A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 21, 2008
2. Supply
DESALINATION:
Pilot desal plant up and pumping in Santa Cruz - Santa Cruz Sentinel
Desalination gets a serious look; It isn’t cheap and it requires lots of energy, but fresh water from the ocean might be part of Southern Nevada’s future as other sources dry up - Las Vegas Sun
New Central Valley Project water allocations remain steady - Central Valley Business Times
WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT:
Palmdale Water District gives OK to pilot program aimed at conserving vital fluid - Antelope Valley Press
WATER SUPPLY INCREASE:
Solution sought for water supply issues - Antelope Valley Press
DESALINATION:
Pilot desal plant up and pumping in Santa Cruz
By Shanna McCord, staff writer
The $4 million pilot plant, to run for at least a year at the
"The major goal of this project for
The desalination project is a team effort by the city Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District, the two water agencies that provide the bulk of drinking water to homes and businesses from
Soquel Creek is plagued with overused wells threatened by saltwater intrusion, while Santa Cruz, which relies on surface water, is caught in a bind during the dry periods that have occurred every six or seven years.
Customers are already diligent about limiting their water use on a daily basis, making it difficult for the agencies to save more water through further conservation, officials said.
Both agencies believe turning ocean water into drinking water through energy-intensive reverse osmosis will solve their shortage problems.
"We use more out of the ground than the amount of rainfall each year," Bruce Daniels of the Soquel Creek Water District said. "The imperative is clear. If we don't do this, we'll have a disaster."
However, a series of extensive tests are required by the state Health Department before a permanent desalination plant can be considered.
Every desalination plant in the state is required to perform tests because of the unique characteristics of the ocean in each area.
A $2 million grant from the state Department of Water Resources helped pay for the pilot plant. The other half was shared between the two water agencies.
Paul Meyerhofer of the
Meyerhofer explained the various filters and membranes used to desalinate the water, describing how seashells and other floating debris will be taken out.
"We're trying to determine if desalination is a feasible technology for
The proposed permanent desalination facility, with a price tag of at least $40 million, would have the capacity to produce 2.5 million gallons a day. The Soquel district would use about 1 million a day.
While use of the desalination plant would be restricted to only drought times in
With normal rainfall and incremental growth in the next seven years,
Expanding the desalination plant to accommodate future growth and demand would be a possibility, though not something anyone is talking about today.
"I don't want to link this desalination plant with growth," Kocher said. "But there's going to be a day we could say to people, 'No new connections'." #
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_8648018
Desalination gets a serious look; It isn’t cheap and it requires lots of energy, but fresh water from the ocean might be part of Southern Nevada ’s future as other sources dry up
Las Vegas
By Phoebe Sweet, staff writer
As the West dries up, water managers, politicians and environmental groups alike are searching for an option — any option — to create water.
Recently, desalination has been the popular answer. Even the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which has said the technology is no silver bullet, is considering desalting despite its many challenges.
Last month, Gov. Jim Gibbons made waves when he said he would rather see
Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy has not talked with the governor since he made those comments in Fallon on Feb. 21, but last week she said Gibbons just doesn’t understand how complex it would be to build a desalting plant on the coast of California or Mexico and trade the water it produces for more water from the Colorado River.
“I know that the governor is a rancher himself, and he would probably love to have an alternative for the in-state (pipeline) project,” Mulroy said. “I would love to have an alternative to the in-state project.”
Desalination is sure to be part of the valley’s future water supply, she said, but there are environmental and political challenges to using the technology, which is expensive and uses lots of electricity.
And in the end, Mulroy said, a desalting plant would be useless if drought continues to diminish the
If the lake continues to shrink and shortage guidelines enacted by the seven Colorado River Compact states kick in,
“When shortages get declared those become impossible to take,” Mulroy said. “All those opportunities either disappear completely or become severely limited in times of shortage. The only thing we can rely on in times of shortage are things that begin in
That’s one reason Mulroy says developing a pipeline or some other native
“Additional resources we’re trying to develop to protect against a drought would also disappear if we take them as
Another major consideration is the state’s relationship with the six other states, Mulroy said. Because those states were told
“If
Despite the need to develop water resources that don’t rely on the overstretched Colorado River, the Water Authority is seriously considering desalination in general and an existing desalting plant in
Desalination is part of a 2006-07 study of options to augment
The study was the first time the authority formally studied desalting, although a spokesman said the option has been discussed informally since 2000.
For now, the authority’s official position on desalting remains that the technology “is not promising as a near- or middle-term option in the face of the drought on the Colorado River ... because it does not reduce our 90 percent reliance on the
Mulroy said desalting ocean water could play a role in plans to pump from the eastern
That would “give us the freedom not to pump in areas of the ground water project if we’re looking to let an area rest for a while,” she said.
The authority in December also began considering use of a plant in
Although it is too early to determine whether water would be available for
The authority is analyzing the engineering, cost, and environmental and legal barriers to the plan.
The plant could produce 100 million gallons a day, enough water, on average, for about 224,200 single-family households. The plant uses 20 megawatts of electricity when operating at full capacity. It was tested successfully, although not at full power, from March 1 to May 31 last year.
The cost of the plant was equivalent to $250 million today, according to Jim Cherry,
During the wetter years when it was being built, the plant was criticized as a waste of money. As the level of water in
Cherry said the
Advocates agree with Gibbons that it’s time
“The governor is pursuing 21st-century technology as opposed to the 19th-century pipeline technique,” said Mark Bird, a professor at the
Mulroy said a Mexican plant is more feasible than one in
Late last year the Coastal Commission approved the $300 million Poseidon Resources desalination plant planned for
Mulroy said it would be even harder to get a plant approved in
And no matter the location, cost will be an obstacle.
Desalting is expensive and energy-intensive, according to Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, an environmental research group based in
“Conservation and efficiency are cheaper at the moment,” Gleick said. To build a desalination plant and use the water locally costs about $1,000 per acre-foot, he said, or $3.06 for 1,000 gallons.
Take, for example, the desalting plant recently built in
But the
“This is a country that put a man on the moon, a country with enormous intelligence and financial resources,” said Launce Rake, a pipeline opponent and spokesman for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. “We can do this if we have the political will.” #
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/mar/21/desalination-gets-serious-look/
New
It’s the same amount as announced in February.
Farmers south of the Delta made some cropping decisions based on the February numbers, and are pleased it hasn't changed.
“I doubt that cropping patterns will change because of this announcement,” says Sarah Woolf, a spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District in
She says the 45 percent allocation will help almond growers in the Valley.
“They will be able to ensure that those almonds, which are the primary ones that need the surface supply, are able to get an adequate surface supply,” Ms. Woolf says.
Allocations to farmers on the east side of the
The announcement also cautions that allocations could change based on court decisions protecting endangered fish.
The water supply available for the CVP Eastside Division contractors (Stanislaus River) for the 90 percent and 50 percent exceedence forecasts is projected to be 35,000 acre-feet (23 percent) and 50,000 acre-feet (32 percent), respectively.
Friant Division deliveries are projected to be 870,000 acre-feet or 70 percent of 1.25 million acre-feet, which is the “Recent 5-Year Average Allocation.”
The allocation for Friant Division contractors will be 100 percent Class 1 water and 5 percent Class 2 water.
The projected Friant Division delivery of 870,000 acre-feet is based on the California Department of Water Resources’ 90-percent probability of exceedence forecast made on Feb. 26.
As of March 18, precipitation in the
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=8191
WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT:
Palmdale Water District gives OK to pilot program aimed at conserving vital fluid
By Alisha Semchuck, staff writer
PALMDALE - It's a go for a pilot program that will test water conservation measures in 2,500 homes served by the Palmdale Water District.
TurfTech Industries of Manhattan Beach has been awarded a $62,000 contract for a software program that enables water district customers to adjust their existing irrigation systems each month to avoid over-watering their lawns. The software calculates the amount of water being used and the amount actually needed to sustain a healthy lawn based on current climate and type of vegetation, plus historical weather records, officials said.
"It's a tool for our customers to manage their irrigation program," said Claudette Roberts, Palmdale Water District water conservation manage. "We'll target our customers, probably (through) direct mail at first. PWD has to do some work, schedule audits and (create) a database" of customers."
The district will select customers that are big water users - those using 50 units or more a month - to participate in the test program. Roberts said each unit equals 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons of water, meaning a customer who uses 50 units is consuming 37,400 gallons a month. Customers selected to participate in the pilot program will be advised to adjust the controllers for their irrigation systems based on information determined by the water audit conducted by TurfTech. The customers will be charged a basic fee of $25 a month, and more for larger irrigation systems, after the first six months.
In addition to saving water, she said the pilot program should stop runoff onto sidewalks and streets, thereby preventing groundwater pollution. She estimated customers would see at least a 20% reduction in water use with the TurfTech program. Aside from paying $62,000 for the TurfTech contract, the district will spend another $20,000 for marketing the program and to provide training sessions for participating customers and their gardeners, Roberts said.
At the March 12 meeting, at which the contract was approved unanimously, board member Raul Figueroa asked if the district sought any other bids for a similar test program.
"No," Roberts said. "This is the only company that does this."
"So, it's a monopoly," Figueroa asked.
"Yes," Roberts said.
Brian Barklage, president of TurfTech, told the board he would waive the monthly fee of $25 per home for up to eight irrigation stations, and $5 for each station beyond eight, for the first six months of the project. That expense normally would be charged to the customers. Barklage said he's "taking a financial loss" to do this pilot program. But, he added, "it promotes you guys as being forward-thinking."
"I was hoping to see some information of your track record in this packet, but I didn't see that," said Figueroa, referring to the agenda details that directors receive prior to their board meetings.
When Barklage pitched the pilot program to the board in mid-February, they postponed their vote and asked him to return in March with more details. Barklage told Figueroa that the city of
Barklage said he noticed someone was stealing city water in Rolling Hills Estates.
"I put soap in the irrigation lines, hoping to find a 'Winter Wonderland' on someone's lawn," Barklage said. "That night, there was no outside water use." He speculated the culprit "must have been taking showers."
Barklage said the idea behind the pilot program is to develop "something we can market throughout the country."
"I'm excited for you, a new venture," said board President Dick Wells.
"The happier you are," Barklage said, "the sooner I can retire." #
http://www.avpress.com/n/20/0320_s11.hts
WATER SUPPLY INCREASE:
Solution sought for water supply issues
By Alisha Semchuck, staff writer
PALMDALE - Like other water purveyors in the
Customer demand in 2007 reached 64,800 acre-feet - 21.1 billion gallons - of which 61% came from the California Aqueduct, 31% was pumped from wells and the remaining 8% was made up from conservation efforts, said Adam Ariki, division chief for Los Angeles County Waterworks Districts.
Despite a dry year in 2007, Waterworks District 40 met customer needs, but Ariki said the future looks more troublesome unless water suppliers find a solution.
By 2030, projected customer demand in Waterworks District 40 is 135,600 acre-feet, Ariki said in a recent presentation to board members of the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency.
He calculated 60,360 acre-feet of imported water, or 44%, would come from AVEK; 20,000 acre-feet, or 14%, from groundwater; 13,500 acre-feet, or 10%, from use of recycled water; and 13,600 acre-feet, or 10%, dependent on customer conservation efforts.
That still leaves the district short by 28,140 acre-feet in little more than two decades, according to Ariki's calculations.
"What are we going to do about the missing piece of the pie?" he asked, pointing to a blank space on a pie graph.
"I was really thrilled when Russ said AVEK did 600,000 acre-feet of in-lieu recharge," Ariki said, referring to a comment from the agency's general manager, Russ Fuller, on the current condition of the groundwater table.
"If we have that much water, we solved the problems," he said with a chuckle.
"Can we claim that water as a retail agency? What claim do we have to that water?
"Technically, if it was done right, there should be agreement with farmers," Ariki said.
"I've been long enough with the county through dry periods," he said.
"I'm just saying, there is no mechanism in place for us to claim that water."
Tom Barnes, water resources manager for the water agency, said the 600,000 acre-feet Ariki mentioned was the amount of groundwater that AVEK saved between 1976 and 2007 by encouraging farmers to use surface water from the State Water Project rather than water pumped from the ground.
In those years, AVEK delivered 1.6 million acre-feet of surface water to agricultural, municipal and industrial users across the Valley, Barnes said.
By persuading the farmers to stop taking groundwater, that raised the water table on the west side about 600,000 acre-feet in three decades, he said.
Ariki said the water-saving effort by AVEK is great but still leaves Waterworks District 40 on shaky ground.
Because of the uncertainty of water sources, and recent shortages in supplies, Waterworks District 40 stopped issuing will-serve letters to developers seeking approval for new subdivision projects into the Valley within boundaries the county agency services.
Developers whose construction projects had been given the green light in the past can still obtain water from the county.
Ariki said he recently presented his plight to the
"I don't want to be the bad guy anymore. I'm tired of it," he said. "This problem (involves) all of us.
"Everybody in the
Faced with a deficit between supply and demand, Waterworks District 40 cannot resume approving will-serve letters until it finds more water, Ariki said.
"This year, we're already in the red," he said, adding that the district has attempted to find a water bank but cannot proceed with any agreements without AVEK's participation.
"We have no control of the State Water Project," the 444-mile aqueduct that transports surface water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to
Because AVEK is one of the 27 agencies that holds a contractual agreement with the state Department of Water Resources, Waterworks District 40 needs AVEK's assistance to acquire more water, he said.
Ariki said if he issues a will-serve letter and there is no water, he can't revoke that will-serve letter, and he can't supply water that doesn't exist.
"If development continued, as in the past," he said, "this is the situation we would be in." #
http://www.avpress.com/n/19/0319_s15.hts
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