[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 5/3/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

May 3, 2007

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People

 

AMERICAN RIVER RECREATION:

Water policy favors rafters; Some American River dams must boost flow for recreational users - Sacramento Bee

 

LEVEE ISSUES:

Sutter levee meeting tonight - Marysville Appeal Democrat

 

 

AMERICAN RIVER RECREATION:

Water policy favors rafters; Some American River dams must boost flow for recreational users

Sacramento Bee – 5/3/07

By M.A. Enkoji, staff writer

 

There's a lot of rolling on the river this whitewater season thanks to a new agreement on a stretch of the American River that draws thousands of rafters and kayakers every year.

 

For the first time ever, dams and hydroelectric plants along the south fork of the river must balance energy and recreation needs in regulating river flows, which will ensure more consistent water flows and stretch rafting seasons into fall, rafting outfitters say.

 

"There's a new spirit of cooperation on the river," said Bill McGinnis, owner of Whitewater Voyages in El Sobrante and author of two guidebooks for river-rafting guides.

 

Despite a snowpack that is less than 30 percent of average, California rivers with reservoirs should still offer great runs this year, said McGinnis, who runs 160 rafts on all the state's popular rivers.

 

Other rivers unfettered by dams or reservoirs will flow freely until they naturally deplete themselves, some by mid-May, others as late as July, he said.

 

McGinnis also said the Tuolumne River, which would have run a little sluggishly, will get a boost this season because one of the reservoirs on the river must be emptied for maintenance: All that water has to go somewhere.

 

In Northern California, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District had largely controlled how much -- or how little -- water flowed through dams on the south fork of the American, where it generates about 17 percent of the utility's output.

 

Dam releases were based on the utility's needs, which often conflicted with the most popular days for recreation.

 

Environmentalists had also pressed for a change because artificial water flows, they contend, have long upset the ecological balance along the river.

 

After recent negotiations to renew a 50-year-old federal license, SMUD will now have to step up releases on the waterway to more closely mimic a natural flow.

 

The American River's south fork is one of the nation's most popular whitewater attractions, McGinnis said, because its Class III rapids are relatively safe for novices but challenging enough for veterans.

 

Dam releases on the south fork this season should offer more good days throughout the week, and weekends should be good through October on the south fork, said Bill Center, president of the American River Recreation Association.

 

Center, who owns Camp Lotus on the river's banks, was involved in the negotiations leading up to the new agreement. The estimated 30 or so commercial whitewater operators on the south fork might not be fully aware yet of the full potential of the agreement, Center said.

 

"It's just going to be great," Center said. "There's a different attitude and a level of comfort because you don't have to worry about the water," he said.

 

Regulating flows more in line with recreation needs also smooths out water too wild for the majority of river rafters, said Betty Lopez, a vice president of W.E.T. River Trips in Sacramento. It would normally be June before it was safe for children, she said.

 

If energy needs become acute, rafting-tour operators like her will at least get a warning, unlike before, Lopez said.

The ups and downs of the river have always been a way of life, she said.

 

"With this industry, we're always battling Mother Nature. We're like farmers, only we manage water," Lopez said.

 

The new agreement, which took several years to hammer out, signals a rising recognition of the importance of recreation on rivers, McGinnis said. "It's part of the quality of life in our country, not just for the outfitters, but for thousands of people." #

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/165469.html

 

 

LEVEE ISSUES:

Sutter levee meeting tonight

Marysville Appeal Democrat – 5/2/07

By John Dickey, staff writer

 

A citizens advisory committee that will determine how to raise millions of dollars for Sutter County levee repairs will meet for the first time tonight.

The 15-member committee, which includes appointees from Yuba City, Sutter County and Live Oak, will meet at 6 p.m. in the Sutter County Health Auditorium on Veterans Memorial Circle in Yuba City.

“Our challenge is to figure out the best way of raising Sutter County’s cost share for levee improvements,” said Sally Serger, a committee member picked by Sutter County supervisors. She co-chairs Pro-Act Sutter County Citizens Alliance, a group that is focused on flood issues.

In a series of upcoming meetings, committee members will review and discuss options for funding the local share of flood protection costs, sharing its findings with local jurisdictions.

Some of the money-raising options that the panel could mull over are a sales tax, a special district property tax based on benefit, and a flat-fee parcel tax.

One problem the committee faces is the lack of any hard repair figures. As a result, the committee may not know how much money has to be raised.

Repair figures are contingent on core drilling studies that will show levee weak spots. The drilling is expected to be wrapped up in the fall.

One rough guess of repairs pegged the figure at $255 million.

Serger said a reasonable amount can be determined, based on previous drillings and the new core drilling work.

The committee is the second in 10 years to try and raise money for levee repairs. A previous committee agreed on a sales tax measure that failed by 200 votes.

“That was a heartbreaker,” said Serger, who was on the that panel.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/onset?id=47859&template=article.html

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