Tuesday afternoon update: Testimony before Little Hoover Commission now available online
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:29 pmFrom the Little Hoover Commission website, the written testimony submitted to the commission. Click on the name to view:
Water Management in California: Today’s Structure, Future Needs
1. Lester Snow, Director, California Department of Water ResourcesFederal Perspective: Central Valley Project and Water Management in California
2. Ron Milligan, Operations Manager, Central Valley Operations Office, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Water Management from a User’s Perspective and Other Agencies’ Roles
Arizona Model
4. Sandra Fabritz-Whitney, Assistant Director, Water Management Division, Arizona Department of Water Resources
5. Sid Wilson, General Manager, retired, Central Arizona ProjectUtah Model
6. Dennis Strong, Director, Utah Division of Water Resources
Is your water bottle safe?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:25 pmFrom the Examiner.com:
Check the number on the bottom of your plastic bottle before you drink. Clear, hard plastic bottles with a # 7 recycling code on the bottom and the letters PC are polycarbonate and contain Bisphenol-A (BPA). Research has shown that this potentially harmful chemical can leach into food and drink and has been linked to elevated levels of estrogen in the body. Both water and baby bottles have been made of this type of plastic. Some beverage cans also contain BPA
Since 2007 when a report by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said a chemical in polycarbonate plastic bottles, called BPA, caused reproductive abnormalities in mice, various reports have linked BPA to a range of problems including diabetes, liver problems and even reduced sperm production. Some studies have shown that BPA can cause health problems such as infertility and cancer.
Read more from the Examiner.com by clicking here.
Clear thinking on drinking water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:23 pmFrom the Examiner.com:
Last year the Associated Press revealed that tap water in 24 large U.S. metropolitan areas contained detectable levels of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers, and hormones. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates water systems that serve at least 15 households or 25 people. These systems supply most Americans, and private well serve the rest. The agency sets acceptable levels for dozens of substances, including chemicals, microorganisms, minerals, and metals. States can establish their own standards as well.What is the report on your tap water?
The EPA requires water suppliers to send customers annual reports on the quality of the local supply and levels of various contaminants.
These Consumer Confidence Reports, or CCRs, are available through the EPA website (epa.gov/safewater). The site also provides information on how to read and understand the reports, as does the website of the Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water, an advocacy group (safe-drinking-water.org).
Read more from the Examiner.com by clicking here.
State budget threatens local water agencies: State may snatch millions from Castaic Lake Water Agency
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:21 pmFrom the Santa Clarita Signal:
Water rates will spike and capital improvement project will be frozen if the state snatches $17 million in property tax from Castaic Lake Water Agency, a water official said. “Under the worse possible scenario, we would raise rates for retailers and we would indefinitely suspend some of our capital improvement projects,” said Dan Masnada, Castaic Lake Water Agency general manager.
The Water Agency sells state project water to the four water retailers in the Santa Clarita Valley.
While the state Legislature has not proposed using proposition 1A, which allows it to raid the coffers of special districts to help balance the state budget, the weakened state finances makes such a move possible, Masnada said. “There’s always the possibility,” Masnada said. “If the state doesn’t get its finances in order, we could be in jeopardy.”
Read more from the Santa Clarita Signal by clicking here.
Art Littleworth: Wizard of water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:19 pmFrom Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:
When Art Littleworth came to Riverside as a new lawyer in 1950, the city’s population was about one-sixth what it is today. Over the years he not only witnessed the changes that came with growth, he had a hand in many of its most significant moments, from desegregation of schools in the 1960s to revival of the Mission Inn.
Littleworth, 86, is known for his civic accomplishments and his expertise in water law. Those who worked with him over the years describe Littleworth as an artful negotiator who was willing not just to lend his name to good causes, but to roll up his sleeves and pitch in. “He is an extraordinary good lawyer and an extraordinary good citizen,” Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge said.
As an example, the mayor recalls a Keep Riverside Beautiful campaign in which Littleworth, the chairman, swept gutters and picked up trash along Magnolia Avenue with other volunteers. “You don’t see that often, a man of his standing and status willing to do physical labor,” said Loveridge, who tapped Littleworth many times over the years to participate in blue-ribbon city committees.
Read more from the Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Rising sea prompts concern about sand replenishment
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:17 pmFrom the North County Times:
With global warming threatening to raise sea levels, environmental groups are challenging the wisdom of spending millions of dollars to put sand on area beaches —- especially if it is only going to wash back out to sea.
The world’s oceans rose throughout the last century as the planet gradually warmed and the warmer sea waters expanded, scientists say. And the melting ice sheets on Greenland and elsewhere are expected to dramatically accelerate the rate of rise between now and 2100.
It is against that backdrop that the San Diego Association of Governments, a regional planning agency, is launching an environmental study this summer to set the stage for a 2012 beach restoration project. That project would be patterned after one in 2001 that pumped enough sand onto a dozen San Diego-area beaches —- including 10 in North County —- to fill Qualcomm Stadium.
Read more from the North County Times by clicking here.
Study on changing breakwater to be ready for Long Beach City Council by mid- or late July
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:15 pmFrom the Long Beach Press Telegram:
The city’s engineering consultant firm is putting the finishing touches on two reports to be reviewed by the City Council in mid- or late-July for a key decision on whether the city should move ahead with changes to the breakwater.
The $100,000 Moffatt & Nichol reconnaissance study is looking at whether there may be value to taking down all or part of the breakwater, which encircles much of Long Beach’s coastline, protecting it against storms but also killing wave action and trapping pollutants.
The study is an extremely preliminary step. The Army Corps of Engineers must agree to examine the study and Congress must approve funding for such an effort before reconfiguring the breakwater can even be considered more than a pipe dream.
With this first step, watchful coastal property owners, environmentalists and surf advocates should have a sense of whether the project will move forward or whether it’s dead in the water.
The Moffatt & Nichol study includes an analysis and a project management plan, and they’re being prepared in the format required by the Army Corps of Engineers, according to Tom Modica, manager of government affairs.
The Army Corps will then determine if there is a federal interest in reconfiguring the breakwater, to conduct further reviews and studies about potential changes.
The report will be available to the public, Modica said Monday. Once a final report is ready, it will be made available on the Breakwater website, http://www.longbeach.gov/citymanager/ga/breakwater/default.asp.
Read more from the Long Beach Press Telegram by clicking here.
Boat ramp extension being considered at Diamond Valley Lake
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:11 pm
From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:
You can fish Diamond Valley Lake without a license on July Fourth, but don’t bring your boat. The 11-lane private boat launch that was shut down in October amid drought conditions remains closed for the Independence Day weekend. The ramp is not long enough to reach the lake with the low water level.
This could, however, be the last Fourth of July without a ramp at the lake southwest of Hemet. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California officials are exploring how to extend at least a portion of the concrete ramp so boats can launch safely despite steadily receding waters.
Read more from the Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Tuesday’s top of the scroll: ‘Two Gates’ project could ease water crisis
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:51 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
A bold experiment in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta could protect threatened fish and ease California’s water crisis. But it faces steep challenges.
The idea is to submerge massive barriers in river channels to prevent the delta smelt from swimming toward certain death at water pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The experiment, called the “Two Gates” project, comes up at water rallies and political strategy sessions among San Joaquin Valley lawmakers who support the idea. They hope it will bring more water to 25 million residents and millions of farmland acres.
The gates — which have not been fully detailed publicly — would be mounted on sunken barges in two large channels in the central part of the delta. They would prevent turbid water from flowing south toward the pumps. The adult smelt tend to follow the turbid water, scientists said.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Peter Gleick: Truth drought – California’s real shortfall
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:49 amFrom Peter Gleick and his City Brights blog:
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar came to California on Sunday to hear firsthand about California’s drought. Unfortunately, some of what he heard was misleading or false. Certainly farms and farmers are suffering, so are fish and ecosystems. But so is the truth. Here are three oft-repeated falsehoods.
Myth 1: Farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley are receiving “just 10 percent of their allocation this year.”
Myth 2: Water shortages are causing massive new farm unemployment.
Myth 3: Farmers are bearing disproportional impacts of water shortfalls because of court rulings in favor of fish.
All three of these statements are false, and they’ve been shown to be false so many times that continuing to repeat them verges on intentional deception on the part of those who repeat them to gullible politicians or lazy reporters.
Read more from Peter Gleick and the City Brights blog by clicking here.
Farmers angry over water restrictions demonstrate in front of Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco office
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:47 amFrom KGO-TV in San Francisco:
Bus loads of Central Valley farmers brought the battle for water to San Francisco. They crowded in front of house speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office complaining about federal environmental laws that are restricting their access to cheap water.
The farmers say they’re being cut off from water supplies by federal regulations protecting endangered species like Chinook salmon.
A couple of hundred farmers and farm workers marched in front of the Federal Building shouting “turn on the pumps.” The pumps they’re talking about are the ones that pump water from the Sacramento River Delta to farmlands in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
You can watch the newscast or read the rest of the transcript from KGO TV by clicking here.
Governor Schwarzenegger designates DWR Director Snow Lead Coordinator to address California’s drought and water management challenges
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:42 amFrom the Office of the Governor:
Following Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announcing Deputy Secretary David Hayes as the department’s designee on California’s water issues, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow will serve as the state’s lead in working with the federal government and coordinating all state actions to quickly address our water management challenges in both the short and long term.
“California’s water shortage is a real crisis – just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire – and it must be treated with the same urgency as any other emergency,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I welcome the Obama administration’s first step in designating a point person to work on this crisis and coordinate federal efforts with our state efforts. And, to help our federal partners in quickly taking action, I have appointed Lester Snow to serve as the state’s lead. I remain committed to getting comprehensive water reform done this year and my Administration will continue to work with all of our partners to upgrade California’s aging water infrastructure, ensure a clean and reliable water supply and provide a healthy ecosystem for our growing state.”
Earlier this month, Governor Schwarzenegger requested a federal disaster declaration from President Obama for Fresno County and issued Executive Order S-11-09, activating the California Disaster Assistance Act. By taking this action, the state can provide temporary supplemental assistance to the local governments and non-profit organizations that supply food and other aid to those who are impacted by the drought statewide. The order also waives the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance.
In February, the Governor declared a state of emergency due to drought conditions statewide and ordered immediate action to manage the crisis. In the proclamation, the Governor exerted his executive authority to direct all state government agencies to utilize their resources, implement a state emergency plan and provide assistance for people, communities and businesses impacted by the drought.
Still more action needed on water issues, says editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:40 amFrom the Fresno Bee, this editorial:
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar offered some federal assistance to ease the California water crisis, and that at least shows the Obama administration finally has put this emergency on its radar screen. But this problem is too complex for quick fixes, and it will take state and federal action to resolve it.
So far, lawmakers in California have not offered a comprehensive water solution and that’s another failing of the state Legislature. But Salazar responded to the pressure of agriculture and farmworker groups with several key announcements Sunday. This action would not have come without the intense pressure they put on the Obama administration the past few months.
Read more of this editorial from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Lloyd Carter and Steve Haze on the radio show, Street Heat
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:24 amFrom IndyBay.org:
46:46 minute interview with Lloyd Carter and Steve Haze on the Street Heat radio show (recorded Friday, June 26) on KFCF 88.1 FM in Fresno. Carter and Haze are talking about the “water issue” in the Central Valley, demystifying some of the misinformation out there, like the “Fish vs. People” rhetoric being used by right wing politicians and their allies. Jean Hays is the host.
Listen to the show by clicking here.
Lloyd Carter commentary: The public relations firm from hell
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:19 amFrom LLoyd Carter & the Chronicles of the Hydraulic Brotherhood blog:
The masters of “astroturfing” are trying to convince you, the media, California and Washington, D.C. that San Joaquin Valley farmworkers’ new best friend is Big Agribusiness, the same industry that has exploited them for decades. Say what?
Campaigns & Elections magazine defines astroturfing as a “program that involves the manufacturing of public support for a point of view in which either uninformed activists are recruited or means of deception are used to recruit them.” In other words, rich people with a lot of money but no popular support for their cause (getting richer), will create the illusion of broad public support by half truths, manipulation, disinformation, spin doctoring, creating false impressions, and cash. It also involves ghost writing op-ed columns and letters to the editor from little people, to generate the perception there is widespread public support for the client’s position. Grassroots is bottom up. Astroturf is top down.
The late Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, a vice-presidential candidate and a lobbyist, is credited with coining the term “astroturf lobbying” to describe the synthetic grassroots movements conjured up by powerful lobbying and public relations firms. Astroturfing is specifically prohibited by the code of ethics of the Public Relations Society of America, the national association for members of the public relations profession.
But that hasn’t stopped the spin doctors at Burson-Marsteller (B-M), the astroturfing PR firm that has been hired by the California Latino Water Coalition (created around 2006-2007), headed by comedian Paul Rodriguez, and Orange Cove Mayor Victor Lopez, co-chairs of the coalition, and technical advisor Mario Santoyo, assistant general manager at the Friant Water Users Authority, which represents federal irrigation districts on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley from Madera County south to Bakersfield.
Read more from Lloyd Carter & the Chronicles of the Hydraulic Brotherhood blog by clicking here.
Hopes for rain drying up in Valley: “El Nino is El Wimpo,” says Bill Patzert: “He’s late. He’s stunted. He’s definitely not the great wet hope.”
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:15 amLast week, when the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center announced an El Nino condition forming in the Pacific, there have been numerous stories, most of which have been rather optimistic. And so, from the Contra Costa Times, yet another story on El Nino:
… weather forecasters are keenly watching the warming Pacific current that could spell dark clouds in the fall. In 1997-98, El Nino dumped 31 inches across the Southland.
“Nobody is rooting for a stronger El Nino than I am,” said Michael Anderson, climatologist for the state Department of Water Resources. “We are scrambling year to year to try to find enough water. Trust me, I would love to see rain. I am hoping.”
But what could kill an El Nino is the weather condition blamed for the drought. Climatologists say a system of currents known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO, could overpower the warming trend and parch the Southland.
El Nino or no El Nino, that is the question. And if so, will it be rain or no rain? “We’re still trying to figure it out,” said Bill Hoffer, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “If we get one, it generally means moisture, but not necessarily.”
Read the full text of this article from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Water districts sue fish agencies; Federal orders cutting water supplies failed to assess environmental damage
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:58 amFrom the California Farmer:
“Environmental laws apply equally to all,” says Tom Birmingham, General Manager of the Westlands Water District, in announcing a lawsuit aimed at the federal government’s latest plan for cutting back even further on California’s water supplies.
Westlands is joining with 29 other public water agencies who argue that the National Marine Fisheries Service should have prepared an environmental impact statement before adopting a salmon recovery plan that will divert hundreds of thousands of acre feet of California’s freshwater supplies into the ocean.
“Denying this much water to California is going to do obvious, serious and enduring damage to habitat, to wetlands, and to other endangered species. It will reduce water quality and drive up the costs of water treatment for millions of people. It will reduce the opportunities for recycling, conjunctive use, and water transfers, which are all vitally important to the state’s efforts to conserve water and improve efficiency. And it will put tens of thousands of people out of work, which affects public health and safety in myriad ways,” Birmingham said.
Read more from the California Farmer by clicking here.
Drinking from the sea: Demand for desalination plants increases worldwide
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:55 am
From Circle of Blue:
Pressed by growing urban populations, drier and warmer climates and the need to fortify supplies stretched by the increasing worldwide thirst, metropolitan and national governments on five continents are building record numbers of industrial plants to use a nearly alchemic technology to produce drinking water from the sea.
Over the last five years, an average of 800 new desalination plants have been constructed annually, according to various industrial reports, and the global market could reach $58 billion a year. In 2006 and 2007 alone, according to Global Water Intelligence, an industry research group that tracks water trends, the world’s desalination capacity grew 43 percent, and since 1990 has experienced an average annual growth rate of 17 percent. About 14,380 desalination plants operate across the world, said Global Water Intelligence, with a total contracted capacity of 62 million cubic meters, or 16.3 billion gallons, per day.
“In the last ten years, there’s been almost exponential growth, and I think it’s going to continue to grow,” said Tom Pankratz, member of the board of directors at the International Desalination Association.
But even as desalination emerges as one of the world’s important infrastructure development industries, attracting globally significant companies like General Electric and Veolia Environment, environmental and economic authorities have raised concerns.
“Desalination plants are enormously expensive, use tremendous amounts of energy and have major environmental costs that are not always adequately addressed, including brine disposal, impingement and entrainment of aquatic organisms and coastal development problems.” said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute.
Read more from the Circle of Blue by clicking here.
Is ocean zoning the solution to dying marine ecosystems?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:52 amFrom the Scientific American:
By now the world is aware that the oceans are dying a silent death because of coastal development, pollution, overfishing and climate change. Scientists know how to halt or reverse the chronic threats, but in the political arena they have faced defeat after defeat in trying to implement management that actually works. We need a radical shift away from the piecemeal regulation of small areas that has resulted. We need comprehensive zoning of the world’s oceans.
Across the globe, it is clear which marine areas are the most important to protect. Estuaries, coastal wetlands, reefs, submarine mountains and food-rich water flows are among the critical habitats that support wide swaths of the ocean’s ecology. But current governance does not allow us to use management tools and policy instruments in a systematic, holistic way. Zoning would.
Some countries have established a few isolated zones, mainly marine “protected areas.” But these are mere dots on the vast ocean. Comprehensive zoning would address whole ecosystems. It would also improve public understanding and reduce conflicts, by displaying in a clear, graphic way which human actions are appropriate where.
Read more from the Scientific American by clicking here.
What’s at stake in the Marine Life Protection Act?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:50 amFrom San Diego’s KPBS, this transcript of the radio show, “These Days”:
MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): I’m Maureen Cavanaugh. You’re listening to These Days on KPBS. The coastline, the oceans, the beaches are so much a part of San Diego’s identity that it’s frightening to think that much of our coast is threatened. Experts say 90% of California’s coastal wetlands have been lost, while a large number of marine life species, plants, fish and animals, have see their populations decline in the last 20 years. California already has a series of what are called marine protected areas up and down the state, but critics say they are too few and outdated. So, a public-private partnership called the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative is now in the process of re-evaluating the protected coastal areas and coming up with a statewide network of protection for California’s coastal habitat. This year, that analysis is focusing on Southern California, and the group is just about to hold a series of open houses to show the public their draft proposals for these new marine protected areas, and get people’s comments on the plans.
Click here to read (or listen to) Maureen’s interview of Melissa Miller-Henson, program manager for the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative; Kate Hanley, Director of Marine Conservation for San Diego Coastkeeper; and Dave Rudie, owner of Catalina Offshore Products, a San Diego-area seafood company.
With the Shower Manager, meeting the new California water restrictions can be less challenging and result in big savings
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:46 amFrom PR.com:
Global Network Solutions, LLC has developed a new fully-automated means to cut showering times and water usage, providing users an effective way to save money on water and the energy used to heat that water. An added benefit to families with teens is the elimination of family hassles over showering times.
It is called the Shower Manger and here’s how it works: Using a magnetic sensor the head-of-household pre-programs one of three full-flow time settings, 5, 8 or 11 minutes. As the water is turned on, the bather will receive a full-flow of water (let’s assume an 8-minute setting) for 8 minutes. At the 7-minute mark, the unit emits a beeping sound which alerts the bather that in 60 seconds the unit will cut water flow by 2/3. This cut or restricted flow leaves just enough to finish rinsing, but not enough to encourage continue showering.
A 5-minute reset interval prevents the user from overriding the system. The unit is microprocessor controlled, fits to existing showerheads, and installs in minutes. No special plumbing/ no electrical connections. It is powered by a small battery.
Water providers say that showering uses as much as 22% of the water consumed inside the home. A family of four can be washing down the drain hundreds of dollars annually with runaway showering. In many families, the unit can pay for itself in less than 12 months.
A quick way to calculate the potential savings is to visit: http://www.ShowerManager.com/savings
The Shower Manager is an exclusive product of Global Network Solutions, Denver, Co and is sold only on the Internet at http://www.ShowerManager.com
The alligator gar is one ugly fish, with few friends but new fans
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:32 am
Check out that picture of the ’sadly misunderstood’ fish as you read this story from the Wall Street Journal:
The sadly misunderstood alligator gar, reviled for its frighteningly huge and prehistoric appearance and rows of razor-sharp teeth, has been hunted for centuries. Fishermen despise the gar because they believe the fish devour prized bass and crappie. Swimmers and boaters fear the gar’s alligator-shaped jaws could take a chunk out of them in the water.
But in recent times, alligator gar have experienced a kind of trash-to-trophy renaissance as sportsmen discovered the thrill of hunting the beasts, which can weigh up to 300 pounds and reach 8 feet in length. Gar hunting, with rod-and-reel as well as crossbow, has spawned a booming market for guides who charge as much as $750 a day to lead their clients deep into the muddy backwaters of Texas where the monster fish thrive.
In the rural South, the prospect of bagging a trophy gator gar inspires a special brand of enthusiasm. “I don’t consider myself a redneck, but sometimes I do redneck stuff,” says Mark Malfa, a gar guide in central Texas.
Paula Boudra, an athletic 32-year-old, drove nearly six hours from Sheridan, Ark., one night earlier this month for the chance to kill her first alligator gar with a crossbow. Armed with stainless-steel, prong-tipped arrows that can pierce the gar’s thick scales, her guides, Sam Lovell and Steve Barclay, steered their flat-bottom boat into the brambly creeks of East Texas’s Trinity River.
Read more from the Wall Street Journal by clicking here.
Despite heat, North Bay reduces water use
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:24 amFrom the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Despite the weekend heat wave, North Bay residents are doing a good job cutting back on water use and meeting conservation goals, officials say. “Overall water use has been lower than previous years, despite temperatures that peaked at 107 (degrees) in our region,” said Brad Sherwood, a spokesman for the Sonoma County Water Agency. “It was a pleasant surprise.”
The water agency serves about 600,000 people, including in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma, Sonoma, the Valley of the Moon, North Marin and Marin Municipal water districts.
Santa Rosa officials said Monday they also are pleased with the reduction in water consumption in the city. “Our customers are doing a fantastic job of reducing water use,” said Glen Wright, Santa Rosa’s deputy director of water resources.
Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat by clicking here.
Navigating Tahoe: Committee wants lodge-to-lodge kayaking program
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:22 am
From the Reno Gazette Journal:
Even though non-motorized boating has been a recreation activity since the Washo Indians were the predominate residents at Lake Tahoe, it wasn’t until a handful of years ago that the Lake Tahoe Water Trail Association came into being.
Bob Kingman, who worked for the California Tahoe Conservancy at the time, is credited with coming up with the idea. From there, a group of people dedicated to tourism at the lake formed the association. “Our purpose is to promote kayaking use on the lake, boat safety and some of the other issues like invasive species,” said Dennis Liebl, a current and founding member of the LTWTA.
This month, the second edition of the water trail map will be available via the nonprofit’s Web site at www.laketahoewatertrail.org for $8.95.
Paddling the entire shoreline – a distance of 72 miles – is not recommended for the beginner, though. The water trail plan is ambitious:
The water trail committee is in the beginning stages of creating a lodge-to-lodge kayaking program. The idea is that people would paddle from one room to the next. Their belongings would be moved for them. Talk of a guide being available on the water and special activities like massages and paddler-only dinners are being discussed.
Read more from the Reno Gazette Journal by clicking here.
Water activists to rally in Fresno: Hundreds, perhaps thousands, expected
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:18 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
Organizers of a second Rally for Water are expecting several hundred, if not thousands, to descend on downtown Fresno on Wednesday as they continue their fight for more water.
Farmers, workers and elected officials have been invited to attend the noon rally in front of City Hall. A march around the downtown area will follow.
Mario Santoyo, a member of the Latino Water Coalition and organizer of the event, said the group wants to continue the momentum it gained from a four-day protest march in early April. Several thousand participated in the march that began in Mendota and ended at the base of the San Luis Reservoir with a rally that drew Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “We are not going away and we want to continue to keep this issue alive,” Santoyo said. “We hope that this will help expedite getting a solution to the problem.”
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
L.A. is set to record a fourth straight year with below-average rainfall
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:17 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
Despite a gloomy June, Los Angeles is poised today to record its fourth year in a row with below-normal rainfall. From July 1 of last year to today, a period designated as a “rain year,” only about 9 inches of rain fell compared to an average of slightly more than 15 inches, said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.
Southern California hasn’t had an above-average rain year since 2004-05, when L.A. experienced its second-wettest year on record, with rain totaling 37.25 inches. The next year, some meteorologists forecast that El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean could lead to a wet winter for Southern California. Instead, L.A. experienced its driest year on record, with only 3.21 inches.
This June was cooler than previous ones. Almost every day was overcast. And the first days of the month were marked by something unusual: rain. This June had twice as much rain as normal, but it only amounted to about 0.15 inches, Patzert said. “That’s just enough to push the dirt around your car,” he said. “It’s definitely not a drought buster.”
Read more from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
For UNLV professor, groundbreaking work in soil, water field
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 6:14 amFrom the Las Vegas Sun:
Dale Devitt is, as the joke goes, out standing in his field. This particular field (Devitt has several) is riddled with buried experiments in the form of tubes of soil, some with grass on top, some without. This is a sort of demonstration farm and outdoor laboratory on the far north side of town.
Devitt, who runs UNLV’s Center for Urban Water Conservation, is trying to determine whether turf can filter pharmaceuticals out of reclaimed water (read: processed sewage), trapping it before it can enter the ground water. (The answer, so far, appears to be yes, but Devitt cautions that the experiment still has two years to run.)
Devitt can look around and point to past projects. There’s a stand of trees, for instance — desert willows, mesquites, oaks and so on — most of the popular landscaping choices around Las Vegas. This was one of the first experiments Devitt ran out here. It compares the water usage of tree species. Mesquites, for instance, use more water than oaks, which use more water than willows. It sounds simple enough, comparing trees not only with one another but also with turf and shrubs, but it was groundbreaking work for a simple reason: The money has always been in agricultural research — not landscaping.
Read more from the Las Vegas Sun by clicking here.
Monday afternoon update: Salazar doesn’t quench farm thirst for water in California, announces aid to valley agribusiness, but doesn’t endorse canal
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:51 pmFrom the Capital Ag Press:
A who’s-who of San Joaquin Valley agriculture was part of the crowd that packed a Fresno State student union on a blistering Sunday afternoon, June 28, to hear what they hoped would be good news from Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Salazar, dressed in boots and jeans, didn’t deliver any immediate relief to their water woes. Instead, he announced plans for some short-term and long-term fixes for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta so more water could be delivered to farms and communities to the south.
Hundreds of thousands of acres have been fallowed on the west side of the valley this year due to lack of surface water deliveries. The announced allotment is at 10 percent of normal. Unemployment in west side communities is near 40 percent.
Frustration with lack of action was apparent as audience members interrupted speakers shouting, “We don’t want welfare, we want water.” Four valley congressmen attending the meeting also drew loud cheers when they said the time for meetings and talk is over.
From The Packer.com:
Of the California speakers invited to address the officials, the warmest welcome was for Paul Rodriguez, president of the Sacramento-based Latino Water Coalition. The comedian and grower told the federal officials not to be confused by the coalition’s name. Its members include all ethic groups, he said.
“We grow the best produce and we grow patriots,” said Rodriguez, himself a veteran. “But while our young men and women are risking their lives to protect our freedoms abroad, back home, bureaucrats and court rulings are taking from their families the freedom to farm.”
The federal Endangered Species Act is flawed because it ignores the effects on human beings, said Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of Western Growers, Irvine, Calif. “Confidence in federal agencies cannot be restored until those agencies begin to make science-based decisions,” he told the officials.
Four members of Congress, Republicans George Radanovich and Devin Nunes and Democrats Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa, said the lack of rainfall in California during the past three years is not the only culprit in the irrigation water dilemma. During their comments, each of the lawmakers, all of whom represent chunks of the San Joaquin Valley, used the phrase “regulatory drought.”
They referred to the Endangered Species Act and biological opinions from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that have resulted in reduced exports of water from Northern California to the valley and to Southern California.
Well, if the farmers weren’t impressed by the visit, the environmentalists weren’t either, according to Dan Bacher:
Salazar didn’t outright endorse a peripheral canal and more dams as requested by Valley Congressmen and agribusiness representatives as the solution to their “water supply problems,” nor did he agree to their request to convene the “God Squad” to gut protections for Delta smelt, Chinook salmon, green sturgeon and killer whales mandated under the Endangered Species Act. “Water supply and infrastructure are options that need to be looked at,” Salazar said. “However, we are are not at a point where we are supporting a peripheral canal or new reservoirs.”
He said that he has appointed Deputy Secretary David J Hayes as the lead official to coordinate federal response to California water supply and related environmental issues with the state and stakeholders, including the peripheral canal and Temperance and Sites Reservoirs.
“I’ve assigned the Deputy Secretary to find those solutions,” said Salazar. “I do expect that there will be a significant water supply component to these efforts.”
He also refused to convene the “Gold Squad” as requested by Representatives Nuns, Radanovich, Cardoza and Jim Costa, who slammed the ESA and the Delta smelt and salmon biological opinions for putting “fish over people.”
“To convene the God Squad would be admitting failure in the recovery of these species under the ESA,” said Salazar. “Where the God Squad has been invoked, it just created more litigation and compounded the problems it sought to address.”
He said that the administration must both establish the “certainty” and “realiabity” of water supplies and to fulfill the responsibilities for endangered species, unfortunately invoking the “co-equal” goal rhetoric of water supply and ecoystem restoration that led to the current ecosystem crash in the Delta under CalFed.
To the chagrin of recreational and commercial fishermen, Indian Tribes, and environmental justice groups, Salazar, Hayes and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor said they would continue to work through the controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan that includes a peripheral canal and more dams.
In fact, Salazar pledged “renewed federal involvement and leadership” in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and “federal engagement in water supply issues that extend beyond the scope of the BDCP and the immediate geography of the Bay Delta.”
“Significant progress will be made on the most contentious water supply and environmental issues by the end of 2009, including but not limited to the issues raised by the BDCP,” according to Salazar.
Read more:
Secretary Salazar, senior administration and congressional officials hold town hall meeting on California water shortage
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:40 pm
From the Department of the Interior:
At a town hall meeting in Fresno, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor and members of the California Congressional Delegation today announced multiple steps the Obama Administration is taking to alleviate the heavy toll on Californians resulting from the ongoing water shortage.
“Water is the lifeblood of agricultural communities across the West. We are here in the Central Valley to listen and hear directly from those suffering the impacts of the water shortage,” Secretary Salazar told the hundreds of citizens gathered at Fresno State. “This community has my commitment, and the commitment of the Obama Administration, that we will work with state and local officials to address continuing conflicts associated with transporting water from northern California through the Bay Delta – that includes fisheries-related conflicts and other deteriorating environmental conditions in the Bay Delta.”
Among the actions announced by the Secretary today are:
* The appointment of Deputy Secretary David J Hayes as lead official for Interior and the Obama Administration in coordinating the federal response to California water supply and related environmental issues with the state and stakeholders.
* Renewed federal involvement and leadership in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and federal engagement in water supply issues that extend beyond the scope of the BDCP and the immediate geography of the Bay Delta. Significant progress will be made on the most contentious water supply and environmental issues by the end of 2009, including but not limited to the issues raised by the BDCP.
* Continued efforts to distribute $220 million in Recovery Act funding for specific water and environmental infrastructure projects in California. Of this amount, $160 million will be directed to the Central Valley Project. An additional $40 million in drought relief funds will be announced within the month, the majority of which will go to California’s Central Valley.* The expedited review of infrastructure projects that could potentially add flexibility to water delivery systems, including the proposed “Two Gates” project and the canal intertie project.
Salazar noted that in addition to these commitments, the Interior Department through the Bureau of Reclamation has already taken operational steps to stretch the scarce water supply. Those measures include:
* The processing of more than 70 transfers that total approximately 245,000 acre-feet of water for the San Joaquin Valley.
* The approval of rescheduling requests by Westside and Friant Division CVP contractors to allow them to preserve and use prior year allocations of approximately 250,000 acre-feet in San Luis Reservoir and 57,000 acre-feet in Millerton Lake.
* The planned announcement of 2010 rescheduling guidelines by August 1, several months in advance of prior practice.
* The approval of contracts to convey 170,000 acre-feet of non-CVP water through CVP facilities for irrigation in various areas affected by the drought.
The Interior Department will continue these efforts and work closely with California to continue facilitating water transfers between willing sellers and buyers, as well as other efficiency improvements.
“When a community is suffering the way this community is suffering, all parties must come together and work in good faith to find solutions,” added Salazar. “We want to continue all these actions and also to learn from you today any other ways in which we can help.”
Pacific Legal Foundation launches “Save Our Water” petition to Obama and Schwarzenegger; Federal “God Squad’s” help sought for California’s crisis
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:36 pmFrom the Pacific Legal Foundation, this press release:
Pacific Legal Foundation today launched an emergency “Save our Water” petition campaign, urging President Barack Obama and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to act to convene a special federal panel, nicknamed the “God Squad,” to address California’s water emergency caused by harsh federal environmental restrictions.
PLF’s petition is online at www.pacificlegal.org. It allows members of the general public to ask President Obama and Governor Schwarzenegger to act to convene the “God Squad.”
“Water cutbacks caused by draconian federal environmental regulations have already caused devastation for San Joaquin Valley farmers, farmworkers, rural communities, and cities,” said PLF President Rob Rivett. “Now, new federal restrictions have been proposed that will exacerbate the water crisis in California. The Endangered Species Committee – the ‘God Squad’ – must be convened to save the California economy from an even more destructive government-caused water crisis.”
The Endangered Species Committee is a panel of cabinet officials that can countermand Endangered Species Act restrictions that cause excessive destruction to jobs and the economy.
A governor may formally petition for the convening of the Committee. PLF’s “Save our Water” petition urges Governor Schwarzenegger to submit such a request, and urges President Obama to make sure his administration acts favorably on it.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has imposed devastating cutbacks on water pumping into California’s main water system as part of a regulatory scheme to protect the delta smelt.
Now, federal officials are proposing sweeping new reductions in water supplies as part of a “biological opinion” relating to several species, including chinook salmon and steelhead. These further cuts in pumping and water supplies are estimated to remove an additional 500,000 acre-feet of water, the amount that is required to serve two million people annually.
“Without relief from the God Squad, the harsh enforcement of rigid environmental rules will inflict more pain and suffering in a state that is already enduring its worst unemployment in more than 60 years,” said PLF’s Rivett. “PLF’s emergency petition asks that the God Squad be convened as quickly as possible.”
About Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation (www.pacificlegal.org) is the leading legal watchdog for limited government, property rights, and a balanced approach to environmental regulation.
Salazar underwhelms Fresno; federal and state officials must act to convene God Squad
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:34 pmFrom the Pacific Legal Foundation’s PLF on ESA blog:
There is plenty of coverage of yesterday’s visit by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to Fresno. Aquafornia has a nice roundup of the news stories — the problem with these stories, however, is that they fail to portray how truly uninspiring Salazar’s visit was.
While the Secretary’s visit was a nice gesture to those who have been hurt by California’s water crisis, it was disappointing to hear how infrequently he uttered the words “Endangered Species Act” or “pumps.” Salazar and his officials offered quite a bit when it came to long-term solutions (which are no doubt important), but little regarding what to do given the current crisis.
One official suggested monetary relief as a short-term remedy. To say the crowd was not pleased with this proposal is an understatement — “We don’t want welfare, we want water” responded one attendee to loud applause.
Indeed, only Washington would solve the water problem with more money, rather than the common sense solution of more water. Money is not the solution to the regulatory drought. As Rep. George Radanovich stated at yesterday’s forum, “We need action now.” (h/t: Merced Sun-Star)
That is where Pacific Legal Foundation comes in. We have formally requested both President Barack Obama and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to act to convene a special federal panel – nicknamed the “God Squad” – to address California’s water emergency caused by harsh federal environmental restrictions that dramatically reduce the flow of water to millions of agricultural and urban water users.
Read more from the PLF on ESA blog by clicking here.
Fresh produce industry opposes California senator’s threat to cut California agriculture department
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:31 pmFrom The Packer:
In the wake of a June 16 Senate Food and Agriculture hearing — chaired by California state senator Dean Florez — the list of grower-shippers displeased with the senator appears to be growing. The hearing focused on the senator’s proposal to consolidate or eliminate the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
“It would make absolutely no sense to destroy the agency that oversees diseases — everything from cow pox to anthrax, from the West Nile virus to some of the most dangerous pests that can destroy agriculture and our landscape,” said Manuel Cunha, president of the Fresno-based Nisei Farmers League. “Who does he represent? What constituency?”
The proposal is designed to provide a more streamlined, more efficient government entity, Florez said, and to reduce the cost of the department for taxpayers. His proposal includes — among other things — moving oversight of fertilizer, chemical and pest control to the Department of Pesticide Regulation, giving the tasks of health and animal inspection to other agencies and eliminating the department’s marketing efforts by converting to private, non-profit corporations the state’s roughly four dozen marketing commissions.
“By breaking up CDFA, it certainly doesn’t look as if it would increase efficiencies,” said Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League, Fresno. “You’d probably be going the other direction, and I doubt it would save money.”
Read more from The Packer by clicking here.
Grand Jury: Thermalito water rate is justified
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:30 pmFrom the Oroville Mercury Register:
The Butte County Grand Jury looked into the Thermalito Water and Sewer District’s water rate hikes, but the report cites the increases were reasonable. The Grand Jury review was prompted by a letter complaining about alleged “price gouging,” according to the report released Friday.
The jury compared district water rates to those of surrounding agencies and found TWSD had the fourth- to sixth-lowest rates.
While district water rates were competitive with those of other water purveyors in the county, the jury decided to evaluate district operations.
The district has water rights to 7,200 acre feet of water from Concow Reservoir. Water is transported from Concow and stored in Lake Oroville. The district pulls surface water released from the lake and ground water from wells. The water is treated at a new pressure-filter treatment plant and stored in a tank near Table Mountain.
Read more from the Oroville Mercury Register by clicking here.
Department of Fish and Game to resume stocking of Battle Creek
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:28 pmFrom the Tehama Daily News:
Fish will flow in time for the Fourth of July weekend in Battle Creek.
Normally, starting around the last Saturday in April and continuing through October, trucks from the Darrah Springs hatchery would plant around 20,000 rainbow trout, said Fish Hatchery Manager George Parker.
But this year’s release was stalled by a court order until this week when the Department of Fish and Game concluded no frogs or fish threatened by release of trout were present in either the creek’s northern or southern forks, DFG Environmental Scientist Steve Baumgartner said.
The return of rainbow trout to the creek is not official yet, Baumgartner said. The process still requires approval from DFG headquarters in Sacramento. So far, however, everything points to the return of the fish in time for the Fourth of July weekend.
Read more from the Tehama Daily News by clicking here.
Troubled water district rejects plan to boost rates
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 4:26 pmFrom the Napa Valley Register:
Property owners at a Lake Berryessa subdivision have managed to stop a proposal to increase water and sewer rates, a hike that Napa County officials said was essential to maintain water and sewer services.
Homeowners representing roughly 52 percent of the properties in Berryessa Highlands voted against increasing the water and sewer rates by 83 percent while the future of Steele Park Resort remains up in the air. Steele Park is the biggest customer in the Napa Berryessa Resort Improvement District, which serves the Highlands. The resort, with about one-third of the water and sewer hook-ups in the district, is in transition.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials hoped to have a new operator at Steele Park this year, but a contract snafu has delayed the process. County officials are counting on the Steele Park operator to pay some $4 million toward sewer and water upgrades.
Read more from the Napa Valley Register by clicking here.
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Recent Posts
- Academy of Sciences report validates biological opinions to save salmon, other fish
- National Academies deliver mixed message on California Delta dilemma
- Statement of California Secretary for Natural Resources Lester Snow on the NAS report
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- Friday’s top of the scroll: NAS report backs biological opinions but still needs further study; also finds other ’stressors’ have hurt delta fish
- Links for National Academies of Science report
- Secretary Salazar’s statement on National Academy of Sciences review of California Bay Delta water issues
- National Academies of Science Report: Most federal actions to protect endangered fishes in California’s Bay-Delta ’scientifically justified,’ but additional clarification needed
- Costa and Cardoza deny health bill for water vote swap
- Westlands pilot project targets San Joaquin Valley salt water pollution
- Westlands Water District funds water treatment pilot project utilizing New Sky Energy’s salt/CO2 conversion process
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- Statement By Thomas W. Birmingham from Westlands on Department of the Interior Allocation Announcement
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