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[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 8/31/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

August 31, 2007

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People

 

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY LEVEES:

Levees' strength under scrutiny; FEMA revisiting previously accredited barriers after Katrina - Fresno Bee

 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LEVEES:

Ring of levees appears sound; No major problems in early report on Marysville levee - Marysville Appeal Democrat

 

LEVEE SURVEYING:

DWR to Conduct Aerial Levee Surveys; Helicopter flights will evaluate integrity of flood control levees - News Release, Department of Water Resources

 

 

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY LEVEES:

Levees' strength under scrutiny; FEMA revisiting previously accredited barriers after Katrina

Fresno Bee – 8/31/07

By Inga Miller, staff writer

 

MANTECA -- Federal officials are questioning whether several levees in San Joaquin County can withstand the next big flood.

 

Among the levees they're looking at is one separating the San Joaquin River from luxury houses under construction near Oakwood Lake, the former site of the Manteca water slides.

 

Federal insurance maps show the levee holding against a 100-year flood -- the type of flood with a 1% chance of happening in any year. But in an effort hastened by catastrophic levee failures in New Orleans in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is checking those estimates.

 

FEMA is redrawing its flood maps, and each levee previously accredited to provide 100-year protection has to be approved again. If it isn't, areas currently shown as protected will be redrawn as at risk -- which could hit developers and home buyers in the pocketbook with steeper insurance premiums and tighter building restrictions.

 

"This [levee] is obviously of concern because of new development there and the future community," said Eric Simmons, an engineer with FEMA.

 

Because the levee shows protection from a 1% flood chance, the area is considered at moderate risk of flooding, and developers can build houses below the flood level. Homeowners aren't required to have flood insurance.

 

The review is generating criticism among developers and local officials who say the levee meets standards in place when it was accredited in 1990. Changing the rules now, they say, is unfair. And there has been no word on how districts are supposed to pay for repairs, said Dante Nomellini, attorney for Reclamation District 17, which owns the levee.

 

The levee held during the 1997 flood. The New Year's flood that year broke a nearby levee on Perrin Road and swamped dozens of houses about six miles southwest of the new development, but Reclamation District 17's levee kept the area it protects dry. State and federal agencies fixed seepage and boils caused while the levee held back floodwater.

 

"You shouldn't disqualify someone who met the certification back in 1990," Nomellini said. "They approved it again after the 1997 flood when repair work was done, and the levee was improved. So what is the basis for changing the map status? There is no maintenance deficiency."  #

http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/126104.html

 

 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LEVEES:

Ring of levees appears sound; No major problems in early report on Marysville levee

Marysville Appeal Democrat – 8/31/07

By John Dickey, staff writer

 

While studies are continuing, an investigation of Marysville levees has turned up no major problems yet, a team of engineers told the Marysville Levee Commission.

Engineers gave a preliminary geotechnical evaluation report Thursday to the commission. They noted that the studies have to be finished before making any judgments.

“Based on this information we have right now, we don’t find any problems yet, but we’ll hold off until we get the additional investigation completed to do the analysis,” said Claudio Avila, engineering geologist with the state Department of Water Resources, after the meeting.

At least some work is likely to be needed to strengthen Marysville’s levees against a 1-in-200 flood, one engineer noted.

Engineers and geologists are looking at the city’s entire levee system, including the 7.6-mile ring levee that protects Marysville from the Feather and Yuba rivers and a 3.9-mile spur levee that runs out to Hallwood Boulevard.

The Marysville levee investigation that started in November 2006 is part of a $35 million Department of Water Resources project that is evaluating 350 miles of Central Valley levees.

Engineers will looking at materials taken from levee borings, historical information, and data gathered from electronic devices implanted in the levees. So far, 61 borings have been taken every 1,000 feet.

Thursday’s briefing noted only two historical trouble spots for seepage – one near Binney Junction, and one near the retail complex that houses Longs Drug Store. In both cases, water from boils flowed clear, which is a good sign because it shows that dirt is not being moved from inside or underneath the levee. That could undermine the embankment and cause it to fail.

The past 10 months have been spent searching for evidence of seepage, which is the flow of water underneath or through the levee. Engineers are also checking whether the levees are stable, and are even trying to determine whether the embankments can hold up to an earthquake. Violent shaking can liquefy some types of soils, causing a levee to collapse.

Next month, crews will start another round of work including core drilling into levee toe areas, and a closer look at spots that need more study before any engineering judgments can be made. Drillings will be augmented with electromagnetic surveys made by helicopter.

Plans are to wrap up the work by March 2008, with a report issued to the DWR.

Some of the officials at Thursday’s meeting found the lack of bad news encouraging even though it was preliminary.

“That’s good to hear you’re not running into areas,” said Marysville Levee Commissioner Pat Ajuria.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/levee_53376___article.html/marysville_levees.html

 

 

LEVEE SURVEYING:

DWR to Conduct Aerial Levee Surveys; Helicopter flights will evaluate integrity of flood control levees

News Release, Department of Water Resources – 8/30/07

Contact: Elizabeth Scott, DWR Public Information Officer, (916) 835-5344 or mescott@water.ca.gov

 

Sacramento—The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) will conduct low-level electromagnetic helicopter survey flights over Central Valley levees beginning Sept. 6.  These surveys will gather additional data on levees near Marysville, Yuba City, Sacramento, Woodland, Stockton and Lathrop to determine their integrity.  

 

The helicopter will carry an aerial sensor suspended about 100 feet above the ground.  The sensor technology, airborne electromagnetics, is safely used throughout the world in mineral exploration and the evaluation of land features and natural resources. A photograph of the helicopter and the sensor is available at: http://www.levees.water.ca.gov/evaluation/images/helicop_sensor.jpg 

 

DWR will hold two media opportunities for this survey effort.  There will be a ground demonstration of the equipment at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 5 at the Yuba County Airport in Marysville. The helicopter and survey equipment will be on display, and the DWR survey team will be available to answer questions about the flights and equipment. The following day, a flight demonstration will take place at 9:00 a.m. at a levee site near Yuba City.

 

The flights, which are part of the state’s commitment to improving flood safety, are expected to continue into early October. The effort is being funded through Propositions 84 and 1E, which were approved by California voters in November 2006.

 

Flights will take place along the Feather River, Bear River, American River, Sutter Bypass, Yolo Bypass, Sacramento River, Stanislaus River, San Joaquin River, and their tributaries.

 

When finalized, flight information and schedules will be posted and updated daily online at www.levees.water.ca.gov

 

Media Events

 

Ground Demonstration

When: 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007

Where: Yuba County Airport, Marysville

Directions from Sacramento:

Travel north on I-5 to 99 North (Yuba City/Marysville)  Travel north to 70.  Travel north on 70 to the McGowan Parkway exit.  Take the exit and turn left on McGowan Parkway. Travel west to Arboga Road. Turn right. Travel north to Sky Harbor Drive. Turn left and drive to the end of Sky Harbor Drive to Red Carpet Aviation.

 

Flight Demonstration

When: 9:00 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007

Where: DWR Sutter Maintenance Yard (Near Yuba City)

Directions from Sacramento:

Go north on Interstate 5 to the 99/70 (Yuba City) turnoff just north of Del Paso Road.  Go north on State Highway 99 and continue to Yuba City.  At the north end of Yuba City, go west (left) on State Highway 20.  After about 6 miles on State Hwy. 20 and just adjacent to the west side of the Wadsworth Canal, the Sutter Maintenance Yard will be located on the south (left) at 6908 Colusa Highway (Hwy. 20).

The Department of Water Resources 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.

www.water.ca.gov

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 California.

 

 

[Water_news] 4. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATER QUALITY - 8/31/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

August 31, 2007

 

4. Water Quality

 

PERCHLORATE:

Rialto may see more of the EPA - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

 

WASTEWATER ISSUES:

Wastewater pipeline critics seek concessions - Ventura County Star

 

 

PERCHLORATE:

Rialto may see more of the EPA

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin – 8/31/07

Jason Pesick, staff writer

 

RIALTO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is likely to play a larger role in cleaning up drinking water contaminated with perchlorate around the city.

 

That's the word after a meeting on Thursday in San Francisco of city and EPA officials.

 

"We haven't made up our mind," Superfund project manager Wayne Praskins said of how the EPA plans to move forward.

 

"Proposing to add the site to (the Superfund program) is on the table here, and an increased EPA role in working with the (potentially responsible parties) is on the table."

 

The Superfund is a federal program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

 

Rialto officials have resisted becoming a Superfund site.

 

Councilman Ed Scott, who attended the meeting, said his preference is not to go the Superfund route. But he is looking for a way for all sides to work together.

 

"No matter who takes the lead, there has to be a leader," Scott said.

 

The EPA's plans should be clearer by the end of September, Praskins said.

 

Perchlorate is used in the production of explosives and can harm humans by interfering with the thyroid gland.

 

High concentrations of perchlorate are flowing through the city from industrial sites on the city's north end.

 

It was first discovered in 1997, but state regulatory agencies have been unable to get it cleaned up.

 

In recent weeks, three of the suspected polluters - Goodrich, Black & Decker and Pyro Spectaculars - were able to get a court to call a temporary halt to state water board hearings after raising concerns about the board's bias against them.

 

At a separate meeting Wednesday between state officials - including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's deputy chief of staff, Dan Dunmoyer, and City Council members - Dunmoyer broached the idea of declaring a state of emergency in the city.

 

In two weeks, the state will complete an analysis of the pros and cons of declaring a state of emergency. The city will also examine the idea.

 

"Actually, right at the moment it doesn't sound like there's a whole lot of cons," said Councilwoman Winnie Hanson, who attended the Sacramento meeting along with Mayor Grace Vargas and a host of other officials.

 

If Rialto and the governor agree to declare the city in a state of emergency because the current drought plus perchlorate contamination have drastically reduced the city's water supply, it will be easier for Rialto to snag state funds.

 

There's a downside to this strategy, however.

 

It could be more difficult to approve future developments as the city must guarantee a 20-year water supply for new projects, said Scott Sommer, one of Rialto's lawyers.

 

Regardless of the decision on the state of emergency issue, Rialto's water plight and the cleanup delay has started to attract statewide attention.

 

On Wednesday, state Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, held up Senate Rules Committee confirmation hearings on two of Schwarzenegger's water board nominees.

 

"But what has become absolutely clear is the state is woefully inept at enforcing its clean water laws," Perata wrote in a letter to Schwarzenegger on Wednesday that mentioned the Rialto contamination.

 

The state board is working to address some of Perata's concerns and hopes the courts will allow the perchlorate hearing to quickly move forward, said its spokesman, Bill Rukeyser.

 

Bill Maile, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the governor wants to see the nominees confirmed.

 

"The governor shares Sen. Perata's priorities for California to have the best possible water quality, and he looks forward to working with the Legislature to improve water quality throughout the state," Maile said.

 

Scott said Rialto's contamination is becoming a more sensitive political issue in Sacramento.

 

"I really think that water should be the No.1 priority of this state right now," he said. #

http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_6766245?IADID=Search-www.dailybulletin.com-www.dailybulletin.com

 

 

WASTEWATER ISSUES:

Wastewater pipeline critics seek concessions

Ventura County Star – 8/31/07

By Charles Levin, staff writer

 

Some critics of a proposed pipeline to carry treated wastewater under Port Hueneme said they will not oppose the project but instead lobby for concessions from the agency pushing the plan.

 

The Calleguas Municipal Water District wants to build the underground pipeline down Hueneme Road and Surfside Drive to Port Hueneme Beach. >From there, it would resurface in the ocean more than 2,500 feet past the surf line.

 

The proposal comes as Port Hueneme is trying to attract more tourists, resident Audrey Albert said at a public hearing Wednesday. "And this is going to knock the wind out of our sails for awhile," said Albert, a member of the group Hueneme People.

 

On Thursday, however, Albert said she will not try to stop the project, despite misgivings about its impact, a sentiment echoed by other critics at the hearing.

 

Albert and others said they instead will lobby the district for concessions for residents having to put up with more than a year of construction work.

 

"We need to get more out of it for the trouble," Albert said. In an e-mail to Councilman Norm Griffaw earlier this month, Albert suggested the district finance a skateboard park or police substation.

 

Griffaw, who supports the pipeline, said after the hearing that he will seek the district's help with financing city water projects.

 

More than a dozen people criticized the project at a two-hour public hearing at the Oceanview Pavilion on Wednesday. The hearing was designed to solicit comments about a recently released draft environmental impact report. All comments must be submitted to the water district's office by Sept. 10.

 

The project would be the final link in a 32-mile pipeline the district has been building from Simi Valley to the sea since 2002.

 

The 48-inch-wide pipeline would carry treated waste water from sewage plants in Simi Valley and Moorpark.

 

The wastewater contains elevated levels of salt. It can't be discharged in creeks but could irrigate golf courses and other landscaping.

 

Port Hueneme would be able to send briny water from its desalination plant to the pipeline at no cost. Any other Calleguas concessions would be up to its board of directors, Eric Bergh, the district's manager of resources, said Thursday.

 

At the hearing, critics raised questions about water quality, effects on marine life, and noise and traffic. Several asked why the district chose Port Hueneme, arguing that residents already have to live with power plants and a toxic slag pile at a shuttered metal recycling facility.

 

"Things get dumped on us," resident Clarissa Job said.

 

Several asked why the district didn't evaluate other coastal locations for the discharge point, and said the construction will disrupt Surfside Drive, which is dense with condominiums.

 

Other locations were evaluated, but they all had protected wetlands or development, such as Naval Base Ventura County, Bergh said. And state and federal regulators aren't likely to give permits for such spots.

 

Calleguas sells water to 23 agencies in Ventura County, serving about 600,000 people.

 

Susan Mulligan, Calleguas' manager of engineering, said the treated wastewater would meet the highest water-quality standards.

 

High copper levels, however, require that it be released far out in the ocean, Mulligan said.

 

No construction would take place at the beach or on Surfside Drive from May to November, Mulligan said.

 

Construction would last about a year, but it's unclear when it would start, Bergh said.

 

Permits must first be granted by the city, California Coastal Commission and state Regional Water Quality Control Board. #

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/aug/31/wastewater-pipeline-critics-seek-concessions/

####

 

 

[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 8/31/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

August 31, 2007

 

3. Watersheds

 

DELTA ISSUES:

Plan impresses panel mapping out future of Delta; Proposal calls for study of peripheral canal, dams to be built in waterways - Contra Costa Times

 

QUAGGA MUSSELS:

Water officials brainstorm for ways to halt spread of invasive quagga mussels - San Diego Union Tribune

 

Boaters Asked to Help Stop Spread of Quagga Mussel; Boats and boating recreation at risk

News Release, Department of Water Resources

 

SALTON SEA:

Sea bill dead, but funding not dried up - Desert Sun

 

HABITAT RESTORATION:

Yuba habitat pact OK’d; Three Rivers helping to preserve crustaceans - Marysville Appeal Democrat

 

 

DELTA ISSUES:

Plan impresses panel mapping out future of Delta; Proposal calls for study of peripheral canal, dams to be built in waterways

Contra Costa Times – 8/31/07

By Mike Taugher, staff writer

 

SACRAMENTO -- Members of a blue ribbon panel assembled to help determine the future of the Delta said they were deeply impressed with a three-pronged plan to change the way water is delivered in California.

 

The breakthrough proposal, developed by representatives of more than 40 divergent interest groups, calls for an immediate experiment to build temporary dams in Delta rivers and study whether a highly controversial aqueduct should be built.

 

It appears to address immediate problems facing the Delta's declining environmental health and the state's water supply while setting out a course for reaching long-term solutions.

 

"This is absolutely a stunning accomplishment," said Ray Seed, a member of the panel and a levee expert at UC Berkeley.

 

The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, appointed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, faces a December deadline to come up with a new plan for the Delta.

 

Its report will be one of several assessments due by the end of the year that point to the same conclusion: the Delta, as an ecosystem and a critical link in the state's water delivery system, is broken. In addition, the consensus is that the method -- and perhaps the amount -- of water deliveries must be dramatically changed.

 

"No one is talking about a magic new supply of water that will be instantly available," said Phil Isenberg, the former Sacramento lawmaker who is chairman of the panel. "The supply is being tightened while the demand is growing."

 

Details of the group's proposal, one of 29 put forward, were first reported Aug. 19 in the Times.

 

It first would implement a series of noncontroversial steps, such as developing an emergency response plan in the Delta in case of levee failures. It then calls for installing rock barriers in the Delta to separate water supply channels from environmentally sensitive habitat.

 

Finally, it would sanction an aggressive study to determine the cost, feasibility and operations of a highly controversial aqueduct that would carry water around the Delta toward the massive pumps near Tracy that send water to 25 million Californians and millions of acres of farmland.

 

Some supporters of the group's plan say that if the experimental channel modifications and aqueduct studies both pan out, then water could be delivered in both ways.

 

Others are set against the aqueduct because of the threat to Delta landowners, water quality and fisheries.

 

One variation of the plan would forego any study of the aqueduct, known as a peripheral canal, but one longtime canal critic said he was willing to endorse a study because he is sure it will prove too costly and environmentally damaging.

 

"I am confident that on its merits, it will fail," said Tom Zuckerman, an adviser to the Central Delta Water Agency.

 

Several speakers on Thursday said the agreement was made possible by the sense of crisis that has enveloped the state water supply because of the environmental deterioration in the Delta, heightened concern about levee fragility and, more recently, water supply shutdowns that were ordered in response to crashing fish populations.

 

And, speakers noted, that crisis could worsen today if a federal judge in Fresno, as expected, orders more water cutbacks.

 

The judge, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, ruled in May that a federal permit that is supposed to protect Delta smelt from the effect of pumping is illegal. His anticipated ruling is meant to bring the pumping operations into legal compliance until regulators issue a new permit next year.

 

For many water agencies, a new aqueduct, often referred to as a peripheral canal, might solve that problem because south Delta pumps that kill fish would not run as hard or as often.

 

However, such an aqueduct would be very expensive and carries serious risks for the environment, Delta landowners and the 500,000 customers of the Contra Costa Water District, whose water quality could be adversely affected.

 

Some of the panel members expressed distrust of the state Department of Water Resources and suggested a canal could cause it to abandon its stewardship of the Delta.

 

"In my experience, water exports have been the priority," said Isenberg, a former legislative leader from Sacramento. "My assessment is that (the Delta environment) must be a lower priority for the department than water exports."

 

In fact, the state water agency never obtained an endangered species permit from state regulators to run its massive Delta pumps. A state judge in April ordered the state pumps, which serve parts of the East Bay, South Bay, Kern County and Southern California turned off but that order is on hold pending the agency's appeal.

 

Meanwhile, its federal endangered species permit has been ruled illegal.

 

Sunne McPeak, a former Contra Costa County supervisor and Cabinet secretary under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and leading opponent of the original peripheral canal in the early 1980s, questioned state water officials and consultants about plans to make water available to restore the Delta in case of massive levee failures. In such a disaster, massive water releases would be needed to push seawater out of the Delta.

 

She found those plans lacking and accused the agency of a willingness to abandon the Delta.

 

"That is a prescription for an inland salt sea," McPeak said. "I sit here today refusing to accept that."

 

Referring to two fish species protected under endangered species laws, Delta smelt and Chinook salmon, McPeak said, "What will kill them off pretty certainly, forever, is if it's all salt. And that's where we're headed with the fix that everybody is talking about."

 

The blue ribbon task force is expected to meet monthly until it delivers its Delta "vision" at the end of November. The panel then will be charged with developing an implementation plan next year. #

http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_6768850?nclick_check=1

 

 

QUAGGA MUSSELS:

Water officials brainstorm for ways to halt spread of invasive quagga mussels

San Diego Union Tribune – 8/31/07

By J. Harry Jones, staff writer

 

To kill a quagga, you've got to think like one.

 

So says Gary Eaton, head of the San Diego County Water Authority, which hosted a meeting of local water officials yesterday.

 

The subject of discussion was how best to address the recent quagga mussel invasion of San Diego lakes.

 

Officials are analyzing where the county's water systems are most vulnerable “and then saying, 'If I'm a quagga, where would I be,' ” Eaton said. Then, he said, go to those places and kill the tiny, invasive creatures.

 

How? All sorts of ways, Eaton said.

 

In some cases, reservoir levels could be lowered to expose the tiny mussels to the air, thereby drying and killing them. They also could be physically pulled off things such as piers and cables. Even dredging the bottom of the lakes is possible, although that creates its own problems.

 

So far the mussels have been found this month in three county lakes: Dixon Lake in Escondido, San Vicente Reservoir near Lakeside and Lower Otay Reservoir in Chula Vista. Officials think it is possible the mussels may have a foothold in all 12 of the region's reservoirs that are connected to the imported water supply system. That contamination could be carried to other lakes by boaters.

 

One problem is that quaggas multiply remarkably fast and could eventually clog pumps and pipes. The mussels can also alter lake ecosystems by consuming vast amounts of phytoplankton.

 

“They eat food sources of other species,” Eaton said.

 

The corresponding reduction of algae increases sunlight and promotes the growth of noxious aquatic weeds, which, in turn, could sour the taste of the water. Yesterday's meeting was attended by water officials from many agencies and departments and was not open to the public.

 

Eaton said it was a strategy session, the first of many.

 

“We're developing a plan for control and hopefully the eradication of the quagga mussels,” Eaton said.

 

The first part of that plan is to figure out the extent of the invasion.

 

“We're developing a plan to utilize the resources available to us locally to inspect and control the quagga problem,” Eaton said.

 

Preliminary plans developed yesterday include developing a public awareness campaign to alert local boaters to beware of the mussels and to look for them on and in their boats. The quaggas are known for hitching rides on boats from one body of water to another. Boaters are being encouraged to thoroughly wash their boats, preferably with heated water.

 

“You will see a lot of people out there looking at the boats making sure the boats aren't carrying ballast water that could harbor the quagga mussel . . . and inspecting the exterior of boats to make sure the quagga mussel is not attached,” Eaton said after the meeting.

 

“You're also going to see a lot more inspections,” he said, “checking the underside of docks, checking the buoy lines so that we can get an idea in the county where these things are and to what degree they have populated.”

 

The mussels do not pose a health risk, but they could become costly to deal with if allowed to multiply as they have for two decades in the Great Lakes. Experts believe the mussels entered the United States in the ballast water of ships that entered the Great Lakes in the late 1980s. Since then, billions of dollars have been spent in that area to combat their spread.

 

How much it might cost to address the problem locally may not be known for years and could be directly linked to how successful officials are at thwarting their spread now.

 

In recent months, quagga mussels have been found in waterways in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Up until January, the mussels had never been found west of the Continental Divide. #

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070831-9999-7m31quagga.html

 

 

Boaters Asked to Help Stop Spread of Quagga Mussel; Boats and boating recreation at risk

News Release, Department of Water Resources – 8/3/07

Contacts: Kyle Orr, Department of Fish and Game (916) 322-8958; Pete Weisser, Department of Water Resources (916) 653-3350; Sheryl Watson, California State Parks (916) 654-7538; Gloria Sandoval, Department of Boating and Waterways (916) 263-0788 (Spanish)

 

Sacramento – Multiple state departments are urging boaters and watercraft users to help stop the spread of Quagga mussels along the Colorado River and into California.  Particular waters of interest include Riverside County’s Lake Skinner and San Diego County’s Lower Otay Reservoir, Lake Dixon, and San Vicente Reservoir, all of which permit recreational access.

 

"With Quagga mussels on the move from the Nevada border to inland San Diego County, we need the public’s help to keep them from going farther," said Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman. "Once the Quagga are established in a waterway, they have significant environmental, recreational and economic impacts."

 

Although they range from microscopic to the size of a fingernail, the mussels are prolific breeders and attach themselves to hard and soft surfaces, such as boats and aquatic plants.

 

Quagga mussels affect boaters negatively because they:

 

- Ruin your engine by blocking the cooling system – causing overheating.

- Increase drag on the bottom of your boat, reducing speed and wasting fuel.

- Jam steering equipment on boats.

- Require scraping and repainting of boat bottoms.

- Colonize all underwater substrates such as boat ramps, docks, lines and other underwater surfaces requiring constant cleaning.

 

Quagga mussel infestation can potentially lead to the closure of boating in affected waterways.  They also wreak havoc with the environment, disrupting the natural food chain and releasing toxins that affect other species. Spread of the Quagga could result in millions of dollars in damage to water transport facilities.

 

Various watercraft are the primary transporters of Quagga mussels. All boaters and anyone who accesses freshwater aquatic environments should take the following steps to inhibit the spread of the Quagga mussel:

 

- Inspect all exposed surfaces - small mussels feel like sandpaper to the touch.

- Wash the hull of each watercraft thoroughly; preferably with high pressure/hot water.

- Remove all plants and animal material.

- Drain all water and dry all areas.

- Drain and dry the lower outboard unit.

- Clean and dry all live-wells.

- Empty and dry any buckets.

- Dispose of all bait in the trash.

- Wait five days and keep watercraft dry between launches into different fresh waters.

 

It is important for boaters to follow these steps and cooperate with vessel inspections that are being conducted at a number of Department of Food and Agriculture border inspection stations and around the state.

 

These invasive freshwater mollusks were first detected in California in January 2007, in Lake Havasu on the Colorado River.  In subsequent months, they were found in two Southern California water systems using Colorado River water, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and the San Diego County Water Authority.  

 

MWD documented the mussels in March and again in July in its 242-mile Colorado River aqueduct, and also at Lake Mathews near Riverside and at Lake Skinner in Winchester, east of Temecula.  On Aug. 21, the mussels were discovered in San Diego County, at San Vicente Reservoir near Lakeside.

 

Thus far, the mussels have not been found in California's State Water Project (SWP), which draws its water from Northern California watersheds. Environmental scientists are monitoring the system, one of the largest water and power systems in the United States.  The main risk of mussel introduction in the SWP is from trailered boats.

A multi-agency taskforce that includes the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Boating and Waterways, the Department of Water Resources and California State Parks has launched an outreach campaign to alert boaters and the public to the Quagga mussel threat.  This effort is also being coordinated with MWD and the San Diego County Water Authority.  For information on the Quagga mussel response, visit the DFG Web site at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/quaggamussel/.

 

A public toll-free number, 1-866-440-9530, has been established for boaters and anyone involved with activities on lakes and rivers seeking information on the invasive and destructive Quagga mussels.  The toll-free number is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Department of Water Resources 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.

www.water.ca.gov

 

 

SALTON SEA:

Sea bill dead, but funding not dried up

Desert Sun – 8/31/07

By Jake Henshaw, staff writer

 

A bill laying the groundwork for an ambitious $8.9 billion restoration effort at the Salton Sea likely died Thursday in a powerful Assembly committee - but there still is money in the budget to begin some work this year.

 

Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, the bill's author, said afterward that she asked the committee's chairman, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, to reconsider the move.

 

"We thought this bill needed to move along on its own merits," she said after the vote.

 

The state's 2007-08 spending plan includes $23 million and the necessary authorization to begin work identified in a state restoration plan released in May.

 

''The money that is necessary to move things forward this fiscal year is in the budget," Ducheny said. "The direction of what to spend it on is in the budget. I think that is clear enough."

 

The century-old Salton Sea needs help because it's running out of water, which will lead to additional dry lake bed that'll spawn air quality problems in the Coachella and Imperial valleys, proponents and environmentalists have said.

 

Ducheny's measure, Senate Bill 187, specifically targeted the funding procedures and use of $47 million earmarked for the project in Proposition 84, a water bond passed last year.

 

Leno said the bill was "held" in committee for possible further action in 2008 because it didn't identify a permanent agency to oversee the 75-year sea restoration plan.

 

It has yet to be decided whether locals or the state will oversee the long-term plan.

 

"It's sort of a work in progress," Leno said, stressing the governing structure is "part of the same" issue and should be addressed so proponents "get it right."

 

The state Legislature adjourns Sept. 11.

 

Rick Daniels, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority, said he was not ready to give up this year on the bill to help California's largest lake.

 

"We will provide information to try to change the good Assembly members' minds," Daniels said, promising to get on the phone to supporters after the vote.

 

Daniels said there was a meeting Wednesday of all the interested parties in the sea's restoration and they agreed to work on it during the fall to prepare a proposal for next year.

 

"The issues of governance were too complex and controversial to move at this time," Daniels said, adding that "everybody is committed to make it work, to get it done."

 

He argued that now is the time to move the bill because it's an indication of support for a broad restoration effort, especially at a time when Congress is considering approving another $30 million for the project.

 

"It is symbolic to leverage the federal money," Daniels said. "They are looking for a signal from the state that the feds have a funding partner out here."

 

The state's plan, unveiled in May, would reduce the dying lake to one-fifth its current size and create wildlife ponds so it could remain a nationally recognized refuge for more than 400 bird species.

 

Under the nearly $9-billion plan, the lake would drop farther south into Imperial county and 2,000 acres of wildlife ponds would be added in the north near the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation.

 

The state budget now includes $13.3 million from Proposition 84 and $10 million from Proposition 50, an earlier water bond, for a shallow saline pool known as Early Start Habitat as well as preliminary construction work and biological, air and water quality monitoring.

 

This action is outlined as the first step in what's called the "preferred alternative" of the restoration plan released in May by Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman.

 

Ducheny's bill also designated Chrisman as the temporary director of the initial project work while local, state and federal officials, along with other interested parties, develop a permanent agency to oversee the 75-year effort.

 

The expansive project has drawn skepticism from legislators outside the Salton Sea region, but Daniels said supporters made some progress this year in focusing attention on the sea.

 

"We got it to be a statewide priority," he said, "not just a regional priority."

 

But Daniels acknowledged that it's been harder than he expected to advocate for the sea.

 

"I think we, I, underestimated the length of time and the number of people needed to sign off on legislation to move it forward," he said. "I am surprised up here." #

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/NEWS0701/308310007/1006/news01

 

 

HABITAT RESTORATION:

Yuba habitat pact OK’d; Three Rivers helping to preserve crustaceans

Marysville Appeal Democrat – 8/30/07

By Andrea Koskey, staff writer

 

The Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority has approved an agreement to create natural habitats for crustaceans affected by Bear River levee work.

The $1.3 million agreement allows Wildlands Inc., a Rocklin habitat development company, to create an environment that would house local species permanently and help them survive.

“The site is beautiful. The design is to create pools around existing ones,” said Anja Kelsey, environmental project manager for TRLIA.

“We are doing our due diligence to create a huge multispecies habitat bank. Not a single non-native species will be introduced, that’s the key for survival.”

Construction on the 9.14 acre site, east of Highway 65 and south of Ostrom Road in south Yuba County known as Best Slough, will begin in April with completion expected in a year. Site monitoring could last up to five years.

“We picked this area because of its location as a buffer zone to the landfill and Beale Air Force Base and because there are already a number of natural vernal pools there,” Kelsey said Thursday. “It’s exciting. We are permitted and ready to build it.”

The pools are a part of an environmental requirement when TRLIA built the setback levee along the Bear River two years ago.

As a result of construction, natural pools are often affected or lost, so an area must be set aside to create additional natural habitats, Kelsey said.

These habitats will provide a home to native vegetation and critters such as Elderberry shrubs and a variety of shrimp species among other crustaceans.

“It’s a very delicate process,” said TRLIA Executive Director Paul Brunner. “The idea is to protect species inside (the pools) and maintain and protect them forever.”

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/create_53372___article.html/pools_natural.html

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