A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 11, 2007
2. Supply
WELL WATER ISSUES:
Barona may get water aid from Congress; Plans further upset neighbors who blame tribe for shortage - San Diego Union Tribune
AG ISSUES:
Water conflict: Some growers lose special ag rate - Redding Record Searchlight
PLANT UPGRADE:
Washed out?; Overhaul eyed for aging plant -
WELL WATER ISSUES:
Barona may get water aid from Congress; Plans further upset neighbors who blame tribe for shortage
By James P. Sweeny, Copley News Service
Now, some of those residents have been stunned to learn that Congress is preparing to help Barona address its water shortage but may do nothing for the homeowners.
An amendment proposed by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, would require evidence that Barona caused the residents' problems before the wealthy gaming tribe would be required to assist in bringing water to its neighbors.
Several years ago,
“Nobody's ever been able to prove the tribe was at fault because the tribe's never been willing to give any data,” said David Hannum, who has lived on
An exasperated Bob Bowling, leader of the Old Barona Road Association, said he and many neighbors have drilled new or deeper wells in the past seven years, and many of those have gone dry or are barely producing.
“Most of these wells that dried up were 30, 40 years old and they just dried up after the (golf course) sod went in,” Bowling said. “What do we have to prove? A lot of my neighbors are pretty worn out over the whole issue.”
Hunter and county Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who have been trying to broker a compromise for years, are also weary of the controversy. Barona, which declined to comment for this story, has long insisted it is not responsible for its neighbors' water problems.
However, the tribe has been struggling with recurring water shortages after conceding its projections of available groundwater and the casino-resort's water needs were way off. For months in 2002 and 2003, the tribe trucked in thousands of gallons of water.
Barona's best option appears to be a pipeline to San Vicente Reservoir, a
To overcome potential environmental and political obstacles, Barona quietly reached out to its powerful political friends. An amendment inserted into a bill by then-Sen. Ben Nighthorse
But a drafting blunder identified the wrong parcels. Rather than the pipeline route, the amendment placed a privately owned parcel into trust.
As the water crisis dragged on, Hunter insisted he would not intervene on the tribe's behalf unless a compromise was reached that would help its neighbors along
However, the affected residents were unaware that Hunter and the tribe have been negotiating in recent months. Jacob's office also had been involved in the talks.
After negotiating what appears to be a tentative agreement with the tribe, Hunter last month wrote to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asking her to support an amendment to correct the 2004 drafting blunder.
Feinstein's top aides initially appeared inclined to follow Hunter's lead, but that may have changed in recent days. Her staff referred to a July 2005 letter in which Feinstein warned Hunter she “would have serious concerns about any legislation to support the tribe's facility which does not resolve the water shortages of the adjacent homeowners.”
Hunter's staff declined to release the latest amendment language embraced by the tribe. The congressman's letter said Barona has agreed that later congressional approval would be required to build a pipeline on its land.
Barona also agreed “that the issue of water availability for the tribe's neighbors must be addressed should it be proven that they have been adversely affected by the tribe's past or ongoing water activity,” the letter said.
A draft of what the tribe agreed to is slightly, but perhaps significantly, different. The draft, obtained from a source who asked to remain anonymous, says that should the 85 acres be used for a pipeline to the reservation, it would have to provide water to the tribe's neighbors, “if proven to be adversely affected by the tribe's past and ongoing water activity” (italics added).
With new wells on many of the adjoining properties, Bowling said it may be impossible to prove what happened in the past.
Neither Hunter's letter nor the draft agreement say who would investigate the water controversy, what would be needed to establish proof and whether the tribe would have to permit an independent review of its wells and pumping records.
“There is no reliable, tangible data indicating the cause of the decreased water levels,” said Joe Kasper, Hunter's press secretary.
“So the goal would be to have an independent federal agency make that determination.”
Old
Hannum recorded five years of water level readings from a gauge on his well. The data spanned construction of the golf course and 400-room hotel on the reservation.
Former county hydrologist John Peterson reviewed Hannum's data and said the information provided “very strong time evidence” that pumping on the reservation had drained local groundwater reserves.
“The key factor that controls the amount of present and future well interference to the wells along
He cautioned that he could reach no final conclusion without data from the reservation. Peterson, now a private consultant, declined to return repeated telephone calls seeking comment.
The county referred questions for its current hydrologist to his boss, Glenn Russell, acting deputy director of the Department of Land Use. Russell said that because well logs dating to the 1970s show low groundwater levels along
Russell would not provide copies of the well logs because he said they are confidential.
The tribe, he said, is about to start sharing groundwater information with the county. He said the county has not asked for permission and has “no plans to do any independent testing or monitoring on tribe's land.”
Jacob said she doesn't need any more evidence that the tribe's groundwater use had been the culprit. But that may no longer be the case, she said. The tribe told her the golf course and resort landscaping is irrigated with reclaimed water.
“The bottom line is the county itself . . . doesn't have any leverage here,” Jacob said. “
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071011/news_1n11barona.html
AG ISSUES:
Water conflict: Some growers lose special ag rate
Redding Record Searchlight – 10/11/07
By Dylan Darling, staff writer
There's a divide in the Bella Vista Water District.
ABOUT WATER: Shirley Meeker of
At issue is a two-tiered fee schedule that charges one rate for homes, businesses and schools and a much lower rate for agricultural users.
"I've received very angry letters, bordering on hostile," said Water District General Manager David Coxey.
The lower rates for farmers, ranchers and growers are a result of a deal with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and small water districts fed by the Central Valley Project, said Jeff McCracken, bureau spokesman in
When contacts between the bureau and districts throughout the state were renewed in 2005, restrictions were tightened on low-cost water allocations, he said. While the bureau wanted to set the minimum at 10 acres, individual districts have negotiated down the cutoff line. Bella Vista has set their minimum at 2 acres.
Customers also must show that they aren't just growing flowers or vegetables for themselves, McCracken said.
"They had to prove that they were using that water for agriculture," he said.
Almost all the districts have customers who barely missed meeting the guidelines for a farm, orchard or ranch -- many of whom used to pay the federally subsidized "ag rate" -- but no longer qualify.
Shirley Meeker is one of those customers. For 30 years, Meeker and her husband have lived on 41/2 acres off
That changed in March when Meeker got a letter telling her that her land no longer was considered an agricultural operation. With the change in rate, her water bill shot up.
Her bill for June and July -- the district charges for two months at a time -- this year was more than $878 for about 11,000 gallons of water. With the ag rate, she said, that bill would have been $149.
The cost increase prompted her to stop adding water to her 1-acre catfish pond and watering her stand of trees, although she's still keeping the trough full for her three head of cattle.
"I'm losing fruit trees and my fish are dying," Meeker said.
She's working with a consultant, trying to figure out how to get the ag rate back.
District general manager Coxey said he is familiar with Meeker's situation and that she can get the ag rate again if she installs an irrigation line that can water at least 2 acres of land. The district's requirements for commercial agriculture, and the lower water rate, are at least 2 irrigated acres and at least a 1-inch water meter. In addition, crops must be grown for sale or documented trade.
The district has 6,000 customers, 200 to 300 of whom pay the ag rate, Coxey said.
While Joyce Beebe had hoped to start growing herbs to sell at farmers' markets on the land off
She said she thinks it's unfair and wishes the district would consider operations like the one she proposed that are small, but produce agriculture nonetheless.
"I can't afford to grow," she said. #
http://www.redding.com/news/2007/oct/11/water-conflict/
PLANT UPGRADE:
Washed out?; Overhaul eyed for aging plant
Grass Valley
By Greg Moberly, staff writer
After 28 years of taking water from Little Deer Creek and cleaning it for
An engineering consultant will study how to make the plant more efficient, whether demand for water could grow in the future and whether the plant needs upgrades and repairs.
"Energy use is a primary efficiency concern," City Manager Mark Miller said. "If it costs $5,000 to replace a motor at the plant, and we could save $1,000 a year in costs by doing that, then it's worth it."
Capacity poses another concern.
During the summer months, the treatment plant approaches its limit of processing 2 million gallons per day. During winter, water usage drops to its lowest level, plant operator Chris Towne said.
The consultants will look at whether the plant's capacity should be expanded to meet rising demand. Last summer, city officials asked residents to voluntarily reduce their water consumption.
The consultants also will consider whether the city is storing enough water to meet demand.
City leaders recently hired Psomas, an engineering consulting firm, for up to $10,000 to review the plant's operations. Engineers could take up to a year to complete the review, Miller said.
"It's served us really well for 28 years, but now it's time to look to the future," Towne said.
Officials identified no specific problems, but said they want to determine what improvements could be made, such as installing updated chlorine and filter technology.
The consulting firm could suggest building a new treatment plant, but both Miller and Towne said that seems unlikely. #
http://www.theunion.com/article/20071011/NEWS/110110176
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