[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 1/30/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

January 30, 2008

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People

 

DAM GATES OPENED:

Bradbury Dam gates opened to release water at Cachuma Lake - Associated Press

 

FLOODPLAIN MAPS AVAILABLE:

New flood maps are now available - Stockton Record

 

NATOMAS DEVELOPMENT:

City OKs Natomas development - Sacramento Bee

 

KERN RIVER:

Editorial: Want water in river? - Bakersfield Californian

 

CONFERENCE THIS WEEK:

"Warming to the Future" - News Advisory

 

 

DAM GATES OPENED:

Bradbury Dam gates opened to release water at Cachuma Lake

Associated Press – 1/30/08

 

SANTA YNEZ, Calif. -- Water is being released to bring down the level of Cachuma Lake, which is rising because of storm runoff.

 

The Bradbury Dam gate was opened Tuesday morning, sending 500 cubic feet of water per minute into the Santa Ynez River and on toward Lompoc.

 

It's the first time the gates have been opened since April 2006.

 

The federal Bureau of Reclamation wants to keep the Cachuma water level at 750 feet. Last week's storm siege began filling the northern Santa Barbara County lake.

 

The lake level rose 20 feet last week.

 

Reclamation officials say that at the rate the lake is filling up, the gate should remain open for about a week. #

http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/673335.html

 

 

FLOODPLAIN MAPS AVAILABLE:

New flood maps are now available

Stockton Record – 1/30/08

 

New maps showing which San Joaquin County residents will likely be required to buy flood insurance by the spring of 2009 have been posted on the county's Web site. The maps can be viewed at www.sjgov.org/pubworks/firmpanels.htm.

 

Hard copies of the maps are also available for viewing this week at the Department of Public Works, 1810 E.

 

Hazelton Ave. in Stockton. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

 

Steve Winkler, deputy director of Public Works, said county officials are still examining the maps and will provide their comments to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which issued the documents.

 

Winkler said officials are looking in particular at an area of northwest Lodi and Woodbridge, which FEMA has placed into the 100-year flood zone. Winkler said the area appears to be "really close to being high ground."

 

When the maps become final, those living in the flood zone will be forced to buy flood insurance. County officials say buying that insurance before spring 2009 will lead to cheaper rates down the road. #

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080130/A_NEWS/80129027

 

 

NATOMAS DEVELOPMENT:

City OKs Natomas development

Sacramento Bee – 1/30/08

By Mary Lynne Vellinga, staff writer

 

SACRAMENTO – The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to annex and rezone 577 acres of North Natomas farmland just outside the city limits and allow construction of 3,500 houses and apartments.

 

Council members passed an initial "intent" vote for the Greenbriar development last week, but Tuesday's vote was the final action. Mayor Heather Fargo, absent last week, joined her colleagues in supporting the plan.

 

Building is unlikely to begin before 2010, however, because the federal government has announced it intends to designate North Natomas a flood hazard zone, essentially halting construction.

 

The Sacramento Area Flood Protection Agency has said it expects to complete sufficient levee improvements by 2010 to ensure the minimum level of 100-year flood protection required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would allow growth in the Natomas basin to resume. #

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/672770.html

 

 

KERN RIVER:

Editorial: Want water in river?

Bakersfield Californian – 1/30/08

 

Rivers help define the cities they flow through, and in many cases the cities also define the rivers. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Sacramento -- all are situated on rivers of historical import and aesthetic character.

 

Bakersfield, by comparison, has the Kern River -- or, more accurately, it has the Kern Riverbed.

 

Now, thanks to a recently settled lawsuit, Bakersfield may soon be able to enjoy the many benefits of a river. A wet river.

 

But we have to speak up, and quickly.

 

Californian columnist Lois Henry has stumbled upon a rare opportunity for this community to weigh in on the possibility of a flowing, trans-urban Kern River. In April 2007, a judge hearing a 12-year-old lawsuit between two local water districts found that one of the districts had forfeited its rights to some Kern River water. He said the Kern might no longer be "fully appropriated," meaning some water might be available to a water district that did not previously have a recognized claim to it. He said it was up to the State Water Resources Control Board to decide.

 

The City of Bakersfield filed an application, asking that it be awarded this "spare" water. The city said it would run that water down the natural channel of the Kern River.

 

As Henry suggests, the people of Bakersfield can help the water board decide. We agree. There's nothing like a rush of water coursing through the city. It's life, it's energy, it's peace.

 

It's also groundwater storage. The riverbed is the center of Kern's vast aquifer, the source of our drinking water. By recharging that aquifer with a living, meandering Kern River, we would have considerably cleaner drinking water coming out of the tap.

 

The city has calculated that as much as 110,000 to 120,000 acre-feet of water a year may become available. That's enough for nine or 10 months of water in the Kern River in all but the driest years -- a far sight better than the two months' worth of water we've been getting in average water years.

 

Bakersfield deserves to reclaim its long-lost status as a river city. Write to the State Water Resources Control Board in support of the city's application. But hurry. The water agency is only taking comments through Thursday. #

http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/editorials/story/348102.html

 

 

CONFERENCE THIS WEEK:

"Warming to the Future"

News Advisory – 1/9/08

Contact: Kathryn Charlton, (916) 849-5023

 

Leading water interests in California will participate in an opening panel at this week’s 46^th Annual Conference of the California Irrigation Institute, scheduled Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at the Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento.

Panelists include:

        Tom Birmingham, General Manager, Westlands Water District
        Ryan Broddrick, Executive Director, Northern California Water Association
        Gary Bobker, Bay Institute
        Tim Quinn, Executive Director, Association of California Water Agencies

 

The panel will follow Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto), who will deliver opening remarks at 10 a.m., Thursday.  Sen. Cogdill will address the challenges of the Governor’s special session on water, the obstacles of passing a water bond and what this means for California’s future.

 

Further information regarding the conference is available at www.caii.org or by calling (916) 391-5035.

 

        WHAT:   “Warming to the Future”
                        California Irrigation Institute’s 46^th Annual Conference

        WHERE:  Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento

        WHEN:   Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 – Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
                        Beginning at 10 a.m.

www.caii.org

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