Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
June 5, 2007
1. Top Items
Pleasanton water supplier forced to tap into emergency reserves; Groundwater, local storage being used by Zone 7 to get water to Pleasanton residents in wake of Delta pump shutdown - Pleasanton Weekly
TCCWD concerned but not panicked over legal threats to stop Delta pumps - Tehachapi News
Pleasanton water supplier forced to tap into emergency reserves; Groundwater, local storage being used by Zone 7 to get water to
By Janet Pelletier, staff writer
Zone 7 Water Agency has for the past five days been tapping into its emergency water supply after it was announced that the pumps supplying
The Delta pumps have been the subject of litigation since mid-April, when an
The Department of Water Resources, in a voluntary move, opted to shut down the pumps to protect the smelt, according to Boni Brewer, a spokeswoman for Zone 7. The department plans to curtail pumping for all regions in the state until the fish move away from the pumps. The department's action doesn't erase the lawsuit.
Zone 7 obtains 80 percent of its water from the Delta, specifically from the Harvey O. Banks pumping plant located near
Zone 7 is the wholesaler which provides water to nearly 200,000 people in
Zone 7 has, in response, been activating its groundwater well operations.
"If the shutdown lasts for seven to 10 days, as currently estimated by the Department of Water Resources, Zone 7 believes it will be able to operate without cutbacks," Brewer said.
The water agency is planning for the worst if the shutdown lasts longer.
In that case, the agency would draw water stored in Lake Del Valle and in the local underground water basin. It's also possible Zone 7 could be imposing conservation measures of residents.
"At this time, we're asking people to use water wisely," said Jill Duerig, general manager for Zone 7. "It only makes sense. It's a dry year anyway and with the uncertainties, it's only prudent to ask people to conserve."
As a result of relying more heavily on groundwater during the Delta pump outage, Duerig said the water will be harder, or contain more minerals, than usual.
"Drastic times call for drastic measures," said DWR Director Lester Snow. "While there are clearly many factors at play in the current decline of smelt in the Delta, we must act on the one that is within our control. That is why DWR will stop pumping in the Delta as a preventative measure to protect endangered fish that are currently located near our facilities."
The smelt began appearing at the Banks plant May 24 and have been increasing in numbers in recent days.
"This is another indication that the Delta is broken and needs to be fixed," Snow said. "Gov. Schwarzenegger time and again has said that we need to invest in our water systems, including more storage, conservation and a long-term strategy for the Delta."
Last year, Schwarzenegger appointed a Blue Ribbon Task Force to recommend future actions for the Delta. In addition, state and federal agencies and environmental groups signed a planning agreement last September and are developing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan for at-risk fish species to provide a framework for future action. Zone 7 is among those participating in the effort. #
http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=188
TCCWD concerned but not panicked over legal threats to stop Delta pumps
Tehachapi News – 6/4/07
By Bill Mead, columnist
The poet who said April is the cruelest month hasn't been in the water business in
The first ruling, by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch, asserted that the state did not obtain the proper permits to operate the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant near Byron, west of
Last Friday, however, the State Department of Water Resources idled the pumps because endangered delta smelt fish were detected at the pumps, Mueller said. The pumps may be kept off from seven to ten days, depending on water temperatures near the pumps, he said. If the water temperature near the pumps goes up, the smelt are expected to move to cooler water, Mueller said he was told, and the pumps can be restarted. Last week's shutdown was a voluntary action by DWR, he said.
Because of uncertainty about when or how long the Banks pumps may be shut down, TCCWD has stepped up its pumping of water from the California Aqueduct, Mueller said. TCCWD takes State Project water from the California Aqueduct near the base of the Tehachapi Mountains south of Bakersfield and brings it to this area through a series of pumping plants that lift the water more than 3,400 feet.
Mueller said the district is bringing in State Project water about a month ahead of schedule in case the court ruling should become effective in mid-June, which no longer appears to be a possibility. The imported water is being recharged into
The Roesch decision has been sharply criticized by nearly all water industry officials south of the Delta and by Lester A. Snow, director of the California Department of Water Resources which built and operates the State Water Project. Snow pointed out that DWR is working with the federal government and many other interested parties to implement a conservation package that would meet the judge's concerns without the consequences of the court ruling.
“Every time there is an issue or a conflict, we end up in court-but not to solve the bigger issues of the Delta,” Snow said in response to Judge Roesch. “This is one reason that the Governor has initiated a Delta vision process and that there is so much attention on Delta issues.”
Only a few days after Judge Roesch dropped his bomb, U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger made it a double whammy when he ruled that management of the State Water Project is hurting the delta fishery with the probable result that less water can be pumped from the delta. Wanger was especially concerned about how the pumping might be affecting a minnow-size fish called the delta smelt. Judge Wanger had been advised that the smelt population has gone into a precipitous decline, although there are differences of opinion as to whether State Project pumping is the primary cause.
Last week, Jim Beck, general manager of the Kern County Water Agency, told representatives of TCCWD and other KCWA member units that an appeal filed by a number of water districts statewide may have gained an 18-month breathing spell while efforts are made to resolve the issues referred to in the jurists' decisions. Beck emphasized that this respite could disappear, however, given the possibility of further legal interventions and other unpredictable developments.
Beck was not totally pessimistic, however, pointing out that KCWA has “banked” so much State Project water in groundwater basins in the
As of last Friday, Mueller was cautiously optimistic about the ability of TCCWD to accommodate its customers if State Project deliveries should be suspended for a modest period in the future. That is due to the success of the district's conjunctive use program which, over the years, has put large quantities of State Project water in local groundwater basins, he said.
“We are greatly concerned about these court decisions,” Muller said, “but we don't see it as a reason for panic at this time.”
Mueller had more good news to partially balance the bad news from courtrooms. He said TCCWD will receive all the State Project water it has requested for this year, even though the state has just gone through a drier-than-normal water year. #
http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/23326
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