Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
December 17, 2007
1. Top Items
Smelt ruling could spell scarcer and pricier water; Delta pumping limits will cut supplies to Bay Area, Los Angeles - Sacramento Bee
Water exports may be cut to save tiny fish; Southland could see supplies reduced by a third after a federal ruling requiring protections for the delta smelt - Los Angeles Times
Smelt ruling could spell scarcer and pricier water; Delta pumping limits will cut supplies to Bay Area, Los Angeles
Sacramento
By Matt Weiser and John Ellis, staff writers
FRESNO – A federal court order finalized Friday could mean millions of Californians will have to get accustomed to spending more money on less water – and soon.
The order by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, based in
Wanger ruled that those agencies failed to adequately protect the Delta smelt, a fragile fingerling listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. His final order in the case Friday could result in a 30 percent reduction in water pumped out of the Delta starting as soon as Christmas Day.
"I truly believe this water crisis is going to make the power crisis pale in comparison," said Tom Birmingham, general manager of Westlands Water District.
The Delta, a 700,000-acre maze of islands and canals, is the hub of the state's water system. A funnel for runoff from north-state mountains, its waters irrigate more than 2 million acres of farmland and provide some of the drinking water enjoyed by 23 million Californians. The two pumping systems near
Wanger's ruling sets new operating limits for the pumping systems and also requires new steps to monitor young Delta smelt, whose deaths have gone undetected at the pumps for years.
The decision means many parts of the Bay Area and
It is also likely some of these agencies will impose mandatory rationing measures, said Fiona Hutton, spokeswoman for water contractors who buy Delta water from the state Department of Water Resources. This is especially likely if the current winter proves to be dry.
Her association expects the ruling will cause a 30 percent reduction in water deliveries. Millions of Californians, she said, will need to change their lifestyles in response.
"Look, it's a drought year," she said. "You've got significant water supply restrictions coming down the pipeline. Californians just simply have to function differently than they have been."
Birmingham of Westlands Water District said a 15 to 20 percent reduction in water supplies is likely.
The district, the largest contractor on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation system, was already expecting only half its normal deliveries because of drought conditions.
"We expect there will be a significant amount of land fallowed,"
The ruling requires the agencies to ensure certain flow conditions to keep smelt and other fish away from the pumps, which suck thousands of fish to their deaths every year. In practice, this means pumping must be reduced.
"It's a step in the right direction," said Kate Poole, attorney for the plaintiffs. "We wish the agencies had taken more protective actions sooner."
The Delta smelt remains at historic lows in an annual fall survey that is still under way. Several other species are also declining.
The order requires the pumping changes to remain in effect through June 20. But it's likely some version of the changes will become permanent, because the judge's ruling will influence a new operating plan for the water systems now in the works. He imposed a Sept. 12 deadline for the completion of that plan.
Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a think tank based in
"The only reason this is in the courts is because we've failed as a society to adequately manage our water," said Gleick. "We've been living as though water is an inexhaustible resource. But it's a limited, precious resource."
He hopes the decision forces
Jerry Johns, deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources, said his agency plans to do more modeling next week to determine what the judge's order means in terms of water cutbacks.
It won't be as grim as first expected, he said, because San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos has recovered much of its storage since summer.
The state recently forecasted that deliveries would reach only 25 percent of contracted amounts in 2008. That is not unusual for the first forecast of the season, and the prediction typically grows as winter rains fill the state's reservoirs.
But Johns said this year there are "few prospects" the forecast will grow dramatically, especially if dry weather continues.
He expects Wanger's order will result in water delivery reductions in the "high 20 percents" for areas that depend on the Delta.
"Everybody should be planning as if next year is going to be a dry year," Johns said. "Everybody ought to be doing water conservation and getting plans together to get through this next year." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/569134.html
Water exports may be cut to save tiny fish; Southland could see supplies reduced by a third after a federal ruling requiring protections for the delta smelt
By Eric Bailey, staff writer
In an 11-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger in
Environmentalists said it remains to be seen if the ruling can help save the fish, whose population has plummeted as delta water exports have skyrocketed.
Kate Poole of the Natural Resources Defense Council called it a "step in the right direction." But whether the cutback in water exports is enough to save the smelt, she added, "is anybody's guess."
"This court-ordered reduction will only place further hardship on water agencies throughout the state and ultimately consumers, businesses, farmers and the economy as a whole," said Laura King Moon of State Water Contractors, which represents 27 agencies around
Local water agencies will be forced to rely on other sources, such as groundwater, to ease the effect on customers, Moon said.
The first consequences could be felt in the
Urban residents will also need to conserve, Moon warned, and some areas eventually could be forced to ration.
The decision highlights the need to seek a comprehensive fix to the delta's continuing environmental woes, said Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District. The delta smelt, the striped bass, longfin smelt and threadfin shad all have suffered declines there in recent decades.
Wanger's written order formalizes the details of a decision he announced after a weeklong hearing in August.
It requires state and federal water authorities to cut back water exports when the smelt -- adults, juveniles and the vulnerable larval stage that floats in the water -- venture near the pumps that supply the state's aqueducts.
Those pumps are so powerful that they reverse the flow of delta water. The smelt, only a couple of inches long and weak swimmers, can fall prey to those reversed currents and get gobbled up by the machinery.
The judge also ordered the state and federal agencies that operate the two big canals -- the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation -- to increase efforts to monitor whether the fish are being sucked into the pumps. His ruling will remain in effect until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service releases a new biological opinion -- also ordered by Wanger -- spelling out long-term ways to save the smelt. The plan is slated for release in September.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-smelt15dec15,1,1801621.story?coll=la-headlines-california
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