Water agencies to rekindle shared planning?

From the Union Democrat:

“A who’s-who collection of officials from Highway 4 corridor water management agencies and local governments gathered Thursday in an attempt to cut through old animosities and find areas for collaboration.

The meeting was both a nod to growing state and federal pressure for regional water management solutions and the renewing of a collaboration effort halted when California’s budget crisis put a freeze on the grant money funding the work.

The group, seated in intimate proximity around a phalanx of tables in a small conference room at the Utica Power Authority headquarters, included one or two board members, and in some cases staff too, from Calaveras County Water District, Utica Power Authority, Union Public Utility District and Murphys Sanitary District.

There were also two representatives each from the Angels Camp City Council and the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.

A couple of representatives of the county’s agricultural community were also present: Ironstone vineyards owner John Kautz and Prospect 772 Wines vineyard manager Mark Skenfield, who said he came on behalf of the Calaveras County Agricultural Coalition.

But the biggest presence in the small room was the litany of past battles and former grudges between those present, almost all now settled, but contributing tension nonetheless. … “

Continue reading this post at the Union Democrat by clicking here.

February 23, 2010 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley

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Calaveras County Water District, Utica Power Authority end spat over water rights

From the Union-Democrat:

“The Utica Power Authority and the Calaveras County Water district inked an agreement Tuesday resolving their long-running dispute over water rights.

The document confirms UPA’s ownership of the rights to the water that runs in the Utica Ditch from Hunter Reservoir, near Hathaway Pines, to the Angels Powerhouse — a claim CCWD once contested.

In a letter to the California Water Resources Board in early 2008, CCWD had asserted it retained co-ownership of those rights despite the district’s 2004 departure from UPA, which now consists of the City of Angels Camp and Union Public Utility District.

The letter led UPA, which argued CCWD did not reserve those rights in a 1997 agreement between the agencies, to file a lawsuit in April against CCWD. …”

Read more from the Union Democrat by clicking here.

November 6, 2009 · Filed Under Lake Tahoe & the Sierra's

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Colorado River takes national stage at hearing; Pollution on forefront of topics

From Lake Havasu’s Today’s News Herald:

A House hearing on Lower Colorado River water quality, May 27 in Tucson, explored what committee member Representative Raul Grijalva described in his opening remarks as an attempt to “help spur the attention that we need to focus on this issue before a crisis does it for us.”

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power to explore what federal measures can help preserve and prevent the degradation of river water quality held the hearing. Much of the testimony agreed on the seriousness of a variety of pollution threats to the river — the source of drinking water for 30 million residents of the Southwest, and a scattershot series of Congressional and Executive interventions were proposed.

It is not yet known how to economically technologically remove pharmaceuticals that have passed through the human body as part of wastewater treatment from the growing population along the river. Uncontrolled septic tanks aggravate the problem. Pharmaceuticals are endocrine disrupting compounds that have caused probable mutations and birth defects in fish and animals. The Southern Nevada Water Authority has detected the compounds in Lake Havasu.

Lake Havasu City Mayor Mark Nexsen appeared before the committee Wednesday.

In addition to funding for sewage infrastructure, Nexsen called for legislation with adequate appropriations to research how to best eliminate pharmaceuticals from effluent, eliminate the quagga mussel, and to expedite the clean up of Moab, Utah, uranium tailings and hexavalent chromium from the old PG&E Topock natural gas compressor north of Lake Havasu City.

Read more from Today’s News-Herald by clicking here.

May 28, 2009 · Filed Under Colorado River Basin

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In San Francisco, mapping out a trail on the water

From the New York Times:

No one can leave a handprint on the water — as a hoary old saw declares. So, the idea of establishing a path on water may seem odd. But it has not stopped the states of Washington and Maine, among other entities, from building extensive water trail systems that include shoreline launch sites, camping spots and parks for recreational use.

A water trail is a frame for travel, more than an actual pathway. When a system is created, paddlers, rowers or sailors can connect its dots in any manner or order they like. Or, in whatever way wind and tide demand.

The nation’s inventory of recreational water trails is about to expand. In 2005, the California State Legislature sanctioned a plan for San Francisco Bay that was proposed by boating enthusiasts. Last fall, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission handed its vision off to the California Coastal Conservancy for implementation. Cities, counties and agencies ranging from the National Park Service to the East Bay Regional Park Service have plans to participate.

By next year, 57 of 112 sites scattered around the bay’s sprawl of 470 square miles should be ready for use, the C.C.C. project manager Ann Buell said. Most of those 57 sites had been developed as launch or picnic sites; the new San Francisco Bay Water Trail simply designates and links them. But freshly erected launch areas, hostels and shoreline campgrounds should soon come into the system, giving the nautical-minded a wide, new area for exercise, recreation and wildlife viewing.

“Having a water trail right here makes much more sense than driving off to some faraway lake to find your fun,” Buell said. “You’ll burn less fuel, and reduce carbon emissions. Urban dwellers can score exercise and recreation on human-powered craft. The trail offers a way to get out and view, and learn about, and appreciate, all of the bay’s wildlife. And who knows what can ultimately be added to this system? Our trail is a superexciting work-in-progress.”

Read the full text of this article from the New York Times by clicking here.

July 8, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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Earthrace reports on Pacific Ocean garbage dump

From Powerboat.com, an interesting, first-person look at the trash swirling around in the Pacific. A group is traveling across the ocean in a biofuel-powered trimaran and they are just coming into the area becoming known as the Pacific Ocean garbage dump. From the post:

‘There’s a lot of crap in the water here’, Adam says, as we dodge around another plastic bottle in the water. Our course is more like a drunken student weaving his way home after a bender, rather than a race boat in a straight line. It seems every hundred metres or so there’s another bit of crap in the water, and anything resembling a buoy (like a plastic bottle), we need to skirt around.

Prof Sharma in Scotland had warned us about this area. Actually so had Bob McDavitt, our forecaster back in New Zealand. It is a giant rubbish dump of plastic and polystyrene, that unbelievably, is the size of Texas, and we’re currently on the southern tip of it.

What actually happens is the current that passes down the West Coast of America picks up rubbish and debris along the Californian coast, and then drags them all the way out here, some thousand odd nautical miles away. The current here then drops under the surface, leaving behind all the rubbish. It joins the giant Californian rubbish dump that remains here year after year, and gradually increases in density as more crap drifts in.

According to the map included with the post, there is an eastern patch closer to Japan as well as the western patch, which is between Hawaii and the west coast. Read more from this Earthrace post from Powerboats.com by clicking here.

May 21, 2008 · Filed Under Pacific Ocean Garbage Dump

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Oxnard company helps business purify & reuse water for industrial applications

From the Ventura County Star:

The water from a household tap is good enough to drink, but not pure enough for electrical power plants, semiconductor manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. Those industries require water to be ultra pure, with dissolved minerals removed to avoid ruining the process or final product. For that level of water purification, Oxnard-based Puretec Industrial Water provides the equipment to get it done.

Puretec’s main market for water purification is industrial use, including power applications, electronics, personal care, cosmetics and metal finishing. The company also provides other services, such as desalination systems to produce drinking water. Municipal power companies are the firm’s largest clients.

Puretec helps businesses make the most of the water available to them:

Recent drought conditions and a push toward environmentally friendly business practices have emphasized that water is not an infinite resource. Businesses often are limited as to how much drinking water they can use — a limit that can curb company growth.

Plants and factories already have to purify drinking water to meet their purposes. That opens up an opportunity for the reuse of water. Companies can often get previously used “gray water” from local municipalities or possibly recycle their own. Gray water is household wastewater, generally the leftovers from washing dishes, laundry and bathing.

“The idea is to be able to allow these companies to grow and use water without impeding on the local water supply,” said Jed Harris. He expects the approach will become more common as water becomes more scarce.

“There are a lot of businesses out there that can reuse a lot of water they have,” he said. “It’s a matter of using the right technology. It’s a benefit for the environment and benefit for the business owner’s bottom line.”

To read the rest of this article from the Ventura County Star, click here.

December 23, 2007 · Filed Under Recycled Water

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Aquafornia Exclusive: Why the Delta matters to every Californian

Anyone in California who remotely follows water news or current events has no doubt heard about the Delta, and the multitude of problems and issues facing this vital region. These issues, if left unresolved, can have huge ramifications for the entire state, but it can be hard to understand just how this relatively small area in Northern California could be of such concern to those of us living in Southern California, or elsewhere in the state. Many Californians, including some who live in the region, don’t even know where or what the Delta is, or why they should really care. What could the Delta possibly have to do with me?

Well, a lot, actually. Everyone in California depends upon the Delta for something, be it drinking water, fresh produce or livestock, goods shipped over the highways and railways that transverse it, or gas and electricity that is carried in pipes and transmission lines. Wildlife also depends on the Delta, as it provides a crucial habitat for wildlife, and an important stop for migratory birds.

The relatively small region has a big job: it is the hub of California’s massive water storage and delivery system, with water exports to agricultural and urban users in the Bay Area, Central California, and Southern California. Two-thirds of Californians rely on the Delta for their drinking water.

However, the Delta is in decline by all accounts. Its levee system is fragile, many of its native species are declining, there are water quality issues in some areas, and no governmental entity seems to be squarely in charge. The issues facing it are complex and intertwined; it is virtually impossible to fix one problem without creating several others. However, in recent years, it has become obvious to all the stakeholders that ‘business as usual’ in the Delta region simply isn’t sustainable.

These issues, if left unresolved, will have ramifications for nearly every California resident. So, let’s take an in-depth look at the issues facing this unique region of our state. Read more

September 3, 2007 · Filed Under Aquafornia Exclusives, Articles, Delta Issues

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