Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
June 27, 2008
1. Top Items -
Water Rates Going Up: San Diegans can expect to pay more for water beginning January 1, 2009.
AM 600 KOGO
Water Authority suspends artificial turf incentives
Dan Walters: State risks its economy on global warming fight
The Sacramento
Schwarzenegger criticizes McCain's offshore drilling proposal: At a Florida conference on global warming, California's governor says drilling will not bring down oil prices, and he urges consumers to use more renewable resources.
The
Council approves water-saving law: New construction projects in the city will have to install low-flow bathroom appliances to help curb usage amid drought.
The
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Water Rates Going Up: San Diegans can expect to pay more for water beginning January 1, 2009.
AM 600 KOGO
Faced with additional costs sparked by growing water supply challenges, the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors Thursday approved an 11.9 percent increase in wholesale treated water rates and charges and a 15.0 percent increase in untreated water rates and charges. The new rates will become effective January 1, 2009.
Drought conditions in
The Water Authority's increase follows the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's 14.3 percent increase in the cost of treated water and 17.4 percent increase for untreated water to its member agencies. MWD currently supplies up to 80 percent of the water to the
"These rates and charges are necessary to continue diversifying our water supply portfolio, improve water supply reliability and complete vital infrastructure projects to meet the needs of our 3 million residents and $163 billion economy" said Fern Steiner, Water Authority Board Chair.
The Board approved an overall treated water rate increase of $82 per acre-foot (to $766 per acre-foot for 2009, up from $684 in 2008) and a $78 per acre-foot increase for untreated water (to $598 for 2009, up from $520 in 2008) based on projected water sales and fixed charges. (An acre-foot of water is enough to provide for the needs of two average families of four for a year.) The Water Authority is mitigating the rate increase by using reserves including a significant draw from its rate stabilization fund.
Rate impacts to individual retail water agencies will vary based on their water purchases in 2009. Regionwide, the Water Authority estimates that the rate increase's impact on the average household's monthly water bill will be $3.42.
The Water Authority and its 24 member agencies are implementing a number of plans and programs to increase long-term water supply reliability. For example, this year the Water Authority's water transfer with the Imperial Irrigation District and supplies from canal lining projects will provide
The Water Authority and its member agencies also are making significant investments in developing new local water supplies such as groundwater, recycled water and seawater desalination that will reduce the Water Authority's dependence on Metropolitan water supplies.
In addition, the Water Authority is executing a major capital improvement program to enhance the operational flexibility and storage capacity of the region's water supply system. Among the projects under way is the raising of the San Vicente Dam to expand local water storage capacity by more than 150,000 acre-feet. #
http://www.kogo.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=&article=3884456
Water Authority suspends artificial turf incentives
The suspension was prompted by a federal Centers for Disease Control health advisory last week that cited concerns about lead levels found in turf recently tested in
"e took it upon ourselves to discontinue those incentives while we gather more information from the turf industry," water authority spokesman Craig Balben said Thursday.
Sampling by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services found that athletic fields in
The water authority's incentive program had offered homeowners $1 per square foot to install the turf as a way to reduce water use. Eighty-three residents have taken advantage of the program since last year, said Toby Roy, the authority's water resources manager.
People with health concerns about the turf or lead exposure are advised to contact a doctor or the county Health Department at (619) 515-6694. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080626-1852-bn26turf.html
Dan Walters: State risks its economy on global warming fight
The Sacramento
By Dan Walters
Given
The decades-long stalemate on water, the state's perpetual budget crisis and the failure of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's health care plan are merely three examples of the political system's chronic inability to act decisively and effectively.
And even on those rare occasions when major new policies are adopted, they tend to fall well short of their purported benefits, a sterling example being the unanimous approval of electric energy "deregulation" in 1996 that became a colossal failure a few years later.
We should, therefore, be somewhat skeptical of
Two years ago, the Republican governor and Democratic legislators, led by former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, passed Assembly Bill 32, which authorized the state to promulgate an extensive set of new regulations aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
On Thursday, the administration unveiled a "scoping plan" that outlines how the state would cut greenhouse gases 10 percent from current levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. It will be followed by more detailed and more contentious rules.
Not coincidentally, as the draft plan was released in
He touted AB 32 as "something the world will be watching very closely" as the state allocates responsibility for reducing carbon emissions to various segments of society and the economy – with the greatest effect being on cars and other forms of personal transportation. The
Are Californians ready to become the point of the global-warming spear, shouldering the financial costs and potential inconveniences that will be involved and, in effect, exchanging the expansive
Schwarzenegger cites a poll by an outfit called Next 10, purporting to prove Californians are eager for that change, but the poll didn't fully lay out the trade-offs that going green may require for the ambitious goals for carbon reduction to be met. As with energy deregulation, there is a tendency among advocates to hype the upside without exploring the downside. And we can be certain there will be a downside.
Finally, there is the risk that even if we do everything the governor wants us to do to reduce our "carbon footprint" (one wonders whether he'll do it himself), it will have very little real world impact. If
By the time we know one way or the other, Schwarzenegger will be long gone from
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/1043672.html
Schwarzenegger criticizes McCain's offshore drilling proposal: At a Florida conference on global warming, California's governor says drilling will not bring down oil prices, and he urges consumers to use more renewable resources.
The
By Carol J. Williams, Staff Writer
The remark was also a dig at his host, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who riled environmentalists, tourism promoters and the state's political leaders on both sides of the aisle last week when he voiced support for McCain's proposal to lift bans on exploring for oil off the coasts of
McCain and Crist, whom the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is rumored to be considering as his running mate, have come in for heavy criticism for backing exploration that many Floridians and Californians fear could pollute the coastal playgrounds that are vital to their states' tourism-dependent economies.
Crist, who thrilled environmentalists Tuesday with the announcement of a major land purchase to speed restoration of the Everglades, has since modified his stance on offshore drilling to say he would support it only if guarantees were in place that no environmental harm would result.
From his podium at the conference, Schwarzenegger said, "Politicians have been throwing around all kinds of ideas in response to the skyrocketing energy prices, from the rethinking of nuclear power to pushing biofuels and more renewables and ending the ban on offshore drilling," Schwarzenegger said. "But anyone who tells you this would bring down gas prices any time soon is blowing smoke."
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear later contacted The Times and other news media to say the governor's remarks were not aimed at McCain or Crist.
The Austrian-born governor also chastised
Schwarzenegger also touted
The skyrocketing cost of
"Working together we can create a comprehensive, innovative energy policy that helps consumers, protects our planet and builds a stronger and more secure
Schwarzenegger hailed his state's landmark global warming law as a blueprint for the country to follow and urged the federal government to "get on board." He called it "shameful" that the
"I want
Washington has been "unwilling to hold automakers' or oil companies' feet to the fire" to get them to build more fuel-efficient cars and find less-polluting substances to power them, he said, noting that the average passenger vehicle in the U.S. gets less than 25 mpg.
"The Model T did better than that," Schwarzenegger said. "But since the Model T disappeared,
He said "big science, big technology and smart policies will help
Both governors appealed to those with the real power to make change -- average citizens -- to drive slower, keep engines tuned and tires properly inflated, to buy hybrids and lower overall consumption.
"We all do have the power. Let's not wait for government," Schwarzenegger concluded. "Energy prices are not going back to the good old days."
"We each have a governor that is nice and tanned. Each has a governor that can rip off his clothes and look great in a swimsuit on the beach. And each of us has a governor who can run as vice president."#
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold27-2008jun27,0,858804.story?track=rss
Council approves water-saving law: New construction projects in the city will have to install low-flow bathroom appliances to help curb usage amid drought.
The
The ordinance is mandatory for all new multifamily and commercial projects as well as substantial remodels to faucets, toilets, shower heads and urinals in order to meet the proposed California Green Building Standards Code, said Carol-Ann Coates, the city's plan check engineer.
The effort comes after the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California asked local municipalities to step up their conservation efforts because of droughtlike conditions.
The new fixtures are another way that the city can cope with the statewide water crisis, City Manager Mary Alvord said. The requirements for the new fixtures will be on a voluntary basis for single-family-home and condominium projects for a one-year period, Coates said.
Vice Mayor Gary Bric was absent from the meeting, and Councilman David Gordon recused himself because of inadequate information and notice of the meeting to the public.
Under the ordinance, bathroom faucets must produce no more than 1.8 gallons per minute, toilets no more than 1.6 gallons per flush and shower heads no more than 2 gallons per minute, according to a council staff report.
Urinals could be either waterless or have a flush rate of 0.8 gallons per flush, according to the report. Fee incentives will be provided to people who comply with the new restrictions, Coates said.
An estimated 50 projects per month could take advantage of these discounts, such as $10.50 per fixture for commercial projects and $42 per bathroom for residential projects, according to a council staff report.
The estimated loss of revenue to the city is to be less than $10,000 a year, according to the report.
Although the code will not be adopted until the end of the summer, the city wants to plan ahead by approving the water-saving measures early, Coates said.
The code reduces previous bathroom appliance standards, set by the 1992 federal Energy Policy Act, by 20%, she said.
"I think this is premature,"
In February, the council voted 4 to 1 to support a water reduction plan to cut back on supply delivered by the water district. The plan would be implemented only if conditions worsen, officials said.
The shortage is caused by low rainfall levels throughout California; a judicial case that is holding up deliveries of water from the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta; low levels of snowpack in the Colorado Basin and Sierra Nevada; and an eight-year drought in the Colorado River that recently ended.
"With water as tight as it is, we have to make sure that we are doing everything possible to conserve," Alvord said. "We have to take every ounce of creativity to solve this shortage because it won't get better; if anything, it will just get exacerbated."
Piroli argued with the staff report's suggestion that climatic conditions make the new water-saving appliances necessary.
"We have always had wet years and dry years in Southern California, and I have heard our own Burbank Water and Power leaders say that we don't have a water shortage, we have a water transport shortage," he said.
"I don't know why all of a sudden people are claiming that we have a hot climate here, because it has always been a desert."
Mayor Dave Golonski disagreed with Piroli, noting the severe water problems across the region.
"Unlike areas like
http://www.burbankleader.com/articles/2008/06/27/politics/blr-council25.txt
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