[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 1/9/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

January 9, 2008

 

2. Supply

 

CENTRAL VALLEY WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS:

MID: Water status at average; Storms 'a great start' to stave off dry year; hydropower boosted - Modesto Bee

 

LONG-TERM WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:

Editorial: Water imperative; Wet January does not erase need for action - San Diego Union Tribune

 

CLIMATE CHANGE:

Climate change event offers tips for row crop farmers - California Farm Bureau Federation

 

 

CENTRAL VALLEY WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS:

MID: Water status at average; Storms 'a great start' to stave off dry year; hydropower boosted

Modesto Bee – 1/9/07

By John Holland, staff writer

 

For all their bluster, the storms of the past week merely brought the water supply up to average for the Modesto Irrigation District.

 

But average is welcome at this point for district officials, who have worried that 2008 might be a dry year.

 

"This is a great start for us," said Walt Ward, the MID's assistant general manager for water operations, at Tuesday's board meeting. "The issue now for us is that (the snowpack) stays put and we don't have a warming period."

 

The National Weather Service forecast a continued chance of snow at higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada today and Thursday. In the foothills and San Joaquin Valley, rain is possible both days.

 

Tuesday, downtown Modesto received 0.17 inches, according to the MID, bringing the monthly total to 2.8 inches.

 

Water users all over California will benefit from the storms, which made up for below- average rain and snow in the first two months of the wet season.

 

The storms also will boost the supply of hydroelectric power, which generally is cheaper for ratepayers than power generated from natural gas and other sources.

 

In the Tuolumne River watershed, tapped by the MID and the Turlock Irrigation District, the snowpack was about 100 percent of average as of Tuesday morning, Ward said. That was before another storm moved in later in the day.

 

Ward said the snow was as deep as 13 feet at Horse Meadow, which has an elevation of 8,400 feet above sea level, in the Emigrant Wilderness.

 

The California Department of Water Resources estimated the statewide snowpack was at 111 percent of average before Tuesday's storm.

 

Rain in the Modesto area was close to half the annual average of 13.12 inches as of Tuesday. The wet season typically goes into April.

 

Rain on the valley floor is a small part of what farmers use in the MID and other irrigation districts. The vast majority is Sierra snowmelt.

 

But the valley rain does moisten the soil, delaying the time when farmers will need water from the canals.

 

"Everybody's well-irrigated out there on the farms," MID Director John Kidd said Tuesday. "That was a valuable rain.

 

You couldn't order it much better."

 

More rain is expected this week. Forecasters predict partly cloudy conditions today with a chance of rain Thursday before the weather becomes mostly sunny through the weekend. #

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/174686.html

 

 

LONG-TERM WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:

Editorial: Water imperative; Wet January does not erase need for action

San Diego Union Tribune – 1/9/08

 

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger summoned legislators into a special session late last year to deal with California's looming water woes, the result was spectacularly unimpressive. Even as the state endured a lengthening drought, the Senate and Assembly mainly ignored Schwarzenegger's call for action and ultimately left Sacramento without accomplishing a thing.

 

Then came a post-Christmas wave of winter storms, which abruptly propelled California's snowpack to 111 percent of average for this time of year. Even better, from San Diego's perspective, snowfall in the Colorado River basin surged to 115 percent of normal.

 

So, the crisis is over, right? No need for the Legislature to bother itself with the water problem, right?

 

Senate President Don Perata, D-Oakland, certainly seems to think the urgent need for legislative action has suddenly vanished. “We probably just want to hold our dice,” he declares. Assembly Republican leader Michael Villines of Fresno expresses similar relief, stressing that dealing with the water issue in the Legislature is, after all, “a very tough sell.”

 

Wait just a minute. Is one brief bout of wet weather all it takes for the Legislature to duck this pressing issue yet again? Can anyone credibly claim that the state's water worries have evaporated all because of one wet week?

 

The truth is, the imperative for California to boost its storage capacity, generate new supplies and implement sensible conservation measures is greater than ever. Legislators are merely deluding themselves, and no one else, if they believe several feet of fresh snow in the last few days has resolved the water dilemma.

 

California's population will continue to grow for the foreseeable span. This will steadily boost water demand indefinitely. Meantime, scientists believe climate change will mean that, in the decades ahead, semi-arid but heavily populated Southern California will receive even less rainfall than today, while the far northern reaches of the state will receive more rainfall than today. Because of global warming, the Sierra snowpack will be diminished, reducing its natural storage capacity.

 

As a consequence of all of these factors, California must significantly increase its storage capacity – underground and in reservoirs – in order to capture rainfall that once was stored naturally as snowpack. Gov. Schwarzenegger rightly underscored this reality in his State of the State speech yesterday. Yet the Legislature thus far has spurned his plan for at least two large new reservoirs and increased underground storage, along with improvements in the Bay-Delta to capture more runoff and ship it to where it is needed. The Democratic majorities in the Senate and Assembly have been unwilling to cross environmental hard-liners who oppose increased water infrastructure and believe instead that Draconian conservation measures are all that are needed.

 

California's water problems will only grow to crisis proportions if legislative leaders continue to pretend they don't exist.  #

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080109/news_lz1ed9bottom.html

 

 

CLIMATE CHANGE:

Climate change event offers tips for row crop farmers

California Farm Bureau Federation – 1/9/08

By Kate Campbell, Assistant Editor

 

With concerns about climate change grabbing headlines, experts gathered in Fresno to point out the important role California agriculture, particularly row crop farmers, can play in helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the environment.

 

The day-long conference in mid-December at California State University, Fresno featured experts from both university systems, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Air Resources Board and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as agricultural sector representatives.

 

Presentations covered various aspects of implementing Assembly Bill 32, the 2006 California Global Warming Solutions Act, and focused on opportunities for agriculture to potentially generate revenue from coming changes and maintain long-term profitability.

 

Essentially the far-reaching act aims to set guidelines and procedures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. Program presenters said specific details are still being worked out, but probably will include some financial incentives, along with regulatory mandates, that will affect agriculture.

 

They stressed the importance of California farmers and ranchers understanding the evolving regulations and the emerging technologies with an eye to spotting opportunities and constraints for their own operations.

 

The event was jointly sponsored by Sustainable Conservation, the California Farm Bureau Federation, California Agricultural Technology Institute, California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations and the USDA.

 

"It's important for farmers to understand the far-reaching implications of the new law, as well as the benefits of selling carbon credits and adopting new technologies in this innovative field," said CFBF President Doug Mosebar.

 

Symposium presenters said specific opportunities for row crop growers include carbon sequestration, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, more efficient nitrogen use and preventing harmful emissions in the first place.

 

CFBF Environmental Affairs Director Cynthia Cory, who serves on the AB 32 Economic and Technology Advancement Advisory Committee and was a symposium speaker, said, "When we talk about 'cap and trade,' the buying and selling of carbon credits, it might be done through signing contracts for a period of time that stipulate doing certain things.

 

"For example, if a utility like PG&E needed to buy carbon credits, they could go to a row-crop farmer who would agree by contract to use certain protocols for the contract period.

 

"Obviously a lot of work would have to go into setting up something like this, but these are the kinds of things we're thinking about.

 

"We all know that making changes in farming practices, in fertilizer use, for example, isn't done lightly," Cory said.

 

"But, in some cases an efficiency that leads to emissions reduction can be made, sometimes not. But if a farmer can--and if it can be quantified--then that may be an offset opportunity for selling carbon credits."

 

Although much more research is needed, she said protocols will have to be developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it will need to take place on many fronts, including air, water, soil, vegetation and livestock management.

 

"Clearly, we need to tap into all of the things that are going on nationally and internationally to make sure we're up to speed on the latest developments," Cory said. "We need to get some government dollars coming into California for climate change technology research. And, we need to understand the opportunities and how they can be applied on the farm, otherwise changes will be implemented without our input. I fully expect the efforts to address climate change in California will be followed in a year or so with a national climate change policy.

 

"We need to be involved in this process at the state and national levels so that we understand the technology and opportunities, and we don't waste time trying to catch up or reinventing the wheel," Cory said.

 

More information may be found online at www.climatechange.ca.gov. #

http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=964&ck=8065D07DA4A77621450AA84FEE5656D9

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