[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Item for 7/24/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

July 24 2007

 

1.  Top Item

 

L.B.'s water storage plan a model for California; Gov. uses Long Beach aquifer storage and recovery project as example of how to solve `extreme water crisis - Long Beach Press Telegram

 

ACWA President Urges Comprehensive Water Package; Lauds Long Beach for Local Resource Development - News Release, Association of California Water Agencies

 

 

L.B.'s water storage plan a model for California; Gov. uses Long Beach aquifer storage and recovery project as example of how to solve `extreme water crisis

Long Beach Press Telegram – 7/23/07

By Kelly Puente, staff writer

 

LONG BEACH - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger paid a visit to Long Beach on Monday to promote his groundwater storage proposal and tour the city's aquifer storage and recovery project, which he said can be a model for cities across the state.

 

For the past few weeks, the governor has been touring California to put a spotlight on the state's stressed water system and supply.

 

"California's water system is in an extreme crisis," Schwarzenegger told Long Beach officials and local legislators on Monday as he visited the city's Groundwater Treatment Plant. "We must solve this problem. Not only for the next few years, but for the next 20 years."

 

Long Beach, like most of the Southland, has gone through the driest season on record, officials said.

 

According to the National Weather Service, Long Beach Airport received just 2.1 inches of rain from July 1, 2006 to June 30 of this year. Normal rainfall would be 12.94 inches.

 

Another dry winter, Schwarzenegger said, could launch most of California into a crisis situation where cities would likely have to begin rationing water by early next year.

 

"All this was from one dry winter," he said. "A second would mean disaster."

 

The governor's solution is a $5.9 billion proposal, which would put $1 billion toward strengthening the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta and $4.5 billion toward building groundwater storage facilities throughout the state.

 

An additional $450 million will go to conservation grants and restoration projects on the Klamath, San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers.

 

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has asked residents to reduce their personal water use by 10 percent, and the Long Beach Water Department has also called for greater conservation.

 

On July 17, the governor declared a state of emergency in Riverside County, which has lost an estimated $4 million in crops from the drought conditions.

 

Long Beach, however, is one of many cities that is steps ahead of the governor's plan.

 

With state grants, the city began implementing its $8 million project, called the Long Beach Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project, in 2002.

 

Groundwater storage, or aquifer storage and recovery, uses wells to capture and store excess water in wet years and then can pump out water for use in dry years.

 

The city has since built 30 wells throughout North Long Beach, including two in Wardlow and Heartwell parks, said Kevin L. Wattier, general manager of the Long Beach Water Department.

 

The project provides an additional 17,000 acre-feet of stored water - enough for 20,000 families in one year, Wattier said.

 

The wells trap water from storms and snow runoff, and store it within rock quarries more than 1,000 feet below ground, he said.

 

In times of drought, the water can be pumped from the ground and transferred to a water treatment facility where it is filtered into suitable drinking water.

 

Schwarzenegger had a chance to see the pump in action at Heartwell Park on Monday, as it funneled what little rain the Long Beach area received late Sunday and early Monday morning.

 

"(The Long Beach Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project) is an example of how well our local and state systems can work together," he said. "But this system only works if we have both water storage and conveyance - storage to collect the water and conveyance to move it."

 

California's water systems have had no major improvements in more than 30 years, the governor said.

 

But the state's population has nearly doubled in that time, growing from 20 million to 37 million, he said.

 

The population boom - which includes development of inland deserts that require more water for landscaping - has strained resources.

 

"In a few decades, we will have 60 million people," he said. "But we still have a system only for 20 million."

 

Another major concern is the environmental impact on areas such as the San Joaquin River Delta, which provides water to 25 million people in California.

 

Long Beach alone receives 75 percent of its water from the Delta, said Mayor Bob Foster on Monday.

 

But officials this year have cut back on the amount of water pumped to farmers and cities in an attempt to save an endangered fish species called the delta smelt, the governor said.

 

"Right now our water system is extremely vulnerable," he said. "We have to take care of our infrastructure. We have to be prepared now."

 

Schwarzenegger's proposal failed to pass the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee in April, but the governor said he will continue to push the bond forward to the 2008 General Election Ballot.

 

Senator Jenny Oropeza, who represents Long Beach in the 28th District, said the proposal can pass if the governor works with legislators.

 

"We are definitely looking at a crisis," said Oropeza, who was on hand Monday to support a comprehensive water plan for California. "A little conservation is not going to do it." #

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_6447683

 

 

ACWA President Urges Comprehensive Water Package; Lauds Long Beach for Local Resource Development

News Release, Association of California Water Agencies – 7/23/07

Contacts: Jennifer Persike, 916-441-4545 or 916-296-3981 (cell), Director of Strategic Coordination and Public Affairs; Andy Domek, 916-595-2150, Communications Specialist

 

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) President Randy Fiorini appeared at a news conference today with Governor Schwarzenegger to call for swift action to advance a comprehensive water package this year.

 

President Fiorini made the following statement about the importance of a comprehensive water package to Southern California:

 

“We all know it’s a record dry year here in Southern California. ACWA commends Long Beach for its stellar record of local resource development, using the latest technology to stretch existing water supplies with desalination, water recycling, groundwater, and water use efficiency.

 

“But conservation alone won’t solve the problems we are facing on a statewide level. A key source of water for Southern California is at risk, and that risk continues to grow.

 

“California relies on water conveyed through the Delta for 2/3 of its water supply. But the Delta is broken and it is literally one big storm or one big earthquake away from disaster. That would leave Southern California without a major water supply source – with very real consequences for the economy, environment and lifestyle we all take for granted.

 

“The Delta sounds far away, but it matters as much as anything in your backyard. It’s not just a Northern California problem. It’s very much a Southern California problem – and indeed it’s a statewide problem.

 

“That’s why ACWA members support a comprehensive plan to invest in our water system. The plan must include investments in surface water storage, conveyance improvements that work for water users and the environment, and expanded conservation.

 

“In the words of President Kennedy, ‘If not us, who? If not now when?’ The time is now to act on a comprehensive water plan.”

 

ACWA is a statewide association whose 450 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.  #

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