[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 4/12/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

April 12, 2007

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People

 

CLIMATE ISSUES:

Schwarzenegger urges faster action on climate change - San Diego Union Tribune

 

CALIFORNIA WATER ISSUES:

Senator Feinstein Endorses Governor Schwarzenegger's Water Infrastructure; Governor Joins Senator Feinstein to Outline California's Environmental, Water Infrastructure Priorities - By the Office of the Governor

 

LAKE ELSINORE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS:

District gets jump on growing water demand in Lake Elsinore - Riverside Press Enterprise

 

SACRAMENTO LEVEE ISSUES:

West Sac council OKs developer levee fees - Sacramento Bee

 

RIVER RECREATION:

Some white water slips away rapidly - San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

CLIMATE ISSUES:

Schwarzenegger urges faster action on climate change

San Diego Union Tribune – 4/11/07

By Dana Wilkie, staff writer

 

WASHINGTON – In a speech coinciding with his appearance in a Newsweek cover story on global warming, Gov. Schwarzenegger on Wednesday told an audience of college students that those who refuse to address climate change are “fanatics.”

 

Buoyed by new polls showing his popularity has rebounded, and by international attention as the cover man on this week's Newsweek and this month's Fortune magazines, California's Republican governor appeared to be addressing those he thinks have been too slow to counter the manmade components of global warming. Schwarzenegger, who has been at odds with the Bush administration over how aggressively to address climate change, said mainstream scientists, company CEOs and a majority of Americans are convinced “global warming and climate change is real and that we have to do something about it.”

 

“So who are the fanatics now?” he asked during his address at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall, which was packed with young adults who twice gave him standing ovations. “They are the ones who are in denial.”

 

The governor never specified whom he meant by “they.” Instead, he likened the movement to combat global warming as one gaining the sort of mainstream acceptance now enjoyed by body-building, a pastime he said was once dominated by people – such as himself – who were considered gym fanatics.

 

“Environmentalists were no fun,” said Schwarzenegger, whose speech was part of a Newsweek-sponsored “Global Environment Leadership Conference.”

 

“They were like prohibitionists at the fraternity party. We have to make it mainstream, we have to make it sexy, we have to make it attractive so everyone wants to participate,” he said.

 

On the stage beside the governor, perched atop an easel, was a blowup of the latest issue of Newsweek, which features a suit-clad Schwarzenegger twirling a globe atop his finger, with the headline: “Save the Planet – Or Else.”

 

The cover story reports that the governor “is peddling feel-good, consumer-friendly environmentalism that resonates not only with the fluorescent-light-bulb-worshiping hybrid drivers, but also with big business and those who think 'green' is a synonym for 'Chicken Little.' His faith in the power of technology and free markets to slow global warming is neither depressing nor polarizing.”

 

Schwarzenegger's remarks came as the Field Poll released a new survey showing California voters see global warming as a serious problem. The random survey of 523 registered voters, conducted late last month, found that eight of 10 California voters describe global warming as a very serious (56 percent) or somewhat serious (25 percent) problem. Just one in five California voters approve of the job the federal government is doing to address the global warming problem, while more than three times as many, or 66 percent, disapprove.

 

Voters are less critical of state government. The survey found that 43 percent approve of the state's efforts to address global warming, while another 43 percent disapprove.

 

The Field Poll also reported last week that the governor's standing among the state's voters has rebounded to nearly its peak level of his first year in office.

 

Last year Schwarzenegger and the state legislature passed a first-in-the-nation law requiring that California reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases – the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming – by 25 percent by the year 2020. Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger used his executive powers to require a 10 percent reduction in the carbon content of all transportation fuels by 2020. And last month, the governor sought to shape national policy on global warming when he and four other Western governors signed a collective strategy to curtail greenhouse gas emission from Santa Fe to Seattle.

 

Some congressional Democrats – including California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer – want to use last year's law as a model for national legislation. Before signing the state bill, however, Schwarzenegger first tried to water it down to appease business interests.

 

The governor's fight against global warming has earned him some criticism. Michigan's automakers accuse him of costing their industry $85 billion nationally, and a billboard in the state reads: “Arnold to Michigan: Drop Dead.”

 

Said Schwarzenegger to Georgetown students Wednesday: “What I'm saying to Michigan is: 'Get off your butt.'”

 

If he has earned criticism from the auto industry, the governor has won praise and recognition from other quarters. He is featured on the covers of Outdoor, Newsweek and Fortune magazines as an international “green” leader. He will speak Thursday to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City on his environmental efforts. And at the 2007 conference of the British Conservative Party this September, he is expected to promote a brand of Republicanism that he says can be both friendly to the environment, and to the economy.

 

“We can do both: we can protect the environment and we can protect the economy,” Schwarzenegger said Wednesday of climate-friendly technologies, noting that cell phones cost upwards of $1,600 when the technology was first new, but that he recently purchased one for his daughter for less than $90.

 

The governor met Wednesday morning with Stephen Johnson, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, to press for a federal waiver allowing California to restrict auto emissions. The meeting produced no commitments from Johnson.

 

He met Wednesday afternoon with Feinstein, who endorsed his $6 billion water infrastructure plan that calls for building more surface and groundwater storage, protecting the Delta and promoting conservation measures.

 

On Wednesday night, Schwarzenegger was scheduled to fly to New York to dine with Gov. Elliot Spitzer and to appear at a fundraiser.  #

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070411-1717-cnsgov.html

 

 

CALIFORNIA WATER ISSUES:

Senator Feinstein Endorses Governor Schwarzenegger's Water Infrastructure; Governor Joins Senator Feinstein to Outline California's Environmental, Water Infrastructure Priorities

By the Office of the Governor – 4/12/07

YubaNet.com

 

Senator Dianne Feinstein today endorsed Governor Schwarzenegger's $6 billion water infrastructure plan at a meeting today in Washington D.C. The two met to discuss California's major environmental and water infrastructure issues and her introduction of a national Low Carbon Fuel Standard consistent with the Governor's call to implement this groundbreaking policy at the federal level.

"I am very pleased to receive Senator Feinstein's support for this critically-needed water infrastructure plan to address California's growing water needs that include storage, conveyance and conservation," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "Today's announcement proves that California's water needs are not a partisan issue."

The Governor outlined his $6 billion plan, Senate Bill 59 authored by Senator Dave Cogdill, to build more surface and groundwater storage, protect the Delta and promote conservation measures statewide. The proposal includes $4.5 billion for increased water storage, $1 billion for Delta sustainability, and $450 million for conservation and restoration projects.

The Governor also applauded Senator Feinstein's introduction of the Clean Fuels and Vehicles Act last month that would establish a comprehensive national program to increase the availability of low carbon fuels and to require a reduction in emissions from vehicles, based on California's own vehicle tailpipe emissions law. If passed, this bill will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector by 22% below projected levels by 2030 (or 662 million metric tons of carbon dioxide), equivalent to taking over 108 million cars off the road for a year.

"I applaud Senator Feinstein for proposing this policy at the national level. A healthy environment, a growing economy and strong national security are all reasons why we need a Low Carbon Fuel Standard for America," said the Governor.

"In California, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard will more than triple the size of our renewable fuels market and put more than 7 million alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles on our roads by 2020 without any new government spending. It's also great for our national security because we will be less dependent on foreign oil and less vulnerable to price shocks and instability beyond our borders."

California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard was introduced by Governor Schwarzenegger earlier this year to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower California's reliance on foreign oil. By 2020 the standard will reduce the carbon intensity of California's passenger vehicle fuels by at least 10 percent. In February, the Governor called for a national Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

"I would also like to thank Senator Feinstein for her leadership on levee repair funding and for pushing $94.1 million through the Senate Appropriations Committee to help fix California's eroding levees. Once approved by Congress and the President, this money will be used by the Army Corps of Engineers to repair 213 sites on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers that were damaged by storms in 2006," said Governor Schwarzenegger.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta supplies water to 25 million people in California and is the lifeblood of California's $32 billion agriculture industry, irrigating millions of acres of highly productive farmland. However, the Delta is vulnerable to salt water contamination from rising sea levels and natural disasters. Many of the 1,100 miles of deteriorating levees throughout the Delta are at risk for failure due to earthquakes and major flood events.

Previously, the federal government shared repair costs with the state. But the current federal budget has significantly cut Corps funding, forcing California to contribute an additional $175 million for levee repairs. The State has completed repairs for 33 critical erosion sites and is working to complete, by September 2007, another 71 critical sites that resulted from the 2006 flood damage.  #
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_54638.shtml

 

 

LAKE ELSINORE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS:

District gets jump on growing water demand in Lake Elsinore

Riverside Press Enterprise – 4/11/07

By Mary Bender, staff writer

 

Work has begun on a two-year, $110 million project to add water and sewer lines to serve Lake Elsinore's growing population, and to replace both systems' aging infrastructure.

 

With 30 construction sites scattered across the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, work will shift from one location to the next until the entire list of projects is complete in early 2009, said Greg Morrison, the water district's director of legislative and community affairs.

 

"There are so many projects and they're all starting at different times," Morrison said. "There may be times when water service will be interrupted, but residents will be given advance notice."

 

Water district employees usually walk through neighborhoods and hang tags on front doors to alert residents about imminent construction activity in their area, Morrison said. Inserting such notices into water/sewer bills is not an effective strategy to spread the word quickly, so the district prefers door-hangers, he said.

 

The alerts may tell customers to expect -- and prepare for -- temporary outages. "There won't be long periods of time when people will have to be without water," said Morrison.

 

The water district will finance the $110 million system improvements by issuing bonds that could range from 15-year to 30-year terms. The agency also has been building up reserves for the project, and acquired some grant money from the state to help pay the costs, Morrison said.

 

The bottom line: Customers shouldn't see a hike in their bills. "The water district has been pretty diligent in keeping its rates under control," Morrison said.

 

Water district officials outlined the improvements during the March 27 City Council meeting, focusing particular attention on a new Web site meant to inform those who live or work in the area about the construction activity.

 

The Web site, http://evmwdcipo.com, lists each "capital improvement" project by name, describes the proposed work and lists expected start and finish dates.

 

Demand

 

The district serves a 96-square-mile area that stretches from Temescal Valley to Murrieta and includes Lake Elsinore, Morrison said. It has 36,000 connections -- households and businesses that get their water service, sewer service or both from the district.

 

"We're expanding the (systems') capacity because there's more demand," Morrison said. In the city of Lake Elsinore alone, the population has grown 45 percent since 2000, to its current level of 41,000 residents.

 

The single biggest project is a $60 million upgrade the district calls the Lakeshore Trunk Sewer, Morrison said. Construction began on the first of three phases in January, and planners think the initial segment will be finished by the end of October.

 

'Micro Tunneling'

 

According to the water district's Web site, crews will install 35,900 linear feet of sewer pipe, ranging in diameter from 33 inches to 54 inches. Morrison said the section under construction now is near Malaga Road, just south of The Diamond, the baseball stadium for the Lake Elsinore Storm.

 

"Most of the work is going to be done through tunneling. We're trying to minimize the disruption to the streets," Morrison said.

 

A technique called "micro tunneling" uses a small boring machine that doesn't require the street to be torn up.

 

"There are two holes on either end of the section you're working on, and that's all that would be visible above ground," Morrison said.

 

"We try to run sewer lines by gravity as much as possible, so (tunneling) could be anywhere between eight to 12 feet below ground, and some areas could be as deep as 20 feet," he said.

 

The Lakeshore Trunk Sewer project runs about three miles, from The Diamond to the district's Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant -- a facility on Chaney Street, between Lakeshore Drive and Interstate 15, which can process 8 million gallons of sewage per day, Morrison said.

 

Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee praised the utility's foresight in improving the water and sewer systems to stay ahead of the region's growth and the infrastructure's life span.

 

"I think it's a credit to their vision and leadership that they're out tackling this aggressive program," Magee said. "It's addressing issues before they become problems."

 

Most of the infrastructure now being replaced is no more than 25 years old, Morrison noted.

 

Further, representatives of the city and the water district meet every month to keep tabs on each other's issues and plans so they can coordinate projects.

 

Recently, the two sides worked cooperatively to make separate improvements to Railroad Canyon Road, a busy thoroughfare and access point to Interstate 15.

 

First, the water district tore up the street to replace some lines. "The road was busted up pretty good," Magee said.

 

Then the city "went in on our own nickel and paved Railroad Canyon after they were all done. If you go (to) Railroad Canyon Road and I-15 right now, all those lanes are nice and smooth," Magee said.

 

"One of the things that drives people crazy is to see the city pave the street and then the water district chop it up," he said.

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District was formed in 1950, with an initial service area of 52,502 acres. It purchased the city's sewer and water systems in the 1980s.

 

Through an annexation, also in the 1980s, the water district added 960 acres in the Horsethief Canyon area to its service area, according to the district Web site.

 

The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District acquires its water from various sources: a combined 55 percent from the Colorado River Aqueduct, originating in Arizona, and the State Water Project aqueduct, originating in Northern California; about 35 percent from pumping the district's own local wells; and 10 percent from Canyon Lake, a man-made reservoir that the district owns, Morrison said.

 

Mountain runoff flows into the San Jacinto River, and that river feeds Canyon Lake.  #

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_H_water12.3d75c64.html

 

 

SACRAMENTO LEVEE ISSUES:

West Sac council OKs developer levee fees

Sacramento Bee – 4/12/07

By Lakiesha McGee, staff writer

 

The West Sacramento City Council unanimously supported an ordinance Wednesday night for fees on construction for which the developer chooses not to meet the city's standard for flood protection.

 

The amount of the in-lieu fees will be determined during a second reading of the ordinance April 18.

 

"We made flood protection our No. 1 priority, and now we need to move quickly on this," Vice Mayor Oscar Villegas said.

 

The fees would help raise about $42 million for levee repairs to help provide a 200-year level of flood protection, which will cost an estimated $400 million, according to a city report.

 

The city wants to raise $42 million more through property assessments and secure most of the funds from state and federal sources.

 

New federal levee criteria and heightened interest in flood protection after Hurricane Katrina led the city to reassess its flood-control system.

 

The city's goal is for levees to hold back huge storms with a 1-in-200 chance of occurring in any given year.

 

Studies were conducted on almost 45 miles of levees protecting West Sacramento from the Sacramento River, Yolo Bypass and other bodies of water.

 

Preliminary results suggest the city has less protection than previously believed. The final study results will be released today and posted at www.westsacfloodprotection.com, flood protection manager Willard Chow said.

 

Many at the meeting Wednesday supported developer fees to help fund levee improvements. The fees would be an option for developers rather than making costly physical improvements. However, the city was warned that it may risk its ability to attract development.

 

"I think the in-lieu fee sounds reasonable because we all have to pay our fair share," said Ardie Zahedani of the North State Building Industry Association. "We may have to look at the city's fee structure as a whole to maintain competitiveness."

 

Councilman Mark Johannessen voiced concern that the city was rushing the matter without the fee amounts. He said the "timing may be premature" and suggested seeing how voters respond to the proposed assessment first.

 

Villegas said: "By doing nothing we do nothing to make ourselves any safer." #

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/153754.html

 

 

RIVER RECREATION:

Some white water slips away rapidly

San Francisco Chronicle – 4/12/07

By Paul McHugh, staff writer

 

Sierra-dwellers could have experienced whiplash, watching the transition from winter to spring. It seemed to occur several times. Now, we're locked in a warming trend. Creeks and waterfalls are gushing. Streams with little or no dam control have shot into a blink-and-you'll-miss-it whitewater season.

 

However, the major, dam-controlled rivers, like the popular South Fork American, the Klamath and the Tuolumne, will see metered flows that should provide recreation throughout summer.

 

On those others though -- such as the North Fork American, Merced, Kings, and the upper Kern -- the watchword is to break out whitewater gear and make your splash right now. In a month or two, they'll be done.

 

"The abnormal became normal. We had winter and spring mixed together," said John Brissenden, proprietor of Sorensen's Resort, in scenic Hope Valley on the east side of Carson Pass. "So on our new calendar, our river raft trips are posted a month earlier. Our first two trips will take place on Saturday and April 21."

 

Brissenden signed up Great Basin Sports of Minden, Nev., for a series of one-day, 21-mile runs down the East Fork Carson River. Wreathed with pine forest and high desert scenery, blessed with lots of mild rapids, the Carson is a fine run for whitewater beginners -- or nature buffs who would much rather bird-watch or photograph spring wildflowers than hang on for dear life.

 

Pat Fried, an experienced guide who owns Great Basin Sports, provides oar or paddle rafts, or inflatable kayaks and catarafts (for those with the skills to row themselves). Participants are welcome to soak in a hot spring while Fried makes lunch.

 

"There's not a lot of snowpack, the weather's been warm and runoff on the Carson happens as we speak," Fried said. "This year, it's a short window. Around the middle of May, it'll be done."

 

The California Department of Water Resources, as of Wednesday, reckoned water content of the mountain snowpack as 31 percent of normal in the North Sierra, 34 percent in the center of the range and 24 percent at the south end.

 

Managers of various water agencies with their mitts on the taps of penstocks and dams must balance present storage numbers against probable run-off and the coming demand for water supply, hydropower -- and recreation. Serving activities like fishing, sailing, boating and whitewater rafting is a consideration, especially while an agency seeks a re-licensing contract from the federal government for its water projects. But recreation is around third in the line-up of purposes, at best. So, it's great news when agencies agree to guarantee recreation flows, as the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District did on the South Fork American recently.

 

For whitewater fans facing the 2007 season, there are a few ways to make lemon daiquiris out of a scant crop of tart citrus.

The first is get out there early and often on the rivers with a narrow run-off window. Another is for whitewater buffs to plan mid-week runs on the California rivers that will sport good flows through summer. Mid-week runs tend to be less crowded, cheaper and more enjoyable. A third scheme would be to scout farther afield this year, especially for multi-day summer trips. In general, the Western snowpack from the Oregon border northward is reasonably hefty, making options like Oregon's Rogue River and Idaho's Middle Fork and Main Salmon look rather attractive -- especially for booking those long trips that feel like a major vacation.

 

"The Oregon snowpack is at 97 percent of average, and Idaho checks in at 86 percent in the Salmon drainage," said Zach Collier, general manager of Oakland-based Echo River Trips. "On May 29, we're going to launch our first Middle Fork-Main Salmon combo, which will run up to 186 miles in seven days. The water should be about 1,500 cfs (cubic-feet-per-second) at put-in, and reach 5,000-6,000 by the end."

 

Collier's assessment is seconded by the Rogue River Journeys and Idaho River Journeys team (formerly Outdoor Adventures).

 

By the way, "cfs" is the standard measure of river flow. If amid a trip, you wish to appear semi-knowledgeable, ask your guide, "So, how many cfs is she running today?" No matter what that guide happens to say, nod sagely.

 

Within California, north-to-south, the profile on major recreation streams looks like this.

 

"The California Salmon runs six feet deep right now. That's pretty good," said Bill Wing, founder of the Arcata raft company, Wing Inflatables. "But the end of May will be about it."

 

"Short spring runs like the Upper Sacramento and the Yuba will go from mid-April to around mid-May," said Lorraine Hall, office manager for Tributary Whitewater Tours. "But we see a long, fine summer ahead on the Klamath."

 

Bill Center, a former El Dorado County supervisor who has run Camp Lotus in Coloma since 1978, said, "The North Fork American is kind of on the edge. I think there'll be enough water there for about one more week.

 

"The South Fork will be perfect, though. There should be 1,500 cfs there, six days a week, all summer. That's thanks to SMUD. After June, 90 percent of the flow there comes from dam storage.

 

"The Middle Fork American should be good all summer, holding above 800 cfs," Center said.

 

"The Tuolumne will be California's shining jewel this year," predicted Bob Ferguson of Zephyr Whitewater Expeditions. "The SFPUC has promised us water into September. If they drain Cherry Lake, it'll be running seven hours a day, seven days a week."

 

"We started runs on the Merced last week. Emergency bridges around the slide area, let us start higher on the run than last year. It should last well into June.

 

"The Kings we'll begin at the end of April, and that should go well into July," Ferguson said.

 

Frank Root, who runs a small outfit called Kaweah Whitewater says the upper run peaked last week, but he'll put trips on the family-friendly lower Kaweah seven days a week until mid-May.

 

Finally, we reach the (sometimes) mighty Kern, which drains Mount Whitney.

 

Tom Moore of Sierra South in Kernville said, "I've been doing this since 1980, and it's the driest season I've seen. On the upper Kern, our season will be short, ending around July 4. It went until Labor Day last year."

 

Lower Kern runs, which begin below Lake Isabella, can pick up the slack.

 

"Our season on the lower Kern will launch the first of June, and run until the third or fourth week of August," said Luther Stephens of Kern River Outfitters. "Not bad. But last year, we ran viable trips through September."

 

The skinny

-- All rivers and outfitters in this story can be found through caloutdoors.org. Click on, "your adventure begins" to find a map of rivers, then click on the river to find the companies that work it. Not listed is Kaweah Whitewater, which is at kaweah-whitewater.com. Also, book with Great Basin Sports at (800) 423-9949, sorensensresort.com or (775) 450-3446, and greatbasinsports.com.

-- River runs are rated Class I through Class VI. In general, Class II-III is suitable for beginners and families; Class III-IV for those with some experience; and Class IV-V for very experienced experts.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/04/12/SPGJAP71841.DTL

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