Monday afternoon update: Once promising El Nino might ‘El Fizzle’
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 1:09 pmFrom the Science Dude at the O.C. Register:
“Gone? The reddish-orange satellite markings visible at the equator during a class El Nino seem to have disappeared, says JPL. The red spots shown here, above the equator, depict a current. Image courtesy of NASA.
The U.S. Climate Prediction Center said in early July that an El Nino had developed in the eastern equatorial Pacific, and forecasters later added that the periodic, natural climate change — which can greatly enhance rainfall in Orange County — had the potential to become “moderate to strong.”
The CPC issued an updated forecast on Aug. 24, saying “El Niño is expected to strengthen and last through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2009-10.”
But is the agency wrong? Maybe. …”
Read more from the Science Dude by clicking here.
Democrats blocking real fix on water, says Hollingsworth
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 1:07 pmFrom the San Diego Union Tribune, this commentary from Senator Dennis Hollingsworth:
“It’s time for California’s legislative Democratic leaders to either get serious about water reform or get out of the way.
So far they haven’t done either one.
California is in the midst of a water crisis that affects everyone who lives here. The existing water system is broken and is no longer capable of meeting our needs. Millions of residents are facing cutbacks in their water supplies, rising costs and the threat of rationing. Tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars have been lost from the state’s economy in just the last three years. And federal environmental regulations are sending billions of gallons of our fresh-water supplies to waste into the ocean.
Fortunately there is a growing consensus among the state’s academic experts, environmental, fisheries and wildlife agencies, farmers, public water providers, business leaders and specialists in economics and engineering on what needs to be done. Environmental restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, increased surface and groundwater storage, water conservation and new conveyance systems to protect the purity of the water supplied to two-thirds of California’s population are all part of that prescription.
But instead of getting behind the plan, Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly are backing a package of “water bills” that set us back decades in the discussion and offer no options for increasing water supplies or reliability. …”
Read more of Senator Hollingsworth’s commentary by clicking here.
“California’s Water Crisis” topic of new PBS segment; Latest episode in the “California’s Water” series debuts Sept. 1
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 1:05 pm
From the Association of California Water Agencies via Marketwire:
The devastating impacts of water shortages on Central Valley farms and communities are revealed in the latest segment of the “California’s Water” series, produced by Huell Howser and underwritten by members of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA). The new segment debuts Sept. 1 in Sacramento and will air throughout the month on PBS affiliates around the state.
“California’s Water Crisis” offers a first-hand look at the mounting toll of water shortages on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley this summer. During the episode, Howser talks with a number of growers struggling to keep tomato, almond and other crops going.
“This ground is some of the most fertile in the world, but without water, it’s just dirt,” says Bob Diedrich, a fourth-generation farmer who has fallowed 70% of his acreage due to shortages this year. “It almost makes a guy want to cry.”
The episode includes a visit to San Luis Reservoir, the largest off-stream reservoir in the U.S., which was at its lowest level on record for the time of year.
“We are in a water crisis here in California, a crisis which will spread from the San Joaquin Valley and end up affecting every single one of us who call California home,” Howser says.
The segment will air at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 on KVIE in Sacramento, at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 on KVPT in Fresno, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 on KCET in Los Angeles, at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 12 on KPBS in San Diego, and at 9 p.m. Sept. 24 on KVCR in San Bernardino. It will air statewide on PBS stations (check local listings for details).
The “California’s Water” series began airing in April 2006 and covers issues identified in ACWA’s comprehensive policy document, “No Time to Waste: A Blueprint for California’s Water.” More than 20 segments have aired to date.
ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 450 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.
Grant aims at removing invasive plant along Feather River
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:59 pmFrom the Chico Enterprise Record:
“Invasive weeds are causing big-time problems for resource managers throughout the Sacramento Valley, and the state, nation and globe.
Several weeds are on the hit list for wildlife managers, including Arrundo donax, tamarisk, purple loosestrife and starthistle. Adding to this growing list is red sesbania. A newly acquired grant through the Butte County Resource Conservation District will be used to try and remove it along the Feather River.
Like many weeds, the plant is attractive, which means people have planted it in their yards. Red sesbania is also known as scarlet wisteria and the Latin name sesbania punicea. The fast-growing vine has tentacles that wrap around other vegetation, smothering it. The seed pods are about three inches long and contain many seeds in each pod.
The weed is a problem because it reproduces quickly and the plants form a dense thicket along river banks. …”
Read more from the Chico Enterprise Record by clicking here.
CSPA Sues Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board over illegal permit for EID’s Deer Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:59 pmFrom the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, this press release:
“The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) has filed a lawsuit against the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) for issuing a permit to the El Dorado Irrigation District’s (EID) Deer Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The facility discharges 3.6 million gallons of wastewater a day to the seriously degraded Deer Creek; tributary to the Consumes River, Mokelumne River and thence the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta estuary. The Complaint, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, alleges the Regional Board failed to comply with fundamental state and federal regulatory requirements in issuing the EID wastewater discharge permit.
“The Deer Creek permit represents another failure by the Regional Board to comply with laws designed to protect the water quality and fisheries of the Central Valley,” said CSPA Executive Director Bill Jennings. “Nondiscretionary requirements crucial to protecting the environment are being routinely ignored by the Regional Board, under pressure from dischargers. Consequently, our rivers, streams and estuaries are becoming increasingly polluted,” he said.
Andrew Packard, an attorney representing CSPA stated that, “As the water quality of our streams continues to decline, the Regional Board is opening the pollution spigots more rather than ensuring that cities and industries take steps to reduce their already dangerous levels of pollution. California’s water quality laws are supposed to protect water quality, not shield polluters from their requirements.”
The Petition of a Writ of Mandate alleges the Regional Board failed to comply with state and federal anti-degradation requirements, failed to included effluent limitations for constituents with a potential to exceed water quality standards, improperly established limits for metals, failed to include mandated monitoring requirements, ignored the administrative record and failed to comply with basic procedures for public comment and review.
The Law Offices of Andrew Packard, Michael Jackson Law Office and Jackson & Tuerck, Attorneys at Law, represent CSPA in this matter.
_________________________________________________________
CSPA is a non-profit public benefit conservation and research organization established in 1983 for the purpose of conserving, restoring, and enhancing the state’s water quality and fishery resources and their aquatic ecosystems and associated riparian habitats. CSPA’s website is: www.calsport.org.“
El Dorado Irrigation District says power to the pipes
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:58 pmFrom the Mountain Democrat:
“With the prospect of immediate income and a payback in five-14 years, the El Dorado Irrigation District Board of Directors Aug. 24 approved two small hydroelectric projects.
Besides the quick payback period, EID could point to its successful experience with an array of solar panels at the El Dorado Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant. “I think we agonized on the solar project, but the money coming in far exceeded our expectations,” said Board President George Wheeldon about the solar panels.
The 5.5-acre solar array was installed in June 2006, according to Communications Director Deanne Kloepfer, and the 12-year payback period has shrunk to seven years. The solar farm cost EID $2.8 million, with PG&E paying an equal amount.
The two hydro projects recommended by the engineering staff will take the place of pressure reducing stations on the Pleasant Oak Main at Reservoir 7 and the El Dorado Main at Reservoir 3. Each will cost about $1.5 million. The hydroelectic generators will take advantage of the pressure in the pipes at those points. …”
Read more from the Mountain Democrat by clicking here.
Yolo worries about wetlands
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:52 pmFrom The Davis Enterprise:
“Outside developers trying to meet state environmental requirements could turn huge tracts of Yolo County farmland into wetlands over the next 20 years.
It could be as many as 20,000 acres, said Phil Pogledich, senior deputy county counsel, and Yolo’s supervisors worry that unchecked wetland conversion could jeopardize farming, endanger public health and threaten local wildlife.
“It’s something we need to start thinking long and hard about,” said Pogledich, who’s working on an ordinance that would give the county a stronger hand in regulating such projects.
Transforming farmland into wetlands is one way developers in the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area satisfy environmental laws. Before getting approval to develop wetlands, developers must offset the effects to vulnerable wildlife. Creating habitat for the affected species in another area is one way to get state approval.
With a lot of cheap land that’s home to many of the same at-risk species found in more developed areas, Yolo County is attractive to state-licensed “mitigation bankers” who preserve, manage and create habitat, and then sell “credits” to developers looking to meet their legal obligations. …”
Read more from The Davis Enterprise by clicking here.
Yolo County Creek cleanup day to keep trash from flowing to the sea
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:50 pmFrom The Davis Enterprise:
“The largest landfill in the world is not, in fact, on land. It floats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Western Garbage Patch, between Hawaii and California, is twice the size of Texas. Ninety percent of the patch is floating plastic.
What’s a local, community-minded person to do? Libby Earthman, executive director of the Putah Creek Council, says volunteering for the Yolo County Creek Cleanup — on Saturday, Sept. 19 — is a great place to start. “We encourage people of all ages and abilities to come out to our waterways and help pick up trash,” she said in a news release. “It’s something tangible that people can do to learn about how little things they do affect life downstream.”
While some of the trash found in local waterways is illegally dumped there, much of it makes its way into creeks by way of stormwater drains. “When you see a piece of trash in the gutter, floating toward a drain, most people assume that the water and floating trash are heading to the water treatment plant. They are not. They drain directly into creeks, or in Davis, into stormwater collection ponds,” Earthman said. …”
Read more from The Davis Enterprise by clicking here.
Cal Am deserves a little more time, says Herald editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:48 pmFrom the Monterey County Herald, this editorial:
“A sizable percentage of people living or working on the Peninsula have built up a fair amount of animosity toward California American Water, also known as Cal Am, also known as “the blankety-blank water company.”
Some of it is deserved. For much of its time in this community, the subsidiary of a giant European conglomerate operated with little apparent understanding that it is a public utility, a regulated monopoly making money by selling a public resource. Even relatively unpopular utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison have generally done a better job of acknowledging that they operate with special protections that carry special obligations to consider the public interest.
Some of the animosity is undeserved. Cal Am has labored amid more political, bureaucratic, economic and environmental handicaps than most companies ever encounter and has, reluctantly perhaps, started to understand that it has a stake in keeping its principal source of raw material, the Carmel River, reasonably healthy.
Now, regardless of how anyone feels about the company, it is in the community’s interest to unite with the water purveyor in opposition to the State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed cease-and-desist order, which would greatly reduce the amount of water Cal Am could draw from the struggling river. …”
Read more of this editorial from the Monterey County Herald by clicking here.
Oxnard residents dispute flood-risk forecast; Those facing steep insurance costs criticize map
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:44 pmFrom the Ventura County Star:
“Michael Bisnett is familiar with numbers, regressions and probabilities, but that’s what troubles him about the predictions of how much water could flow down the Santa Clara River if the county is hit by a so-called “100-year flood.”
“There’s all these assumptions in there and I just don’t think you should make a $32 million bet on those kinds of assumptions,” said Bisnett, an Oxnard resident who is also a senior field engineer.
Bisnett was referring to his estimate of what flood insurance might cost over 10 years for the affected residents.
He’s leading a group of homeowners trying to get local leaders and federal authorities to reconsider the new Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map, completed earlier this year. The map includes 1,700 Oxnard properties in the 100-year flood zone, showing where water might go in an extreme flood that has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year, or once every century. …”
Read more from the Ventura County Star by clicking here.
Interior appropriations chair questions legality of Cadiz pipeline right-of-way
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:42 pmFrom Emily Green’s Chance of Rain blog:
“US SENATOR Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chairman of the Interior appropriations committee, has challenged Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to certify the legality of plans by Cadiz Inc to use a 42-mile-long stretch of a Mojave railway line for part of a groundwater project in San Bernardino County.
Meanwhile, lobbyists for the speculators behind the project, Cadiz Inc, have been courting Southland public utilities to sign on to the project, possibly including a lucrative groundwater contract with the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.
The Cadiz groundwater project, rejected by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 2002, was revived in September 2008 when Cadiz signed an agreement to run a pipeline across railroad rather than federally-owned land.
Since then, Senator Feinstein, a long-time critic of the Cadiz plan and sponsor of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, has written Bush and Obama Interior secretaries questioning the legality of Cadiz use of the Arizona and California Railroad line to convey water. …”
Read more from the Chance of Rain blog by clicking here.
Moreno Valley water reclamation facility to get upgrade
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:41 pmFrom Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:
“Eastern Municipal Water District is embarking on a $46.3 million upgrade project at its Moreno Valley water reclamation facility to make it more efficient while reducing the negative impact on the environment.
EMWD’s upgrade will include computer operated fuel cells that will allow the facility to generate some of it’s own energy and a new regeneration process to treat the wastewater.
The improvements could make the Moreno Valley facility a model for future “green” water treatment facilities, said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Associate Water Division Director John Kemmerer. …”
Read more from the Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
CSUSM professor helping water officials understand conservation psychology
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:39 pmFrom the North County Times:
“Faced with a growing need for water conservation, officials from a North County water agency have turned to a Cal State San Marcos professor to help figure out what motivates people to scale back their consumption.
Dr. P. Wesley Schultz, a social psychologist at CSUSM since 1997, has teamed with the Olivenhain Water District for a pilot program that kicked off earlier this month.
Seventy-five families are participating in the monthlong study designed to find out whether receiving real-time feedback about their water use causes people to cut back. The program uses a new type of water-use tracking device, the Internet and a special computer application to tell participants how much water they’re using throughout the day.
Schultz said last week that a third of the participating households have the devices; the other 50 families are the control group. …”
Read more from the North County Times by clicking here.
City, water district settle differences
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 12:35 pmFrom MyDesert.com:
“The city has agreed to pay the Coachella Valley Water District $420,684 in unpaid replenishment fees dating back to July 2007. It will also begin regular payment of the fee, which beginning Tuesday will result in an average monthly increase of $2.32 a month for Indio water users.
City officials say that increase could more than double over the next couple of years as the water district’s water replenishment fees increase.
The Indio Water Authority will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday to discuss those issues.
The monthly increase and backpay are a result of a settlement agreement reached June 30 between the city’s water agency and the Coachella Valley Water District. …”
Read more from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
Monday’s top of the scroll: Delta levee projects must now prepare for rising sea level
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 6:21 am
From the Sacramento Bee:
“Levee projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will have to account for rising sea levels under a new federal policy aimed at shoring up the region’s main line of defense against climate change. It’s the first comprehensive policy by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to require that projects under its jurisdiction be designed with higher sea levels in mind.
Many low-lying areas on the edges of the Delta would be under water given the higher seawater levels predicted by the end of this century. Fragile Delta levees also could be overtopped, especially when high tides and storm surges are added into the mix.
“Regardless of what you think the reason is, sea level is rising worldwide and it will continue to rise in the future,” said Kevin Knuuti, chief of the engineering division at the Army Corps’ Sacramento District and lead author of the new policy. “I think the bigger victory is really increasing awareness. We recognize we have a better job to do with that, and that’s why we have come out with this policy.” …”
Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Commentary: Imperfect & Lousy Solutions: what’s a county of origin to do?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 6:18 am
From the blog of Teri Murrison, District 3 Supervisor for Tuolomne County, this commentary:
“Intelligence in on Friday was that the Joint Committee in Sacramento is moving swiftly forward on the Delta bill(s) despite opposition from minority committee members and others — some of whom you’ve heard from in the last week. Word is that new language crafted without minority input will be dropped into the bills (or single bill?) on Monday. We’ll watch for the new language and post it, if available.
If the five Delta bills together or individually were the only imperfect solutions being bandied about that we need to watch carefully from a county of origin perspective, that would be scary. But wait, there’s more.
Aside from the Delta bills, because we have two of three major donor watersheds to the San Joaquin River (the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers) in Tuolumne County and no water rights, that should get your attention. To protect recreation and environmental uses, State Water Resource Control Board (SWRCB) staff made a bid last year to prohibit PG&E’s right to sell water to Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) if levels in Pinecrest Reservoir drop below a certain point in dry years. That action is currently under review but if upheld, the SWRCB could deny TUD water – and that means every customer on the TUD system – by mid-summer in very dry years. …”
Read more of Teri Murrison’s blog post by clicking here.
An enduring drought: The sooner California stops treating the water shortage as a temporary situation, the sooner California will be come up with the solutions needed to keep hydrated, says editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 6:15 amFrom the San Gabriel Tribune, this editorial (which makes me think about this story):
“”Drought” sounds so temporary – and there’s nothing temporary about the decreasing availability of water in Southern California. As such, we need a new word – and a new attitude – to deal with this region’s new reality: water shortage is the new normal, and it’s time to adjust accordingly.
State leaders have begun hearings on legislation to resolve California’s water crisis. Solutions could include building a canal to carry water around the ecologically fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and mandates that Californians reduce water consumption.
Balancing the water claims of farmers, fishermen, environmentalists, households and industrial users is about as easy as negotiating a Middle East peace agreement. Yet, this difficult compromise must be reached.
The status quo is unacceptable. …”
Read more of this editorial from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune by clicking here.
Placerville faces big water and sewer rate hikes
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 6:12 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“The bill for decades of deferred maintenance of Placerville’s water and sewer systems has come due, and city officials say the timing could not be worse.
City Council members were told last week that residential customers could face a 66.7 percent increase in their bimonthly water bill and up to a 122 percent increase in wastewater charges to cover the cost of upgrading the city’s aging systems. “This is one of the most difficult staff reports I’ve ever written … because of the potential impacts to the community,” said finance director Dave Warren.
The city has about 45 miles of water distribution lines, and much of the system is more than 60 years old. “At any point, we could have a major pipe break costing in the six figures, and we don’t have the money to replace it,” Warren said. …”
Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Will homeowners pay more, less when Fresno moves to water meters?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 6:09 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
“No one knows for sure what will happen when Fresno starts using water meters early next year — but some people could be in for a shock.
After six months, data from a study of 70 volunteer households has produced a few surprises:
Water use varies widely even among similarly sized lots. The thriftiest small lot used one-seventh as much as the most wasteful.
Many homes — from 25% to almost half, depending on the month — had water-use patterns that suggested leaks in their plumbing or irrigation systems.A Bee analysis of the data suggests that homeowners on small lots could pay more with meters and those with large lots could pay less, even though the average isn’t expected to change much. The reason: What counts under metered rates isn’t your lot size. It’s how much water you use.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Desalination threat to the growing Arabian Gulf
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 5:59 am
From The National (an publication that looks to be coming from the United Arab Emirates):
“Desalination is vital in providing the region’s cities with supplies of potable water. But the process itself is pouring more and more brine back into the sea, raising the question of whether the technology will one day cease to be economically feasible.
Never mind peak oil, or even peak water: Some experts are pondering the possibility of the UAE’s development being limited by “peak salt” – the notional point at which the Arabian Gulf becomes so salty that relying on it for fresh water stops being economically feasible.
There is cause for concern, says Dr Shawki Barghouti, director-general of the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai. “Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all have their desalination plants along the Gulf’s shores,” he said. “The brine that these desalination plants produce is being dumped back into the ocean.”
In addition, damming of rivers has cut the flow of fresh water into the Gulf – and the water that does flow in is increasingly polluted. “All fresh water in the Gulf has been minimised significantly,” said Dr Mohammed Dawoud, manager of the water resources department at the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD). “The pollution load has increased dramatically.” …”
Read more from The National by clicking here.
Australia’s water scarcity started 15 years ago
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2009 at 5:49 amFrom Water Online:
“New analysis shows that the water scarcity being experienced in southeast Australia started up to 15 years ago. While the results from the work by senior CSIRO researcher, Dr Albert van Dijk, may not surprise many people, it provides scientific evidence of the shift.
The finding follows the first ever national and comprehensive analysis of 30 years of on-ground and satellite observations of Australia’s water resources.
Dr Albert van Dijk told the the Sixth International Scientific Conference on the Global Energy and Water Cycle in Melbourne today that the analysis provides a valuable, new insight into the country’s water balance. “The data shows the first signs of diminishing water availability in Australia appeared somewhere between 1993 and 1996 when the rate of water resource capture and use started to exceed the rate of streamflow supply,” Dr van Dijk said. …”
Read more from Water Online by clicking here.
Sunday (night) update: David Beckman: Water-collecting strategy offers flood of benefits
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 9:12 pmFrom the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by David Beckham of the NRDC:
“In June, water use in Los Angeles fell to a 32-year seasonal low, a remarkable savings considering the steady population growth the region has seen over that period. The bad news is that this performance was spurred in part by drought conditions that are gripping California for the third year in a row; and that drought and the effects of global warming severely threaten our remaining water supplies.
Given that much of California is a desert or close to it, Californians have a curious relationship with water. When it rains, we channel this fresh water into concrete and metal pipes and dispose of it as fast as we can in rivers and ultimately the ocean. As all this water, as much as 10 billion gallons during a winter storm in Los Angeles, flows over the unending urban hardscape, it washes with it a flood of pollutants, creating a severe water pollution problem. That’s enough water in one day to supply more than 60,000 families for a whole year, but somehow we allow it to literally fall through the cracks.
But having sent billions of gallons of water out to sea, without a second thought we then take water from hundreds of miles away, pump it through deserts and over mountain ranges, and direct it to our taps and sprinklers to make sure we can enjoy a cold drink or water our lawns. …”
Read the rest of David Beckman’s commentary in the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Timothy F. Brick: History should be a guide for Delta’s future
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 9:10 pmFrom the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by Timothy Brick of the Metropolitan Water District:
“Burt Wilson’s Aug. 23 Forum article – “A peripheral canal won’t make any more water; it will just send more of it from north to south” – brought home the fundamental challenge the Legislature faces as it takes on the most important water debate in a generation. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is in crisis. There is widespread agreement that action is needed. Yet there is fear in changing the water system, fear of doing more harm than good, fear of a “water grab.”
My friend Burt and I shared that concern 27 years ago as we helped lead the fight in Southern California against the so-called peripheral canal. That proposal to move water supplies around the Delta truly was a supply-side solution to a perceived water problem. Voters defeated the canal in 1982. And Southern California’s importer of Delta water, the Metropolitan Water District, got the message.
The old water strategy – find new supplies from somewhere else – was jettisoned for a better, local approach. Metropolitan’s long-term water plan does not rely on more water from the Delta to meet the challenges of growth. Conservation, recycling and seawater desalination are among the emerging tools to fill the gap. As an example, in June water use in the city of Los Angeles was no greater than what it was 32 years ago.
In the Delta, however, a political culture of fear and indecision has persisted. …”
Read more of Timothy Brick’s commentary in the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Dan Bacher commentary: Save our state, stop the canal
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 9:09 pmDan Bacher responds to this editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle regarding the price tag of the current water plan legislation being potentially $54 billion:
“It is absurd for the state to authorize a water project that could cost up to $54 billion (editorial, August 30) at a time when our state parks, teachers and childrens’ health care are in great jeopardy because of budget cuts.
I find it appalling that Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) are sponsoring legislation that serves as a road map to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s peripheral canal. This proposed government boondoggle wouldn’t create any new water – it would only take water from senior water rights holders to be delivered to junior water rights holders on the San Joaquin Valley’s west side.
In spite of the Governor’s claim that the canal will result in “ecosystem restoration,” this dangerous bill package will only exacerbate the unprecedented collapse of Central Valley salmon, delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, Sacramento splittail, American shad, striped bass and other California Delta fish populations by removing more water from the imperiled estuary.
Does it make any sense for the state to build a giant canal that will destroy Delta fisheries and Delta farmland while indebting Californians for decades to come? For action alerts, go to http://www.calsport.org. …”
Charles Burt: We can’t restore the Delta by squeezing agriculture
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 9:05 pmFrom the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by Charles Burt, chairman of the Irrigation Training and Research Center at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo:
“When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared that the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was in a worsening crisis that threatened statewide economic and ecological disaster, he set in motion a process to cure a “sickness” before it spread throughout California.
The governor created a special Delta Vision Task Force in 2006 to achieve what were called two co-equal goals: restore the Delta and make California’s water supply more reliable.
The flurry of water bills being debated by the Legislature makes this clear, since the core proposals focus on restoration of the Delta. Regardless of Sacramento politics, the Delta environment will still dominate decisions because the federal Endangered Species Act and other regulations give the environment priority over human needs. …”
Read more of this commentary by clicking here.
Conserve water, yes; but build storage too, says editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 9:02 pmFrom the Bakersfield Californian:
“In parched California, nothing riles folks up more than a good water war. And that includes folks in Sacramento, where a whole slew of special interests — farmers, farmworkers, environmentalists, developers, Northern California cities and Southern California cities — are pressuring legislators over plans to improve the state’s fragile water system.
Before they adjourned for their mid-summer break, lawmakers were locked in a months-long battle to close a $26 billion state budget gap. With state coffers running on fumes, California was doling out IOUs to its vendors, while Republicans and Democrats bickered. Very little else was accomplished.
Legislators returned to Sacramento a while back hoping to make progress on other pressing problems. At the top of the list must be fixing the collapsing San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta and increasing water supplies. No longer can this task be ignored or stalled. …”
Read more of this editorial from the Bakersfield Californian by clicking here.
Tracy Press: Worries abound as the Delta nears collapse
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 8:20 pmFrom the Tracy Press:
“Over the past few years, I’ve talked to farmers, fishers, water managers, environmentalists, activists and politicians about the state of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Almost all agree that the Delta — the state’s largest water system and in many ways the carrier of California’s lifeblood — is in serious trouble. And they all agree it needs fixing, fast.
As a response to those concerns and a three-year drought, a quintet of bills is floating through the state Legislature with the goal of completely overhauling the state’s patchwork water system.
Not everyone is impressed.
Bill Jennings, longtime activist and a member of Restore the Delta and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, doesn’t mince words. He told me this week that the legislative package is a rush job that could have a “horrific impact” on the Delta and those who depend upon it.
To say that this cure is worse than the illness is quite the indictment. …”
Read more from the Tracy Press by clicking here.
Gary Griggs, Our Ocean Backyard: Messing around with beaches
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 8:17 pmFrom the Santa Cruz Sentinel, this column by Gary Griggs:
“Hundreds of dams on California’s streams have trapped millions of cubic yards of sand that would have been carried to the shoreline under natural conditions and nourished our beaches. Sluices or pipes could have been built beneath these dams to allow sand to pass through, but this wasn’t a consideration when the dams were built decades ago. Those sediment-filled dams that no longer serve any purpose are being evaluated for removal, but this has been a complex and time-consuming effort with no major dam removals yet.
The logical effect of all of the sand trapped behind those dams would be to reduce the size of the beaches, at least those that are downstream or down coast from the dammed rivers. Do we see these narrowed beaches? Well, there are certainly lots of narrow beaches, and other areas with no beach at all, but have beaches systematically narrowed? Most of the major dammed streams are in Southern California, with about 50 percent of the original sand flow now trapped behind dams, so this is where we should have experienced the greatest beach losses. …”
Read more of Gary Grigg’s column by clicking here.
Metropolitan Water District gives water saver rebate program more money
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 8:15 pmFrom the Riverside Press Enterprise:
“A controversial water-conservation rebate program is expected to be up and running again next month, but participants who want a return for high-efficiency appliances better hurry, because money will be doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, officials said.
Funds for the “SoCal Water$mart” program dried up in May because the overwhelming number of requests far exceeded the budget set by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
The rebates, covering 26 cities and agencies that buy water from MWD, were designed to encourage consumers to buy high-efficiency toilets, clothes washers, artificial turf, climate-sensitive irrigation controllers and special sprinkler heads. …”
Read more from the Press Enterprise by clicking here.
Dry run: Learning from Australia’s drought – Australia’s 10-year drought provides a glimpse of our own thirsty future if we don’t conserve and recycle water now
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 8:13 pmFrom MyDesert.com:
“Does the idea of taking a shower alongside a strategically placed bucket, then running outside to water your plants, sound appealing to you? How about the ticking of a shower timer counting down your remaining seconds while you hurriedly rinse out that last bit of shampoo? Those are some of the drastic measures Australians are forced to take because of tight governmental restrictions after a decade of drought.
Brisbane, Queensland, resident Tanya Graves, a lawyer turned full-time mom, no longer gets to enjoy watching her kids cavorting on the Slip ‘n Slide or running through the sprinklers. Forget about watering the yard. “Our rationing has slowly changed,” she reports. “It started with watering of gardens being limited more and more. Firstly, odd-numbered houses could only water every other day, then only from 4–7 p.m. This progressed on to watering by bucket only. At the worst stage they did not allow watering of gardens at all,” says Graves. In addition, “The ‘powers that be’ have recommended 4 minutes maximum per person for showers and even gave everyone free timers.” …”
Read more from MyDesert.com by clicking here.
A note to my readers….
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2009 at 5:00 amI have an early morning obligation this morning; the site won’t be updated any further until probably Sunday afternoon.
Unless Sunday morning’s news is boring. Then Monday….
Thanks for understanding! :)
-Aqua Blog Maven
Saturday evening update: Bradford Island levee repairs continue, No threat to state’s water supply
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2009 at 9:09 pm
From the Department of Water Resources:
Sacramento, CA – Work to repair a damaged levee in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will continue until at least tomorrow [Sunday]. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) reports the risk of a levee breach on Bradford Island has been significantly reduced by ongoing repairs and there is currently no threat to local and State water supply.
The levee was damaged by a freighter that ran aground on Thursday night on the northeastern side of Bradford Island in the San Joaquin River. The impact of the ship caused a portion of the levee to slip away and created a 100-foot crack along the top, though no water has breached the levee.
Much of the State’s drinking and irrigation water supply comes through the Delta. A serious levee breach and subsequent island flooding would cause saltwater intrusion into the Delta from the San Francisco Bay, contaminating the State’s water supply.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday about 75 percent of the landside levee repair is complete. Work to complete repairs to the waterside of the levee will begin tomorrow at 7 a.m. A National Weather Service flood watch will remain in effect until at least tomorrow morning, and the U.S. Coast Guard and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office will maintain a 5 m.p.h. no wake zone on the San Joaquin River near Bradford Island during the levee repair efforts.
The DWR Flood Operations Center will continue to coordinate and monitor the situation with local Reclamation District 2059, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Weather Service, Cal EMA and Contra Costa County.
A $54 billion water bill: How is the state going to pay for any of this? asks editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2009 at 9:07 pmFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Water. California never has enough of it.
That makes it one of the few state issues to rival the importance of our busted budget right now. For six months, the Legislature has been working on a package of bills that would drastically shift the way Californians use and receive water. At the same time, a comprehensive Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta restoration and water plan supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger just got an eye-popping price tag: at least $23 billion, and maybe as much as $54 billion.
These costs are merely estimates and should be treated as such. But the estimates, which came courtesy of a consulting economist’s report last week, underline the tremendous cost of addressing such a huge problem. No wonder Sacramento has avoided doing it for so long. …”
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Ag Secretary Vilsack milked for answers
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2009 at 9:04 pmFrom the Turlock Journal:
“The Stanislaus County Ag Center filled with red-clad dairymen and women on Wednesday to welcome U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to town -– and to implore the Secretary to do something to stem the losses that threaten to put 10 percent of California dairies out of business by the end of the year.
The sea of red was intended to represent the red ink California dairies are bleeding. For every 500 cows, a dairy will lose approximately $50,000 per month as a result of the recent collapse in milk prices, according to the California Dairy Women.
A concerned crowd of more than 600 farmers turned out for what will be Vilsack’s only stop in California during his Rural Tour of town hall meetings in the nation’s farmlands. Both the main room and an overflow room at the Ag Center were full to capacity.
“This (turnout) shows all of us how important ag is to the Central Valley and how important the issues you’ve come to talk about today are,” said U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D- CA18), who sits on the House Agriculture Committee and lobbied for Vilsack’s visit. …”
Read more from The Turlock Journal by clicking here.
South Delta Water Agency’s comments on the proposed Delta legislation
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2009 at 9:02 pmFrom the website of Teri Murrison, District 3 Supervisor, Tuolomne County, this posting of the comments of John Herrick, Counsel for the South Delta Water Agency, regarding the proposed Delta legislation:
“In deliberating on the problems facing the Delta and California as a whole it is important to have all of the facts presented and understood. The Delta is certainly in crisis, as is California’s future water supply. The underlying causes of these problems are very clear, solutions must be tailored to address the problems, not to ignore and exacerbate them.
Ecosystem crisis: Many things affect fisheries, but “many things” are not the problem. Although it is generally well known that the federal ESA “take” authorization under the previous Biological Opinions were legally defective in protecting the fisheries, it is much less known that the SWP never had and still doesn’t have a “take” permit under California ESA.
In addition, CalFed’s commitment to new and better screens at the export pumps was discarded early on. We see then that the lack of legal compliance with endangered species law and the failure to diminish take at the export pumps coincides with the crash of the fisheries. When commentators talk of “having to do something different now” because some fish might go extinct, the reply is not “what new things should we try?” but rather “enforce the law immediately.” …”
Read more of John Herrick’s comments at Teri Murrison’s website by clicking here.
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