A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 3, 2007
2. Supply
NORTH-SOUTH WATER TRANSFER:
WATER RECYCLING:
San Diego city attorney pushes for reclaimed water use - North County Times
HETCH HETCHY INFRASTRUCTURE:
Water's journey from Hetch Hetchy shaky; Mile of critical pipeline set for replacement, costing $83 million - Inside Bay Area
WATER CONSERVATION PLANNING:
Water plan delayed one more week - Ukiah Daily Journal
NORTH-SOUTH WATER TRANSFER:
By Heather Hacking, staff writer
GRIDLEY -- A water district in Gridley has been approached by the San Diego Water Authority for the possibility of transferring up to 30,000 acre-feet of water next year from north to south.
Talks are only at the feasibility stage at this point, said Mark Orme, manager of Butte Water District.
San Diego Water Authority members voted Thursday to have their staff continue talks with the Gridley water district, which provides water to farmers.
There are a variety of factors involved, the main one being whether the transfer could occur given the condition of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta right now, and recent court cases limiting the amount of water allowed to be pumped to
This summer a federal court judge cut back the amount of water allowed to be removed from the Delta to protect the endangered Delta smelt.
Orme said his rice farming customers are still in the middle of harvest and there really hasn't been a chance for a thorough discussion.
Nothing has been approved by his board of directors, Orme said.
"We'll just go ahead and see what they have to say. That's where they're at."
There are many complications including how much water is flowing through the Delta at the time of year when water would be transferred.
Orme said he also did not know if his farmers would be interested.
Growers considering a water transfer must factor how much they would receive from a water transfer vs. how much it would cost them to farm crops and how much they would receive at harvest.
The deal would be similar to recent negotiations in the
Farmers in the district would not plant crops on 20 percent of their land. For rice, each acre of land not planted would be eligible for 3.3 acres of water transferred.
The final price is not being discussed at this time. A few years ago the price offered for water transfers ranged from $100-125 an acre-foot.
One acre-foot equal 325,900 gallons and is enough to sustain one to two households for a year. #
http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_7067308
WATER RECYCLING:
Facing a "water deficiency" problem,
Over the past month, Aguirre has repeatedly said that the city in the midst of a water supply "crisis."
"We are not headed into the era of water surplus, but we are actually headed into the era of water scarcity," he said at the sparsely attended forum at City Hall.
Panelists included officials from water and energy policy and research groups, environmental activists and labor, who were largely in support of Aguirre's push for a recycled water program.
Jeff Mosher, executive director of the National Water Research Institute, said water re-use improves reliability and creates a sustainable supply.
"Frankly, it is just good water policy," he said.
Councilwoman Donna Frye agreed.
"Recycled water brings value to
While Aguirre has pushed for mandatory conservation, Mayor Jerry Sanders has urged
The mayor is opposed to using treated wastewater to supplement the city's drinking supplies, a program sometimes called "toilet-to-tap."
Both are concerned about a federal judge's ruling that could limit the amount of fresh water that can be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Other panelists at today's forum included, local labor leader Jerry Butkiewicz; Bruce Reznick, executive director of San Diego Coastkeeper; Marco Gonzalez, attorney for the Surfrider Foundation; and Don Wood, senior policy advisor for the Pacific Energy Policy Center. CNS-10-02-2007 12:22 #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/10/03/news/sandiego/18_01_1710_2_07.txt
HETCH HETCHY INFRASTRUCTURE:
Water's journey from Hetch Hetchy shaky; Mile of critical pipeline set for replacement, costing $83 million
Inside Bay Area – 10/3/07
By Julia Scott, staff writer
When they turn on the tap, few
By the time it gets to them, the water — in a gravity-fed system that flows all the way from the
Patrick Sweetland, director of
The Crystal Springs bypass pipeline, so named because it runs parallel to the lower Crystal Springs reservoir without connecting to it, directly feeds Daly City and eight other Peninsula cities before reaching San Francisco.
Replacing the vulnerable, one-mile portion of pipeline will take $83 million and 36 months, and require one lane of
Sweetland says it's worth the money and effort.
"The entire east side of
With a 62 percent likelihood of a major earthquake erupting along one of the faults the pipelines crisscross today, the SFPUC believes those concerns are well-placed.
"Right now, the bypass system is the main way we get water into the
The current unprotected portion of pipeline is part of a 4.5-mile bypass tunnel and pipeline that runs under
The regional system was designed shortly after the 1906 earthquake and fire, when residents clamored for a more reliable, public water system.
The two pipelines that run under the Bay have been in place since 1932 and 1936, respectively, according to Fong. One of the pipelines is made out of rusting, riveted wrought iron.
Those two pipelines would be replaced with a new one under a $4.3 billion water access and infrastructure plan pending before the SFPUC. The massive capital improvement project also would pay for the upgrade to the
Built in 1969 of pre-cast concrete, officials first realized how vulnerable the unprotected portion of Crystal Springs pipeline was when it was buried under 30 feet of soil during the El Nino storms of 1997 (one house even tumbled down the hill in the landslide that ensued).
For this project, tentatively scheduled to begin at the end of 2008, a 96-inch steel pipeline would be surrounded by a steel-encased tunnel made of concrete. The tunnel would run under
Unbeknownst to them, Peninsula residents who rely on the pipeline will be drinking water from the
WATER CONSERVATION PLANNING:
Water plan delayed one more week
Ukiah Daily Journal – 10/3/07
By Ben Brown, staff writer
The decision of how to pursue water conservation in
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to direct Mitchell to meet with
"The purpose of this task is to take a close look at water use patterns in the
"It will realistically tell you what can be achieved," he said.
At the board's Sept. 25 meeting, 2nd District Supervisor Jim Wattenburger made a motion to accept
Wattenburger withdrew his motion Tuesday after 3rd District Supervisor John Pinches said he did not support
Pinches said the board had already directed
"I think we made this clear two weeks ago," Pinches said.
Pinches proposed
"You've got the money; go out and move forward," he said.
Board Chairwoman Kendall Smith said the board needed to step up and start studying water use and conservation because without the institution of best management practices for water as the surrounding counties have put in place,
Smith said
Mitchell proposed that he meet with
In June, the State Water Resources Control Board ordered all entities that take water from the
The city of
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