[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 5/17/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

May 17, 2007

 

2. Supply

 

WATER CONSERVATION:

Editorial: No drought of good ideas for saving water - North County Times

 

Opinion: Drought, the sequel, is here; It's the driest year on record in L.A. Why isn't there a race to the spigots to save water? - Los Angeles Times

 

REGIONAL SUPPLY PLANNING:

Davis, Woodland study future water needs - Sacramento Bee

 

 

WATER CONSERVATION:

Editorial: No drought of good ideas for saving water

North County Times – 5/17/07

 

Our view: Formal declaration not needed to start conserving

 

Fire officials say California is the driest it's been in at least 100 years. The Sierra snowpack is at a 20-year low. But we aren't officially in a drought, at least not according to the San Diego County Water Authority. That could change depending on the actions of the Metropolitan Water District, the Los Angeles-based agency that supplies the county with most of our water.

 

It turns out that "drought" is a term of art. While everyone agrees that the entire West is experiencing drought conditions, in California at least, the formal declaration of a drought ---- which would spur mandatory water cuts and other emergency measures ---- is left to local water authorities. In fact, according to the California Department of Water Resources, there has never been an officially declared statewide drought.

 

One of the criteria the county Water Authority uses to determine when to declare a drought is triggered when Metropolitan starts dipping into its storage to meet current demand. That's happening now.

That's prompted the county Water Authority to put phase 1 of its Drought Management Plan into effect as we move into summer. Basically that means spreading the word about the possibility of more drastic water-conservation measures.

But there's no good reason to wait on the authority's actions to make water conservation efforts a routine part of our lives. The Water Authority already offers a list of conservation tips on its Web site (http://www.sdcwa.org/manage/conservation-springtips.phtml). Because an estimated 60 percent of residential water use goes toward landscaping, the tips are heavy on suggestions for reducing outside water use. Many of the tips for cutting indoor water use, like taking shorter showers, are ones most of us have heard before, but they serve as useful reminders.

As residents of Southern California, we should all use water as if we're just one year away from a severe drought, because there's a good chance we are. Depending on what happens in coming months, this may be that year.

Consider this your first drought alert. #

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/17/opinion/editorials/20_38_485_16_07.txt

 

 

Opinion: Drought, the sequel, is here; It's the driest year on record in L.A. Why isn't there a race to the spigots to save water?

Los Angeles Times – 5/17/07

By Patt Morrison

 

HEY, ALL YOU sequel fans! Last week, it was "Spider-Man"; tomorrow "Shrek" and next week another "Pirates of the Caribbean." And I'm sure you'll be lining up for the most spectacular sequel of all, "Drought III: The Thirst."

Know what? It's already here. This is the driest year on record in Los Angeles. Ever. "On record" is 130 years of National Weather Service bookkeeping. We've had less than 2 1/2 inches of rain. That's way worse than any one year during the drought of the late 1970s or the one in the late '80s and early '90s.

 

The glass isn't even remotely half-full; if a waiter poured that diddly-squat portion of Pinot into your stemware, you'd be hollering bloody murder.

The good citizens of California stand ready — I think — to work shoulder to shoulder to meet earthquake and fire. But what about drought's danger? Where do governors and council members pose, in those crisis windbreakers, to illustrate the gravity of dry? Seeing Griffith Park scorched like a campfire marshmallow doesn't scream "drought" as much as "smoker error." Besides, the swimming pools are still full, water still comes out of showers, golf courses are as green as the capital of Oz.

In March, after Orange Countians were politely asked to cut down on the H20 while a treatment plant was shut for repairs, they actually used more water — a big middle finger to a mealy-mouthed message. Not until Amber Alert freeway signs blazed "Orange County Water Emergency" did Orange County take it seriously.

Drought III is on track to be the worst water crisis in 30 years, and what are we being asked to do to pitch in? Eh … not much.

In Drought I, in 1977, an emergency city water panel concluded, "This really is war." The Department of Water and Power banned watering lawns in the heat of the day, hosing down sidewalks, driveways and parking lots, and serving water to restaurant customers unless they asked for it — it took almost half a gallon of water to wash a water glass.

Leaders took Drought I very seriously, so we did too. The city wanted a 10% water cut. We gave 20%.

As for Drought II in the late '80s and early '90s, the bans of the 1970s were still on the books, and L.A. started sticking the violators with fines. Santa Monica went so far as to ban new swimming pool permits. In Santa Barbara, a brown lawn was a sign of patriotic sacrifice — except to a Texas billionaire who paid $25,000 in fines to keep the grass green at a Montecito estate he rarely visited. But as soon as rainfall decently allowed, the politicians overruled the water experts and eagerly pronounced an end to the crisis: Go back to your old habits.

With Drought III upon us, I called the DWP. Those regulations are still in place, right? No hosing down, no free-running car-washing hoses? And you'll be enforcing them, right?

Yes, they are, but no, they won't. The DWP likes the carrot, not the stick. If anyone remembers the regulations well enough to call and report a violation, the violator gets a nice letter, like the one sent May 3 to a Sun Valley convent alerting the sisters that "it has been reported that excessive watering has resulted in significant runoff from your property," and reminding them that "water is a precious commodity in Los Angeles." Well, that should put the fear of God into them.

I can't help but be reminded of Vice President Dick Cheney's response to a nation's desire to sacrifice something, anything, after 9/11. He had already dissed energy conservation a few months earlier as a mere "personal virtue," not a national priority. Then he treated us like spoiled pea brains when he famously asked us to just "stick [our] thumbs" in the terrorists' eyes — by spending money.

The DWP is on record: We're "prepared;" we have reserves. And like a proud papa, the DWP brags about us. We use the same amount of water we did more than 20 years ago — and we have a million more people. Good on us. But a lot of that savings comes from passive code changes like low-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads.

We don't even notice, which is swell, but that also gives us a notion of false plenty. At the same time, the DWP is forced to turn to the Metropolitan Water District for more than twice as much water than it needed from the agency last year. Which makes us more dependent than usual on other people's water, just as we are on other people's oil.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is set to launch a public-service water-saving campaign in the next week or so. He'll be talking up a smart-sprinkler system for city parks and eventually for our homes. Among other things, smart sprinklers don't water the lawn when it rains — if it ever rains again.

In the meantime, I'll buy a ticket for this drought sequel. But no, thanks, I won't have any popcorn — it makes me too thirsty. #

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-morrison17may17,0,3021729.column?coll=la-opinion-center

 

 

REGIONAL SUPPLY PLANNING:

Davis, Woodland study future water needs

Sacramento Bee – 5/17/07

By Bill Lindelof, staff writer

 

Water supply and how it tastes was the subject of a meeting Wednesday night as officials presented a report on future water needs in Davis and Woodland.

 

The Davis-Woodland Water Supply Project is an effort by the two cities and the University of California, Davis, to draw water from the Sacramento River and commingle it with groundwater to improve area drinking water.

 

The project also seeks river water to meet the needs of population growth.

 

Paula Ospina, a graduate student at UC Davis, said she saw merits in not depending solely on groundwater for drinking needs as cities in Yolo County do.

 

"Having one source of water supply might not be sufficient in the future," Ospina told the Davis Natural Resources Commission.

 

But longtime Davis resident Jim Leonard said the water supply project would induce urban growth onto farmland.

 

"I like Davis the way it is," he told commissioners. "I would not like to see it expand willy-nilly."

 

Davis water has high levels of nitrates and minerals that can be distasteful. The thinking is that treated Sacramento River water would taste better.

 

A draft environmental impact report on the project has been prepared.

 

The meeting on Wednesday and two earlier meetings were opportunities for residents to ask questions.

 

The project would include an intake plant to divert water from the river, a pipeline to a treatment plant and pipes to deliver treated water to cities.

 

The report found no significant impact on fish or water quality in the Sacramento River or downstream in the Delta. In addition, dust and noise from construction could be controlled. The proposed project is meant to meet needs to the year 2040.

 

The report also said groundwater is being depleted in some areas of Yolo County and may not fulfill the drinking water needs of the additional 100,000 people projected to live there by 2025.

 

The report is available for public comment through June 25. It can be found at www.davis-woodlandwatersupply.com. #

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/183217.html

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