Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
June 3, 2008
1. Top Items -
Feds reduce water to Valley farms
Westlands Water District growers in crisis, to decide which crops to abandon.
The
'Drought buster' plan up for a vote
DWP is to weigh in on L.A. mayor's proposal to crack down on water wasters, including raising fines.
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Feds reduce water to Valley farms
Westlands Water District growers in crisis, to decide which crops to abandon.
The
By Dennis Pollock, staff writer
LOS BANOS -- Federal officials told hundreds of farmers in the Westlands Water District on Monday that they will get even less irrigation water -- just days after the district announced a rationing plan.
Farmers in the nation's largest federal water district will be hit hard -- many said they expect to abandon crops or even go out of business for lack of water.
Two members of Congress and district officials urged Gov. Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency.
"Half the people in this room are going to go broke," Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manger, said at a meeting that drew about 400 to the fairgrounds in Los Banos. "This is a crisis that has to be fixed now."
The crisis was blamed on a court ruling and a dry spring.
The ruling -- capping a series of decisions that farmers opposed -- came in April. U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger in
The dry spring became apparent when rainfall in March, April and May fell far below average, said Ron Milligan, operations manager for the Central Valley Project, run by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Rainfall was 3.5 inches over the three months, the lowest since 1924, he said.
In anticipation of the water crisis, Westlands on Friday established a rationing plan that cut irrigation supplies by about one-third for June, July and August -- the hottest summer months.
On Monday, confirming a move that district officials had forecast Friday, officials with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that water allocations from the delta are being cut to 40% from 45%.
Westlands, which covers 600,000 acres, accounts for $1 billion in farm production, 20% of the total for the No. 1 farm county in the nation,
"Something has been unleashed that we can't get our arms around," said Mike Houlding, a Cantua Creek grower. He said the sharp reduction in water supplies comes on top of skyrocketing fertilizer and fuel costs.
As early as this week, some farmers in Westlands could begin making decisions on which crops to abandon, said Sarah Woolf, a Westlands spokeswoman. She said she will begin surveying growers this week to see how their water needs match what is available.
Several speakers -- starting with Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, who convened the briefing -- characterized the crisis as "the perfect storm," a convergence of extremely dry weather and court-ordered cutbacks.
"Maybe this is the crisis that is necessary to get decisions that are needed in
Fresno County Supervisor Phil Larson said the crisis is certain to go beyond farms. He said it will affect small businesses that rely on farming. "There are many jobs at stake," he said.
Milligan said the Bureau of Reclamation will ask the State Water Quality Control Board to adjust standards to allow more ground water to be pumped into the delta.
The Metropolitan Water District, which serves Southern California, also has found its supplies strained by a drought that cut back supplies from the
"Their day of reckoning is coming, too," said John Davis, the bureau's deputy regional director.
Milligan said he asked all districts that draw from the delta -- including the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority, which includes Westlands and 30 other districts -- to provide revised schedules for the amount of water they need.
Although farmers and water district leaders pressed for specifics on how much water the bureau would be able to deliver, none of the officials could give a specific number. Woolf, the spokeswoman for the district, said not knowing will make it hard to make decisions on what crops to keep.
Mark Borba, a Riverdale grower, said Schwarzenegger "needs to be more forceful. He needs to be The Terminator. He has to quit making it like Jello."
California Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura defended the governor's championing of more water storage and repairs to the water delivery system in the state, but he stopped short of pledging that the governor would declare a state of emergency. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/641560.html
'Drought buster' plan up for a vote
DWP is to weigh in on L.A. mayor's proposal to crack down on water wasters, including raising fines.
By David Zahniser,staff writer
With hot-weather months drawing near, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is scheduled to move ahead today with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's crackdown on excessive water use, boosting fines for those who violate city water laws and imposing new restrictions on anyone with a garden hose.
The proposed "drought busters" law, which comes up for a vote by the five-member DWP commission, would double water-usage fines for residential customers and quadruple them for businesses and apartment building owners.
H. David Nahai, the DWP's general manager, said he wants the Los Angeles City Council to ratify the plan within weeks.
"We're hoping they will deal with this on a much more expedited basis," Nahai said. "We want this for this summer."
Although the DWP already has rules limiting excessive water use, the agency has not issued any tickets since the drought of the early 1990s.
With roughly a dozen inspectors assigned to impose the fines, utility officials hope to impose new restrictions and enforce those that already exist, such as a ban on the use of hoses to wash down sidewalks and driveways.
"You cannot use water in any fashion to hose down a driveway for mere convenience or to remove dust or dirt," said DWP spokesman Joe Ramallo. "You have to sweep it now."
Under the new water conservation plan, the DWP commission would rework the city's rules on lawn watering, banning irrigation between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and limiting most automated sprinklers to no more than 15 minutes per day.
The proposal would prohibit residents from washing cars with a hose unless they have a nozzle or other "shut-off device." It would also bar residents from watering their lawns when it rains.
If water consumption does not decrease, the utility could move to Phase II of the plan, banning irrigation altogether four days a week.
The proposed new rules were greeted with scorn by one homeowner activist, who said the cutbacks are being pursued to give
"Instead of shifting those costs to the new development, what they're proposing to do is distribute the cost evenly to all the ratepayers. That's patently unfair and wrongheaded," said Gerald A. Silver, president of the Homeowners of Encino, who said he plans to continue instructing his gardener to hose off his driveway and sidewalk.
Inspectors will issue warnings until the council votes on the new fines, Ramallo said.
Under the proposal, a first offense would be greeted with a warning. Fines for residential customers would jump to $100 on the second offense and $200 on the third. Commercial customers would pay $200 on the second offense and $400 on the third.
Homeowners would still be allowed to water their lawns all day if they use drip irrigation systems, according to the plan. And utility customers would still be allowed to hose down their sidewalks if there was urine or other dangerous substances on the concrete, if otherwise permitted by law.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water3-2008jun03,0,1204848.story
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