A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 14, 2007
2. Supply -
Opinion:
John Laird: Water conservation is answer for future
Wells fill gap in conservation
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Agency to work out water deal with West Kern
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Opinion:
John Laird: Water conservation is answer for future
Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, is chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.
In the wake of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent statewide tour to push his water plan, there is a key fact all Californians should consider: The city of
Why? Water conservation.
Throughout urban
The amount of water "produced" through conservation, recycling and groundwater clean-up in
The governor is right to highlight the challenge of providing water for
The
The challenge is magnified because most water demands occur in areas where the water isn't -- requiring not just additional water, but expensive conveyance systems to get water to the areas that need it. Those conveyance systems consume massive amounts of electricity. In fact, according to the Pacific Institute, 19 percent of
Water conservation must be a key part of any future plan. It is not the solution by itself, but it is the only water "source" that is common to every water district in the state. It also costs considerably less than any other water development alternative.
The Legislature should play a major role on this issue. Two bills I've authored will take water conservation to the next level in
Assembly Bill 715 would phase in lower-flow, high-efficiency toilets and authorize waterless urinals for new construction. These toilets are now on the market, and a recently released study by the federal Environmental Protection Agency shows they work.
The Plumbing Manufacturers Institute, representing toilet manufacturers, supports AB 715. One manufacturer, Kohler, estimates annual water savings in
Manufacturers believe that just as
When this bill passed and headed to the Senate, opposition came only from those who referred to the bill as "nanny government." Current-generation water-efficient toilets -- part of how Los Angeles grew by a million people and was still able to use the same amount of water -- were the result of legislation signed into law by then-Gov. Pete Wilson, hardly known as a fan of "nanny government."
A second bill, Assembly Bill 1420, would apply to jurisdictions seeking water management funds from the bonds approved by voters last November. To receive a grant from the state, the bill would require jurisdictions seeking the money to have good water conservation programs in place or planned.
Enactment of AB 1420 would result in annual savings of an estimated 300,000 acre-feet of water, begging the question: Why should we develop new water sources before we manage existing sources to best advantage?
As we consider how to plan for our future, we should make water conservation a key part of any solution. It's cheaper, it's everywhere and it's the easiest of the alternatives on the table. Once again,
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/323532.html
Wells fill gap in conservation
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT – 8/14/07
By BLEYS W. ROSE
The 19 percent reduction in
After reviewing water use in July - the first full month of a state-mandated reduction in
Use of the river as a source of potable water has been restricted since July 1 by state authorities who ordered a 15 percent reduction in order to save enough in
"It may be half and half," said Glen Wright,
To meet the state-mandated 15 percent cutback in
Use of so-called "local production" of water to meet the state's 15 percent cut is, according to critics, a disingenuous manner of coping with the water shortage. The argument, coming from many of the county's environmental and slow-growth activists, centers on the current need for water conservation that could extend to include water shortages making necessary such things as building moratoriums, growth limits and development restrictions.
"Why should cities hand out development permits when we have a water situation that is not going away anytime soon," said David Keller, a former
"Solving the water problem by pumping locally also means we are draining the local water sources."
State water officials said this week they are satisfied with the way that the nine municipalities contracting with the Sonoma County Water Agency are reducing their
"We are very confident that the people in your area are taking conservation seriously, but the order is for reduction in diversions only from the
When the Sonoma County Water Agency last week released its tallies of average daily use during July for its contractors, it prompted questions about who was saving water and how.
Some city water department officials felt slighted because the totals reflected
In fact, the Water Agency itself is pumping more water out of wells in the Santa Rosa Plain, which caused a major discrepancy between the amount of water being saved at two metering stations on the river and by the various cities and water districts, which have 150 meters in different locations.
A Press Democrat survey of the nine cities and water districts using Russian River water provided by Water Agency aqueducts found drops in river water usage in July were attributable to increased well pumping as much as consumer conservation. Water officials in
The survey also found:
"It is not a stellar performance," said
Cities like
Rohnert Park city engineer Darren Jenkins said the city predicts the city will pump an average 1 million gallons a day from about 30 active wells "in order to help out the situation on the river." Since 1996, well pumping has been reduced from 4.8 million gallons daily to 300,000 gallons last year, he said.
"We are helping out, but we are not going past what we used to pump," Jenkins said. "We have the same concern about sustainability of water resources."
Two
Paul Helliker, Marin Municipal's general manager, said its reservoirs are down to about 94 percent of average as it relies on them to reduce
In the North Marin Water District, officials said they reduced
North Marin district manager Chris DeGabriele said about half the savings came from increased reliance on Stafford Lake, which stores about 4,000 acre-feet of Novato Creek water. "From my perspective it is immaterial where the water comes from. Hallelujah we have the local sources," DeGabriele said.
Perhaps the purest measure of conservation was in the Valley of the Moon Water District where usage of
The district, which covers 6,800
"Everybody is doing what they can, reducing the watering cycle times by 20 percent, using nozzles on their hoses and avoiding over watering," said Krishna Kumar, general manager of the Valley of the Moon district.#
http://www.pressdemo.com/EarlyEdition/article_view.cfm?recordID=7296&publishdate=08/14/2007
Agency to work out water deal with West Kern
By
PALMDALE - Given an imbalance between use and supply, Palmdale Water District must resort to purchasing supplemental water from another agency.
PWD's board of directors, in closed session Wednesday night, authorized agency General Manager Dennis LaMoreaux to negotiate the price and terms of a water contract with the West Kern Water District, said agency attorney Tim Gosney.
LaMoreaux will sit down at the negotiating table with West Kern District to work out a deal for 3,000 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot equals 328,851 gallons, the amount of water the average family of four uses in a year.
"What we're looking at is an exchange of water to have some additional supply for this year - for the rest of the year," LaMoreaux said. By the end of July, he pointed out, district customers went through about 3,000 acre-feet of water - "more than we had available."
That's because many customers failed to meet a request by the district board to voluntarily cut their use by 15%. LaMoreaux told the board that many residential users achieved a 10% reduction in water use. But schools and the city haven't succeeded in meeting that 15% goal. In some instances, that usage actually increased, he told directors.
"We have to work together with the other entities - the school districts and the city," said PWD Director Raul Figueroa. "I've seen city parks watering (grass and plants) at 10 in the morning. Dick Wells mentioned he was at DryTown and saw the sprinklers go off at 2 o'clock," Figueroa said, referring to the water board president.
"If we complete this deal and get that water, we still need our customers to reach that 15% reduction goal from now through the end of the year."
Had the PWD board not requested cutbacks, the district would have exhausted its entire 60% State Water Project allocation by mid- to late-September, LaMoreaux estimated. The State Water Project supply comes from the 444-mile California Aqueduct.
Once the allocation is gone, LaMoreaux pointed out, "the only supply would be groundwater for the remainder of the year. That would force us to ask for much more extreme conservation measures."
Although this is the first time the district is entering this type of water exchange with another agency, LaMoreaux said, "we've discussed different types of water sales or transfers over the past year."
Prior to the 2007 drought, which left many Southern California purveyors scrambling to find water, the district purchased rights to additional Table A water from Belridge Water District in
Until PWD struck a deal with Belridge, the Palmdale entitlement was 17,300 acre-feet. Water rights purchased from Belridge gave Palmdale an additional 4,000 acre-feet each year, for a total of 21,300 acre-feet, which took effect in 2000.
In addition to the price Palmdale must pay West Kern for the 3,000 acre-feet Palmdale will have to give West Kern 6,000 acre-feet "when the allocation is high. And we have 10 years to return that water," LaMoreaux said.
Figueroa said the board agreed to the deal considering the situation they're in.#
http://www.avpress.com/n/10/0810_s4.hts
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