A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 6, 2008
2. Supply
Wet January boosts water outlook - Eureka Times Standard
WATER REDUCTION ORDER:
Cal Am fights cutback order; State wants river pumping cut sharply - Monterey Herald
WATER SUPPLY REDUCTION:
Council approves lower water supply; District that serves Burbank recommends 10% cuts, and will vote on the move next week amid cities’ calls for delay - Burbank Leader
LOCAL WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:
Dry Creek to pay for early work on water; Fresno County Board of Supervisors agrees to form new district and levy tax - Fresno Bee
Water study gets blessing; YC City Council approves Walton plan over residents' objections - Marysville Appeal Democrat
Wet January boosts water outlook
By John Driscoll, staff writer
Intense storms from the north brought particularly intense rain, snow and cold throughout January, contributing to the snowpack needed to refill reservoirs like
”We actually had more intense rains,” Hartley said.
The coastal area also experienced some deep chills -- some days were more than 10 degrees below normal -- and the average temperature for the month was 3 degrees below normal. Three days of hail or snow on the coast was the product of deep low-pressure systems coming out of the north.
The barometer on Jan. 4 registered the lowest for the month since 1887, dropping to 28.96 inches of mercury.
Climatologists expect this season's pattern to persist, which means above average rainfall for the next 30 days.
The water content in the snow in the Trinity Alps down through the Feather and
But tests in the Scott and Shasta rivers -- two other main tributaries of the
The monthly snow surveys through April in large part determine how much water flows down the Trinity, said Rod Wittler, senior scientist for the Trinity River Restoration Program. A predetermined flow schedule for any of five different water years from dry to very wet is chosen, and then modifications can be made according to, say, restoration construction projects' constraints, Wittler said.
Wittler said the Weaverville area, at 2,000 feet in elevation, has gotten more than 2 feet of snow in just the past couple of weeks. He said he's curious to know how much fell in the high country. But while the outlook currently looks good, it can change at any time, he said.
”You just have to look at every year as it unfolds,” Wittler said. #
http://www.times-standard.com//ci_8182893?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
WATER REDUCTION ORDER:
Cal Am fights cutback order; State wants river pumping cut sharply
By Kevin Howe, staff writer
California American Water will challenge a draft cease-and-desist order issued by the state Water Resources Control Board that would require a drastic reduction in water pumping from the
On Monday, attorneys for the water company sent a letter to James W. Kassel, the board's assistant deputy director for water rights, saying the health of the company's approximately 38,000 metered water customers could be jeopardized if they can't get adequate water supplies.
The draft order, issued Jan. 15, would compel Cal Am to reduce its take from the
The order could put
Cal Am gets about 75 percent of the water for its Peninsula customers from 18 wells along the lower
A 1995 state order said Cal Am has the legal right to only 3,376 acre-feet of river water a year, but over the last 10 years, Cal Am's annual diversion of river water has ranged from 9,538 to 11,1178 acre-feet. That's exceeded the company's legal limit by an average of 7,150 acre-feet annually, state officials say.
The cease-and-desist order was triggered by the length of time — 13 years — that the original order has been in effect, and because state wildlife officials now consider the Carmel River watershed to be one of the state's "priority watersheds," said Liz Kanter, spokeswoman for the state water board.
Cal Am's overpumping contributes to low water levels that threaten steelhead and other wildlife in the river corridor, officials say.
Cal Am attorneys contend that the company is meeting the terms of the 1995 order, and actively pursuing water reclamation and supply projects, They also say that the cease-and-desist order's schedule conflicts with mandates of the state Public Utilities Code and actions to protect health and safety.
The company, therefore, will ask for a hearing before the water board.
The company hopes that its rate increases and the Coastal Water Project it is pursuing — construction of a $200 million regional seawater desalination plant, distribution and storage system to serve the
Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine Bowie said the company has already set rates that charge more per water unit for high water users, and its new rate proposal would steepen that price in an effort to drive more water conservation.
"We're already the lowest in the state," she said. "Residents and businesses have done an extraordinary job to save water. The golf courses have pretty much converted to recycled water. We think a 50 percent cutback before a new water supply can feasibly come on line is burdensome to our customers." #
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_8182933?nclick_check=1
WATER SUPPLY REDUCTION:
Council approves lower water supply; District that serves
By Jeremy Oberstein, staff writer
BURBANK — The City Council, by a 4-1 vote, supported a plan Tuesday to reduce Burbank’s water supply from the regional water district in the face of historic droughts and legal battles tying up water deliveries.
Low levels of snowpack in the Colorado Basin and Sierra Nevada, record drought in the Colorado River and a federal court case that has siphoned off water from the Sacramento River/San Joaquin Delta prompted the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to recommend 10% cuts in the local water supply, said Glenn Brown, Metropolitan’s district director, who addressed the council Tuesday.
“We need to find a durable solution to the water supply shortage,” he said. “The [shortage] requires short and midterm actions to get water to the various users.”
Metropolitan supplies water to its 26 member agencies in
Brown, who represents
“This plan is not set in concrete,” he said. “If we find problems, those problems can be adjusted. Support of the water allocation plan is in
But Councilman David Gordon questioned the need for the cut in water consumption given the increased level of snowpack in
A report by the United States Bureau of Reclamation found that various levels of snowpack are 40% to 150% above normal measurements, he said.
While officials are pleased with the increased snowpack and the trickle of water that it generates, it is not enough to cure the drought, Brown said
“
“The snowpack won’t do that.”
Councilman Dave Golonski chided Gordon for seeking to delay the vote based on the snowpack report.
“To bring up a weather report and say we have a good snowpack and not [implement the plan] is putting your head in the sand,” he said. “It’s just foolish.
“Our water supply will be undoubtedly restricted. We need everyone to pitch in.”
Gordon defended his call to put off the vote as a necessary step to fully perceive how the snowpack will affect future deliveries.
“This is not a weather report; this [snowpack] can alter the amount of water going through the delta project,” he said.
“It’s like money in the bank. In this case, water in the bank. I’d rather pause than rush to judgment.”
His call to delay the Feb. 12 vote parallels requests from half a dozen other member agencies around
“We’ve gotten some calls from the
“But they won’t be that hurt. It’s only a plan and can be delayed at any time. If there is not a plan, something could happen in the interim that we’re not prepared for. It’s better in the water business to have a plan.”
Councilwoman Anja Reinke stressed the plan’s practicality in her decision to side with the majority.
“Forty-five days won’t help us,” she said. “I’m not sure what’s delaying this is. This is just a plan that won’t be set in stone. You’re talking about having 45 days, but we’ll be in the same boat then. This doesn’t accomplish anything, it just delays the process.
“This is a plan they want to implement in case something happens.”
Regardless of the Metropolitan Water District board’s vote next week, a cut in the local supply might not happen immediately, said Bill Mace, Burbank Water and Power’s assistant general manager for water.
“I don’t think allocation will happen this year,” he said. “If we have to conserve to stay under caps, we can conserve 10%.”
Another point of contention was Burbank’s preferential rights to certain amounts of water, a historical summation of property tax assessments that Burbank has paid to Metropolitan capital costs and operating expenses since the city’s entry into the consortium in 1928.
But putting the plan into action will not endanger the city’s preferential rights, Brown said.
“The proposed plan doesn’t require
http://www.burbankleader.com/articles/2008/02/06/politics/blr-water06.txt
LOCAL WATER SUPPLY PLANNING:
Dry Creek to pay for early work on water;
By Cyndee Fontana, staff writer
Property owners in a water-starved area north of
After a majority of residents said yes to the work, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to form a water district and levy an assessment to support initial work related to the planning and construction of a new water supply and distribution system.
The district includes 432 parcels north of
A group of residents has worked for years to bring in a new source of water in an area marked by slow-running and dry wells. The neighborhood could solve its problem by piping in water, possibly from a
That system could cost about $10 million. Once the plans and price are finalized, residents will have a chance to vote on an assessment for construction of the system.
Tuesday, dozens of residents attended the board meeting to participate in a protest hearing, hand in votes on the preliminary assessment -- estimated at up to $2,940 per property -- and await the count.
The final tally: 214 in favor, 74 opposed.
The water issue has been controversial in the neighborhood over the years. During the protest hearing, supporters talked about dwindling wells and being forced to truck water to their property.
But opponents said they didn't need or couldn't afford the assessments. Several asked to be excluded from the district.
County officials said they tried to accommodate those requests, but couldn't remove every person who wanted out of the district.
The assessment approved Tuesday will be recorded as a property lien.
If residents later approve an assessment to build the system, the charge will be rolled into that.
If property owners reject construction, the current assessment would be collected over two years.
Peter Hammar, a member of the Dry Creek Rural Water Association, said there isn't any other solution to the problem. He also said home values suffer when water is a problem: "Who wants to buy a house with a lousy water source?" #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/376453.html
Water study gets blessing; YC City Council approves Walton plan over residents' objections
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 2/6/08
By John Dickey, staff writer
It took hours of debate over Walton-area water issues, but the Yuba City City Council finally took action on a $41,000 engineering study Tuesday.
The council voted to approve the study by TLA Engineering and Planning Inc., of
Roughly a dozen Walton-area residents showed up to ask the City Council to remove the engineering study from Tuesday's agenda until the next meeting on Feb. 19.
Some residents said that ad-hoc committee meetings had set Feb. 19 as the date when the council would discuss the engineering study, though Mayor Rory Ramirez said he had asked residents not to hold him to that date.
Sutter County Supervisor Jim Whiteaker was also at the Yuba City City Council meeting at the same time that his own board met.
Whiteaker, whose district includes the Walton area, spoke out on the matter and asked the City Council to reconsider Walton water charges from the point of view that the water system is simply another component of the city's overall water system.
After TLA finishes the work in May, the Walton Water ad-hoc committee will confer with the council regarding a possible vote for an assessment district. #
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/water_59947___article.html/council_city.html
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