A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 11, 2007
3. Watersheds
DELTA ISSUES:
Water panel adopts guidelines for delta fixes - North County Times
Editorial: Resurrecting the Delta -
LAKE DAVIS PIKE:
State begins adding poison to Lake Davis to kill pike - Sacramento Bee
BAY AREA WATERSHEDS:
It's time to help yank the gunk out of bay waterways - San Francisco Chronicle
Creek a 'hot spot' for garbage; Environmentalists get ready for Coastal Cleanup Day - Inside Bay Area
DELTA ISSUES:
Water panel adopts guidelines for delta fixes
By Gig Conaughton, staff writer
LOS ANGELES -- A committee of regional water leaders Monday said the state needs to build some sort of canal to separate endangered fish and environmental concerns from
Members of the Water Planning and Stewardship Committee of the Metropolitan Water District -- Southern California's main water provider -- voted to adopt a set of guidelines to "fix"
The committee's vote is expected to be endorsed by the agency's full board today.
Metropolitan would then use the guidelines to lobby Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, which is trying to come up with plans to fix the Bay Delta to protect fish and keep life-sustaining water flowing from
Water officials around the state are still reeling from a court decision nearly two weeks ago that would limit pumping from the Bay Delta beginning Dec. 25 to save an endangered fish, the delta smelt. The delta is the heart of the massive State Water Project, a 600 mile series of dams, reservoirs, pipelines and pumping stations.
Officials from Metropolitan -- which serves nearly 18 million Southern Californians in six counties, including
Meanwhile, some solutions to fix the Bay Delta would not build canals around it, but leave it pretty much as it is now.
Metropolitan General Manager Jeff Kightlinger said those plans might appease environmental groups and farmers with land in the Bay Delta, but they would also leave Southern California's water supplies at risk.
He said the guidelines the committee approved Monday would provide Metropolitan's platform to lobby state officials.
"We have a tremendous amount invested in the delta and the State Water Project," Kightlinger said. "So when we see we're going to lose up to maybe 30 percent of the water we've paid for and we must continue to pay for by contract until 2035 we're certainly going to urge the state to do everything possible to make the delta a more reliable place for water supply deliveries."
Metropolitan has bought more water and paid more money into the State Water Project than any other agency.
On Monday, Metropolitan committee members were told that the governor's task force and an advisory group of water agencies, environmental and farming groups, and others were considering four possible ways to fix the Bay Delta:
- Leaving the delta pretty much alone, except to fortify the walls of hundreds of man-made levees in the delta that could crumble and cut off water supplies in an earthquake or other disaster. Metropolitan officials said that could cost $10 million.
- Creating an "eco-corridor" through the Bay Delta to keep endangered fish away from pumping plants by building up spawning habitat in other areas -- which could cost $100 million if it were made permanent.
- Building a canal all around the Bay Delta -- like the "peripheral canal" that voters shot down in 1982 -- that could cost between $3 billion to $4 billion.
- Building a smaller canal around part of the Bay Delta, in combination with the permanent eco-corridor, that could cost $4 billion to $5 billion.
But Kightlinger said only the latter two alternatives would work for water agencies seeking to protect regional water supplies.
Kightlinger said environmental groups and farmers -- who would gain from having levees around their lands fortified -- like the first two options.
But neither of those, he said, would prevent potential problems with endangered fish such as the tiny smelt or salmon from fisheries being killed by the pumps that send water from the Bay Delta south. #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/11/news/sandiego/0_41_199_11_07.txt
Editorial: Resurrecting the Delta
San Francisco Chronicle – 9/11/07
"DISASTER." "Catastrophe." "Crisis." "Emergency." We're hearing those words again from state and local water agencies: It must be another court order to shut down the pumping that has helped to make such a mess out of the Sacramento Delta.
But is it really such a disaster? Yes, some 23 million Californians drink delta water. Yes, it's been an awfully dry year. Yes, all of this hand-wringing is all due to the endangered Delta smelt - a creature so small and unassuming that there's already been grumbling as to whether the fish shouldn't just be sacrificed on the altar of
To a large extent, the poor smelt already have been sacrificed on the altar of California's thirst - biologists believe the species may survive for another couple of years at best - and as they are an indicator species, their fate will run parallel to that of all the other animals that depend on the Delta, and, possibly, the health of the Delta itself. For us to shrug while they perish thanks to our bad behavior - the smelt aren't just dying because they're getting ground up in the water pumps, but also because rampant nearby development has affected the ecosystem - isn't simply irresponsible, it could come back to us in the form of a poisoned Delta and plummeting water quality.
"This has been brewing for 15 years," said Barry Nelson, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Nelson noted that the water districts that depend on the delta have spent a great deal of time in recent years developing sophisticated plans to diversify their sources. He's right, even if not all of those districts have a clear idea of where they might get their water if the delta is still shut down in two years' time. The Contra Costa Water District, for instance, has water transfer options districts in Yuba and East Contra Costa.
All of this careful orchestration and perennial panic merely speaks to the state's urgent need to quit its wasteful water habits. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has responded to the latest ruling with verve and energy - he's urging lawmakers to reconsider his January plan to build two new dams and said that he is considering calling a special session to tackle the crisis - but what we really need from the Capitol is a revolutionary re-thinking of water use.
There's no reason why the state should continue offering water at tremendous discounts to so many farmers - some of whom merely turn around and sell their rights for big profits. There's no reason why the state shouldn't be looking at ways to clean up contaminated underground water basins before districts try to tap the Delta for another drop. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/09/11/ED72RUV69.DTL
LAKE DAVIS PIKE:
State begins adding poison to
By Dorothy Korber, staff writer
California Fish and Game today began poisoning a
Crews began dripping and spraying 300 gallons of rotenone on the creeks and other tributaries feeding
The poison will kill all the fish in
"If we don't get them this time, we will have to weigh whether it's humanly possible to eradicate pike in
Meanwhile,
The northern pike -- large, skinny fish with a snout full of sharp teeth -- could take over the entire ecosystem of the lake, Pert said.
"We're concerned not only about the damage pike are doing to Lake Davis, but also about the possibility they will escape the lake and enter the state's other waters," he said. "That could put more constraints on how we move water around
The state poisoned
Pert said technology and resources have improved with time, and this effort has been done in cooperation with Portola, which until 1997 used the lake for its water supply.
For more information on the eradication of northern pike from
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/371670.html
BAY AREA WATERSHEDS:
It's time to help yank the gunk out of bay waterways
San Francisco Chronicle – 9/11/07
By Peter Fimrite, staff writer
That gum wrapper that recently slipped out of your fingers will more than likely end up swirling around in the creeks, sloughs and rivers that flow into
The many waterways in the Bay Area are, in fact, choked with heaping piles of litter, which is fouling the shoreline, choking marshlands and accumulating in places where fish used to spawn, according to researchers with Save the Bay.
The environmental group released on Monday a list of the 10 worst trash hot spots ringing the bay, and it includes waterways flowing through communities from
It depicts creeks and sloughs lined with diapers, cigarette butts, batteries and all kinds of household rubbish. Ecologists say the situation will get worse unless regulations are passed requiring trash-filtration systems or other cleanup measures in the many waterways flowing into the bay.
"This is pollution that is coming from all of us, not from factories or refineries or sewage plants," said David Lewis, the executive director for Save the Bay. "It's stuff we throw away. A lot of it is plastic, and it accumulates in the bay and is a danger to fish and wildlife."
The trashiest waterways, according to Save the Bay, are Alameda Creek in Hayward; Colma Creek in South San Francisco; Coyote Creek in San Jose; Damon Slough in Oakland; Grayson Creek in Martinez; Guadalupe River in San Jose; Laurel Creek in San Mateo; San Rafael Creek in San Rafael; Strawberry Creek in Berkeley; and Yosemite Slough in San Francisco.
It is the organization's second-annual list of trash hot spots, and it was released, Lewis said, to drum up enthusiasm for Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday and put pressure on regulators to place restrictions on what can be discharged into the bay.
Lewis said the worst sites are not ranked in any particular order. They are all so bad, he said, that piles of garbage can be seen on the banks and in the water. Four of the 10 sites are in the
The worst of the worst are in the
"The
The
Alameda Creek, which flows into the former salt ponds near the
More than 3,500 pounds of debris were removed last year from Yosemite Slough, between Hunters Point and Candlestick Point, including tires, a washer/dryer, fencing material and wooden pallets, cleanup organizers said.
"These are not the only places in the bay where trash is a problem, but these are places where trash is a huge and ongoing problem," Lewis said. "Every place where a creek or storm drain or channel empties into the bay is a conduit for trash. Very few of those places have any kind of screen or capture device."
There are several efforts to clean up creeks and sloughs throughout the Bay Area. A recent flood-control project revamped the urban
Large floating cords called trash booms were placed upstream in Damon Slough in an effort to catch floating debris near the Oakland Coliseum.
But experts say such efforts are not enough to stop the rising tide of garbage.
It is so bad that the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board is revamping its permit process for storm water runoff to include restrictions on how much trash communities can let flow into the bay.
"There still is an amazing amount of trash that is reaching the bay even after 15 years of the countywide storm water program," said Bruce Wolfe, the executive officer of the water quality control board.
Wolfe said the board plans to present a new, five-year permit process to the 76 communities under its jurisdiction by next month and make its final decision early next year. The regulations could require communities to do everything from more street-sweeping to placing trash collection devices in the storm drains.
Experts say polluted runoff - including trash, oil and pet waste - accounts for about 70 percent of the toxic substances in
Cleaning up now is especially important, ecologists say, because the Bay Area population is expected to grow by 15 percent - to 8.1 million people - by 2020. More people will undoubtedly produce more trash, they say.
On Saturday, as many as 50,000 Californians, including 10,000 from the Bay Area, are expected to help clear litter from the state's beaches and rivers during the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, sponsored by the California Coastal Commission.
More than 700,000 pieces of trash were collected in the Bay Area last year, organizers said. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/11/MNL1S2QBO.DTL&hw=water&sn=011&sc=328
Creek a 'hot spot' for garbage; Environmentalists get ready for Coastal Cleanup Day
Inside Bay Area – 9/11/07
By Shaun Bishop, MediaNews
A stream running through
The assessment was an unscientific "snapshot" showing examples of trash clogging water around the Bay, said David Lewis, Save the Bay's executive director. He said the visibility of trash in streams and rivers could be an indicator that there is also oil, chemicals or other unseen pollutants in the water.
"(The trash) is a big problem in and of itself, but it's also an indicator of how much else is flowing in that's a problem, but that you can't see," Lewis said.
Save the Bay drew up the report on 10 "trash hot spots" in advance of Coastal Cleanup Day, an annual statewide event held since 1985 to clean up
Lewis said
Other trash spots included Colma Creek in
Lewis said events like the cleanup, to be held Saturday, are helpful, but ultimately localities need better ways of screening out trash from the stormwater and tighter regulation of the watersheds.
Residents can also help by recycling and buying products that use less packaging.
For more information about Coastal Cleanup Day on the
####
No comments:
Post a Comment