Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 28, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
WATER POLICY:
Column: Dry winter underlines water need -
Editorial: Without political compromises, California water deal out of reach - San Jose Mercury News
Editorial: Water guesswork - Riverside Press
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES:
Water concerns delay permit extensions; Housing slump wreaks havoc with construction schedules - Antelope Valley Press
NATOMAS LEVEES:
Vote set on Natomas levee project's effects - Sacramento Bee
CONSERVATION AWARD:
Water district earns education award - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
WATER POLICY:
Column: Dry winter underlines water need
By Dan Walters, Bee columnist
On Monday, the state Department of Water Resources told the water agencies that serve two-thirds of Californians that they can expect just 25 percent of their normal allocations next year, down from 60 percent this year. Several cities in
This is the immediate crisis, and there's very little that politicians can do to avert it. But it's part of a longer-range crisis that's been developing for decades in a political vacuum. It may worsen if the warnings about global warming prove true, because winter snows will lessen, and more of the state's precipitation will come in the form of rain.
Against that background of immediate water shortages and long-range peril, are the Capitol's politicians rising to the occasion?
Not noticeably.
Yes, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders are talking about making a multibillion-dollar investment in water conservation and storage. And talking. And talking. But the philosophical and partisan conflicts that have stalled water policy for decades are as strong as ever. Tellingly, on the day that state water officials delivered the bad news to Californians, Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders met again to discuss the long-stalled water plan and failed again to reach agreement.
The pivotal point is whether the state should build new reservoirs as part of its water plan or rely on conservation and other forms of non-storage water management to meet its needs, such as shifting more water from farmers to residential, commercial and industrial users.
Schwarzenegger proposes reservoirs, but Democrats, under intense pressure from anti-reservoir environmental groups, have been reluctant. The lead Democrat on the issue, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, finally agreed to place $3 billion in the proposed water bond for reservoirs. Republicans, however, are insisting that the money be appropriated permanently, fearing that environmentalists would block its use if it remains subject to legislative appropriation.
Their fear is well-founded. Environmental groups see water supply as the key element in land use and other development issues and believe that restricting supply will somehow slow growth – disregarding the simple demographic fact that
There is no small irony in that conflict. Those on the political left who oppose new reservoirs generally oppose immigration restrictions and universally believe in global warming scenarios that imply the state needs more storage to capture winter rains and offset the loss of snowpack.
Storage could be in some form other than traditional reservoirs, perhaps, such as replenishing underground aquifers – but anyone who thinks we don't need it in some form is intellectually dishonest. #
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/525991.html
Editorial: Without political compromises,
It's been 2 1/2 months since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a special legislative session to deal with
The stumbling block continues to be Republican lawmakers' insistence on guaranteed funding for pre-approved dams and reservoirs. The Republican governor and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, have made serious efforts to compromise. But GOP legislators don't seem to know the meaning of the word. It's maddening to see rigid partisanship blocking solutions to fundamental problems
Republicans need to move toward a middle ground. And the governor needs to do more to persuade members of his party to compromise.
Schwarzenegger and Perata say they want to keep working on a comprehensive strategy. That's what the state needs.
Last week, Schwarzenegger and Perata seemed close to a deal. They had agreed in principle on a $10.7 billion bond proposal that included about $3.5 billion for surface storage and water transport projects - the things Republican legislators care about.
But partisan differences about oversight of the money derailed the compromise. Republicans wanted a "continuous appropriation" that would have given state water officials power to spend the project money without ongoing legislative review.
That kind of blank check authority is a bad idea, and Democrats were right to oppose it.
All sides must recognize the growing urgency of
Sharp cuts in the amount of water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are expected to start in January under a judge's order protecting the delta smelt. The health of the delta is failing, risking water supplies for 25 million Californians.
Global warming keeps shrinking the snowpack that supplies much of our water, and
Compared with this past year, it may only get tougher to secure bipartisan consensus, let alone voter approval of a bond measure next year. With a $10 billion budget deficit predicted for the fiscal year that begins in July, lawmakers will be struggling to cut spending, distracting them from long-term challenges like water. And if
The governor had the right idea when he started 2007 by declaring his intention to fix the state's water problems this year. It's a shame that, 11 months later, we're still treading water. #
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_7578115
Editorial: Water guesswork
Riverside Press
So the Legislature's failure to put a water bond on the February ballot gives legislators additional time to do the hard work they have so far sidestepped: crafting a consensus on the most practical, cost-effective way of bolstering state water supplies for the future. And the first step toward reaching that goal involves setting aside partisan prejudices in favor of hard facts.
Attempts to put a $10 billion water bond on the Feb. 5 ballot appeared to founder last week, as negotiations hung up on the same issue that stalled water bond legislation during the regular legislative session: new dams. Republicans wanted money to build two dams and expand a third. Democrats favor increased conservation and underground storage in place of new dams.
But delaying the bond until the June or November election could result in a more sensible and effective measure, if the Legislature can address the topic without the partisan blinders.
The most pressing issue, for example, is fixing the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which supplies water to two-thirds of the state's population and irrigates 3 million acres of agriculture. The delta's steady environmental decline led to a court ruling in September that slashed water exports by up to 37 percent to safeguard an endangered fish.
The various bond proposals each included at least $2 billion to restore the delta, even though the state lacks a plan to stabilize
The governor's blue ribbon commission on the delta is not scheduled to hand its report to the Legislature until January. And even then, the solutions will be neither cheap nor simple, requiring hard decisions about balancing environmental protection, agriculture, recreation and urban water use. Better to have those discussions before asking taxpayers to ante up.
And the state needs some basic facts about the proposed new dams before pushing ahead with the projects. The feasibility studies and environmental reports on the dam proposals will not even be ready until 2008 or 2009.
A thoughtful water strategy requires serious discussion of which proposals provide the most public benefit for the money, and how they fit into the state's overall water needs. Legislators need to tackle questions about how much water various projects would provide, who would get the new water and who would foot the bill.
That approach would result in a water bond aimed at real solutions, instead of a package crafted on political imperatives and partisan agendas.
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES:
Water concerns delay permit extensions; Housing slump wreaks havoc with construction schedules
Antelope Valley
By Bob Wilson, staff writer
Members of the city's Planning Commission spent more than an hour Tuesday discussing whether to extend those deadlines for seven builders holding plans to construct 773 homes in various locations.
The commission's discussion focused on the lack of direction from the City Council concerning water use in the city and how best to obtain the governing body's opinion.
In
In the past, such extensions would have been granted with little or no comment. Now, commission members are discussing whether the extensions should be limited until more is learned about the future supply of water.
The City Council was advised Oct. 8 by Randy Williams,
Because families typically need about one acre-foot of water over the course of a year, the new homes would require suppliers to deliver another 23,000 acre-feet of water beyond what already is flowing to homes and businesses.
According to the most recent information available from the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance, there were 46,790 living units in
"At least two or three times over the last three or four months, there have been requests made by the commission in regard to having some kind of an understanding in regard to water use," commission Chairman Ken Mann noted.
In once instance, "There was a request on my part" for the City Council to establish a policy for the commission to follow concerning new development, Mann said.
Because no such policy has been forthcoming, Mann proposed delaying all of the requests for map extensions until the council steps up.
The proposal caught Planning Director Brian Ludicke off guard.
"Are you requesting that this be continued until such time that the City Council has given clear direction on water policy?"
Ludicke asked?
"That's what I'm stating," Mann said, proposing calling special meetings if necessary to cope with the situation.
"I think it would be remiss for the commission to continue walking through these (time) extensions and not having some kind of established water policy," he said.
Commissioner Bruce MacPherson said he would not support denying the extensions but would support delaying them "until we get a coherent water policy laid out."
Vice Chairman Mark Troth agreed, but Ludicke pointed out that, under state law, the commission "really can't continue" the requests for the extensions.
"The map act says that once someone makes a request, they get 60 days or until the advisory body, which is you, decides to approve or deny the extension," Ludicke said.
"My recommendation would be that you give them all an extension to a date certain, at which point you can hear it again," the planning director said.
That way, the council could grant each builder an extension of less than a year, requiring them to come back at that time for reconsideration, he said.
"The map act doesn't really tell you how many times you can grant an extension for a map; it simply says you can't grant more than a certain total length of time," Ludicke said.
At any time while the tentative maps are active, the builders can submit final tract maps for their projects "provided they can get a will-serve letter from the appropriate water purveyor," he said.
When approving final maps, the commission and council look to see, among other things, whether water providers have awarded a letter stating water for the project is expected to be available.
On Nov. 13, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared that Waterworks District 40, which supplies water to most of
The city's downtown revitalization plan would bring more than 3,500 housing units and 2 million square feet of retail and office space to
City officials have countered that they will be able to negotiate the water issue because the revitalization plan would replace many of the homes and businesses already using water in downtown.
Those homes and businesses use 250 acre-feet of water per year. That number would increase ninefold, to 2,240 acre-feet per year, under the downtown plan.
One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, about the amount used by a typical family of four in a year.
Forging ahead, members of the commission considered extending all of the map for only four months, but the proposal drew objections from builder representatives because of potential filing costs.
"My concern is that the city of
"That is for the (respective) water district to delegate, and there is more than just L.A. County Waterworks District 40" in charge of supplying local water, Bowyer said.
Many water agencies wait until a developer requests building permits before issuing a will-serve letter, she said.
Dan Stitt, of the Penfield & Smith planning firm of
If no policy is quickly handed down by the City Council, "We could be in a constant cycle of time extensions" for the next three years, Stitt said. Jim Barletta, president of the board of directors of the Averydale Mutual Water Co., congratulated the commission "for stepping up to the plate."
"Nobody else that I see is taking the initiative" to determine whether the local supply of water is large enough to support continued growth, he said.
In September, a Waterworks 40 representative phoned Averydale to find out if it could provide the county district with any water,
That call was an indication of the county's need, he said.
Ultimately, the members of the commission decided against shortening the one-year extensions requested Tuesday because the applicants were given no warning.
However, beginning in January, applicants seeking time extensions for tentative project plans should be aware that such extensions may be limited only to six months until the City Council provides direction to the commission.
"My request is to have the City Council take some form of action in regard to establishing a water policy" the commission can use for planning future growth, Mann said.
If no policy is forthcoming, then "the Planning Commission is ready to take some kind of form of action by continuing items" requesting such time extensions, he said.
As restated by Deputy City Attorney Doug Evertz, the commission was formally advising applicants that the board may limit time extensions for project maps until a water policy is established that addresses both new developments and the extension of maps filed for existing developments. The proposal received affirming votes from all five commission members.
The panel's debate and vote "may get somebody's attention" at the City Council level, Mann said.
"I think we have a responsibility as a commission to make responsible decisions, and there needs to be a policy set," he said. #
http://www.avpress.com/n/25/1125_s4.hts
NATOMAS LEVEES:
Vote set on Natomas levee project's effects
By Matt Weiser, staff writer
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency will vote on the project's final environmental impact report at 9 a.m. Thursday. The $400 million project is expected to take place over three years, ultimately doubling the basin's flood safety to a 1-in-200-year standard.
But the project has been controversial, particularly among
Also, heavy truck traffic required to move nearly 5 million cubic yards of dirt is likely to create persistent dust and congestion problems.
Thursday's meeting will be in the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors' chambers,
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/526341.html
CONSERVATION AWARD:
Water district earns education award
RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- The Cucamonga Valley Water District has been awarded the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for Children's Environmental Education.
This award is administered by the state Environmental Protection Agency and Resources Agency, in partnership with several other agencies and is the state's highest and most prestigious environmental honor.
The program recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made notable contributions in conserving
The district has designed educational programs to provide students with information they can use in school and at home.
The CVWD Children's Environmental Education Programs include a range of activities for kindergarten through high school students.
Field trips to CVWD's
http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_7580065?IADID=Search-www.dailybulletin.com-www.dailybulletin.com
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