Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 9, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
DELTA ISSUES:
Saving the Delta: Gorilla vs. weakling -
Lake resort owners lose suit in D.C.; Judge rejects claim that federal bid process is unfair - Napa Valley Register
Concerns about Cal Water rate hike include development - Chico Enterprise Record
Lake Oroville receives stocking of 150,000 coho salmon - Chico Enterprise Record
OBITUARY:
Man was president of Kern water board - Bakersfield Californian
DELTA ISSUES:
Saving the Delta: Gorilla vs. weakling
By Dave Roberts, staff writer
There is a consensus that the Delta is in crisis and measures need to be taken sooner rather than later to save it. The big question is whether the 800-pound gorilla will win out over the 90-pound weakling.
The gorilla is the enormous pressure by agricultural and urban interests in central and southern
“If we’re going to put the 800-pound gorilla in a row boat and send it down the river, we should also have the 90-pound weakling at the paddle,” said Raymond Seed, a member of The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, at the group’s Oct. 25 meeting.
The seven-member task force is putting together a Vision Plan that will make recommendations to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on how to preserve the Delta while also providing for the state’s growing water needs.
Those recommendations are likely to have an impact on every Californian when they are implemented, affecting both the wallet and what comes out of the tap. They are likely to include higher water costs, conservation measures, water recycling, desalination of water taken from the ocean, more reservoir storage, improvements to Delta levees and restrictions on new housing projects on Delta islands, among other measures.
Much of the blame for the current problems, which include the near extinction of a small fish called the Delta smelt, has focused on the large pumps south of Byron that send the water south, drawing in and churning up the fish in the process.
The biggest and most controversial issue to be resolved is finding an alternative way to convey the water south without harming the Delta. Several water conveyance proposals are on the table, including the peripheral canal, which would take water in the area of
“A lot of people thought we were going to make a thumbs up or down on a peripheral canal,” said Seed. “There are roughly 23 million Californians and growing who have an abiding interest in water in the Delta. DWR (the California Department of Water Resources) would like very much to have an early and firm decision on conveyance. It’s going to be pivotal to the Delta Vision process. But we don’t have the information necessary to make a hard decision.”
He proposed putting off that decision until next year to allow more time to study the options. It’s worth taking the extra time, he argued, because so much is at stake for the Delta’s viability, depending on how and where water is taken from it.
“One of the problems we face right now is the fear based on a realistic risk that if we do something (like a peripheral canal) in the east flank around the Delta … the state might walk away from the Delta, and the ecosystem is cast adrift,” said Seed.
Some of the task force members favored providing direction sooner than next year on how water will be conveyed either around or through the Delta, while acknowledging that the details need to be worked out.
“Conveyance has to be a part of the vision. It’s at the heart of at least 25 years of contention. It’s the hardest nut to crack,” said Sunne McPeak, a former
Measures such as conservation, increased efficiency, recycling and desalination of water could save between 2 million and 2.5 million acre-feet of water per year in the next five years, possibly as much as 8 million acre-feet by the year 2030, according to Mark Cowin, deputy director, California Department of Water Resources.
“Implementation of landscape ordinances is where we will see the biggest amount of savings in urban areas,” said Cowin.
He didn’t specify what those ordinances would require, but they may limit the amount of landscaping or the type of landscaping (for example, less grass and more drought-tolerant plants) that can be done, along with the volume and frequency of watering. In addition, new developments may be required to install dual-plumbing systems: one providing drinkable water for human use and one using nonpotable, recycled water for landscaping.
“In warm areas, half of the water in urban use goes to outdoor landscaping,” said McPeak.
She advocated a carrot-and-stick approach that combines state loans and matching funding with water-saving requirements.
“If a local (water) district gets other benefits from the state, it should be coupled with ‘thou shalt do’ these other things. It’s a sin to waste water and a crime to waste money. If we don’t put those in the same package and make that the ethic of what we do, we’ll miss the opportunity.”
Greg Gartrell of the Contra Costa Water District told the task force, “It’s not ghost busters we need; it’s myth busters. There’s a myth that the Delta is being kept artificially fresh. In every case now, the saltier the Delta gets, the lower the (fish) population.
“Two other things correlate very well with fish. One is food – no food, no fish. Another one is take at the pumps. There’s a strong correlation between take at the pumps and Delta smelt numbers.”
CCWD, which basically on its own built the Los Vaqueros Reservoir in 1997 after failing to find other agencies interested in partnering with it, is now looked upon as prescient, given the growing water need in
“The limitation is storage. Storage is really key,” said Gartrell. “We know we will get less snow pack, and we depend on snow pack. We know we have a drought every year. It starts in April. We don’t get by without storage.
“It is hard. We had to get over 100 permits (to build Los Vaqueros). It takes hardworking, dedicated people. You’ve got to slug it through, figure out what’s needed and do it. Whatever solutions you come up with are going to be expensive and hard. You need to stick it out, go for the gold and get it.”
The task force will meet next on Nov. 29 and 30 to put together its recommendations, some of which may be included in Gov. Schwarzenegger’s State of the State speech and next year’s budget. For more information, go online to www.deltavision.ca.gov. #
http://bethelislandpress.com/article.cfm?articleID=18090
By Kerana Todorov, staff writer
On Thursday, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Lynn Bush dismissed the complaint filed by four resort owners in October, charging that the bureau’s bidding process for selecting new concessionaires at the lake violated federal law. The Bureau of Reclamation manages
The bureau’s contracts for the concessions at Rancho
One of the plaintiffs, Bob White, co-owner of Rancho
“I think the judge misunderstood and made an incorrect decision,” White said.
The issue centered around the prospectus, a bureau document that determined how concessionaires would be selected. The owners of the four resorts claimed, among other charges, that the bidding process favored Forever Resorts Inc., a company based in
The owners contend that the prospectus the Bureau of Reclamation issued June 7 unfairly favors companies that bid on several concession locations, according to the court papers. The owners also contended that they would not be fairly reimbursed were they to leave
White said that the appraisal done by the government did not take into account about $10 million worth of private assets that have improved the shoreline at his resort.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Reclamation has pushed back the deadlines to submit bids.
Jeffrey McCracken, a spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation, on Thursday wrote in an e-mail that bids will be accepted between Nov. 14 and Nov. 20. The bids, he said, “will be reviewed and new concessionaires will be selected as soon as possible.”
Under a decision issued last summer, Bureau of Reclamation wants mobile home owners to remove the homes from the lake’s shores.
This week’s ruling from a court in
A separate group of mobile home owners and others, called Berryessa for All, has filed suit to block the evictions of mobile homes and trailers from the seven resorts around the lake. That case is pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. #
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/11/09/news/local/doc473412c3b1921441064433.txt
Concerns about Cal Water rate hike include development
By Ryan Olson, staff writer
Local residents sounded off about the California Water Service Co.'s rate increase request with concerns about development and outrage at the size of the proposed hike.
An administrative law judge from the California Public Utilities Commission stopped in
Many said the size of the hike was inappropriate and questioned Cal Water's finances. One concern was how the company pays for two planned wells and who benefits.
Mike Johnson, a
"We're tired of being taken advantage of," Johnson said.
Resident Jim Ledgerwood said Cal Water should finance improvements out of its strong profits that it has reported. He said Cal Water should behave like other businesses that would have to cut costs or increase efficiency.
"I think people were outraged by this unconscionable increase," Ledgerwood said.
Tom Smegal, Cal Water's rate manager, said the company doesn't want current customers to subsidize new development. Cal Water officials said new wells benefit both new and existing customers and fees would be set appropriately.
"We are committed that growth should pay its own way," Smegal said.
Several customers asserted the company requested a higher-than-needed rate so people would be mollified when the commission approved a smaller rate.
Three years ago, Cal Water had asked the commission to increase rates by 28 percent in one year, but ultimately agreed with a 7.9 percent increase.
After the company makes its request, the commission's Division of Ratepayer Advocates reviews the case and proposes a rate, which will be lower than the original request. Ultimately the utilities commission votes on a recommendation, likely next summer.
Jose Cabrera, a project manager from the ratepayer advocates division, said about a dozen officials are reviewing Cal Water's request and will report in January.
Smegal acknowledged the increase is a large percentage rate, but he said the company put forth an honest request based on needed capital improvements and increasing benefits needed to maintain a qualified and certified work force. The company hasn't been able to recover its costs for increased benefits for several years, he said.
Company officials have said the bill for an average residential customer who doesn't have a meter would increase under the proposal from $34 to $59 at the end of three years — about a 73.5 percent increase. The bill for a metered customer with the smallest connection would go from about $22.47 to $38.90 — depending on how much water is used.
Cal Water's plans to begin installing meters for 11,000 residential customers who don't have them drew mixed responses. State law requires the company to have all its customers on meters by 2025.
One resident wanted to be the last one to receive a meter, in part because he didn't want to pass on the costs to his tenants.
Another customer, Jeannie Burgess, welcomed Smegal's offer to have the company install a meter at her Chapman residence.
Earlier, she noted she couldn't do any thing to lower her water bill that has increased over the years.
"Come by tomorrow," she said. "I'd love it."
While part of the rate proposal would go toward meters and employees to oversee them, Smegal said customers wouldn't need to pay an installation fee for the meters.
Cal Water is seeking rate increases in eight of its 21
http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_7413570
By Steve Carson, 'Outdoors' columnist
Some 150,000 juvenile coho salmon were planted in
Next year's stocking schedule will have a slight modification, according to Department of Water Resources biologist Eric See.
"We plan to stock cohos again next year, and have already ordered the eggs," reported See. "We will be planting them in June 2008 as opposed to our normal practice of stocking during the fall.
"This is because the Feather River Hatchery will be temporarily shut down next summer for scheduled maintenance. As the cohos will be smaller in June, probably about 15 per pound, we will be planting more of them. Our goal is to plant approximately 350,000 cohos next year."
See continued, "We will not be planting steelhead in the
"However, we do intend to stock them in 2009, assuming that we have surplus fish in 2009. The FRH will make attempts to acquire enough eggs in 2009 for
http://www.chicoer.com//ci_7411841?IADID=Search-www.chicoer.com-www.chicoer.com
OBITUARY:
Man was president of Kern water board
Former Kern County Water Agency Board President Lawrence P. Gallagher died over the weekend, according to the agency.
Gallagher, 68, served on the board of directors since January 2001 and was elected president in 2006, said Jeanne Varga with the agency.
Gallagher was born in
Gallagher was also a former member of the board of directors of the Association of California Water Agencies and worked as a risk manager for 15 years with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
In Kern, Gallagher worked on the Isabella Dam, the Bay-Delta and the Jim-Costa-Kern County Water Agency Fellowship/Scholarship Committees.
He is survived by Linda, his wife of 25 years; sister and brother-in-law, Rosemary and Jerry Burke; sons, Donald, Dennis, and Denny Gallagher, and Tracy Kildebeck (deceased); daughter and son-in-law, Holly and Robert Chambers; brother-in-law and wife, Phil and Cheenie Bonesteel; grandchildren, Eric Gallagher and wife Courtney, Lauren, Nicholas, Caitlin, Jack and Kelly Chambers, and several nieces and nephews. #
DWR's California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader's services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost1.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news. DWR 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. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
No comments:
Post a Comment