[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 8/22/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

August 22, 2007

 

2. Supply

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER SUPPLY:

Expect cutbacks on water, panel says; Drought, other factors push county to shortage - San Diego Union Tribune

 

LAKE BERRYESSA:

County keeps its word on Berryessa; Reimbursement for reservoir project took 50 years  - Fairfield Daily Republic

 

WATER SALE:

Arroyo may reap Oceano’s leftover water; Oceano district board to decide tonight on pursuing the sale of water to its neighbor - San Luis Obispo Tribune

 

NEVADA WATER ISSUES:

Las Vegas growth depends on dwindling water supply – Reuters

 

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER SUPPLY:

Expect cutbacks on water, panel says; Drought, other factors push county to shortage

San Diego Union Tribune – 8/22/07

By Terry Rodgers, staff writer

 

MISSION VALLEY – There is no silver bullet to forestall cutbacks to San Diego County's allotment of drinking water, a panel of experts on water, global warming, agriculture and the environment said yesterday.

 

An ongoing drought, climate change and shrinking supplies from the Colorado River and the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta have put the region on the edge of a severe water shortage.

 

The speakers predicted many challenges. Among them:

 

 Residential customers may be forced to significantly reduce water usage for landscaping.

 

 Some local growers' businesses could fold if water cutbacks hurt their bottom line.

 

 Even if desalination – converting seawater into drinking water – is adopted along the county's coastline, the product will likely be expensive and unable to meet demand.

 

 It's almost certain the cost of water will continue to rise, the experts said.

 

They spoke to movers and shakers at the Hilton San Diego in Mission Valley. The San Diego County Taxpayers Association held the panel discussion.

 

If current trends continue, Southern California's primary water purveyor could reduce the county's allotment by up to 50 percent, said Pete Silva, a senior policy adviser with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

 

After suffering a 31 percent cutback and being threatened with 50 percent cut from Metropolitan during the drought of 1987-92, the San Diego County Water Authority increased its storage capacity and cultivated other sources of water.

 

This strategy has made the region more self-sufficient and less dependent on Metropolitan, which 15 years ago supplied 95 percent of the county's water. Today, Metropolitan provides about 76 percent.

 

Nevertheless, a 50 percent cutback from Metropolitan would translate to a 35 percent reduction in the overall water supply for San Diego County, said Maureen Stapleton, general manager for the county water authority.

 

“Thirty-five percent is trouble.... You're going to feel pain,” Stapleton said.

 

Agriculture would be the first to feel the effects. In exchange for paying discounted water rates, growers have agreed to absorb the brunt of the initial cutbacks. They were recently told to expect a 30 percent reduction in their water allotment starting in January.

 

Growers have taken numerous conservation measures, said Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau.

 

Reduced water would mean less agricultural production for them. In turn, they will be tempted to sell their land to developers, Larson said.

 

For now, the region's strategy is to wait out the drought by keeping as much water as possible in storage. The drawdown of reservoirs will occur more slowly if consumers increase their water conservation, the speakers said.

 

For example, the water authority recently launched a campaign to persuade residential customers to use at least 20 gallons less per day, per person. It also wants to work with businesses, multi-unit dwellings and various institutions to curb their water consumption.

 

Water guzzlers will have to pay for their wasteful ways, said Spreck Rosekrans, an economic analyst with the national group Environmental Defense.

 

“Behavior is going to change based on the price of water,” he said.  #

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070822-9999-1m22panel.html

 

 

LAKE BERRYESSA:

County keeps its word on Berryessa; Reimbursement for reservoir project took 50 years

Fairfield Daily Republic – 8/22/07

By Barry Eberling, staff writer

 

FAIRFIELD - Solano County water users have made good on a 50-year-old, multimillion dollar pledge that allowed cities to grow and farms to prosper.

The county during the 1950s asked the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to build Monticello Dam and create the massive Lake Berryessa reservoir. In return, water users in the county would reimburse the government about $40 million of the $48 million in construction costs, minus the lake's recreation facilities in Napa County. Just in time for Monticello Dam's golden anniversary - the bureau completed the dam in 1957 - water users have apparently met their obligations. Pending some double-checking by bureau accountants, the Solano Project is paid off.

That doesn't mean water bills will plummet. Payments on the project have been so low, they are only a fraction of the water budgets for county cities.

Nor will Solano County own 300-foot-high Monticello Dam and Lake Berryessa. At this point, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will continue to do so. "It's not like your mortgage," said David Okita, general manager of the Solano County Water Agency.

But local water users have met their obligations.

 

"It's a pretty monumental event," Fairfield Assistant Public Works Director Rick Wood said.

Solano County farmers early in the 20th century started talking about damming Putah Creek at Devils Gate. Growing cities joined the lobbying effort by mid-century, and the federal government finally agreed to build Monticello Dam. When full, Lake Berryessa holds 1.4 million acre-feet of water - enough to survive a seven-year drought. Virtually all of it goes to county farms and cities.

Granted, the county got what now looks like a great deal on the Solano Project. The federal government 50 years ago charged cities $15 per acre-foot for Berryessa water and farms $2.65 per acre-foot. Those amounts never changed. The federal government charged no interest and set no deadline for the reimbursement to be completed.

Still, the federal government in the early- to mid-20th century handed out many deals like that.

"Water supply projects done by the federal government were intended to be very, very affordable," Wood said. "They were intended to help settle the West, where water was scarce." States in those days didn't have the means to build such big projects, Wood said. The federal water projects transformed the western United States, he said.

And what now appears to be a great deal looked riskier back in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Solano County residents debated whether the Solano Project would be an expensive boondoggle. Yolo and Napa counties decided not to take part.

"There were very intelligent people who made a different choice and said, 'This is too expensive for us, we can't afford this project,' " Wood said.

Local water users may have paid off the project two years ago, Okita said. If that's the case, the county could have some $2 million coming back to it.

Fairfield will take the end of Solano Project payments into account the next time it calculates water rates, Wood said. But Solano Project payments have not been a big part of Fairfield's water costs. The city has paid about $375,000 annually, compared to a water budget of almost $29 million.

Meanwhile, cities still have far greater expenses associated with Lake Berryessa water.

"The water is essentially free," Wood said. "It costs a fortune to store it, deliver it and treat it." #

http://local.dailyrepublic.net/story_localnews.php?a=news05.txt

 

 

WATER SALE:

Arroyo may reap Oceano’s leftover water; Oceano district board to decide tonight on pursuing the sale of water to its neighbor

San Luis Obispo Tribune – 8/22/07

By Nick Wilson, staff writer

 

Oceano leaders are set to decide tonight whether to pursue a deal to sell excess water to the city of Arroyo Grande.

 

The district is considering selling 200 acre-feet of water per year to Arroyo Grande for five years, with an option to renew the contract for an additional five years.

 

Arroyo Grande officials say the city could come close to exceeding its current water supply if dry weather continues over the next few years. The city’s projections show it could use up to 96 percent of its water in a dry year, City Manager Steve Adams said.

 

“The Oceano water would provide a little extra assurance that we wouldn’t exceed our allocations,” Adams said.

 

The total annual cost to Arroyo Grande would be $216,000 under the proposed agreement, said Patrick O’Reilly, the Oceano Community Services District general manager.

 

Because water rates in Arroyo Grande have been set for the next couple of years, customers shouldn’t expect any significant changes on their bills if the deal goes through, Adams said.

 

Oceano district directors will consider spending up to $12,000 to hire a Walnut Creek-based law firm to determine if the proposed agreement with Arroyo Grande will have an effect on Oceano’s future water rights. The firm Bold, Polisner, Maddow, Nelson & Judson is being considered for that work.

 

District President Jim Hill said he’s in favor of the agreement. But he wants to make sure Arroyo Grande continues to actively pursue another water source, and he wants to make sure Oceano retains future rights to the 200 acre-feet in question.

 

“We want an assurance to be able to pull out of a deal if we choose to do so,” Hill said.

 

Arroyo Grande is looking into other long-term water options, including building a desalination plant.

 

The Oceano district gets 2,000 acre-feet per year from the state, Lopez Lake and groundwater sources combined. But the district uses only 1,000 acre-feet each year, O’Reilly said.

 

An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre of land a foot deep. It’s generally thought to be enough to supply one to two single-family homes for a year.

 

The district would provide Arroyo Grande with either its Lopez Lake water — delivered though the Lopez pipeline — or groundwater. Arroyo Grande can’t receive state water unless it’s approved by voters.

 

Arroyo Grande’s City Council would have to sign off on the water agreement if Oceano’s board approves the contract, Adams said.  #

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/123322.html

 

 

NEVADA WATER ISSUES:

Las Vegas growth depends on dwindling water supply

Reuters – 8/21/07

By Adam Tanner, staff writer

 

LAKE MEAD, Nevada (Reuters) - Two wooden piers that once extended into Lake Mead, Nevada, now loom over a desert landscape, monuments to the insatiable need for water in nearby Las Vegas and other parts.

 

A "No Fishing" sign perhaps 600 hundred yards from the shrinking lake and a ring of white magnesium deposits marks the high water level like a giant, half-full bath tub that has dropped more than 100 feet in seven years.

 

The dramatic desiccation amid a multi-year Western drought highlights the difficult situation facing Las Vegas, one of America's fastest growing cities, whose economic future depends on the continued supply of water.

 

"Las Vegas is growing too fast for its water resources, not, unfortunately, unlike many other Western cities," said Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security in Oakland, California.

 

"Las Vegas is a special case for two reasons: it is growing very rapidly and the second is they are really constrained on water supply."

 

Built in a desert, Las Vegas has long seemed an unlikely place for a major American city. Yet the Las Vegas region is booming: Its population is 1.9 million, up nearly 50 percent since 1999, amid an expanding tourism and casino business.

 

At the same time, the West has suffered a sustained drought, with the Colorado River supplying less water to Lake Mead, which serves Nevada, California, Arizona and Mexico. The lake created by Hoover Dam provides 90 percent of Vegas water and stands less than half full.

 

DIFFERENT KIND OF GROWTH

 

Las Vegas is adjusting by more efficiently using its current supplies and is planning to build a $2.5 billion to $3 billion pipeline to bring aquifer water from a remote part of Nevada by 2015, said Pat Mulroy, long-time head of the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

 

She disagrees that Vegas, where on average four inches of rain falls each year, is growing too fast for its water. "We like every other Western city are going through a shift in how we use water resources," she said in an interview. "It is sustainable for the next 50 to 80 years."

 

"A very different type of growth going on. What you see is one far more conscious of water resources, one that that takes advantage of desert plant life, builds communities that are there to celebrate living in the desert rather than to defy living in the desert."

 

The gambling capital recycles waste water, but loses much by feeding thirsty vegetation such as grass. The city's water district now pays homeowners to remove grass, and has seen per capita usage fall in recent years.

 

"There is enough water in the West to support growth well into the future," said John Ritter, chairman of the Focus Property Group, which seeks to build environmentally friendly housing. "Vegas in 2000 was probably one of the poster children on how to waste water and today we are probably an example on how to use water efficiently."

 

WATER WASTE

 

Yet signs of water waste are still easy to find. A late morning drive through Henderson, an adjacent city where many Las Vegas workers live, found many sprinklers spraying in 107 Fahrenheit (42 Celsius) heat, including in city parks.

 

"This is a city ignoring its own rules," said resident Launce Rake, an official with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "There's no real commitment to conservation; they run all through the day."

 

A sign at one of the Henderson parks sprinkling under a blazing sun invited those concerned about water use to call a helpline number. The line was disconnected.

 

Las Vegas Strip hotels boast ornate fountains, and the Bellagio stages shows with dancing jets of water throughout the day accompanied by music. But overall the casinos and hotels take in just 7 percent of the area's water and consume 3 percent when recycled water is put back into the system, Mulroy said.

 

Water remains inexpensive. In summer, an average Vegas household uses 17,000 gallons per month and pays $36.64 (or about 2 cents per 10 gallons), and 11,000 gallons in winter for $21, according to the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

 

"Relative to other cities the cost of water in Las Vegas is a real steal," said developer Ritter. "If it cost people more I think they would use less."

 

Mulroy disagrees about the impact of higher prices.

 

"It would just irritate people," she said. "To simply throw out a gross rate increase, it's not going to create the necessary results. I mean look what's happening with gasoline: people are not using less gas as a result of it."

 

Some environmentalists say Vegas and other Western cities with limited sources should limit growth to preserve water.

 

Mayor Oscar Goodman disagrees, saying the city's economic boom will fund future water needs. "I hate to be a pragmatist but the bottom line really is that we'll never run out of water as long as we can pay for it," he said. #

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1335882320070821

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