Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
April 17, 2007
1. Top Items
Interests battle over rights to AV groundwater; This story appeared in the
By Alisha Semchuck, staff writer
PALMDALE - Adjudication of groundwater rights has cost the
Yet, nothing's been "accomplished to date," said Attorney William Brunick during a Water Contractors Association meeting, Thursday night, at the Palmdale Water District offices. "
"They want the absolute right to store water," Brunick told the crowd that packed the meeting room. "Their position seems to be they want it all." But, the attorney said, others in the Valley hold positions just as extreme and "out of whack." A court decision can take 10 years or longer and rack up legal fees.
Though the Valley is so divided, they must come together for some amicable solution, the attorney contended, because the water situation needs resolution.
"What can we do right now? Buy water and put it in the ground. That's the approach that needs to be taken," Brunick said.
His point led into a water banking informational workshop presented by Curtis Paxton, interim general manager for the State Water Contractors Association.
Although a regulatory drought could affect us short-term, it just underscores the need to bank water."
Despite the number of different competing interests for the same groundwater, Paxton said they joined forces "to work together" on an integrated water management plan.
"I'm happy with the integrated plan process. We are accelerating that process to have a public review draft by July 1. One thing the plan has shown - there is a deficit between supply and demand," Paxton emphasized. "The most dramatic part is in (the year) 2035."
But, even as soon as 2010 or 2015 there will be a gap unless a plan is implemented now. Even if the gap lessens, Paxton said, that change would be "fairly small. The first step we, as a region can do, is initiate banking. Bottom line, this indicates a need for action."
Paxton displayed a graph of the Sacramento River Index that showed annual water levels from 1906 through 2005. Based on that historic record, water availability varied greatly from year to year, which impacts the allocation - the amount of water - that state contractors are permitted to pull from the aqueduct. Annual precipitation makes a difference in the water level. In 2007, state contractors were allowed 60% of their entitlement. For instance, the entitlement for Palmdale Water District is about 21,300 acre-feet of water. At 60%, the agency can only pull 12,780 acre-feet from the aqueduct. One acre-foot equals 326,000 gallons - enough to supply an average single-family home for one year.
Given the fluctuation in water levels of a river that feeds the aqueduct, Paxton said, "we need to take advantage in surplus water years. We must be able to take water in the winter because there's a limit in the aqueduct of how much we can take in the summer."
Water use increases in the summer, when folks use more on landscaped lawns, in swimming pools and other outdoor needs.
But, Paxton pointed out, without a place to store excess winter water, the Valley can't take advantage of the supplies. "In winter, that's when we need to be banking it.
He displayed a map of 1,400 acres of property in Rosamond, divided into six or seven parcels, that the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency - a wholesaler - currently has in escrow, with plans for a water banking project.
"AVEK took, in my opinion, a huge step recently for infrastructure to move water around the Valley. Purchase of this property was a huge step," Paxton said.
Regarding AVEK's potential land acquisition, with escrow still pending, Lane said, "Is it perfect? No. But, we've got to start somewhere. This is the first step. If you don't start here, it's hard to make that second step."
Paxton showed another map site at 170th Street West and Avenue A, on the
Andrew Werner, a Western Development representative, said the company has been working on the project about five years, since 2001 or 2002, and is now in the engineering design phase, slated for completion in several months.
"We hope to start some sort of construction by year's end," Werner said. "We'd like to work with local entities. We haven't put any formal proposal in front of this group yet."
He said a pilot banking project the company conducted provided favorable results, a determining factor for moving forward with banking plans. They also worked on an exhaustive Environmental Impact Report before committing to the project. "We had to consider growth and impact. The other thing we had to consider was a monitoring plan. You have to protect your neighbors. We had soil samples from all over the property.
"It's a long, hard road, but it can be done," Werner assured.
And Ryan Fachin, supervisor of agriculture at Tejon Ranch, talked about the status of water banking at that site, near
"Last year we pumped about 2,000 acre-feet," Fachin said. "This year our goal is to pump another 2,100 acre-feet." Like Werner, he said, "we're willing to talk to anyone who wants to partner with us."
"Possibilities exist at the Amargosa Creek and perhaps Ana Verde," Paxton said. "I hope the (state water contractors) association can work jointly with the city of
The city is banking on a water bank in the Amargosa Creek area near
Paxton said efforts went into ensuring "that most of the area where Amargosa Creek runs has a soft bottom. There's a lot of work done over the years to make sure areas would be available for recharge."
And, the area can be maintained as open space or used for recreational purposes, Paxton said.
The city operates numerous joint-use facilities, Swain noted.
Eventually a need will surface for multiple water banks, Lane said. #
http://avpress.com/n/16/0416_s3.hts
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