A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 26, 2007
2. Supply
CENTRAL VALLEY AG CONDITIONS:
Farming for water; Facing irrigation restrictions, Westlands Water District farmers are taking some drastic measures - Fresno Bee
Yolo city engineers want to tap river; Water is said to be purer than wells' supply now in Davis and Woodland - Sacramento Bee
CLOUD SEEDING:
Water district may seed clouds; Process would be conducted in upper C.V. watershed - Monterey Herald
RECYCLING WATER:
More recycled water could be on tap; But standards for cleanliness hotly debated - Stockton Record
WATER STORAGE PLANNING:
City shores up water storage - Visalia Times Delta
WATER COSTS:
Editorial: The price isn't right - North County Times
DROUGHTBUSTERS:
Column: In a drought, who you gonna call?; Think the six DWP Drought Busters can stop water waste? Think again - Los Angeles Times
Source of water for West at risk; Forests, farmers, cities depend upon mountain-snow runoff - Arizona Republic
In Vegas, wasting water is a sin; Seven years of drought: Conservation for fast-growing city, but that won't be enough -
CENTRAL VALLEY AG CONDITIONS:
Farming for water; Facing irrigation restrictions, Westlands Water District farmers are taking some drastic measures
By Dennis Pollock, staff writer
Farmers across the central
Expected to be especially hard hit, because of legal challenges, are those served by the Westlands Water District, which covers more than 610,000 acres in western
Uncertain how much water they can get from the federal government, Westlands farmers are taking some drastic measures to keep their farms from failing.
Take, for example, Bruce Allbright, who planted several hundred acres of pistachio trees in the Huron area three years ago. He still has four years before the trees start bearing nuts.
He's trying to restore two wells that haven't been used in 15 to 20 years. He hopes he will not have to sink new ones, which could cost as much as $600,000 each.
Mark Borba, a Riverdale grower, is crunching numbers on his computer to rate crops according to the return per acre-foot of water. And like Allbright, he'll do his best to keep his one permanent crop -- almonds -- alive.
That may mean idling some crop- land so he can qualify to use some of his federal irrigation water on the almonds, which don't like the well water, which contains salts such as boron.
Borba's putting drip irrigation into about 1,000 acres of almonds and processing tomatoes at a cost of about $450 per acre. He'll pay the cost over three years.
And he is trying -- so far without success -- to find someone to sell him a water allocation for 2008. The deal would go something like this: A neighbor is looking to plant wheat. Borba might offer to pay the grower to idle the land, letting Borba use the water on his trees.
While
The northern farmers calculate they can make more selling their water allotment than by using it to grow crops.
Ted Sheely, who farms in the Huron area, said Valley farmers will be disadvantaged -- and probably outbid -- in any competition with urban agencies such as the Metropolitan Water District.
"I wouldn't want to be sitting at the table with [Metropolitan] and hear somebody say, 'OK, what's your opening bid'?" he said.
"Everybody's out trying to buy somebody's water if they can get it. Everybody's competing for water."
Sheely is putting in two miles of pipe to move water from field to field, expecting that will be cheaper at $40,000 a mile than digging a well. He also is installing drip irrigation to save water. Farmers in Westlands and elsewhere have been taking water-saving steps for years. They've stepped up those efforts as sources of water have grown more scarce.
Sheely said planning for a dry year -- even if it doesn't happen on the scale some fear -- is a necessity. "If you wait till next summer, you'll have no time," he said.
The decision-making is complicated by the fact that farmers have planted more of their land with permanent crops -- including pistachios, almonds and wine grapes -- on the Valley's west side. Those crops require constant care and watering. It's far different than a field where wheat, for example, may -- or may not -- be grown.
"You can choose not to plant cotton," said Allbright, president of Allbright Cotton, a Fresno-based marketing company.
But "once you put in an orchard, if you don't water it, it dies. You could lose it over the course of one year if you don't water it."
Many Westlands farmers began switching to permanent crops -- trees and grapevines -- in recent years because they could make more money. Some of the permanent crops require more water than most field crops.
Farmers made the switch when federal allocations of water were often low, but not so low as they may be next year because of litigation connected to water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
About 4,500 farmers -- most of them outside Westlands and some as far south as
Westlands farmers have been told their allocations could be as low as between 10% and 45% depending on a number of factors, including rainfall and snowpack.
At a recent agribusiness conference in
A study by the Western Growers Association, which represents the
The economic loss would reach at least $69 million in farm production, according to the study. That would be 0.002% of the 2006 total production value of $31.4 billion.
Steve Patricio, chairman of the board of Western United Growers, said the uncertainty of the water supply and how deliveries will be managed makes it tough for farmers to work with bankers.
"More than 60% of the farm operations have to borrow money. And if they don't have a watering plan, they can't budget," he said.
Patricio, a principal in Westside Produce in Firebaugh, said the company handles produce for 30 growers on the Valley's west side.
"They're having a tough time," he said. "I have farmers putting in wells and drip systems, trying to move water and doing everything within their power. But even the best plans today might have problems because there is so much that is uncertain."
The effect of severe water shortages -- whatever their cause -- ripple well beyond farms and ranches, said Steve Malanca, general manager at Thomason Tractor Co. in Firebaugh, where he has worked for 25 years.
Malanca said idle productive farmland costs farmers, farmworkers, people who sell and service many pieces of equipment, truck drivers and dairies, to name a few.
"It goes beyond Firebaugh," he said. "There's insurance involved, and that can mean a company in
Meanwhile, many wait for rain and snow and for the dust stirred by litigation to settle.
Grower Shawn Coburn said next year he will again not plant 2,000 of 3,000 acres he farms between Dos Palos and Mendota to devote enough water to his 300 acres of wine grapes and 1,000 acres of almonds.
He also plans something else.
"Going to church, saying a prayer," he said. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/222120.html
Yolo city engineers want to tap river; Water is said to be purer than wells' supply now in Davis and Woodland
Sacramento
By Hudson
Turn on the tap in
"If we bottled our water here, we'd have to label it as mineral water," said Bob Schoech, senior water engineer for the city of
The water in
City engineers in
The plan could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and has raised concern among elected officials. But the river water is soft and pure compared with the current supply, the engineers insist.
"It's all about the water quality," said Doug Baxter, chief water engineer for the city of
The water flows nearly untreated, with just a dash of chlorine, from the ground into homes.
A number of the cities' aging wells have been shut down because of high levels of nitrates, which can pose a health danger, especially to pregnant women and infants.
The nitrates are likely from the agricultural runoff that flows from west to east, through the same porous gravel layers tapped by the city wells.
Another benefit of using river water, according to the engineers, is that it would reduce the amount of salts in the cities' wastewater.
That's important because the state is already concerned about excessive salinity in the
Having to install reverse osmosis systems to filter out the salt could cost a great deal more than piping in river water, they say.
"If we get rid of salts at the drinking-water end, then we also solve the problem at the wastewater end," said Jacques DeBra, utilities manager for the city of
The proposed project would include an intake upriver from West Sacramento north of Interstate 5, a central treatment plant near
The plant would pump out 52 million gallons of treated water a day, according to city engineers.
Under the current proposal,
The estimated cost of the project is $300 million to $400 million – and would result in an increase in residential water rates.
Baxter said the average rates in
But he argued that would be offset significantly by the savings from having softer water. Household appliances and plumbing fixtures would last longer. Water softeners and extra detergent no longer would be needed. And landscaping plants would do better without the presence of harmful minerals in the water.
However, studies have shown that most people who drink bottled water now would continue to do so even with a different water supply, he said.
Replacing dozens of wells, some nearly 50 years old, could cost nearly as much and still result in poor water quality, Baxter said.
Bringing in surface water is a better solution, he said. "That way, you've got something to show for it."
The engineers insist that now is the time to move forward with the project, which wouldn't be completed until 2016. One reason, they say, is that cities have water rights they may lose if they don't act soon.
But civic leaders, including the mayors of
With
Davis Mayor Sue Greenwald said the city should pay first for a $160 million project to rebuild its wastewater treatment plant.
She proposes phasing in the water supply project in another 25 or 30 years so that ratepayers don't have to pay for both projects at once.
Greenwald said she worries that lower income residents and seniors couldn't afford the increased fees.
The water in
That water still has a high level of natural minerals, but not the dangerous level of nitrates found in shallower wells, she said.
"The deep aquifer levels are healthy, and a lot of people pay extra for mineral water anyway," Greenwald said.
Woodland Mayor David Flory said city leaders there support the plan in concept but are concerned about the huge price tag.
Most likely the project won't be approved for years, he said.
"It's still in its infancy as far as the City Council making a commitment," he said.
Voters ultimately may get a say on the issue through a ballot measure, Flory said.
"The bottom line is going to be that the investment has to be weighed against the return," he said. "There might be other solutions that get us to where we want to be." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/511918.html
CLOUD SEEDING:
Water district may seed clouds; Process would be conducted in upper C.V. watershed
By Daniel Lopez, staff writer
Faced with what is expected to be another dry winter, some water officials are considering scientific intervention to increase rainfall on the
The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is exploring the possibility of conducting cloud seeding in the upper Carmel River watershed to make it rain.
The practice involves introducing an ice-forming agent such as silver iodide into cloud regions to cause supercooled liquid water droplets to freeze. Frozen, the droplets expand, producing more raindrops when they thaw.
"We are looking to eke out as much water from the clouds as we can," said Darby Fuerst, water resources manager for the district .
He said if the right cloud systems are present, cloud seeding done from December to March could increase rainfall by 2 to 3 inches, or 15 percent to 20 percent.
While the district has never tried cloud seeding, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency has done it starting in 1990.
Fuerst said because the Peninsula Water District's reservoirs — the San Clemente and Los Padres — are small and normally fill on their own, they would not be good sources for storing extra water. The two reservoirs have a capacity of 70 acre-feet and 1,300 acre-feet of water capacity, respectively.
Instead, Fuerst said the target area would be the upper
"We have drawn our resources down," said Fuerst.
Any added rainfall produced through cloud seeding would increase flow in the river and also replenish its underground aquifer, he said.
During a year with average rainfall, Fuerst said cloud seeding could add an estimated 5,000 acre-feet of water to the river, benefiting steelhead trout, red-legged frogs and riparian vegetation as well.
Fuerst said a set of guidelines would be established so that cloud seeding would be suspended if the rainfall presented a potential for flooding.
The district is working with North American Weather Consultants, Inc., a
Fuerst said the cost of beginning a program for this winter season, December to March 2008, would cost about $150,000 for a ground application.
A ground application involves setting up hill-top stands on plots of about 10 feet by 10 feet, equipped with flares. The flares, which shoot silver iodide into the weather fronts, are remotely triggered by meteorologists who monitor storms moving through the region.
Aircraft can also be used to complete the seeding and would increase costs to about $300,000.
Fuerst said the program would begin with ground application, and then officials could decide if it should expand.
"Any increase may be helpful this year, but it may create a basis for a continual program," said Fuerst.
Currently the district does not have any funding earmarked for cloud seeding, but Fuerst said there are funds in the Flood/Drought Reserve that could be applied.
At its regular meeting last Monday, the district board of directors asked that representatives from North American Weather Consultants make a presentation at their Dec. 10 meeting to help them make a decision.
If the district decides to go forward with the seeding, it will require further planning, possible permits and environmental analysis, and will be open to public discussion. #
RECYCLING WATER:
More recycled water could be on tap; But standards for cleanliness hotly debated
By Alex Breitler, staff writer
Flush a toilet in west Lathrop, and that wastewater - once it's treated - might irrigate a new neighborhood park or schoolyard.
Officials across the state are searching for new uses for old water, thus saving the best and cleanest water for your tap.
About 500,000 acre-feet of wastewater is recycled each year in
But there's potential to nearly quadruple the amount of recycled water by the year 2030, state officials report. That could ease water shortages and relieve pressure on the Delta, from which 25 million Californians get at least some of their water.
Lathrop's wastewater is treated, of course, before being piped to parks and schoolyards.
"It's very clean water. It comes pretty close to meeting drinking-water standards," said Cary Keaton, the city's director of public works.
While everyone seems to think recycling water is important, officials are working on standards to make sure contaminants remaining in treated wastewater don't cause more harm than good.
Some water agencies say the proposed rules are too tough and will limit recycling opportunities, causing more wastewater to be discharged to rivers and streams.
Conservation groups, however, call for more stringent controls.
Recycled water can contain not only salt, but metals, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. These can pass through the water-treatment process, says the California Coastkeeper Alliance, a network of groups including San Francisco-based Baykeeper.
"Using recycled water to increase supply is only effective when the water quality of existing resources is protected," alliance director Linda Sheehan said.
Some
» In Lathrop, all of the wastewater from development west of Interstate 5 is reused, Keaton said.
"Potable water is very expensive, so you want to use it for potable purposes," he said.
»
Recent upgrades at the
»
» Stockton's treated wastewater is released into the San Joaquin River, and the city plans in future years to draw a like amount of drinking water from elsewhere in the Delta.
This, in a sense, is water recycling, said Mark Madison,
The city also is requiring new large developments to install pipes that can take nonpotable water for landscaping.
"Recycling water is a great thing,"
The south state is far ahead of
"We're going to have to start using our water more wisely," he said. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071123/A_NEWS/711230322
WATER STORAGE PLANNING:
City shores up water storage
By Gerald Carroll, staff writer
The city of
- Firm up agreements with outside sources, such as the district that supplies water to the city of
- Step up efforts to design and construct eight groundwater-recharge projects in the
The projects would give the city multiple options for channeling purchased water into the underground water table.
Only one such project, the
"The priority for us is to get these basins done at [a] relatively low cost," Visalia City Councilman Greg Kirkpatrick said Monday at his final council session.
"It's just a matter of plumbing them properly."
That means making sure each basin has been dug out correctly and that each has sandy-enough soil to allow water to percolate below ground before it evaporates, said Shawn Ogletree, water specialist with the city's Natural Resource Conservation Division.
The basins won't be used solely to store purchased water, he said.
"These basins can also take in rainwater and water from some of the area streams, like
But more water would be needed to survive a dry season like that of 2006-07, when rainfall was well below normal levels.
Kirkpatrick said residential development has put pressure on
Councilman Greg Collins warned of the consequences of continued dry conditions.
"The groundwater table ... doesn't bode well for any of us," he said. "The time is now to get aggressive."
Purchasing water from the
An acre-foot of water is enough to supply the average family of four for 18 months.
The trick is to buy "spot-market" water when costs are low, Kirkpatrick said.
Prices have been known to spike to more than $150 per acre-foot.
Funding for water and the eight local groundwater-recharge basins is available through water-related fees the city has charged water users since 2001, Ogletree said.
The fees have raised $1,851,429, of which $500,000 has been paid to the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District to help maintain existing water supplies. #
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071122/NEWS01/711220340
WATER COSTS:
Editorial: The price isn't right
Our view: Charge more for water and people will use less
They've hardly even begun, but people are already growing skeptical of calls to cut back their personal water use. That is unlikely to change until the state alters the pricing incentive that actually encourages people to use much more water than is prudent in our semi-arid part of the world.
Talk of conservation has been on the lips of water officials throughout the state as drought and a threatened cut in water supplies from northern
| |
If we truly want people to conserve water, especially during times of lean supply, then local water agencies should let market forces dictate the price of water. Doing so would be both efficient and effective. As water supplies dwindle, its price will go up and people will use less, thereby eliminating the need for expensive and largely ignored public education campaigns urging people to save a precious resource.
It is as common-sense a solution as exists: If folks want to have lush, green lawns as opposed to the xeriscaping more appropriate to a semi-desert, they should pay the real cost of the water needed to accomplish it. The same goes for farmers who want to plant cotton or rice in an arid region rather than crops more appropriate to our climate.
Admittedly, a market-based approach to water rates will require a radical restructuring of the way this state distributes and prices water. But until consumers feel the pain of water shortage where it hurts most ---- their pocketbooks ---- don't expect them to take calls for water conservation seriously. #
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/23/opinion/editorials/18_32_2411_22_07.txt
DROUGHTBUSTERS:
Column: In a drought, who you gonna call?; Think the six DWP Drought Busters can stop water waste? Think again
By Patt Morrison, columnist
For starters, the name's all wrong.
They're not Drought Busters. Nobody can accomplish that. Nobody who works at a desk at the Department of Water and Power or zips around town in an official Prius can end the drought that's dried up
What the DWP is really trying to field is waste busters, a team of six working to bring the water profligates to heel -- the reckless sprinklers and the lazy hosers and the open-tap tooth brushers.
Let's do the math: Six enforcers, nearly 500 square miles of city -- it'd take a miracle of loaves-and-fishes proportions to make this much more than a gesture. Which brings me to the second thing that's wrong with Drought Busters.
They're toothless. They're nice-guy, if-you-please enforcers who can't enforce regulations that are on the books but carry no penalties, like hosing off driveways or watering lawns during the heat of the day. What can a Drought Buster do if confronted with such a crime? He can . . . tell you to stop. Ooooh, you're scaring me. What next, Mr. Water Cop --
Maybe that's what we need -- a lot of scaring. We could try more movie-poster-ominous billboards and alarming public service announcements on TV, but if Angelenos don't know by now that there's a drought, no boogey-boogey ad campaign will do it.
Myself, I'd entertain the idea of random water-outs, like the rolling brown-outs during
We could try ratting out the miscreants ourselves. Thirty years ago, in the first, frightening modern drought here,
As I said, it was an immediate success -- with residents. The city barely paid any attention. Of the 35 violation notices a day that the city issued, none came from citizen tips. A DWP official admitted that it wasn't a violation unless the DWP witnessed it. So what's the point of asking residents to pitch in? If nothing happens, it only frustrates people and cements their conviction that government does bupkus.
So what's left in our water-war arsenal? Shame. Public humiliation. Some cities publish the names of johns arrested for soliciting sex. Why not headline the names of flagrant water wasters?
This wouldn't work on everyone. Some people are beyond shame, like Harold Simmons, the
But our civic leaders, philanthropists, corporate citizens -- shouldn't their water bills get a public once-over? In Georgia, where the governor prayed for conservation, a TV station revealed that a leading citizen, Chris G. Carlos, used 440,000 gallons of water at his home in September -- about 14,700 gallons a day, almost 100 times the average use of each American. The outcry prompted him to hire a PR man, turn down the taps and apologize.
Why don't we try that here?
As it turns out, we can't. The
Now maybe "leak" isn't the right word to use in a column about water waste, but if anyone wants to leak that information to me, here I am.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrison22nov22,1,2442460.column
Source of water for West at risk; Forests, farmers, cities depend upon mountain-snow runoff
Arizona Republic
By Shaun McKinnon, staff writer
The West's natural water-delivery system is breaking down under the strain of rising temperatures, upsetting a fragile truce between people and the dry land they inhabit.
Mountain-snow runoff already bears the scars of climate change in the highest elevations, where winter now arrives later and ends earlier. There, snow melts before downstream users need it, or vanishes in the mild-spring winds.
Scientists say this seasonal shift will deepen as temperatures rise. The change threatens not only the water but also the way it is stored and released in a delicate relay from storm clouds to mountains to streams and reservoirs.
If the timing falters, water supplies would shrink. Forests and other wildlife habitat would weaken. Wildfires would grow.
Hydroelectric power production would suffer.
"Changes in runoff are only one step away from the warmth in global warming," said Brad Udall, an environmental engineer and director of the Western Water Assessment in
Power: Dwindling water levels threaten energy supply
Climate change could drain power from one of the cleanest and most widely used forms of renewable energy, forcing power providers to rely more heavily on pollution-spewing power plants.
Hydroelectric generators need flowing water to turn the turbines, but they're often at the back of the line when it comes to securing water rights.
Power-generating capacity decreased at Glen Canyon Dam in 2003 and 2004 after water levels dropped in
The National Hydropower Association sought help from Congress earlier this year amid fears that power producers would lose water rights or generating capacity if climate change tightened runoff into rivers.
"Hydropower should be encouraged and supported to play an important part in solving the climate problem," said Tim Culbertson, a utility district manager in
"It's a pretty small portion of our overall generating capacity," Harelson said. "It's important because it's renewable and it's not very expensive. It would likely be replaced by a fossil-fuel source that's more expensive."
Some of
Western is studying the potential effects on its rates if its flow of hydropower is interrupted. It has begun investing in wind and solar projects that would expand its renewable portfolio and could replace lost hydropower in extremely dry conditions.
Forests: Drought leaves trees vulnerable to damage
The common thread throughout the battered forests: drought.
Forests lie smack in the middle of the West's watersheds and rely on winter snow and runoff to stay healthy. When the weather dries out, so do the trees, leaving them vulnerable to pests, disease and fire.
Long-term climate change would only magnify the damage caused by short-term drought.
Tom Swetnam, director of the
He also took his findings to Congress, warning lawmakers that the fires in recent years should be considered the early effects of climate change.
"Lots of people think climate change and the ecological responses are 50 to 100 years away," he said. "But it's not. . . . It's happening now."
Swetnam and his researchers used streamflow gauges and other observations in their work and concluded that wildfire frequency was closely tied to the timing of snowmelt. Fires were erupting earlier in the spring and burning longer through the summer because of the drier conditions.
Changes in runoff and snowfall can cause subtler changes that, over time, can cause as much damage to a forest's health as a sustained drought.
A late-starting winter, for example, could leave the ground and trees exposed to cold weather. The ground freezes, preventing water from reaching the roots, and the roots freeze, hurting the tree's ability to draw nutrients.
Drought-weakened trees have allowed bark-beetle infestations in
If enough trees disappear, the watershed may not produce as much runoff. Paul Brooks, a
"The research suggests that how trees grow and how the systems develop is tightly coupled with precipitation," he said. "The vegetation lets the water melt at a little bit slower rate. It uses some of it, but it shades it too."
Habitat: Struggling rivers jeopardize wildlife diversity
Chased from its nesting grounds in reservoirs that ebbed and flowed for years, the tiny Southwestern willow flycatcher now faces an even more uncertain future as climate change threatens riparian habitat across
Population growth already has destroyed prime wildlife habitat, paving over washes and streams, pumping groundwater away from rivers. A disrupted runoff cycle would further jeopardize those areas.
A U.S Geological Survey study warned that birds would suffer most in the desert areas of
Even in models that preserved some of the rain and runoff, the river's cottonwood and willow stands suffered. In one scenario, Stromberg found that up to 90 percent of the cottonwood trees could vanish by the end of the century.
In the Northwest, uneven runoff cycles already have affected salmon and other fish that depend on regular river flows for spawning. Inland, dry conditions have eroded habitats for an array of animals.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a Tucson-based advocacy group, recently cited global warming as it sought protection for the American pika, a small relative of the rabbit that roams the uplands of the West. Warm, dry conditions have reduced its numbers.
"The American pika is
Water: Early snowmelt disrupts nature's distribution
In the arid West, most climate experts say rising temperatures will cause droughts, deep droughts spanning decades, droughts that, by some accounts, will bring about a dust bowl.
Researchers base those predictions on more than just snowfall. With runoff, the size of the snowbank is just part of the story.
"Snow and runoff are part of a wonderful natural system that stores water through the winter and releases it in the spring, just as we start needing it for agriculture and the growing urban environment," said Paul Brooks, a University of Arizona hydrologist. "The problems occur when you start to shift the timing."
That shift is evident in the high mountains, where spring snowmelt occurs as much as two weeks earlier than it once did. The difference has reduced runoff at about 75 percent of the measuring stations checked by
The immediate effects are felt by farmers and others who take water directly from rivers or small reservoirs. When the snow melts too soon, before planting season, for example, farmers lose some of their share.
If enough users leave water in the river, the reservoirs downstream will fill up before demand climbs high enough. Reservoir managers could be forced to release water unused.
Warmer temperatures can play havoc in other ways. In 2004 and 2006, promising snowpacks on the upper
Most of the reservoirs that supply water to
"We rarely get enough runoff to fill our system anyway," said Charlie Ester, water resources operations manager for Salt River Project, the Valley's largest water provider. "If it rains on the watershed and runs off, we can store it."
A bigger question for
"If our winters get dry, then our landscape's going to be more and more dependent on summer rain," he said, "yet no one has any idea what's going to happen with the monsoon."
It's possible that changing ocean conditions could produce a stronger monsoon in
Much remains unknown about changes in the way snow refills water resources. Although runoff most often feeds rivers and streams - snow provides as much as 75 percent of the West's surface water - it also recharges underground aquifers along mountain ranges, where many of the largest cities grew up.
Hotter weather also will drive up water use by vegetation, and the ground itself will keep water, soaking up rain and snow before it runs off.
"People tend to have this idea that when it rains, it all runs off into a river," said Brad Udall, director of the Western Water Assessment, a federally supported research group.
"In fact, much of the rain never makes it into a river. It goes to plants, to evaporation. . . . That soil moisture tax you have to pay is really important, and we don't understand how it's going to work in the future." #
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1125climate-runoff1125.html
In Vegas, wasting water is a sin; Seven years of drought: Conservation for fast-growing city, but that won't be enough
By Gayle White, staff writer
That's the paradox in this desert town where water lured people thousands of years before casino-constructed wonders such as the canals of the Venetian, the shark reef of
By the 1800s, a life-sustaining spring on the Old Spanish Trail had inspired travelers to label this spot
But the original spring dried up 45 years ago, and now
Reminds you of
When it comes to water, the Big Peach has a thing or two in common with
Both are among the country's fastest-growing cities.
The city offered inducements to cut consumption, negotiated agreements with other regions and proposed a controversial pipeline that resulted in a tug of war with a neighboring state.
Water cops on the beat
On a "good day," Francis Reyes writes 40 citations. But most days, he and the 10 other
On this fall morning, Reyes is patrolling in his Water Waste Investigator's SUV, looking for violators. On the overnight shift, he'd have his windows down to hear any water he couldn't see.
He rolls past lawns with bright green grass and yards with rocks and desert landscaping, some of the latter no doubt the result of a financial incentive offered by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Owners of new homes have no choice; no grass is allowed in front yards of new developments. Backyards can be half turf, a concession to children and dogs.
Driving through a neighborhood of 1950s-era homes on quarter-acre lots, Reyes, 24, passes someone washing a silver van — washing vehicles once a week is permitted — and stops to warn a man draining a pool that he must feed the water into the sewer system for recycling.
On the edge of an emerald green lawn, Reyes sees a defective sprinkler shooting water into the air like a geyser. Although outdoor watering is still permitted on a strict schedule, spilling water into the street is not. Reyes records the offense with a video camera, then logs onto his computer to check the address for previous citations. None.
He checks "Broken sprinkler/emitter" on a form. If it's not repaired next time he checks, a fine will be added to the water bill for this address. Should the homeowner appeal, Reyes has his video evidence.
Just as he gets out of the van to plant a small yellow flag at the precise scene of the crime, the automatic sprinkler system shuts off. Reyes sticks the pennant into the gleaming wet grass.
More residents, less grass
Conservation efforts saved
Doug Bennett, who moved to Vegas from
"If the only time people walk on that lawn they're pushing a mower, it's not functional," he said.
Desert landscaping offers many possibilities beyond cacti, he said. Some colorful flowering plants and shrubs demand much less water than grass.
Bennett believes regulations about how and when water can be used are more palatable here because Vegas and all its suburban satellites operate under the same rules. They're set by the regional water authority, formed in 1991 to bring together seven separate water jurisdictions.
If each agency sets its own standards, Bennett said, "it's easy to send out mottled messages."
Push for higher prices
Despite the strides the authority has made, critics say
The Rates Citizen's Advisory Committee, a 14-member panel, was appointed by the Las Vegas Valley Water District to recommend a water pricing structure that would strengthen conservation.
The committee's charts show that Las Vegas pays a fraction of the water fees of Tucson, Ariz., San Antonio, Santa Barbara, Calif. — and even Atlanta.
Scot Rutledge, executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, is all for Vegas increasing water fees.
"You sure as hell should pay more for water if you're moving to an area with limited water resources," said Rutledge, who's not on the panel. "There are people in this valley who don't care how much water they use. Those are the people who should have to pay."
Because about three-quarters of water use in the
Some members of the advisory board — which includes representatives of gaming and development, labor unions and golf courses — are concerned that prices may escalate too quickly and businesses might be disproportionately affected.
"I think there's going to be rate shock no matter what," said Ron Winkle, who represents older adults on the committee. He cited the possibility that a 20 percent increase could bankrupt a golf course with a million-dollar water bill.
"At the same time," said Cynthia Lopez, who represents the residential sector, "golf is a luxury, especially in the desert."
"I don't think we want golf courses to go out of business," Winkle replied.
"Of course not," agreed Lopez, "but we're talking about water conservation."
When the meeting was over, committee facilitator Lewis Michaelson said the panel's mission is to curtail demand and encourage conservation while making sure everyone pays a fair share.
Water administrator Richard Wimmer shook his head. "It's a balancing act that's not achievable," he said. "You know that."
New sources needed
Ultimately, conservation will fall short, said Pat Mulroy, general manager of both the Las Vegas Valley Water District and of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
A complex plan hammered out by the states along the
The plan is supposed to ensure that
Mulroy said the agreement, reached after "four years of chest beating" and "some very childish behavior" among the states, is much more equitable.
"We had to succeed," she said. "We could spend the next 20 years in the Supreme Court. In the meantime, we'd all be sucking air."
In a separate plan, the Southern Nevada Water Authority proposes purchasing and pumping billions of gallons of groundwater from rural east-central
Some environmentalists say parts of the state could become a dust bowl. Some rural Nevadans resent the expanding city. And some
"It's going to get uglier before it gets better," Mulroy predicted.
Controlling growth, she said, is not an option —although environmentalists insist the area's population explosion must be curtailed.
"What are we going to do, build walls?" she asked. "Will we reach a point where our own kids can't live here?"
A history lesson in order
The people pouring into Vegas must be educated about the concept of desert life, said Bronson Mack, a spokesman for the water authority.
One way water officials are trying to do that is through the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. On the site of the defunct original spring, the preserve opened in June as a $250 million attraction of exhibits, gardens and trails that illustrate the heritage and ecology of the Mojave Desert and
"The history of the city is the history of the water in this valley," said Marcel Parent, the preserve's education director.
Current casinos and hotels are also feeding most of the water they use back into the
The gaming and hospitality industries, which account for only 3 percent of the area's overall water use, are generally pretty good stewards, authority officials say. And, of course, they drive the area's economy.
Tourists aren't drawn to casinos only for the gambling. Sometimes, it's all about the show.
At the Golden Nugget, an older hotel and casino in downtown
During three days in town with her grown daughter, she had been in almost every casino on the Strip. The neon and noise had left her unimpressed.
But she said she would cherish one experience — watching the Bellagio's fountain shooting water to the heavens as Elvis sang.
That, she said, was worth the trip.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2007/11/24/vegas_1125.html
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