A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 4, 2007
2. Supply
Editorial: Water will be scarce; We can't ignore the looming crisis of diminishing supplies -
Editorial:
PROPOSED SURFACE STORAGE:
Schwarzenegger calls for more surface water storage - California Farm Bureau Federation
SIERRA SNOWPACK:
Final snowpack totals falls short of averages - Reno Gazette Journal
Editorial: Water will be scarce; We can't ignore the looming crisis of diminishing supplies
The future of water supplies in
That's one of the conclusions that has emerged from the first International Water Technology Conference, being held through today at
As dire as predictions for
In
In
Here in
That's why efforts such as this week's water conference are so valuable. Water experts from around the world came to share information and display new technologies, which will be crucial to solving the looming crisis.
And we had better grit our teeth for increased costs. An Environmental Protection Agency study in 2002 estimated that keeping up with the expected demand for water in 2020 could cost the nation more than a half-trillion dollars. Water is a commodity as well as a necessity, and Americans have grown used to having their water supplies heavily subsidized. That will change, and the impact will be deeply felt.
New storage capacity, both above and below ground, is needed, but it will be costly and take many years to bring on line. We can all begin to conserve water right now -- today -- and there is enormous potential for savings in doing so.
New and improved technologies like the ones discussed at the water conference have an important place in the effort. Perhaps the best thing that happens at such gatherings is the cross-fertilization that takes place between experts in different aspects of water issues. As an example, the conference heard suggestions that new irrigation techniques in agriculture may have applications for urban residential landscapes, which account for an enormous amount of the water used by city dwellers.
We're all in this one together, and the sooner we learn to work across the spectrum of public and private institutions and individuals, the sooner we'll see solutions we can all live with. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/274/story/39687.html
Editorial:
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 4/4/07
T
he three sources of drinking water for Southern California - Sierra snowpack, the
The question is, what will happen if this weather pattern continues next year? Or for a decade or more, as occurred in the period between 900 and 1300, when the world was warming in much the same way scientists predict global warming will affect the region?
Through conservation and by recycling wastewater,
This is another of the many reasons that
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070403/NEWS/704030346/1043/OPINION01
PROPOSED SURFACE STORAGE:
Schwarzenegger calls for more surface water storage
By Kate Campbell, Assistant Editor
Faced with an ever increasing population and greater uncertainty about water supplies, state political leaders are proposing a plan to increase surface water storage facilities. Gov. Schwarzenegger was joined at public events last week by state Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Fresno, author of Senate Bill 59, which includes a bond proposal for more surface storage. It is set to begin committee hearings April 24.
If approved by voters in the November 2008 election, the bond measure would provide nearly $4 billion to improve surface water storage infrastructure and serve as a major piece of a larger plan to ensure water availability and quality.
California Farm Bureau Federation leaders are watching this legislation closely as details are being developed. Although no postion has yet been taken on the bill, CFBF is encouraged by the renewed interest in surface storage.
Noting that no new water storage projects have been completed in California in more than 30 years, Charlie Crabb, CFBF Governmental Affairs manager, said, "The convergence of issues?climate change, population growth, aging infrastructure?has come together to underscore awareness that water is what drives the state's economy.
"It's important that we add to the mix of underground, conservation and surface storage resources," Crabb said. "
At press conferences last week at Friant Dam east of
Schwarzenegger said that in the next 20 years the state's population will grow by 30 percent. That's equal to adding three cities the size of
"Earthquakes and major storms are also a major problem that we have here," Schwarzenegger said. "We are very vulnerable. They could damage the Delta and threaten the water supply for 25 million Californians.
"That is?two-thirds of all Californians are threatened with having their water supply cut off if we have a major earthquake or a huge, major storm. Global climate change, as you have just heard earlier, will reduce snowpack. That means more floods in the winter and less drinking water in the summer. Rising sea levels could contaminate the Delta with saltwater. So those are all the kinds of problems and threats that we are facing."
Likely sites for new reservoirs are the west side of the
The governor also is calling for $1 billion for Delta sustainability, $250 million for restoration projects, including the Klamath, San Joaquin and the
Cogdill told those attending the media events, "I don't think we can overstate the importance of this legislation. This has been a long, long time coming, and those of us who represent this area and live in this valley know how important water is to our economy and to our future."
Given the years of contentious debate over the need and impact of additional surface water storage, David Guy, executive director of the Northern California Water Association, called the governor's efforts to improve the water supply situation a "bold stance."
"Surface water storage is not universally popular, but this governor is looking long into the future. It's really a refreshing outlook.
We need all kinds of additional water storage facilities and improved surface water storage will need to be integrated into below-ground storage and improved conservation," Guy said. #
http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=792&ck=96EA64F3A1AA2FD00C72FAACF0CB8AC9
SIERRA SNOWPACK:
Final snowpack totals falls short of averages
By Jeff DeLong, staff writer
With the arrival of April and the traditional end to the snow season, the Sierra snowpack is barely half what it should be.
"April 1 is typically your peak snowpack. That's why this is so dismal," said Dan Greenlee, a hydrologist with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
On Monday, Greenlee conducted the last official snow survey for the winter of 2006-07 near Mount Rose Summit.
The results, if not surprising, were nonetheless a disappointment. At the
44 percent of where it ought to be in early April.
"It's pretty sad, all in all," Greenlee said. "This year is history."
Sticking a sampling rod into the snow, Greenlee measured about 41/2 feet. That's compared to about 14 feet recorded at the same spot last year after a heavy winter's snowfall.
Water content in the snow at
It was the second lowest measurement at that location since records started in 1981, beaten only by the winter in 2001. At another nearby site where surveys started in 1910, it's only been drier 10 other winters, Greenlee said.
Across the Sierra, the early April snowpack averages about 40 percent to 50 percent of normal, Greenlee said. At the
The government uses the snowpack as measured in early April to determine what to expect in the way of runoff in rivers and streams this spring and summer. Those forecasts are used by officials responsible for providing the water needed through the remainder of the year.
Greenlee said natural runoff this year should be about 40 percent of normal.
That means that much of the water used in Reno-Sparks area this summer won't be melted snow from this winter. Instead, it will be water stored in Lake Tahoe and Boca Reservoir from the previous two winters, which provided bountiful snowfall and filled all the reservoirs along the
Stored water should allow for normal flows in the
"One dry year won't dry up the river. It really doesn't present a problem for us," Hauck said.
Should next winter also prove dry, the situation could start to change, he said.
"We've found it takes at least two really dry years, maybe more, to put us into a situation where Tahoe storage falls to a point where river flows would be impacted," Hauck said. "We are certainly hoping for a better winter next time around."
The miniscule snowpack spells trouble for the fire season, off to an early start with two
Lack of snow in the mountains means the fire season could be severe in the upper and lower elevations, said Mike Dondero, fire management officer for the Nevada Division of Forestry.
"We just don't have enough moisture up there," Dondero said. "That means we're going to have the possibility of an extensive fire season up in the high country, up in the timbered country."
A sign of that potential came over the weekend when a wildfire near
Normally, that area doesn't dry out until sometime in July, Dondero said. #
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070403/NEWS16/704030338/1016/NEWS
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