A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 18, 2007
2. Supply
AG WATER SUPPLY ISSUES:
MID cuts irrigation season by a month; There's enough water for this year but the move is a hedge against a drought that lasts longer - Merced Sun Star
TOUGHENS RULES ON WATER USE Officials next week to reveal allocation figures for each city, water district - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Petaluma may link escrow, water use; Proposed ordinance would require efficiency inspections before property sales - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Water wasters EDITORIALS; Tougher measures are needed to meet state-mandated goals - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Carmel River tributaries mere trickles - Monterey Herald
AG WATER SUPPLY ISSUES:
MID cuts irrigation season by a month; There's enough water for this year but the move is a hedge against a drought that lasts longer
By Doane Yawger, staff writer
Dry conditions have dictated the end of the irrigation season a month early in eastern
Merced Irrigation District directors voted unanimously Tuesday to end water deliveries to farmers Sept. 30 rather than the customary Oct. 31 deadline.
Crops to be affected by the early water cutoff could include late tomatoes and bell peppers, alfalfa, almond and walnut trees, radicchio and nursery stock, according to Karen Overstreet, assistant Merced County agriculture commissioner.
Even with drought scenarios, there will be sufficient water deliveries to grow 2008 crops, according to Ted Selb, Merced Irrigation District deputy general manager.
The district now has 506,760 acre-feet of water in storage at Exchequer Reservoir and will have 288,000 acre-feet remaining in November.
Diana Westmoreland Pedrozo, executive director of the Merced County Farm Bureau, said it's never good to shut off water early. It could be a blow to those people harvesting nuts who count on a late shot of water in October.
"We're all in this together, with the need to manage resources in the best manner possible for agricultural and urban users. There are some real groundwater issues in our area," Westmoreland Pedrozo said.
Selb said we've been through this before. He oversees MID's water operations and resources and said ending the season early is a prudent precaution given the risk of another dry year next year.
"We recognize the impact this may have on farming operations as some growers will have to turn on their groundwater pumps to finish the year," said MID General Manager Garith Krause.
"However, for the well-being of our entire economic region, the district needs to ensure there will be a supply of water in storage for next year," Krause said.
Selb said by the end of September all row crops should be done and the only ones needing additional water will be those with permanent pasture, alfalfa and some orchardists.
While water deliveries will end Sept. 30, there should be irrigation water in MID canals for at least another week beyond then, Selb said.
Normally the irrigation district would sell about 12,000 acre-feet of water in October, bringing in $200,000 in revenue.
The district started the season a month early with brisk March-April water sales which will offset the financial impact of the early cutoff, Selb said.
The early cutoff will allow the district to reduce diversions by approximately 40,000 acre-feet of surface water to carry into the 2008 irrigation season.
This has been one of the driest rainfall years in much of the
For this past season ending June 30, the total local rainfall was 5.13 inches, only 42 percent of average. This marks a 112-year record low.
To conserve surface water storage in
The Sierra snowmelt inflow into
Selb said fortunately, the enlarged New Exchequer Dam was near-maximum allowable storage at 655,000 acre-feet last November.
Krause said 2008 could be a tough water year for the district. Dry conditions will impact growers, as well as district revenue, since fewer water deliveries mean lower water sales.
Westmoreland Pedrozo, the Farm Bureau manager, said drawing down the area's water tables by groundwater pumping is troubling.
She said she has recommended over and over that a hydrological study be conducted of the
"We need to discuss water issues as a community. We need to be smarter and better. Now's the time to look at changing the rules for new development. We're spreading ourselves too thin. With these perpetual subdivisions, we really aren't building livable communities," Westmoreland Pedrozo said.
Selb doesn't take to heart those who make long-range weather predictions. It's too early for any 2008 rainfall projections at this point.
"Strong El Nino indications were forecast with a wet, wet winter but all we got is dry, dry, dry. Due to variables in Mother Nature, I don't put a lot of faith in long-term forecasting," Selb said.
This was the sixth-driest snowmelt season in 103 years of recordkeeping. Selb outlined a 2008 scenario which wouldn't start water deliveries until April 1 and end Sept. 1, ending the season two months short.
Right now, seven cubic feet per second of water is flowing into the reservoir, only a trickle, Selb said.
The district has 230 wells not used during the normal irrigation season. The district may pump 90,000 acre-feet of groundwater next year but could pump up to 175,000 acre-feet, Selb explained.
Since 2001, the district has managed to recharge more than 500,000 acre-feet of groundwater into the water table through conservation practices, Selb said. #
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/local/story/13800204p-14378523c.html
TOUGHENS RULES ON WATER USE Officials next week to reveal allocation figures for each city, water district
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 7/18/07
By Bob Norberg, staff writer
The Sonoma County Water Agency is unilaterally tightening the tap after failing so far to meet a state-mandated cut in the amount of water drawn from the
Specific allocation figures will be established and the agency, like the state, says water could be cut off altogether for communities that continue to miss conservation targets.
"Until now it was a more general, 'You need 15 percent,' " said Pam Jeane, the Water Agency's deputy director for operations.
"Now we are giving them hard targets."
Some cities already are looking at stricter measures.
Jeane said the new targets and the possible loss of water are intended to provide certainty for the cities and water districts supplied by the agency.
"I don't see it as a threat," she said. "It gives them something tangible to shoot for. For some of the cities, if they need to save more than they thought, they need to implement more stringent measures."
She said it is unlikely that anyone would be cut off, citing health and safety concerns.
Similarly, the state Water Resources Control Board warned last week it would consider prohibiting
The Water Agency was told in mid-June to cut its diversions by 15 percent from July 1 to Oct. 28 from the same period in 2004, saving the water in
The agency passed the conservation message to its individual water contractors --
During the first two weeks of the mandatory cuts, however, the saving was only 9.9 percent, short of the mandatory target, according to the Water Agency.
"We are going to do all we can to meet the goal," Jeane said. "If we miss the goal, it will be very bad, not for just the Water Agency, but the customers also. We need to do it. The state board expects us to do it, and we need to do it."
On Monday, the agency plans to tell each contractor what its allocation will be.
That will take the guesswork out of how much water they need to save and could trigger mandatory conservation measures, Jeane said.
"We are providing them with more certainty to what they are shooting for," she said.
The cities and water districts already have conservation programs in place and are poised to implement mandatory requirements.
By knowing exactly how much water they can use, they will know if mandatory measures need to be implemented, said Krishna Kumar, general manager of the Valley of the Moon Water District and vice chairman of the contractors' technical advisory committee.
"We have to meet the state-mandated reduction, and this is one way to approach it," he said.
"We advocate for that," said Glen Wright,
The allocations will be based on a 15 percent reduction in the 2004 level and will take into account population and per capita water use, so cities will not be penalized for already having strong conservation programs, Water Agency officials said. #
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070718/NEWS/707180331/1033/NEWS01
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 7/18/07
By Paul Payne, staff writer
Future homes sales in
An ordinance being drafted by the city would require the inspections before transfer of ownership of residential or commercial property.
If a home didn't pass inspection, the ordinance would require that equipment be changed before escrow closes.
"It actually will be a benefit to the new owner in that it will lower water and sewer bills," said Mike Ban,
The point-of-sale provision, the first of its kind in
The city also hopes to limit indoor and outdoor water use through measures such as holding turf and high-water-use plants to 20 percent of landscaped areas. The city may also require that restaurants only serve water on request.
If approved, the ordinance could take effect later this year but the property inspection portion probably would not begin until next July to give people time to comply, Ban said.
Real estate agents pounced on the notion of adding another inspection to home sales as an ineffective and unfair method of saving water.
Kathy Hayes, government affairs director of the North Bay Association of Realtors, said homes that don't change ownership will continue to use outdated appliances for years to come. Others will turn over several times in a short period, each time costing the owner for inspections and new equipment.
"If this is a significant problem for your community, then why don't you get the entire community to participate, not just those individuals on a given block who decide to sell their home?" Hayes said.
Some financial strain on the seller could be lifted by use of the city's rebate program for changing toilets and fixtures, Ban said.
The policy would cover commercial properties and condominiums but would focus on single-family homes because that is where sales are concentrated, Ban said.
Some council members had mixed reactions to the idea. Others declined to comment.
"I want to look at it," Councilman Mike O'Brien said. "I don't see me walking up to you and saying, 'You want to sell your house? Rip out your lawn.' "
Councilwoman Teresa Barrett said there always is a group that resists anything new that might cost money, but the city must take steps to ensure a water supply for the future.
"I think it's terrific the city is being in the vanguard," Barrett said.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070718/NEWS/707180330/1033/NEWS01
Water wasters EDITORIALS; Tougher measures are needed to meet state-mandated goals
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 7/18/07
"The use of voluntary conservation programs allows for community involvement and education to achieve water resource management without high levels of mandatory regulation."
-- City of
So far, this approach hasn't worked, with water use down only 9 percent during the first two weeks of July. For good reason, civic leaders would rather not be the bad guys when it comes to taking a tougher stance on water conservation.
As Press Democrat columnist Chris Coursey pointed out in Monday's paper, the county doesn't have a water supply problem (
But unless cities can get residents and businesses excited about making voluntary cuts, tougher measures will be needed.
It's likely that other cities will need to adopt tough measures -- or expect state regulators to do the dirty work for them by ordering the water agency to turn off its pumps in order to meet the 15 percent cutback requirement.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070718/NEWS/707180317/1043/OPINION01
By Kevin Howe, staff writer
Water flows in tributaries of the
It is normal for many of the streams to go dry by summer, district hydrography programs coordinator Greg James reported Monday. But this water year, which began Oct. 1 and continues through Sept. 30, has seen "critically dry" main stream and tributary flows.
As of July, he said, Pine Creek and San Clemente Creek are flowing at about .10 cubic feet — about 45 gallons — per second. Tularcitos Creek is flowing at .20 cubic — 90 gallons — per second.
Cachagua and Garzas creeks have been dry since early May, James said. Hitchcock and Potrero creeks have been dry since early March, and
"All tributaries are expected to dry this year," he said, "and cannot be relied on as an inflow source to the
On July 2, James said, inflow into the Los Padres Reservoir was measured at 1.8 cubic feet — about 810 gallons — per second, "the lowest July flow since 1990" and is expected to fall below .50 cubic feet — 225 gallons — per second later this year.
Given the insignificant tributary flows, James said, the
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_6401786?nclick_check=1
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