Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 24, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
LEVEE VEGETATION:
Federal, state agencies reach agreement on Calif levee trees - Associated Press
Pact gives a reprieve to Valley's levee trees - Sacramento Bee
Flood maps for YC years away; FEMA won’t start revising until 2009 - Marysville Appeal Democrat
WATER POLICY:
SoCal water provider slow to praise governor's plan - North County Times
Editorial: Water sense? - Riverside Press
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:
04 County seeking $7.5 million -
Editorial: Settlement in peril -
OROVILLE SALMON FESTIVAL:
Salmon Festival shines through wet weather - Oroville Mercury Register
LEVEE VEGETATION:
Federal, state agencies reach agreement on
Associated Press – 9/21/07
SACRAMENTO—California's tree-lined levees—labeled a hazard earlier this year by federal flood officials—must no longer be cleared of vegetation, according to an agreement announced Friday by state and federal flood officials.
At issue are trees and shrubs on about 1,600 miles of
The April directive was issued as part of a national policy that
After months of negotiations, eight local, state and federal agencies have agreed to craft a separate standard for inspecting
"It relieves a tremendous amount of pressure on local maintaining agencies," said Ben Carter, president of the State Reclamation Board. "We'll be able to preserve a lot of the habitat resources we have along rivers."
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6961951?nclick_check=1
Pact gives a reprieve to Valley's levee trees
By Matt Weiser, staff writer
Levee managers in the
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed not to enforce the vegetation component of its levee maintenance rules while a new policy is developed. The decision grants a reprieve to riverbank trees and their supporters throughout the
"What a sad place this would be without those trees," said Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, who chairs the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. "I am pleased that by really looking at the science and listening to experts we are on the way to policies much more appropriate to
For decades, the Army Corps allowed trees and large shrubs on
They did so in cooperation with wildlife agencies because there is almost no other riverbank habitat left.
Then, after Hurricane Katrina hit
As a result, 32
The potential consequences of a failed inspection include losing access to federal levee rebuilding funds after a flood, and decertification by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Many local levee districts objected because of the expense required to clear vegetation. In many cases, levees would have to be rebuilt after removing tree roots. Residents feared loss of shade, scenery and habitat.
In hopes of settling the dispute, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency held a symposium on levee vegetation last month. Experts presented evidence that trees may actually strengthen levees by binding soil layers together. There was little evidence that trees contribute to levee failure.
"It's the Fish and Wildlife Service position that, in many cases, vegetation is neutral or beneficial to levee integrity," Paul Henson, the federal agency's assistant regional director, said Friday.
The Bee first reported Sept. 1 that the Army Corps had dropped a March 30, 2008, compliance deadline for levee districts already warned about vegetation. In the new agreement, the corps goes further, promising to use "best available science" in concert with other agencies to craft a policy that meets local needs. Until that policy is finalized, levee districts will not be punished for excessive vegetation in upcoming inspections.
The March deadline, however, remains in place for other maintenance problems, such as levee erosion or encroachment by structures. And the new policy will probably still require some trees to be removed if they clearly threaten levee stability.
"Without compromising public safety, our intent is to develop solutions that take into account the concerns of science and natural resources," said Col. Tom Chapman,
Friday's agreement arose from a meeting organized by the California Reclamation Board. It was endorsed by the board, SAFCA,
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/392795.html
Flood maps for YC years away; FEMA won’t start revising until 2009
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 9/23/07
By John Dickey, staff writer
New flood insurance maps for
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will not begin revising its flood insurance maps for
“We’ve told officials for
The FEMA engineer gave no time frame for how long it would take to finish remapping
“I don’t want to give out ballpark figures,” said Simmons.
Simmons met with
The agency is digitizing flood insurance rate maps in flood-prone areas throughout the country. In the process, it is also taking another look at flood risks. That could mean that areas once thought to be protected by levees from a 1-in-100 flood could be redrawn into special flood hazard insurance zones which require holders of federally backed mortgages to buy more expensive coverage.
FEMA’s goal is to come up with digital flood maps for all of
Some areas of south
Those maps – which include the
The next step toward new digitized flood insurance maps for south
Simmons expects those maps will be little changed from the previous round of proposed maps issued last year.
“It will continue to propose large areas in a special flood hazard area,” said Simmons.
But the agency will remove two areas near Shanghai Bend in
FEMA says that people living behind levees should purchase flood insurance because levees carry risks.
Even if
With concerns mounting that Yuba City will be mapped into a special flood insurance zone before levees can be brought up to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standards, local officials saw the news as somewhat encouraging.
“It gives us a little more time,” said George Musallam,
Sutter County Supervisor Dan Silva said the possibility of getting levees fixed by 2011 was “pretty good.”
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/flood_54455___article.html/insurance_city.html
WATER POLICY:
SoCal water provider slow to praise governor's plan
By Gig Conaughton, staff writer
LOS ANGELES ----Southern California's main water supplier said Thursday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $9 billion plan to fix California's threatened water supplies says nothing specific about the state's biggest problem ---- how to deliver water through the ecologically fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Water agencies, farmers and business groups around the state immediately praised Schwarzenegger's proposal to spend billions on new dams and reservoirs when he released it Tuesday, calling the plan "far reaching" and "comprehensive."
But officials from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District said the state needed to adopt criteria like Metropolitan board members approved Sept. 11. Those guidelines ---- which Metropolitan hopes to lobby state legislators to support ---- assert that the state needs to build some sort of canal around, or through, the delta to separate endangered fish and environmental problems from
Metropolitan supplies water to nearly 18 million Southern Californians in six counties, including
The delta has been at the center of problems that threaten state water supplies.
Water leaders around the state are still reeling from an Aug. 31 federal court decision that would limit pumping in the delta in 2008 in order to protect an endangered fish that is being killed in the pumps.
Schwarzenegger convened a special legislative session ---- now meeting ---- after water officials statewide said the court-ordered pumping cutbacks could produce water shortages around
The delta is the heart of the massive State Water Project. The project is a 600-mile system of dams, reservoirs, pumps and aqueducts that deliver rain fall and snowmelt from
Details in the governor's plan still need to be worked out, but it would set aside half the $9 billion to build dams and create more surface storage that could be used as backup supplies. Under the plan, the state would spend another $1 billion for water recycling, conservation and other supply-reliability projects, and $1.9 billion on general plans to restore the delta.
Schwarzenegger's proposal is competing with a separate, $5.4 billion legislative plan forwarded by state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. Both packages would require voter approval, perhaps as early as February.
Schwarzenegger's plan does not put any money aside to help build the type of canal ---- either around or inside the delta ---- that Metropolitan and others say is critical to answering the long-term questions about whether water would be able to be pumped from
Metropolitan General Manager Jeff Kightlinger said that does not bother Metropolitan, which assumes that water agencies and their ratepayers would pony up the billions needed to build such a canal.
But he said the plan also does not include any specific direction on the delivery issue.
The plan simply states that there is "an emerging consensus that a new conveyance system, separate and distinct from the delta, is needed" ---- and it offers arguments to support a new conveyance system.
By contrast, the Perata bill includes intent to build delta "conveyance" improvements that would meet specific criteria, including: to reduce impacts to fish from pumps, improve fish and wildlife habitat and improve water supply conveyance.
Kightlinger said that was more like the guidelines Metropolitan adopted that could build a canal.
"We want to see legislation that would adopt the same kind of criteria that our board did," Metropolitan Water District General Manager Jeff Kightlinger said. "Our view has always been we want this to be a balanced, comprehensive package. And we want conveyance addressed." #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/21/news/state/0_15_179_21_07.txt
Editorial: Water sense?
Riverside Press
The Legislature's special session on water issues needs to sidestep longstanding policy disputes and focus on the immediate need to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the state's primary water supply. Even so, the session will not provide a long-term strategy for managing the delta, a need that demands legislative priority next year.
Gov. Schwarzenegger called the special legislative session this month in part because of growing concerns about the state's water supply. A federal court ruling this month could reduce pumping from the delta by up to 37 percent to protect the endangered delta smelt. The effects could ripple across the state. The delta supplies water to two-thirds of
A faltering delta threatens the state's future and economy, and thus needs prompt state action. The 738,000-acre estuary has been in a long, slow decline for years, plagued by pollution, invasive species, crumbling levees and rising sea levels. But the deterioration has now reached a crisis that threatens the flow of water from the state's predominant water source.
The governor's $9 billion water-bond proposal includes $1.9 billion to restore habitat and address the environmental concerns in the delta. State Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, has a $5.4 billion water bond package that would provide $2.4 billion for delta improvements.
But the governor's plan includes $5.1 billion for three dam projects, which face vehement opposition from Democrats in the Legislature.
Legislators would do well to leave the dam debate for later. Letting the deep-rooted political fight over new dams stall work on the delta would be foolish.
Besides, the feasibility studies and environmental reports on the dam projects will not be ready until mid-2008 or 2009.
Legislators should wait to see those reports before making any decision on dams; otherwise, ideology and not fact drives the discussion.
But on the delta -- the part of the issue that is time-sensitive enough to spark a special session -- Californians should realize that any bond measure the session produces can provide only a stopgap solution to the delta's ills.
The Legislature needs to tackle that demanding task next year, without fail. A bond measure alone will not be not enough without a strategic blueprint for preventing the delta's collapse. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_D_op_23_ed_water1.8212c0.html
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:
04 County seeking $7.5 million
By Darren Simon, staff writer
The Imperial Irrigation District has $50 million to spend on helping an
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors wants a 15 percent cut of that money.
This week county officials went before the IID Board of Directors and requested the district provide $7.5 million to help fund the building of what is expected to become an industrial park that could attract thousands of jobs.
The problem is the county’s request may be premature as IID has yet to decide what system it will use to determine how to divide the $50 million.
THE ISSUE
The money in question is tied to the water transfer pact between IID and San Diego County Water Authority.
The agreement calls on IID to fallow farmland, in essence leaving some land barren, for the first 15 years of the water transfer as a way to conserve water.
Recently IID and SDCWA settled a dispute over how the fallowing program has impacted the Valley, and that agreement sets aside $50 million to help address the economic impacts of idling farmland.
Already $3.5 million of that money has been set aside to help farm-service providers hurt by the first two years of fallowing and to create a fund for training programs that help ag workers. #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/09/23/higher_education/news04.txt
Editorial: Settlement in peril
The Madera County Farm Bureau pulled back its support for a landmark settlement meant to restore the
It doesn't necessarily mean the year-old settlement is unraveling, but it's a step back from the enthusiasm -- and relief -- expressed when the plan was first announced.
The settlement seeks to end a lawsuit filed in 1988 by environmentalists unhappy with the historic diversion of water from the river after Friant Dam was built.
The
The water instead is shipped to the east side of the Valley, where it helped create an immensely productive -- and profitable -- agricultural industry.
But the federal lawsuit threw everything up in the air. Farmers were afraid that Judge Lawrence Karlton might take so much of the river's water for restoration that it could end east-side farming or at least stunt it tremendously.
Environmentalists also were concerned that they could come away with nothing if the judge ruled for the farmers.
So the compromise settlement was born and greeted with much support initially.
But it wasn't unanimous. In particular, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, who represents much of the east-side farming belt, has fought assiduously to derail the settlement.
He has argued that the settlement will take too much water from farmers, with no guarantee that other supplies will be secured to make up the difference.
The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Friant Water Users Authority, who negotiated the settlement, have estimated that farmers would lose about 19 percent of their current supplies of Friant water.
Other obstacles have surfaced in Congress, which must pass certain legislation and provide a significant fraction of the needed funding, in order for the settlement to succeed.
The Madera Farm Bureau's action in withdrawing support for the settlement may be an isolated event. It could also mark the beginning of the end for the settlement. But there's a great danger for both sides if the settlement collapses.
The lawsuit would be back in front of the judge, with the same uncertainty of outcome that pushed the two sides to the bargaining table to begin with.
If the farmers are the ones who pull the plug on this settlement, it could end with them losing even more water -- a pyrrhic victory that could spell the end of east-side agriculture as we know it today. Everyone should be very careful here. #
http://www.sacbee.com/editorials/story/392584.html
OROVILLE SALMON FESTIVAL:
Salmon Festival shines through wet weather
Oroville Mercury Register – 9/23/07
By Rex Burress /Special to the Mercury-Register
Saturday, the Annual Oroville Salmon Festival received a surprise from Old Mother Nature.
On the day before official Autumn, early morning sunshine soon yielded to the forecasted "chance of rain," and by 11a.m. steady drizzle began that continued for most of the afternoon.
Normally, the first gentle rain of the season would be welcomed after the sizzling summer, but this was the elaborate, long-planned Annual Oroville Salmon Festival day.
By 10 a.m. the Fish Hatchery parking lot was nearly full, and the shuttle was soon bringing more people to the Festival's major attraction, the salmon demonstrations.
The hatchery was processing salmon with guided tours being given hourly by Rosemary Martin and John Ford, and the holding pen was full of fish as a large audience watched the egg-gathering process.
Hatchery manager Anna Kastner looked at the sky and said, "It's not going to rain," but even if her forecast fizzled, dozens of visitors were enjoying numerous displays, a large aquarium of fish, fly casting, and several tents of fish games and educational material...and food!
Downtown Oroville had made great preparations with craft booths spread out on Myers and Bird streets. The rain added freshness to the day even though it affected some of the paper and art displays and reduced the attendance. People clustered under sidewalk-awnings and tents while the musical entertainment at Bird and Myers played on.
The Optimist tent, where salmon was being cooked on a hot stove, was a popular place. Proprietor Jackie Bulmer and staff of the Bonasera store had some outstanding exhibits, including salmon art in their store windows, two large canvases erected in the street where the public could help paint salmon, and a giant salmon set-up where you could get your picture taken as if riding the salmon.
The best place to escape the rain was at the State Theater, where a large assortment of salmon-related paintings by the Artists of River Town were on display in conjunction with an artist's reception.
About 200 pieces of art by students in the After School programs for the Salmon on the Green Line Project, were also shown, a juried show with ribbon rewards, conducted primarily by Michelle Conn.
Even though the Maidu Salmon Ceremony near the
The
The event that escaped the rain was the Friday evening salmon dinner hosted by the
Dinner coordinator, and President of the
The Saturday 8 a.m. Annual 5-K Salmon Run at
Of course, the star attractions, the salmon, didn't mind the rain. They are perfectly at home swishing through a continual downpour of water. It was a salmon day, even though the Salmon Festival planners would have preferred a little more sunshine. #
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
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