A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 11, 2007
2. Supply
WATER CONSERVATION TOOLS:
Serious about saving water; High-tech program will focus on large properties -
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES:
Petaluma water proposal scrapped; Tough new conservation rules would have targeted home sellers, builders - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Guest Column: Is conserved water fueling overgrowth? -
WATER CONSERVATION TOOLS:
Serious about saving water; High-tech program will focus on large properties
By Mike Lee, staff writer
As the
The project would combine satellite imagery, weather data and Internet-based software to analyze commercial, multifamily and institutional properties with at least 5,000 square feet of landscaping.
The idea is not so much to persuade property owners to grow more drought-tolerant plants as it is to help them be smarter with the plants they have.
Officials with the San Diego County Water Authority said they would coordinate the operation, which has gained urgency after a judge's landmark ruling last month threatens to slash water deliveries to
A smattering of water agencies statewide, including a few in
Officials with the water authority said they could save billions of gallons of water each year by regionalizing the concept. The agency's computer program would provide analyses of the properties, and then member districts would follow up with customers who use too much water.
The districts could offer tips for conserving water and estimate the amount of money saved when customers make certain improvements. There's little talk of penalizing customers, although that's possible if water shortages worsen.
“Most folks want to conserve, but don't know . . . what to aim for. (This program) ends the guessing game,” said Vickie Driver, a lead resource specialist for the water authority.
Conservation is a major priority for many water agencies because drought is causing the Colorado River to shrivel and last winter's snowpack in the
The county water authority is asking residents to cut their daily water use by 20 gallons per person. Also, rationing could begin for farmers as early as January unless heavy rains fall before then.
Outdoor water use is a logical focus because up to half of the amount spent on irrigation is wasted through evaporation, leakage and other losses, water experts said.
Landscapers tend to overwater because irrigation systems often aren't designed properly and they risk getting fired if plants aren't green, said Don Schultz, horticulture manager for the
“I don't need any satellite image to see the potential for saving water just with management practices,” he said.
To combat waste, some water agencies sponsor gardens that promote drought-tolerant plants. Others give rebates for “smart” irrigation controllers that mete out water based on weather data.
Some have installed high-tech wizardry similar to what the water authority plans to implement countywide.
“The technologies . . . have been available for a long time. It's just now they are being applied to water,” said Mitchell Dion, general manager for the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District.
The agency calculates water budgets for its farm buyers. Dion said the key is to let customers decide whether to make changes based on information provided by the district.
“Policies have to be flexible enough for people to choose their own destiny,” he said.
Assessing outdoor water use for single-family homes is complicated because they usually have a single meter that doesn't distinguish between indoor and outdoor consumption.
Nevertheless, Dion said Rincon del Diablo is trying to develop a computer model for residential customers.
In the city of
“They know from month to month how they are doing,” said Alex Ruiz, assistant director of the city's water department.
“Customers on the whole are surprised by how much water they could save just by irrigating appropriately.”
The county water authority wants to establish a high-tech service for its 24 member agencies through an Internet-based budgeting program.
The water authority has committed $245,000 to start the project, along with $200,000 from the state Department of Water Resources.
Driver said about 3,200 parcels will be included in the first batch of data analysis, which is scheduled to be conducted from late 2008 to 2011.
“The logic is that if we tell you about how much water you should be using,” she said, “why the heck would you want to apply more and spend all that extra money?” #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070911/news_1m11water.html
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES:
Petaluma water proposal scrapped; Tough new conservation rules would have targeted home sellers, builders
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 9/11/07
By Paul Payne, staff writer
Petaluma City Council members on Monday shelved a controversial water conservation proposal that could have required home sellers to undergo plumbing inspections and perform costly repairs and appliance retrofitting before close of escrow.
Faced with strong opposition to the mandate from local real estate agents, the council said it would look instead for more voluntary ways to save tens of thousands of gallons of water a year, possibly through the use of incentives.
Council members also expressed doubt about forcing new homes to be built with special water-efficient dishwashers and washing machines, saying the added cost could have a ripple effect on the economy.
"I agree with water conservation . . . but I don't think this is the answer," said Councilwoman Samantha Freitas, a loan officer and former executive director of the Petaluma Downtown Association.
Mayor Pam Torliatt said the city would look to the housing industry itself to come up with alternatives and handle promotional duties.
"I don't want it to be a top-down issue unless it's not working," said Torliatt, a former real estate agent.
The home sale inspection and new construction standards were two of about 20 features of a conservation plan that would ensure the city has enough water as it grows over the next two decades.
Combined with other measures, such as limiting landscape irrigation and continuing rebates for toilet and showerhead retrofitting, officials were expecting a savings of about a half-billion gallons a year -- about an eighth of the city's total annual water use.
The point-of-sale feature alone would save an estimated 64 million gallons a year, said Margaret Orr, engineering manager for the Department of Water Resources and Conservation.
In a first for
Homeowners would cover repairs, but the city would pay for inspections. Including rebates and other expenses, the entire program was expected to cost the city about $467,000 a year, Orr said.
"This is the most cost-effective new supply of water that we can hope to achieve in the city of
But real estate agents who crowded by the dozens into City Hall on Monday said tying water conservation to home sales was unfair and ineffective.
Wearing brightly colored buttons urging cooperation instead of mandates, they asked the council to come up with a better plan. Some said the city should inspect homes when utilities are turned on rather than when a home is sold. Others said agents could help the city promote conservation and achieve the same goals.
Still others, including resident Trevor Pitts, said the city should concentrate on building a pipeline to
"If you really want to p--- off the people of this town, then do this," Pitts said of the point-of-sale proposal.
Council members appeared to heed the advice.
Councilman David Rabbitt, an architect, said a new draft of the plan should avoid mandates. He vowed to seek input from real estate agents and home builders in rewriting it.
Torliatt said the council could move forward in two months with "non-controversial" features.
Freitas said the city should strive for "equality and fairness." Homeowners and real estate agents were bearing too much of the conservation burden, she said.
"I think this is a good starting point," Freitas said.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070911/NEWS/709110360/1033/NEWS01
Guest Column: Is conserved water fueling overgrowth?
By Glenn Carroll, Fallbrook resident Glenn Carroll was a director for the Tuolumne Utilities District for four years
Water authorities tell us to conserve due to shortages while they continue making commitments to serve new development. Some agricultural users face 30 percent cutbacks in January, yet growth marches on. Water derived from cutbacks is apparently considered "surplus" for growth. If additional supplies are not developed, each new house added increases the point at which we will face future cutbacks.
Growers are already impacted by heavy price competition from foreign imports, like avocados from
Reservoirs were supposedly built to provide emergency backup for existing customers during droughts, plus some capacity for growth. But during shortages the question arises how they separate the backup water from that designated for development.
Theoretically, existing customers should not have to cut back in dry years -- unless their water is used for new customers.
Why not ration new development along with everyone else? Some water officials respond that denying new hookups at this time would be unfair to the plans of developers since the present shortage is considered temporary. Indications are, however, the opposite is true: The Colorado River is in its eighth year of drought. The Sierra snowpack is only 40 percent of normal and has been diminishing for years. Environmental problems plague our northern delivery system. Climate change is now taken seriously. This area is experiencing a historic drought. Another water official says, "This could be the beginning of a long-term shift" in water resources.
Plans to develop additional water like desalination are uncertain and far in the future. A proposed new canal from the north to increase supplies would take more than 20 years to complete -- if the bond passes (it was defeated once). Same story for new reservoirs.
Metropolitan Water District -- our major supplier -- was hit in 2003 with a 50 percent cutback in its
Metropolitan also receives water from the State Water Project. However, our San Diego County Water Authority has been routinely overdrawing its 15.8 percent legal entitlement from this source (25 percent in 2004), but since there are districts in the Los Angeles area that have not yet reached full build-out, this has not been an issue. It's something for future generations to deal with.
Until our water authorities base their new commitments on an actual -- legally sound -- surplus we will continue to subsidize new development while we experience rationing, reduced use forced by rate increases, cost-prohibitive landscaping and a gradual decline in agriculture.
Growth clearly has priority over existing residents. #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/11/opinion/commentary/22_18_199_10_07.txt
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