Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 27, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
DESALINATION PLANT:
Judge won't halt desal plant; Moss Landing: Work stoppage sought until lawsuit decided - Monterey Herald
REGIONAL PLANNING:
3-agency water project proposed -
Guest Opinion: Bringing new vision to flood control -
DESALINATION PLANT:
Judge won't halt desal plant; Moss Landing: Work stoppage sought until lawsuit decided
By Kevin Howe, staff writer
An injunction against California American Water's pilot desalination project at Moss Landing was denied by Superior Court Judge Robert O'Farrell early Thursday.
O'Farrell heeded pleas by attorneys for
The request for an injunction contended that the Coastal Commission, not the county, had jurisdiction as the final permitting authority. It also contended no evidence was presented of immediate environmental harm from the project and that the county ordinance covered plants producing water for human consumption, not an experimental test plant.
Riley and Fierro were represented in court by attorneys Robert Rosenthal and Barbara May.
May said the clear intent of the supervisors in 1989 was to assure public ownership of desalination plants and cited a decision in January by the U.S. Court of Appeal that ruled the Environmental Protection Agency cannot allow power plants to kill fish through their cooling water intakes.
Cal Am's proposed pilot plant would use Moss Landing Power Plant's cooling water intake and outfall system as its water source.
Attorney Pat Breen, representing the water company, argued that no evidence of environmental harm had been presented to qualify the plaintiffs' demand for an injunction as an urgent matter for the public good. The pilot plant, he said, "is not drawing water from the ocean, but using water that's already been taken by the power plant."
The pilot plant is a one-year project and its water will be used for test purposes only, Breen said.
Rosenthal said he would confer with his clients about the possibility of appealing the ruling or waiting until Cal Am applies for a county permit to build its proposed regional desalination plant, and then challenge that action.
At that point, he said, the county ordinance would come into play.
That legislation — the first such ordinance in the state — came in response to improvements in water desalination technology, fears of a diminishing water supply and a flurry of proposals for desalination plants to serve particular development projects and, in one case, a private homeowner.
"The county's position is that it issued the permit because there is no guarantee there would be a permanent project," Rosenthal said. "My guess is that the county will seek to amend the environmental health ordinance prior to issuing that permit."
At a hearing in March before the
The supervisors approved the permit for Cal Am's pilot seawater desalination plant at Moss Landing last August. In December, the state Coastal Commission approved a coastal development permit for the experimental desalination plant.
Cal Am is under the gun to find a new water source for its
In 1995, the state Water Resources Control Board advised Cal Am that it was taking 14,106 acre-feet per year from the
The river aquifer is the major source of water for the cities of
In addition to the Carmel River order, a court has ordered that producers of water from the Seaside basin aquifer — Sand City, Seaside, Cal-Am and others — reduce their pumping from the aquifer's coastal subareas by 2,219 acre-feet and their pumping from the Laguna Seca Subarea by 381 acre-feet for a total reduction for the entire Seaside basin of 2,600 acre-feet by 2027. #
http://www.montereyherald.com/search/ci_5762785
REGIONAL PLANNING:
3-agency water project proposed
By Katy Brandenburg, staff writer
The Calaveras County Water District may team up with two other water agencies for a project that could help ease seasonal drought in western parts of the county.
The Amador Water Agency has asked CCWD to join in studying the feasibility of expanding Bear River Reservoir in
Bear River is a tributary of the
CCWD currently diverts water from one point on the South Fork of the Mokelumne to supply water to the West Point-Wilseyville area.
The Amador Water Agency is asking CCWD and the East Bay Municipal Utilities District to join in a project that would benefit each agency. Both EBMUD and CCWD would gain water space and
How much water CCWD would gain from the deal is not yet clear, Diamond said, but the extra stored water could function as an emergency source for the greater Valley Springs area if groundwater — or the Calaveras River, which CCWD draws from now — dries up.
"It could provide long-term system reliability in years of extended drought," Diamond said.
The snow-fed
The project would raise the existing Bear River Reservoir dam to allow 15,000-25,000 more acre feet of water to be stored, according to a CCWD memo. PG&E owns the dam now, and uses it to produce hydroelectric power, Diamond said. Additional power generated by the extra water could possibly be used to reduce the overall cost of the project, depending on how the agreement is made.
"It'll be interesting to see what comes of it," he said.
If EBMUD agrees to participate, the feasibility study would cost each agency about $40,000. If it is a two-agency deal, CCWD would have to chip in $60,000. Agencies have not yet estimated what the project would cost.
In a separate agreement with
Diamond said developers wanting to build in the Wallace area have already inquired about the future capacity, though officials don't know if it would be sufficient.
For any county in
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=23316
Guest Opinion: Bringing new vision to flood control
By Doris O. Matsui, a Democrat, a congresswoman from Sacramento
This month the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act, providing the first opportunity in more than seven years for our country to put in place a national water resources policy.
While the legislation was long overdue and includes a new spillway project at Folsom Dam to provide vastly improved flood protection for
The farm bill, which comes before Congress later this spring, could be another vehicle to take on our other major flood protection challenge -- the
Locally, the value of the Water Resources Development Act cannot be underestimated. It includes the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project -- a top priority of mine since taking office. When a new spillway is completed at Folsom in 2015, it will provide
We experienced record floods in 1964, 1986 and again in 1997. And while our flood control system on the American and
Regionally, partnering with communities along the
We need to look ahead. We, as a nation, can't afford to look only at immediate needs -- we need long-term solutions and innovative approaches.
The
Earlier this month, I took the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Collin Peterson, on a tour of the Yolo Bypass and briefed him on the importance of the
We have an important story to tell. Now is the time to combine innovative solutions and different funding opportunities. With public safety and the regional economy at stake, those of us who live and work along
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