A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 26, 2007
2. Supply -
Residents vociferously fight water bank location -
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By: QUINN EASTMAN - Staff Writer
Local water officials said they were dusting off plans that could put month-by-month caps on agricultural customers' water use and penalties for exceeding the caps.
"We are doubling our prayer efforts for a wet winter," said Chuck Badger, a lemon and orange grower in the Encinitas/Rancho Santa Fe area and president of the San Diego County Farm Bureau.
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Supply reductions of at least 30 percent, compared with a still-undetermined reference year, could go into effect in January, barring exceptional weather before then.
The official call for cuts from
Water can be one of a
"If we have 30 percent less water, we'll have to cut our crop by 30 percent," said Donnie Dabbs, manager of Briggs Tree Company in
The Metropolitan Water District told member agencies last week to make a "reduction plan" for agricultural customers, who pay less for their water in exchange for being first in line for cuts.
"These are our marching orders, but we still have to figure out many of the details," said Keith Lewinger, general manager of Fallbrook's Public Utility District.
According to a blueprint last followed in the early 1990s, local water districts would allot agricultural customers month-by-month a certain percentage -- 70 percent, for example -- of their water usage in a recent "base year."
But which base year is most appropriate for allotment calculations still needs to be worked out, Lewinger said.
The mood Monday among water officials was slightly brighter than last week because on Friday, a federal judge rejected a petition by two environmental legal groups to halt the pumps on the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta to protect the delta smelt, an endangered fish.
"We dodged that bullet," said Gary Arant, general manager at Valley Center Municipal Water District, where about 80 percent of water goes for agricultural use.
But a meager Sierra snow pack and an ongoing drought on the
"This time around, we have more lead time (than in the 1990s)," Arant said. "But this could be the beginning of a long-term shift."
Avocado, citrus and ornamental tree growers around
They also said that landscaping takes up a sizable fraction of residential water use and that they thought agriculture shouldn't necessarily bear the pain alone.
Many avocado growers "stumped" fractions of their trees after this January's debilitating freeze, leading to the appearance of white skeletal groves along Interstate 15,
Stumped trees can still be regrafted, said Al Stehly, whose family's Stehly Grove Management cares for properties around the
Stehly said he may reactivate some wells that were shut down years before because water coming from them had become too salty.
"Even for avocado trees, salty water may be better than none at all," he said.
Nursery operators say that, unlike fruit growers, less timing is involved in their all-year operations. Some don't take interruptible water supplies because of the higher value of their crops.
"We've had long-term plans in place to cut back water use anyway," said Janet Kister, who runs a commercial nursery in Fallbrook with her husband.
She said they are switching to more efficient drip irrigation, a investment that takes a few years to put in place but one that could reduce water use by about 30 percent.#
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/26/news/top_stories/1_01_296_25_07.txt
Residents vociferously fight water bank location
By Alisha Semchuck, staff writer
ROSAMOND - Emotions flared at a Rosamond Municipal Advisory Council meeting Thursday as residents protested the location of a water bank project that the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency plans to develop at
Roughly 60 residents attended the meeting, where AVEK General Manager Russ Fuller reviewed the Valley's hydrologic history. He discussed water issues that have plagued
"In the southwestern
"The
Back in the 1930s and 1940s, Fuller said, the
The state then built the Oroville Dam on the Feather River to provide flood protection, and in the '60s, State Water Contractors - including AVEK, Palmdale Water District and Littlerock Creek Irrigation District - signed an agreement to financially support that project and, in exchange, to be entitled to some of that water.
Now the folks up north want to keep all that water, but AVEK and the other agencies who signed that financial agreement must still pay their share of the bill, Fuller said.
Had all Valley residents supported water banking proposals in the '90s, the current dilemma wouldn't even be a topic of discussion, according to Fuller.
"The State Water Project does not work without local banking," he said.
This year, because of the drought, the Department of Water Resources allocated 60% of the entitlement to State Water Contractors, including AVEK, PWD and Littlerock. But with half a year to go, Fuller said he wasn't certain that the state will even deliver that much.
And next year will be worse, he speculated, with possibly as low as a 30% allocation.
So AVEK purchased roughly 1,400 acres at
"Now it's more critical than ever to move ahead," Fuller said.
"I don't think there's anybody in the room that denies there is a water problem," said Dennis Shoffner, the council chairman. "The question that comes to my mind (is), 'is that the best place to do it?' "
Shoffner asked about the ability of water to percolate into the ground in that area. If it can't, or if it doesn't seep in quick enough, standing water will attract birds.
And that brings about two potential hazards. The first is presented to aircraft flying low in the area as pilots prepare to land or take off.
Second, standing water also provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes, some carrying
Fuller said the EIR findings should be able to answer those questions.
"You've done a wonderful job explaining the problems and the need," Shoffner said.
But, said Rosamond resident Randy Scott, who lives near
"You're going ahead for expediency," Scott said.
"That land is the nucleus to start the water bank," Fuller said. "It's a good area."
Rosamond Community Service District agrees it's a good area, he added.
"You've given us the big picture of the whole project. We're homeowners in this particular area. We want to know what the small picture is," said Christina Scott, no relation to Randy Scott.
"I feel this program isn't going to have impact on all your lives," Fuller responded. "We hope to refill the water that the (U.S. Geological Survey) says has been vacuumed out of this Valley."
Jean Harris, who lives near
A couple of new neighbors drilled wells recently, she said. One hit water at 150 feet deep, and the other at 160 feet.
"The farmer is sucking up the groundwater," Harris said. "Home growth is sucking up the groundwater."
"We weren't told about this until four weeks ago," said Robert Scherer, a onetime superintendent of Southern Kern Unified School District.
Several other residents expressed the same concern, believing that they were kept in the dark and have no voice or no input about projects in their community.
"Why are you picking an area that is growing to do an experiment?" Matthew White asked. He said harsh winds in the area kicked up dirt in the past, and "with all the construction out there, we've eaten more dirt than two years ago."
He feared construction of the water banking project would create even more sand in the air and in residents' homes.
Furthermore, White said, there are no assurances the banking project will even work at that location. "If you screw up, you're going to screw up our property values. If it fails,
"Why experiment in our back yard? Experiment in your own back yard," said John Brown, who lives on the
"It's going to impact all of us some way," said Rick Webb, a director on the advisory council. "People want to know. If you don't have all the answers, then we'll invite you back."
"In fairness to Russ, a project is not ready until you complete the EIR. So he may not have the answers yet," said Lorelei Oviatt, supervising planner with the Kern County Planning Department. "The EIR will answer all the questions you brought up, a full project description."
Then there will be a public hearing for the AVEK board, she added.
Asked if
"The county doesn't have to approve this. They are a state agency. If they buy the land, they can do the project. Water banks are allowed by right."
Fuller "knew, when he came out, there were some (hostile) feelings," Shoffner said. "The point here is to be involved in the process. AVEK is trying to solve this."#
http://www.avpress.com/n/25/0625_s9.hts
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