Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 16, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
WATER WEEK:
Governor goes where there's flow as he stresses state water crunch; Tour will study dams, canal around the Delta and more conservation - Sacramento Bee
LEVEES:
A way to save the levee habitat?; A UC Davis study finds plants benefit flood safety - Sacramento Bee
West Sacramento waits for flood-protection tally -
WATER RIGHTS ISSUES:
Rights to water a sticky problem; La Honda residents may have supply cut off if they can't settle dispute over rights to source - Inside Bay Area
WATER RATES HIKE:
Water rates to make huge jump for farmers -
ALL
Saving water, losing lives?; The decision to line a canal crossed by many illegal immigrants in the Imperial Valley is drawing fire over potential for more drownings - Los Angeles Times
LEGAL ISSUES:
Water panel faces attacks; Shasta residents to push grand jury findings on board actions - Redding Record Searchlight
BIODIESEL:
Water agency setting up pilot biodiesel project - Riverside Press Enterprise
WATER WEEK:
Governor goes where there's flow as he stresses state water crunch; Tour will study dams, canal around the Delta and more conservation
Sacramento
By Kevin Yamamura, staff writer
As budget wrangling continues at the Capitol, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will head out to reservoirs and waterways this week to pressure lawmakers into approving water storage, conservation programs and a canal around the Delta later this year.
The Republican governor hopes to revive his water package after legislative Democrats blocked his $5.9 billion proposal in April. He wants lawmakers to agree this summer on a multibillion-dollar bond that would appear on the 2008 ballot.
Schwarzenegger also has shown more interest in a canal to transfer water around the Delta. His administration has framed the "conveyance" as a way to solve the state's ongoing environmental problems caused by pumping water through the Delta, but the idea has been controversial ever since voters rejected a similar "peripheral canal" in 1982.
Even though the governor's water tour comes as the state's budget deadlock enters its third week, water storage has not played a role in spending plan discussions, according to Schwarzenegger aides and Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman of
Schwarzenegger communications director Adam Mendelsohn said the governor is simply trying to lay the groundwork for a deal when lawmakers return in August from a scheduled summer break.
Democrats remain open to a deal with Republicans on a water package, but they do not want to commit the state to particular projects until after the governor's Delta Vision task force presents its findings in October, said state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.
Democrats rejected the governor's earlier proposal partly because they believed it was too focused on specific projects -- new storage above Friant Dam near Fresno and another new dam in Colusa and Glenn counties.
"I think the governor is correct in focusing on conveyance, conservation and supply," said Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "But if he's going to focus on two specific dam projects and if he's going to promote an alternative canal around the Delta, those specific solutions are premature."
Department of Water Resources director Lester Snow said Friday that he believes a deal can come together that remains flexible enough to incorporate the findings of the Delta Vision group, which is examining storage and canal possibilities.
"We're willing to engage in a discussion about what's the right way to do storage," Snow said.
But he also warned against the Legislature focusing too much on short-term solutions to the state's water needs without setting the stage for major storage or water transfer projects. He said the state for too long has tried to patch over its problems "like a Band-Aid."
Legislative Democrats and Republicans are engaged in water talks, Ackerman said. He'd prefer as many as three new dams -- two in Northern California and one in
"I think we have enough information to take action now," Ackerman said. "All of these issues have been studied and studied and studied."
The governor will travel today two hours south of
Schwarzenegger is expected to warn Californians of the dangers associated with prolonged drought conditions, while suggesting that global warming is likely to bring more dry spells in the future.
He also is expected to reference legal battles over the Delta that forced the state to stop its pumping for 10 days in June to protect the Delta smelt. The state could be forced to reduce its Delta pumping by as much as one-third in the future.
Schwarzenegger plans to ask Californians to reduce their water use by 10 percent, Snow said. The governor also will use the state's dry conditions and pumping problems as an argument for new dams and a system to transfer water around the Delta.
Environmentalists remain skeptical of the governor's approach. Mindy McIntyre, water programs manager with the Planning and Conservation League, said Schwarzenegger has not yet proved that new storage and a canal will solve the state's problems better than conservation and water recycling.
"We would like to see scientific studies that demonstrate those arguments," McIntyre said. "We're willing to entertain those findings. But the peripheral canal hasn't been studied since 1982, and if a canal is on the table, we would expect some updated data first."
She added that conservation and recycling could have an immediate impact, whereas the proposed projects would take 10 or 15 years to build.
But Tim Quinn, Association of California Water Agencies executive director, said the state is facing some of the worst supply conditions in his 25 years as a water manager. He said conservation alone cannot solve the state's problems.
"I respect everyone's views, but that is simply not a logical way to look at the issues we're facing," Quinn said. "We're doing the conservation job, and the smelt are in a dire situation because the state is using an infrastructure that inherently is not good for fish." #
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/274602.html
LEVEES:
A way to save the levee habitat?; A UC Davis study finds plants benefit flood safety
Sacramento
By Matt Weiser, staff writer
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers insists that virtually all vegetation be removed from
But a novel study at UC Davis -- using the largest hydraulic research flume west of the
For decades, the corps allowed large vegetation on
But in February, the corps enforced strict national vegetation guidelines in
Thirty-two
The corps is updating its national policy but the final outcome is uncertain, forcing levee and wildlife officials into a waiting game. It is unclear if the corps is taking into account the new UC Davis findings.
In the meantime, on June 12, the corps released interim guidance for local levee districts that essentially reinforces existing national policy. Only short grass can grow on the land side of levees. Nothing over two inches tall can grow on the water side.
Districts must remove all vegetation by March 30, 2008, or the corps says it will cut access to millions of dollars in federal levee funds available following flooding.
If districts do comply, hundreds of miles of
"It really is sort of a recipe for disaster in levee maintenance here," said Mike Hardesty, president of the California Central Valley Flood Control Association, which represents dozens of levee districts.
The corps policy stems from a belief that plants hinder levee inspection and reduce flood channel capacity. The agency also believes roots destabilize levees and create a path for seepage.
But years of research have shown just the opposite.
In a flume that simulates a floodway such as the Yolo Bypass, a team at the UC Davis Amorocho Hydraulics Laboratory runs giant pumps to move water across a field of willow shrubs anchored underwater. Sensors and cameras monitor water flow and plant movement.
The flume -- about 80 feet long with a cross-section similar to a standard doorway -- also is home to dozens of young chinook salmon, monitored by cameras peering though glass panels.
The study found that the willows flatten against the ground surface as flows increase, offering little resistance to water flow. The bent shrubs protect the soil from erosion and create a bottom layer of slower water. The young chinook salmon seek refuge in this calm bottom layer among the flattened willows.
"The benefits start kicking in at high flows when flood risk is worse," said Stefan Lorenzato, who is leading the study along with UC Davis researchers. Lorenzato is a watershed management coordinator at the California Department of Water Resources.
"It's implying that plants may be helping us, not hurting us."
He acknowledged the study simulates a floodway and not a levee system, where flows are stronger and more variable. But he said it provides the first hard data on plant behavior in a flood.
Engineers now rely on assumptions in computer models to decide how plants affect flooding.
But Joe Countryman, president of MBK Engineers, a
"To me, this is pretty exciting research," said Countryman. "Really, one of the biggest threats to the flood system is not (channel) capacity, it's erosion. To the extent this demonstrates that plants slow erosion, that's a real plus."
Earlier research on the
Douglas Shields, a hydraulic engineer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Sedimentation Laboratory in
He found levees with trees suffered less damage than those without them. He also found that trees did not impair levee performance. Levee vegetation, he reported in a 1991 study, may have increased soil strength by deflecting high-velocity water.
Other researchers found similar results after a 1993 flood on the
And in 1992, Shields studied a 10-kilometer stretch of the
By measuring root density, he found no evidence that trees compromised levee strength or caused "piping" of water along roots.
Instead, roots tended to strengthen levees by binding the soil, and also grew downward, helping strengthen levees from within, rather than growing sideways. In all cases, roots were shallow: almost no large roots grew deeper than about three feet.
The main threat he found was the danger that large trees could topple in high winds, potentially removing a section of levee. The results, he said, suggest a need for vegetation policies tailored to different situations.
"My work tends to provide an argument against a uniform policy," said Shields.
He will present his research at a symposium on levee vegetation Aug. 28 and 29 sponsored by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.
Meegan Nagy, emergency manager for the Sacramento District of the Corps of Engineers, said her headquarters will probably finalize vegetation rules within a few months.
An exception is possible for sections of the
"The best solution is the one that protects public safety while also preserving natural resources," said Nagy. "In some cases, that's going to be difficult, and in other cases it's not going to be difficult."
State officials this spring attempted a rough inventory of levee vegetation during routine inspections. Inspectors found trees on 457 miles of
"To uniformly remove all of it, if you put that in dollars and cents, it would dumbfound you," said Shields. "The evidence for adverse ecological impacts is overwhelming." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/274820-p2.html
By Lakeshia McGhee, staff writer
The votes are in on
Now residents are waiting to learn if property owners in the city are willing to bear a tax to help pay for upgrades to the levees protecting them.
The results of a 45-day vote-by-mail election that ended Tuesday will be announced Monday at a special meeting of the West Sacramento Flood Control Agency. About 15,000 ballots were sent to residential and business property owners. It asked if they would pay annual parcel assessments that would supply $42 million of the $400 million needed to strengthen levees binding the city on all sides.
The amount of an assessment would increase based on parcel size and relative flood risk, said Jeff Raimundo, a political consultant hired by the city. Each property owner was given one vote for each dollar assessed.
"We are fully confident we can get the 50 percent of the vote we need," Raimundo said Thursday as the city continued to count the weighted ballots. The community has been supportive of the city's flood-protection efforts, he said.
The decision will come after months of public workshops to inform residents of the city's flood risks, levee costs and financing plans. The upgrades are needed to meet federal regulations for levees imposed after Hurricane Katrina. If new assessments were approved in
"State and federal funding generally requires a local match," Raimundo said. "If we don't get it, it's going to delay the process."
A separate "Vote Yes for West Sacramento Flood Protection" campaign reported spending more than $40,000 to convince voters that property assessments are the way to go.
"We wanted to show them that the increase in their assessments would be far cheaper than an economic hit on our community from a flood and the cost of mandatory flood insurance," said Mark Capitolo, a consultant for the campaign.
Vote Yes campaign tactics mostly involved one-on-one conversations with property owners, especially those with the largest parcels paying larger assessments, Capitolo said. A significant number of the top 100 property owners in
The West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce has supported flood-protection initiatives, said chamber executive director Kay Fenrich.
"We all understand how devastating a break in the levees would be," Fenrich said, adding that she served on the Vote Yes committee, which included a broad representation of the community.
In April, via mail-in ballots, Sacramento-area voters overwhelmingly approved a $326 million property tax to improve Folsom Dam and local levees. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/272451.html
WATER RIGHTS ISSUES:
Rights to water a sticky problem; La Honda residents may have supply cut off if they can't settle dispute over rights to source
Inside Bay Area – 7/15/07
By Julia Scott, staff writer
LA HONDA — Every time Kathy Wolf turns on the tap, she violates state water law.
Like most everyone in the area, she and other residents of Redwood Terrace, a subdivision two miles west of rural La Honda, depend on water from local creeks for everything from taking showers to washing dishes.
That's the way it's been since 1921, when Redwood Terrace began using a well connected to San Gregorio Creek for all its water needs after a natural spring it relied on failed in a drought.
What residents didn't know then, and only found out in 1993, was that they never had rights to the creek water in the first place. And when they tried to prove otherwise, their application was denied.
It's been a frustrating, surreal and convoluted journey for residents of the 21-homecommunity, which evolved from logging-era cabins along a dirt road into a modest subdivision with separate lots in 1917.
It is especially ironic for Wolf, whose family history dates back to the earliest settlers of La Honda. Back then, the water level throughout the La Honda-San Gregorio Creek watershed was so high that locals used to dam it up and go fishing for steeled trout, a species all but vanished in these parts. Today, Wolf limits herself to one hour of drinking water in the mornings and two at night. She's learned the value of water conservation, especially since the water, legally, isn't hers to use in the first place.
"We have been here since 1917. We have permits for that well, we've paid taxes. We have always felt we were in our rights to take water," said Wolf.
The San Mateo County Superior Court disagreed with her in 1993, when a judge ruled that 24 homes in Redwood Terrace (three have since burned down) had no "riparian rights," or rights to take water from San Gregorio Creek, since the homes do not abut the creek. The residents were ordered to find an alternative water supply. If they failed, they could face a hefty fine and possibly even be forced to truck their water in from elsewhere.
The court case was a water adjudication requested by flower farmers living downstream of La Honda who depend on the creek to irrigate their crops. As La Honda grew and more residents tapped into the watershed over the years, the farmers grew fearful that the state was granting water permits where no water was available to appropriate and wanted an inventory of existing legal rights to the water.
In the ensuing analysis, the farmers were granted thousands of gallons of water rights and Redwood Terrace discovered it had none.
The 21 households are caught up in a legal quagmire that dates back to the earliest days of
When Redwood Terrace was converted from a collection of summer cabins into a housing subdivision in 1917, the property owner never bothered to apply for water rights from the newly-created State Water Resources Control Board, according to
"The law requiring people to have water rights was in place since 1914, but nobody paid any attention to it," said Gallery. "You used to be able to buy 20 acres and cut them into 70 lots and you didn't have to go the county or the state for anything."
Redwood Terrace resident Dana O'Neill said her local homeowner's group, the Redwood Terrace Mutual Water System, would have applied for water rights decades ago had it known about the problem.
"No one ever knew that we didn't have water so we didn't do anything about it. We didn't know that we didn't have a right to it ... and here we are today."
Such dilemmas are fairly common in different parts of
"People split the land up and leave the people hanging, basically, and communities get caught this way," he said.
Attempting to comply with the court order, as enforced by the state, Redwood Terrace drilled a new well 270 feet into the forest floor on a back lot owned by the subdivision. They hit water, but it was so contaminated with sodium chloride and other compounds that it was unpotable.
Residents made a deal to purchase a water transfer from a local farmer for the summer months, a legal arrangement to divert 13,000 gallons per day into the residents' two community storage tanks until 2013. They hoped to purchase the water year-round, but the farmer's fees were too high, said O'Neill.
Meanwhile, Redwood Terrace re-applied to obtain water rights to San Gregorio Creek from the State Water Resources Control Board. Their application was rejected in January 2007, partly because state engineers investigated water flow and concluded there was not enough water for the community to take without hurting threatened species of fish in the stream.
Their last, best hope is to develop a natural spring that percolates up from the ground in the property behind the subdivision — the same spring that birthed the subdivision back in 1917. Three months ago, volunteers dug a 30-foot hole in the forest floor beneath the roots of redwood trees and tapped into the spring.
"We should have done this twenty years ago," said O'Neill.
Groundwater sources are not regulated by the State Water Resources Control Board, although Redwood Terrace will be required to demonstrate that it can supply a minimum of 10 gallons per minute in order for the spring to be usable. A local expert has estimated that it could generate as much as six gallons per minute. There is another spring running behind O'Neill's house that could supply the other four.
It won't be clear whether the spring can be utilized until it has been dug deep enough and has been tested for potability.
Redwood Terrace has submitted a 10-year spring development work plan to the state. As long as they stick to it, Stretars said his agency would not be inclined to fine them for continuing to take illegal water from the creek.
Wolf is slightly cynical about the project's prospects.
"Nothing's gone right — I'd say we'll barely make it," she said. "But it's really our only option. We have to be hopeful." #
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_6381370
WATER RATES HIKE:
Water rates to make huge jump for farmers
By Zeke Barlow, staff writer
Casitas Municipal Water District could raise water rates for farmers by 53 percent under its proposed budget, and continue that rate of increase each year for the next few years.
The district essentially is being forced to raise the rates following a state Supreme Court ruling last year that requires all customers to pay the same rate for water. Residents currently pay almost twice as much for their water as farmers.
Ratepayers were sent letters this week detailing the proposed increase and have until Aug. 29 to file comments on the 2007-08 budget.
Farmers said the increases come at a particularly hard time. Many had to replace crops after this winter's week-long freeze.
Many of the new plants won't be old enough to generate revenue for a few years, even though farmers will be paying more to water them.
"They are not really happy about this," board member Bill Hicks said of the farmers. "But it's a situation where we have to do what the law says. This is a bad situation."
Steve Sprinkler, who owns Mano Farm, which produces organic strawberries and row crops, said the rate increase couldn't come at a worse time.
"It's definitely going to affect people because it's more (to pay) out for people who have a limited income," he said. "It's not a good time especially after the agriculture losses we just had in the
But, Hicks said, water rates have been artificially low for a long time.
He said some farmers have been complaining that they don't need the highly treated drinkable water to irrigate their crops. The district is looking into a system that would allow farmers to get the treated water, but factor out the cost of treating it.
"We are trying to keep it low, but you have to do what you have to do," Hicks said.
District board chairman Russ Baggerly said the district also is checking to see if any water agencies across the state are starting a movement to fight the ruling. #
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/jul/14/water-rates-to-make-huge-jump-for-farmers/
ALL
Saving water, losing lives?; The decision to line a canal crossed by many illegal immigrants in the Imperial Valley is drawing fire over potential for more drownings
By Alison Williams, staff writer
The 82-mile canal that carries water west from the Colorado River to the
About 23 miles of the canal are being lined with concrete to conserve water by preventing it from seeping into the ground. When the lining is complete, water will flow faster and the canal sides will be steeper, slicker and harder to scale. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began work in June.
The original 1994 plan for the lining project called for "large mammal escape ridges," or steps, to make it easier for both humans and animals to get out of the water. But the Bureau of Reclamation no longer intends to include escape ridges, saying they cause structural instability and leakage.
Critics of the lining say it is illegal to drop the safety provisions. And they say there are reasons, not stated in the official record, why the escape ridges aren't being included. The canal, which is operated by the Imperial Irrigation District, runs parallel to the Mexican border — less than a mile from it in places — and is a long barrier to people trying to make their way north.
"If the IID's kids were playing in the canal, I assure you they would put those ridges in," said John Hunter of Poway, in
Hunter's views are shared by his brother, congressman and Republican presidential hopeful Duncan Hunter of
Lining the earthen canal will provide
"The lining ignores the serious environmental, safety or economic consequences to the region," said Malissa Hathaway McKeith, a
The
Drowning victims who can be identified and claimed by family members are returned to their home countries — primarily
Bureau of Reclamation officials say they will reduce the risk of drowning by installing ladders along the lined portion of the All American at 375--foot intervals on both sides of the canal. Jim Cherry, the bureau's
But ladders were of no help to U.S. Border Patrol agent Richard Goldstein, who drowned in May in the nearby
The
However, wildlife casualties in the Coachella have been higher. More than 170 deer drowned in the canal within the first few years after part of it was lined in the 1980s, according to Leon Lesicka, founder of Desert Wildlife Unlimited. Lesicka said animal mortality dropped after California Department of Fish and Game and other organizations, including his, helped finance and install wildlife drinking stations near the canal.
Last year, the bureau said such "off site mitigation" would be considered as part of the All American lining project if surveys found evidence of deer in the area. But that only further provoked critics of the project.
"I used to work there. We've never pulled out a deer, bobcat, raccoon — it was human bodies. It is tragic," said Rudy Maldonado, a former board member and employee of the Imperial Irrigation District.
"Every one of God's species, mammals, what have you, deserves the right to live and shouldn't die … of thirst or in trying to better themselves," said Mike Abatti, an
Calls for safety measures date back at least to 1991, when the chief patrol agent in the U.S. Border Patrol's
Last week, Border Patrol spokesman Quinn Palmer said that neither he nor his superiors were aware of the letter, but he added, "Generally, we're going to be in favor of anything that promotes public safety."
A 1994 joint study of canal drownings by state and federal public health officials stated, "In the future, drownings of illegal entrants are likely to increase. Most crossed the
John Hunter has been pushing unsuccessfully for additional safety measures for several years, bringing the issue to the attention of the irrigation district board in 2001. At that time the panel voted down a proposal to put lifelines across the canal, citing a risk of liability if the lines failed to save lives.
Earlier this month, irrigation district spokesman Kevin Kelley said that the Bureau of Reclamation had final say over whether to install safety ridges and that the district did not have the authority to demand additional safety measures.
The San Diego County Water Authority and California Department of Water Resources are sharing the $290-million cost of the lining, and
Halla Razak, Colorado River program manager for the
The lining project has long been a sore spot for farmers like Abatti in the
"This project gives no benefits to
LEGAL ISSUES:
Water panel faces attacks; Shasta residents to push grand jury findings on board actions
Redding Record Searchlight – 7/15/07
By Tim Hearden, staff writer
SHASTA — Residents here want the local water district to address a grand jury’s criticisms surrounding a proposal to increase basic water rates by more than 50 percent.
Residents have requested time to speak at the board’s Wednesday night meeting after the 2006-2007 Shasta County grand jury last week rapped the district over alleged open-meeting violations and conflicts of interest.
Shasta resident Richard Jones, a construction inspector and member of a group called Concerned Citizens of Shasta, said the district has displayed a pattern of showing favoritism toward developers and not informing residents about its actions.
“It’s just been a constant thing for a year now,” Jones said. “I’m kind of glad this report finally got out even though it didn’t have as much peep in it as I’d like to have had. At least, it does touch on a lot of the issues.”
The latest discord erupted last year when the district proposed raising basic water rates from $24 to $38 a month to pay for a new pump house and improvements to its filtering system. The money would repay a state loan for the $2.4 million project.
The grand jury alleges the district failed to give an accurate agenda description of a Jan. 31 public meeting in which the rate increases were discussed. Before the meeting, the district abruptly eliminated a controversial plan to install a tie-in to the city of
Jurors said the late change didn’t give people enough time to develop an informed response to the new proposal.
The grand jury also asserted the district has an appearance of impropriety by using the same engineering firm — PACE Civil Inc. — as at least two developers of new real estate projects within the district’s boundaries. The jury said individual board members edited the minutes of meetings in such a way as to significantly change the substance of what was actually discussed.
Residents have charged that the district was trying to make everyone pay for a pump house that would have benefited developers. Board president Bonnie Lampley said last week the booster pump and tie-in would have given the district another source of water in case of emergencies.
“The district has a contract with the city for emergency water, but we can’t physically get that water at this point ... because we don’t have a pipeline hooked into the city of
If future developments were to rely on the booster pump for their water supply, they would have to pay a portion of its construction cost, Lampley said.
The latest report, issued Monday, was the sixth grand jury investigation of the Shasta Community Services District since 1990 and the third in the past four years.
The 2005-2006 panel prodded the district to implement several recommendations by the 2003-2004 grand jury, including speeding up its bill paying and reconsidering the need for employee credit cards.
Jones said his group hopes “to get some people a little worked up and get a bunch of them to show up at the meeting next week and start asking some questions.”
But Lampley said the district always has been forthcoming to residents.
“I will say that the board has really gone out of its way to accommodate everyone’s comments and provide for their input,” she said. “We have not ignored anybody’s comments or shut people out of the conversation about what the district is doing.” #
http://www.redding.com/news/2007/jul/15/water-panel-faces-attacks/
BIODIESEL:
Water agency setting up pilot biodiesel project
Riverside Press
By Joe Bargo, staff writer
PERRIS - The leftover grease from nachos, spaghetti and meatballs, and burgers and fries could one day power Eastern Municipal Water District's fleet of diesel trucks.
In a pilot project under way at its Perris reclamation facility near Interstate 215, utility workers are converting a vile-looking and olfactory-offending gray slime into a renewable and environment-friendly fuel.
The glob comes from restaurant patrons from throughout western
It's the stuff left over on their plates, which is trapped in holding tanks along with the dishwater used to clean them.
The experimental project hopes to turn about 5 million gallons of so-called brown grease into as many as 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Several critical hurdles remain to be conquered, like the cost of creating a full-time conversion system, but if those can be cleared, EMWD hopes to begin turning out usable fuel by next year.
"This is a great opportunity to take what is a waste and turn it into a valuable resource," said Mike Luker, Eastern's assistant general manager of operations and maintenance. "We know it can be done but we face some real challenges."
The effort is one of a handful in
"Biodiesel is one of our nation's most promising alternative fuels," Bush told a 2005 gathering at the Virginia Biodiesel Refinery.
"And by developing biodiesel, you're making this country less dependent on foreign sources of oil."
The U.S. Department of Energy, on its Web site, hails the benefits of biomass fuels, including biodiesel. In a statement made public last month, the department said that in addition to curbing the need for imported oil, biofuel production "reduces air and water pollution and reduces greenhouse gas emissions."
Luker said grease haulers approached the utility last year about beginning a biodiesel program. Frustrated about having to truck the stuff to a landfill in Thermal 80 miles away, they convinced Eastern to set up the machinery and fund the test program, which is expected to cost about $250,000. A laboratory experiment followed, in which Eastern turned about 13,000 gallons of brown grease into 15 gallons of fuel.
A Nasty Brew
Tanker trucks loaded with brown grease deliver it to the Perris Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility, where it is loaded into 3,000-gallon tubs.
The slime is about 96 percent water and dinner scraps mixed with cooking and food oils. There's also an interesting collection of nonedible stuff -- knives and forks, toothpicks, straws and paper towels.
Once those are scooped out, the water/grease mix sits for several days, which allows the lighter oil to rise to the surface. When enough oil becomes available, sewage-treatment specialists begin phase two, using heat to separate other impurities from the oil.
That could begin within the next 14 days in the makeshift "heat-oil separator" scrounged together by Robert Adams, a treatment-plant operator.
EMWD hopes to extract 50 gallons per day of the finished product, a brown liquid that feels a lot like motor oil. Chemical additives are necessary to turn it into biodiesel. To run vehicles, the biodiesel will be blended with petroleum diesel.
The remaining water can create energy, too.
Food-particle munching bacteria will be turned loose on the restaurant wastewater, which over time creates methane gas, which can be used to produce electricity.
"It's 100 percent reuse of a waste,"
The Perris treatment plant makes perfect sense to work with the malodorous mixture. Although residential development is encroaching, it's still about a mile away from the closest homes.
"Now you can see why this is a good location," said John Jannone, director of water reclamation, after inhaling a few whiffs of the stench.
Potential Problems
Eastern's biodiesel program is no done deal.
The cost of building and maintaining a large-scale oil separator may prove prohibitive. Then there's the consistency of the brown grease mixture. Every load is slightly different. EMWD chemists know they'll have to produce a consistent product for the biodiesel program to go ahead. The utility is seeking grants to help offset its costs.
Still there's reason for optimism.
The potential upside makes continued work on the project exciting and meaningful, said EMWD board member Ron Sullivan.
"We have an obligation to be good stewards of our resources," Sullivan said. "It's the best thing that can happen for the environment." #
DWR's California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader's services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost1.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news. DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
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