EBMUD sets ‘loggers’ to listen for leaks

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2008 at 6:39 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

In the middle of the night, when most of Berkeley is sleeping, hundreds of underground objects are listening for sounds that people can’t hear. They haven’t been planted by terrorists, spies, FBI agents or mystics. Instead, the East Bay Municipal Utility District is installing the acoustic devices, known as “loggers,” in an unprecedented pilot project to conserve water by finding leaks in water mains before they surface.

The effort was conceived of before the drought, but has taken on added urgency because of it. Within a few months, the loggers will be all over town. More than 300 are in place, with as many as 900 yet to come.

“You can hear a water leak before you see it,” said David Wallenstein, an associate engineer in the utility’s water department who is overseeing the project. “And nighttime is the best time to hear leaks. It’s supposed to be quiet then, and you can detect noise when there shouldn’t be noise.”

The noise made by leaks travels nicely in metal pipes, Wallenstein said, and is distinct from the normal flow in a water main, which is fairly subdued. “The loggers are looking for loudness and consistency,” he said. “They’re looking for something continuous – not someone taking a shower.”

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

August 31, 2008 · Filed Under Other Water Agencies

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San Joaquin County asks Tracy to oppose Delta plan

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2008 at 6:02 am

From the Tri-Valley Herald:

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors has asked the city of Tracy to pass a resolution opposing the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force recommendations for the Delta.

In a letter to Tracy Mayor Brent Ives, the board expressed “numerous and substantial” concerns about the conclusions reached by the task force this year, but mainly focused on three: that the recommendations promote an “isolated or dual conveyance system” or peripheral canal; ignore 100-year-old water rights; and fail to adhere to the state’s water plan.

The City Council is expected to discuss the matter at its regular meeting, at 7 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall.

“Although an isolated or dual conveyance system in the Delta could potentially provide a higher quality water supply via the Delta Mendota Canal to the City of Tracy, the numerous other concerns outweigh this benefit,” city staff members wrote.

According to a staff report, the cities of Lathrop, Ripon, Lodi and Manteca have passed similar resolutions supporting the board.

Read more from the Tri-Valley Herald by clicking here.

August 31, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Vision Task Force

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Arizona mulls new water source: Ocean; Mexican city considers desalination plant; U.S. partnership a possibility

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2008 at 5:57 am

From the Arizona Republic:

The water for Arizona’s future needs may lie off the coast of a popular Mexican resort, in the Gulf of California.

State officials are studying the idea of importing filtered ocean water from an as yet unbuilt desalination plant in Puerto Peñasco, 60 miles south of the U.S. border. The water – potentially billions of gallons a year – would help sustain urban supplies in Arizona and could someday bring relief to rural residents, who have long sought a water source to replace rapidly depleting aquifers.

A Scottsdale company already is looking at possible designs for the plant in Puerto Peñasco, where overworked groundwater wells are on the verge of running dry. Arizona water managers see an opening for the state to team up with the seaside resort on a larger plant to serve both countries.
Such a project would raise a host of political, economic and environmental issues, and it’s not clear who would pay the construction costs, which could top $250 billion.

But if backers can clear those hurdles, Arizona and neighboring states could tap a plentiful supply of water largely immune to the effects of drought and climate change.

“Desalinated ocean water is the future sustainable source,” said Herb Guenther, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. “It’s only logical that eventually we’ll migrate toward it. We don’t need interim supplies now. We need a permanent supply.”

Read more from the Arizona Republic by clicking here.

August 31, 2008 · Filed Under Desalination

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The ethanol economy: plant will convert green waste to ethanol, using reclaimed water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2008 at 5:50 am

From the Daily Breeze:

Californians are fed up with high fuel prices, but some relief may finally be in sight. The ethanol industry is revving up to boost the supply of its renewable fuel in Los Angeles County. And the technology has advanced to the point that there are really few downsides to moving forward.

The idea is to transform urban green waste headed for landfills into ethanol through a process that generates little pollution. Ethanol can be either blended with regular gasoline as a clean-fuel additive or used to create E85 gas for so-called flex-fueled cars. (E85 is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.)

Irvine-based BlueFire Ethanol has already received a permit to build a $30million ethanol plant near a landfill in Lancaster. Once the plant is operating next year, it will take in green municipal wastes, such as non-recyclable paper, grass clippings, wood chips, construction debris and straw, and process it into ethanol.

Arnold Klann, BlueFire’s chief executive officer, said the plant would process a batch of urban green waste into ethanol in only 18 hours. For each ton of waste that is fed into the plant, 70 gallons of ethanol are produced – at an operational cost of under $1 a gallon. The plant won’t be a strain on drought-plagued Southern California’s water resources either because it will use reclaimed water.

Read more from the Daily Breeze by clicking here.

August 31, 2008 · Filed Under Biofuels, Great Green Ideas

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Marine Protected Areas are essential to California

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 1:39 pm

From the Contra Costa Times, this commentary by Bob Breen, a ranger-naturalist at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve:

THE CALIFORNIA COAST has been called one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world. Our coast needs the protection that meets standards set by most marine scientists that fully protects recreational and educational opportunities, as well as enhances depleted fisheries.

Marine Protected Areas, areas of the ocean that allow marine animals and plants to flourish undisturbed, will allow our oceans to absorb the shocks of change. And make no mistake; we are living in a time of change.

Climate change has already arrived on the California coast. During my 40 years as a student and ranger-naturalist at Moss Beach, I saw changes to plant and animal life firsthand.

Warm water species of sea anemone, worms, and barnacles have moved in, and the leafy cold-water seaweed has been replaced by algal turf reminiscent of Southern California.

Other researchers have found similar results with fish, abalone and snail populations.

California needs a network of Marine Protected Areas. MPAs are an adaptive ocean management strategy that considers the entire ocean ecosystem and maintains it in a healthy, productive and resilient condition. MPAs are good for fish, but they are also good for people. They provide a place for visitors to study, kayak, dive and surf. Like undersea parks, MPAs allow plants and animals to flourish with minimal disturbance, and allow people to experience nature close at hand.

Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

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

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Rainwater collectors work to ease shortages

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 1:37 pm

From the Associated Press:

Tara Hui climbed under her deck, nudged past a cluster of 55-gallon barrels and a roosting chicken, and pointed to a shiny metal gutter spout. “See that?” she said. “That’s where the rainwater comes in from the roof.”

Hui is one of a growing band of people across the country turning to collected rainwater for non-drinking uses like watering plants, flushing toilets and washing laundry. Concern over drought and wasted resources, and stricter water conservation laws have revitalized the practice of capturing rainwater during storms and stockpiling it for use in drier times. A fixture of building design in the Roman empire and in outposts along the American frontier, rainwater harvesting is making a comeback in states including Texas, North Carolina, and California.

“We call it ‘the movement that’s taking the nation by storm,’” said Robyn Hadley, spokeswoman for the Austin, Texas-based American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association, whose membership has jumped by more than 40 percent this year.

Hui, 37, got her first 55-gallon plastic barrel for free five years ago. The barrel had been packed with maraschino cherries, so when rain first filled it the water smelled like candied fruit. Now, she has a daisy chain of 25 linked barrels under her back deck with a combined capacity of nearly 1,250 gallons. She built the system herself, after searching the Internet for information and buying the necessary plumbing parts at a hardware store. The whole setup cost her $200.

Read more from the Associated Press by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Conservation

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Assembly OKs water bill despite lack of a budget

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 1:35 pm

From the Woodland Daily Democrat:

Acting Thursday, during a special legislative session on water, the State Assembly approved a proposal to spend prior voter approved bonds on urgently-needed water storage, reliability, and conservation efforts. Senate Bill 1xx by Senate Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, appropriates about $820 million in funds from bonds including Proposition 84 and Proposition 1E, which voters passed in 2006.

Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, chairwoman of the Assembly’s Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee and Special Committee on Water, presented the bill on the Assembly floor.

“This measure is a first step to providing Californians throughout the state with a safe, reliable, long-term water supply,” she said. “It is essential that we allocate these funds immediately in response to the state’s most urgent needs.”

SB 1xx makes a number of appropriations, most significantly $325 million to help stabilize the Sacramento San Joaquin Bay Delta, which supplies roughly two-thirds of the state with drinking water, and is the heart of California’s water and agricultural system.

Read more from the Woodland Daily Democrat by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Bad bonds and good legislation: special committee on water gets an earful

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 1:20 pm

From the California Progress Report:

On Tuesday, the Assembly Special Committee on Water passed two strong water bills to the Assembly Floor and also heard testimony from many parties who have serious concerns about proposals to place a nearly $10 billion water bond on the November ballot.

The committee’s first order of business was to pass SBX2 1 (Perata), which appropriates existing bond funds for much needed ecosystem restoration, water quality, and water supply reliability projects, and ABX2 7 (Wolk) , which ensures water planning and management will incorporate existing information on the impacts of climate change to water resources. SBX2 1 subsequently passed off of the Assembly Floor on Thursday and ABX2 7 is scheduled to be heard on the Assembly Floor on Friday. Both of these bills have garnered broad support and are priority bills for the environmental community.

The committee then turned its attention to an informational hearing on the Assembly water bond proposal, ABX2 8, and the bond proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. Both these proposals would provide over $9 billion in bond funds. Both include $3 billion for highly controversial water storage projects including new dams. The informational hearing consisted of several panels of stakeholders giving their input on the water proposals.

Read more from the California Progress Report by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Western Municipal Water District board to consider average rate increase of about 13 percent

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 1:15 pm

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

Western Municipal Water District customers could see higher bills starting in October. The district’s board on Wednesday will consider a proposed water rate increase at a 6 p.m. public hearing. The proposed increase will vary depending on the area, but on average customers in the Riverside area will see an increase of about 13 percent.

Customers in the Murrieta area will see an average increase of 5 percent, said General Manager John Rossi. The increase in the Murrieta area is significantly lower because customers there are already paying more for water, he said. The district serves about 20,000 customers in the Riverside area and 2,400 customers in the Murrieta area. Last year, the district raised rates for the first time in nine years, Rossi said.

As the state faces a water shortage, Western is paying more for its water. Western buys most of its water from the Metropolitan Water District, which raises its rates every year, Rossi said. In January, MWD’s rates will increase by 14 percent partly because the district has to purchase additional water supplies. A judge cut water supplies from the Sacramento Delta by about one-third last December to protect a threatened fish. Another key supply for Southern California, the Colorado River, is experiencing an eight-year drought.

“It’s not business as usual with our water supply,” Rossi said. “In dry times, water is worth a lot more and is sold at a higher price.”

Read the rest of this article from the Press-Enterprise by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Other Water Agencies

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Water battles expand

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 7:54 am

From the Capital Press, an article about how the various stakeholders are becoming involved in complex water issues:

In the broader water supply context of dams, storage and conveyances, two researchers at the University of California Giannini Foundation have filed a report they hope will help clarify and perhaps improve the negotiation process by all entities in the water debate.

It was written by Leo Simon, an adjunct professor in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley, and Susan Stratton, a Ph.D candidate in that department. It appeared in the May/June issue of ARE’s Update publication.

Simon and Stratton lump the widely diverse groups involved in the water supply equation into three categories: environmentalists, taxpayers and water users. They recognize that those in each category overlap the others, but suggest it is a starting point to bring about sensible negotiation.

Their next step is identification of the three major areas requiring expenditure of funds: categories already earmarked for spending, a scheme for sharing the expense and allocation of available water. They promise to expand the scope of their report, perhaps within a year, offering greater detail.

Read more from the Capital Press by clicking here. You can read the report, which is only about 2 pages long, by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under General Water Issues

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San Vicente Reservoir’s renovation: San Diego, water agency officials work to resolve concerns

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

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

A massive project to increase water storage at East County’s San Vicente Reservoir has taken on added importance as the region copes with tightening water supplies. Starting Tuesday, the reservoir will close to the public for up to nine years so crews can complete what the San Diego County Water Authority is calling the largest dam raise in the country.

The reservoir will continue to supply water to San Diego residents during construction, though boaters, wake-boarders and water-skiers will have to find somewhere else to go. San Diego city officials have questioned whether the region will have enough storage during the project and whether plans are adequate for maintaining water quality.

City officials say they are working with the water authority to resolve the concerns, and officials from both agencies say having the extra storage will benefit the region. “Once we get past this, these projects will add a great deal of reliability to the city of San Diego but also to the region,” said Jesus Meda, operations and engineering program manager for the city’s water department.

The $568 million effort is part of a $1 billion-plus project by the water authority to create new emergency storage and pipeline connections if the region’s imported water supply is cut off.

Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under San Diego, Water Storage

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South San Joaquin Irrigation District considers anaerobic digester

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 7:20 am

From Biomass Magazine:

The South San Joaquin Irrigation District, which provides irrigation water for the agricultural areas surrounding the cities of Escalon, Ripon, and Manteca in California, has begun a feasibility study to determine if the district should build an anaerobic digester to assist area dairy farmers, as well as produce and sell electricity. SSJID is considering a proposal to build a digester for Brasil & Sons Dairy Inc. in Escalon, which has 2,850 cattle that could supply feedstock for the facility.

Because the San Joaquin Valley has air quality problems and dairy operations contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, building an anaerobic digester in the district is not a new idea for the area, according to Jeff Shields, general manager for SSJID. There are as many as 120,000 head of cattle in the valley that contribute to the problem, he said. “Our interest is in helping dairy farmers deal with that,” Shields said. “To the extent that any of those facilities individually or collectively might represent 700 to 1,000 head of cattle, it might make sense for anaerobic digestion to be developed here.”

Read more from Biomass Magazine by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture

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SSJID may help Oakdale farmers with extra water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 7:14 am

From the Manteca Bulletin:

South San Joaquin Irrigation District is giving the neighboring Oakdale Irrigation District first crack at extra water supplies they’ve amassed due to conservation efforts. The SSJID expects to have in excess of 30,000 acre-feet – or enough water to take care of the needs of 120,000 typical California families for a year – when the irrigation season ends this fall.

SSJID director Robert Schulz suggested the SSJID offer OID water if it is needed this year to make sure crops don’t suffer damage. In exchange OID could replace the water at the start of the 2009 irrigation season. The OID is struggling to meet its water deliveries. Unlike SSJID, it doesn’t have a large storage unit off the Stanislaus River like the SSJID has with the Woodward Reservoir.

The two districts have operated partnerships on the Stanislaus River dating back over 90 years with the building of the original Melones Dam. They have also been partners on the Tri-Dam Project – a series of three reservoirs and hydroelectric plants on the Stanislaus River for – 54 years.

The savings projected at more than 30,000 acre feet of water is the direct result of SSJID division managers successfully executing water conservation measures the board put in place in May. An acre-foot consists of 325,851.4 gallons of water or enough to meet the needs of four typical families in California for a year.

Read more from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture

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Court restores clean water protections in Southern California; Order blocking government enforcement of water quality standards reversed

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 7:11 am

From the National Resources Defense Council, this press release:

Ruling on a post-trial motion by environmental groups, an Orange County Superior Court yesterday reversed the part of a July 2, 2008 judgment that blocked the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board from enforcing many water quality standards that control Southern California’s worst source of water pollution, storm water runoff.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), on behalf of itself, Heal the Bay, and Santa Monica Baykeeper, intervened in the case earlier this year after Judge Thierry Patrick Colaw ruled the water board did not follow the proper procedure when it applied water quality standards for Los Angeles and Ventura County waterways to control polluted runoff. The July 2 ruling suspended the water board’s ability to enforce many water quality standards to control storm water runoff pending further review of standards by the board. Water quality standards play a pivotal rule in pollution control because they serve as legal limits on the amount of dangerous pollutants, such as bacteria and toxic chemicals, that can be discharged to local waterways.

In post-trial motions and objections filed this summer, NRDC, Heal the Bay, and Baykeeper argued that preventing the water board from enforcing the standards, even temporarily, would be harmful to the environment and public health. In yesterday’s decision, Judge Colaw agreed that halting enforcement or application of the water quality standards pending review by the water boards could have “unintended consequences which cannot be predicted.”

The environmental groups are reviewing aspects of the July 2 judgment left in place by the Court finding that the water board failed to abide by proper procedure when it applied water quality standards to storm water.

Following is a statement by David Beckman, lead counsel and co-director of NRDC’s Water Program:

“Today’s decision means that California can get back to enforcing indispensable clean water standards that protect people from getting sick at local beaches and wildlife from toxicity in local waterways. These standards protect drinking water supplies, people at the beach, and fish in our rivers, so this is great news for everyone in Southern California.”

Read more from the NRDC by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water Quality

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Water wasters will get fined in San Juan Capistrano

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 7:08 am

From the O.C. Register:

With new pressures on traditional water supplies, San Juan Capistrano is asking its residents to conserve water like never before. A new ordinance taking effect in September will, for example, require residents to wash their cars with either an automatic-shutoff nozzle or with a rag and water bucket. Irrigation will be limited to mornings and evenings. Sidewalks and driveways can no longer be hosed off.

The point of the restrictions is to protect the daily water supply and minimize water runoff into the ocean, said Francie Kennedy, San Juan water conservation coordinator. And the restrictions are not just for dry seasons like this one.

“Conservation is going to become a part of our future, drought or no drought,” Kennedy said.

Read more from the O.C. Register by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Conservation

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Sea turtles explore new, urban frontier; Scientists are closely studying the progress of two breakaway colonies that have settled in the San Gabriel River and San Diego Bay

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 7:05 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

In the foamy chop of the warm-water discharge flowing into the San Gabriel River from a Long Beach power plant, a green sea turtle, wide as a manhole cover, materialized Friday just a few yards from shore. A few minutes later, an even larger sea turtle surfaced in the murky water near the plant’s thicket of steel scaffolding, steam vents and transmission lines.

Green sea turtles usually have tropical haunts — teeming coral reefs or white sandy beaches where they lay eggs — but these chunky titans live more than a mile upstream in one of Southern California’s most ecologically degraded rivers.

Little is known about the colony of at least six urban sea turtles. But a joint study by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Aquarium of the Pacific aims to determine, among other things, what they’re doing in there.

“Right now, it’s a small group of what might be considered oddball turtles,” said Peter Dutton, a senior researcher with the fisheries service. “But we have a lot to learn about them. Are they part of a more complex sea-turtle migration dynamic than we ever imagined, or just lost wanderers?”

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Wildlife

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Spawning salmon traumatized by fishing technique

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 6:56 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

Fishermen are targeting salmon returning to spawn in the American River and other Central Valley streams, despite a virtual ban on all salmon fishing this year. Even worse, some anglers are using a technique called “flossing,” intended to hook salmon in the body, fin or face. The method is considered unethical by many fishermen. It appears to slip through a loophole in regulations designed to protect salmon. “They’re traumatizing these big fish,” said Alan Weingarten, a state Department of Fish and Game warden who has observed the practice on the American River.

In May, commercial and recreational fishing was banned at sea and in Central Valley rivers, but not specifically ‘catch and release’; instead anglers were urged to “use a very conservative approach” and “refrain from any catch-and-release fishing that specifically targets salmon.”

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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CSUN is leading the charge in mapping of the wetlands

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 6:47 am

From the Los Angeles Daily News:

PORT HUENEME – Armed with maps and high-tech compasses, the young scientists stared out into the vast tan landscape. Just a century ago, this swath of coastal land was teeming with small creeks and streams, moist soil and dozens of animal species. But today, a large section of Ormond Beach’s wetlands is more dry than wet. Ringed by factories, the wetlands’ dirt hills and dry grass mounds are the final resting place for a graffiti-covered train on a forgotten railroad. “It’s just a remnant of what it used to be,” professor Shawna Dark said to her team of students.

The wetlands’ poor condition only makes Dark, a geography professor at California State University, Northridge, and her students more determined to complete their mission. The group is working on CSUN’s Southern California Wetlands Mapping Project, to produce the Southland’s first comprehensive map of the rapidly disappearing marshy plots of land that Dark says are vital to the region’s ecology.

“Historically, wetlands were seen as wastelands, swamps,” Dark said. “They were associated with malaria and vectors and even the earliest settlers made it their mission to quickly develop over these areas.” The result: Southern California has lost 95 percent of its wetland areas.

Groups such as the California Coastal Commission and the Nature Conservancy, working with the CSUN group, have ramped up efforts to buy plots of wetlands in an effort to conserve and restore these areas over the past few decades.

Rich Handley, a Nature Conservancy land manager in the Los Angeles and Ventura area who is responsible for overseeing the Ormond Beach wetlands, said in this area alone he has discovered colonies of at least seven endangered species.

“California snowy plovers, brown pelicans, northern harriers and Belding’s Savannah sparrows – many of these are species endemic to the wetlands of Southern California,” Handley said. “A lot of times this is referred to as the hidden gem of Oxnard. It’s something we need more people to be aware of.”

Read more from the Daily News by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water & the Environment

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Delta landowners distrust canal study; Meetings show access to property would be an issue

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 4:41 pm

From the Capital Press:

The push to build a peripheral canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has never been stronger, and delta farmers fear that such a waterway would destroy their way of life. They’re not about to roll over lightly.

The state has been holding meetings with delta landowners so engineers can get permission to traipse across their property to see if their farm might be a good place to dig. If last week’s meeting in Walnut Grove is any indication, getting that permission could prove difficult.

“Why should I allow you to come on my property?” asked Clarksburg alfalfa and wheat farmer Jeff Merwin. “I see absolutely no upside to that. None. You guys are like rapists knocking at the door, saying “let me in!’”

Merwin expressed the frustration the roughly 150 farmers and landowners in and around the Clarksburg-Walnut Grove area say they feel with the state Department of Water Resources, which is looking at several possible routes for a canal.

Merwin and others in the delta are getting the sense that a canal is inevitable. “I have a feeling that if I say “no’ and you need to study my property, you’re going to do it anyway,” he said.

Water Resources director Lester Snow said his department is doing everything it can to answer landowners’ fears and to set up individual deals with each one to gain access to do their testing. If push comes to shove, “We can go to court and seek temporary access to the property – by individual parcel,” Snow said.

Read more from Hank Shaw at the Capital Press by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Peripheral Canal

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Water board sues U.S. over mothball fleet

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 4:35 pm

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A regional water board is readying a lawsuit against the U.S. Maritime Administration claiming federal authorities have allowed toxic chemicals and metals from the mothball fleet to continue to leach into Suisun Bay.

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board contends the 50-plus decrepit ships – some cargo ships dating to World War II – have dumped asbestos, used oil and as much as 19 tons of mercury, lead and copper from their hulls and pose hazards to water quality, commercial and sport fishing, fish migration and endangered species.

Unless federal maritime officials halt the pollution discharges in 60 days, the water board plans to file suit in U.S. District Court in Sacramento under the Clean Water Act.

Last fall, three environmental organizations sued to force the Maritime Administration to remove the ships from Suisun Bay. That case is winding its way through the federal court in Sacramento and is on track for a September 2009 trial date. Meantime, the ships remain – about 57 considered badly corroded.

More from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Monterey County unlikely to back regional water plan

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 4:30 pm

Thanks to J.M. for submitting this link! From the Carmel Pine Cone:

Work by an ambitious group on a regional water supply was halted this week because a county agency has not committed to backing the group’s efforts. Water for Monterey County — launched by the California Public Utilities Commission in 2007 — has been working on a plan that would supply as much as 29,000 acre-feet of water, enough to solve the Peninsula’s water supply problem, as well as shortages in other communities.

But directors of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency have not signed a contract to manage the group, forcing the cancellation of WMC’s monthly meeting Sept. 3. “We’re out of money,” said Steve Kasower, the UCSC economist and professor who heads the WMC group.

While California American Water Co., the Marina Coast Water District and Castroville Community Services District have agreed to fund the group so it can craft a regional water supply project, the money can’t be used until a contract to manage it has been forged.

While MCWRA board directors were asked Monday to vote whether to manage the project, they postponed their vote, opting to look at the issue during a special meeting Sept. 3. And directors seem poised to vote against embracing the WMC plan.

“They have really grappled with what their role should be,” said MCWRA General Manager Curtis Weeks. “And there have been concerns about taking groundwater out of the Salinas Valley.”

Read more from the Carmel Pine Cone by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Regional Water Issues

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Delta Vision goes to Stockton: peripheral canal foes say Delta promises broken

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 8:14 am

From Stockton’s Record:

The government should keep its promises. So said farmers, anglers and water lawyers who got one last chance Thursday to protest a plan proposing a peripheral canal as the “linchpin” of the state’s future water system. The canal would take water from the Sacramento River near Hood and skirt it around the central Delta to state and federal pumps near Tracy, and from there to farms and cities as far south as San Diego.

One problem, critics say: The government historically promised that the Delta’s needs would come first. Only surplus water would be shipped south. “What is currently conveyed to the south is already too much water, and the Delta tells us so,” said Dave Scatena, a fisherman.

One Delta Vision member was on hand to listen to public comments on the Strategic Plan (they really sent only one guy to Stockton to promote the peripheral canal?) and although he said that “very little of the report is “in concrete” and that the public comments taken Thursday would help shape the final version,” many attendees feel it is already a done deal, but vowed to fight on.

Millions of acre-feet of water were supposed to come from rivers on California’s north coast – rivers that were deemed wild and scenic and could not be tapped. Even though that water never materialized, exports from the Delta soared.

“You people have bought into this idea of co-equality” of the environment and water supplies, Nomellini told Frank. “That turns upside-down the whole promise … that the needs of Northern California come first.”

If you only click through on one story today, it should be this one! Read the full text of the article from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Vision Task Force

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State Board of Food and Agriculture comments on Delta Vision plan: says plan “will imperil California’s food security by discouraging private investment and the adaptive capacity of working farms and ranches to adjust to ordinary growing conditions and climate change”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 7:58 am

Submitted directly to Aquafornia (note: emphasis is included as submitted):

August 28, 2008

Philip Isenberg, Chair
Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force
650 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814

Subject: California State Board of Food and Agriculture Comments on the Delta Vision Strategic Plan (Third Draft)

Dear Chairman Isenberg:

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture takes strong exception to the Delta Vision Strategic Plan because it is premised upon false assumptions about agriculture’s role in the Delta, and in California as a whole, in addressing water rights, the public trust doctrine and beneficial use. As currently written, the Delta Vision Strategic Plan will imperil California’s food security by discouraging private investment and the adaptive capacity of working farms and ranches to adjust to ordinary growing conditions and climate change.

We strongly object to the characterization of agriculture’s lawful exercise of water rights as “archaic.” This assumes that agricultural water use is a low priority in comparison to other beneficial uses and working farms and ranches are something of a legacy industry rather than a strategic resource that is important to California’s economy, health and overall welfare. Recasting agricultural water use in this fashion implicates the Public Trust Doctrine and ultimately has a negative impact on private infrastructure investments (such as levees) that provide tangential public benefit (such as flood protection and habitat). Additionally, using the Public Trust Doctrine in this fashion discourages private investments in future sustainable farming and ignores the contribution and foundational investments made by California’s working farms and ranches in the basic infrastructure of the Delta and to the statewide water system.

By dictating water use amounts, the Delta Vision Strategic Plan would deny working farms and ranches the ability to provide food, fiber, fuel, and habitat by eliminating the ability to adapt, not only local growing conditions but to factors such as global climate change. The science of farming is a practice closely tied to nature that does not lend itself to prescribed inputs by government. Similar experiments have taken place in the former Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China which regulated farming inputs and lost their ability to feed their own populations.

In summary, the California State Board of Food and Agriculture emphatically opposes the Delta Vision Strategic Plan’s recommendations that are premised on flawed legal analysis and assumptions about agriculture’s role in the Delta and the state. These misunderstandings of the natural processes that drive farming cannot promote government managed mandated limits to an input as basic as water. In order to reach our mutual goal of achieving a safe, reliable, and abundant water supply we strongly encourage you to properly characterize working farms and ranches in the proper context illustrating their critical, co-equal contributions to food security, energy independence, climate change, and habitat solutions.

Sincerely,

Alfred Montna
President

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture, Delta Vision Task Force

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Let’s hope the politicians’ mouths run dry before the state does, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 7:47 am

From the Modesto Bee:

How long have Sacramento’s politicians been arguing over a water bond? A year? A decade? Or does it just feel like forever?

As the politicians go round and round without budging, it’s only natural to come full circle. And so we have. A couple of months ago, Gov. Schwarzenegger proposed a $9.3 billion water bond — his second try for such a bond in two years. On Aug. 15, Assembly Democrats proposed a $9.8 billion water bond, their second try in two years.

After looking at the two very similar ideas, it’s clear we’ve been here before. And the same issue that kept our elected officials from getting a bond onto the ballot in 2007 is likely to kill it again in 2008.

The sticking point is the same this year as last year: allocation of funds, with Democrats wanting an ‘annual allocation’ (meaning every year, the legislature must approve the funds), and Republicans wanting only regulatory oversight on spending once the project is approved.

Read the full text of this editorial from the Modesto Bee by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Editorial: How dry we are! Let’s act like it, too

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 7:36 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

The exposed stumps and shoreline of Folsom Lake tell the story this year. With reservoir levels so low, Californians can’t afford to waste a drop. Conservation has to be part of a multi-pronged strategy to stretch supplies and survive droughts.

To that end, Assemblyman John Laird is trying to pass a bill that would require a 20 percent reduction in urban per-capita water usage by 2020. Cities and counties would have flexibility in how to reach this target, but they could no longer casually water their sidewalks, as occurs almost every day in Sacramento, Los Angeles and other cities.

Laird’s legislation, AB 2175, has passed the Assembly but is in trouble in the Senate. Its survival could depend on two local senators – Mike Machado of Linden and Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento.

Read more of this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Conservation, Water Legislation

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Assembly Democrats prevail on water bill

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 7:33 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

In a heated debate Thursday, Assembly Republicans and Democrats agreed that California needs more reliable water supplies. But Republicans voted against spending $820 million from voter-approved water bonds because, they said, Democrats had not consulted them and too much of the money was dedicated to studies instead of construction.

“I’m studied out,” said Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-San Diego). “What my constituents want is brick and mortar.”

But the dominant Democrats overrode Republicans’ objections and passed a bill to spend $820 million from four water bonds. The money would go toward preparing for an earthquake in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, from which most of the state’s drinking and irrigation water is pumped; finding supplies for rural communities with contaminated aquifers; and projects around the state for conservation, recycling and groundwater cleanup.

“This is about putting to work money the voters want us to put to work,” said Assemblywoman Lori Saldana (D-San Diego).

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

More coverage from the California Chronicle:

Today, during a special legislative session on water, the State Assembly approved a proposal to spend prior voter approved bonds on urgently-needed water storage, reliability, and conservation efforts. Senate Bill 1xx by Senate President pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) appropriates approximately $820 million in funds from bonds including Proposition 84 and Proposition 1E, which voters passed in 2006.

“This week, during a hearing of the Special Committee on Water, Californians from throughout the state whose livelihoods depend on adequate water supply urged the state to step up and take the necessary steps to provide for this state´s water needs. Today, the Assembly responded by passing SB 1xx, which allocates funds desperately needed to provide relief from the current drought, help stabilize the failing Sacramento San Joaquin Bay Delta, and invest in water supply quality and reliability,” said Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis), chair of the Assembly´s Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee and Special Committee on Water, who presented the bill on the Assembly floor.

“This measure is a first step to providing Californians throughout the state with a safe, reliable, long-term water supply. It is essential that we allocate these funds immediately in response to the state´s most urgent needs,” she said.

More from the California Chronicle by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Orange County judge keeps storm-drain runoff standards in place for now

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 6:44 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

A judge ruled Thursday that water quality standards designed to protect the region’s beaches from polluted storm-drain runoff will remain in place, at least for the time being.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Thierry Patrick Colaw granted a request from a coalition of environmental groups that sought to keep the standards in place while the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board complied with the judge’s order to review its runoff standards.

This summer, Colaw had ruled in favor of a consortium of local inland cities and a building industry association that had filed a lawsuit — against the state Water Resources Control Board and the local board — seeking to overturn the regulations.

The local board said the ruling, which applied to most cities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, left regulators without a major tool to deal with storm water runoff into the ocean. Builders could not get the necessary permits from the state board because the standards had been frozen. “The court’s decision provides much-needed relief and just in time for our Labor Day celebration,” Francine Diamond, chairwoman of the local board, said Thursday.

David Beckman, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council representing environmentalists, also hailed the ruling. “If you drink water or like to swim in the ocean, today was a very good day,” Beckman said, adding that the environmental groups would still probably appeal the judge’s ruling that the standards be reviewed and modified.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Water Quality

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Perata’s measure to improve state’s water system passes Assembly committee

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 6:40 am

From the California Chronicle:

Legislation by Senate President pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) that would fund water storage, reliability and conservation efforts with already approved bond money cleared the Assembly Special Committee on Water.

SB 1XX (Second Extraordinary Session) appropriates $842 million in Proposition 84 and Proposition 1-E dollars that voters passed in 2006. These funds are desperately needed by water agencies to address the current water drought and fire crisis and to provide immediate investments in water supply reliability.

“This bill is the first step to addressing California´s long-term water needs,” Perata said. “SB 1XX gets money out the door immediately so water agencies can tackle the most pressing problems, boost supplies and improve water reliability for all Californians.”

The legislation includes $200 million to help stabilize the Sacramento San Joaquin Bay Delta, the fulcrum of the state´s water supply system. The funding will help prevent catastrophic failure of the Delta´s levees and accommodate pumping restrictions mandated by a federal court ruling. In addition, SB 1XX provides $100 million to help clean up ground water basins in Southern California that can store more water than the entire volume of Lake Tahoe.

Get a rundown of specific projects that will be funded by this measure from the California Chronicle by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Above all: San Diego’s Kumeyaay water rights threatened

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 6:37 am

From Indian Country Today, an article written by Steven Newcomb of the Indigenous Law Institute, which discusses the history of the Kumeyaay Nation:

Recently, the San Diego Union Tribune published a story about water and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. (”Seeking stable source of water, Sycuan looks to Otay District” [July 3, 2008]) The article explained that Sycuan may decide to ”annex its reservation to the nearby Otay Water District” in order to provide the Sycuan Band with enough water for its future business and community needs. But the story failed to mention the many thousands of years that the Kumeyaay utilized the waters in their homeland for their villages and traditional way of life.

The news story also did not address how difficult it is to get non-Native people to learn about and recognize the full scope of Kumeyaay water rights. This is the result of an assumption that the non-Native society is more entitled than the Kumeyaay to the water within the Kumeyaay territory.

In the book ”Hispanic Law,” (1968) author E. N. Kleffens explains that because of the history of Spanish colonization, Castilian crown law is, in ”varying degrees,” ‘’still effective with respect to … the law of land and water …” in states such as California (and other places such as New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah).

When the U.S. assumed possession of that portion of Mexico described in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the laws of the Spanish crown and of the Mexican Republic that were in effect remained in force. A specific legal provision had to be subsequently revised within and by the U.S. system of government.

Steven Newcomb notes that when the U.S. signed the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the laws of the Spanish crown & Mexican Republic were to remain in force, (and Aquafornia notes that in fact, Los Angeles successfully made claims to water rights in the area under the ‘pueblo water rights’), and writes:

… this aspect of Castilian crown law has obviously not been upheld by the United States, by the state of California, or by the City and County of San Diego. Nonetheless, given a Kumeyaay existence that predates the European invasion of Kumeyaay lands by thousands of years, and given that Section 49 of the Laws of the Indies has not been superseded by Congress, the people of California and the City and County of San Diego have a moral obligation and legal responsibility to respect the water rights of the Kumeyaay Nation and of all the indigenous nations of the geographical area known as California (as well as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah).

Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under Indian Water Rights

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Will thirsty states get Great Lakes water? A new compact protecting the Great Lakes is set to pass Congress, but there are a few green critics with serious concerns

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2008 at 6:10 am

From AlterNet:

For 25 years, residents around the Great Lakes have worried that thirstier regions (or even countries) would make designs on their water. The lakes’ bounty as the single largest freshwater source in the world (holding 18 percent of the Earth’s available surface freshwater) has inspired the eight surrounding states to try to formulate a legal shield ensuring their water stays in their own backyards.

Now, a quarter-century of fitful but fruitful work to come up with a common, enforceable agreement that would ban the export of Great Lakes water in (among other things) pipelines and railroad cars is just one house of Congress away from final federal consent. The long regional nightmare of Great Lakes drained to green golf courses in Arizona is almost over. Business, government and environmental advocates are singing the praises of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.

But a few voices scattered across the region are charging that the compact, as written, will actually facilitate the commercial export of Great Lakes water.

One of the most vocal voices has been Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. He fired off letters to the U.S. trade representative, the Department of State and the International Joint Commission (a U.S.-Canadian body that administers the Boundary Waters Treaty, which covers the Great Lakes), asking them to comment on the potential for sale of Great Lakes water.

“Ratifying the compact could allow Great Lakes water to no longer be held within the public trust and instead be defined as a product for commercial use,” says Stupak, whose huge northern Michigan district contains more than 1,500 miles of shoreline on Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan. “I want to thoroughly understand the lasting impact this compact could have on Great Lakes water for years to come. It took the governors more than three years to get this done, so it is not unreasonable for Congress to take the time necessary to make sure we are not opening the door for the commercialization (of) Great Lakes water.”

What’s all the fuss about? It depends in part on whether any given reviewer of the compact thinks it opens the sluices of the Great Lakes for commercial capture and sale, or is a pragmatic recognition of the reality of an already thriving bottled water industry that dramatically advances sustainable water policy in a region used to water abundance, and waste.

The differences of opinion between supporters and critics of the compact are stark.

Read more from AlterNet by clicking here.

August 29, 2008 · Filed Under National water news

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Water bill divides Yolo County’s reps; LaMalfa, Wolk disagree on climate change, effects of analyzing it

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 28, 2008 at 3:58 pm

From the Woodland Daily Democrat:

Yolo County’s two Assembly representatives clashed Tuesday over legislation that seeks to incorporate climate change prevention into state and local water-planning efforts.

The bill, authored by 8th District Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, was approved 8-4 Tuesday by the Assembly Special Committee on Water, of which Wolk is chairwoman. Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, whose 2nd District shares Yolo County with Wolk’s district, is also a member of the 12-person committee and voted against the bill, along with the three other Republican members.

The bill would require the state Department of Water Resources, or DWR, to include climate change analysis in all of its water management reports and plans, including surface storage feasibility studies and plans related to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

After Jan. 1, 2011, the DWR would be prohibited from approving any integrated regional water management grants for plans that do not include such analysis.

To assist local water agencies in sifting through the ever-expanding body of research related to climate change, the DWR would be required to identify the most reliable climate change information.

“This bill will be the first comprehensive statute to begin preparing California to adapt to the climate change threat to California water resources,” the bill summary states. “Those threats include a reduced Sierra Nevada snowpack and prolonged droughts in the Colorado River basin.”

Read the rest of this story from the Woodland Daily Democrat by clicking here.

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Water logjam at Assembly committee meeting

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 28, 2008 at 3:51 pm

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Kelly Zito traveled to Sacramento and attended Tuesday’s Assembly committee meeting on water and files this blog report:

I’ve researched California’s water crisis in lots of different ways: Watching a well drilling rig bore into the ground near a golf tee, listening to a San Leandro couple explain how they collect water “scraps” and standing in a parched almond grove where you could almost hear the leaves shriveling.

This week, it was time to travel to another setting — the one that matters most. Sacramento. On Tuesday (originally it was scheduled for Monday. Go figure!), Assembly members on the special committee on water met to talk about various plans to fix the state’s water supply problems. A few proposals are on the table, and they’re competing for a place on November’s ballot.

Read the rest of Kelly Zito’s post at the SF Chronicle blog Village Green by clicking here.

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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Eastern Municipal Water District has own ‘cop’ chasing down water wasters

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 28, 2008 at 2:53 pm

From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:

The sun is just rising over the Inland region and Bill Stephens is on his cop beat, chasing down abusers. Water abusers, that is.

Perhaps the region’s first and only water cop, he arms himself with a camera looking for over-saturated lawns across a vast area of western Riverside County from Moreno Valley to Murrieta that is served by Perris-based Eastern Municipal Water District.

“I just saw a spot back there,” he said, bringing his van to an abrupt halt. He jumps out to check a broken sprinkler head outside a large commercial facility in Perris. The leaking water drenched the sidewalk and gushed down the curb to the road. “That’s running pretty good, I’d say a good six to seven gallons per minute,” Stephens said.

Although Stephens scours the region only for runoff outside commercial and industrial complexes, the district’s employees will start looking at residential yards for similar violations starting Monday. Fines beginning at $100 will be assessed if two warnings go unheeded.

“Pretty much anywhere that water leaves the property over the sidewalk and into the gutter, we’re going to look for, taking pictures,” he said.

Read more from the Press-Enterprise by clicking here.

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under Conservation

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Water softener ban passes

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 28, 2008 at 2:51 pm

From the Santa Ynez Journal:

California lawmakers have voted to allow local governments to ban salt-producing water softeners to help the state meet its water-recycling goal. The state Assembly gave the bill by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, final approval with a 45-17 vote.

The vote adopted amendments made in the Senate.

A little more from the Santa Ynez Valley Journal by clicking here.

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under Water Quality

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Let region chart its water future, says editorial: “while we don’t have clout, we do have water, and we deserve a bigger voice in the future of our most important natural resource”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 28, 2008 at 8:10 am

From the Chico Enterprise-Record, this editorial:

While there’s plenty to be concerned about in the latest effort to solve California’s water problems, history suggests the concerns will be short-lived.

While it was encouraging that Delta Vision, a self-proclaimed “blue ribbon task force,” came to the north valley this week, all we can do is wonder how long this latest flavor-of-the-month approach to water will last.

Delta Vision comes on the heels of the expensive, failed Cal-Fed bureaucracy that accomplished little except wasting money. That was followed by an exalted plan pushed by the Northern California Water Association that advocated regional cooperation and protection of Northern California water rights. Butte County signed on to that regional water plan a little more than a year ago.

Now comes the Delta Vision task force, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s handpicked group that was chosen 18 months ago to make recommendations about how to fix the problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the linchpin in any water debate.

The editorial sees the Delta Vision process as top-down mandates instead of locally focused solutions, and says locals have a right to be concerned:

Can the state say that the needs of the south and urban areas are more important than our needs? Can the state decide, in effect, that delta smelt are more important that Butte Creek’s spring-run salmon, therefore the delta will get more water? Will the state pump our aquifers? Will the state say the inexpensive water our farmers get from century-old water rights is too inexpensive? Does the state realize that, just like the delta way of life, ours would be forever harmed if our lakes were depleted, our streams ran dry and the rivers were channeled? Does the state know that rivers and lakes are more to us than just a water delivery system?

We’re thrilled that somebody is looking closely at the environment and the state’s water supply. We worry, however, that our region’s lack of political clout will mean we get flattened by larger regions to the south. We hope they remember that while we don’t have clout, we do have water, and we deserve a bigger voice in the future of our most important natural resource.

Read the full text of this editorial from the Chico Enterprise-Record by clicking here.

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Vision Task Force

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