Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 4, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
CLIMATE CHANGE:
Delta islands may become first casualties of warming; 5,000 residents of Bethel Island could become climate change refugees, geologists say - Associated Press
FLOOD LEGISLATION:
Flood bills move to floor; One would force cities to create flood hazard areas - Woodland Daily Democrat
INFRASTRUCTURE:
DWP officials face catch-22 budget dilemma - Big Bear Grizzly
BAY AREA WATE RATES:
Guest Column: Water rate increases needed -
NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT ACWA NAMED:
Timothy Quinn Named ACWA Executive Director - News Release, Association of California Water Agencies
CONSERVATION PLANNING:
Media Advisory: Water Authority seeks public comment on Blueprint for Water Conservation - San
Diego
CLIMATE CHANGE:
Delta islands may become first casualties of warming; 5,000 residents of
Associated Press – 6/4/07
By Garance Burke, staff writer
Water skiers ply the gray-green river within view of his front porch. A short walk from his home, he can cast off to fish for sturgeon, salmon and striped bass. His two children ran wild exploring the farm fields, marinas and hideaways of the fertile islands where the
Saathoff's idyllic life may not last forever. By the time his 11-year-old grandson is ready to have children of his own, scientists predict the Delta's network of islands will be imperiled by the rising tides and mountain flood waters caused by global climate change.
Some islands sit 25 feet below sea level, kept dry onlyby an aging network of fragile levees that channel snowmelt from the Sierra and hold back tidal surges from the Bay.
Geologists say the 5,000 residents of the nation's lowest inhabited point near a coastline could be forced out, becoming the first climate change refugees in the
"If global warming keeps up, in a few years this will be waterfront property," said Saathoff, 56, a steamfitter who has raised his house onto an iron platform 20 feet above ground. "We'll just be able to drive the boat up and dock right off the porch."
The majority of the
But USGS scientists say the coastal effects of global warming may be felt first among the islands of
The islands, large land masses that were once part of a freshwater estuary akin to
They are under threat from two very different forces, both related to climate change. Rising sea levels are expected to send more salt water from
Both scenarios could overwhelm a precarious system of levees. If those forces combine, no one is really quite sure how to calculate the risk.
In the late 19th century, landowners hired Chinese laborers to build a network of levees so they could use the fertile peat soil outside the banks of the San Joaquin and
At least $775 million in bond money will go toward the Delta over the next decade, said Harder, of the Department of Water Resources.
In the coming months, officials will decide how to spend the money. Among the ideas is a proposal to reroute fresh water from
Other proposals would raise all highways, bulk up the levees, flood large islands or move residents out of the central Delta, said Les Harder, deputy director of the California Department of Water Resources.
Life moves slowly along its one-lane roads and winding waterways, where time is marked with seasonal crawdad festivals, inside lazy marina bars and with the annual alfalfa harvest.
On
"The Delta's the best place in the entire state to catch big fish," said Larry Merlo, 56, of Buttonwillow, near
The Delta's rural character belies its importance to all of
Its mosaic of waterways forms the heart of the state's water-delivery system. The
But climate change experts predict the Sierra snowpack will shrink and melt faster. During the last 40 years, the median date for peak snowmelt runoff has moved two weeks earlier, said Wim Kimmerer, a hydrologist at
Earlier runoff combined with warm spring rains would produce flood waters that could overwhelm the Delta's levees, threatening
"People who buy homes in the Delta have a right to assume that someone is making sure they're not going to flood, as did the people of New Orleans," said Barry Nelson, senior policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Right now, no one is doing that."
Last August, the NRDC and several other environmental groups filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court claiming that a developer's plan to build 11,000 homes on the Stewart Tract island ignored Department of Water Resources data on climate change. The data showed the levees protecting the subdivision would provide protection only against a 20-year flood, not a 200-year flood, if sea levels rose by one foot.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the effect climate change has on flood risk generated by the housing development.
Last year, river runoff was so high that the state closed Highway 12 leading to
Candy Kelp, who runs B&W's snack bar, said she watched the water lap just feet from her house that time, but kept praying it would subside.
"I wasn't worried because I knew the water was going to go back out," she said of last year's flood, wheeling her bicycle along the private levee protecting her home. "It never really floods over the top here. It just sort of trickles."
In the coming months, officials will decide how to spend the money. Among the ideas is a proposal to reroute fresh water from
Other proposals would raise all highways, bulk up the levees, flood large islands or move residents out of the central Delta, Harder said.
"Flooding would be best on some of the islands that tend to gulp more water out of the Delta," Harder said. "But that obviously would be expensive, and would have an effect on people. Anybody who would have to move would be compensated."
Saathoff and other homeowners already have started preparing. Some have elevated their homes on stilts three stories high, where the structures are buffeted by wind gusts blowing off the water.
Saathoff's next-door neighbor on
"If there's additional water pressure, I just don't think this system will hold," Sutton said. "We might get some melting snowpacks up in
http://origin.insidebayarea.com/ci_6056632
FLOOD LEGISLATION:
Flood bills move to floor; One would force cities to create flood hazard areas
Woodland Daily Democrat – 6/3/07
Three bills to strengthen flood protection planning throughout the state advanced a step closer to the Governor's desk Thursday, passing from the Assembly Appropriations Committee and on to the Assembly Floor.
Assembly Bills 5, 162 and 1452 were among nearly 550 bills voted on by the fiscal committee. The bills will next be voted upon by the full Assembly.
"The committee's approval of these bills is a strong step toward addressing the ongoing disconnect between flood management decisions and floodplain land-use decisions, particularly in the
• Assembly Bill 5 connects flood management with local land-use decisions using financial incentives to encourage local governments to adopt flood protection plans before approving new developments. The bill also includes minimum flood protection standards for new developments within flood-prone areas.
• AB 162 requires local governments to incorporate flood hazards in their general plans in order to minimize risk in flood-prone areas.
• AB 1452 sets priorities and establishes criteria for the cost-effective expenditure of the $5 billion flood bond approved by voters in November 2006.
"These bills are a smart approach to flood protection and land use, two of the most critical issues facing our state," said Wolk.
"It is now up to the Assembly to help protect Californians lives and property against flood risk by approving these bills and sending them to the Senate."
The legislation attempts to pick up where Wolk left off last year.
AB 5 would connect flood management with local land-use decisions, an issue Wolk sought in 2006 with her legislation Assembly Bills 1899 and 802. AB 5 also includes new financial incentives to encourage local governments to adopt flood protection plans before approving new developments-as well as minimum flood protection standards for new developments within flood-prone areas.
In the Senate, Mike Machado, D-Linden, also introduced a flood bill, the goal of which, he said, is to ensure that state residents and communities are protected.
His SB 5 eeks to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the state and local flood management agencies, cities and counties, developers and other property owners for managing flood risk. It's present status, however, is unknown.
As defined by AB 5, a Local Plan of Flood Protection must include the following elements:
• A plan to meet minimum flood protection standards for urban, rural and small communities;
• Analysis of the various facilities that provide flood protection for flood prone areas;
• Identification of current and future flood corridors and any necessary future flood protection facilities;
• Identification of needed improvements to the existing flood protection facilities necessary to meet flood protection standards for urban, rural, and small communities;
• An emergency response and evacuation plan for flood prone areas;
• A strategy to achieve multiple benefits including flood protection, groundwater recharge, costs savings, and ecosystem health;
• A long-term funding strategy for improvements and ongoing maintenance and operation of flood protection facilities; and
• Approval of an ordinance to mandate flood insurance and annually notify homeowners as to the level of flood protection and level of flood risk.
AB 5 also establishes a Central Valley Flood Protection Plan, the key elements of which include:
• Minimum flood protection standards for urban, rural and small communities;
• Analysis of the facilities that provide flood protection for flood prone areas;
• Emergency response planning in high risk flood prone areas; and
• A long-term funding strategy for maintenance, operation and flood protection facility improvements. #
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_6052719
INFRASTRUCTURE:
DWP officials face catch-22 budget dilemma
Big Bear Grizzly – 6/1/07
By Brian Charles
If you hit the lottery tomorrow, what would you buy? The wish list probably wouldn’t include pipes, valves, meters and a new water system. If the Big Bear Lake Department of Water and Power hit the lottery, that’s exactly what it would buy.
Unfortunately the DWP doesn’t have lottery winnings to pay to rehabilitate its system. The agency only has the money in its budget and whatever grant funds it can wrangle from the federal and state governments.
On May 22 the DWP approved its 2007-08 budget . Board member Susan Conley called the $10.6 million budget inadequate to meet the long-term needs of DWP customers. On the DWP’s long-term wish list are improvements to infrastructure, and a supplemental water source. The first priority repairs will cost the agency $11.9 million. Fixing problems and delivering service to current customers isn’t an easy task with the DWP’s limited resources, said DWP General Manager Jerry Gruber.
The DWP must deliver water to 16,000 customers, promote conservation, rehab pipes, drill wells to find new water sources, and pay down $3 million in debt left from when the city of
“Where there was once a waiting list there is none,” Gruber said. Meter sales have slowed to two per month. The average meter sale is $8,800. A portion of that money goes to fund conservation programs like turf buyback and low-flow toilet replacements. The rest of the money from meter sales goes toward capital improvements.
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Capital improvements for 2007-08 are $793,820, a 49.8 percent decrease in spending from the previous year. Conley said its tough for the DWP to do its job without the revenue to pay for delivering water.
The DWP decreased revenue might be a product of its own success. Water conservation has been agency gospel since the beginning of the drought in 2000. People stopped wasting the water and drank the DWP’s conservation message. Saving water is sacrificing revenues, said Diane Muir, DWP office manager. However, Muir prefers conservation over immediate revenue. Saving water is the cheapest way to develop a supplemental water source, Muir said.
Balancing the DWP budget means recouping more of its cost to deliver water to commercial customers. Commercial rate increases haven’t been popular, Gruber said, but it’s fair. Residential customer rates are set at the cost to deliver water to each customer’s home. Commercial customers will soon foot the bill to deliver water from the well to their spigots.
Muir said the increases in the commercial rate structure will provide the DWP with additional revenue for the short-term. Eventually businesses will begin to conserve water. However, the increase isn’t aimed at promoting conservation, Muir said. “We need to recoup the cost to get the water to our customers or else we are losing money,” she said.
The DWP budget assumes the approval of the commercial rate increase. If the commercial rate increase is passed, the agency will take $200,000 in undesignated capital reserve funds and pour it into capital improvements.
The DWP reserves are tight, Gruber said. The total reserve fund is $2.225 million. The reserve allows the DWP to operate for one month without revenue and build one well. “If we have a natural disaster that doesn’t allows us to bill for a whole month or knocks out our water system, the reserve will keep us running,” Gruber said.
The tight budget hasn’t discouraged Gruber’s plans for the future. He will continue to beat the drum for grant funding. Federal or state funding is the only way to fix the problems below ground. The DWP can’t lean on its customers to pay for the problem, Muir said. Joining an Integrated Water Management Plan with San Bernardino Municipal Water will help. Being part of a regional water plan qualifies the DWP for more government grants.
Muir said the DWP is planning for the possibility that the grant process won’t bear fruit. If the DWP doesn’t get grants to upgrade its system, then the agency will extend the timetable to fix the problems. The priority one projects will take 10 years instead of five years. #
http://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/articles/2007/06/01/news/business/dwpbudgetbiz.txt
BAY AREA WATE RATES:
Guest Column: Water rate increases needed
San Francisco Chronicle – 6/4/07
By Gabriel Metcalf, director of the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association (SPUR) and Adam Werbach, member of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and former president of the Sierra Club
Earthquakes. Drought. Sinkholes. Floods. No, these are not disasters from the latest Hollywood summer blockbuster, but real events that
According to government and private studies, the
For decades, the Bay Area's Hetch Hetchy water system, upon which 2.4 million Bay Area residents depend for high quality drinking water, served as
That critical seismic repair effort, which entails work on more than 70 projects, from dams and tunnels to pipelines and security improvements, is now in progress, including seismic improvements to Sunset Reservoir and major pipelines that cross the Hayward Fault.
In 2007, the SFPUC will break ground on more than a dozen other projects in
Water and sewer rate increases will never be popular. However, the SFPUC's recently adopted water and sewer rates for the next two years is critical to continuing the progress made thus far. Without the rate increases, the SFPUC's bond rating would plummet and credit ratings would fall, jeopardizing continued progress on critical seismic improvement projects and certainly increasing the overall cost and schedule of major capital improvement programs.
The SFPUC's rate package includes a three-tiered pricing structure that promotes water conservation -- a growing necessity in
Tiered pricing is a common practice in
No package of water and sewer rate increases will ever please everyone. But even after two years of rate increases,
Gabriel Metcalf is the executive director of the
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/06/04/EDGGTP3DAR1.DTL
NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT ACWA NAMED:
Timothy Quinn Named ACWA Executive Director
News Release, Association of California Water Agencies – 6/4/07
Steve Hall, ACWA’s current executive director, will go on leave later this month and will retire at the end of the year after leading the organization for 15 years.
ACWA President Randy Fiorini said, “We conducted a very thorough search and believe Mr. Quinn brings to ACWA extensive experience and expertise on
Quinn served with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for 22 years as the district’s primary representative for statewide issues. During this period, he helped to create the Drought Water Bank under Gov. Pete Wilson, worked to negotiate the 1994 Bay-Delta Accord and the Monterey Agreement.
“I am looking forward to the privilege of serving as executive director of such a far-sighted, well respected institution of truly statewide importance,” Quinn said. “The challenges we are facing in
Quinn joined Metropolitan in 1985 as the district’s chief economist. In 1990 he became director of State Water Project and Conservation. He most recently served as deputy general manager, State Water Project where he was responsible for assisting the general manager in conducting the district's external projects.
Before joining Metropolitan in 1985, Quinn was a project manager at the Rand Corporation, specializing in research on natural resource and environmental policy issues. He also served on the staff of the non-partisan President's Council of Economic Advisors in both the Ford and Carter administrations.
Born in Scotts Bluff,
ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 460 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in
CONSERVATION PLANNING:
Media Advisory: Water Authority seeks public comment on Blueprint for Water Conservation
Contacts: John Liarakos, (858) 522-6703 or (858) 761-2544 (mobile) and Craig Balben, (858) 522-6726 or (858) 361-4596 (mobile)
What: The San Diego County Water Authority seeks public comment on the Blueprint for Water Conservation draft plan through June 24, 2007. The Blueprint is scheduled to go to the Water Authority Board of Directors July 26, 2007.
The Blueprint for Water Conservation is the culmination of countless hours of work by dozens of committed individuals who live and work in
The Blueprint identifies partnerships, stakeholder involvement, strategies and action items for conservation programs and staffing levels needed to achieve the goal of 100,000 acre-feet of water savings annually by 2030. It will set the stage for promising and innovative conservation measures for the region and will serve as a model for other cities, counties and regions.
Where: The Blueprint is located on the Water Conservation Summit Web site at: http://www.waterconservationsummit.com/Water_Cons ervation_Blueprint_Pkg.pdf
The comment form is at: http://www.waterconservationsummit.com/Blueprint_co mment_form.xls
When: Public comment will be accepted until Sunday, June 24, 2007 at 5 p.m.
How -- Instructions to Reviewers:
· Complete the green sections of the comment form
· The "comment" cells will expand as you type. Write as much as needed.
· Save the form with your name in the file name.
· Send completed form as an e-mail attachment to: mperez@sdcwa.org
# # #
The
The
Web site: http://www.sdcwa.org
DWR's California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader's services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news. DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
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