A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 23, 2007
2. Supply
GROUNDWATER SUPPLY
Groundwater under Santa Clara County eases strain of drought; VALLEY BENEFITS FROM STORAGE BASINS OTHER AREAS LACK - San Jose Mercury News
WATER CONSERVATION:
New irrigation devices, drought-tolerant grass conserve water - Riverside Press
Editorial: Water ruling brings hope; State engineer's decision could lead to a second major source of water for the valley - Las Vegas
LOCAL WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES:
Lomita tries again to build water tank; Officials will begin research for the project, which would provide a continuous supply to residents for seven days in an emergency situation such as an earthquake - Daily Breeze (Torrance)
PIPELINE REPAIRS COMPLETED:
Pipeline repairs end alert on saving water - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
GROUNDWATER SUPPLY
Groundwater under Santa Clara County eases strain of drought; VALLEY BENEFITS FROM STORAGE BASINS OTHER AREAS LACK
By Julie Sevrens Lyons, staff writer
As
Just why some communities are facing restrictive conservation measures now and others are spared boils down, in part, to one simple concept: Location, location, location.
Unlike other water agencies in the Bay Area, the Santa Clara Valley Water District receives a whopping 40 percent of its supply from groundwater basins and aquifers. That water, which is found naturally flowing through small pores in soil, sand and rock beneath the Earth's surface, accounts for about 50 billion of the gallons used by local residents every year - more than three times the amount of water that can be stored in all 10 of the county's reservoirs.
Geology matters. In
But in groundwater-rich
`Most valuable asset'
While the county also uses surface water - water found in streams, lakes and reservoirs - and imports water from other areas such as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the groundwater supply can make the difference between brown and green lawns during short-lived droughts.
"It's the most valuable asset for the county in terms of water resources," explains Behzad Ahmadi, manager of the district's groundwater management unit. "And it's not something you can go and buy. You have to have the right setting" - the right geology - to be able to tap into this kind of hidden treasure.
Indeed,
The Bay Area as a whole takes just 5 percent of its water from the ground, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Elsewhere, the resource is much more plentiful. Along the central coast, it accounts for 83 percent of the water supply. Nationally, half the public's drinking water comes from groundwater basins, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
"It really is just a function of geography. That's the way it is," said Toby Goddard, water conservation manager of the City of Santa Cruz Water Department. That city gets just 4 percent of its supply from groundwater.
Storage is key
But
Excess water is collected in the county's 10 reservoirs and released through outlet pipes into the creeks below. Some of the water then percolates into the ground and migrates into the groundwater system. The district also operates special percolation pumps which help divert water into the basins.
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In a way, the county didn't have much choice.
Through much of the early 1900s,
A series of dams were built around the county from the 1930s to the 1950s to help correct the problem. And in the 1960s, the region began to import water from the delta through the newly constructed South Bay Aqueduct.
With the new supplies, the aquifers slowly refilled. And after a decade of solid rain in the 1990s, they were so full that new springs and artesian wells were emerging in places where they hadn't been seen in a century.
About 500,000 acre-feet of water - enough to supply 1 million families for one year - can be stored in the groundwater basins, officials said.
Earth as a filter
And the groundwater system has other benefits.
Instead of relying on a maintenance-heavy network of pipelines, water flows naturally underground, Ahmadi said. "It also acts as a filtration system as water infiltrates down the basin. Much of the groundwater that is being pumped does not require much further treatment."
But that rich surplus of groundwater has drawbacks: The supply, even when very plentiful, isn't always enough to make up for back-to-back extremely dry years.
"If there's an extended drought, nobody's in particularly good condition," Senter said.
Still, the diversity of
Certainly this summer, as our neighbors to the north and southwest are urged to use less and less, it is expected to be business as usual in
"I don't know if we're jealous," said Goddard,
http://www.mercurynews.com/lifestyle/ci_5730617?nclick_check=1
WATER CONSERVATION:
New irrigation devices, drought-tolerant grass conserve water
Riverside Press
By Mark Muckenfuss, staff writer
If you thought gas was a precious resource, you might want to consider that clear stuff coming out of your kitchen faucet a close second.
We are at the tail end of a rainy season (if there is such a thing in
Three weeks ago, a study released in Science magazine predicted a decades-long period of drought for our region. And the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures show we're the fifth-fastest-growing region in the
With the Colorado River and reservoirs dropping ever lower --
So, when you look out at your lawn consider this: It drinks up more water than probably anything else in and around your home.
More that half of the average Southern Californian's home water use is spent outside the home, with the lawn taking the lion's share.
Experts say most homeowners overwater their lawns. Maximizing the efficiency of your sprinkling system and planting drought-tolerant grass might cost you a few bucks, but you could quickly recoup that investment in reduced water bills, they say. In addition, new technologies such as moisture sensors and sprinkler controllers tied in to weather satellites can give you a smart lawn that literally knows when to water itself.
Robert Green, a turf-grass research specialist at UC Riverside, is working on determining ideal irrigation requirements for various kinds of turf grasses as well as water conservation methods.
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"There are grasses that would use or require less water than tall fescue," he adds, "but they have a winter dormancy."
Those grasses would include Bermuda grass and
Green says homeowners should stay away from Kentucky bluegrass and rye grass since they demand more water.
With limited choices in actual grass, the bulk of saving water on your lawn comes down to efficient irrigation.
Mike Henry is an environmental horticulturist with the
"Typically a home irrigation system isn't kept up," Henry says. "If parts are worn or broken or clogged or have been replaced with different types of sprinklers, those are all factors that need to be corrected and there's a lot of new technology in the irrigation field that improves on irrigation efficiency."
Water in the morning or evening, not in the heat of the day, and long enough that the water will reach the roots of the grass. Using the tin can method will help you determine an adequate watering time. Place one or more empty tuna-fish sized cans on your lawn and turn on your sprinklers. When the cans are full, the lawn should have enough water.
Henry says new sprinkler heads can improve water distribution. He also suggests a weather-smart water controller or moisture sensors. You may have to seek such specialized equipment at irrigation suppliers rather than big-box hardware stores.
There are two basic kinds of weather-smart controllers, which work with automatic sprinkling systems. One type uses historical data to determine how often your lawn should be watered.
A newer, more sophisticated version, ties into daily weather service data via your phone line. Based on the weather conditions of the day and now long it's been since the lawn was watered, the device will determine whether your lawn needs sprinkling and for how long.
In-ground moisture sensors, connected to the main sprinkler control, are another method to determine when it's time to water.
Tom Penning is president of Irrometer, an irrigation equipment company founded in
Installing such a device requires digging a trench for the wire connecting it to the sprinkler control. But experts, such as Henry, say the potential savings in water use can quickly pay for the investment.
"Based on what I've heard from studies that water districts have done, I think typically people can save 20-30 percent of their water using these techniques. Some people would save a lot more." #
http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/stories/PE_Fea_Daily_D_lawns21.e316b2.html
Editorial: Water ruling brings hope; State engineer's decision could lead to a second major source of water for the valley
Las Vegas
The chances for an eventual new water supply for the
A long-standing request from Southern Nevada officials to draw water from Spring Valley, a rural area in White Pine County - about 350 miles north of
Although
Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Water Authority and the person behind the request, which dates from 1989, has warned for some time that the ongoing drought, and the consequent depletion of the Colorado River, will mean an end to growth in
We supported the Water Authority when the state engineer's office held hearings on the request in September. The request, one of several filed for water in northern
Reports by the Water Authority indicated that deep aquifers in that area could yield that much water without environmental harm. The studies were augmented by agreements with federal agencies that protected the area's water supply, which ranchers depend on for their livelihoods.
In his decision,
Naturally, we wish the Colorado River was healthy enough to alone sustain growing
It is easy to see now that a major alternative water source is vital. Mulroy and her staff saw this 20 years ago, and all Nevadans are in debt to their foresight.
We see the engineer's decision as a hopeful sign that someday a heavily monitored pipeline can be built that would draw from all of the areas cited by the Water Authority, including Spring and Snake valleys in
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2007/apr/19/566666278.html?water
LOCAL WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES:
Lomita tries again to build water tank; Officials will begin research for the project, which would provide a continuous supply to residents for seven days in an emergency situation such as an earthquake
Daily Breeze (
By Nick Green, staff writer
Officials have announced they will begin preparing an environmental analysis for the project next month, studying such potential issues as geology and aesthetics.
A previous effort to build a 5.5 million gallon rectangular reservoir at the end of
An inundation study didn't show a complete failure of the tank, but officials determined an initial 4-foot wall of water could be unleashed from the hilly site that sits about 220 feet above sea level.
"We felt that was enough," said City Manager Tom Odom. "That was too much when there's houses down below it."
That sent engineers back to the drawing boards to come up with a stronger, reinforced tank that's now circular, 170 feet in diameter and 36 feet high.
It's intended to replace an existing 1 million gallon reservoir built in 1929.
Damaged in a 1971 earthquake, the tank's capacity has been restricted to just 265,000 gallons since then.
That's inadequate to provide the city's residents with a seven-day supply of drinking water recommended by the Metropolitan Water District should the California Aqueduct suffer damage in an earthquake.
"It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when the viaduct gets severed," said Wendell Johnson, public works director. "This provides the citizens in the area an alternate water source in the case of a natural disaster."
In conjunction with the project, the city will build a water treatment plant to remove high concentrations of iron and manganese from water pumped from a municipal well on the same site.
Drilled in 1978, the 660-foot-deep well was abandoned in the early 1990s after complaints about the taste and odor of the water.
Building the treatment plant would allow the city to resume pumping as much as 1,300 acre feet of water annually from the well.
That's almost half the 2,700 acre feet the city uses a year.
Water from the well is expected to cost about $200 to $250 an acre foot to produce, Johnson said.
That's significantly less than the $600 an acre foot cost of water from the aqueduct.
Officials hope to begin building what is believed to be the most expensive capital improvement project in the city's history next year.
The city will also swap land with neighboring Rolling Hills Estates to bring the site within the city. #
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/7147001.html?showAll=y&c=y
PIPELINE REPAIRS COMPLETED:
Pipeline repairs end alert on saving water
By Jannise Johnson, staff writer
The Rialto Pipeline has been repaired several days ahead of schedule, halting the need for further water-conservation efforts by residents and businesses.
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
Robert Muir, MWD spokesman, said the agency is relieved repairs took place in a timely fashion.
"We got it back up last night (Friday) around 6 p.m.," Muir said.
The MWD's original estimates were that the pipeline would be out of service until Tuesday. The agency on Monday shut down and began draining portions of the pipeline.
Officials knew by Thursday that the 30-mile pipeline would be up and running by the weekend, Muir said.
Recent tests on the pipeline revealed breaks in 85 stress wires in a segment of the pipe in
"We're investigating whether it was damaged by an outside third party," Muir said. "It might have been hit by someone digging in the area, but we don't have confirmation of that yet."
The cost of the repairs will be assessed at a later date, Muir said.
The pipeline supplies water to 1 million customers in businesses and residences in
Officials urged those affected by the shutdown to take steps to reduce consumption, and customers voluntarily reduced water use by up to 45percent, according to an MWD news release.
Requested conservation actions included consumers limiting showers to 10 minutes or less, using only full loads in home-washing machines and not leaving the water running while shaving, brushing teeth or washing dishes. #
http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_5725308
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