A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 20, 2007
2. Supply
NACIMIENTO PIPELINE BIDS IN:
A good sign for thirsty towns; A Surprisingly Low Bid on a Major Chunk of the Nacimiento Pipeline May Help Bring the Water Project Closer to Completion - San Luis Obispo Tribune
Campus breaks ground on water conservation center - Marin Independent Journal
WATER CONSERVATION:
Consumers wary of water shortage - Lincoln News Messenger
LANSCAPING IN
Guest Column: Pretty yet practical; Sustainable gardens at
NACIMIENTO PIPELINE BIDS IN:
A good sign for thirsty towns; A Surprisingly Low Bid on a Major Chunk of the Nacimiento Pipeline May Help Bring the Water Project Closer to Completion
By Sally Connell, staff writer
Key players in the plan to build the Nacimiento Water Project pipeline were in a celebratory mood Thursday after the construction bid for its largest phase came in 23 percent below estimates.
Thursday’s low bid was a turnaround from one earlier in the week for a smaller portion of the project that came in 59 percent above the estimate.
The earlier news had sent shivers through officials from the five municipalities financing the estimated $190 million construction of the pipeline. They feared ballooning construction costs would force them to seek water rate increases beyond those they have already passed.
But they took the news of Thursday’s lower bid as a sign that the elusive pipeline may finally get built after decades of fits and starts by communities in search of another water source.
While
‘An excellent sign’
Thursday’s upbeat news revolved around the opening of construction bids for the most expensive and longest portion of the proposed pipeline, from the lake to Paso Robles.
The designer estimated costs to build that 22-mile section at $49.8 million, but the low bid from a
“I take this as a big sign that it will be built,” said an emphatic John Hollenbeck, Nacimiento project manager. “To me, this is an excellent sign.”
Five communities are participating in the building and planning of the pipeline. They are Paso Robles,
“I can breathe a little easier,” said Paso Robles Mayor Frank Mecham, who described pacing around the office with the city manager waiting for news on the bids. “But I can’t breathe finally until this thing is done.”
The pipeline project has been broken up into five construction portions, with separate bids on each.
“I’m overjoyed. It means that our future is secure,” San Luis Obispo Mayor Dave Romero said after learning of Thursday’s bid.
Romero has lobbied for years to see the pipeline built even as he has faced opposition from some in the city who worry that more water will mean more growth.
Many of those contacted noted that the savings on Thursday’s bid will make up for the high cost of the intake facility at the lake — the bid that caused officials to worry earlier this week.
“So we’re back on track right out of the gate,” said John Neil, general manager of the Atascadero Mutual Water Co., a private company that provides water to residents of
He and other water purveyors said the intake facility, on which only three contractors bid, is considerably more difficult to build than the pipeline.
Hollenbeck said he hopes the apparent low bidder on the northern end of the pipeline — Teichert Construction of Sacramento—will sharpen its pencils and bid aggressively on the other portions. He believes there could be some cost savings for a contractor already mobilized in the county for one portion of the pipeline.
Higher rates
Most of the participating municipalities have raised water rates or connection fees in anticipation of the cost associated with building the Nacimiento pipeline.
Paso Robles — which now has a relatively low average rate of $12 per month — anticipates a 400 percent increase to $60 by 2010.
Atascadero Mutual has raised water connection fees by 400 percent and increased monthly rates by 14 percent.
Observers following the day’s activities were happy that they may not have to raise rates again.
“I’m sure my community will be happy about this,” said San Luis Obispo Utilities Director John Moss, who attended the bid opening while he was on vacation because he was so nervous the bids might come in high.
As planned, the pipeline will only use about two-thirds of the entitlement.
An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre one foot deep, or enough water to serve one to three households annually, depending on the community.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/97065.html
Campus breaks ground on water conservation center
Marin Independent Journal – 7/19/07
By Becca MacLaren, staff writer
At the opening of a water conservation center program at the
In a few years, that patch of grass on the
The idea is also to create an environment that's beautiful - "not in lush way, but in how it uses resources," said Fernanda Agudelo-Silva, who teaches biology and environmental landscaping at the college.
The Northern California Water Management Technology and
Thirty percent to 50 percent of water use in
"We can solve lots of different problems by working together," said Phil Kranenburg, a trustee of
Starting this fall, environmental landscape students will begin surveying the site and studying with center partners.
Peter Estournes, president of the California Landscape Contractors Association, said this training will help students to apply cutting-edge technology in the real world.
The learning will be for homeowners as well.
"Marin County needs to learn how to re-plant itself to use low water and energy consumption," said Marin Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who sponsored a resolution to support the center and advocate the planting of low-water gardens featuring native species.
Some say such gardens may become a necessity.
"The great American urban lawn is maybe a thing of the past," said Rick Fraites, a board member of North Marin Water District.
The new center is a partnership between the college, the
http://www.marinij.com/marin/ci_6419677
WATER CONSERVATION:
Consumers wary of water shortage
By D.E. Kern, staff writer
Word of
Skip Laird, who works for Lincoln ACE Hardware at Fifth and G streets, said more customers are asking to see products that help conserve water.
"Sure, some of it is that we're in
Laird said drip systems, which allow gardeners to directly apply small amounts of water where plants need it most, are a top-seller. "This allows you to be much more precise," he said. "Rather than a shotgun approach."
Low-flow sprinklers are another option for people who want to water their lawn, as opposed to drenching it. Actually, they're part of an entire line of low-flow products that include: low-flow toilets, low-flow shower heads and low-flow faucets.
A slightly different approach involves special products that allow the ground to absorb and hold water more efficiently, allowing for less frequent watering.
"It's a (soil) additive," Laird explained, holding up a bag of a particularly popular brand. "It's sort of like vacuum-packed stuff that expands. It's kind of like spongy wood bark."
Switching to certain products can result in a very measurable impact. For example, one low-flow shower head pointed out by Laird uses 1.9 gallons of water per minute as opposed to the standard 20 gallons per minute associated with standard shower heads.
The story of
And
Last month,
According to an online article published by KTVU-Fox Channel 2 in
That made
Meanwhile, John Pedri,
At that time, Pedri said
He reiterated both points when contacted by phone on Friday.
"I think we're in pretty good standing," he said. "The wells would be there as a significant backup (in a drought situation). "But, if the Placer County Water Agency was to declare, say, a 10-percent cutback in supply, I would (officially) ask that our public (conserve)," he added.
Certainly, water issues are on city officials' minds. Last Tuesday, City Council members voted to certify the Mitigated Negative Declaration for a Reclaimed Water Distribution System that is expected to satisfy a great deal of the area's landscaping needs, making more potable water available for other uses.
Pedri said that by certifying the MND, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the city is acknowledging that it made an environmental impact report available for public comment and, subsequently, responded to concerns raised during that public-comment period.
Certification allows the city to go ahead with Phase 1 of the project, which would supply reclaimed water from the Wastewater Treatment Facility to customers, including agricultural interests, identified in the City of
"This is our major recycling program," Pedri said. "We're currently irrigating about 600 acres of pastureland with recycled water.
"This latest approval would allow us to complete the reconstruction of some major pipelines that would get recycled water into the city," he added. "For example, we're working with Sierra Pacific to, hopefully, be able to supply them with water for their electric cogeneration plant."
The project is buoyed by a $800,000 state grant.
Ultimately, the city hopes to make about 3,000 acre feet of water available for irrigation and landscaping purposes.
Meanwhile, Pedri urges consumers to be smart. "Seventy-five to 80 percent of people's water usage during the summer is for landscaping," he said. "One of the easiest things you can do to save water is to reset your sprinklers and make sure you're not using water you don't need.
"We have a lot of brochures and information in the public works office," he added. "And it's all aimed at helping people be more efficient." #
http://www.lincolnnewsmessenger.com/articles/2007/07/19/news/top_stories/04covers.txt?pg=3
LANSCAPING IN
Guest Column: Pretty yet practical; Sustainable gardens at
By Nan Sterman, special to the Times
LONDON -- SOMETIMES you have to travel halfway around the world to solve a problem in your own backyard, a point Southern California gardeners may want to note as they face drought, limited water supplies and air pollution, not to mention threats posed by encroaching development, invasive plants, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers -- our list of woes goes on and on.
For some welcome solutions, look to none other than the Chelsea Flower Show, arguably the world's finest garden exhibition, held by Royal Horticultural Society in the heart of
Although you might think of English gardens as flowery borders and clipped hedges, the May show proved
The ultimate in sustainable design and winner of best-in-show was "600 Days With Bradstone," a stunning combination of the ancient and the futuristic, designed by Sarah Eberle and sponsored by the hardscape company Bradstone. Eberle spent eight years researching what she calls a "terrestrial space garden" that would support an astronaut for an extended stay on Mars. That may sound far-fetched, but many of the concepts apply to any homeowner looking to create an interesting, environmentally conscious space despite challenging natural conditions.
Eberle's garden was enveloped in rammed earth walls whose strata of red, burnt orange and copper were embedded with aggregate. The idea was to emulate walls formed using materials from the red planet's metal-rich rock surface. The wall also created a primeval backdrop that set the mood.
The designer chose some plants as a food source, others for medicinal purposes and still others because they would contribute a significant amount of oxygen to the atmosphere. Most nonedible selections were drought-tolerant because, Eberle realized, the only way to get water would be to extract it from the permafrost.
To manage such a limited resource, she clustered plants into distinct zones based on water needs, a practical technique whether on Mars or
A separate low-water living area of the garden included a sunken, crater-like pod for rest and relaxation. Enormous, lens-shaped concrete planters overflowing in colorful flowers were suspended from arching copper arms. A hanging chair shaped like a geodesic globe hearkened back to
Eberle's design wasn't a pretty garden per se, but pretty wasn't the point. It made visitors stop and think: What can this experiment teach us about making our own gardens more ecologically sophisticated?
In contrast to Eberle's design, the
Rather than disposing of surplus soil from the garden's construction, Smith mounded it around the walls of a studio for temperature and noise insulation. Instead of stabilizing the soil with cement, he called upon gabions, metal cages filled with recycled stone rubble.
Gray-water systems might become more popular in
Recycled glass steppingstones set just above the pond water's surface formed a sort of floating pathway that connected a studio to the working area of the garden. Smith filled flower beds here with drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants that would have been equally at home in
In the center of each bed lay a blue glass-and-steel pyramid fitted with a solar collector that, according to the designer, powered batteries for LED fixtures set into recycled glass walls surrounding the pond.
Grapevines, olive trees and walls of recycled scaffold boards screened compost bins, reminders that home composting not only recycles critical nutrients back into the garden and reduces the need for imported fertilizers but also reduces the amount of garden waste taking up landfill space. Less trash means fewer carbon emissions from landfill-bound trucks too.
On a different scale, Amnesty International's Garden for Human Rights was a sustainable rooftop retreat in an urban setting. Designer Paula Ryan used responsibly sourced hardwood for decks and seating, and the reflecting pool was made of recycled plastic.
The rooftop, planted with succulent sedums and other low-water plants, did its part to absorb the reflected sunlight that often makes cities hotter and drier. Elsewhere in the space, drought-tolerant echeveria served as a strong architectural form and as the basis for a blue-green palette. The succulent's colors were echoed by olive trees and a border of cold-hardy eucalyptus called cider gum, which provided shade and screened out neighbors.
Choosing drought-tolerant plants, organizing the garden into water- efficient zones, recycling gray-water and composting are all techniques whose time has come -- to the forward-thinking world of Chelsea as well as residential gardens right here in
http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-chelsea19jul19,0,6405398.story?coll=la-home-middleright
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