[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 5/29/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

May 29, 2007

 

2. Supply

 

COLORADO RIVER BASIN:

Agreement 'critical' to drought water shortages - Grand Junction Sentinel

 

Drought will mean shared pain, experts say - Grand Junction Sentinel

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION:

Water District giant calls for consumers to conserve - North County Times

 

Guest Opinion: Face Facts: We've Got a Looming Water Crisis - Santa Clarita Signal

 

 

COLORADO RIVER BASIN:

Agreement 'critical' to drought water shortages

Grand Junction Sentinel – 5/28/07

By Bobby McGill, staff writer

 

GUNNISON — A new agreement among the seven states of the Colorado River Basin is “critical” because it outlines how the states will handle water shortages in extended periods of drought, Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, said last week at the Colorado Water Workshop at Western State College.

 

“A lot of hard work went into that,” she said.

 

“These guidelines for responding to a drought situation are a step in the right direction.”

 

The agreement, which Gov. Bill Ritter signed in April, reduces the amount of Colorado River water Arizona and Nevada receive when Lake Mead drops to low levels, preventing some water shortages in Colorado.

 

The agreement also reduces the risk of water shortages in the Lower Colorado River Basin by coordinating the operations of Hoover Dam on Lake Mead and Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell.

 

The agreement encourages additional water storage in Lake Mead when states cut their water use through conservation.

So far, Curry said, Colorado has “escaped the bullet” of water shortages.

 

But, she said, it is inevitable that drought will eventually force Colorado to fail to comply with the Colorado River Compact, which stipulates the volume of water Colorado and its neighbors must deliver to downstream states.

 

Colorado River Conservation District General Manager Eric Kuhn said nobody really knows how much water will be available in the Colorado River Basin in the future, and there is still the possibility for a compact call.

 

But, he said, even if a compact call might be issued, it might not go into effect because legal wrangling over water curtailment in the Upper Basin could take decades to resolve.  #

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/05/28/5_28_1A_Water_Agreement.html

 

 

Drought will mean shared pain, experts say

Grand Junction Sentinel – 5/29/07

By Bobby McGill, staff writer

 

GUNNISON — Water experts are urging conservation in the face of irrefutable global warming that is threatening the supply of arguably the earth’s most precious resource.

 

But the picture is bleak in the West because flows into Lake Powell, Lake Mead and the Sierra Nevada snowpack are far below normal, severely affecting future water supplies for Southern California, many of whose cities are fed by Colorado River water, said Mark Bird, a former Department of Interior water planner.

 

Bird, who made his remarks last week at the Colorado Water Workshop at Western State College, also warned of a potential economic collapse in California because of future water shortages.

 

Ecosystems in the Colorado River delta and California’s Mono Lake and Salton Sea are collapsing, said Bird, who now teaches at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

 

He asked, “Isn’t that a sign of a collapse of a state?”

 

Patricia Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, urged Colorado River Basin residents and lawmakers to see that the water they use affects the people and ecology in many other parts of the basin.

 

“The (Colorado River) delta is just as much a responsibility in Cheyenne, Wyo., as it is in the Imperial Valley,” Mulroy said at the workshop. “It’s all the same watershed, and a part of it is dying. We don’t want human life to become parasitic. We have the conscience, we have the morals, we have the brains to not have it happen.”

 

Water users in all parts of the basin must take the hit of future water shortages together, she said, instead of asking one city to curtail use while others can waste water indiscriminately.

 

Mulroy called global warming the “800-pound gorilla” that will bring water users together out of necessity. Already, drought, the exploding population of Las Vegas and southern Nevada’s small allocation of Colorado River water has forced Sin City to take drastic water conservation measures.

 

Despite the water fountains on the Las Vegas Strip, where 3 percent of the region’s water is consumed, she said, the city water authority demanded residents conserve, going so far as to pay its customers $1 per square foot to remove grass in their yards. So far, the agency has spent $100 million removing its residents’ grass.

 

“We cut the amount of water we used by 65,000 acre-feet in 18 months,” she said.

 

Bird called for the federal government to require all the Colorado River Basin states to curtail water consumption by 5 percent effective in July. That would encourage water conservation and force the states to invent solutions to their water woes, he said.

 

But Colorado River Water Conservation District General Manager Eric Kuhn said while rising temperatures in the West are nearly a sure thing, projections about how much precipitation the West will receive in a warmer world aren’t conclusive. That means water shortages may not end up as dire as some fear.

 

Too many people, using too much water is the real cause of water supply shortages in states such as California and Nevada, not drought, Kuhn said.

 

Regardless, Lake Powell must be maintained to meet the West’s water needs, while projects like Aaron Million’s proposed pipeline from Flaming Gorge to feed the masses in Denver may swipe “insurance water” Colorado can use when Lake Powell is low.

 

“Whether you believe the right answers on global warming come from Al Gore or Rush Limbaugh, (you should be) concerned about what we should be doing to avoid unacceptable outcomes in the future,” Kuhn said.

 

In other words, he said, people in the Upper Basin should do what it takes to reduce risk and make sure there’s enough water for the West even if the solution seems risky.  #

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/05/29/5_29_1a_Climate_Change.html

 

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION:

Water District giant calls for consumers to conserve

North County Times – 5/26/07

By William Finn Bennett, staff writer

 

With Southern California rainfall at one of its lowest levels in a century, the agency supplying water to most of the region is calling on consumers to reduce their consumption and has started a radio advertising campaign to get the word out, officials with Metropolitan Water District said Friday.

The "Let's Save" campaign will reach radio listeners across the region starting Monday. It encourages consumers to save water inside and outside the home by doing such things as shortening shower times and reducing the amount of water used in the yard.

 

Water district officials issued a news release Friday that states that they plan to meet consumer demands for water this summer despite the dry conditions in Southern California.

 

"However, we understand that every drop of water saved this summer is a drop of water that can be stored for next year and beyond," Metropolitan board Chairman Timothy F. Brick stated in the news release.

To meet demand this year, the agency will have to dip into its reserves to the tune of 500,000 acre feet, Metropolitan Water District officials said. An acre-foot of water is equal to 326,000 gallons, or enough water to supply the household needs of two families for one year.

The region was hit by a six-year drought between 1987 and 1992. But the threat of water shortages was much greater then because the agency only had about 225,000 acre-feet of water stored. Since then, the district has increased its storage capacity significantly and today has more than 2.5 million acre-feet of water stored around Southern California, including Diamond Valley Lake in Southwest Riverside County.

Those reservoirs may come in handy this summer. The Sierra snowpack that helps ensure water supplies for the region was at its lowest level in two decades last winter, state officials have reported.

Concerns have arisen that if Sierra snow falls short again next winter, Southern Californians could face water shortages in 2008. Much of the water from the snowpack flows into the rivers that feed the Bay Delta in the Sacramento area. Southern California's imported water supply comes from two main sources: the Bay Delta and the Colorado River, which is entering its eighth year of drought.

In a Friday phone interview, Metropolitan Water District spokesman Denis Wolcott said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation considers the Colorado River drought one of the worst in history.

The implications for Southern California are ominous, he said, adding that it's vital that residents learn to conserve.

"If the drought continues for a couple more years, we may have very serious conditions," Wolcott said. #

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/26/news/sandiego/14_01_745_25_07.txt

 

 

Guest Opinion: Face Facts: We've Got a Looming Water Crisis

Santa Clarita Signal – 5/28/07

By B.J. Atkins, member of the Newhall County Water Board and chairman of the 38th Assembly District Republican Central Committee

 

One of my normal morning rituals is to head to the kitchen, get a cup of coffee and read the local paper.

 

If I went to the sink right now and turned on the water, without hesitation I would expect clean, pure water to start flowing. The reliability of the water system is unquestioned.

 

Would you be upset if water did not appear on demand? Would you find not being able to take your shower or wash your hands objectionable?

 

We don't think twice about water; it is always there.

 

This is a testament to the efficiency of the water community. As a new member of the water community, I am continually impressed with the level of professionalism, attention to detail and passion exhibited by water agency staff and related officials.

 

It's no wonder Californians are not forced to think much about water.

 

This will not always be the case. As we look to the future, certain facts stare us in the face - and it doesn't take long to become alarmed.

 

Fact: The Santa Clarita Valley is growing. The Southern California Association of Governments anticipates a 40 percent growth in population for the Santa Clarita Valley, to just over 352,000 people by 2025.

 

Fact: There is a lawsuit pending which might result in the shutdown of the huge water pumps delivering water from the Sacramento Delta to Southern California. A group known as the Water Enforcers has filed a suit against the California Department of Water Resources to stop the continued pumping of water from the delta without the appropriate "incidental take" permits required by the Endangered Species Act. Curtailing this pumping would have a devastating impact on California's economy, which some believe is the seventh largest economy on the planet.

 

Fact: While the debate over global warming rages, one cannot deny increased concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. If it can be proven man is causing the Earth to warm, this will result in even higher demand for water.

 

Fact: The Sacramento Delta is the source for a good portion of Southern California's water. It includes a system of levees built roughly 100 years ago and is in dire need of repair. Like earthquakes in California, the question is not if, but where and when these levee failures will occur. A portion of this repair work is under way, and last November we voters provided funding through Proposition 84. But there is still more to do.

 

Fact: According to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, Southern California is entering a drought pattern that will persist or intensify with zero to 2 percent chance of enough rainfall to end drought conditions over the next six months.

 

All of us will be more thirsty.

 

Fact: Less than 1 percent of the water used in the Santa Clarita Valley today is formally recycled in any fashion. In the coming decades, recycled wastewater could be used for landscaping, parks and homes throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.

 

The Castaic Lake Water Agency announced it will increase recycled water to at least 12 percent of the valley's total water use over the next 25 years. Much more can be done in this area to reuse water beneficially or conserve water. You can help by going to your water agency's Web site to learn how you can conserve water individually or as a family.

 

The next three months are critical. Now is the time to show your support for a comprehensive water package which includes storage, a delta solution "including conveyance and environmental protection" and water use efficiency. The Newhall County Water District just passed a resolution in support of this effort.

 

We need to ensure that state legislators, opinion leaders, local media and others are fully informed while providing the continued follow-up and support they need to take action. To do nothing ignores the growing list of challenges and severely limits flexibility when - not if - it comes to confront them.

 

What is at stake here is the water supply not just for Santa Clarita, but for more than 25 million people in Central and Southern California. I may not always agree with California's governor, but his Strategic Growth Plan for California - especially the water investments - is one thing I strongly support in order to begin solving one of this state's most pressing issues. These investments will provide a more reliable water supply, improve water use efficiency and increase water storage.

 

There is no time to waste. For more information, go to the Association of California Water Agencies Web site, acwa.com.

 

BJ Atkins is a member of the Newhall County Water Board and chairman of the 38th Assembly District Republican Central Committee. His column reflects his own views, and not necessarily those of The Signal. "Right Here, Right Now" appears Mondays and rotates among several SCV Republicans. #

http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=48708&format=html

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