Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
March 27, 2007
1. Top Items
Schwarzenegger promotes dams as way to boost water reserves - Associated Press
Governor launches new water battle; In Fresno , he pushes $4 billion bond in 2008 for new dams - Fresno
Governor supports new Central Valley dam - Central Valley Business Times
Editorial: Addressing water needs; Governor presents his plan to increase water surface storage -
Schwarzenegger promotes dams as way to boost water reserves
Associated Press – 3/26/07
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday promoted a $6 billion plan for increased water storage and protecting fresh water supplies, calling for two new dams and better management of the delta.
"Our state's population is increasing rapidly. We also have earthquakes and major storms that could really destroy our levee system," the governor said, speaking against the backdrop of Friant Dam at
Two-thirds of Californians depend on the Sierra Nevada snowmelt for drinking water while
In addition, officials must plan for the effects of global warming, which is expected to reduce the Sierra snow pack and lead to earlier run off. Rising sea levels also could increase salinity in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, jeopardizing fresh water supplies.
Schwarzenegger introduced his water projects in January during his State of the State address, proposing $4.5 billion for reservoirs and groundwater storage, $1 billion to manage the delta, $250 million for restoration of several rivers and $200 million for water conservation.
The governor faces building two new dams, one above the existing Friant Dam and
Environmentalists have criticized Schwarzenegger's plans. They say
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/26/state/n162231D22.DTL&hw=water&sn=003&sc=593
Governor launches new water battle; In Fresno
Fresno
By E.J. Schultz, Capitol Bureau
(This same article also appeared in the Sacramento and Modesto
"This is absolutely essential for the state of
"You can't always get everything, and last year I said we'll be back, so this year we're back."
The morning appearance, followed by a later speech at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Fresno, marked the beginning of a weeklong campaign to push a $4 billion water bond Schwarzenegger hopes to put on the 2008 ballot.
In choosing
But the plan is sure to face an uphill fight in the Legislature. Democrats, who control the Senate and Assembly, favor a combination of conservation and groundwater storage to meet the state's water needs. Dams cost too much and take too long to build, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said at a recent news conference.
But Schwarzenegger said new dams are needed to supply water to a state whose population is expected to jump 30 percent in the next 20 years. He also cited global warming, which he said could reduce snowpack.
"That means more floods in the winter and less drinking water in the summer," he said.
Schwarzenegger got his first taste of
The governor plans to continue to push the water plan later this week at events in the
In favoring dams, the governor is detouring from the green agenda that marked his political comeback. Environmentalists have long opposed dams, saying more studies are needed to see if dams are worth the public investment.
The governor, meeting with the Fresno Bee editorial board Monday, said, "I'm a big admirer of what the environmentalists are trying to accomplish, but we don't see eye to eye on all those different ideas, and (water storage is) one of them where we don't see eye to eye." Schwarzenegger's water proposal is part of a $43.3 billion "strategic growth package" that also includes money for prisons, courts and schools.
The water plan -- contained in a bill by Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto -- totals $5.95 billion, including $4 billion for dams and $500 million for underground storage. The remainder is for environmental restoration, water conservation and improvements to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The plan would be paid for with a $4 billion bond on the 2008 ballot and other bonds that don't require voter approval.
Under the plan, the borrowing for dams would go forward only if local water users chip in. Specifically, the dam money includes $2 billion in revenue bonds secured by payments from water suppliers who would benefit from the dam.
Left out of the governor's strategic growth plan is the long-planned high-speed rail project, an omission that some Valley lawmakers have said they would fight.
As envisioned, the rail line would cut through the Central Valley, including
The governor, at the editorial board meeting, said he is not against the rail project but would like to see it paid for with private sources.
Under the so-called public-private partnership model, user fees are often used to pay back investments.
"There is a fortune out there in the private sector," Schwarzenegger said. "They would love to invest in any kind of project." #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/37711.html
Governor supports new
A proposed dam on the
Supporters say the additional dam would allow more floodwaters to be stored to allow for percolation into underground aquifers. It would also provide more cold water to flow into the lower portion of the river to allow for restoration of salmon spawning, supporters say.
“We are in desperate need to have more above the ground water storage,” Mr. Schwarzenegger told a news conference at the base of Friant Dam Monday morning. “This is absolutely essential for the state of
The governor says the state’s rapidly growing population is outstripping available water supplies.
The Temperance Flat dam would be part of an overall $5.9 billion water supply program the governor is backing. Most of the money would be used for creating news reservoirs to store 500,000 acre-feet of water, he says.
“I want to urge everyone to do as much as you can to let the legislators know that this is very important for
Mr. Schwarzenegger says the issue of water supply has needed to be addressed for years.
“We are way behind the eight-ball right now. We need to get this question before the people of this state and allow them to wade into the debate,” says state Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Mariposa.
Mr. Cogdill is the author of the legislature that if passed, would put the $5.9 billion bond issue on the ballot.
He says the other proposed surface storage site, in addition to Temperance Flat, would be north of the bay delta in Glenn and Colusa counties.
The two locations were selected because the areas are part of an agreement negotiated by CALFED, the state and federal agency created to restore the ecological health of the delta and improve water management, he says. #
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=4687
Editorial: Addressing water needs; Governor presents his plan to increase water surface storage
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took up the cudgels in
The governor, backed by agricultural and business interests, originally included money for new dams in last year's package of infrastructure bonds. Such projects proved too much for Democrats in the Legislature to swallow, and the people never got a chance to vote on them.
Schwarzenegger said he would be back with a new water storage package, and Monday's media event at the base of Friant Dam marked the public kickoff of the new campaign. Schwarzenegger stood in front of an assemblage of local elected officials and asked for public support to lobby the state's legislators on the effort.
The Bee supports the idea of a new dam at Temperance Flat, assuming the engineering and environmental studies underway confirm its feasibility. Such additional surface storage is badly needed in
The vehicle for Schwarzenegger's water package would be a $5.95 billion bond measure. The vast majority of the funds -- $4.5 billion -- would be set aside for surface water storage projects. About $1 billion would be spent on efforts to keep the vital Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta healthy. Another $260 million would be spent on the state's rivers, including the
State Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, is the principal sponsor of SB 59, which would place the measure on the ballot.
It won't be easy. Democrats flatly rejected the approach last year, and continue to argue that conservation and groundwater storage are the only viable solutions to
And crisis it is: The state's population is expected to grow by 30% in the next 20 years, and if even the most conservative estimates of global climate change prove true, we could have serious shortages of water in the state by the next generation.
There are many details to be decided, and battles to be fought. But this is no routine political exercise. The future of
http://www.fresnobee.com/274/story/37703.html
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