A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 25, 2007
2. Supply
CONSERVATION MEASURES:
Efforts to conserve water paying off, districts report - San Jose Mercury News
AG SUPPLY ISSUES:
Wells slake farmers' thirst; Drillers and contractors scramble to keep up with irrigation demand - Capitol Press
WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:
Report slows water plan; Monterey County: Supervisors postpone decision on addendum - Monterey Herald
WATER CONTRACTS:
SSJID: Drop service, get no dry-year canal water -
WATER METERS:
Metered water ordinance OK'd - Modesto Bee
CONSERVATION MEASURES:
Efforts to conserve water paying off, districts report
By Tom Ragan, staff writer
Water conservation officials across
From the
Efforts appear to be paying off, whether it's billboards along Highway 9, rebates on low-flow shower heads and waterless urinals in
So far, the city of
The city has sent out 200 warning letters to those who've been spotted unlawfully washing their cars or watering lawns without a hose that has a nozzle on it, he said.
"It's not a deluge of letters, to use a water term, but we're still classifying this a critically dry year," Goddard said. "And we think the restrictions have made people more aware. We think it's had an effect on our production level."
Groundwater levels have long been on a slow decline in the county, and there is no outside source of water from major suppliers such as the Sierra Nevada or the Central Valley, said John Ricker, a water resources program coordinator for
"We're not hooked up to state water projects and we've got to work with what we've got," he said.
There's a reason the Soquel Creek Water District and the Santa Cruz Water Department are teaming up to build a desalination plant - a technology, water officials say, that looks promising during times like these, when the San Lorenzo River, the major supplier of water to the city, is running abysmally low.
At last report, the
"Now is the time when we go to the bank and start drawing from
The Soquel Creek Water District for June recorded an all-time five-year low, with only 168 million gallons of water used by its 45,000 customers, a 16 percent decrease from June three years ago, said Laura Brown, general manager.
In Scotts Valley, water consumption dropped 14 percent in June compared with the previous month, and the town's water recycling plant, in operation since 2002, continues to play a major role in water conservation, said general manger Charlie McNiesh.
And although it's still too early to tell, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District's general manager, Jim Mueller, says he's already seen a slight decrease in water consumption since the district started asking its 5,800 customers in June to watch their water use. #
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_6457756?nclick_check=1
AG SUPPLY ISSUES:
Wells slake farmers' thirst; Drillers and contractors scramble to keep up with irrigation demand
Capitol Press – 7/25/07
By Bob Krauter, Capital Press
Well drillers and irrigation pump contractors are running to keep up with demand to quench farmers' thirst for irrigation supplies.
Farmers, caught in the grip of a worsening drought and in the fray over a fish controversy in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, are turning to groundwater supplies as they normally do in dry years.
Mitch Martin, branch manager for Rain for Rent in
"Those are the two main arteries where we get our ditch water, those deliveries that growers most typically rely upon. The deliveries are so limited that they're having to pump groundwater, and in doing so, the water table is dropping and wells are pumping sand and wells are having to be lengthened," Martin said.
In Rain for Rent's central
"Now it is just dire need - they need water so they are punching new wells, and everybody is just working as hard as they can," Martin said. "We are working lots of overtime setting new pumps and developing wells and putting new pumps and motors on new wells. This is as busy as we have been in a decade."
The California Department of Water Resources, which keeps data on wells, indicates that well drilling hit a peak after the last major drought in 1990-91. More than 23,000 well completion reports were filed with DWR in 1990 and 1991.
Well reports slowed in the mid- to late-1990s when they hovered around 12,000. Data show they are on the rise.
J. Michael Mortensson, executive director of the California Groundwater Association, said well-drilling activity appears to be on the upswing as groundwater is increasingly important as surface water supplies become scarce.
"Some people are pretty swamped. As you start to see the potential for drought, you will see an increase in people drilling wells," said Mortensson, whose organization represents 400 members, including well drilling contractors, pump contractors, hydrologists and geologists.
"People are busy and I know some are looking for additional staff," he said. "And they're hard to come by."
The water pinch is being felt in many areas of the state due to a dismal Sierra snowpack. Mandatory conservation measures have been imposed in some counties. The Sonoma County Water Agency recently requested its 600,000 farm and urban water customers in
Water worries for farmers in the western part of the
Bob Zimmerer, an owner and general manager of Zim Industries in
"The deep wells on the Westside, there really wasn't any drilled for five years. Now, there's going to be a lot of them drilled this fall," Zimmerer said. "Some are being drilled right now, but they are the more shallower wells - 700- to 900-footers."
Zim Industries specializes in deeper wells - from 1,400 to 2,500 feet - for a variety of agricultural and municipal needs.
The company also services existing wells, extending them deeper and servicing water well pumps and motors. There have been calls from Westside farmers for Zim to ready pumps.
"We're doing even a lot more pump work out there. They're starting a lot of these pumps that they didn't run for the past four years. They didn't run 'em," Zimmerer said. "Electrically, you can have more problems when you start them up. Just like everything, you should start them and run them periodically - every couple of months." #
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=792&ArticleID=33869&TM=83856.29
WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:
Report slows water plan;
By Jim Johnson, staff writer
Poised to fast-track a series of changes to the already-delayed Salinas Valley Water Project, county supervisors instead chose to slow the process.
The board on Tuesday postponed a decision on a request from the county Water Resources Agency to approve an addendum to the project's environmental impact report by finding the proposed changes would have a minimal effect.
The addendum is now scheduled for consideration at next Tuesday's hearing.
Approved by voters in 2003, the two-part project includes modifications to the Nacimiento Dam spillway and construction of a rubber dam on the
The water would be blended with recycled water for irrigation, allowing the overdrafted underground water supply to replenish itself. The project cost, now estimated at about $38 million, has more than doubled since its inception.
The board's decision comes on the heels of letters from the public, including attorney Michael Stamp, objecting to the use of a mere addendum for the changes.
Representing "concerned property owners in north
Stamp wrote that a more detailed "supplement" to the current EIR would be more appropriate because it would include public review of the proposed project changes.
"There are a lot of fairly controversial aspects of this project that are of concern to people in
According to a staff report prepared by Water Resources Agency officials, the proposed changes to the rubber dam are merely "refinements" that will not significantly change the overall project's impact on the environment, including the Nacimiento and
That means an addendum is adequate, the report found.
The proposed changes include modifications to the project's seasonal flow rates in the Salinas and Nacimiento rivers, relocation and reduction of the rubber dam, relocation of the pump station and realignment and extension of a buried river water diversion pipeline.
The dam will be moved about 200 feet upstream from the mouth of the Salinas River; the pump station will be moved from one side of the river to the other; and the pipeline will be redirected and extended by about a mile. The changes are expected to result in changes to the water levels in the
Most of the flow rate changes resulted from lengthy discussions between county water officials and U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service representatives aimed at reducing the project's impact on steelhead salmon. Those discussions delayed the project for years and the issue was only recently resolved with the granting of federal permits last month.
McKee said his office had not yet had a chance to fully review the addendum.
During Tuesday's meeting,
Stamp, Engell and Mitchell also opposed tax increases to help pay for the project approved by the board last month.
Agency manager Curtis Weeks told the board that the proposed changes won't change the project's capacity and that it would still be able to produce an estimated 9,700 acre-feet of water per year, as advertised. He added that he is also concerned about the project's increasing costs.
"Principally, that's why we're here today, to keep the project moving forward to avoid those increasing costs," Weeks said. "The project goals remain the same."
The project's spillway modification is set for later this year, while installation of the rubber dam should be ready to begin next spring, and water delivery would commence in 2009. County officials are also preparing a ballot measure to pay for operation and management of the water project. #
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_6457621?nclick_check=1
WATER CONTRACTS:
SSJID: Drop service, get no dry-year canal water
By Dennis Wyatt, Managing Editor
If farmers cancel their service agreement with the South
SSJID director Dave Kamper during Tuesday's board meeting asked that such a policy be considered at a future date for formal adoption.
"If it doesn't rain and we're in a drought, the first guy not to get water should be those who get out," Kamper said.
Kamper made his comments after the board approved a request from A&E Weststeyn & Daughters to drop the service agreement for two parcels on
But director Bob Schulz of Escalon said he keeps service agreements on some of his parcels he doesn't irrigate with SSJID water just in case the need arises.
In the past, the district has made water available for those who had relied on well water with no service agreement in place from the SSJID but then when a drought came up asked to purchase irrigation water.
Several board members said the water should be there for those who agreed to pay the stand-by fees.
The SSJID has ample water this year for urban use and agricultural irrigation. The SSJID has been supplying treated water to the cities of
Should next year be another dry year, the district may need to curtail water deliveries and ask cities to step up water conservation.
Several board members believe it would be unfair at that point for farmers who had relied on well water and did not have service agreements to all of a sudden rejoin and get water deliveries from the SSJID.
The SSJID serves more than 72,000 acres in and around
http://mantecabulletin.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=852&SectionID=28&SubSectionID=58
WATER METERS:
Metered water ordinance OK'd
By Ken Carlson, staff writer
HUGHSON — The City Council has approved an ordinance establishing metered water rates, though it could be a year or more before residents start paying based on the amount of water they use.
During a hearing at Monday's council meeting, city staff tallied only 15 written protests submitted by customers. The city mailed the proposed rate schedule to property owners in early June, and more than 1,000 protests were required to defeat the ordinance.
The council approved the ordinance on a 4-1 vote, with the only dissent coming from Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Qualls. He has consistently opposed metered water rates.
The council action was not final. The city continues to install water meters in older sections of Hughson, and it could be two years before all customers have water meters.
City Manager Joe Donabed said residents will have at least a one-year transition to metered rates. Within a couple of months, the city will start sending two notices to residents in monthly bills. One notice will give the current fixed water rate of $38.65 a month, which will be due. The other notice will show the amount the customer would pay based on water use.
Customers don't have to pay the metered rate yet, but the comparative information should serve as a guide for conserving water.
City leaders have not decided when to start charging metered rates. It could be when all customers have meters that can be read electronically, or it could be in mid-2008.
The bill for a single-family home using 750 gallons a day will be $41.83 per month the first year, increasing to $54.58 per month in the fifth year. Heavy users, such as a family consuming 1,250 gallons per day, will be charged $45.58 a month the first year and could be paying $75.13 a month in five years. #
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13823785p-14399630c.html
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