Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
December 14, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
WATER BOND ISSUES:
Senator warns groups against water bond work - Associated Press
As Oroville Lake level drops, boat ramps close - Chico Enterprise Record
Low water ramp available today - Oroville Mercury Register
One Fewer Lawsuit for Water Agency; Litigation on Santa Clarita Water Company purchase appears to be over - Santa Clarita Signal
Water Agency Eyes Lobby Group - Santa Clarita Signal
ACWA APPOINTMENT:
Ben Wicke named to ACWA regional board - The Friday Flyer (
WATER BOND ISSUES:
Senator warns groups against water bond work
Associated Press – 12/13/07
By Samantha Young, staff writer
Deadlocked over dams, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers have failed to broker a deal on water this year, making little progress since the governor called a special session in September to craft a water plan.
Frustrated with the inaction, the California Chamber of Commerce and its allies last week announced their own water bond initiatives -- a move Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said exacerbated the political gridlock at the Capitol.
"We're going to negotiate, and we're going to do it the right way," Perata said at a news conference at a
The chamber is circulating four versions of an $11.7 billion bond initiative that would set aside billions of dollars for dams without the Legislature's approval.
Several versions would fund a new system to divert water from the Sacramento River water around the Delta and send it to
Voters defeated a similar proposal, known as the
Sen. David Cogdill, R-Modesto, who is among the Senate negotiators, said the chamber's proposal might be the only way to bring a water bond to voters, now that a bond he and Schwarzenegger had sought won't make it on the Feb. 5 presidential primary ballot.
If Democrats don't have a comprehensive plan that includes both dams and a new system to channel water in the Delta, "then we need to rally around the chamber's initiative to give voters that chance," he said in a statement.
Lawmakers have tangled over new dams for decades. Republicans favor them as a way to increase water supplies and improve flood control, but Democrats and environmental groups support spending money on conservation, groundwater cleanup, water recycling and reclamation.
The impasse has left the state without clear direction on how to respond to a federal judge's ruling in September that will curtail its water exports next year.
The court found that pumping by state and federal water agencies has killed the threatened Delta smelt and should be limited in the winter and spring.
Reduced pumping in the Delta could mean that a third less water makes it to about 25 million Californians and thousands of acres of farmland next year, officials have said.
Cities are worried that water supplies could be short if the state has another dry year.
Schwarzenegger and legislative Republicans have said the state should build two new reservoirs and expand a third, as well as restore the Delta's ecosystem and promote conservation.
Schwarzenegger also has endorsed building a new system to funnel water to
Perata has offered his own $6.8 billion bond initiative, which would fund water recycling, groundwater aquifers, conservation programs and Delta restoration.
It would allow communities to build dams, but they would have to compete with other water proposals for bond funding.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor, who spoke with the four legislative leaders this week about a water bond, is hoping to reach a deal as quickly as possible.
"We've always focused on solving this legislatively," McLear said.
Perata said water negotiations were on hold until after the holidays -- with a new target date to put a water bond on the June or November ballot.
Meanwhile, Perata and Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, announced they had formed a campaign committee with environmental groups to oppose the chamber's bond proposal. Perata said they had secured $1 million in pledges from environmentalists and others.
The chamber filed four versions of the measure and will spend the next several weeks deciding which one to pursue.
Whether any of the initiatives will go ahead is unclear, however. Chamber President Allan Zaremberg said in a statement Thursday that he still hopes lawmakers eventually reach a deal on water. #
http://www.contracostatimes.com/bayandstate/ci_7721362?nclick_check=1
As
OROVILLE -- It may not officially be a drought, but the water level in
Currently, according to the California Department of Water Resources,
DWR working with the state Department of Parks and Recreation have opened a temporary low water boating launch site at the
The low water ramp is supposed to be ready for operation as of today.
When the lake level climbs above 700 feet, according to the water agency, the spillway ramp will reopen.
When the level is consistently above 705 feet the
The DWR release warns, "Launching conditions are subject to change due to weather, changing lake levels or other variables. Four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended."
Specific information about daily launch conditions can be obtained by calling 538-2200. #
http://www.chicoer.com//ci_7719384?IADID=Search-www.chicoer.com-www.chicoer.com
Low water ramp available today
Oroville Mercury Register – 12/13/07
By Mary Weston, staff writer
Due to the low water levels at
This site will be ready for use beginning today, December 14.
"It is ready for use now," said Kevin Dossey of the DWR Oroville Division. "Our civil maintenance crews have completed work on the temporary low water launch site and parking area at Bidwell Canyon Boat Ramp."
The last launch site was closed on Wednesday because of water levels in the lake, so Dossey said they had scrambled to perform an environmental review, removed mud and silt and install a temporary launch site.
When water elevations climb to 700 feet, the Spillway Boat Ramp will be re-opened. When the water level rises to about the 705 feet, the
Launching conditions are subject to change due to weather, changing lake levels or other variables. Four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended. Specific information about the daily launch conditions can be obtained by calling the California Department of Parks and Recreation at: (530) 538-2200. #
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_7716354
One Fewer Lawsuit for Water Agency; Litigation on Santa Clarita Water Company purchase appears to be over
Santa Clarita Signal – 12/13/07
By Karen Elowitt, staff writer
The litigation workload will be lighter in the new year for the Castaic Lake Water Agency after having closed the books on one persistent lawsuit.
At a meeting of the agency’s board of directors Wednesday, board members emerged from a 45-minute closed session devoted solely to addressing lawsuits and pending litigation to announce that one of the suits is now a thing of the past.
The suit addressed agency financing of the acquisition of the Santa Clarita Water Company.
Four lawsuits were listed on the board’s agenda: Plambeck v. the agency, California Water Impact Network v. the agency, the same network together with Friends of the
Agency lawyer Russ Behrens was asked to report on the outcome of those secret discussions.
He said board members made particular note of the fact that during the session they discussed news that the Supreme Court denied the petition made by Lynne Plambeck in her suit against the agency.
Plambeck, a regular columnist for The Signal, is a member on the board of directors for the Newhall County Water District.
“The agency prevailed in the litigation and the claims of the petitioners were denied,” Behrens told the board. “The case is finally determined in favor of the agency.”
Board members met for the last time this year, in a room decorated sparsely and predominantly with only one item — a board-mounted check the size of a widescreen TV sat propped up behind the board of directors.
It was written out to the Castaic Lake Water Agency in the amount of $10,175,000 from the
Although the meeting is open to the public, only two people attended.
One of those people was Ed Dunn, who before the meeting proudly claimed to have attended every water meeting in recent years.
Dunn stood up to address the board about the Supreme Court decision.
“I hope there might be some changes in the new year,” he said. “It seems like the appellant court was given two different stories… It seems the appellant court was confused.”
Dunn also pointed out that the flag mounted on the Rio Vista Water Treatment Plant was not illuminated — again. #
http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=52261&format=html
Water Agency Eyes Lobby Group
Santa Clarita Signal – 12/14/07
By Jim Holt, staff writer
Virginia-based lobby group that includes College of the Canyons board trustee Scott Wilk is expected to pitch a plan to lobby congressional leaders for more money on behalf of the Castaic Lake Water Agency.
On Monday night, members of the agency's Governmental Relations and Outreach Committee is expected to review the plan prepared by Neil Siefring, Wilk and Harry Henderson, who heads the Anchor Consulting LLC firm, near
Wilk, Anchor's Western Regional Manager, and the rest of the Anchor team have a successful track record when it comes to lobbying.
Most recently, in September, the same lobby group worked with the Ventura County Office of Education seeking ways to fund
In July, Wilk told members of the Ventura County Board of Education about the federal appropriation process and, specifically, about the expectation of funds for the at-risk program, according to minutes taken at the public meeting.
On Sept. 18, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors accepted more than $1.5 million in federal money now earmarked for youth services in Santa Barbara, according to media reports in that city.
Now, Wilk and the other Anchor lobbyists have come to the water agency with a documented plan that outlines federal legislative priorities for the upcoming year.
Monday's meeting is open to the public and is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the training room of the Rio Vista Water Treatment Plant overlooking
Anchor's pitch to represent some of the agency's key interests in
The Wastewater Infrastructure Program and the Eastern
With regards to lobbying for funding of both programs, the Anchor team promises to work with Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon, as well as Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., to "provide the following federal funding from the following appropriations."
With regards to obtaining $1.5 million for the continuation of the Santa Clarita Valley Recycled Water Infrastructure Program, the team has set its sights on the 2009 fiscal year and, particularly, the Interior and Environmental Appropriations Act, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as state and tribal assistance grants.
The team, in its written appeal to agency committee members, also vows to work with congressional committee staff and to identify "authorization vehicles that will be moving through Congress" next year.
With regards to pursuing funding prospects for the perchlorate initiative, the team is looking at $3.5 million, citing as part of its appropriations strategy, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act and, specifically the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Account.
In outlining its strategy, the lobby team is considering using the following sales pitch in its work with congressional leaders: "$3.5 million to the Castaic Lake Water Agency, CA for the continued study, design, and remediation of groundwater contamination within the city of
On the issue of perchlorate contamination, Sen. Boxer introduced two bills with co-sponsors Feinstein and Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, addressing the contamination and the cleanup involved in having it removed from drinking water.
Those bills, S.24 and S.150, were introduced to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Jan. 4, 2007.
The Perchlorate Monitoring and Right-to-Know Act (S.24) requires perchlorate (a cancer-causing by-product in the manufacture of rocket fuel) to be listed as a contaminant in consumer confidence reports. It also calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a health advisory for the chemical's presence in drinking water.
The second bill, called the Protecting Pregnant Women and Children from Perchlorate Act (S.150), calls for the development of a national primary drinking water standard for the contaminant under the Safe Drinking Water Act. #
http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=52270&format=html
ACWA APPOINTMENT:
Ben Wicke named to ACWA regional board
The Friday Flyer (
Ben Wicke, president of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD) board of directors, was recently elected to serve as vice-chair of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) 2008-2009 Region 9 board of directors.
Ben, a
“I am very pleased and honored to serve with my esteemed colleagues on the Region 9 board,” says Ben. “This position will allow me the opportunity to work with officials from various areas of the state on plans that effectively manage one of our most important resources – water.”
Ben has served on EVMWD’s board of directors since 1994 when he succeeded Charles Bryant. Re-elected to the board in 2006 to a four-year term, he also serves on the District’s Engineering and Operations Committee, and attends regular meetings with the Eastern Municipal Water District and Western Municipal Water District Water Supply Task Force. He will now serve as the Region 9 representative on the ACWA board of directors in
ACWA Region 9’s primary goals are to provide a structure for agencies to meet and discuss water issues, provide the local outreach organization (grassroots support) necessary to advance ACWA’s legislative and regulatory priorities and provide a forum to educate region members on ACWA’s priorities and issues of local and statewide concern.
“I will use this position to educate residents and stakeholders on the impact of the drought in
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