Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 29, 2007
3. Watersheds
State releases Salton Sea restoration plan; lawmakers to debate - Associated Press
Final sea plan released - Imperial Valley Press
$8.9-billion Salton Sea plan proposed; The 75-year effort to save the polluted resource would cut it to about a fifth its current size and add sections of wildlife habitat - Los Angeles Times
Price of
Expensive Salton Sea plan unveiled; $8.9 BILLION: Even the proposal's supporters say the price tag will make it a hard sell - Riverside Press Enterprise
Untamed river may get wilder - Stockton Record
SANTA MARGARITA RIVER:
Free-flowing Santa Margarita is a rarity - North
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Aquatic invaders threaten Lake Tahoe; Battle looms as agency declares situation an emergency - Grass Valley Union
Aquatic invaders threaten Tahoe; Bistate agency has declared an emergency to halt the spread of foreign species in the lake - Associated Press
Study to aid in decisions on sediment issues - Auburn Journal
State releases
Associated Press – 5/25/07
By Christina Almeida, staff writer
The Department of Water Resources submitted its restoration plan to state lawmakers after three years of studies and hearings with local officials, homeowners and business owners in the region around the 365-square-mile lake, which is suffering from surging salinity levels and facing a loss of incoming water.
"There is a little bit in here for everyone," Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said in a conference call with reporters. "The plan has to be supported by those folks down there. There's going to be a lot of debate around this plan. We think that's healthy."
Though there is consensus something should be done, it is unclear whether lawmakers will go along with an expensive fix. The problem has loomed for years, and nearly two dozen proposals have failed.
Advocates for restoration said they are eager for work to begin, citing massive fish kills and other devastation at the
"Now it's up to the Legislature to make good on the secretary's efforts and not abandon the sea," said Jim Metropulos with the Sierra Club of California.
Many have said they want to see the lake in the state's southeastern corner return as a popular tourist destination and home to multiple species of fish. But it will come at a cost.
The plan released Friday is $2 billion more than a draft issued two months ago. State officials said the increase is the result of compromises with local officials and cited the large cost of air quality management—a requirement of state law.
"It is a high price tag," said Dale Hoffman-Floerke, chief of the
The plan calls for a smaller but more manageable
The plan also envisions a complex system of drip-tubes that would irrigate plants on the exposed lakebed and keep dirt from blowing into the air.
State officials made three changes to the draft plan, adding about 4,000 acres of habitat, establishing a 4,000-acre area for geothermal development and extending the lake along its southwestern border. A longer lake would allow some homeowners near
Officials said a combination of state, local and federal funds will pay for the restoration. Annual operations and maintenance costs will start at $3.9 million and eventually rise to $141.9 million by 2035.
Sitting in a naturally salty depression 278 feet below sea level and about 40 miles from the
It has no outlet; a balance between evaporation and water flows sustained it for decades. But with more and more water being diverted from the
Experts estimate 134 square miles of dusty lakebed—an area five times the size of
The Salton Sea Authority, a coalition of local elected officials issued a statement calling the final plan "a modest step in the right direction" and reiterated its commitment to the process.
"Now more than ever, it is critically important to make progress. Failure to move forward with water improvements will cause the Sea to die within a decade," the statement said. #
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5988991?nclick_check=1
Final sea plan released
By Darren Simon, staff writer
In a step California Resources Agency Secretary Michael Chrisman called historic, an $8.9 billion plan to restore the
The fate of the sea, the state’s largest inland lake, which is dying under its own high salt content and declining water supplies, now rests with legislative leaders.
At the same time, the sea’s fate depends on the ability of government, from federal to state to local levels, to come up with the funding mechanisms that will make restoration possible.
“It is a high price tag,” Chrisman said Friday.
But, he said, the $8.9 billion is a cost that would be divided over what would be a 75-year project.
THE PLAN
The preferred restoration alternative includes a 45,000 acre-feet marine lake that forms a horseshoe extending from the northern shore in
At 45,000 acre-feet, the sea will be about one-fifth of its current size, said Dale Hoffman-Floerke of the state Department of Water Resources, which works under Chrisman.
There will be two brine ponds meant to collect the high salt content, reducing salinity levels in the marine lake down to levels where fish, including sport fish like corvine, could survive.
Massive rock barriers will extend about 52 miles, creating the north and south marine lakes, and there will be another 158 miles of berms to help create the water formations.
The barriers will cause about 106 acres in the middle of the sea to be exposed land, and to offset any air-quality problems, the state is proposing that nearly $1 billion of the project go to air-quality protection.
Along the southern shore there will be more than 50,000 acres of saline water habitat to protect the 400 species of birds that depend on the sea.
The southern shore also will include land set aside for geothermal development.
“There is a little bit in here for everyone,” Chrisman said.
“We’ve listened hard to the people in that part of the world.”
The proposal presented to the Legislature represents a $2 billion change to the $6.9 billion draft alternative the state proposed in March.
That earlier version included almost no south lake and did not include land for geothermal development on the southern shore.
Chrisman said the changes came about as a result of concerns expressed by officials in
“If there is 45,000 acre-feet of marine lake, and if it is deep enough, that could work,” Grogan said.
He said one concern he continues to have, which has not yet been addressed, is the fact Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is continuing to seek hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water per year from the New and
He said if the state awards MWD that water, all would be for naught and the sea would die.
Hoffman-Floerke said the plan the California Resources Agency has presented to the Legislature depends on an average of 717,000 acre-feet of water flowing into the sea each year.
The plan is designed around no further water transfers from the
A HISTORIC DAY
That a plan was presented to the Legislature made Friday historic, Chrisman said.
“We are farther along than we’ve ever been,” Chrisman said.
But, he acknowledges, there is a long way to go before any plan becomes a reality.
He was unsure what steps the Legislature would follow in considering the plan it has been presented.
He said there could be legislative hearings and workshops, but he said that has not yet been determined.
A timeline also was unknown as to how long it would take for the Legislature to act on the plan.
If it is approved, the next year would involve the drafting a project-specific environmental impact report that would delve into the specific engineering of the plan and its costs.
Another key decision would then have to be made on who would govern the restoration.
Right now the Salton Sea Authority is the lead agency on matters related to the sea’s operations.
The authority is an entity made up of officials from
Chrisman said the leading concept now is the creation of a
If the project does come together, officials said, what would be created is a new version of the sea that would serve the recreation, economic and environmental needs of the region. #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/05/25/news/news02.txt
$8.9-billion
By David Kelly, staff writer
An ambitious $8.9-billion, 75-year plan to save the
"What we have done here is truly historic," said Michael Chrisman,
The plan, three years in the making, would reduce the
The plan calls for the creation of a 62,000-acre "saline habitat complex," a series of 1,000-acre cells that would include bits of shoreline, islands and peninsulas to be habitat for birds, fish and invertebrates.
A special 2,000-acre habitat would be built first to help save species, such as the tilapia, that are threatened by rising salt levels.
Under the proposal, 52 miles of barriers and 158 miles of berms would be added, and 106,000 acres of lake bed would be exposed.
"The Legislature said in 2003 that the restoration of the sea is critically important," Chrisman said. "There will be a big debate about the cost and timeline, but my sense is that the Legislature has already said yes and we will move forward."
At 15 miles wide and 35 miles long, the Salton Sea is the biggest lake in
There is no natural outlet, so the water is getting saltier and more polluted from agricultural runoff. It's already 25 times saltier than the ocean.
The last major fish species remaining is the tilapia, and scientists say that fish could disappear by 2018.
Tilapia are the chief food source for many of the 400 bird species, such as the endangered brown pelican, that winter on the lake.
Chrisman said the $8.9 billion for the project probably would come from a combination of local, state and federal sources and a variety of partnerships.
"True, it's expensive, but it's a price tag over 75 years," he said.
As the lake shrinks and huge areas of its floor are exposed, a major issue will be air quality. In places such as the
"Air quality will be a big-ticket issue; we realized that early on," said Dale Hoffman-Floerke, chief of the Colorado River and Salton Sea office for the state Department of Water Resources.
She said water would be used to keep the area wet so dust wouldn't swirl, that salt-tolerant vegetation would be planted and vehicles would be banned from areas where they probably would kick up dirt.
But Rick Daniels, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority, is worried.
"We are very skeptical about the air quality. We cannot afford to have a big dustbowl like the
He also said that the Torres Martinez tribe, which has 11,000 acres of its reservation land beneath the sea, does not want its submerged ancient villages to suddenly appear when water levels drop.
"They don't want scavengers out there," he said. "These are all technical things that will be solved. Even though it has warts and blemishes, it's worth moving forward."
The plan was embraced by the Salton Sea Coalition, which includes the Sierra Club, the Pacific Institute and the Defenders of Wildlife.
"Now it's up to the Legislature to make good on the secretary's efforts and not abandon the sea, or the hopes and hard work of the many people who have devoted so much time to designing a plan that meets that the state's obligations to protect public health and wildlife," said Jim Metropulos, legislative representative of Sierra Club California.
Kim Delfino of Defenders of Wildlife
The timeline for construction, assuming the plan is approved, would be broken into four periods beginning in 2007 and ending in 2078, with most of the major building to take place between 2014 and 2025. #
Price of
Desert Sun – 5/26/07
By Erica Solvig, staff writer
The state released a nearly $9 billion Salton Sea restoration plan Friday that would shrink the sea to one-fifth of its current size but provide more recreation options than an earlier draft.
Some stakeholders in the Coachella and Imperial valleys immediately panned the plan, saying it fails to deal with air quality problems or provide enough recreation opportunities.
"We won't provide a cent, a single penny, for a project we do not support," Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt said. "And we do not support this plan as it currently exists."
The $8.9 billion proposal, released by state Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman, costs about $2 billion more than a March draft. It essentially subdivides the existing sea, creating a recreation lake and turning much of what is now sea into marshy marine habitat or exposed lake bed.
The plan, following months of negotiations with locals, extends an arm of the lake farther south past
"There's a little bit in here for everyone," Chrisman said.
As reported on thedesertsun.com, the plan now goes to lawmakers. They must decide whether to support the plan and if they can or will fund it.
If nothing is done, experts say rising salinity levels will kill the sea's fish and other aquatic life. The sea also would receive less water in the future and dry up, exposing lake bed that would produce choking dust throughout the region.
Though many locals expressed disappointment with the state's 75-year plan, advocates believe negotiations can continue, costs can be cut and consensus can be rebuilt before construction must start. 
"We don't think they've designed the thing as we would have, but we look forward to moving on to the next stage," said Rick Daniels, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority.
What they’re saying
“We wanted to do everything we could within reason, both from a scientific base and fiscally responsible perspective, to incorporate the interests of the stakeholders. Not everyone was going to get everything they wanted, but all the groups involved have gained a significant stake in this process so we may continue forward in our shared vision to save the sea.”
Mike Chrisman, California Secretary of Resources
I am so pleased that the State has released its plan to restore the
Earlier this month, I included an authorization for pilot projects to help restore the
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, who also lives in Rancho Mirage
“While I am encouraged by the state’s commitment to restoring the
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California
"Today marks a new beginning for the
“By addressing the many complex issues facing the Sea, Sec. Chrisman and other stakeholders have demonstrated their commitment to this effort. I look forward to working with the Secretary and all interested parties in the coming months to protect the quality of life for residents and the unique ecosystem that is the
Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs
“The authority has supported the process that has brought us this far and looks forward to that work commencing next year. However, there are some areas that need additional consideration in the Preferred Alternative and must be addressed in project level work in the future in order to accomplish the local support necessary for the restoration to be successful.”
“The Secretary’s plan includes the major elements required by state law to protect fish and wildlife habitat and manage air quality to protect human health and agriculture. We urge the legislature to act quickly on these consensus elements.
”Failing to restore the
Kim Delfino, Salton Sea Advisory Committee member and director of the Defenders of Wildlife
”(The $8.9 billion cost) kind of shocked me. It was so much more.”
State Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta
“It is sticker shock, but the truth is we are talking about a very long period of time in which funds need to be spent.”
State Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, who represents parts of the Coachella and Imperial valleys
”Of course there is an escalating cost. We haven’t done anything for so long.”
Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia,
“It is not the Governor's plan. A (state Sen. Denise) Ducheny bill directed the Secretary of Resources to put out a report which is simply the first step of a very, very long process.”
Aaron McLear, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's press secretary #
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070526/NEWS0701/705260318
Expensive Salton Sea plan unveiled; $8.9 BILLION: Even the proposal's supporters say the price tag will make it a hard sell
Riverside Press Enterprise
By Jennifer Bowles and Jim Miller, staff writers
California's top resources chief unveiled an $8.9 billion restoration plan Friday for the Salton Sea that would reduce the ailing desert lake to one-fifth its current size but create wildlife ponds so it could remain a nationally recognized refuge for more than 400 bird species.
Capping three years of studies and negotiations with environmentalists, farmers and Inland politicians, the costly plan is the first sign in decades that the sea's worsening environmental troubles have a chance of being solved.
"We're farther along than we ever have been before towards a plan on which we can begin the
The sea, already too salty for many fish, will shrink in the coming years as a state-approved transfer shifts water intended for Imperial Valley farmers to San Diego, where it will be used for drinking.Runoff from the agricultural use has been sustaining the Salton Sea.With that in mind, the plan calls for creating a 45,000-acre, horseshoe-shaped lake no deeper than 39 feet that would ring much of the present-day sea so that surrounding towns would retain a waterfront.
Dozens of 1,000-acre ponds catering to birds and possibly fish would be created on the northern and southern ends.
State officials now will try to sell their restoration proposal to the Legislature before it adjourns in mid-September.
Legislative Support
State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, who has a bill to push the plan, said she is pleased with what she has seen.
Yet Ducheny acknowledged that her colleagues, some of whom have never visited the sea, will need some persuading to support the plan's costly price tag.
"I'm hoping that, along with the redwoods, the coast, the Sierras and Tahoe, that people can also respect the fact that the desert is an important part of
Richard Stapler, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-
The proposal comes two months after a draft plan in the $6 billion range was issued. The cost increases, state officials said, reflect adjustments to appease the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and Imperial County, which shares the lake with Riverside County, and to set aside some of the sea bed for geothermal exploration.
Tribal Concerns
Under the new plan, the lake would drop farther south into
But the tribe's leader blasted the restoration plan as inadequate because it would expose some of the sea bed on tribal land and increase air pollution from the dust.
State officials have ignored the concerns, said Raymond Torres, the tribe's chairman.
"Who is going to give me the reassurance that it's going to be taken care, or is it going to become a liability for the tribe?" Torres said. "And if it becomes the liability of the tribe's, then it becomes a liability of the federal government."
Ducheny said upcoming in-depth environmental reviews will address any problems before they emerge. Dale Hoffman-Floerke, the state's
Who's in Charge?
Among the outstanding questions is who or what would take the reins of the restoration effort. One of the possibilities, Chrisman said, was to create a Salton Sea Conservancy, similar to the nine conservancies across the state built around environmental treasures such as Lake Tahoe and the
"That's what's most prominently being talked about," Chrisman said.
Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley, a member of the Salton Sea Authority, the sea's local caretaker, said the proposal's estimated cost, even spread over many years, will make it a hard sell.
Creating a Salton Sea Conservancy to help cover the expense would go only so far, Ashley said.
"You have to look at everything. But I don't see a conservancy coming up with several billion dollars," he said.
Ashley, though, stressed that Friday's proposal is a significant step.
"We have a plan, I don't care what it is," he said. "For the first time ever, we're moving." #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_B_salton26.b9f68b.html
Untamed river may get wilder
By Dana Nichols, staff writer
The long-awaited list of suggestions from the Clavey River Ecosystem Project includes everything from removing several small dams and expanding habitat on the 47-mile river for native yellow-legged frogs to preventing damage to the river from activities such as camping and motorized off-highway vehicle recreation. The project represents a diverse group of interests, including environmentalists, scientists and dirt bikers.
Conspicuously absent from the report are detailed suggestions on how to manage grazing, one of the most controversial activities in the area because of its potential to damage upland meadows.
The plan will be refined over the next nine months before the project submits its final plan to
State and federal dollars, including a $775,000 grant from the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, funded much of the work. The final list of proposed projects - and estimates of how much they will cost - will be done in February.
A
"A lot of that information we would never have been able to gather ourselves," said Jerry Snyder, spokesman for the
Clavey River Ecosystem Project steering committee members also hope their work becomes a model for how diverse interests can cooperate to solve conflicts over the use of public lands, rivers and forests.
"It is one of the few times that I have seen a study like this that I can say, 'Yeah, all the values were considered,' " said Bill Rugg, a steering committee member who is also an off-highway motorcycle rider and a member of the Blue Ribbon Coalition that advocates on behalf of off-highway motorized recreation such as dirt bikes and ATVs.
Rugg said the proposals for the Clavey watershed balance the desire of motor sports enthusiasts to use the forest around the river with protection for the river in a variety of ways. For example, the report calls for careful monitoring of old logging roads used by motorcycles and other vehicles to make sure they aren't sources of erosion and water pollution for the rivers. The plan calls for repair and changes to roads in cases where they are found to be sources of pollution.
"There's a lot of roads there that are very good roads for motorcycles and ATVs. We don't need any more. But we want to protect the ones that are there."
Some proposed actions are massive, such as repairing erosion-damaged stream beds in Bell Meadows, at the river's headwaters, by importing up to 150,000 cubic yards of gravel and earth. Also potentially expensive is the report's call for the
Other suggestions are simple and would save money, such as the recommended end to the stocking of nonnative fish species in the river. The report also urges research into new, sustainable ways for people to earn their living from the forests along the Clavey, whether through recreation or the gathering of nontraditional forest products such as wood chips sold to biomass plants.
Warren Alford is community forestry manager for Sierra Forest Legacy, a group that advocates for sustainable management of the
"There is a future for our whole region in investing in restoration that will create good jobs for people that work in the woods and build long-term sustainability for the resource and the people who depend on it," Alford said.
That doesn't mean there won't still be conflict at times. Ranchers, for example, did not participate in drafting the list of recommendations even though ranch representatives sat on the
Fleming said the alliance stopped participating in the process in part because it appeared that the report would call for restrictions on roads or other land uses, such as camping locations. "To (alliance members) that is not making it wilderness, that is making it like a campground," she said.
Cynthia King, a staff member for the Tuolumne River Trust and a member of the Clavey River Ecosystem Project steering committee, agreed the report does not address grazing issues.
"I think that part could be improved. But it is also one of the more contentious issues in the watershed. And we are interested in looking at projects that everyone can support," she said.
The report does call for trying to cooperate with ranchers who have grazing permits there to fence off some of the more erosion-damaged areas of lower Bell Meadow.
But without any ranchers at the table and with limited National Forest funding for such work, there are no immediate prospects for getting that work done.
"Our center for years has expressed concern about the degraded stream banks in the Bell Meadows area," said John Buckley, executive director for the
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/A_NEWS/705290310
SANTA MARGARITA RIVER:
Free-flowing Santa Margarita is a rarity
By Tom Pfingsten, staff writer
FALLBROOK ---- To most people, the Santa Margarita River is an afterthought, a creek to pass over on the way to De Luz that merits attention only when it washes out a bridge during the rainy season.
But to biologists and those in charge of providing water for the region, the river is much more, a natural gem that yields drinking water and endless research opportunities, all without encountering a dam.
Environmental authorities say the Santa Margarita has been preserved as no other river in
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It is a haven for native wildlife and a fresh water resource that is surprisingly clean, considering the development closing in on all sides.
"This is what a river should look like in
Particularly when compared with other rivers in thirsty Southern California, the Santa Margarita is in pristine condition, researchers say, thanks to a history of special treatment by everyone from the Marine Corps to students studying with
The Santa Margarita presents rare opportunities to observe a free-flowing creek as it meanders from Temecula through De Luz and Camp Pendleton before emptying into the Pacific about three miles north of Oceanside, scientists say.
And the Marine Corps diverts water from the river in a fashion that still allows enough flow to keep downstream habitat alive, treating the river water to provide for its families and operations at Camp Pendleton.
The fact that there are no dams impeding its flow is what makes it so special, officials said this week, as all but a handful of rivers that reach the ocean in
It is unclear exactly how many rivers that flow to the ocean in the state are undammed ---- the
The only dam on the Santa Margarita is one of reeds and willow sticks built by beavers on
Although the Santa Margarita watershed stretches for miles into mountain ranges in
There, at the bridge just south of the Highway 79 exit, the Murrieta and Temecula creeks merge to form the Santa Margarita, which promptly flows onto the ecological reserve.
One-of-a-kind
The Santa Margarita is unique in several ways, officials say.
For one thing, its approximately 25-mile span is almost entirely owned by organizations that limit public access to the river, such as
The highest-impact intersection of the river and public use, experts agree, is at the river crossing in De Luz, where the
Further upstream, however, the river is heavily guarded by gorges, gates and dozens of chaparral-covered hills where off-trail hiking is next to impossible.
The utility district allows equestrians and hikers to use trails near the river, but the university does not allow public access, in order to protect sensitive habitat and the experiments that go on there, and the Marine base is obviously off-limits to day users.
Some officials point out that it may be a little near-sighted to only include the portion of the Santa Margarita between Temecula and the ocean when speaking of impacts and obstructions.
Doug McPherson, an environmental officer at the Bureau of Reclamation's Temecula office, said that there is a dam not too far upstream from the ecological reserve where water that eventually makes its way into the river is held.
"It all depends on what you consider its beginning ---- we normally think in terms of entire watersheds," McPherson said, adding that the business about upstream impacts is "a little bit of hair-splitting," and shouldn't detract from the river's status.
"In
The river multiplies the possibilities for biologists who travel from all over the world to test, observe, measure and experiment at the reserve.
"Having a water source and a river on the property gives us different habitats" to research, she said. "Not only are you going to have some of those rare riparian plants, but you'll also get the animals that use them. It's giving us a more complete picture of how
A population of pond turtles that lives on the river banks within the reserve is possibly the largest anywhere, Strahm said, while dozens of other native species thrive along the river in the absence of development and human activity.
While some may point to how heavily impacted the water is in Temecula Creek and Murrieta Creek and wonder at the purity of the Santa Margarita, Strahm said the sediment and rocks in the river provide a natural "scrubbing" effect that cleans the water as it flows.
Touring the river gorge
The slow-moving river's first five miles are spent on the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, a 4,600-acre chunk of land where students and scientists conduct research throughout the spectrum of scientific inquiry, from biology to geology to meteorology.
Strahm provided a tour of the stretch of river that flows through the university's territory this week.
The views were astounding in the jagged Temecula Gorge, which at its most impressive has 230-foot-tall cliffs on either side.
The Santa Margarita sparkled as it meandered through the gorge on its way toward the sea, cascading over rocks and tickling blankets of algae resting on the water.
The scene was an odd one, considering the location: Wildlife buzzing, flying and swimming all over the place, generating the only noise besides the wind, while strip malls, highways and homes were less than ten miles away in every direction.
Part of the reserve's value is in its sheer size ---- miles of habitat that remains like it must have been centuries ago.
But it would not be nearly as valuable, in dollars or in its research potential, if not for the Santa Margarita River, she said.
Using the water
Keith Lewinger, general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District, said Thursday that besides its biological value, the river is also a key source of fresh water that could help reduce the area's dependency on imported water.
"It's an environmentally sensitive area, and it's also a water supply," Lewinger said.
The one place water is diverted from the Santa Margarita is at Camp Pendleton, where the Marine Corps reroutes a fraction of the river's flow into Lake O'Neill near the Naval Hospital on base.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District does not currently use water from the river, but it plans to in the future, said Joe Jackson, chief engineer for the Fallbrook Public Utility District.
The district would gain 6,000 acre-feet a year under a plan to beef up the
Even though more water would be diverted out of the river, officials have been careful to draft their plans so that water flow would still be sufficient to keep downstream habitat in good condition.
An acre-foot is about 325,000 gallons.
Water officials in Fallbrook are excited about the prospect of having a local water source, when almost all of the water used in
That plan is making its way through the United States Congress at present, and if it is approved, it will cost millions of dollars and take years of construction to carry out,
The utility district owns nearly 1,400 acres in De Luz, including six miles of the Santa Margarita River, but that land is dedicated to conservation and will not be used to harvest water,
History
It's no mistake that the river is still intact and unobstructed along its entire length, but it may not have been fully intentional, either, after 80 years of arguing and lawsuits over who would get to use the water.
During the 1970's, there were plans for two dams in De Luz that would have drastically changed the landscape of that community and destroyed the habitat that biologists now hold so valuable, said
"It's been extensively litigated since the 1920's," he said. "You'd probably have to go to the Sacramento-San Joaquin area to find anything more contentious" in terms of water rights battles involving a river.
In 1951, the federal government sued the Fallbrook Public Utility District, saying the Marine Corps had rights to all the water in the Santa Margarita. That claim was denied at some point during the decades-long court battle,
Although it has mostly been resolved, the case is still open, and a federal "water master" has a desk at the Fallbrook Public Utility District to help administer the Santa Margarita water rights,
While development continues to well up in the communities surrounding the river, it is clear that the university, the Marines and the Fallbrook water district want to keep it as pristine as possible.
The conservation effort is in everyone's best interest, said Lewinger, the water district manager: "We want to maintain the Santa Margarita in good condition, so that we're able to use that water for the plants, the animals and the people." #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/top_stories/52707180418.txt
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Aquatic invaders threaten Lake Tahoe;
Grass Valley
By Julie Brown, staff writer
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency governing board passed a resolution Wednesday declaring an emergency posed by the threat of invasive aquatic species to
Passed at the bistate planning agency's meeting in
Ever since the January discovery in
If the invasive mussel infests
Planning officials stressed the urgency of the situation, saying the agency must take a defensive approach and intervene before the mussel makes an appearance in the lake.
"Once in a system, it's there and it's virtually impossible to get rid of," said Steve Chilton, the planning agency's chief of environmental improvement branch.
Transportation by boat is the most probable cause of the species' spread, but animals, particularly birds, also have played a role in the mussel's ever-expanding presence in
"Boats are the most serious threat," Brozak said. Boat washing stations where sailors can wash their vessel before it enters the lake should be a primary preventive strategy.
Interested parties need to reach an agreement on a solution to the threat, Brozak said.
Once consensus has been reached, the agency's resolution will hasten the plan's implementation. An agreement about how to proceed will likely be reached within the next two weeks, Brozak said.
"The issue is really our collective concern for the
The state of emergency will open new doors for funding, and will signal to other agencies the issue's importance, Regan said.
Although action against quagga mussels is a top priority for officials - due to the mussel's presence in the regional waters of Lakes Mead, Havasu and Mojave - officials also expressed concern with other invasive aquatic species, including Eurasian watermilfoil, curlyleaf pondweed, the New Zealand mud snail and zebra mussels.
Agency staff have already initiated preventive measures, hosting public workshops on invasive aquatic species and boat-washing techniques.
http://www.theunion.com/article/20070529/NEWS/105290197
Aquatic invaders threaten Tahoe; Bistate agency has declared an emergency to halt the spread of foreign species in the lake
Associated Press – 5/27/07
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency governing board members said their passage Wednesday of a resolution declaring the emergency would expedite the planning and funding for the looming battle against quagga mussels, milfoil and other non-native species.
Since the January discovery of quagga mussels in Lake Mead near
If the mussels reach
"Once in a system, it's there and it's virtually impossible to get rid of," said Steve Chilton, chief of TRPA's environmental improvement branch.
Preventative strategies include boat washing stations where owners can wash vessels before hitting the lake straddling the California-Nevada line.
"Boats are the most serious threat," said Phil Brozak of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. An agreement about how to proceed probably will be reached within the next two weeks, he said.
"The issue is really our collective concern for the
The state of emergency will open new doors for funding, and will signal to other agencies the importance of dealing with the issue, she said.
While action against quagga mussels is a top priority, officials also expressed concern over other invasive species, including Eurasian watermilfoil, curlyleaf pondweed, the
Officials already have found Eurasian watermilfoil in the lake. The underwater weed crowds out native vegetation and contributes to declines in the lake's famous clarity.
At a two-day conference in nearby Incline Village, Nev., early this month, scientists and government officials agreed invasive species pose a major threat to Lake Tahoe's future and efforts against them need to be stepped up. #
http://www.contracostatimes.com/bayandstate/ci_6001281
Study to aid in decisions on sediment issues
Auburn Journal – 5/24/07
By Gus Thomson, staff writer
A study team has completed a detailed look at sediment issues -- and ways to manage the flow of dirt and debris -- on the North and Middle forks of the
The study has pin-pointed areas of the watershed which, if disturbed, could lead to adverse effects on water quality, aquatic habitat and water-power infrastructure.
The study is the result of a five-year collaborative effort of several agencies working together in the American River Watershed Group.
Bill Templin, Watershed Group coordinator, said that the study's initial findings provide valuable information on soils and the steepness of slopes along the river watersheds that will aid in future decision-making related to possible sediment problems.
The study also recommends a series of management steps to avoid or minimize problems created by sediment slough.
"The study isn't forcing anyone to do anything but it identifies what's possible," Templin said.
For
With a state-federal grant possible next month, the Watershed Group could work with the U.S. Forest Service in the
Plans would be to provide monitoring upstream and downstream from timber harvests to gauge sediment levels, he said.
Otis Wollan, the Placer County Water Agency's District Five director, said that the agency has spent millions of dollars over the years removing sediment that down rivers into its reservoirs.
Wollan termed the study "very timely" and said it would be a valuable tool in the years to come.
Facilitated by the Water Agency, the study included participation by the Placer County Resource Conservation District,
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/05/25/news/top_stories/05sediment25.txt
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