A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 7, 2007
2. Supply
WINTER WEATHER PREDICTIONS:
Water managers warn of dry winter, potential shortages ahead - Associated Press
LOS ANGELES WATER HISTORY:
Birth of L.A.'s water lifeline - LA Daily News
DROUGHT CONDITIONS:
Looking for more water resources; Finding new ways to fight droughts within the state is becoming harder - The Daily Titan (Fullerton
WATER CONSERVATION:
Guest Column: Region's water belongs to all of us - North
WINTER WEATHER PREDICTIONS:
Water managers warn of dry winter, potential shortages ahead
Associated Press – 11/6/07
By Samantha Young, staff writer
That is particularly true in the
Government experts predict much of the country will have a warmer and drier winter than normal because of moderate La Nina conditions, in which air cools over the Pacific and the jet stream gets pushed farther north.
"There's not a clear signal for
That's because the central part of
La Nina conditions have contributed to dry winters at least six times since 1961. But
"That's the biggest message with La Nina—you just don't know," state climatologist Mike Anderson said.
The federal court order earlier this year requiring a cutback in pumping to protect the threatened delta smelt has left
That decision came as a double blow, following an exceptionally dry winter.
The amount of rain and snowfall
The dry conditions have left state and federal reservoirs below normal levels. Additionally, state water managers over the summer had to draw down reservoirs to make up for the court decision that halted pumping from the delta for several weeks.
That wiped out most of the reserve water that had accumulated during the 2006 season, which was wetter than normal and produced above-average snowfall.
For example, hydrologists say there is only a 25 percent chance that
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a special legislative session to address the state's water supply, although those efforts have stalled over a disagreement about building dams. He has proposed a $10.3 billion bond to add reservoirs and underground storage, increase water recycling and promote conservation programs.
Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, has floated a $6.8 billion bond that would allow communities to compete for state grants to build their own dams, improve water efficiency, recycle water and store more water underground.
"People need to think about multiyear droughts and how we prepare," said Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow, who said negotiations over a water bond are continuing. #
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7388264
LOS ANGELES WATER HISTORY:
Birth of
LA Daily News – 11/7/07
By Carol Bidwell, staff writer
It was 94 years ago this week that the first water flowed from the
The 233-mile-long Los Angeles Aqueduct was the realization of a vision by former Los Angeles Mayor Fred Eaton and William Mulholland, chief engineer for the city's Water Department.
The trickle of water that soon became a gush just north of where Sylmar is today turned this part of the state from a land of farms, dependent on annual rainfall, to a land of homes and cities.
"There it is. Take it," Mulholland said tersely to city officials on Nov. 5, 1913, as he unfurled the Stars and Stripes as a signal to release the water. And with an estimated 30,000 people watching, the water began to flow.
The new water system was seen as the solution to the chronic water problem for region, which had to rely on rain - stored in reservoirs and in natural underground aquifers, accessed by wells.
In early 1904, Eaton had taken Mulholland and a bottle of whiskey on a buggy ride to the
Mulholland was immediately on board and championed passage of a $23 million bond issue to finance the aqueduct's construction. He, Eaton and other powerbrokers in
City residents voted nearly 11-to-1 to approve the water bond in the largest vote ever in the city for a special election, said Catherine Mulholland, engineer Mulholland's granddaughter, in her 2000 book "William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles."
Work on the aqueduct began in late 1908, with 5,000 workers laboring five years to complete the $23 million pipeline.
A week after the grand unveiling, Mullholland announced that the first delivery to city water mains had been completed. The system, he said, could deliver 40 million gallons a day.
It was the true beginning of the boom in growth for
"Obviously, (Mulholland) did something right," said Steve Levin, project director for the nonprofit research group Center for Governmental Studies. "(
After World War II,
But because the capacity of the aqueduct was limited, the city was unable to take its full allotment of water from the
Years of arguments and lawsuits over water rights followed, and much of the fighting has been renewed in recent years as
Complicating the lack of recent rainfall is a court ruling this summer that limits use of pumps sucking water from the Sacramento Delta. The pumps had been pumping so hard and fast that they were also sucking in - and killing - a small fish called the delta smelt. Find a way to pump water from the delta without killing the fish, a judge ordered, and the state shut down its pumps for nine days.
Since then, the pumps have been started again, but pump at a slower rate - and the amount of water shipped south has dwindled by an estimated 30 percent. The Metropolitan Water District, which delivers water to much of
In
Statewide, the population is projected to soar from its current 35 million to 60 million by 2050, according to Mark Cromer, a senior fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization.
In the six
Randy Fiorini, president of the Association of California Water Agencies, says the state relies on water conveyed through the delta for two-thirds of its water supply.
"But the delta is broken, and it is literally one big storm or one big earthquake away from disaster. That would leave
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is also pushing for increased attention to water facilities to keep supplies flowing.
"The delta is a critical water resource for all of
With 25 million people depending on delta water, and the probability of an earthquake over 6.7-magnitude very likely in the next 30 years, "there are all indications that the delta could collapse, the water would be gone, there would be no water for drinking, there would be no water for agriculture, there would be no water for fish, marsh, ecosystems."
And
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_7388302
DROUGHT CONDITIONS:
Looking for more water resources; Finding new ways to fight droughts within the state is becoming harder
The Daily Titan (Fullerton
By Dhawani Parekh, staff writer
Solving the water drought is a crisis for the Metropolitan Water District (MWD); however, for scientists, water droughts have been an existing part of
The drought is also prevalent in Southeastern states like
"One acre-foot is a size of a football field - one foot deep.
Miller noted in his research that there has been shift in the atmosphere circulation pattern. About 25 years ago,
There are two reasons for this. One reason for the shift is the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) - a long - term ocean fluctuation of the
The other reason for the shift is El-Nino-Southern Oscillation (ESNO). Currently,
There is a 50-50 chance of having a normal winter and rainfall, Miller said. There might be rain one year, but it will not make up for the other dry years.
"If you do not sleep for seven nights and then sleep only one night, hoping to make up for the seven nights, you will not recover your sleep. Similarly, one year of rain will not make up for the dry years," Miller said. "The drought can be self-reinforcing and can be expected to last the decade."
Looking back at the oldest records, 70,000 years ago, there have been times when
It is too early to tie in global warming with the water drought, but there is a relationship between climate and how often a drought occurs, Kirby said.
In order to predict the future of climate, it is essential to understand the history of climate.
"It is like investing in a stock market. If you were given $1 million to invest in [the] stock market, you would do research and get knowledge about the stock you are investing," Kirby said. "You would not randomly invest in something you do not know about."
As water becomes crucial, the future of
Several Asian countries have begun the desalinization process.
Miller said he believes that in
As the population of
Second, higher temperatures will cause the water from lakes and melting snowcaps to evaporate. Then, the water becomes low.
The MWD is spending a lot of money to educate the public about how it can conserve water.
It spends millions of dollars in newspapers, media and lobbyists who push a legislature, Fellow said.
"Politically, we are asking [for] money from
Other ways to save water include recycling water, using desalinization and doing extensive projects, like cleaning up chemicals in contaminated wells.
"The government and the state should focus on [the] allotment of water by cutting down on agriculture," Miller said. #
WATER CONSERVATION:
Guest Column: Region's water belongs to all of us
By Michele Bain, Fallbrook resident
The firestorms ravaging
Granite Construction is about to open Rosemary's Mountain, a deep-pit mine. Granite says that their mine will consume 60-acre feet per year or more for drilling and dousing silicone dust; and while I can't even conceive how much water this is, I know that it is a lot. The mine's water is said to be coming from the Pankey wells. Mr. Pankey is also involved with the Passerelle/Pardee/Pankey development that plans to build 600-plus homes and a junior college at Pala Mesa, but Passerelle does not want the public to be concerned about their water use because they, too, will be using Mr. Pankey's wells.
Some years ago when my husband and I owned a property with a well, I learned a little about well water. Wells are not entirely an independent source of water; and if used to excess (as in supporting 600-plus homes, a college and a deep pit mine), wells will drain underground water supplies and reduce water availability for public and emergency use like during the recent wildfires.
Up until very recently, Granite was still looking for water for Liberty Quarry after Rainbow Water turned down their request last March to supply that pit mine. Liberty Quarry will be designed to operate 20 hours a day, six days a week and will be much larger than Rosemary's Mountain, consuming even more of our precious water. [Editor's note: Granite reports they have a "letter of intent to serve" from Western Municipal Water District.]
While these large businesses want to drain our scarce water supply in an apparent sense of entitlement, for months now my family and others have scrimped and saved water by taking short showers, catching shower water in a bucket for use as gray water, and restricting outside water use. It seems that all business has to do is but to ask and the guardians of our public water, our water companies, hook them up. They say they can't turn them down because they fear a lawsuit? How much sense does it make to grant water to big business for use at the rate of 60-acre-feet-plus a year when, at the same time, water companies are asking us, the public, to voluntarily reduce and conserve or experience mandatory cutbacks and rate increases because of drought conditions? It's our area water! That glass of water truly is only half-full, and we all are drinking from the same cup. #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/07/opinion/commentary/20_00_0411_6_07.txt
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