “We all share the same desire to address the many ocean and coastal management challenges and this effort will move everyone forward in facing those challenges.”

Read the rest of the press release from the Department of the Interior by clicking here.

To find out more and read the West Coast Governor’s Agreement & sign up for automatic updates, click here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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Irrigation projects (& senior water rights) portend well-supplied future for Patterson Irrigation District

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 5:58 am

From the Patterson Irrigator:

Drought conditions and pumping restrictions for state and federal water projects have severely limited allocations for farm water districts this year. The tough times mean many irrigation districts, including Patterson Irrigation District, have turned to groundwater pumping as an important supplement. But unlike some other districts, PID representatives say an arsenal of existing and future projects should help them survive the current crunch and also prepare for the future. “Really, what we’re doing is taking it to a different level,” said John Sweigard, the district’s general manager.

Patterson Irrigation District provides agricultural water to 770 customers on about 12,800 acres. Its boundaries, which previously included land within the approved Villages of Patterson development project in eastern Patterson, are roughly Del Puerto Creek to the north, Marshall Road to the south, Highway 33 to the west and the San Joaquin River to the east.

As part of the future planning, a new backup pump system along the San Joaquin River has already been put in place, and the district plans to start using a new reservoir off Fruit Avenue by mid-August.
District officials have also kept busy over the years with other projects, ranging from a reservoir and sediment basin off Marshall Road to an automated system that allows the district to control pump operations from its office.

The Patterson Irrigation District has benefited greatly from water rights it obtained from the state by virtue of pulling water from the San Joaquin River before 1914. The 98-year-old district, which started as Patterson Ranch Co. and Patterson Water Co., gets between 70 percent and 80 percent of its water supply from the river today, with its remaining supply coming from groundwater, recirculation projects and the Delta-Mendota Canal.

This year, the district sold water via a one-year transfer of its Central Valley Project supply before it was apparent that there would be a drought season, and groundwater pumping has been necessary, Sweigard said. But, he added, the district generally tries to use groundwater as a last resort.

Many other districts are forced to rely mostly on state allocations — via the California Aqueduct — or federal water — via the Delta-Mendota. Those sources have been severely restricted as a result of dry conditions and a court decision protecting the Delta smelt, an endangered fish native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

By contrast, the Patterson Irrigation District has had an excess supply in past years, and it continues to transfer water elsewhere for a profit. That has provided a hefty chunk of change that has been used to create a slew of storage and pumping projects.

Read more from the Patterson Irrigator by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture

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Toll road consultant: no effect on Trestles

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 5:49 am

From the O.C. Register:

Building the Foothill South toll road will have no effect whatever on surfing conditions at the famous Trestles beach, according a noted oceanographer, whose scathing criticism of assertions by environmental activists was released this week.

Richard Seymour, a research engineer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an oceanographic consultant, was hired by the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency to examine a series of studies of the road’s potential effects on surfing. The studies were conducted by the toll road agency and by the environmental group Surfrider Foundation.

Seymour, who was paid $6,000 for the review conducted in May, said he largely agreed with the toll road agency consultants who studied the matter – and found the Surfrider studies to be filled with scientific mistakes. “The reports commissioned by the Surfrider Foundation just contained a number of very, very serious erroneous assumptions – and incorrect theories, and incorrect interpretations of other documents,” Seymour said.

Surfrider assistant environmental director Mark Rauscher said Wednesday said he believes it is Seymour’s analysis that is flawed, not Surfrider’s, which was conducted by Philip Williams and Associates. “We disagree with the review and stand by the research conducted by PWA,” Rauscher said.

More on this story from the O.C. Register by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under San Onofre Toll Road

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CSPA protests State Board’s secret order allowing export pumping

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 5:43 am

From IndyBay.org, this press release from Bill Jennings and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance:

Today, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) submitted a formal petition to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) asking it to reconsider its issuance of a “secret” Order allowing export pumping to be increased despite violation of Delta water quality standards. The Order was issued in response to a petition from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). South Delta Water Agency has also asked the State Board to reconsider the decision.

“This despicable backroom deal undercuts one of the few remaining protections for water quality and fisheries in the Delta,” said CSPA Executive Director Bill Jennings. “It’s a clear message that the State cares more about sending water to grow cotton in the desert than it cares about protecting Delta agriculture and endangered species.”

The order, issued by one Member of the five-member State Board and without public notice or public hearing, authorizes DWR and USBR to use the Joint Point of Diversion (JPOD), even if water quality standards in the south Delta are being violated. The JPOD allows the DWR and USBR to use each other’s pumping plants interchangeably thus “maximizing” water exports from the Delta.

Not having to meet water quality standards in the Delta before using JPOD effectively eliminates one of the major protections of water quality and fisheries in the south Delta. High salinity levels severely impact the yield of Delta agriculture and measures that reduce salinity generally help fish by reducing water exports.

The Delta salinity standards, measured at three locations in the South Delta, coupled with the Vernalis instream flow and Delta Outflow requirements comprise virtually the only protection for water quality and fisheries mandated by the State of California. The salinity standards were originally included in the 1995 Water Quality Control Plan for the Bay-Delta and affirmed in State Board Decision 1641 in 2000, which implemented the 1995 Plan.

Read more of this press release from the CSPA posted on IndyBay.org by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Water Quality

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Aqua Blog Maven entering Internet-questionnable territory

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 30, 2008 at 7:43 am

Hello readers,

I have been on vacation this past week, and so far I have been blessed with Internet access where I have traveled. However, for the next two days, I am unsure if I will have access. So if the blog isn’t updated for a few days, do not worry; I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth! I’ll update on Friday.

I have traveled up through the Owens Valley, and those pictures have been uploaded onto flickr. I have pictures of the intake to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Crowley Lake and Mono Lake. You can check them out by clicking here.

Saturday, I head for home through the Central Valley.

Thank you for your continued readership!

UPDATE: Thanks to (unknowing) neighbor Gina, I have internet access. Thank you to all who do not lock out their wireless networks!

July 30, 2008 · Filed Under Website News

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Beaches reopen as report slams water

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

From the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

Three of four polluted beaches were reopened in Long Beach on Tuesday, even as a national report ranked California’s water quality poorly. California had the nation’s 17 th most polluted beaches last year, and for the fifth straight year, the worst of those beaches were in Los Angeles County, the Natural Resources Defense Council reported Tuesday.

Among California beaches, those in Los Angeles County had the highest levels of fecal material in ocean water, according to the NRDC.

In Long Beach, the city Health Department reopened three of the four Alamitos Bay beaches that were closed Saturday.

Nelson Kerr from the Long Beach Health Department told the Press-Telegram that the water quality reports have allowed them to reopen Mother’s Beach, Marine Stadium, and Alamitos Bay. Colorado Lagoon will be reduced to an advisory with one test revealing slightly high levels that Kerr said are unrelated to the sewage spill. The beaches were closed after 12,000 gallons of sewage leaked into Spinnaker Bay near Marine Stadium on Saturday, caused by a grease blockage in a sewer pipe.

The NRDC said in its 18 th annual beach water quality report that last year saw the second-highest number of beach closings and beach advisory days around the nation.

Read more from the Long Beach Press-Telegram by clicking here.

July 30, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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Compact will keep Great Lakes water here; Shortages make passage necessary

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

From the Detroit Free Press, this editorial:

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said last week that he was confident that the Great Lakes Compact, designed to prevent water diversions from the lakes, would be passed by Congress, although perhaps not this year.

I hope he’s right, because if Congress doesn’t act quickly, we’ll soon see panicked and politically powerful interests in the Southwest and Southeast do everything possible to stop the compact from passing — once enough people in those areas grasp just how dire their straits are.

They continue to water golf courses in Las Vegas even though Lake Meade, their only water supply, has dropped 100 feet in the past 50 years, and the Colorado River, which is the source of Lake Meade, has had so much water withdrawn from it that it no longer reaches the sea.

They continue to water lawns and fill swimming pools in southern California even though Long Beach has built an experimental facility to determine if it’s economically feasible to supply its needs with desalinated ocean water.

After surviving a true water crisis last year, Atlanta imposed some minimal water conservation measures. But it still is encouraging growth in a city that can’t guarantee water in the future for those new residents.

And people continue to move to those states in droves.

The Great Lakes Compact would give control of the water in the lakes to the states surrounding them and prevent other states or even foreign countries from taking water out through pipelines or on ships.

Read more from the Detroit Free Press by clicking here.

July 30, 2008 · Filed Under National water news

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Underwater, a disturbing new world: A Tribune team follows researchers to the bottom of Lake Michigan as they try to explain the rapidly shifting ecosystem

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 30, 2008 at 7:19 am

From the Chicago Tribune:

This place should be an underwater desert. But as the three researchers wearing scuba tanks and lead weights drop through the water, the landscape of rounded stones 30 feet below is disturbingly full of strange, new life. In just a few years, the gravel and white boulders that for centuries covered the bottom of Lake Michigan between Chicago and the Door County, Wis., peninsula have disappeared under a carpet of mussels and primitive plant life.

The change is not merely cosmetic. In the last three years or so, scientists say, invasive species have upended the ecology of the lakes, shifting distribution of species and starving familiar fish of their usual food supply.

Signs of the shift have been hard to ignore. Mats of dead, smelly algae wash ashore on Lake Michigan from Chicago to the Straits of Mackinac, castoffs of a vast underwater expanse seen from boat decks and from hilltops at Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. Fishermen haul it up in their nets, dubbing it “lake moss.”

Multiple strains of E. coli bacteria and botulism spores thrive in the new underwater garden, leading scientists to suspect they are contributing to beach closings and the widespread deaths of migratory birds. Meanwhile, fishermen notice the lake trout, salmon and whitefish are getting skinnier each season.

The rapid shift has researchers scrambling to understand what is happening and how widely the impact will be felt. “The lake is changing faster than we can study it,” said University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researcher Harvey Bootsma, whose small team of researchers hunts explanations from this new lake bottom in weekly dives off the Wisconsin shore.

Read more from the Chicago Tribune by clicking here.

July 30, 2008 · Filed Under Invasive Species

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