[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 4/18/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

April 18, 2007

 

3. Watersheds

 

DELTA ISSUES:

Editorial: Path to Delta deal?; Senate sets deadline for historic decision - Sacramento Bee

 

SAN DIEGUITO LAGOON RESTORATION:

Restoration on track for San Dieguito Lagoon - San Diego Union Tribune

 

KLAMATH RIVER:

Klamath River interests to take dam concerns to Warren Buffett - Eureka Times Standard

 

 

DELTA ISSUES:

Editorial: Path to Delta deal?; Senate sets deadline for historic decision

Sacramento Bee – 4/18/07

 

The California Senate did something brilliant the other day. Key leaders decided to do nothing about the state's most pressing water problem -- the management and plumbing of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta -- for roughly a year.

 

Sometimes putting off a tough matter for a year signals political weakness and indecision. This time, a little patience points to both good policy and clever politics.

 

The Delta is a key water supply for San Joaquin Valley agriculture and 18 million Southern Californians dependent on two massive pumping projects. And it is a vital estuary, a passage for salmon and steelhead and a year-round home for Delta fish such as smelt and shad.

 

Those species are in trouble, hovering at their lowest population numbers in recorded history. The pumping projects are in trouble, too, embroiled in lawsuits in state and federal courts over compliance with various environmental laws.

 

For years, the Delta has struggled under the burden of two conflicting goals. Environmentalists want a more reliable system for the fish; water users, for their supply. Neither is content with the status quo. But after decades of wrangling, the two sides have yet to agree on something different and better.

 

Enter the California Legislature. It has the political power to make major changes -- altering a pumping operation here, restoring habitat there. But at the moment, it lacks data necessary to do something rational.

 

Delta politics at the moment contain more heat than light. The lawsuits have all the usual combatants preoccupied. All a lawmaker could do now is make a Delta decision based on his or her favorite constituent rather than on the best solution. What a difference, however, a year could make.

 

Some new insight is on the way. The first big burst of brilliance has come from experts at the University of California, Davis, and the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. They recommend against any mild tinkering with the Delta. The alternatives entail different visions about the water pumping -- how much, and from where. UC Davis/PPIC sketched two basic options: Leave the state and federal pumps where they are in the south Delta, siphon less water and deal with the expensive consequences. Or build new pumps north of the Delta, move water around the estuary (the peripheral canal in some shape or form) and deal with the many questions of how to run this very different conveyance system. The report shows viable options, but it wasn't meant to identify the best one.

 

Meanwhile, two other Delta groups are working on options: State and federal wildlife agencies will offer proposals; others will come from a blue-ribbon panel appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and headed by mega-lobbyist Phil Isenberg. Expect their conclusions by next year.

 

Earlier this winter, the Senate seemed on track to decide whether to build a peripheral canal as a solution. A proponent, Democrat Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, sought authorization for that plan. A longtime opponent, Democrat Mike Machado of Linden, prepared to try to stop it. Then, both laudably agreed to a cease fire and to study UC Davis' options. Thank Senate water committee chairman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, for valuable diplomacy. UC Davis will be indispensable independently and fairly studying the alternatives. The Legislature's role is indispensable as well. It comes next year. Here's hoping that by then all of the analysis and brainpower will be pointing the decision-makers in one general direction. #

http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/156622.html

 

 

SAN DIEGUITO LAGOON RESTORATION:

Restoration on track for San Dieguito Lagoon

San Diego Union Tribune – 4/18/07

By David E. Graham, staff writer

 

DEL MAR – It still will be almost 20 months until the day when high tide fills San Dieguito Lagoon knee-high in water, and cord grass, fish larvae and birds begin to flourish there.

 

But the work to get there is well under way, with contractors having dug 400,000 cubic yards of earth west of Interstate 5 for use in contouring areas east of the freeway to shape a 440-acre expanse between Del Mar and Solana Beach.

 

The work is not particularly glamorous at this point, said Jon Ruth, Marathon Construction Co. project engineer. It mostly consists of “just moving dirt,” Ruth said. But it is on schedule.

 

“The job is moving along like everybody's hoping,” Ruth said.

 

Clogged by sediment from the San Dieguito River and often cut off from the Pacific tides over the years, the lagoon had degenerated in areas to a fetid place. Southern California Edison is spending $86 million to re-create a lagoon where sea life can spawn, to compensate for loss of fish eggs and larvae at its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, where two nuclear reactors each use about 1 billion gallons of seawater a day as a coolant.

 

After years of discussion and obtaining permits from various government agencies, earthwork started in October.

 

The 400,000 cubic yards already moved west of the freeway amount to “digging a big lake” and when finished, 1 million cubic yards will have been taken from there and used to fill in some places east of the freeway. The area to the west will be filled with water, and to the east, the southern part will be land covered with upland scrub shrub and the northern part will be wetland marsh, with water flowing and receding with the tides. A smaller area of upland sage will bound the wetland marsh to the north.

 

Work crews also have removed 120,000 cubic yards of top soil from the southern portion of the section east of I-5 that later will be replaced for the shrub planting.

 

The contractor also has begun some rudimentary work on berms along the river, Ruth said. These are supposed to prevent silt buildup in the lagoon if a large flood occurred along the river.

 

The grading and contouring of the lagoon is expected to continue through 2008, and the area connecting to the river and the ocean will be dredged, too, to ensure the tidal flow, Ruth said.

 

Cord grass and pickleweed will be planted throughout the area in the winters of 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively. Some seeding of the upland scrub to the east of the freeway could begin this winter in areas where contouring is finished, Ruth said.

 

Even with everything planted by early 2010, vegetation will be immature and likely take a few growing seasons for the mature lagoon ecosystem to emerge, Ruth said.

 

“Everyone here is feeling pretty good about the process,” said City Council member Jerry Finnell.

 

Beyond supporting the ecosystem and aquatic life, a lagoon will make the area “much more attractive” for visitors and homeowners with a view, he said.

 

The city's fifth annual Lagoon Day is today, a recognition approved by the City Council to acknowledge the lagoon's value. A free event is planned at the Powerhouse Community Center tonight, and students have used the celebration as an opportunity to study the lagoon. #

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070418/news_1mi18lago.html

 

 

KLAMATH RIVER:

Klamath River interests to take dam concerns to Warren Buffett

Eureka Times Standard – 4/18/07

By John Driscoll, staff writer

 

American Indians, commercial fishermen and conservation groups plan to take their concerns about salmon-blocking dams on the Klamath River straight to the owner's ultimate chief -- billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

 

Representatives from the North Coast will head to Omaha, Neb., in early May to plead with Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s CEO to take notice of the struggle over the fate of Pacificorp's dams. The company's shareholder meeting is the forum, and the tribes and fishermen plan to put on a brush dance in the vicinity of the gathering and perhaps bend the ear of investors.

 

Berkshire Hathaway's MidAmerican Energy Holdings bought Pacificorp nearly two years ago, after the Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk and Klamath tribes twice brought similar messages to previous owner Scottish Power.

 

”They didn't fix a damn thing,” said Hoopa Valley tribal member Merv George, who intends to bring a traditional redwood canoe to Omaha. “They just sold it to someone else.”

 

George said that he's optimistic that Buffett may only be uninformed about the effects his subsidiary's dams are having on Klamath salmon stocks. The mission to Omaha is an educational one, George said, that he hopes will spur Buffett to make decisions from the top. Pacificorp and MidAmerican, he said, have not been very helpful.

 

The trip to the Midwest takes place as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission considers issuing another 30- to 50-year license for the hydropower dams. Settlement talks between the company and stakeholders along the Klamath River are also proceeding, but have yet to produce tangible results.

 

Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation Commissioner Ronnie Pellegrini and her two daughters Eryn, 17, and Michaela, 14, are also making the trip. A fisherman's wife, Pellegrini said she hopes to bring a message that a healthy Klamath River is for the good of the fishing industry and others who depend on it.

 

”Everybody seems to want to take out the dams except Pacificorp,” Pellegrini said. “Maybe we can go around Pacificorp and convince Warren Buffett of all the benefits of taking out the dams.”

 

A spokesman for MidAmerican said that Pacificorp does inform its parent company of the status of negotiations and the relicensing process. Allan Urlis said Pacificorp is in charge of the negotiations.

 

”This is being managed and handled by Pacificorp,” Urlis said.

 

He declined to say what the reaction of company leaders might be to the presence of the North Coast contingent in May. A call to Pacificorp was not returned by deadline.

 

But the group is hoping to make an impression.

 

”We're going to take case to Berkshire: This subsidiary is not representing them very well,” said Karuk Tribe spokesman Craig Tucker. #

http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_5694054

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