Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
December 27, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
WATER POLICY:
Column: New year should bring new water solutions - Ventura County Star
SPECIAL PROJECT:
Mill Creek project being readied to flow - Bakersfield Californian
FLOOD INSURANCE:
Flood-prone areas get insurance break; Homeowners in unincorporated county to receive additional discounts -
WATER POLICY:
Column: New year should bring new water solutions
Thomas D. Elias, of Santa Monica, is a columnist and author
As the new year approaches, it's high time for some new ideas about
Whether you believe in climate change and global warming or not, there is no doubt this state is in yet another long-running drought, the third of the last quarter century. These have typically lasted anywhere from four to seven years.
Whether you believe glaciers are receding all over the world — including atop the high Sierra Nevada — because of a natural cycle or due to human activity, no one questions the fact that snowpack in the mountains is at unusually low levels and has been for several years. Or that reservoirs like
There's also no doubt about California's continuing population growth, even if it has slowed a bit from the breakneck pace of prior decades, nor is there any dispute the growth produces greater demand for water.
And, there's also little doubt that this year's state budget will run a deficit approaching $14 billion or that future budgets will become ever harder to negotiate unless there's some new source of revenue.
It looks like an almost unprecedented stew of bad news. But that's not necessarily so.
For one thing, the impending water shortage and last fall's threatened revival of "drought police" patrols in
For another, there is now general agreement that the state needs new water storage, be it behind dams or in underground aquifers. One new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other government biologists advocates a Peripheral Canal-like project as the best way to revive water quality in the delta of the
That's significant movement, even if there's no consensus yet on the precise form new water storage should take. But there is a huge question over how to pay for all this in an era of reduced government revenues.
Plainly, no one likes new taxes. Schwarzenegger's first move as governor was to keep a campaign promise and cut the vehicle tax by more than $4 billion a year, a move that's contributed significantly to budget deficits ever since.
That's why he and the Legislature want to turn to bonds as the best way they can conceive to finance the water projects they agree will be needed, whatever their final nature. At least one proposal to borrow money this way for water projects will be on the ballot later this year.
While bonds may build the needed water facilities, they are also guaranteed to make budgets harder to balance for the entire 30 years it would take to pay them off. For $10 billion in bonds invariably means about $20 billion in spending over about 30 years.
That's why it's time for new ideas. Time to get away from the trend of the last 15 years of funding all types of public works with borrowed money.
The reality of the water proposals is that even after their shapes and locations are agreed upon, they will take at least 10 years to build in their entirety. Maybe 15.
This means paying for these public works as they are built would add no more to each year's budget than the bonds would — but the bleeding of money would stop 15 years sooner that way because there would be no interest to pay.
Yes, this would take courage. It would require determination. It would take dedication over a span of years during which today's governor and all current legislators would be termed out. So it would also require that they believe in the people voters will elect to replace them.
It would also take institutional memory: New lawmakers would have to remember where the money is going and why.
But if it were done for these projects and all future new infrastructure,
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/dec/27/new-year-should-bring-new-water-solutions/
SPECIAL PROJECT:
Mill Creek project being readied to flow
By James Geluso, staff writer
The weir is in place, rocks are being lowered, concrete is being sprayed.
And on Tuesday, water will flow through the canal again, ending the three-week work window for
The canal-creek will be the centerpiece of Bakersfield's downtown revitalization project, stretching from Golden State Avenue through Central Park — and the federal courthouse that may be built there — to the planned movie theater, shopping and apartments on the north side of California Avenue.
Despite a compressed schedule, crews had made enough progress that they were able to take Christmas off, said Jacques LaRochelle, the assistant public works director who's supervising the project.
"But we worked Christmas Eve!" he said. "All day!"
On Wednesday, about 50 workers were on the site.
The weir, installed last week, will back up the canal to form a pond. Water will flow over the top of the dam or through gates underneath so that the Kern Delta Water District, which owns the canal, can keep delivering water to its customers.
At the south end of the park, one man was spraying concrete onto a rebar frame over the dirt side of the canal and another man followed, scraping the concrete smooth. Meanwhile, an excavator moved boulders into small piles that will decorate the pool.
At the north end, others were preparing rebar sections and preparing to glue rocks to the side of the canal.
Once the work ends in the canal, there is plenty more work to be done before
Crews will install the new walkway and bridge, and the park will get new benches, new lamp posts and even new trash cans, all meant to suggest an "antique" theme. #
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/319629.html
FLOOD INSURANCE:
Flood-prone areas get insurance break; Homeowners in unincorporated county to receive additional discounts
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it has raised
This rating benefits homeowners in the unincorporated area of
"The county's strategies for managing the floodplain have helped us earn these savings for our residents," said Don Gage, chair of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and of the board's Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee.
Since 2004, when it started participating in the Community Rating System, Santa Clara County has continuously obtained a Class 8 rating, which resulted in a reduction of up to 10 percent in flood insurance rates for unincorporated area homeowners.
The upgrade to Class 7 rating could translate into higher savings of up to 15 percent for more than 700 homeowners who have flood insurance.
More than 750 flood insurance policies were issued for the county's unincorporated area. Premiums can cost anywhere between $200 and $3,000, depending on the region.
As the administrator of federal floodplain management regulations, FEMA and Insurance Services Office Inc., evaluated the Santa Clara County Department of Planning and Development's enforcement of construction regulations within the floodplain area, the open space program managed by the county parks department, reference materials, and outreach projects conducted by Santa Clara Valley Water District.
The evaluation included community outreach efforts targeting residents who live in flood prone areas on what they can do to protect themselves in an emergency, flood control methods at
"Our community and residents deserve this important classification upgrade," said Supervisor Pete McHugh, vice chair of the board's Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee. "It recognizes this county's dedication to protecting its residents while lowering out-of-pocket costs for flood insurance for our property owners." #
http://www.themilpitaspost.com/local/ci_7813585
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://listhost2.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
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