[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 9/20/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

September 20, 2007

 

2. Supply

 

DRINKING WATER:

Water plan flows through council; Tapping Delta for public to cost millions more - Stockton Record

 

DEVELOPMENT:

Guest Column: Green building means water savings - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

 

 

DRINKING WATER:

Water plan flows through council; Tapping Delta for public to cost millions more

Stockton Record – 9/19/07

By David Siders, staff writer

 

STOCKTON - Stockton's landmark campaign to pump drinking water from the Delta gained momentum Tuesday as the City Council accepted a $202 million cost estimate - up from $172million last year - and suggested its willingness to issue bonds to finance part of the plan.

 

The Delta Water Supply Project could be "the largest and most important project in Stockton's history," city Municipal Utilities Director Mark Madison said. It would pump 33,000 acre-feet of water annually from the San Joaquin River to a city that now uses about 70,000 acre-feet, he said.

 

"It is monumental," Mayor Ed Chavez said after Tuesday's hearing.

 

So is the cost. Even in the past, when Madison estimated the cost at $172 million, he said that number was uncertain. It did not include administrative, legal or other costs and was not as refined as the $202 million estimate, which includes $10.5 million the city already has spent on the project, he said.

 

The project, which once was hoped to be operational by 2009, could be by 2010 or 2011, Madison said. It would draw water from the San Joaquin River in northwest Stockton to a treatment plant north of Eight Mile Road and west of Lower Sacramento Road. It would then funnel the water into faucets, relaxing Stockton's reliance on water underground and east of the city, officials said.

 

The council voted unanimously to pay Cambridge, Mass.-based CDM Constructors Inc. $6.3million to design the treatment plant and also declared its intent to use bonds to pay as much as $36million of the project's cost, though it did not bind itself to do so.

 

The project will increase residential water rates and developer fees, though it is not yet clear how much, Madison said.

 

Council members have praised the project, claiming the cost overruns and lack of oversight that accompanied the construction of Stockton Arena and Stockton Ballpark would not be repeated. The fact that Councilman Steve Bestolarides said little was a telling endorsement. He is the council member most likely to dissent on any matter, and he is, in particular, a skeptic of public financing.

 

"Hey, Bestolarides is for it," Councilman Clem Lee said. "I mean, that says a lot right there." #

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070919/A_NEWS/709190321

 

 

DEVELOPMENT:

Guest Column: Green building means water savings

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin – 9/19/07

By Frank Williams, CEO of the Building Industry Association - Baldy View Chapter, the chapter that represents building industry professionals in San Bernardino County and the eastern portion of Los Angeles County

 

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving energy and using lumber from sustainable forests are all important elements of the new Green Builder program recently adopted by San Bernardino County. Most importantly, the new incentive-based program will encourage dramatic water conservation throughout the county.

 

Historically, water supply and conservation has been an important issue throughout Southern California. Home builders recognize this challenge and have been striving for decades to build more efficient homes that use less water. New additions like low-flow toilets and smarter irrigation and landscaping have resulted in dramatic water savings over the years. In fact, according to the State Department of Water Resources, water use statewide is expected to grow by only one percent over the next 25 years, even though the population will grow by 15 million.

 

Last month, the BIA Baldy View Chapter partnered with Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt and state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, to host state, county and local water experts for the first annual San Bernardino County Water Conference. Our goal: identify solutions to increase the water supply in the Inland Empire to account for the pending growth. The clear consensus from the conference was the need to increase local water supplies and aggressively conserve the water we do have.

 

Building from this consensus, the BIA Baldy View Chapter, environmental groups and the county banded together to create a program that would address water consumption and resource conservation - San Bernardino County Green Builder (SBCGB).

 

San Bernardino County enacted this historic program to provide incentives to home builders to encourage participation in the county's Green Builder program and achieve even greater resource conservation in new homes.

 

SBCGB is based upon the California Green Builder (CGB) program, which is the most successful green building program in the state. To date, more than 1,400 CGB-certified homes have been built and 6,700 are in the pipeline this year. These homes alone are eliminating more than 300,000 pounds of greenhouse gases each year. Each SBCGB home must beat already-strict energy efficiency standards by at least 15 percent, recycle half of all construction waste, utilize wood from sustainable forests and achieve significant water savings.

 

Most importantly, building green translates into dramatic water savings. Each SBCGB-certified new home must save 20,000 gallons of water annually, by either installing innovative plumbing systems, including new designs for landscaping and irrigation or participation in Metropolitan Water District's California Friendly water conservation program. Today, CGB homes are saving more than 28 million gallons of water per year and the amount is growing.

 

However, to ensure water savings is realized, we must support participation in the program. San Bernardino County's Board of Supervisors recognized this and coupled incentives with the program. Specifically, if a home builder builds "green," his project gets priority in the approval process, allowing CGB certified homes to be built faster, making the program more attractive to prospective participants.

 

Time is money, so putting CGB certified projects on a fast track reduces costs for home builders and ensures that green-built homes are still attainable for the average family. In fact, the average CGB-certified green home is comparably priced to standard homes, and homeowners save thousands of dollars in reduced utility costs by reducing water and electricity usage.

 

The water conservation achieved by one new green home is significant on its own, but when spread communitywide, the savings is dramatic. San Bernardino County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, making now an opportune time to implement SBCGB on a grand scale. Heightened consumer awareness of the environment, coupled with the commitment to resource conservation by the county and home builders, will ensure that water savings will be achieved and the program is a success.

 

San Bernardino County Green Builder Program is poised to be a hallmark green building program, but more importantly, it will go a long way toward helping us meet water needs of the future.  #

http://www.dailybulletin.com/opinions/ci_6929495

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