A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 30, 2008
2. Supply
Dancing for rain; Recent rains have swelled local creeks and strengthened the snowpack, but water pumping restrictions and judicial rulings mean a dry summer could still be in store for valley farmers - Tracy Press
WATER SUPPLY PROJECTIONS:
Water worries over? Let's ask experts - Sacramento Bee
COACHELLA AQUIFER:
Separate project looks to replenish east valley aquifer - Desert Sun
WELL PROJECT ISSUES:
Residents sound off on Oakley well project - Contra Costa Times
Dancing for rain; Recent rains have swelled local creeks and strengthened the snowpack, but water pumping restrictions and judicial rulings mean a dry summer could still be in store for valley farmers
Tracy Press – 1/29/08
By Jonathan Partridge, staff writer
Storms during the past week added lots of water to local creeks and kept local residents wet, but state and federal water officials say it still could be a dry year for farmers.
A federal court ruling this past summer regarding the threatened Delta smelt could mean water curtailments for irrigation districts.
In the meantime, farm water officials say they are happy with any rain they can get.
"We’re liking this wet weather," said Bill Harrison, manager of the Patterson-based Del Puerto Water District, which serves about 45,000 acres of farmland between Vernalis and Santa Nella.
Del Puerto Water District and several other irrigation districts south of
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimated earlier this month that contractors south of the Delta would only receive 25 percent of their normal allocations if the 2007-08 rainy season was a critically dry one, but that was before the recent storms hit.
"What you see there (in the early estimates) is even worse than the worst-case scenario," said Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
He said the bureau will have an updated estimate Feb. 15.
In the meantime, he said rainfall near
More rain in this area also can help the
A federal court ruling last year led to tightened restrictions on pumping after U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger rejected a federal wildlife "biological opinion" that had allowed increased pumping for federal water contractors south of the Delta based on the belief that the pumping did not harm smelt.
More water in the
Environmentalists say the smelt is a major indicator of the San Joaquin Delta’s health, and a crash in smelt numbers now mirror a just-reported sharp decline in the number of salmon that run up the
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also estimated this month that water contractors south of the Delta could get as much as 55 percent to 65 percent allocations under a best-case scenario, though that also could change.
"The storms are helping," he said. #
http://tracypress.com/content/view/13333/2242/
WATER SUPPLY PROJECTIONS:
Water worries over? Let's ask experts
By Ngoc Nguyen, staff writer
This month's weather has done little to cure our winter blues. Most of the month was wet, cold and dreary. We could see more of the same in February.
But, heck, February is a short month. And, the water watchers keep insisting, all this rain and snow is good for us.
We asked consulting meteorologist Tom Loffman and California Department of Water Resources Chief Hydrologist Maury Roos how this winter compares to previous years and if our drought fears are over.
Q: Are we seeing record-breaking rainfall?
A: Sorry, folks, the showers we've seen are far from record-breaking. According to Loffman, January saw about 20 days of rain, dropping an average of 6 to 7 inches across the
In years with heavy rainfall, such as 1995 and 1997, the region saw closer to 15 inches of precipitation, so we're seeing about half of record-breaking rain levels, Loffman said.
Q: Is there anything unusual about winter this year?
A: Rainstorms blowing in from the
"It's making people crazy," he said.
Q: Has precipitation replenished the reservoirs?
A: As of Jan. 1, rainfall was 75 percent of average to date and reservoir storage was 80 percent of average for the date, according to California Department of Water Resources.
According to data from automated sensors, the statewide average of snow water content is 18 inches, which is 110 percent of normal for the date and 65 percent of normal for the season, which ends in April, Roos said. The data will be verified when DWR officials conduct an important snow survey Thursday in the mountains.
Q: Is there still concern about a drought later in the year?
A: Roos said the "good news" is that the Sierra snowpack is 10 percent above average for the season. But, he said, there's still reason for being cautious.
"It still could turn dry; we can't be sure," he said.
Results from Thursday's snow survey will be used to compute the year's first water forecast. The highly anticipated look ahead allows state water contractors to plan water usage for the year, depending on how much is estimated to be available.
Q: It's cold out there, too. How low will the snow go?
A: Loffman said a series of cold storms is dropping snow as low as 2,000 feet. Sierra foothill towns – such as
There's little chance of the white stuff falling in the Valley.
Q: What's in store for next week?
A: Showers are forecast through the week, but Mother Nature's spigot may switch off after that.
According to Loffman, high pressure will begin to build around Sunday or Monday and could remain until midmonth.
That could spell a significant change in the weather pattern. We may yet dry out before winter's done, he said. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/672736.html
COACHELLA AQUIFER:
Separate project looks to replenish east valley aquifer
Desert Sun – 1/28/08
By Keith Matheny, staff writer
Years after desert farmers slashed their water use, the Coachella Valley Water District is trying to do its part for water conservation by building the $70 million Mid-Valley Pipeline.
The pipeline will provide about 50 of the valley's 124 golf courses with
Another $40 million project to build a new groundwater recharge facility south of La Quinta is also in the works that will use
The valley is taking more water out of the ground than it's replenishing by between 100,000 and 150,000 acre-feet of water per year, Robbins said.
That's about equal to the amount of water used in a year by three-quarters of the homes and apartments in the valley.
The pipeline and recharge facility projects should reduce groundwater pumping by 75,000 acre-feet per year, Robbins said. Or enough for about 75,000 homes for a year.
The valley's farmers were among the first to take water conservation seriously.
Some 40,000 acres of valley farmland over the past 25 years were converted from flood irrigation - simply letting the water flow out onto the fields - to drip irrigation, concentrating just enough water to exactly where the plant needs it, said Sam Aslan, district conservationist for the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Indio.
All told, it's saved about 200,000 acre-feet of water per year, or enough for 200,000 desert homes, Aslan said.
"We have to be conscientious for future generations as well," he said. "We can't, year after year, be continuing to deplete the aquifer."
If new developers and existing customers also continue to reduce outdoor water use with smart-timer irrigation controllers, removing grass and installing more desert-friendly landscaping, and other measures, it puts the
"I don't share the opinion that it's gloom-and-doom time," Desert Water Agency general manager David Luker said.
"The conservation efforts are evident. Our average water use is going down per connection. That's very positive. That means people get it - the users, the designers, the builders. They get the message."
But more can and must be done, Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley said.
"I don't care whether you're a farmer, or a retiree with a little yard, or somebody with a little vegetable garden," he said, "You've got to start worrying, and cutting down on the ways that you use water." #
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/NEWS07/801280333/1006/NEWS01
WELL PROJECT ISSUES:
Residents sound off on Oakley well project
Contra Costa Times – 1/30/08
By Paula King, staff writer
OAKLEY -- Rural Knightsen and Oakley well owners expressed concerns and demanded mitigation for an ongoing Diablo Water District well project that they say may alter the quality and quantity of their water supply at a public hearing on Tuesday night.
The Oakley water district's three phase project is designed to increase the water supply for all of its local users. The district installed the first well and pump station in 2006 and unveiled plans for two more future phases at the public meeting.
The public has an opportunity to provide comments on the project until Feb. 8 as environmental documents are being prepared. In response to the project, a group called Friends of Knightsen has formed to ensure that the district is held accountable if residents on private wells lose their water supply.
"We are all on well water. It is not feasible for us to use another type of water because we are rural," said group leader Seth Cockrell.
Some residents in attendance expressed concerns over diminished water quality, lowered water supply, lessened property values and their ability to maintain agricultural crops. #
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