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[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 9/28/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

September 28, 2007

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People

 

WATER LEGISLATION:

Assembly Democrats talk water; Unlike the governor's plan, theirs would have localities bear most costs for dams - Sacramento Bee

 

EDITORIAL: Water-resource plan for state long overdue - Contra Costa Times

 

Editorial: Discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to proposals for a peripheral canal - Tracy Press

 

FLOOD INSURANCE:

Flood insurance aid may ease sting for homeowners; Levee issues put those in Lathrop especially at risk - Stockton Record

 

FUNDING ISSUES:

Water agency may dip into reserve fund; Delta court order could create $2 million shortfall - Inside Bay Area

 

SALTON SEA AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE CHANGE:

Daniels leaves Salton Sea Authority for city manager post - Imperial Valley Press

 

FUNDING FOR RESTORATION PROJECT:

New park could enhance Marsh Creek; City files for state grant to fund area transformation along Marsh Creek that connects to park - Contra Costa Times

 

BIG CHICO CREEK PROJECT:

Work begins on floodplain project on Big Chico Creek - Chico Enterprise Record

 

 

WATER LEGISLATION:

Assembly Democrats talk water; Unlike the governor's plan, theirs would have localities bear most costs for dams

Sacramento Bee – 9/28/07

By E.J. Schultz, staff writer

 

With two competing water plans already on the table, Assembly Democrats weighed in Thursday with their own package of bills to fix the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and increase water supplies.

 

The legislation includes few details at this point. But the bills reaffirm the reluctance of Democrats to use state money to pay for dams -- a major part of Gov. Schwarzenegger's $9 billion plan.

 

The governor's proposal, carried by Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, would authorize the state to pay for as much as half the cost of three dams for a total of $5.1 billion. The targeted sites include one east of Fresno, another in Colusa County and expansion of an existing dam in Contra Costa County.

 

The legislation by Assembly Democrats states that local water users should carry "the strong majority" of water project costs.

 

Assembly Member John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, author of the bills, said the state has typically paid only a small fraction of the cost of new dams.

 

"If the governor's bond kept to that historic pattern, it would be almost $5 billion less than it is," he said.

 

Democrats have emphasized conservation, recycling and groundwater storage to boost water supplies.

 

But administration officials say that state payments for dams are justified because they would have statewide benefits, such as increased flood protection. Water officials also say the new dams would give them more flexibility to move water around the state.

 

The third plan, a $5 billion proposal by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, would free local water agencies to spend $2 billion in state water supply money as they see fit -- on dams, groundwater storage or other initiatives. It also includes $2 billion for projects to repair the deteriorating Delta. The governor includes a similar amount in his plan for the Delta.

 

The goal of both parties is to get a bond measure on the Feb. 5 ballot. Lawmakers have until Oct. 16 to strike a deal.

 

"We really will have to work around the clock between now and (Oct. 16) to get it done," Laird said. "And we're willing to do it."

 

Hearings on all the proposals are tentatively scheduled for next week. #

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/403585.html

 

 

EDITORIAL: Water-resource plan for state long overdue

Contra Costa Times – 9/28/07

 

FOR TOO LONG, California has been unwilling to develop a comprehensive, long-term water-resource plan, and to build the infrastructure necessary to provide a dependable source of water for the future.

 

Now the state is facing a huge challenge with a growing population, court-ordered reduction in water pumping, a threatened Delta environment, and the possibility of a drought. This is no time for delays and protracted political battles that lead to no results.

 

That is why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing a $9 billion bond measure to construct two new dams, expand the Los Vaqueros Reservoir, improve the Delta environment and pay for conservation. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, has a less ambitious plan, but is willing to work with the governor. Perata, like Schwarzenegger, understands the urgency of the situation.

 

He said, "Now we have a gun muzzle at our temple; unless we take swift action for immediate relief, the court will effectively cut water as much as 60 percent to millions of California consumers and thousands of businesses."

 

The governor wants to spend $5.1 billion to build two dams, one at Sites Reservoir in Colusa County and another at Temperance Flat, a dam on the San Joaquin River east of Fresno. His plan also seeks $1.9 billion for Delta restoration and an unspecified amount to expand Los Vaqueros.

 

Republicans in the Legislature are not likely to endorse any plan that does not include the two dams. Democrats are wary of building dams, but could be persuaded to support the idea if agricultural and regional interests come up with more money to help pay for the projects.

 

Certainly, the large agribusinesses in the Central Valley and elsewhere, which use most of the state's water, should be willing to pay more of their share. They are the ones most likely to lose if water supplies are diminished by court order and drought.

 

Greater water conservation, particularly by agriculture and underground storage, should be included in any long-range water plan. But there is no escaping the need for new reservoirs, which can provide water for environmental purposes as well as farms and urban users.

 

Those who argue that urban water conservation and underground storage preclude the need for new reservoirs are dead wrong, unless agriculture, which uses more than 80 percent of California's water, is severely cut back.

 

The governor and Legislature are going to have to develop a long-term strategy for California's water use that addresses the needs of agriculture, business and a growing population. Equally important is environmental protection, with adequate flows of fresh water and stricter standards against pollution from farms.

 

California is facing a water crisis, which could provide the motivation for the state to quickly develop the outline of a comprehensive water plan. Then a bond measure could be placed on the ballot in 2008 to at least begin building reservoirs and restoring the Delta. #

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_7025337?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

 

 

Editorial: Discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to proposals for a peripheral canal

Tracy Press – 9/27/07

 

Just like 25 years ago, California’s top politicians and special interests are lining up behind the idea of a canal that would suck in pristine Sacramento River water, send it flowing through or around the Delta and pump it south to thirsty users.

 

Perhaps, like then, it will take a collection of oddball but fervent opponents to halt it. Only this time, some of the canal supporters are swaying one-time opponents in Contra Costa County and the south Delta to join them by offering a through-Delta canal with buttressed levees and a permanent gate at Five Points at the head of Old River, respectively.

 

The levees along the south fork of the Mokelumne River and Middle River would protect the fresh water, fisheries and island farmland from saltwater intrusion. Plus, that plan would keep Southern California and Bay Area water users from taking water above the Delta and from threatening Contra Costa County’s water supply.

 

With the barrier, Middle River in the south Delta would be cut off from the effects of water drawn into the state and federal pumping plants, allowing it to return to a more natural ecological state to the benefit of farming and fisheries.

 

Oh, happy days? No quite. The so-called through-Delta conveyance is just one of several options that are being formulated. It’s been on the table since 2000 when first proposed by the infamous Cal-Fed, state-federal, Bay-Delta water consortium that died after Congress eventually refused to fully fund it.

 

However, the through-Delta plan might be the best alternative, and the only hope to protect Delta interests, even if it tastes like castor oil. The other two options: a peripheral canal or a dual peripheral canal and through-Delta canal are potential landmines to the economic, environmental and recreational stability of the Delta.

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed $9 billion water infrastructure bond doesn’t contain money for water conveyance.

 

However, $2.5 billion of Schwarzenegger’s proposed water bond would be promised for Delta restoration and improving fish habitat contingent on the acceptance of a canal.

 

The governor’s office and the Association of California Water Agencies already are campaigning heavily for the hearts and minds of Californians on the canal issue. Schwarzenegger’s assistants are countering the myths of the plan to send Sacramento River water around, instead of through, the Delta, so it can be pumped south. Southern California water agencies are warning Californians that they will be parched unless there are major modifications with the water strategy.

 

That is enough for opponents of any canal to remain sentinels of any political con job. Before anyone at the state Capitol or elsewhere takes Schwarzenegger’s water storage and Delta restoration bond proposal seriously, let’s wait until December when a state blue-ribbon task force, which has been carefully weighing the Delta options, is to recommend a solution to California’s water crisis.

 

Then, the campaigning can begin. #

http://tracypress.com/content/view/11436/2244/

 

 

FLOOD INSURANCE:

Flood insurance aid may ease sting for homeowners; Levee issues put those in Lathrop especially at risk

Stockton Record – 9/28/07

By Hank Shaw, Capitol Bureau Chief

 

SACRAMENTO - Homeowners in low-lying areas of San Joaquin County may get a rude surprise when the federal government unveils its revamped flood plain maps later this fall: Thousands are expected to be forced to buy flood insurance. On Thursday, Congress threw those homeowners a lifeline by passing a measure making the cost of that insurance cheaper.

 

Anyone living in an area that falls into the legal definition of a flood plain - a place that has a 1-in-100 chance of flooding each year - once the new maps are released will be eligible for 50 percent off the cost of their flood insurance for the first five years, thanks to a provision sponsored by Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater.

 

Such insurance typically costs about $400 a year for every $100,000 of coverage.

 

The House passed the bill by a vote of 263-146 on Thursday. No Central Valley Republican voted for the bill, but Cardoza and Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, voted in favor.

 

But Cardoza's measure could sink in the debate over the larger bill, which adds coverage of wind damage to the federal flood insurance program.

 

President Bush has vowed to veto the legislation because he argues that adding wind damage to the federally subsidized flood insurance program would eat into private insurers' business and open up taxpayers to billions of dollars in new liability when the existing flood insurance program is in financial trouble.

 

Private insurers stopped selling flood insurance long ago because it is too risky, so the federal government subsidizes coverage for property owners living in areas that the Federal Emergency Management Agency considers to be flood-prone. But recent hurricanes on the Gulf Coast have put the program $18 billion in debt.

 

One of the ways the government wants to use to climb out of that hole is to update the flood maps and require more property owners to pay into the flood-insurance pool; that way, when there is a flood - major ones happen in the San Joaquin Valley about every decade - there will be more funds to help washed-out homeowners.

 

Cardoza says that's fine but said it is unfair to force communities to buy flood insurance at the same time it is requiring them to spend millions to upgrade deficient levees.

 

"While I agree that people should know whether they live in protected areas or not, FEMA's process has been flawed from the beginning, and my constituents stand to suffer as a result," he said on the House floor Thursday.

 

Parts of Stockton and Thornton could be affected, but Lathrop is particularly at risk.

 

State water officials have panned the levees around Lathrop, and they are expected to be decertified by the federal government as well. This could prove disastrous to those living in the Mossdale area, which is already being hammered by one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

 

"We need to do everything possible to ensure people on the precipice remain in their homes," Cardoza said. "Saddling these people with more expenses when they can least afford it is counterproductive and contrary to our shared goal of promoting homeownership."

 

The bill now heads to the Senate. #

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070928/A_NEWS/709280322

 

 

FUNDING ISSUES:

Water agency may dip into reserve fund; Delta court order could create $2 million shortfall

Inside Bay Area – 9/28/07

By Meera Pal, staff writer

 

Faced with a potential $2 million loss in revenue as a result of a court-ordered reduction in Delta water pumping, the Livermore-Amador Valley's Zone 7 Water Agency is considering dipping into a droughtreserve fund.

 

The rest of the shortfall will be made up by a special 0.4 percent Delta surcharge on wholesale water rates, which already were proposed to increase to 8 percent next year.

 

Because Zone 7 — which delivers water to 200,000 customers in Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton — gets 80 percent of its water from the Delta state water project, it will encourage the public to conserve water by at least 10 percent during 2008.

 

But encouraging conservation will result in millions of dollars less going toward its operations costs, said Zone 7 spokesperson Boni Brewer.

 

Despite the court-ordered reduction, the agency still has enough stored groundwater and other emergency drought supplies to meet projected demands next year.

 

To make up for the expected revenue loss, the Zone 7 finance committee is recommending that the board of directors take money from the agency's long-established $5 million reserve fund, typically used to help stabilize rates during times of drought, as well as add the surcharge to water rates.

 

The board is scheduled to consider both of the finance committee's recommendations at its Oct. 17 meeting. General Manager Jill Duerig said the agency could adjust the Delta surcharge based on rainfall levels during the winter and whether the Delta issue requires continued and future water-supply reductions.

 

State water officials have estimated that the court-ordered reduction to protect the endangered Delta smelt could result in reducing water deliveries out of the Delta by 1 million acre-feet, or enough for 2 million households.

 

Water deliveries will be reduced for a year while state and federal agencies complete a long-term plan to protect the endangered Delta smelt.

 

Coupled with the Delta cutbacks, Zone 7 is also looking at lower water sales next year due to a slowdown in new development and reduced demand. The finance committee is recommending the agency contribute $5.5 million instead of $6.3 million from water-rate revenues toward capital improvements.

 

Duerig added that Zone 7 is also exploring ways to reduce its operational costs.  #

http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_7024802?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

 

 

SALTON SEA AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE CHANGE:

Daniels leaves Salton Sea Authority for city manager post

Imperial Valley Press – 9/27/07

By Jonathan Dale, staff writer

 

SALTON SEA — Salton Sea Authority Executive Director Rick Daniels has accepted the position of city manager for Desert Hot Springs in Coachella Valley, and he is already making the transition.

“They offered me the job last Tuesday,” Daniels said. “It’s been tremendous.

“This is a city that has a great future in front of it,” he said. “There are incredible growth opportunities.”

Daniels will be leaving a group that is on the verge of redefining its goals for restoring the Salton Sea, parts of which have been rapidly becoming wastelands for decades.

The Salton Sea Authority board will be meeting Thursday morning to discuss its restructuring, which will account for Daniels’ decision to leave the SSA and work for Desert Hot Springs.

 

 

“They want to decide a couple different things,” Daniels said. “It’s time to remission the Salton Sea Authority, because it was always the mission to develop a plan and implement it.

“It’s clear now from the legislation and the direction by the secretary of resources that there is going to be a locally based agency that will implement the plan; that will finish the construction and operation of the plan,” he said.

That local agency will not be the Salton Sea Authority in its current form, but will be similar to the SSA in its capacity, Daniels said.

“It will be a new agency created that is locally based, but it won’t be the Salton Sea Authority,” he said. “I think the obvious things the authority does very well is participating as a local advocate and securing funds for the project.”

Daniels said that while he will now be stationed north of the sea, he will still be pushing for its restoration, including making suggestions to continue securing additional funds through the 2008 water bond, of which there will be $8-9 billion for the restoration of California rivers and seas.

“I made great friends in and around the Imperial County, around the sea,” Daniels said. “I will help in whatever way I can.” #

http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/09/28/news/news02.txt

 

 

FUNDING FOR RESTORATION PROJECT:

New park could enhance Marsh Creek; City files for state grant to fund area transformation along Marsh Creek that connects to park

Contra Costa Times – 9/28/07

By Paula King, staff writer

 

OAKLEY -- Local leaders and residents are working together to transform a stretch of Marsh Creek and a future adjoining park into a natural amenity for the area.

 

The Contra Costa County Flood Control District, Marsh Creek enthusiasts and the city are seeking grant funding from the California River Parkways Grant Program. This week, the Oakley City Council voted to file an application for this state money.

 

The common goal is to provide a more natural connection to the creek in this area. The upcoming nine-acre Creekside Park is one of the last pieces of undeveloped land near the creek, which runs through Brentwood and Oakley.

 

"This is a unique chance to make Creekside Park Creekside Park instead of channel side park or ditch side park," Mayor Kevin Romick said.

 

According to Romick, this community park planned for the southwest corner of Laurel Road and Creekside Way could become "a defining park for Oakley." The Marsh Creek Regional Trail runs alongside the creek and it is a destination for walkers and nature enthusiasts.

 

Oakley resident Nina Salgado lives a block from the future park and the creek. She was at Monday's meeting to support the plans, and said that many people want to see this proposal come to fruition.

 

Salgado and other creek lovers said that this park will offer something different than other existing neighborhood and community parks in Oakley.

 

"It is nice to see that you have all this wildlife still in Oakley," she said. "Even if it is just to go out there and have a Zen moment."

 

At a meeting earlier this year, the Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed advocated for a shady, creekside park there. The local creek group also called for this joint-use project between the various agencies.

 

Several creek volunteers showed up at this week's meeting to tell the council that there are plenty of people willing to help make this project a reality. If the grant funding comes through, the project would make the creek's channel less steep and wider.

 

Currently, the creek is a deep channel that is utilized to transport water to the river. In its staff report, the city said these improvements would make the creek safer, more aesthetically pleasing and more of an amenity.

 

The flood control district owns and maintains the creek. In a letter to the city, Deputy Chief Engineer Mitch Avalon stated that the district supports expanding the channel and restoring its riparian corridor there.

 

"We see this as an opportunity to enhance the habitat value of Marsh Creek while providing an amenity to nearby residents and trail users," Avalon wrote. "This project provides a unique opportunity to both expand the channel and restore riparian vegetation along a significant section of Marsh Creek in the heart of Oakley."

 

The district has been using chemical mowing to maintain the channel area economically. The district and city are trying to work out ways to cover the increased future costs to maintain it.

 

More shade trees would also be added along the trail. Freedom High School teacher and creek advocate Tom Lindemuth said in addition to a recreational amenity, this project will also make the creek more beneficial in terms of flood control.

 

Lindemuth has been monitoring the health of the creek for several years with his students and witnessed its deterioration.

 

Through class studies, they have found that the creek is unable to sustain animal life and would like to improve its condition.

 

"We can make this environment better," Lindemuth said. #

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_7025409?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1

 

 

BIG CHICO CREEK PROJECT:

Work begins on floodplain project on Big Chico Creek

Chico Enterprise Record – 9/28/07

 

After a delay of seven years, work began Thursday on a floodplain project on Big Chico Creek where Nord Avenue bridges it. Heavy equipment is whittling away the north bank to re-establish a floodplain, which will allow the creek flow to spread into an open, unoccupied area and slow its speed.

 

The work is not expected to impede traffic on Nord Avenue.

 

The creek has cut deep into its bed, prompting erosion that this project should be able to avert.

 

After the new floodplain is created, native trees and vegetation will be planted to help stabilize the bank.

 

Coordinating the state-funded project is stream expert Roger Cole of Forest Ranch and Streaminders, a local stream advocacy group. The creek "is subject to bank erosion. The water's banging against the bank here. We're trying to give it some room," Cole said about the project.

 

The project took so long to start because Cole's grant money was tied up in a statewide discussion about prevailing wages and paying volunteers. #

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 - 9/28/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

September 28, 2007

 

4. Water Quality

 

FLUORIDE:

County loses water ruling; Suit allowed in camp fluoride case - Monterey Herald

 

WATER CLEANUP FEES:

County eyes parcel fee for water cleanup - Pasadena Star News

 

KLAMATH ALGAE:

Klamath to be posted for toxic algae - Eureka Times Standard

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER RUNOFF ISSUES:

Dry spell has kept bacteria low at beaches; Lack of storm runoff was a major factor in the marked improvements, annual report says. Clean-water projects also helped - Los Angeles Times

 

Beaches excel on quality of water Lack of rain cited for 'A' grades - Ventura County Star

 

L.A. County beaches worst in state; Santa Monica Bay better, report says - LA Daily News

 

San Diego County beaches earned high marks for water quality - North County Times

 

 

FLUORIDE:

County loses water ruling; Suit allowed in camp fluoride case

Monterey Herald – 9/28/07

By Virginia Hennessey, staff writer

 

Residents of a Cachagua mobile home park who unknowingly drank water tainted with dangerous levels of fluoride can sue the county for failing to inform them of the contamination, the 6th District Court of Appeal has ruled.

 

In a published opinion that would set precedent on application of the state's Safe Drinking Water Act, the court's three-judge panel ruled the county had a "mandatory duty" not only to require the property owner to regularly test the water, but to review the results and order the owner to alert his residents when contamination was found.

 

"It would defeat the purpose of the law, which is 'to ensure that the water delivered by public water systems of this state shall at all times be pure, wholesome and potable,' if these explicit duties did not also include the duty to direct the water system to properly notify its water consumers when their drinking water is contaminated," Justice Eugene Premo wrote in the 14-page opinion. Premo was joined in the ruling by Presiding Justice Conrad Rushing and Justice Franklin Elia.

 

The county argued in Monterey County Superior Court and before the appellate panel that its only obligation was to require the testing.

 

Deputy County Counsel Patrick McGreal, who represented the county, said he will almost certainly appeal the ruling.

 

"I heard about the decision when I got a call from another public agency which said it wanted to join in an appeal, because this decision is just plain wrong," he said. "At this point, we almost have an obligation to appeal because it deviates so far from existing law."

 

McGreal declined to name the agency that contacted him.

 

The opinion reverses an April 2006 ruling by Superior Court Judge Kay Kingsley, who agreed with the county's argument and released it as a defendant in the case. The lawsuit will be sent back to Kingsley for setting of a trial date.

 

The residents of Jensen Camp sued the county and then-Jensen Camp owner Rick Pinch in 2004, one year after they learned by accident that their water was tainted with naturally occurring fluoride.

 

The residents' attorney, Brian Burchett of San Diego, told the appellate panel one of the residents went to the county in 2003 to complain about discolored water. A clerk checked the file on the property and was stunned to see test results showing four times the safe level of fluoride in the water since 1995.

 

Compounding the problem, said Burchett, is the fact that the county Health Department did react to high levels of bacteria shown in the tests, ordering the residents to boil their water. The boiling action, he said, destroyed the bacteria but evaporated some of the pure water, increasing the concentration of fluoride.

 

Fluoride is effective as a topical deterrent to tooth decay, Burchett said. In fluoridated water systems, he said, it is swishing with the water, not its ingestion, that prevents cavities. Even then, less than 1 part per million is added to the water.

 

Water at Jensen Camp, Burchett said, was tested as high as 8.5 parts per million.

 

At elevated levels, Burchett said, fluoride actually rots teeth and causes bone-density, kidney and neurological disorders, all problems experienced by residents at Jensen Camp.

 

The 6th District court has historically been stingy with "published," precedent-setting opinions, electing instead to issue unpublished opinions that affect only the case at hand.

 

Burchett said his research shows that the appellate court's ruling is the first by any state appeals court that spells out the government's responsibilities under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The wording of the act is detailed and unambiguous, he said, "down to where you place the stamp."

 

"I think (the court) got it right," he said. "The legislature wanted to leave absolutely nothing to the discretion of the county. So it was baffling to us that the county was claiming no specific mandatory duties and that Kingsley agreed.

 

"We're glad the court of appeal saw it that way and the county can now be held responsible for the injuries they caused these people."

 

The lawsuit is still pending against Pinch. According to the complaint, he sold the camp to one of his residents in 2003 without informing him of the water problems. That resident, Javier Guzman, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. #

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_7023846?nclick_check=1

 

 

WATER CLEANUP FEES:

County eyes parcel fee for water cleanup

Pasadena Star News – 9/28/07

By Alison Hewitt, staff writer

 

County officials are considering a plan to raise money for clean water by adding a fee to the tax bills sent to property owners.

 

Almost every aspect of the proposal is still being developed - whether or not to go forward with a campaign, how much money county residents might be assessed, or what form an assessment would take.

 

Approximately $30 billion is needed over the next 20 years to clean up the county's storm water runoff, which regularly pollutes rivers and the coastline, said Donald Wolfe, the head of Public Works.

 

If the county fails to act, it could face expensive lawsuits from environmental groups for failing to comply with state and federal clean water acts, warned William Fujioka, the county's CEO.

 

The supervisors put $3.5 million aside for a study and campaign, and other uses. The study would explore whether voters might approve a ballot measure asking for the tax money.

 

A portion of the funds would go to support a possible campaign in favor of the initiative.

 

Another portion of the money could go toward engineering studies and consultant fees.

 

Supervisors Michael Antonovich and Don Knabe opposed the move.

 

"We've asked for a lot of information, and we've yet to receive any," Knabe said.

 

Antonovich said the county shouldn't be picking up the bill for clean-water requirements mandated by the federal government.

 

"Let's not let our (congressional) delegation off the hook," Antonovich said. "The county of Los Angeles, like other counties, does not have the ability to implement all of the mandates from the federal government. When the federal government imposes these types of mandates they have a responsibility of funding those."

 

Although only three votes were required to set aside the $3.5 million and give the go-ahead to Fujioka, four votes will be required if the supervisors decide to put the issue to voters in a countywide election, noted Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

 

However, there is a way to do it with three votes, said Judith Fries, principal deputy county counsel.

 

Fujioka's office is considering a mail ballot to property owners instead of a countywide vote. Mail ballots must be authorized under a specific statute, Fries said.

 

The flood-control act and the health and safety code are two avenues being explored as linchpins for such a ballot, Fries said. Using flood-control statutes would require three supervisor votes for a mail ballot, while health and safety would require four votes, according to Fries.

 

Whatever form the ballot takes, Yaroslavsky said the fee could help clean up county beaches that are frequently closed due to pollution after a rainstorm.

 

Early polls indicate that people would be willing to pay $20-$40 per parcel, enough to raise $100 million annually but still far short of what is needed, Wolfe said. #

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/search/ci_7023486?IADID=Search-www.pasadenastarnews.com-www.pasadenastarnews.com

 

 

KLAMATH ALGAE:

Klamath to be posted for toxic algae

Eureka Times Standard – 9/28/07

By John Driscoll, staff writer

 

Water quality regulators will post warnings about toxic algae in the Klamath River after recent Yurok and Karuk tribe tests found prolific concentrations of it.

 

The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is aiming to put up the signs soon, warning people to use caution in the water. That's after residents downstream of reservoirs on the Klamath watched the river take on a green color, according to a joint Yurok and Karuk press release.

 

Tests showed the toxic blue-green algae Microcystis aeruginosa to be especially concentrated. The algae was first found in the Klamath by dam owner Pacificorp in 2001, and in the past few years has become a focus and concern for tribes and regulators.

 

”This is not some kind of natural phenomenon,” said Yurok Environmental Director Kevin McKernan. “This is a direct result of Pacificorp's antiquated dams.”

 

A Pacificorp spokeswoman did not return a phone call by deadline.

 

Blue-green algae does appear naturally in some places, but the tribes and water quality officials believe the stagnant water of the reservoirs significantly boosts the amount and concentration of the algae, which then is passed downstream.

 

That can pose a danger to children and pets, and to people who are exposed to water with high concentrations of algae for long periods of time. Anyone who swallows water is at risk, and officials warn people against eating the organs of fish caught in the river or reservoirs.

 

Yurok and Karuk tribal members, a fisherman, a business owner and the environmental group Klamath Riverkeeper sued Pacificorp this spring for damages, claiming its dams create toxic conditions in the reservoirs and river and are a public nuisance. #
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_7025573

 

 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER RUNOFF ISSUES:

Dry spell has kept bacteria low at beaches; Lack of storm runoff was a major factor in the marked improvements, annual report says. Clean-water projects also helped

Los Angeles Times – 9/28/07

By James Ricci, staff writer

 

California's unprecedented dry weather helped make water at its beaches this summer the freest of illness-causing bacteria since Heal the Bay began measuring shoreline water quality 18 years ago.

>From Memorial Day to Labor Day, fully 92% of the state's 494 beaches earned grades of A or B on the environmental organization's annual summer report card, which was released Thursday. The number of A or B beaches was up 10% over last year's report card.

 

Heal the Bay officials attributed the improvement primarily to a lack of urban storm runoff, a major source of pollution.

"The best professional judgment is that roughly three-quarters of the improvement had to do with the weather, and the other quarter with clean beach initiative projects," said Mark Gold, president of the nonprofit organization. "The combination led to the cleanest summer since we started the report card in 1990."

Los Angeles County, however, once again recorded the worst ocean-quality grades, with 17% of its beaches receiving Fs. On the bright side, beaches on beleaguered Santa Monica Bay fared well, even bettering the state average.

Water at 93% of the bay's 67 beaches received grades of A or B, a dramatic increase from last year's 75%. But the beach at Santa Monica Municipal Pier, which got an F, was the bay's worst, and the second-worst in the state. The bay's other lowest achievers included Puerco Beach at the Marie Canyon storm outlet in Malibu and Dockweiler State Beach at Ballona Creek.

Water at beaches in Long Beach and at Avalon on Santa Catalina Island also showed "extremely poor" quality, the report said.

"What the report card tells us is that we are accomplishing the job of improving conditions in the surf zone, especially in summer when beaches are the busiest," said William Rukeyser, a spokesman for the California State Water Control Board, which has funneled $75 million to local governments for coastline water cleanup since 2000. "What it also tells us is that the job is not yet done."

On the whole, beaches in Southern California counties scored exceedingly well. Ventura County led the pack. All but one of that county's 54 beaches received an A, and the other a B.

Farther south, 94% of Orange County beaches received good grades, nearly all of them A's, as did 99% of San Diego County's.

The report only represented measurements of bacteria in the water, not trash or toxins.

The dry weather prompted a dramatic turnaround in water quality at some of the region's historically polluted beaches. Doheny Beach in Orange County and Surfrider Beach in Malibu, which consistently have been among the five worst in the state, both received A's, courtesy of the drought for the most part.

At Doheny, the runoff water that collects in lagoons on the sand after rainfall didn't extend to the sea. As a result, the five monitoring stations at Doheny, which usually earn straight Fs or a mixture of Fs and Ds, received five A's.

The role of weather, however, shouldn't obscure the contributions made by clean seawater projects in other locations, Gold said.

"We saw excellent results where there were runoff diversion projects that capture the polluted water and pump it into sewers," he said. "Also, a number of small runoff treatment plants contributed. All these bond measures we've been passing in recent years are having an effect."

Mark Pestrella of the L.A. County Department of Public Works said that the primary source of summertime urban runoff tends to be residential and commercial properties. "When it starts it's not necessarily dirty, but as it travels across the properties and streets it picks up all these pollutants," he said.

Although the county has upgraded its storm sewer system to better handle the flow, public education about the need to control ocean-bound pollutants also has played a role in the overall reduction, officials said.

Gold noted that Santa Monica Canyon Beach at Chatauqua Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway typically has earned Fs and Ds on Heal the Bay's report card. This summer it got an A because the runoff was diverted.

Gold expressed hope that the improvement, at least to the extent human endeavor can affect it, will continue next year. He noted that a runoff treatment plant has recently been completed at the Puerco State Beach site, which should in the future drastically improve the site's grade.

New water-circulation pro- jects are undergoing shakedown operations at Mother's Beach in Marina del Rey and Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. The projects "use a pump to move the water around so it's not stagnant in these mostly enclosed beaches, like in a sink or a bathtub," Gold said.

The summer grades for individual beaches are available at www.healthebay.org/brc/. #

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beach28sep28,1,1880946.story?coll=la-headlines-california

 

 

Beaches excel on quality of water Lack of rain cited for 'A' grades

Ventura County Star – 9/28/07

By Adam Foxman, staff writer

 

Water quality at Ventura County beaches was among the best in the state this summer, thanks partly to a lack of rain and runoff that carries pollution into the ocean, according to a report that was released Thursday.

 

In its summer report card on ocean water quality, Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmental group, gave "A" grades to 53 of 54 beaches tested in Ventura County.

 

An A grade indicates that none of the weekly water samples taken at a beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day exceeded state bacteria standards, said Mike Grimmer, an environmental data analyst for the organization.

 

Rincon Beach got a B, which means bacteria levels likely exceeded state levels only once, said James Alamillo, a spokesman for Heal the Bay.

 

Only Mendocino, Monterey, San Francisco and Alameda counties got straight A's on their water quality, said Matthew King, a spokesman for the organization.

 

"Ventura was definitely at the top of the class," King said.

 

Beach water quality improved statewide this summer, Heal the Bay found.

 

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, 92 percent of the 494 beaches evaluated in California got A or B grades. That's up from 83 percent last year.

 

The drought in California this year was one significant reason, because there was little rain to wash the polluted runoff into the sea, King said.

 

The lack of runoff helped Ventura County's grades, although local efforts such as diverting runoff from San Jon Beach and retrofitting trash cans near Channel Islands Harbor also have helped in recent years, said Alamillo.

 

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Board is considering tough new runoff regulations as part of a new storm-water permit for Ventura County. Some local officials have cried foul, saying the regulations could cost millions of dollars that they don't have.

 

Ventura County beaches generally have received high summer marks the past few years, but Rincon got an F in 2006 and San Jon received a C in 2005.

 

While this summer's report card was good news, King said, there's still work to be done. "We still face major challenges during the rainy winter seasons," he said.

 

And while bacteria levels measured for the report cards are important indicators of water quality, the grades don't take chemicals or toxins into account, King said. "We can't just sit and rest on our laurels." #

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/sep/28/beaches-excel-on-quality-of-water-lack-of-rain-a/

 

 

L.A. County beaches worst in state; Santa Monica Bay better, report says

LA Daily News – 9/28/07

 

SANTA MONICA - Los Angeles County beaches had the worst water quality in the state over the summer, despite record-low rainfall and improvements at the notoriously polluted Santa Monica Bay, an environmental group reported Thursday.

 

Heal the Bay assigned letter grades ranging from A to F to 494 beaches along the California coast, based on bacteria pollution levels detected at monitoring stations from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

 

According to the group, 17 percent of Los Angeles County beaches earned F grades during the summer, making it the worst county in the state for beach water quality.

 

But Santa Monica Bay, which has a history of exceeding bacteria pollution levels, performed well, with area beaches receiving 93 percent A's and B's - besting the statewide average. Only four of the 67 Santa Monica Bay beaches received poor marks, compared with 16 last summer.

 

"The combination of record drought and completed Clean Beach Initiative projects led to the cleanest summer water quality in years," said Heal the Bay President Mark Gold.

 

"With more beach cleanup projects on the horizon, the prospects for this positive summer becoming a trend are great."

 

The group noted that between April 1 and Sept. 3, several Santa Monica Bay beaches exceeded newly adopted bacteria pollution standards. The worst offenders were the beach at Santa Monica Pier, Marie Canyon in Malibu, Dockweiler State Beach at Ballona Creek and the beach at Redondo Municipal Pier.

 

Long Beach also continued to struggle with water quality, with more than half of the monitoring locations receiving grades of C or worse. Last year, however, nearly 88 percent of the beaches scored poorly.

 

All 54 of Ventura County's beaches got grades of A or B, as did 85 percent of the beaches in Santa Barbara County. In Orange County, 96 out of 104 beaches received A grades.

 

The report mirrored similar conclusions released in August by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which that said the lack of rain last season meant less polluted urban runoff in storm-drain systems. #
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_7021078

 

 

San Diego County beaches earned high marks for water quality

North County Times – 9/28/07

 

SANTA MONICA - San Diego County beaches earned high marks for water quality over the summer, the environmental group Heal the Bay reported today.

Heal the Bay assigned letter grades ranging from A to F to 494 beaches along the California coast, based on bacteria pollution levels detected at monitoring stations from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

 

The group's summer beach report card showed that 99 percent of beaches in San Diego County received A or B grades.

The only beach that was found to need improvement was Pacific Beach Point, which received a D.

In Orange County, a total of 96 out of 104 beaches received A grades. The group noted that Doheny Beach, which is usually one of the most polluted in the state, showed improvement and recorded its cleanest summer ever.

"The combination of record drought and completed Clean Beach Initiative project led to the cleanest summer water quality in years," said Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay. "With more beach cleanup projects on the horizon, the prospects for this positive summer becoming a trend are great."

According to Heal the Bay, 17 percent of Los Angeles County beaches earned F grades during the summer, making it the worst county in the state for beach water quality.

But Santa Monica Bay, which has a history of exceeding bacteria pollution levels, performed well, with area beaches receiving 93 percent A's and B's -- besting the statewide average. Only four of the 67 Santa Monica Bay beaches received poor marks, compared to 16 last summer.

The group noted that between April 1 and Sept. 3, several Santa Monica Bay beaches exceeded newly adopted bacteria pollution standards. The worst offenders were the beach at Santa Monica Pier, Marie Canyon in Malibu, Dockweiler State Beach at Ballona Creek and the beach at Redondo Municipal Pier.

Long Beach also continued to struggle with water quality, with more than 50 percent of the area's monitoring locations receiving grades of C or worse. Last year, however, nearly 88 percent of the beaches scored poorly. #

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/28/news/sandiego/17_15_319_27_07.txt

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