A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 12, 2007
2. Supply -
State restarts bay delta pumps -
Riverside-Corona water project awaits U.S.
Riverside Press
Well shutdowns leave Patterson high and dry -
____________________________________________
State restarts bay delta pumps
By GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer
State officials restarted the Northern California bay delta pumps that deliver roughly two-thirds of
Nevertheless, regional water officials said they hope the limited restart of Harvey O. Banks pumping station will mean that
| |
"We still believe there's a very good chance of getting all of our (water)," Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the massive Metropolitan Water District, said.
Metropolitan delivers drinking water to nearly 18 million
Metropolitan and San Diego County Water Authority leaders have issued increased calls for people to voluntarily conserve water since the pumping plant was shut down.
Ted Thomas, spokesman for the state department of water resources, said Monday that the two-hour-a-day pumping that was done at the Banks pumping plant -- the main water pumps out of the bay delta -- was limited to water inside the pumping plant's own reservoir.
Thomas said state water officials tentatively plan to reopen the pumping station to start taking water out of the delta in small amounts today, with the hope of resuming normal operations by the end of the week.
Thomas said scientists believe the delta smelt population has moved away from the pumping stations, but won't know for sure until they gradually reopen the pumping station.
The tiny fish, which is only about two to three inches long at adulthood, is endangered, and considered a key indicator of the bay delta's health.
When the state shut down the pumps 12 days ago, Kightlinger said if the shutdown lasted much longer than seven to 10 days that
The State Water Project delivers Northern
Since the shutdown, Metropolitan and Southern California have still been getting a reduced amount of
Meanwhile, Thomas said, the massive Banks pumping station started pumping water at the rate of about 150 cubic feet per second in its limited restart Sunday and Monday. A cubic foot of water is roughly the size of a basketball.
Thomas said that under normal operations, the Banks plant would be pumping water to Southern California at the rate of 3,000 to 4,000 cubic feet per second at this time of the year.#
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/12/news/top_stories/1_04_396_11_07.txt
Riverside-Corona water project awaits U.S.
Riverside Press Enterprise
A bill slated to keep the region supplied with water recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
Last week, the House voted in favor of the Riverside-Corona Feeder Water Supply Act, legislation Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, sponsored.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill, which if approved, would allow the Western Municipal Water District to construct the $225 million project.
The feeder will include 20 wells, groundwater treatment facilities, water storage, a pumping facility and a 28-mile pipeline from
Calvert said in a statement that the feeder would help the region meet its water needs as the growing population increases demand.
"It is imperative that Southern California continue to reduce its dependence on imported water from the Delta and
John Rossi, Western Municipal's general manager, said water supplies are diminishing because of drought conditions. Western Municipal used to get 5.2 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River a year, but that has been cut back to 1 million acre-feet, Rossi said.
This cutback, along with the recent shutoff of pumps at the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect a rare fish, make imported water less easy to come by, he said. Not since 1991 have both systems been in shortage mode at the same time, he said.
"The big groundwater basins will help us put water away for a dry day," Rossi said.
Western Municipal has received $4.5 million in funding for the 10-year project from the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, he said.
The remainder of the funds would likely come from federal grants and a bond in the future, he said. The project has several elements the state looks for when doling out funding for water projects including storage, basin cleanup, water supply and diversification of water sources, he said.
Tedi Jackson, a Western Municipal spokeswoman, said the agency is teaming up with a coalition of utilities to launch a water-conservation campaign this summer.
Western Municipal and its sister agencies will unveil the awareness campaign at a water symposium June 21 at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon,
"It's about informing customers to check their water schedules, changing them to evening hours to reduce evaporation and things like that," she said. "There is a lot of overwatering that is going on."#
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_feeder12.3b66190.html
Well shutdowns leave Patterson high and dry
By Christina Salerno
PATTERSON — Mark Monroe rolled out of bed at 4 a.m. Friday and groggily turned on the shower faucet, which sputtered a few drops of water before turning to a trickle.
Most of Monroe's neighborhood, south of Sperry Avenue and east of Baldwin Road, awoke to similar problems throughout the weekend because two city wells were shut down, lowering water pressure to a drip.
"It was amazingly low, to where it feels like the water is shut off outside your house,"
The city issued an emergency water conservation effort Sunday, asking all residents to reduce water consumption. No lawns or gardens may be watered until Thursday, and the city shut off all irrigation systems in public parks.
Two of the city's six wells were off-line at the same time, causing the fluctuations in water pressure, said Michael Willett, director of public works.
One well was shut down this month after nitrate levels that exceeded state limits were found in the water, Willett said.
The state Department of Health Services is examining the well. Workers must flush the water and install nitratemonitoring equipment before it can go back online, which could take about a month, Willett said.
The second well already was offline as part of a refurbishing project. It was turned back on Monday at 7 a.m. and slowly is refilling, with water pressure expected to return to more normal levels, Willett said.
"It should have enough reserve to meet demand," Willett said. "It caught us at the same time."
The mandatory conservation effort is citywide, although not all homes were affected. Houses in newer subdivisions in west Patterson experienced the most severe water pressure problems.
City employees went door-to-door Sunday in those neighborhoods, distributing 2,300 fliers that explained the problems and emergency policy.
In
"Everybody in the neighborhood had the same problem," he said.
"It was on and off all weekend, so sometimes you would have pressure, but it is still not normal," he said.
Fire Chief Bill Kinnear said the city had enough water in storage to protect residents in case of a fire.
"There is ample reserve in the tanks for fire protection," he said. "We had a neighborhood complaining of low pressure, and we take it seriously. There are pumps that can be started in an emergency to supplement the system."
The city is building a seventh well that should be completed next month, Willett said. Another well is in the planning stages and is expected to be running by next summer, he said.
The city's six wells each pump 600 to 1,800 gallons of water a minute, depending on the size of the well, he said. Farmland and houses in rural areas around Patterson are served by private wells or irrigation systems.
After the emergency conservation policy is lifted, the city will revert to its year-round landscaping watering schedule. Houses with addresses that end in even numbers are allowed to water Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; odd-numbered addresses can water Monday, Wednesday and Friday.#
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13680471p-14270749c.html
No comments:
Post a Comment