A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 25, 2007
2. Supply
Agencies, Inland counties brainstorm about water supply - Riverside Press Enterprise
DESALINATION:
GE Water, planned desalination plant team up - San Diego Union Tribune
RESERVOIR RECREATION:
Splish splash away the holiday; Lake escapes; Now's the time to take advantage of these destinations before the water levels drop - San Francisco Chronicle
Agencies, Inland counties brainstorm about water supply
Riverside Press
By Michael Mello, staff writer
Among them are its 2,800 square miles spread throughout broad sections of
It's that last number that worries people in the 69 cities and 98 water agencies within that watershed; they expect higher demand, climate changes and fewer outside water sources to make it more difficult to keep water flowing through the area's taps.
To address that, more than 250 representatives of those agencies met in
First, they plan to create proposals on how to spend $200 million in voter-approved bonds designed to fund flood-control and water-quality projects.
Then they'll extend those ideas on how to serve the customers in the area, while preserving recreational opportunities and the environment in the decades to come.
"Our communities are growing fast. Unfortunately, the source of our water is not," Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley told the overflow crowd. "It's a regional effort that needs all our support. If we don't make the right decisions now, we'll all be in trouble in 30 years."
The project is the brainchild of Celeste Cantú, executive director of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, and her staff.
She said she was very happy with the turnout at Thursday's event, hosted at the headquarters of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.
"People understand water planning is really important," she said. "There's a sense of urgency. We need to roll up our sleeves and get to work."
Participants in Thursday's meeting were asked to volunteer for one of several planning committees.
Each covers a different aspect of the watershed, such as water-quality improvement, climate changes and water conservation.
Paul Frandsen, general manager of the
He said he's eager to get to work, considering the oncoming deadline, and is pleased with the participation.
"It shows you that a lot of people are interested in this watershed," he said, quickly adding that it won't be easy to achieve the group's goals. "This is complicated stuff."
John V. Rossi is general manager of the Western Municipal Water District, which serves an area with 800,000 people in western and southern
He stated the group's goal simply: "Everybody wants water. We're looking for intelligent development. We have to use water wisely."
For more information on the project, or to participate, visit www.sawpa.org/html/OneWater.htm #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_B_watershed25.3e9a895.html
DESALINATION:
GE Water, planned desalination plant team up
By Michael Burge, staff writer
Jeff Garwood, president and CEO of GE Water, announced the deal yesterday in
“The
Peter MacLaggan, Poseidon senior vice president, confirmed yesterday that GE had joined the project and said the desalination plant will use GE's Zenon ultrafiltration membranes in its water-purification system.
“They have agreed to invest in the completion of the project,” MacLaggan said.
The financial terms were not disclosed.
Poseidon proposes to build a $270 million, 50 million-gallon-a-day seawater desalination plant on the grounds of the Encina Power Station, at
Poseidon has received permits from
The plant would tap the stream of cooling water that circulates through the power plant and run 100 million gallons a day through the desalination plant to produce 50 million gallons of drinking water. The unpurified half would return to the ocean twice as salty as when it was drawn in.
MacLaggan said Poseidon compared GE's membranes with other filtration technologies at its pilot desalination plant and found GE's filters best suited.
MacLaggan said the plant will use three filtration steps: screens will remove the largest solids; ultrafiltration membranes will filter out fine particles such as silt, seaweed and organics; and reverse osmosis, which will separate salt and minerals from the water.
Other companies involved in the design, construction and operation of the plant are Spain-based Acciona Agua, one of the largest developers of reverse-osmosis desalination plants in the world; American Water, a subsidiary of the German firm RWE Group; PBS&J, a national science and engineering firm with a branch in Encinitas; and Escondido-based J.R. Filanc Construction. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070525/news_1mi25desal.html
RESERVOIR RECREATION:
Splish splash away the holiday;
San Francisco Chronicle – 5/24/07
By Tom Stienstra, staff writer
Where are you going for Memorial Day weekend? When school gets out in June, what is your destination? Timing and location has rarely been as critical as this year when choosing recreation prospects.
The low snowpack in the mountains means that as water is sent to points south from the state's big recreation lakes, that water will not be replaced by snowmelt (like last year). So lake levels will be at their highest now through the next three weeks, then start plummeting.
On the plus side, about 85 percent of the state's campgrounds are projected to be open for the Memorial Day holiday, all trans-Sierra highways in
For lake-based recreation, the best bets right now are big lakes with plenty of space and opportunities for boat-in camping or renting a houseboat. Here are this weekend's best prospects:
1. Bullards Bar Reservoir
In my flyover of
2.
Starting in July, the water level at giant Shasta in
3.
The one-of-a-kind floating campsites make Oroville, about an hour's drive north of
4.
One hundred nine primitive boat-in campsites and 95 drive-in sites for tents or RVs make this spot in Cloverdale a sensational choice to start the vacation season. Because many of the boat-in sites at the north end of the lake are exposed oak woodlands, a key is to bring a big tarp, rope and poles so you can stake out a sunscreen. The lake level is listed as 63 percent full, but it looks better than that. The main lake body attracts water-sports enthusiasts. Low-speed areas are available up the 9-mile Dry Creek arm and 4-mile Warm Springs arm. Fishing for bass, redear sunfish and catfish is often very good on live minnows. The lake is set at an elevation of 450 feet in the
5.
One reason you can count on
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/24/NSGH6PUSMS1.DTL
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