Red Bluff Diversion Dam diverts water for last time
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 8:03 amFrom the Corning Observer:
“The gates of the Red Bluff Diversion Dam will be raised for the final time Thursday, marking the end of an era not only for crop irrigation on the west side of the northern Sacramento Valley, but also for Red Bluff’s recreation economy.
Paul Freeman of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Thursday will be a historically significant day for the region.
“It’s a very important day because of the history of reliable water supply (for farmers),” Freeman said. … “
Continue reading from the Corning Observer by clicking here.
Chances for passage of California fracking bill slipping away
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 8:00 amMore on the fate of California’s fracking bill from Platts:
“Proponents of a bill that would require disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluid might run out of time to get the bill out of a California state Senate committee before the end of the legislature’s session early next month.
The bill (AB 591) passed the state Assembly in June but has been held up in the California Senate Appropriations Committee, Jeff Barbosa, a spokesman for the bill’s author, Democratic assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, said Tuesday. The bill’s proponents had hoped to get the legislation to the Senate floor for a vote by the end of August.
“We’re still trying to see if we can get it out before the session ends on September 9,” Barbosa said. “There are still some negotiations going on.” … “
Continue reading this article at Platts by clicking here.
Alex Breitler’s blog: Water: A human right?
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:58 amFrom Alex Breitler’s blog:
“A bill by state Assemblyman Mike Eng, a democrat from Southern California, declared that every human being has the right to clean, affordable and accessible water.
But the bill, AB 685, died in Senate Appropriations late last week. Supporters plan a protest on Wednesday.
Water districts across the state, including Stockton East, opposed the legislation.
Why? … “
Continue reading from Alex Breitler’s blog by clicking here.
SOMEWHAT RELATED: From the politics desk: UN takes notice of California, from the Whittier Daily News
Petroleum company settles with state over underground tank violations
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:54 amFrom the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
“The State Water Resources Control Board has reached a settlement with a Martinez-based petroleum company found to have violated environmental rules in the underground storage of fuel at gas stations across the state.
The violations included sites in Sonoma County and 16 other counties in northern and central California. … “
Continue reading from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat by clicking here.
New Tahoe trail opens on Lake Tahoe’s west shore
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:50 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“A new trail to a Lake Tahoe overlook is open, offering easier access to west shore visitors.
The Eagle Rock Trail, one-third of a mile long, was completed by the California Tahoe Conservancy at a cost of about $100,000. Most of the money came from Proposition 84, the water and coastal protection bond act approved by state voters in 2006. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Endive grows in the Sacramento River delta — in the dark
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:47 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Where should we start with the lowdown on endive?
That it’s one very cool little vegetable? That it’s both bitter and sweet, and is good raw in salads or cooked in main dishes? That it appears nowhere in nature? That it’s actually grown in two stages, one of which is indoors — in the dark?
That there’s only one farmer in the entire United States who dares to grow it? That he didn’t turn and run when he found out, at 18, that no one else in the United States was crazy enough to try to grow it? … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Commentary: Saving Sierra Nevada rivers from misguided dam proposals
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:32 amFrom American Rivers, this commentary:
“The South Sutter Water District recently proposed the 350-ft Garden Bar dam on the Bear River approximately 45 miles northeast of Sacramento, California (Map1). Garden Bar Reservoir would permanently flood approximately 2,500 acres in the lower Bear River, 900 of which are permanently protected public open space (Map2).
At a cost of nearly half a billion dollars, South Sutter claims Garden Bar dam would reliably provide less than 100,000 acre-feet of water, enough for about 100,000 homes. Much of the water would be sent great distances through aqueducts, as far San Bernardino Valley, some 470 miles south. … “
Continue reading from American Rivers by clicking here.
Water proposals worry cost-conscious Lodi council
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:30 amFrom the Stockton Record:
“Proposals from two contractors interested in staffing Lodi’s new water treatment facility west of Lodi Lake could generate some cost savings for the city in the short term, but the City Council on Tuesday said they are concerned the long term costs of contracting out that kind of work at a major utility will come back to haunt them.
Lodi is on schedule to open its $36 million water treatment facility in the third quarter of 2012. The plant operations – which include staffing, well monitoring, quality control, and other testing of 600,000 acre-feet of Mokelumne River water – is expected to cost as much as $2.6 million a year if staffed by city employees, Public Works Director Wally Sandelin said. … “
Continue reading from the Stockton Record by clicking here.
San Joaquin County thinks refuge idea is for the birds; Supervisors oppose plan, which is still being drawn up
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:29 amFrom the Stockton Record:
“County leaders on Tuesday condemned the concept of a national wildlife refuge in San Joaquin County, even before one has been formally proposed.
After hearing from farmers with a truckload of worries, the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to oppose the expansion of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge from Stanislaus County in the south to an area roughly west of Manteca.
The concept, announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in May, is for the federal government to buy land from willing sellers, then slowly re-establish the junglelike riparian forest that once buffered streams across the Central Valley. … “
Continue reading from the Stockton Record by clicking here. Note: This article is behind the paywall at the Stockton Record. Login or registration required to read it. A free registration will give you 10 article reads per month.
Visalia: Water rules should change behavior, says editorial
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:28 amFrom the Visalia Times-Delta:
“Water conservation in the Valley remains a voluntary exercise, despite the existence of ordinances, guidelines and enforcement. The cities of Visalia and Tulare both have water conservation ordinances. Both cities publicize the rules, and both cities will cite and fine those who don’t comply.
Still, it is not hard to find people who aren’t aware of the ordinances or don’t abide by them.
It is easier still to find people who believe that they have a right to use all the water they want because:
- They pay for it
- There’s plenty of it
- Government can’t tell them what to do
- Government wastes water, too.
There are many reasons why people don’t abide by water ordinances, but they all come down to one of two things: ignorance and arrogance. … “
Continue reading from the Visalia Times-Delta by clicking here.
Temecula: City, tribe, ecologists fight proposed quarry
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:24 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Wine-tasting rooms and antique shops line the streets of Temecula’s quaint downtown fashioned after the Old West. Tour vans wait to whisk visitors to scenic vineyards outside the city that are frequented by wine-lovers and hot air balloon enthusiasts who glide above the greenery.
It’s a postcard image amid a series of desert towns in the inland region of Southern California—one that many residents fear is threatened by a proposal to build a quarry on a mountain overlooking the city. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
DWP may have to cut service, hike rates even more
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:19 amFrom the Los Angeles Daily News:
“Blocked from pursuing new rate increases, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power warned Tuesday that it may have to start making cuts in service while planning for even sharper fee hikes in the future.
The DWP had hoped to get rate increases in July of 2.5 percent for water and 3.8 percent for power, but the City Council stopped the effort until a new ratepayer advocate could be hired for the agency, which is expected to take several months.
DWP General Manager Ron Nichols said if the utility has to wait until November, it would seek hikes of 4.2 percent for water and 5.9 percent for power. … “
Continue reading from the Daily News by clicking here.
Southern California water agency calls for more stimulus spending
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:11 amFrom News Hawk Review:
“It is widely expected that President Obama will call for more spending on the nation’s infrastructure when he announces his jobs initiative next week.
The General Manager of one Southern California water district thinks that is a very good idea.
“We have seen many recent examples of how our infrastructure is aging. The drought in Texas and the Southwest, the earthquake on the East Coast and now Hurricane Irene have all demonstrated the need to upgrade and replace the nation’s transportation, water and flood-control systems,” said Art Aguilar, General Manager of the Central Basin Municipal Water District in Southern California. Central Basin serves more than 2 million people in southeast Los Angeles County. … “
Continue reading from the News Hawk Review by clicking here.
Inkstain blog: The Law of the River as a model for dealing with the loss of stationarity
Posted by: Maven on August 31, 2011 at 7:09 amFrom the Inkstain Blog:
“Climate change and the resulting changes in rivers flows pose significant problems for transboundary water management agreements. But a new paper by Heather Cooley and Peter Gleick at the Pacific Institute finds a hopeful model in recent tweaks adding flexibility in the face of drought to the “Law of the River” governing distribution of water from the Colorado River:
In 2007, the USA implemented the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead (referred to as the “Interim Guidelines”). This agreement, developed in the eighth year of the worst drought in over 100 years of record keeping, establishes specific guidelines for reduced water deliveries among the seven Colorado Basin states under drought and low-reservoir conditions. … “
Continue reading from the Inkstain blog by clicking here.
Tuesday’s top of the scroll: Scientists shake fragile Delta levee in hope of averting statewide catastrophe
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:45 am
From UCLA Today:
“What happened to the levees of New Orleans in 2005 — massive collapses during Hurricane Katrina, leaving most of the city underwater — could happen to fragile levees near Sacramento that protect supplies of precious fresh water to farmlands in the vast San Joaquin Valley and to most of Southern California. But in this case, it wouldn’t be a hurricane but the massive wallop of an earthquake that could bring the levees down.
That’s why UCLA earthquake experts Scott Brandenberg and Jonathan Stewart will be shaking things up in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta next week, when they rev up powerful mobile field shakers to test the effects of a temblor on a levee of their own — 6-foot-tall, 40-foot-wide soil embankment they’ve built atop a base of soggy peat.
What they learn from their research will help guide decision-making at the state and federal levels before it’s too late to avert a statewide disaster for the Delta and the millions of people downstream whose lives depend on it. … “
Continue reading from UCLA Today by clicking here.
From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“A model levee wobbled and tossed as if it were on a giant waterbed but held up nearly intact during a series of simulated earthquakes Monday.
The tests were meant to investigate a deep concern among water suppliers around the state — that an earthquake in or near the East Bay could cause massive flooding in the Delta and foul water supplies.
But a series of simulations on a 6-foot-high levee appeared to show that the soupy foundations that stirred such concern are surprisingly resilient. The experiment was believed to be the first time field tests have been done to determine how levees on peat soil fare during earthquakes. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here. And also from the Mercury News:
MORE COVERAGE:
- UCLA researchers shake model levee, for peat’s sake, from the Sacramento Bee
- Ground rumbles for sake of research, from the Stockton Record (behind paywall)
Late-summer spillway releases due to power generator maintenance
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:36 amFrom the Oroville Mercury Register:
“It’s the end of August and water is still cascading, in sheets, down the Oroville Dam spillway. It’s an unusual sight this time of year, said Kevin Wright, water services supervisor for the state Department of Water Resources at Oroville Dam.
Wright explained that there are six turbine generators at the Hyatt-Thermalito Complex power plant. Currently, only two of those are operating. The other four are undergoing maintenance.
“So, the water is going over the spillway because we can’t go through enough turbines,” he said. … “
Continue reading from the Mercury-Register by clicking here.
Private water facility tours by city council members violate Brown Act
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:34 amFrom ACWA’s Water News:
“Private, informational tours of water district facilities by a majority of a city’s council members are prohibited under the Brown Act, according to a new opinion by California Attorney General Kamala Harris. … “
More information from ACWA’s Water News by clicking here.
Congresswoman Sanchez: Innovation in water difficult without earmarks
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:32 amFrom the Whittier Daily News:
“Rep. Linda Sanchez on Monday told a room full of local elected officials that the cessation of Congressional earmarks has taken all the creativity out of water policy.
Sanchez spoke at the Water Replenishment District’s inaugural Capitol Report, a series WRD officials hope will become a regularly occurring forum to discuss water issues with federal officials.
“Every earmark I’ve ever requested, I could stand up here and defend to the death,” said Sanchez, D-Lakewood. … “
Continue reading from the Whittier Daily News by clicking here.
Tim Quinn: Discussion at Delta Stewardship Council meeting suggests message is starting to be heard
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:29 amFrom ACWA’s Voices on Water blog, this post from Tim Quinn:
“After months of hard work, it was nice to see some signs of positive movement at last Friday’s meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council.
Council members were engaged and asked the kinds of questions we’ve hoped they would ask for some time. The announcement of several upcoming workshops on important policy topics also is a good sign.
There is still a lot of work to do, however. The fifth draft of the Delta Plan has at its core some troublesome elements that we believe move us away from achieving the co-equal goals of improved water supply reliability and ecosystem health. … “
Continue reading from ACWA’s Voices on Water blog by clicking here.
State can’t afford to mismanage these lands, says editorial
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:23 amFrom the Fresno Bee, this editorial:
“The people of California own the waters and beds of the state’s rivers, streams, lakes, bays and estuaries. They own the waters and tidelands along the 1,100-mile coastline, out to three miles offshore. And they own lands granted by the federal government in 1853 to benefit public education.
The State Lands Commission — composed of the Lieutenant Governor (currently Gavin Newsom), State Controller (currently John Chiang) and Director of Finance (currently Ana Matosantos) — manages these public lands. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Arsenic, uranium and other trace elements a potential concern in private drinking wells
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:20 amFrom the USGS:
“About 20% of untreated water samples from public, private, and monitoring wells across the nation contain concentrations of at least one trace element, such as arsenic, manganese and uranium, at levels of potential health concern, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
“In public wells these contaminants are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and contaminants are removed from the water before people drink it,” said Joe Ayotte, USGS hydrologist and lead author on the study. “However, trace elements could be present in water from private wells at levels that are considered to pose a risk to human health, because they aren’t subject to regulations. In many cases people might not even know that they have an issue.” … “
Continue reading from the USGS by clicking here.
State of the Planet blog: Removing dams and restoring rivers
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:16 am
From Columbia University’s State of the Planet blog:
“On September 17, 2011, the removal of two large hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in Washington State, which have blocked migrating salmon from reaching their spawning grounds for almost 100 years, will begin. While this is the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, it is just one of several major dam removals planned for this year that exemplify the growing river restoration movement.
Most of the 45-mile long Elwha River, which flows into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is located in Washington’s Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula. The river is home to all five species of Pacific salmon, including Chinook, Coho, Chum, Sockeye and Pink, and three species of trout. Before the dams were built, 400,000 salmon returned to the river to spawn each year, but now fewer than 3,000 return to the 5 miles of habitat that lie below the first dam—90% of their native habitat is unreachable. Even if expensive fish passages had been added to the dams to help salmon migrate upstream, the dams’ other environmental effects would still have prevented the salmon species from recovering. The indigenous Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, whose creation site was flooded when the dams were built and who once depended on the salmon for survival, opposed the dams from the beginning. … “
Continue reading from the State of the Planet blog by clicking here.
Service set in September for former Westlands chief Jerry Butchert
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:10 amFrom the Fresno Bee News Blog:
“Jerald R. “Jerry” Butchert led the Westlands Water District through epic struggles, such as the 1977 drought, closure of the San Luis Drain and the landmark irrigation reform of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. He died last week at 79.
He was the second well-known west-side water leader to die this year. In May, west-side farming icon and former Westlands board president Jack Stone died.
Mr. Butchert’s memorial service is scheduled at 1 p.m. Sept. 16 in the St. Paul Newman Center, 1572 E. Barstow Ave. In lieu of flowers, donations should go to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, P.O. Box 3438, Pinedale, CA 93625. … “
Continue reading from the Fresno Bee News Blog by clicking here.
In El Paso, saving water avoids crisis
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:07 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“For decades this city in far West Texas defied the look of most desert communities, with neighborhoods boasting lush, green lawns and residents freely running their sprinklers.
Then a study released in 1979 showed just how close El Paso was to a crisis: At its rate of water use, the city would run dry within 36 years.
Over the next couple of decades the city took drastic measures to stabilize its water supply, undergoing a philosophical and physical face-lift that included ripping up grass from many public places, installing rock and cactus gardens and offering financial incentives for residents to do the same. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Reclamation to open Red Bluff Diversion Dam gates
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:04 amFrom the Bureau of Reclamation:
“The Bureau of Reclamation will begin opening the Red Bluff Diversion Dam gates and lowering Lake Red Bluff on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service’s Biological Opinion requires that the gates are opened no later than Sept. 1 to help migration of winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon and green sturgeon past the dam site. … “
Continue reading from the Bureau of Reclamation by clicking here.
Lake Tahoe researchers look for missing equipment
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 8:01 amFrom the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza:
“Scientists from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center are asking for the public’s help in locating a piece of research equipment believed stolen from Lake Tahoe Aug. 21.
The equipment is used to measure surface currents and is known as a “drogue.” Alexander Forrest, a post-doctorate researcher with UC Davis, described the drogue as an “underwater kite.” … “
Continue reading from the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza by clicking here.
An afternoon atop the new Bay Bridge: Authorities showcase new tower and cable catwalk as project enters final phase
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 7:56 amFrom the Bay Citizen (do be sure to check out the photo gallery):
Water district moves closer to grant project for Tracy Lakes
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 7:45 amFrom Lodi News-Sentinel:
“Specifics of a grant project for a local water district are progressing and a final proposal could be available in the coming weeks. However, a decision must be made soon because the deadline to secure funding is approaching.
The Tracy Lakes project, a proposal from area growers to fill a temporary lake with water and draw from it throughout the year, was discussed by directors for the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District on Monday evening. … “
Continue reading from the Lodi News-Sentinel by clicking here.
Irony abounds in sale of Kern water, says editorial
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 7:40 amFrom the Bakersfield Californian, this editorial:
“Local water wheelers may not have a problem selling off billions of gallons of Kern County water to accommodate thousands of new homes near San Francisco, but thankfully their counterparts up north do.
This week, leaders of the Santa Clara Valley and Alameda County water districts said they had no interest in helping the developer of a huge, controversial Redwood City project, DMBAssociates of Arizona, acquire water for 12,000 new homes from Bakersfield-based Nickel Family LLC. The water districts’ opposition casts fresh doubt on the viability of the project and the prospect of the water transfer, since their cooperation is integral to the deal. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Bakersfield Californian by clicking here.
New date due for southern marine protected areas
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 7:36 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
“State officials are expected to pick a new date to implement a system of marine protected areas along California’s southern coast after it became clear they would miss the Oct. 1 deadline. … “
Continue reading from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
San Diego County Water Authority adds solar panels to defray costs
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 7:34 amFrom the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“The San Diego County Water Authority has flipped the switch on for three new solar electricity systems.
The area’s wholesale supplier of water expects to save $1.7 million over 20 years from generation by thousands of recently installed solar panels at its Kearny Mesa headquarters, an operations center in Escondido and the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant north of San Marcos. … “
Continue reading from the San Diego Union-Tribune by clicking here.
San Vicente Dam will soon begin rising for real
Posted by: Maven on August 30, 2011 at 7:31 amFrom GrokSurf’s San Diego blog:
“It has been two years since groundbreaking for the San Vicente Dam Raise Project took place, but the dam is still at its original height.
Everything is going according to plan, though, and right on schedule.
All this time has been devoted to prepping the dam and foundation, setting up the quarry where the ingredients for the concrete will be mined, constructing a new access road to the future new marina, and building a small “saddle dam” (because the eventual higher water level will reach a saddle-shaped depression in the hills on the reservoir’s west side). … “
Continue reading and check out the photos from GrokSurf’s San Diego blog by clicking here.
Walking the tightrope of groundwater management
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 8:03 amFrom Columbia Institute’s State of the Planet blog:
“Mark Kram is a surfer, which is why he became a scientist. Since junior high school, he’s been exploring California’s Coast in search of waves. His love for being in the water eventually led him on a lifelong scientific quest to keep water clean. One day when we were surfing together near Faria Beach Park in Ventura, California, a solemn look crossed his face. “Ben, man. I’m gonna be real busy pretty soon, and probably won’t be able to surf much anymore,” he said in his laid back SoCal surfer drawl as we bobbed atop our surfboards, waiting for the next set of small, crumbly waves to arrive. “I’m working on something that’s gonna change the way people look at water.”
He wasn’t talking about the ocean, specifically, but the type of water he had honed in on–groundwater–is definitely linked to the sea. Coastal water districts all over the state have to be careful how much water they extract from groundwater aquifers. A full aquifer keeps seawater from leaching in through the soil. If enough sea water enters a depleted aquifer, it can spell the end of a community’s local underground storage capacity, putting them at the mercy of state and federal suppliers that aren’t always able to supply enough water. The Goleta Water District, an agricultural and suburban area located just outside Santa Barbara, California, narrowly avoided seawater contamination a few decades ago. Luckily, a thin layer of clay kept salty water from ruining the aquifer. A bit further north, in Los Osos, seawater has already begun to seep into the groundwater basin there, exciting a number of different judicial, executive, and legislative agencies into a flurry of self-preservatory action. … “
Continue reading from the State of the Planet blog by clicking here.
Jerry Brown’s decision to remove Water Commission appointees sparks partisan dispute
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 7:55 amFrom the Sacramento Bee’s The Buzz:
“Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to remove two GOP appointees to the California Water Commission sparked a partisan dispute under the dome last week as Senate Republicans sought to approve the appointees anyway.
Brown said earlier this month that he plans to replace former Republican Sen. Dave Cogdill and former Sonoma County Water Agency Director Paul Kelley on the nine-member panel, but he didn’t formally withdraw their names.
Instead, Brown asked Democratic leaders to let the Arnold Schwarzenegger appointments lapse at year’s end. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee’s The Buzz by clicking here.
Delta Perspectives Conference 2011: New Ways of Thinking
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 7:51 amFrom the Water Education Foundation:
Registration has begun for the Oct. 18 conference “Changing Our Perspective: New Ways of Thinking About the Delta.” During this one-day forum, speakers will explore new ideas and take a fresh look at the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. As planning continues in an effort to “solve” the Delta’s problems, this event will aim to turn the discussion in a new direction – how to manage the Delta’s conditions to maintain its local and statewide resources and uses.
The conference, to be held from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2011 at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex, 3645 Fulton Avenue, in Sacramento, is sponsored by the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy and the Water Education Foundation.
Included in the line-up of speakers at this event are people who aren’t experts on the Delta, but are experts on strategic planning, including Jeff Conklin, author of Dialogue Mapping: Creating Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems and Director of the CogNexus Institute, Ian Mitroff, author of Dirty Rotten Strategies: How We Trick Ourselves and Others into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely and President and Founder, Mitroff Crisis Management and James P. Mayer, Executive Director of California Forward.
In addition to learning about new ways of thinking about the Delta, participants will hear about the challenges and plans now under study by the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, Delta Stewardship Council and Delta Protection Commission. A panel comprised of state legislators will close out the discussion.
A hosted afternoon reception featuring Delta wines and products will follow the program.
Registration is $100, and scholarships are available. Contact the Water Education Foundation for more information.
For more details and to register, visit http://www.watereducation.org/doc.asp?id=2164 or click here for a pdf announcement.
Fracking bill hits roadblock
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 7:48 amThe fracking bill making its way through the legislature has been dealt a setback: Read the brief story from Capital Public Radio by clicking here. [Thank you Wes for the link correction!]
Grant will help MMWD send recycled water to Peacock Gap Golf Course in San Rafael
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 7:46 amFrom the Marin Independent Journal:
“The Marin Municipal Water District’s recycling water expansion plans have gotten a boost via $1.4 million in state funding.
The dollars come from Proposition 84, which was passed in 2006 by 53 percent of state voters. In Marin the proposition received 63 percent support. It is providing $5.4 billion from the sale of bonds for habitat restoration, water resources improvements and water quality benefits.
As part of the funding announced last week, $500,000 in Proposition 84 funds will go to the Marin Municipal Water District to help it finance an expansion of the district’s recycled water system, work that could start in 2013. … “
Continue reading from the Marin Independent Journal by clicking here.
Modesto dairy group receives $1 million grant
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 7:33 amFrom the Modesto Bee:
“Western United Dairymen of Modesto won a $1 million federal grant last week to test a new way of monitoring groundwater quality on dairy farms.
It was one of 52 grants, totaling $22.5 million, announced by the Natural Resources Conservation Service through its Conservation Innovation Grants program.
Three other recipients with Modesto ties got grants, which cover half the cost of each project. … “
Continue reading from the Modesto Bee by clicking here.
Future of water use becomes focus of ‘Changing Planet’ town hall at ASU
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 7:22 amFrom ASU Now:
“Water – its scarcity and adapting to its future – were center stage in the thirsty Southwest at Arizona State University Aug. 25 for a town hall videotaped by NBC Learn. The fast-paced event will be broadcast in November on The Weather Channel and featured in the December issue of Discover magazine.
Panelists included former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, climatologist Heidi Cullen, Nevada water manager Pat Mulroy, and ASU sustainability scholar and senior research fellow Grady Gammage Jr.
The lively discussion touched on global and domestic water issues ranging from the Colorado River Compact to the effects of population growth, the role of the federal government to drought and starvation in Africa, and how agriculture and technology impact fresh water usage. … “
Continue reading from ASU Now by clicking here.
Inkstain blog: On Colorado River failure modes
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2011 at 7:17 amFrom the Inkstain blog:
“One of my new tricks when looking at western water problems is to pose the question: “What is the failure mode?”
It’s clear that on many scales, both temporal and geographic, we’ve got supply-demand imbalances. It’s easy to point that out and call the system unsustainable, to point out that we’re headed for a crash. But I’ve become serially curious about how the crashes will manifest themselves. If we stay on the present trajectory, who/what is the person/institution who will lose their water first? … “
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