A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 27, 2007
2. Supply
WATER CONSERVATION:
High-efficiency toilets are in the pipeline -
WATER RECYCLING:
District to send recycled water to schools, parks - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:
Fresno State study targets foothill water concerns - Central Valley Business Times
SWP ALLOCATION:
State water agency sees allocation shortage for 2008 - Bakersfield Californian
DWR Announces Initial 2008 State Water Project Allocation - News Release: Department of Water Resources
WATER CONSERVATION:
High-efficiency toilets are in the pipeline
By E.J. Schultz, staff writer
A new state law seeks to make each flush a little more efficient, saving
The legislation did not get much attention when it was signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger last month, but its implications will trickle down to new home builders and buyers in the next several years.
By 2014, all toilets installed in most new buildings and homes will have to use no more than 1.28 gallons of water per flush, down from the current 1.6-gallon standard. The standard for urinals will change from 1 gallon to a half-gallon. The regulations will phase in beginning in 2010, when half of all toilets sold in the state must be high-efficiency models.
"The last generation of toilet efficiency has produced immense savings across the state, and this is the next generation," said Assembly Member John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who authored the bill.
The law comes as
Scientists predict the situation could worsen as global warming reduces mountain snowmelt that the state relies on to fill reservoirs.
The toilet savings will not be enormous; 8 billion gallons is less than one-sixth of the annual water use in
At first, those new toilets lacked power, prompting complaints from consumers.
Manufacturers went back to the drawing board. And now most everyone agrees that 1.6- gallon toilets -- as well as the 1.28-gallon "high-efficiency toilets" -- are just as good as older toilets.
The newest toilets send water to the bowl at faster speeds, allowing for a forceful flush with less water.
Wathen-Castanos, one of
"There's just more education going on about green building and energy efficiency," she said.
Consumers aren't likely to pay more for a high-efficiency toilet, because prices are based on style, rather than flushing action, according to toilet maker American Standard.
The company's "FloWise" high-efficiency toilet lists for $359. As proof of the toilet's power, American Standard features a video on its Web site of the toilet easily flushing down golf balls, wads of paper towels and other items.
Laird's legislation faced minimal industry opposition.
The state plumbers association -- which fought previous attempts to tighten toilet standards -- supports the new flush limit and plans to spread the word about high-efficiency models.
"We've just done a complete 180 in where we were a year and a half ago," said Stephen Lehtonen, executive vice president of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of California.
Lehtonen credits his conversion with a recent trip to rain-starved
Upon his return, Lehtonen helped launch a similar program in
"It's time that plumbers got involved in being conscious of [the] environment," he said.
Homeowners who install high-efficiency toilets are not likely to see a significant drop in their water bills. But if enough residents install them, it could free capacity at municipal wastewater treatment plants. That could stave off costly expansions that eventually would lead to rate increases, said Lon Martin, who oversees the city of
Many homes still are using 3- and 5-gallon toilets, Martin said.
The city last year began giving a $75 rebate to residents who installed high-efficiency toilets. About 600 toilets were replaced, saving the city about 5 million gallons of water a year, Martin said. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/225909.html
WATER RECYCLING:
District to send recycled water to schools, parks
By Neil Nisperis, staff writer
The Monte Vista Water District has plans to bring recycled water to the city's schools and parks by building a new pipeline to carry the non-potable treated water.
"The system that we're building is a completely separate system from our potable water system," said Monte Vista Water District general manager Mark Kinsey. "The whole purpose is to ensure separation."
The city uses potable water for use in landscaping at its schools and parks. In addition to conserving a valuable resource, officials say the switch will save the schools and the city money because they will be paying a 25 percent discount rate for the service, Kinsey said.
"We're using drinking water to take care of our landscape issues and the availability of the recycled water will give us an opportunity to save money for the schools," said facilities maintenance manager for the Ontario-Montclair School District Steve Orona.
That money can be used to further education rather than maintaining potable water systems.
"For us, it's an opportunity as a district to do our part to save our drinking water and for the future," said Orona.
Construction on the two water district recycled water pipelines should begin this winter and be complete by late spring or early summer, Kinsey said. The pipes connect to a larger recycled water pipe managed by the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. The recycled water comes from a water treatment facility in the
The recycled water will connect to six schools: Buena Vista, Lehigh, Monte Vista and Kingsley elementary schools,
About 30percent of the local district's water comes from Northern California, but with drought-like conditions and a judge's order to protect a fish species in the Sacramento Delta, the water district is increasingly relying on supply from the Chino groundwater basin, Kinsey said.
"This is a reliable drought-tolerant supply source," Kinsey said of the recycled water. "It replaces potable water with different recycled water supply sources and it extends drinking supplies." #
WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:
Work by researchers at
John Suen, a professor of hydrogeology at Fresno State, heads the Foothill/Mountain Water Capacity Study Project, a five-year, more than $5 million investigation of how much water is available now and how much may be available in the future in the fast-growing region. Some of Mr. Suen’s students help with the research.
A complication in the Sierra foothills forming the eastern edge of the
“Based on the past successes, this project will use technology such as hydrogeology, geophysics, isotope hydrology and computer modeling analysis to develop solutions and to formulate water management policy for similar terrain,” Mr. Suen says.
He has proposed additional research in partnership with the
The project in the
Funding for Suen’s project is being sought from state and federal sources.
“We are hopeful because findings from this project will help the
“This project not only will provide our students educational and training opportunities, it will showcase how
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=7085
SWP ALLOCATION:
State water agency sees allocation shortage for 2008
State Water Project allocations next year could be the lowest since 2003, the Department of Water Resources announced Monday.
The department estimates allocations in 2008 will be 25 percent, or just more than 1 million acre feet.
The department's initial allocations are conservative estimates and tend to rise, but dry weather may also cause the predicted allocation to go down.
Low allocation could hurt
Bakersfield-area municipal water suppliers that rely on state water can withstand a short-term shortage in state water, but a prolonged shortage would significantly draw down the reserves, said Jim Beck, general manager of the Kern County Water Agency.
"We are hopeful that the State Water Project allocation will be increased in the coming months," Beck said.
The Kern County Water Agency is one of the largest participants in the State Water Project, contracting for water on behalf of agricultural, municipal and industrial water districts in
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/295292.html
DWR Announces Initial 2008 State Water Project Allocation
News Release: Department of Water Resources – 11/26/07
Contacts: Don Strickland, Information Officer, (916) 653-9515, Ted Thomas, Information Officer, (916) 653-9712, Nancy Quan, State Water Project Analysis Office, (916) 653-0190
The initial allocation is 25 percent of the water contractors' total requested amounts, or 1,038,861 acre-feet, and may increase during the winter months. This is significantly less than the initial allocation for calendar year 2007 of 60 percent, which remained unchanged throughout the year.
Hydrologic conditions this year resulted in a "dry" water year in the
DWR records indicate that 25 percent is the lowest initial allocation since 2003. Should
To assure water supply for
SWP water is distributed among 29 long-term SWP contractors who serve more than 25 million Californians and about 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland.
In making this allocation of SWP water, a major source of water for many Californians, the department considered a conservative projection of hydrology, SWP operational constraints and 2008 contractor requests. SWP Contractors' Table A water for 2008 totals 4,165,931 million acre-feet, of which 4,145,124 million acre-feet were requested. Table A water is the maximum contractual amount that SWP contractors can request each year. The department will revise the allocation as hydrologic and water supply conditions develop and provide for additional deliveries.
A Notice to SWP contractors appears on DWR’s State Water Project Analysis Office Web site at: http://www.swpao.water.ca.gov/notices/ #
The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.
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