Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 29, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
SAN JACINTO RIVER
San Jacinto River levee extension being designed - Riverside Press Enterprise
SACRAMENTO
Editorial: What about taxpayers?; City would be unwise to fight with FEMA - Sacramento Bee
FLOOD MEETING:
Meeting on W. Sac levees - Sacramento Bee
WATER RATE INCREASE:
Zone 7 water agency raising wholesale rates; Agency confronts court-ordered reduction in deliveries from Delta - Contra Costa Times
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:
Editorial: QSA fight goes on and on - Imperial Valley Press
DWR EIR:
THE EYE ON THE
NEW HEAD OF LADWP:
Villaraigosa to tap Nahai to lead DWP - LA Daily News
LADWP HEAD RESIGNS:
Deaton resigns from top DWP job; Is Nahai choice for manager post? - LA Daily News
SAN JACINTO RIVER
San Jacinto River
Riverside Press Enterprise
By Steve Fetbrandt, staff writer
SAN JACINTO - When the
City officials are working to prevent a recurrence by completing a $25 million extension of the levee system the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers initiated decades ago. Simultaneously, the city hopes to free up more than 1,900 acres from flood plain status so it can be developed with homes, business and industry in the Gateway area near the Ramona Expressway and
City Engineer Habib Motlagh said the project probably will require the city to use its powers of eminent domain to obtain right-of-way for some land. Construction is expected to start around September 2009.
We have a lot of right-of-way we have to obtain, including the title reports," he said. "Without the appraisal costs, we estimate there will be about $900,000 in consulting fees paid by the city."
Motlagh said the city has been working with Albert A. Webb Associates on preliminaries to extend the levee -- mostly along the river's southern bank -- six miles west from
The engineering firm is going to design the project at an estimated cost of $826,350. Together with other required studies and preparation of legal descriptions, total consulting fees are likely to run between $1.15 million and $1.35 million, Motlagh said.
The city's Redevelopment Agency will pay the city's share through a reimbursement agreement.
Mayor Jim Ayres characterized the project-design agreement as a major step in the process and a historic moment for the city.
"Councilman (Dale) Stubblefield and I sit on the city Drainage Subcommittee, and we've worked long and hard to get to this point," Ayres said.
Said Stubblefield, "We're finally starting to see some traction on this."
The area in question has been plagued by various flooding episodes over the years. In 1980, the north side of San Jacinto nearly washed away when the
Costly Repairs
The two-mile connector did not reopen until November 2006 and only after $880,000 worth of repairs.
Riverside County Transportation Department officials said the river cut a new course upstream and washed out portions of
County road crews replaced the washed-out sections with several hundred feet of concrete but said it would require several thousand feet of causeway to bridge the flood-prone section -- an expensive and environmentally sensitive undertaking.
Motlagh said
City Manager Barry McClellan said
Negotiating With Developers
City officials are negotiating with private developers to plug the funding gap. In September 2006, the council adopted an ordinance requiring developers to participate in a special tax district to help finance the project. City officials say the tax will allow 2,284 acres of residential construction, 108 acres of commercial development and 740 acres of industry.
Besides freeing up land for growth, City Attorney Jeff Ballinger has said the financing strategy will ensure lives and property are protected without hurting the city's finances. State law allows the city to require developers to build the levee system as a condition of constructing new homes, he said.
No building permits will be issued until the plans for the levee project are approved, financing is in place and all necessary rights-of-way are acquired, Ballinger said. However, developments may proceed before that if the development joins the community facilities district, flood-proofs its project and dedicates any required right-of-way to the city.
For developments outside the flood plain, but inside an area that benefits from the levee, developers would be required to flood-proof their projects and join the special-tax district. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_levee28.3d74fce.html
SACRAMENTO
Editorial: What about taxpayers?; City would be unwise to fight with FEMA
Sacramento
If
During this meeting, certain council members made clear they have little appreciation for the National Flood Insurance Program. This program helps underwrite development in
Yet if you were to believe certain council members, you'd think that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administrates that program, is nothing more than a bunch of meddling bureaucrats.
You'd also get the idea that some council members – particularly Rob Fong and Robbie Waters – want to mount a confrontation with FEMA that isn't in the city's interests.
Tuesday's session focused on the flood map designation that FEMA wants to place on the Natomas area while engineers work to upgrade the basin's levees by 2010.
Egged on by builders, the city and
FEMA wisely rejected it. The agency then urged the city to apply for a status that would have allowed new housing in the city portion of Natomas, but only if houses were elevated three feet.
Not surprisingly, developers hate that rule. Greg Thatch, a lawyer for builders, said the requirement would "achieve absolutely nothing," since a levee break in Natomas would flood higher than three feet. He then urged the council not only to seek an exemption but to join him in an appeal and possible lawsuit against the feds.
If developers want to spend their money that way, all power to them. But city officials shouldn't go near it. They also shouldn't just echo claims that a three-foot elevation of houses would be "useless" in Natomas. Floods don't always break levees.
Sometimes they overtop them. #
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/454501.html
FLOOD MEETING:
Meeting on W. Sac levees
By Lakeshia McGee, staff writer
The city will host two public meetings to present a comprehensive evaluation of its levees and improvements needed to meet higher flood protection levels.
The meetings will be held at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at the West Sacramento Civic Center Galleria room,
Officials will present issues identified in the levee evaluation report and discuss potential treatment options. Public comment on the scope and content of the levee evaluation program will be sought, according to a news release. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/459329.html
WATER RATE INCREASE:
Zone 7 water agency raising wholesale rates; Agency confronts court-ordered reduction in deliveries from Delta
Contra Costa Times – 10/27/07
By Meera Pal, staff writer
Confronted with a court-ordered reduction in water deliveries from the Delta, the Livermore-Amador Valley's Zone 7 Water Agency will raise its wholesale water rates and dip into a drought-reserve fund to make up for the financial hit.
This month, the Zone 7 board approved an 8 percent increase in wholesale water rates for treated water and a special 0.4 percent Delta surcharge, which together could add about $2.25 to monthly household water bills.
While Zone 7 has enough stored groundwater and other emergency supplies to meet projected demand in 2008, the agency is asking the public to conserve water by at least 10 percent to reduce the hit on emergency water supplies.
But encouraging conservation will result in millions of dollars less going toward its operating costs, said Zone 7 spokeswoman Boni Brewer.
To make up for the expected revenue loss, the Zone 7 board of directors approved taking money from the agency's long-established $5 million reserve fund -- typically used to help stabilize rates during times of drought -- as well as add the surcharge to water rates.
The agency, which delivers water to 200,000 customers in
Zone 7 gets 80 percent of its water from the Delta state water project, which will reduce water deliveries by at least a 30 percent for at least a year, in the name of protecting the endangered Delta smelt.
State water officials estimate that court-ordered delivery reduction could result in reducing water deliveries out of the Delta by 1 million acre-feet, enough to supply 2 million households during that time.
Coupled with the Delta cutbacks, Zone 7 is also looking at lower water sales next year because of a slowdown in new development and reduced demand. The agency's finance committee is recommending the agency contribute $5.5 million instead of $6.3 million from water-rate revenue toward capital improvements.
More than a third of the general rate increase is tied to Zone 7's efforts to maintain and improve water reliability for the Tri-Valley, as well as increasing off-site storage.
Also this month, the board approved a 24 percent increase in rates for untreated water, which is provided primarily to agricultural users. Untreated water costs are impacted to a larger degree by changes in the State Water Project. #
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_7298755?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:
Editorial: QSA fight goes on and on
Imperial Valley Press – 10/27/07
It appears the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement’s days in court may never end.
A county suit against the water transfer agreement was finally dismissed earlier this year. While that was good, it effectively lifted a stay on other cases that were waiting in the wings.
And the floodgates, as it were, have opened.
Last week, two more injunctions against the 75-year water deal were filed in state courts. The Imperial Irrigation District, which is still trying to have the QSA validated by the state, will be opposing the injunctions.
One injunction was filed by Protect Our Water and Environmental Rights, or POWER, a group which used to include IID Director Mike Abatti. Earlier this year Abatti removed himself from the QSA lawsuits. The second is from the Imperial Group.
The POWER lawsuit alleges that the IID violated the state’s Environmental Quality Act and that continuing the QSA will harm the Valley’s environment. The Imperial Group says the agreement does not fully address air quality issues caused by a dying
To anyone who is paying attention, these are not new issues. We understand that some people were skeptical of the QSA from the beginning and continue to be. We also understand that this pact was negotiated and agreed upon by the principal parties long ago.
Because of that, these injunctions and lawsuits must stop. These suits do nothing to move the process and the Valley forward. They are simply expensive roadblocks that will continue to slow and even stall a process that should be full underway by now.
We also want what is best for the Valley, and that is not continuing to fight this agreement. Does anyone think for a moment that our larger neighbors who will be getting water from us will let this deal die in court? No, they won’t. They will become even more adamant about gaining control over the water.
In effect, this is poking a tiger with a stick. If we continue to see this happen, the Imperial Valley will definitely be bitten.
Even if these most recent injunctions are not successful, more are undoubtedly on the way. We continue to hope that we all eventually realize the QSA is a done deal. #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/10/28/opinion/ed01_10-28-07.txt
DWR EIR:
THE EYE ON THE
Contra Costa Times – 10/28/07
Lots of impact in this report. According to the state Office of Planning and Research's CEQAnet database, at least 600 Environmental Impact Reports are issued in
What was surprising was the EIR's subject: the Monterey Agreement, a reallocation of water rights among farmers and cities in
So the document, required by law to assist in governmental decision-making, analyzes the environmental impacts of a decision that was implemented a dozen years ago.
To be fair, the document was slowed by court battles. But consider this: the Central Coast Water Authority completed the first EIR on the agreement in less than a year.
So what happened, you and the Eye ask?
Well, a trial court found the original document was adequate, but ruled that it should have been done by the state, not the Central Coast Water Authority. Then an appeals court found a deficiency in the analysis. That was in 2000.
Seven years, $2.5 million in consultant fees and many hours of state employee staff time later, we now have a massive analysis of the agreement.
"We lost the battle with the court, I'll put it that way," said Delores Brown of the water department's office of environmental compliance.
Asked the point of an EIR that analyzes a decision in effect for a dozen years, Brown said the document is still useful -- because water officials could use it to change course and try another alternative. #
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_7305974
NEW HEAD OF LADWP:
Villaraigosa to tap Nahai to lead DWP
LA Daily News – 10/29/07
Confirming City Hall rumors, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to announce today his selection of attorney and former city commissioner H. David Nahai to lead the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
The mayor will announce his pick, which is subject to City Council approval, at a morning news conference, according to the mayor's office.
The utility's general manager, Ronald Deaton, 64, announced his retirement Friday after 42 years with the city and four months after suffering heart problems that caused him to go on medical leave.
The mayor appointed Nahai, 53, to the Water and Power Commission in September 2005. He served as the commission's president until Oct. 5, when he quietly resigned from the panel. The move was seen by some City Hall insiders as his way of preparing for the general manager position.
One of Nahai's last votes on the Water and Power Commission was in support of the utility's first electricity rate increase in 15 years. Under the proposal, which must be approved by the council and mayor, base power rates will rise 9 percent, about $5.25 per month, by July 1, 2009. The board also approved increasing residential water rates by about $1 per month, beginning on July 1 in both 2008 and 2009.
Under Nahai's leadership, the mayor's office expects the Department of Water and Power to focus on renewable energy programs to increase sustainability and modernize the reliability of water and electricity.
Nahai is president of a
The Department of Water and Power is the country's largest public utility, with 8,375 employees and a service area of 465 square miles. It had a $3.16 billion budget in fiscal year 2005-2006. #
http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_7311689?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com
LADWP HEAD RESIGNS:
Deaton resigns from top DWP job; Is Nahai choice for manager post?
LA Daily News – 10/26/07
By Kerry Cavanaugh and Rick Orlov, staff writers
Ending a four-decade career as one of the most powerful figures in
A longtime City Hall insider and an ultimate behind-the-scenes dealmaker, the 64-year-old Deaton has been on medical leave since July after suffering a severe heart arrhythmia while vacationing in
Since then, there has been speculation that he would soon retire. Attorney H. David Nahai has even resigned from the DWP board in a move seen as preparation to be named the new general manager by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
On Friday, Deaton made his resignation official.
"The challenges over the last several months are surpassed only by the difficult decision to retire from service in the city I hold so dear," Deaton wrote in a letter to Villaraigosa.
"What an honor it is to work alongside and live each day among many legendary figures of
Deaton has been offered a $267,500 retirement settlement and a life insurance policy that could cost $50,000, in exchange for leaving now. He could have stayed on medical disability for two years at his full $344,000-a-year salary, but the mayor would not have been able to appoint a new general manager.
Deaton leaves a utility struggling to upgrade its aging infrastructure while under fire for its spending habits and rich employee contracts. Now the utility is trying to pass rate hikes - developed under Deaton's leadership - that are proving a hard sell with neighborhood councils.
The City Council next week will consider a plan to increase electric rates by 9 percent over the next three years and water rates 6percent over two years.
Councilwoman Jan Perry, who chairs the council's Energy and Environment Committee overseeing the DWP, said Deaton will be difficult to replace because of his skills as a career bureaucrat and a policymaker. "The job has an enormous challenge and is a complicated job to complete," Perry said. "Whoever comes in is going to have to make a strong case to the council and, more importantly, to the public on the need to raise rates and do the work we need to upgrade what we have."
Plus, she said, the new manager will have to try to improve the DWP's tarnished image and mend relations with the community.
Deaton began his career with the city in 1965 as a DWP budget researcher. He moved on to the Chief Legislative Analyst's Office, where he spent nearly four decades advising city leaders on issues from police reform to power rates.
Deaton solidified his role as adviser to the City Council during the decade-long debate - and 2002 vote - over
"From his first day on the job at the age of 22, this is a man who literally did it all for Angelenos," Villaraigosa said in a statement. "He kept the lights on through fires and blackouts. He balanced the books. He helped build parks, police stations and libraries. He kept us united as one city."
Supported and mentored by then-Council President John Ferraro, Deaton was often referred to as the 16th council member because of his ability to forge consensus among the council and his encyclopedic knowledge of the city, its operations and its budget.
"He had the ability to convince council members to do things they may not have wanted to do," said Councilman Greig Smith, who was a longtime council staffer before being elected. "He did it with intelligence and humor."
That ability to corral support and influence decision makers gave Deaton the unofficial title of most powerful bureaucrat in City Hall. In a 1997 profile, Deaton told the Daily News: "The view I have is that when I walk into a room, I am the city of
In 2004, Deaton was appointed DWP general manager by former Mayor James Hahn, who said he wanted a manager to clean up the troubled department. At the helm of the nation's largest public utility, Deaton and the commission began to scrutinize expensive contracts and cut waste. And he attempted to lessen the influence on management of the DWP's main union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18.
"He tried to make an impact," Smith said. "But he didn't have the time to make the changes he needed to do." #
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