Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 27, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
WATER POLICY:
Three water crises coming to a boil; Legislation to pay for studies and long-term plan meets resistance - Modesto Bee
Guest Opinion: A necessary $9 billion water system investment -
Editorial: A million isn't much to ask for water plan; Issues facing region need immediate attention -
Water debate dammed - Capitol Weekly
Environmental groups may use Jarvis initiative to block water projects - Capitol Weekly News
FLOOD PREPARDNESS:
Handy help in flood; Thousands of area residents are being given a kit to guide them to a speedy evacuation - Sacramento Bee
FLOOD CONTROL FUNDING:
Flood control funding to flow; Upland will get $13M from feds -
WATER POLICY:
Three water crises coming to a boil; Legislation to pay for studies and long-term plan meets resistance
By Michael Doyle, staff writer
Tuesday, Californians pushed for $1 million in federal funds to draft a water plan spanning the eight-county region from
"We are in a water crisis," warned Rep. Jim Costa, a Fresno Democrat, "and we have been living on borrowed time."
The Bush administration said Tuesday that it opposes Costa's water study bill, in part because of its cost. The bill's long-term prospects remain unclear. Even if approved, the study would take an estimated two years.
Meanwhile, three crises are boiling over:
Restoring the
Behind the scenes, some farmers and at least one water district are actively resisting the bill.
Saving the delta smelt. A recent judicial decision cutting water shipments south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta aids the vulnerable fish, but shrinks water deliveries by as much as one-third. This decision "could not have come at a worse time," 13 House members from
Resolving irrigation drainage on the valley's west side. Farmers and environmentalists continue to meet at the behest of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Under judicial pressure, they are seeking a way to get rid of accumulating irrigation drainage that threatens valley soil.
Cost concerns administration
The policy disputes are separate, but also help create what Costa termed a "perfect storm," where natural droughts combine with judicial and political decisions to shrink water supplies.
"Water in the
Green is a consultant to the California Water Institute, affiliated with
The Bush administration is already "addressing the need targeted by this proposed study," said Robert Quint, acting deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. Quint added that the agency has "concerns" about the $1 million cost, as the money might be siphoned from other bureau activities.
Chowchilla board resisting bill
Money likewise complicates the
Negotiators originally set a Dec. 31, 2006, deadline for passing the river bill.
The bill would settle a 1988 lawsuit by environmentalists unhappy over how Friant Dam's irrigation diversions dried up the
Frustrated negotiators have considered everything from tapping an oil-and-gas fund or a fund used for cleaning up nu- clear power plants to accelerating the dam construction payments by Friant-area farmers.
They remain stymied.
The Chowchilla Water District, after assenting to the river settlement a year ago, now declares it is "actively" recruiting resistance to the current bill. The Chowchilla board cites "immense funding problems" as well as water supply concerns.
Defenders of the settlement insist it is still better than letting a federal judge make water decisions.
"The settlement negotiated is far superior to any likely outcomes of litigation," Dooley wrote the Friant water districts in a Sept. 17 letter marked "confidential." #
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/77097.html
Guest Opinion: A necessary $9 billion water system investment
By Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, represents the 14th Senate District, which includes parts of Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties and all of
As a businessman, former local government official and especially as a native Californian, I have come to understand the importance of water.
Without water, much of our state would be an uninhabitable desert; with water,
The precarious nature of our water system today makes it imperative that we do something to ensure our livelihoods.
I am proud to author the governor’s water infrastructure proposal, introduced in the legislative special session he called in response to
Together, these bills map out a solid approach for fixing
The ability to store more water decreases chances of flooding in wet years and secures a supply of fresh water in drought years.
The delta is the largest estuary on the West Coast and is the hub of
The governor’s proposal will direct the Department of Water Resources to make the objectives of CalFed and the Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force a reality — namely, to develop a strategy for managing the delta to improve
This plan recognizes that integrated regional water management will help meet regional needs and provides a match for local funds. Regions must develop a more diversified mix of water management strategies, including conservation, recycling, storage and desalination projects to qualify. These projects will help develop a reliable water system.
Inaction has a price.
The Department of Water Resources estimates that the 1976-77 drought cost
The need is clear.
The delta, the main water delivery system, is broken. Recent court rulings will force drastic curtailments in how much water can be pumped from the delta.
This is the right plan and the right time to act.
It's time to invest in water infrastructure. Last year, we agreed that
It's harder to film aging levees and low-quality drinking water, but if we don't do something now the only photos you'll see are those of taps running dry and the devastating effects that are sure to follow. #
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/community/story/78201.html
Editorial: A million isn't much to ask for water plan; Issues facing region need immediate attention
The Valley needs a regional water plan, and its representatives in Congress are asking for $1 million to fund the effort. The Bush administration is balking, in part because of the price tag.
This is the same Bush administration that just asked Congress for another $190 billion to fund the wars in
It would be a pity if this funding were axed. The Valley, like the rest of
Population growth combined with the effects of global climate change are a double whammy that threatens the economic and physical health of everyone in the region.
A regional approach is essential. The California Water Institute at
Such a plan wouldn't be much help in finding solutions to short-term problems, including
But in the long term, we have other serious questions. How will we increase supplies of water if rainfall and the Sierra snowpack, as most expect, diminish in coming years?
If new surface storage is needed -- we believe it is -- where is the best place to put it? Who should pay for it?
What are the most efficient ways to store water underground? How can we boost our efforts to conserve and reuse water?
Those are the sorts of questions a long-term study could answer for us. A $1 million price tag doesn't seem like too much to ask from a federal government that has a $2.9 trillion budget. Then again, neither does health insurance for
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/story/149618.html
Water debate dammed
Capitol Weekly – 9/27/07
By John Howard, staff writer
The Special Session debate over
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised plan, which he announced 12 days ago, not only added $3.5 billion to his earlier proposal--pushing the state's end of the tab to more than $9 billion--but also included a provision for a "continuous appropriation" that would assure financing through new administrations. "That may work if the administration is Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lester Snow, but what if the administration is Jerry Brown and some enviro? Will it work?" said the Sierra Club's Jim Metropulos. The Sierra Club, as other environmental groups, opposes construction of vast water works in favor of better groundwater management, recycling and stringent conservation.
The governor's office noted that an agreement has not yet been reached, but "negotiations are going very well," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "Those who are involved in the solution are saying positive things." McLear said that the Special Session is still young, and that support for the proposal is building.
The governor's plan--supported by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein--includes $1 billion for conservation and local water projects and nearly $2 billion for Delta restoration. The biggest piece, $5.1 billion, would go for three projects: two new dams and the expansion of the 100,000-acre-foot Los Vaqueros Reservoir northeast of
Officials from Contra Costa Water District, which operates Los Vaqueros, intend to challenge that 50-50 match at an October 4 hearing of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. They argue that an expanded Los Vaqueros is beneficial to others outside their district, and that others should help bear the cost.
The governor's proposal, which if approved would face voters on February 5, also gives broad powers to the head of the Water Resources Department and to the resources secretary to direct billions of dollars in funding and development--too much power, critics contend. "It's unprecedented. This is a political decision. It would be unique in the history of the state for an unelected bureaucrat to write a check for $5 billion," said one legislative staffer familiar with the discussions.
Supporters of the governor's proposal sharply disagree. They say his plan does indeed have fiscal controls, and that it places responsibility on local water agencies to demonstrate their fiscal capacity and need for projects. Only then, after that capacity has been established, does the state pony up the money.
At issue, too, is who rules? The Republican governor sees his plan as integral pieces of the State Water Project, the statewide system that moves water from the rainy north to the arid south and is administered by state water chiefs. A separate, $5.4 billion proposal by Senate leader Don Perata, while not ruling out new construction, sees regional water agencies as the controlling forces who decide what they want to build and for how much. It places a high priority on conservation and recycling.
"That's part of the reason for [Perata's] regional approach," said Phil Isenberg, who heads a high-level group advising the governor on water policy. "The other part is that there is a general rule in
Isenberg noted that the state's own water-policy guide, the DWR's 2005 State Water Plan, is supportive of a regionalized system.
Too, the governor has publicly called for consideration of a structure to convey water from the north to the south--potentially, a
The dispute over water is perhaps the longest, most complex policy and political debate that the state has faced, with roots that go deeper even than the discussion over health care. But even in its complexity, the basic issues are straightforward.
Three-fourths of the rain falls in
Currently, water is pumped from the Delta to the California Aqueduct, which takes water to Central and
To environmentalists, the expansion of the reservoir is more palatable than the building of new dams at Temperance Flat east of
The reservoir expansion is already on track for permits--a major factor in water works. The dams, even if approved by voters, likely wouldn't begin construction until after the current governor leaves office, and even the feasibility studies are two years away.
The court ruling casts attention "on projects that can be built and ready to go, that are feasible and that provide fishery benefits," said Patty Friesen, a spokeswoman for the Contra Costa Water District, which serves 550,000 customers and obtains 100 percent of its water from the Delta. "It is the farthest along of the storage projects."
During the past few days, a new possibility was added to the mix: a potential executive order from the governor. Schwarzenegger, just weeks after the Legislature last year approved a landmark greenhouse-gas emissions-law, issued an executive order that dramatically affected the way that law was put into effect. Could he issue a similar order on water?
"I heard that possibility a couple of days ago, but what would such an order be? He can issue an order, but he can't order the funding. He needs money," said one participant.
In the end, money for conservation, habitat replenishment, recycling and environmental protections are good, but they don't offset the problem to environmentalists of the dams--the core of their opposition.
"Those are good things, but we can't take the good with the bad. The governor can't sweeten up this bill with more money for conservation and restoration and then expect us to swallow $5.1 billion for new dams," Metropulos said. #
http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=1735
Environmental groups may use Jarvis initiative to block water projects
Capitol Weekly News – 9/27/07
By Malcolm Maclachlan, staff writer
Environmental groups are lining up to oppose the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's eminent-domain initiative at the ballot box next year. But if the measure becomes law, they also say they could be among the first ones to use it.
The initiative would place such strict controls on eminent domain, environmental groups say, it could become a major tool in stopping water projects they don't like. However, it might not be an effective tool against some of the GOP's most coveted water projects because they wouldn't rely on eminent domain.
Jarvis Association president Jon Coupal characterized the opposition's "cursory legal analysis" as "flawed, to be charitable." Meanwhile, other legal analyses are on the way. Multiple sources said the Legislative Counsel is looking at the issue, and that the Schwarzenegger administration is also seeking a legal opinion.
The Sierra Club is among several environmental groups lining up to fight the Jarvis measure because they say it contains numerous clauses that would make it difficult to enforce environmental laws. But if it became law, they might still use it.
"We'd consider it," said Bill Allayaud, legislative director for the Sierra Club of California. "You look at every tool when you're fighting something as environmentally destructive and fiscally irresponsible as a new dam."
The issue first came to light in late August, when the law firm of Nielsen-Merksamer did a legal analysis for their client, the League of California Cities, which is sponsoring a competing measure. The regulatory takings clause was so strict that it could easily be used to bring a large water project to a crashing halt, according to the analysis by former chief assistant attorney general Richard Martland, who now works for Nielsen-Merksamer. On August 24, the Association of California Water Agencies sent out a letter raising concerns over the clauses in the initiative relating to "consumption of natural resources" and substantially similar use--clauses they say could be construed to block most uses of eminent domain.
"Other people are looking at it and concluded we're right," said Steve Merksamer.
He's referring to people who aren't with the Jarvis Association or their partners in the initiative effort, namely the California Farm Bureau Federation. The Farm Bureau put $25,000 into the initiative effort in June, and has also helped fund other Jarvis projects.
The Martland analysis caused them to go look back at the initiative, Coupal said. Not only did both group's own legal teams look at it, Coupal said, but outside groups like the Pacific Legal Foundation did, as well. A Legislative Analysts Office analysis of the measure did not mention any problems with water projects, Coupal said, and also noted exceptions for "public utilities."
They also had their own legal opinion, written by Stuart Somach, an attorney who has frequently represented counties and water districts on takings issues. Dated August 23, Somach's analysis concluded the relevant clauses "does not preclude the use of eminent domain to acquire property necessary for the construction of water storage or conveyance projects."
The more plausible explanation, Coupal said, is that environmental groups are trying to "poison" the measure among conservative voters by saying it could make them more powerful.
"We all looked at it and said this in nonsense," Coupal said. He added, "It is our opinion that it is an entirely manufactured issue."
If the measure did become law, that theory could be tested very quickly, said one of Allayaud's Sierra Club colleagues, water policy expert Jim Metropulos. "Someone would grab the opportunity and sue."
However, a spokesman for the National Resources Defense Council said their main goal would be to never get to that point.
"I couldn't speculate on what we would do if the initiative passed, especially since our intention is to fight the initiative," said Craig Noble. That is because the initiative would do several other things that Democrats in general and environmentalists in particular wouldn't like, including banning rent control.
The issue could potentially split Republicans. Schwarzenegger and Senator Dave Cogdill, R-Fresno, are pushing for surface-water storage/dam projects. Both have been quoted expressing concern about the initiative, which still needs about 700,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
"This measure is a dagger in the heart of the governor's program," Merksamer said.
Schwarzenegger has called a special session on water, which so far has consisted mainly of private negotiations. However, there is a short list of four or five projects that have long been on the GOP wish lists. The dam site at the top of this list, known as Temperance Flat, would likely not be affected, since it sits on federal land. The Contra Costa Water District also own most of the land that would be needed for the Los Vaqueros dam site.
Meanwhile, the Westlands Water District has bought up much of the land that would be needed for the Shasta site. The Delta Wetlands project--considered dead on arrival by many--would likely not be effected, either. Most of the land in question is owned by people who would love to sell, according to sources close to the situation, many of them speculators who bought the land for this express purpose.
This leaves the Sites Reservoir as the one project on the list that would likely get a bulls-eye on it if the Jarvis initiative passed. Versions of all of these projects except Shasta appear in the Schwarzenegger's plan, which is a federal project.
Still, these projects have another problem, according to Pete Price, legislative advocate for the California League of Conservation Voters. They don't have enough of a constituency, since they would mainly go to agricultural users who already gulp 80 percent of
"Any of these surface water storage projects are mainly going to be ag water," Price said. "The urban water districts don't want these dams." #
http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=1734
FLOOD PREPARDNESS:
Handy help in flood; Thousands of area residents are being given a kit to guide them to a speedy evacuation
By Bobby Caina Calvan, staff writer
The floods may never come. But Joedy Zapara and his family say the risk is too great to ignore in their Natomas neighborhood, where questions linger about levees that are supposed to keep the
As winter approaches, the concerns grow.
On Wednesday, Zapara family members opened their home for a demonstration of how they are preparing for the calamity of a devastating flood.
Part of their preparation comes packaged in a small plastic bag containing an emergency evacuation kit that, in essence, is a bundle of common sense.
"People as a whole don't really understand what they're at risk for," said Zapara, who is vice president of the Regency Park Neighborhood Association.
Zapara is trying to educate neighbors about the value of preparing for a catastrophic flood.
The
Keeping important information handy -- such as contact numbers for family and anyone else who needs to be notified in case of an evacuation -- is often overlooked.
The kit also includes a leave-behind alert system -- a two-sided door hanger to be hung on the front-door knob -- that lets emergency responders know if help is needed or workers should move on.
The Safely Out kits -- 10,000 of which have been distributed in the past year throughout the capital region -- help residents with some of the most essential elements of an evacuation plan.
An additional 15,000 kits are in production. The goal is to distribute 100,000 of the kits.
"We learned from Katrina the hard way," said Gary Dietrich, co-founder and president of Citizen Voice, a local group that is spearheading the project in partnership with the Red Cross.
"You can't put everything on the backs of emergency first responders. All citizens will have to be first responders," Dietrich said.
The Safely Out program was primarily designed to help the community's most vulnerable, such as the disabled and the elderly.
A Bee analysis last year found that more than 150,000 poor, elderly and disabled
Citizen Voice is continuing its push to widen the reach of the program.
The target demographic group has widened, said Dietrich, to include families with young children.
"Sadly, it's going to take more flooding in other parts of the country" for people to take the risks more seriously in their own backyards, said Zapara.
The Safely Out kits are only part of the solution, he said, adding that he and his family have begun to draft a more comprehensive evacuation plan -- including putting together a stash of food, clothes and supplies.
"It takes some planning," Zapara said. "You have to set some time aside." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/401628.html
FLOOD CONTROL FUNDING:
Flood control funding to flow;
By Lori Consalvo, staff writer
It's targeted for the Upland Basin Expansion Project that will help improve water recharge and alleviate flood issues in the community. It is on the south side of
"This is something we could never do on our own," said City Manager Robb Quincey, noting the expansion project is something the city identified several years ago for public safety.
He said
"Just from the very small amount of rain we had just a couple of days ago,
An expanded basin will collect more than 1,300 acre-feet of storm water to be sunk into the ground. The water would otherwise flow into the ocean and be lost, city officials said.
In addition to the basin project, the money will help build other storm-water infrastructure.
This is the largest amount of federal money the city has ever received.
The decision to authorize the federal money was approved by the House 381-40 about three weeks ago. The Senate passed the measure 81-12 on Monday.
"(The money) just puts into perspective all the hard work we've put in over the years," said Mayor John Pomierski.
He said the city made several inquires about the appropriation as well as taking several trips to
Pomierski said Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, was instrumental in assisting the city on this.
Alisa Do, legislative director at Dreier's office, said
"The whole city is on a slight incline ... and there are a lot of water-management problems when it rains," Do said.
The decision to grant the bond money to
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