A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 3, 2008
2. Supply
AG ISSUES:
WATER RECYCLING:
Ceremony Marks Milestone in Camrosa's Recycled Water Project at
WATER CONSERVATION:
Editorial: Saving water a must - North
Editorial: Governor’s water plan a boost for conservation -
Editorial: River's time running out -
AG ISSUES:
By Darryn Bennett, staff writer
But rising water prices and tight supplies may still force some area growers out of business altogether, a key water official said Wednesday.
"It could be the knockout punch for some tree crops in
He said some district customers have been forced to cut down trees because of water-rate hikes, a 30 percent supply cut and uncertainty about the future of a discount program that allows area growers to purchase lower-cost water for agricultural use.
What's more, regional agriculture industry leaders said local growers can't raise produce prices to absorb the increased water costs because of fierce marketplace competition from out-of-state and foreign-grown crops.
"We can't set the price of our products," said Al Stehly, a
Stehly manages several avocado groves in the area. He said tree agriculture could quickly become a thing of the past in
"We've had some rain, but the problem's not over," he said Wednesday. "We're cutting trees every day, marking more to be stumped and capping sprinklers."
Robert Polito, a
He said his profit margin at Polito Family Farms on
"I'm going to hang in there as long as I can, but as some point my land will become real estate," he said.
Officials from water agencies statewide, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the San Diego County Water Authority, have said that the region faces serious water shortages because of drought and an August court ruling that limits water deliveries from
County growers, who are largely dependent on imported water, have been among the first to feel the effects.
Under the Interim Agricultural Water Program, growers pay $250 less than residential or commercial ratepayers per acre-foot of water.
In exchange, they agree to mandatory reductions in emergency situations. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, enough to sustain two households for a year.
Growers in the program, administered by Metropolitan, have been subject to a 30 percent supply cut since Jan. 1.
Now, three months later, the situation is becoming increasingly grim for growers, who make up 80 percent of customers in
He said he's worried that the program may not even continue if the region's water supply problem isn't corrected soon, because some officials with Metropolitan have said they see no rationale for selling any water to agricultural customers at a discount when no surplus exists.
"(The agriculture discount program) is under assault," Arant said.
Meanwhile, water prices continue to rise.
Metropolitan is set to raise rates by roughly 14 percent by the beginning of next year.
That will cause
"(Farmers) can only farm until they go bankrupt, and then they have to quit," Arant said.
Metropolitan officials said they also expect a cumulative 25 percent to 30 percent increase by 2011.
The agency needs to raise rates because it is paying more for electricity; to protect an endangered fish in the Sacramento Bay Delta; and to remove the Quagga mussel, a fingernail-sized mussel that invaded and is clogging
"Barren land with dead groves all over the place," Arant said. "That's what it's going to look like out here if all the agriculture goes away."
WATER RECYCLING:
Ceremony Marks Milestone in Camrosa's Recycled Water Project at
By Frank Royer, staff writer
A ceremony was held March 28th at the first tee of the
In 2006, Camrosa Water District, a leader in supplying recycled water in
Upon the completion of phase three and four within the next year, the recycled water project will save
"
Approximately 5 years ago, Bob Ellis became the chair of the water committee and began working in earnest with Camrosa. We contacted Camrosa, which offered the perfect solution: use recycled water on landscaping instead of the much more expensive and possibly scarce potable water."
During Phase One, Camrosa installed 500 feet of recycled water pipeline to
Royer went on to explain, while we have made great strides in water conservation and efficiency programs, the collective impacts of drought, climate change, increased population demands, court-ordered supply reductions and potential natural disasters mean that conservation alone will not solve California's water crisis. Its simply not enough. Water reuse must become commonplace in
About 50 people attended the ceremony including Scheaffer, Royer, Don Kendall, general manager, Calleguas Municipal Water District, Luci McGovern, deputy public works director, City of Camarillo, Ted Grandsen, president, Calleguas Municipal Water District board of directors, Al Fox, president, Camrosa Water District board of directors, Andy Sienkiewich, resource implementation section manager, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Robert McQuivey, president, Leisure Village board of directors and the Leisure Village water reclamation committee.
"I've always thought it silly that we import water from Northern California, process it until it qualifies as drinking water only to use it to water lawns," says McQuivey. "It feels good to see the project come to fruition because of its environmental and conservation benefits."
Camrosa Water District, formed in 1962, is among the largest water districts in
Camrosa is committed to conserving local water resources and providing reliability through continued expansion of recycled water services to their customers for outdoor irrigation. Their Water Reclamation Facility and the Conejo Creek Diversion serve much of the nearby agricultural and landscape irrigation demand in the district. For more information on Camrosas diverse water resources, go to camrosa.com. #
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/02/ceremony-marks-milestone-in-camrosas-recycled-at/
WATER CONSERVATION:
Editorial: Saving water a must
Area residents are not the only ones sitting by a coastline pondering their water future; the world is, too.
While local water officials OK'd a $1.6 million advertising program last week to encourage conservation, the United Nations released a report on the increasing stresses facing the global water supply. The topic is also on the agenda for this week's meetings of NATO leaders.
The County Water Authority's idea to blanket the area with ads (in print, online, on air and outdoors) is a good way to get consumers to cut use by 20 percent through fall.
We wince at the campaign's price, however, and note that rising water rates is a way to achieve the same goal ---- and those rates are bound to rise.
But advertising does work and pays for itself, so we're not about to disparage its value. In addition, one of the authority's board members has a good point about the ad campaign in that the agency is "not selling water, it's selling conservation."
Water is the lifeblood of our civilization. It nourishes us directly and indirectly; we use it as a method to clean and in various ways to process or generate power.
Yet nearly half (2.5 billion) of the world's population has no access to clean water, the U.N. reports.
Moreover, the world's urban centers are growing, and their water systems are aging and leaking. Agricultural and industrial demand for water is increasing, in part to feed the world and in part because of the push for "cleaner" energy, as it takes more water to process biofuels than it does fossil fuels.
By comparison, our region exists as an oasis along an otherwise arid shoreline, thanks to being able to import more than 90 percent of its water. County residents are lucky they have a variety of ways to conserve water.
The reality is our water rates will rise, as global demand is greater than the supply of clean water.
Likewise, the need for Southern Californians to conserve water is real: It is a necessity because of more than just a
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/04/03/opinion/editorials/941a63864632062b8825741a00804475.txt
Editorial: Governor’s water plan a boost for conservation
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger surprised many in 2006 by signing a bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions.
Now he seems interested in pursuing a similar cap on practices that waste water.
Schwarzenegger told legislators last month that, as part of a comprehensive water package, he wants a 20 percent reduction in per-person water use in urban areas by 2020. His Department of Water Resources is now formulating strategies to meet that target, and lawmakers could soon be debating bills to further the state's conservation efforts.
This renewed focus on conservation is encouraging on at least two fronts. By finding common ground on ways to improve water efficiency, state leaders could lay the groundwork for progress in other areas, such as improving water quality and conveyance in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Conservation also makes financial sense. For many areas of
Consider these numbers: Each year, cities and suburbs use about 8.7 million acre-feet of water, or about 2.8 trillion gallons. Compared with agriculture, cities and counties consume just a fraction of the state's overall supply. But because urban areas are growing quickly and generally don't have seniority in water rights, many of them pay a steep price for their water. Thus they have a built-in incentive to make the most of every drop.
Over the last two decades, certain urban areas – particularly those outside of the
Yet more could be done. According to Chapter 22 of the current California Water Plan Update, an extra 3 million acre-feet of water – one-third of the current urban usage – could be saved yearly with existing technologies. These include installing more efficient sprinklers and landscaping at city parks and highway medians; expanding metering of water and replacing an estimated 10 million antiquated toilets that were installed in homes and offices prior to 1992.
In this session, lawmakers have introduced varied legislation – including Assembly Bills 2175, 2882, 2153 and 2219 – to tighten conservation. All are works in progress and vary in approach. AB 2175, for instance, would require water agencies to achieve a firm per-person target in reducing water consumption, but would give credit to those that have already invested in conservation. AB 2153 would require new developments to reduce their water consumption "footprint" by helping disadvantaged communities and farmers pay for improved efficiency.
While conservation isn't a panacea for all of the state's water challenges, it still retains untapped potential, as well as unseen environmental benefits. The less water that is pumped out of rivers and over mountains, the less energy the state must purchase from power plants, including those that burn dirty coal.
Water conservation goes hand in hand with
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/832558.html
Editorial: River's time running out
Water seemed to dominate Tuesday as representatives of various agencies and groups told state water officials that severely reducing the draw from the
But those paying close attention may actually have heard some encouraging signs of agreement on a set of key points:
· The status quo isn't acceptable.
· We cannot continue overpumping the river.
· Current conservation levels alone will not get us through the next few decades.
· Something needs to be done or, more accurately, several things.
· They need to be done sooner rather than later.
The occasion was the first hearing on the State Water Resource Control Board's plan to force California American Water to stop the illegal overpumping from the
Unless various supply measures languishing on various drafting tables are dramatically accelerated, the
Evidentiary hearings are scheduled for June in
The state agency is, indeed, empowered to do such a thing and seems likely to act unless Cal Am somehow manages to stop the process in court. The agency has, in the past, issued similar orders reducing the take from endangered Mono Lake and, just last year, ordered a significant reduction in the municipal use of water from the Russian River in Northern California.
For the most part, business and government interests told state representatives Tuesday that the
Significantly, though, they weren't really arguing against the order itself, recognizing that the measure would enforce a river-protection order issued a full 13 years ago. Their message to the state, for the most part, was you're right, we need to get this done. Just give us a little breathing room.
The environmentalists, for the most part, argued against patience but not against getting something done. They argued that the river needs all the protection the state can give it. They argued that while local water users have demonstrated great ability to conserve, they need to be pushed into larger and more systematic measures such as rain-water collection.
But what's important here, despite the various points of disagreement, almost all in the long lineup of speakers agreed that it is past time for action.
If the Peninsula is to survive the next drought and the river is to survive the century, if our businesses are to stay in business, if reasonably comfortable lifestyles are to be enjoyed here, the agencies and groups that have been regulars on "Peninsula Water Wars" will need to find additional points of agreement and then pursue them with a clear sense of urgency — regardless of whether the state agrees to some delay. The usual suspects need to follow each available path — desal, wastewater treatment, conservation, and other measures large and small — and stop trying to get in the way of those on the other paths. It's time to move along. It's time to break the deadlock. #
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