A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 26, 2007
2. Supply
DESALINATION PLANT:
Desalination test a model of cooperation; Conservationists work with water managers - San Diego Union Tribune
Inland agencies get money to boost water supply - Riverside Press Enterprise
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES:
Whose water is it? -
CONSERVATION EXPO:
WATER AWARENESS; Second annual expo explores products, ideas to conserve the wet stuff - Monterey Herald
LOCAL CONSERVATION MEASURES:
Drought tapping water reserves - Pasadena Star-News
CENTRAL COAST DESALINATION:
Editorial: Stalling best water strategy -
CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES:
Guest Column: Global Warming Response — Markets or Taxes?; California's water future - 21st century solutions - San Francisco Chronicle
DESALINATION PLANT:
Desalination test a model of cooperation; Conservationists work with water managers
By Sandra Dibble, staff writer
Now, for the first time in 14 years, the $250 million reverse-osmosis facility is back in operation for a three-month test run. And that is prompting a key question: How would this affect the Cienega de
“In this little region of
The Yuma Desalting Plant, he said, “provides the key as to how we might better manage resources at the end of the system.”
The Cienega de
Today, “it's a superimportant stop on the Pacific Flyway,” a major route for migratory birds, said Osvel Hinojosa, a wildlife ecologist with
The flow to the cienega began in the mid-1970s with the construction of a drainage canal to divert the agricultural runoff before it got into the
But the canal was only meant to be a temporary measure until a desalination facility could be built to treat the water in the
Conservationists feared operating the desalting plant would cut off the cienega's main lifeline and braced for a battle to keep the water flowing.
“You mentioned the Yuma Desalting Plant and the environmental community saw the imminent doom for the Cienega de
Until a few years ago,
Seeing the potential for conflict,
Participants included the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and operates the facility, the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the city of
In April 2005, they came up possible alternatives that included treating poor-quality
The group “is a model for how we should resolve border environmental and water disputes,” said participant Peter Culp, an attorney for the Sonoran Institute.
As the Bureau of Reclamation's area manager, Jim Cherry oversees the desalination plant and also participated in discussions.
“This is something we've found common ground on,” Cherry said. “It's good to be working cooperatively with these groups, because historically, we've sat down at the table and argued.”
The potential for conflict can be seen just west of Yuma on the California border, where a plan to stop cross-border seepage by lining a portion of the All-American Canal has led to litigation and a standoff between the U.S. and Mexican governments.
In
“We're concerned about the environmental impacts associated with operating the plant,” Robert
The bureau is also following the results of a separate scientific study of how the plant's partial operation will affect the cienega, hoping to understand how sensitive it is to a reduction in the flow of the
Karl Flessa, a conservation biologist at the
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070326-9999-1n26desalt.html
Inland agencies get money to boost water supply
Riverside Press
By Jennifer Bowles, staff writer
The State Water Resources Control Board issued $25 million in grants to agencies in the Inland region and
Regional water officials said Friday the grants will go to agencies that serve residents in
They are all part of the same watershed that drains into the
The competitive grants from the voter-approved Prop. 50 in 2002 went to just that -- projects that aim to solve regional problems such as the removal of high salts that will increase the supply of usable water, said Celeste Cantú, general manager of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.
The authority, which represents the region's largest water agencies, coordinated the package of proposals to the state and was awarded the funding to distribute.
Salt in the region generally soaks into the groundwater from cow manure, agricultural practices or the
"Chemically, you can't change salt," she said. "And it doesn't evaporate and it doesn't change. It's there. You have to concentrate it and shovel it out."
Other funded projects will remove an invasive bamboo-like cane called arundo donax that guzzles water and has infested stands of native willows and cottonwoods along the river. Some projects will recycle more wastewater so it can be used for irrigation, saving better-quality groundwater and imported water for taps.
For instance, about $4.5 million will help expand a wastewater treatment plant in
Western Municipal Water District will use its roughly $4.5 million share to help build a segment of the Riverside-Corona Feeder, a 28-mile pipeline that will bring water from the San Bernardino area to Corona and other nearby areas, said Tedi Jackson, a district spokeswoman. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_B_water26.3c06ad9.html
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES:
Whose water is it?
By Kerana Todorov, staff writer
Last year, Jim Barbour thought the purchase of a lot off
Barbour figured he would build a large enough building on the 1.5-acre parcel off of
The 7,000-square-foot, one-story stucco building in the industrial zone off
Barbour's plans were on track until last fall, when he and other property owners near
"When I bought the property, nobody told me there was going to be a problem hooking up to water," said Barbour, adding the land is too far from American Canyon to be annexed into the city.
He paid a company $10,000 to put in a well, but found no water after drilling down 400 feet. He said he now hopes that the county will allow him to install a 10,500-gallon tank and truck water to the site. "Otherwise, I'm stuck."
Barbour is among several property owners in unincorporated
Napa County Planning Director Hillary Gitelman recently said a half-dozen property owners in unincorporated
Growing too fast?
According to city records, however,
The city has not acted on two water service requests for properties in unincorporated
Three other water service requests in the Napa Valley Gateway subdivision are being written. "We are drafting the conditions at this time," he said. At least one property owner in the Napa Valley Gateway, developer Zapolski and Rudd LLC, still has not received a service letter for its' site, a representative said this week.
"We are still waiting on it," said Jon Bowman, whose company plans to construct a 34,510 square-foot building.
In the meantime, in letters and at public meetings, county representatives have said
American Canyon City Attorney Bill Ross, in a March 5 letter to the Napa County Local Agency Formation Commission -- the agency that approves jurisdictional boundaries and updates water, sewer and fire service areas -- reiterated the city's position that its primary obligation is to provide water and sewer service to properties within its boundaries or to those slated to be annexed into the city.
City Manager Rich Ramirez said "hundreds of thousands" of square feet of building is planned north of
The properties outside city limits use about 16 percent of the city's water supply annually, Weil said. That demand is estimated to increase to 20 percent by 2025, he said.
All told, the city is entitled to 4,700 acre-feet of water annually under a 1967 contract between the former water district and the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
The city and the county each say the other is growing too fast and using too much water.
In the same period, construction within industrially zoned areas in unincorporated
Citing an
"We don't believe water is the issue," Luce said. "We just believe it's a tactic to expand their boundary."
Ramirez said the city wants to "control" water mitigation measures. For instance, the city could require that properties use recycled water or low-flow toilets, he said.
"We're just trying to be good stewards of the limited amount of water we have left," Ramirez said.
Bring in the lawyers
The debate over "will-serve" letters comes as
At stake, among other properties, are about 350 acres of industrial land north of the city.
The county's proposed general plan update -- the document guiding future growth of the Napa Valley -- shows American Canyon's ultimate boundary line a short drive south of Fagan Creek, which crosses Highway 29 near La Strada restaurant.
City officials, including Ramirez and Mayor Leon Garcia, have repeatedly said that the city's northern boundary line should be Fagan Creek, as it is under the city's 1994 general plan. City officials said they plan to ask LAFCO to amend the city's sphere of influence -- the ultimate urban boundary line -- to match the one in the 1994 general plan.
"We can't figure out how to plan for the area if we cannot control the land uses that are going on in that area," Ramirez said.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Harold Moskowite, who represents the south
"I think we'll work it out," he said. "It's very important for
Yet, Dodd, who finds the city's refusal to provide water service to Barbour "distasteful," said he is annoyed that
In the meantime, both sides are preparing in case the dispute should end up in court.
"We're close to going to court, without a doubt" Luce said. #
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/03/24/news/local/iq_3872309.txt
CONSERVATION EXPO:
WATER AWARENESS; Second annual expo explores products, ideas to conserve the wet stuff
By Kevin Howe, staff writer
It feels like grass. When you poke the soil, it gives.
But it's not living sod, said Steve Taylor of Heavenly Greens, makers of Fieldturf, the so-called "turf of choice" for child-care centers.
Fieldturf -- artificial grass with a soft pad beneath and soft, grasslike monofilament fibers -- was one of a number of exhibits on display Friday at Rancho Cañada Golf Club in
Sponsored by the Water Awareness Committee of Monterey Inc., the expo gave people in the irrigation and landscaping business a chance to advertise their wares and brainstorm how to grow gardens and save water.
Several companies exhibited artificial turf -- the conventional lawn is considered the No. 1 water-waster by the Water Awareness Committee -- along with water-saving plumbing devices ranging from plastic pipe inserts to low-flow toilets. The expo offered seminars on drip irrigation, rain "harvesting" and storage, sprinkler systems and garden design, all aimed at saving water.
Water is going to remain a scarce resource on the
The general managers of two major water agencies, Curtis Weeks of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency and David Berger of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, noted that their agencies, along with private and public entities on the Central Coast, have been meeting in sessions organized by the state Public Utility Commission's Division of Ratepayer Advocates to form a regional water collaborative.
"We're going to have to work together," Weeks said.
He cited the recent availability of $50 million in funding for
The state Department of Water Resources "used to be about developing water and projects," he said, but its biggest projects have long since been built and the state doesn't have the money it once did. Now, he said, the department's focus is on conservation and local water supply solutions.
The regional water collaboration task force, Berger said, "could send a message that the Monterey Peninsula and North County have their act together," which would bring the area closer to getting the state funding it needs for solving its water shortage.
That problem hasn't been solved, he said, and it has been 12 years since the Department of Water Resources ordered California American Water to cease overpumping from the
"The state," Berger said, "will run out of patience."
Cal Am and neighboring Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District are moving ahead with plans for a regional water desalination plant on
But the solution may not be a single big project, Weeks said. A dependable and adequate water supply might be achieved through a package of smaller projects that would be easier on the ratepayers' pocketbooks.
Berger said the
County agriculture "could do better," Weeks said, "but people come from all over the world to see how we do it." As a group,
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/16966354.htm
LOCAL CONSERVATION MEASURES:
Drought tapping water reserves
By Mike Sprague, staff writer
It's only three months into 2007, but Suburban Water System customers are turning the tap on a lot more than usual.
Consumption is up by 25 percent in March and a little less so far during the first three months, said Garry Hofer, spokesman for Suburban, which serves some of
"March has gone crazy," Hofer said. "Already we've pumped about 3,000 acre-feet, and that was the entire amount" pumped for all of March last year, he added.
It's all because one of the driest winters in history in
The area has received 2.5 inches of rain since July 2006. In a normal year 13.2 inches would have fallen during that period.
Free storm water that replenishes the local underground basin also is down by about 75percent.
But there is some good news, regional water officials say.
"We are prepared to meet any additional demands that may be placed on us because of the weather," said Bob Muir, spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District. "We have more than 2.5 million acre-feet of groundwater and surface water stored. We're more than prepared to meet demands."
An acre-foot, 326,000 gallons, can be visualized as a football field one foot deep in water. It also is the amount of water used in a year by an average family of five.
MWD most likely will have to dip into its storage to meet demand, Muir said.
The district expects to receive about 2.2 million acre-feet of water from the state water project and the
MWD is better able to meet these demands because of $250million it has spent in the last 17 years on conservation and storage, Muir said.
Some of the agencies that purchase water from MWD, such as
"We've learned from the past," said Art Aguilar, general manager of the Central Basin District, which serves the southeast area of
"There's been a lot of work done in the last few years to make sure there's a lot more reliable supply."
"Our eventual goal is to have around 25,000 acre-feet," Aguilar said.
Timothy Jochem, general manager for the
"The program is going at 100percent now," Jochem said. "We're continuing to do a toilet program and provide rebates for high-efficiency washing mach- ines. This weekend, we're starting a new program for weather- based irrigation controllers."
But even with this new conservation, water utilities in much of the
Carol Williams, executive officer for the Main San Gabriel Basin Water Master, said it expects to lower the level of water that agencies can pump at no additional cost.
"Years ago we had near- record rain and got a terrific water supply that put lots and lots of storm runoff into the basin," Williams said.
"That's changed now," she said. "We're seeing a very low- flow of water in the river. We'll be relying on more imported water."
Still for
It has banked so much that it's going to lease out the rights to 3,000 acre-feet of water, Mochizuki said.
The lack of rain also is hurting the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, which replenishes water in a large basin in the south
Normally, it gets about 50,000 acre-feet of water from storm water, but this year, only about 20 percent of that is expected, said Robb Whittaker, the replenishment district general manager. #
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/search/ci_5521130
CENTRAL COAST DESALINATION:
Editorial: Stalling best water strategy
Among the many upcoming fights in the arena of
In one corner is California American Water, which wants to build and operate the plant, but has been unable to develop much of a fan base. The company for many years took a ham-fisted approach to public relations. It has, finally, generated support from those hoping a desalination plant would take some of the pressure off the declining
In the other corner stands government, bruised and battered well before this fight. Still, all things considered, it's on about the same footing as Cal Am.
We hear so often that private enterprise can beat public agencies at just about any game that many consider it fact -- despite a fair amount of evidence to the contrary. In many ways, the conventional wisdom reflects general discontent with much of what government does, but it fails to consider the actual performance of private enterprise. For proof that government has no monopoly on nonfeasance, look no further than the chain of
The notion that private equals quality simply doesn't hold up.
Making the coming Cal Am-government bout more interesting is the potential spoiler, the public-private hybrid know as the Pajaro-Sunny Mesa Community Services District. It is an obscure, but public, water agency that teamed with developer Nader Agha to pursue a desal plant of its own. As
What, then, should the Monterey County Board of Supervisors do as it considers Cal Am's request to kill the ordinance that says desal plants in unincorporated
In a word, stall.
Cal Am is pushing to eliminate the rule to help it navigate a maze of bureaucracies with a role in building a desalination plant.
The company may be right that taking time to create a government partnership could seriously delay the already-plodding process. But the county would be wise to hang onto the public-ownership requirement as long as possible so it can maintain some local control over a process that ultimately will be shaped primarily by state and federal agencies.
The county could reconsider and drop the clause later -- if and when Cal Am demonstrates that it has learned from its mistakes and is capable of acting in the public interest as well as its own. #
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/editorial/16966346.htm
CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES:
Guest Column: Global Warming Response — Markets or Taxes?;
San Francisco Chronicle – 3/23/07
By Lois Wolk, represents Yolo and Solano counties in the state Assembly; Jared Huffman, represents Marin and Sonoma counties in the state Assembly
With a growing population, strained ecosystems and global warming shrinking the Sierra snowpack,
A hundred years ago,
Meeting today's water challenges requires modern, realistic, cost-effective solutions that incorporate lessons from the last century. The most obvious of these is to better use existing water supplies. Thanks to investments in conservation and recycling,
Similarly, we can clean up and better protect water supplies that have been placed in jeopardy by contamination. Many
Another obvious solution is better use of groundwater storage. In the 20th century, we mismanaged our groundwater aquifers, depleting them faster than rain and snowmelt could recharge them. The good news is that these depleted aquifers provide ready-made water storage facilities capable of significantly increasing our water-storage capacity at a much lower cost than building new dams. This cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategy is already working. Since 1990, 1 million acre-feet of groundwater storage has been developed and there is tremendous additional potential.
While these promising strategies are playing an increasingly vital role in meeting our water needs, some argue that building one or two new dams should be
With limited resources, the state of
First, how will the proposed dam benefit us? If the answer is water supply, what is the amount, cost and reliability of that water, and are there cheaper, more reliable alternative supplies? If it's flood protection, what level of protection and can other strategies achieve that protection more cost-effectively?
Second, how quickly can a dam provide these benefits? In the past, large dams have taken many years, sometimes decades to plan, design and construct. We face urgent water challenges that can't wait decades for solutions.
Third, who are the primary beneficiaries and how much will they pay? Three major
Finally, what are the environmental impacts, and would alternative strategies be better for the environment? The negative consequences of most major dams -- from loss of habitat, to adverse effects on fisheries and water quality -- are well known.
Let's finish the studies
In the meantime, however, let's not wait to move forward on proven, cost-effective solutions that can produce significant supplies of clean, reliable and affordable water for decades to come. We may not have all the water we would like. We certainly don't have all the money. Let's be smart and make the best use of both. #
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