A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 26, 2007
2. Supply
WATER MANDATE LEVEL REACHED; 15% reduction achieved in Sonoma, Marin counties; still a 'long way to go' toward conservation, authorities warn - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
DESALINATION:
Desalination plan goes to Coastal Commission; Staff gives its OK after 4 rejections - San Diego Union Tribune
Carlsbad desalination plant to get Coastal Commission hearing - North County Times
WATER CONSERVATION:
Editorial: Bonds not only water solution - North
Guest Column:
WATER MANDATE LEVEL REACHED; 15% reduction achieved in Sonoma, Marin counties; still a 'long way to go' toward conservation, authorities warn
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 7/26/07
By Clark Mason, staff writer
The reduction of water being diverted from the
Sonoma County Water Agency officials said Wednesday that they had achieved a 15 percent reduction in the amount of water siphoned from the river, a level that had eluded them until this week.
The agency delivers water to 600,000 residential and business customers in
But water officials sounded a note of caution, saying
"Of course we don't want to rest on our laurels. We still have a long way to go in conserving water," said Water Agency spokesman Brad Sherwood. "We still have a lot of summer left, a lot of hot days."
The Water Agency is under state order to reduce diversions from the
The mandate is intended to save enough water for the fall salmon run. By reducing diversions from the
Santa Rosa, Windsor, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Sonoma, Petaluma, the Valley of the Moon, North Marin and Marin Municipal Water districts -- all of which obtain water from the Water Agency -- have called for conservation measures by residents and businesses. Most of the savings can be achieved by limiting outdoor water use and ensuring irrigation systems are functioning properly, according to officials.
Even though they are not contractors with the Water Agency, other cities that pump from the
Grape growers, who account for one-third of the water taken from the
The figures released Tuesday show the Water Agency pumped 4,625 acre-feet of water from the
The agency in the first half of July struggled to meet its goal. But things improved as conservation efforts gained momentum and the weather cooperated.
"We've seen cooler weather. The little bit of rain helped," Sherwood said.
He said the agency wants to make sure everyone remains on alert about saving water. "While we have so far reached the 15 percent, that doesn't mean we have met our goal," he said, adding that cutbacks must continue until Oct. 28.
Water officials say it is important to keep up conservation efforts now, because it becomes harder to cut back by 15 percent in September and October.
"Now is the highest demand period of the year. It's easier to get conservation," said Chris Murray, principal engineer for the Water Agency. "When you get into the fall . . . it's more difficult to get conservation.
But officials were still relieved to have reached their target for now.
"It feels good to me, to say 'we can do this,' "
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070726/NEWS/707260328/1033/NEWS01
DESALINATION:
Desalination plan goes to Coastal Commission; Staff gives its OK after 4 rejections
By Michael Burge, staff writer
The meeting is scheduled to be held in
Commission staff scientist Tom Luster wrote the developer, Poseidon Resources, yesterday saying he has received all the information necessary to process the application – after four previous rejections.
The decision ends months of haggling between Poseidon and the commission staff over the company's application. The commission staff had found the application deficient and repeatedly questioned the plant's environmental impact and economic viability.
Poseidon's senior vice president, Peter MacLaggan, became impatient over the latest rejection earlier this month, and had asked to address the full commission in August to get a notice of completion.
MacLaggan said yesterday he has withdrawn that request as a result of yesterday's decision.
He said his company provided more information since the July 3 rejection letter, so the application can proceed.
“We had extensive discussions with Coastal Commission staff over the outstanding items they were asking for and we submitted more materials, and on the basis of that, they deemed it complete,” MacLaggan said.
If approved, Poseidon's $300 million plant would be the largest ocean-water desalination plant in
Poseidon proposes to build its 50 million-gallon-a-day plant on the grounds of the Encina Power Station at the foot of
The company proposes to purify ocean water by using filters and reverse-osmosis membranes, and distribute the water to
The Coastal Commission's Luster has questioned the plant's technology, which proposes to tap the stream of ocean water that the power plant cycles to cool its steam-driven turbines.
That process, called once-through cooling, has been criticized for killing fish and fish larvae.
MacLaggan has said the desalination process will not add significantly to the number of fish or fish larvae killed, and his company has offered ways to compensate for any potential environmental damage.
Luster said in yesterday's letter that one outstanding issue is a lease with the State Lands Commission to use two rock-lined channels at Agua Hedionda Lagoon that the power station built to draw seawater into its plant. Poseidon has applied to the State Lands Commission for a lease to use those structures.
Luster also has said Poseidon should explore a less harmful method of taking in ocean water by burying pipes beneath the ocean floor and sucking water in, nearly eliminating the chance of killing any marine organisms.
“We have addressed that in all five of our submittals,” MacLaggan said yesterday. “Each time we've submitted a significant level of detail as to why that is not feasible at this site.”
The Coastal Commission staff also has questioned the plant's economic feasibility, but MacLaggan has said it is economically viable. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070726/news_1mi26desal.html
By Gig Conaughton, staff writer
The company that wants to build the plant and Coastal Commission staff had been at a standoff over the commission's desire for more information about the project.
But Poseidon officials received a letter Wednesday from Tom Luster, the commission's desalination expert, saying that the commission now considered the company's application complete. The letter said the commission would schedule a formal permit hearing on the application in
Poseidon began submitting its application requests to the commission 11 months ago, and the agency sent it back four times with requests for more information, most recently at the beginning of the month.
Poseidon Vice President Peter MacLaggan said the company was grateful that the commission had cleared the way for the long-discussed project to get a chance to receive a permit.
"We're now on track for our hearing on the merits of the project ... that would be the last major permit and last major milestone before construction of the plant can start and get this critically needed water supply project on-line by 2010," MacLaggan said.
Coastal Commission officials could not be reached for comment.
Poseidon, with the city of
The Coastal Commission has long been considered the project's biggest regulatory hurdle.
Created by state voters in 1972, the commission is charged with protecting, conserving and restoring
Commission staff members, who are charged with making sure permit applications have enough information about proposed projects for commissioners to judge, said this month that they had asked Poseidon for some information several times without getting answers. Luster said the commission wanted to know more about the financial and environmental information, among other things.
Company officials objected to that, saying they had given the panel all the information it needed over the application process to push the project forward to commissioners for a hearing.
MacLaggan said Wednesday that the two sides came to an agreement on the information requests after the company sent the commission 50 to 60 more pages of details about the project. #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/26/news/coastal/3_38_787_25_07.txt
WATER CONSERVATION:
Editorial: Bonds not only water solution
Our view: We do have a water crisis, but borrowing must be preceded by conservation
Next month we'll find out if
While we do need to boost our ability to store water during drought conditions like this year's, California's big problem with water isn't supply so much as allocation. We desperately need improved conservation and market-based approaches to rationing.
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In May, the pumps that transfer water to
Just last week, the governor declared a state of emergency in
Much as we have pushed our fiscal reckoning into the future, Californians have avoided long-term solutions for our perennial water shortage. Way back in 1982, state voters rejected a proposal to build a peripheral canal that would have bypassed the delta, and we must revisit that opportunity to secure the delta's health and our water supply.
But, as with the budget, it appears only a crisis will force us to action. Gov. Schwarzenegger visited the half-full Sweetwater Reservoir on Tuesday to promote a $5.9 billion bond proposal that would partially fund the building of two dams and the peripheral canal.
For their part, Democrats, led by Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, D-Oakland, are offering a similarly priced bond that would give funds directly to local water agencies to use for their own conservation priorities.
We lean toward local control, but are wary about the bipartisan urge to borrow that is
Before we add to our tremendous debt burden, we should insist on water meters throughout the state. We should insist that state and local governments get serious about conservation by planting native plants and using recycled water.
Besides, even if we approve this new round of borrowing, we won't drink the benefits for decades. Long before that, we can use the water we have much more wisely -- with the help of price signals and conservation incentives that reflect the actual scarcity of water in arid
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/26/opinion/editorials/19_14_177_25_07.txt
Guest Column:
LA Daily News – 7/26/07
By Paul Rodriguez, actor and comedian living in
LAST week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hit the road to describe his strategic growth plan for
Today, he'll be in
Schwarzenegger's strategic growth plan is part of a $4.5 billion bond measure that includes adding two new dams, enhancing the ability to transfer fresh water from
Most don't realize it, but the majority of water used for everything from watering Central Valley crops to
There is no reason to delay preparations.
Growing up in Orange Cove, a small
We have to build new ways to move and store water to reliably supply the domestic, industrial and agricultural water needs of
Our mutual prosperity is directly connected to a constant supply of water. Without water, there simply is no life. Everything from the fresh fruit and vegetables you will eat today were made possible by water that comes from the
Who, indeed, would be against conserving and having a plentiful supply of water? Politicians who are unable to see past their own political tenure, ignoring the needs of future populations. I have asked that question of Fabian Nunez, speaker of the Assembly, who earlier this year blocked SB 59 - the bill to place the governor's water plan before voters. He isn't saying.
Yes, $4.5 billion is an enormous amount of money, but has anyone tabulated the cost of not having enough water for those of us who live in
I hope all of us who live in
To quote Ronald Reagan, "Optimists who believe in making life better for future generations are those who plant trees knowing full well that they will never enjoy the shade of those trees." We choose to plant trees so that our children will enjoy their shade.
Those trees are going to need water. #
http://www.dailynews.com/theiropinion/ci_6439161
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