Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 23, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
Deaths prompt review of state's diving program
Contra Costa Times
Landowners want fair prices in levee procurement
Marysville Appeal-Democrat
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Deaths prompt review of state's diving program
Contra Costa Times – 3/23/07
By Samantha Young
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The task force comes as questions remain about whether the department's divers were ill-equipped to navigate the hazardous waters of the state's aqueduct during their dive Feb. 7.
"The safety of our employees is our highest priority," Snow said in a statement. "This panel of experts will thoroughly examine our dive program and recommend measures we can take to improve the program and avoid future accidents."
A preliminary internal investigation by the department last month revealed that divers Tim Crawford, 50, and Martin Alvarado, 44, were swept in front of the lone pump that remained working as they inspected the trash gate at the Dos Amigos Pumping Plant, about nine miles from the Central Valley town of Los Banos.
They had been scheduled to search for invasive mussels on the metal grates at three other underwater pumps that had been shut down that day.
The pumps lift water into a section of the California Aqueduct that funnels water to
Crawford and Alvarado are the first members of the department's dive team to die while on duty. The 13-member dive program has been suspended pending results of an ongoing investigation, department spokeswoman Sue Sims said.
Diving professionals have said the murky and fast-moving water in the California Aqueduct should have required a safer method of diving that involved helmets, as well as air and rope lines to the shore.
The state divers used what professionals have called recreational scuba gear for their dive, which took them about 30 feet under water.
The task force will be led by Jim Stewart, the former chief diving officer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in
The task force will spend the next several months assessing equipment, training and safety practices of the department's 11-member dive program, Sims said.
Other members are Frank McGinnis, a retired assistant dive coordinator and trainer for the Metropolitan Water District in
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/16959989.htm
Landowners want fair prices in levee procurement
Marysville Appeal-Democrat – 3/23/07
By Daniel Witter/Appeal-Democrat
Greg Foster owns land near Star Bend to
“I'm not interested in selling my land,” he said Thursday. “This is against my will.”
He will lose his livelihood, he said. A new setback levee would sit 50 yards from his home, taking most of his land, he said.
He worries about people using the levee to dump garbage on his property or use the levee as a pathway.
Foster said his land is worth more than what he is being offered. Developers are purchasing nearby properties for larger sums, but the offer from the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority doesn't reflect that, he said.
“It seems rather ludicrous to offer us an ag land price for that property,” Foster said.
During a five-hour meeting in Marysville on Thursday, members of a state Reclamation Board subcommittee said they want people who may lose property and livelihood for the new setback levee to be fairly compensated.
Board members also want to be kept informed about how Three Rivers will fund the last phase of levee projects.
“It seems to me that we have a credible but tight cash flow,” said Reclamation Board member Butch Hodgkins. “The main thing we have to do is monitor this carefully and watch to see if funding happens.”
Board officials want another meeting in about two months. No date was set.
Three Rivers is in the fourth and final phase of levee repairs, which could cost $200 million and should be completed by November 2008.
Altogether, levee repairs in
Three Rivers officials briefed committee members on cash flow projections and funding for the project. Part of that could come from Propositions 84 and 1E.
Phase 4 repairs call for about 12 miles of levee fixes along the
About 30 property owners holding 48 parcels would be affected in Phase 4. Three Rivers is proceeding with negotiations to acquire some of the property from owners near
Land values weren't the only issue discussed. Committee topics ranged from compliance with permits issued for work to who has maintenance responsibilities for the levees.
Linda resident Rex Archer claimed the levee near Wal-Mart is slumping and that soil is being leached out of the bottom because of gaps between rocks used to fill the 1986 flood breach.
“That levee is not safe,” he said.
He claims the slumping was covered up with asphalt so it appears to look level. Archer took issue with a number of other items, including the placement of a sand berm along the levee to the slope of the levee. He also believes that work was never completed on the levee.
Three Rivers officials disputed Archer's claims, saying the project has U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversight and approval, as well as input from experienced and qualified engineers who understand how levees work.
“We stand behind what we say and what we presented in the project,” said Paul Brunner, Three Rivers executive director.#
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/2007/03/23/news/local_news/news3.txt
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