A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 14, 2007
2. Supply -
Copper thieves target Muscoy water wells
Residents are asked to conserve water until the equipment is fixed. Just $50 worth is stolen. -
Declaring an emergency, the city limits water use on lawns and pavement and at restaurant tables. -
Smelt is the big fish in
The diminutive species' dwindling numbers have been a bone of contention between activists and water managers. Tougher protections could cut exports to
Copper thieves target Muscoy water wells
Residents are asked to conserve water until the equipment is fixed. Just $50 worth is stolen.
By Sara Lin,
Thieves stole copper tubing from wells serving Muscoy on Wednesday night, shutting down three of the five and prompting water company officials to ask residents to conserve water.
In addition to damage to the Muscoy Mutual Water Co. wells, antenna and wires from the company's communications system were missing, said company supervisor Rudy Garcia.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident as petty theft, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller. The thieves took about $50 worth of copper.
"That's pretty cheap for the damage that they did," said Garcia, noting that the copper tubing is essential to keeping the water wells' motors running smoothly. Water company officials were able to repair two wells Thursday, but a third well that provides about one-fourth of the company's water will be down for 10 days, Garcia said.
Water officials are asking residents to not wash their cars or water their lawns until further notice. The request comes during one of the hottest months of the year, when water usage is high, Garcia said. The company serves about 1,500 residents.
Copper has long been a target of those desperate for quick cash. Many thieves are fueled by methamphetamine, authorities said, stripping building sites and digging up buried phone cables.
Thefts have skyrocketed nationwide during the last year as demand and the price of the metal remain high. As of Thursday, copper was selling for $3.39 a pound.
Plentiful construction sites in the
School air-conditioning units have been targeted, and telephone poles have been cut down with chain saws and the wire stolen.
In some cases, the thefts cause serious public safety problems. Hospitals are affected when phone lines go down, and 911 calls can't be made.
Police say thieves burn off the insulation and take the metal to recycling plants, which pay cash. Most of the metal is shipped to recyclers in
Declaring an emergency, the city limits water use on lawns and pavement and at restaurant tables.
By Hector Becerra and Ari B. Bloomekatz,
Southern California's water woes -- caused by record dry weather combined with a court ruling likely to limit water deliveries from Northern California -- hit home Thursday as Long Beach imposed the region's most severe water restrictions in years.
The measures, which took effect immediately after the city declared a water emergency, will force residents and businesses to change their behavior, including when they water lawns and how restaurants serve water to diners.
Regional water officials said Long Beach's action could be a precursor for other communities around Southern California as they grapple with the drought and a federal judge's ruling last month on water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The delta is a key source of imported water for the Southland, and officials believe the court ruling -- set to take effect this winter -- could reduce supplies by 30%.
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The MWD, which receives 60% of its water from the delta, will finalize new water allocations in October after it completes a study of the judge's decision. Muir said that if the situation doesn't improve, the district could limit water supplies for the cities and agencies it serves, forcing them to pay significantly more for additional water deliveries. The extra cost would most likely pass down to customers.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power may enforce mandatory water rationing similar to
"Because water has been plentiful, with that came a certain degree of comfort and complacency," said David Nahai, president of the DWP board. "We have to jolt Angelenos out of that kind of mind-set. If things don't turn out favorably, we may return to [drought] protocols."
The new rules in
But officials said
The
Water officials say the city will scrutinize water bills for excessive use and create a hotline and e-mail system for residents to inform on "water wasters."
"We're trying to create a lifestyle change where these types of uses are not tolerated anymore," said Ryan Alsop, a spokesman for the Long Beach Water Department.
If residents don't follow the rules, the prohibitions will get more draconian. Instead of warnings, repeat offenders could get fined.
Officials said city employees could patrol neighborhoods looking for violators and issuing citations.
"People can potentially have their water shut off," Alsop said. "This is a serious situation."
By every measure,
An unusually small snowpack in the eastern Sierra Nevada and a drought along the
The mountain snowpack vital to water imports from Northern California has been at its lowest level in almost 20 years, and federal meteorologists are already talking about La Niña conditions forming in the eastern Pacific Ocean that could mean another dry winter next year.
Adding to the drought concerns was a decision by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger ordering protective measures for a tiny endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Delta smelt grow to about 3 inches long and live only about a year. A so-called indicator species that is a harbinger of ecological conditions in the delta, the smelt were declared threatened in 1993. Biologists and environmentalists contend that the increasing diversion of delta water is nudging the fish toward extinction.
In
"We give water to all our guests," said Matthew Perry, manager of McKenna's on the Bay. "We pride ourselves on our service, and if people don't get water, that could be a touchy situation."
Among the
"Personally, I have no problem with the restrictions," she said. But she added that she would not feel good about telling on neighbors who are profligate with water.
"I don't feel comfortable reporting on people, although I can see the point of ratting people out," Robison said. "I know some neighbors who water excessively and whose sprinklers hit the sidewalk and the street."
She doesn't water her front lawn, which is "almost entirely crab grass," she said.
Gary Graves, who owns an apartment building, is more concerned about getting all his tenants to comply.
"As far as irrigation goes, I have timers, I can have the irrigation go on at night,"
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water14sep14,1,7962029.story?coll=la-headlines-california
Smelt is the big fish in
The diminutive species' dwindling numbers have been a bone of contention between activists and water managers. Tougher protections could cut exports to
By Eric Bailey,
Yet the diminutive fish is a big player in
For years, the delta smelt's survival has been a bone of contention between water managers and environmentalists -- a subject of lengthy court cases and, of late, defining judicial decrees.
A decision Aug. 31 by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger requiring tougher protections for the tiny fish pushed the state's water managers toward uncharted territory in how they manage aqueduct exports out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a key source of water for much of
State water authorities warned that the ruling could cut exports from the delta by a third or more and possibly usher in widespread rationing of the sort hitting
The smelt is seen by biologists as the key indicator of the overall health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Populations of several other fish in the delta are sagging, but the delta smelt tend to get attention from the federal bench and the media.
It's a small fish for such a big spotlight.
Delta smelt grow to only about 3 inches long and live about a year. Listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1993, they are off-limits to collectors and commercial harvest -- although it's unlikely anyone would jump at the chance to eat them. Out of water, the smelt is known to have an odor similar to that of cucumbers.
Biologists and environmentalists contend that the increasing diversion of delta water is nudging the fish toward extinction.
A recent survey showed the number of juvenile smelt to be less than one-tenth of normal -- an ominous sign for the species' survival.
In the years since it landed on the endangered list, the tiny fish has bedeviled state and federal water managers.
Known as being notoriously poor swimmers, smelt can fall prey to the powerful pumps that send delta water rippling down the California Aqueduct toward
On occasion, water managers have shut down the pumps to ensure survival of the imperiled species.
The last shutdown was in June, when the pumps were stopped for nine consecutive days after unusually large numbers of smelt were being sucked up and killed.
But when authorities fired up the pumps anew, smelt fatalities once again soared.
With a fresh federal court decision, the possibility of rationing and water managers in a tizzy, the delta smelt may change the way water is moved up and down the Golden State.#
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