A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 6, 2008
2. Supply –
Editorial
Water warning
Riverside Press Enterprise- 6/5/08
Editorial:
Time for state to get serious about water conservation
San Jose
Schwarzenegger’s Drought Proclamation Offers a Challenge and an Opportunity
Official urges building be halted for drought
San Bernardino
Expect higher food costs with drought
The
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Editorial
Water warning
Riverside Press Enterprise- 6/5/08
Finding a solution for the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta should top the Legislature's water agenda this year, for delay risks disastrous consequences.
Gov. Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought on Wednesday, after two years of below-average precipitation and court-ordered cutbacks in state water deliveries. The governor offered a series of steps to address water needs, including expedited transfers of water to areas with the worst shortages, state help for local conservation efforts and drought relief for farmers.
Two drier-than-normal years have curbed the amount of water available to
But the bigger threat is the nearing environmental collapse of the delta, which supplies water to two-thirds of the state's population and irrigates millions of acres of agriculture. Court-ordered cutbacks in water exports from the delta to protect an endangered fish have worsened the water crisis. The cutbacks have already led cities such as
The estuary's decline will seriously hamper water supplies, as both state and federal water projects use the delta for storage and as a conduit for delivery. Those practices are unsustainable and have to change.
Money for a delta fix, however, has been stymied by a partisan standoff over new dams. The governor and Republicans want to include $3.5 billion for new dams and reservoirs in a water bond, while Democrats and environmentalists favor underground storage and conservation instead.
But both sides need to realize that the delta needs immediate attention and should take first priority. New reservoirs will accomplish little if the state has no way to get that water where it needs to go. The traditional method of sending the water through the delta is no longer a feasible option, absent big modifications.
The emergency in
Editorial:
Time for state to get serious about water conservation
San Jose
We're in a drought. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made it official Wednesday with
We already knew, really. But this could help drive home the urgency of conservation. If calls for voluntary cuts don't work - and they tend not to - then water agencies need to offer more incentives or levy penalties to change behavior.
It's the second straight year of below-normal precipitation, and this spring was the driest on record for the
Besides the governor, the Legislature is stepping up. A bill that passed the Assembly last week would require a 20 percent cut in urban water use and sharp cuts in agricultural use by 2021 - the state's first compulsory conservation targets. AB 2175 by Assemblymen John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, and Mike Feuer, D-West Hollywood, sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council, should become law.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District last June called for 10 percent voluntary cuts in water use, but savings have been just 3 to 5 percent. This despite a wide range of incentives, such as rebates for water-saving appliances and landscaping, and a standing offer of free household water audits. The district will step up publicity, but that may not be enough.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District has started rationing; others may need to follow. Households that fail to reduce usage 10 percent will face surcharges, and there's an incentive for aggressive reductions. Wasteful practices such as hosing off sidewalks are banned.
While debates rage over proposed canals and dams, conservation is the undisputed way to stretch water supplies. Let's get serious about it.#
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9499204?nclick_check=1
Schwarzenegger’s Drought Proclamation Offers a Challenge and an Opportunity
By Traci Sheehan, Executive Director Planning and Conservation League
Governor Schwarzenegger's drought proclamation offers up a challenge - and an opportunity - for all Californians to conserve water and to work together to find new solutions to solve our water problems.
Unfortunately the Governor's executive order relies heavily on outdated strategies that have created the very problems we now seek to solve. We encourage the Governor to embrace measures that will allow
More and more residents and businesses are facing severe water rationing in
Measures such as Assembly Member Krekorian's Water Efficiency Security Act, co-sponsored by the Planning and Conservation League, would help prevent rationing by ensuring growing
Ensuring that new growth in
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/06/schwarzeneggers_23.html
Official urges building be halted for drought
San Bernardino
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
The impending water shortage facing
R.M. "Cook" Barela, president of the Jurupa Community Services District board in Mira Loma, has suggested a halt on development in the
"We ought to put all development on halt until we have a plan," he said.
The board will discuss the issue on Tuesday at its water committee meeting, said Eldon Horst, general manger of the district, which provides water, sewer and street-light service in 48 square miles of unincorporated west Riverside County.
Barela's proposal comes on the heels of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement Wednesday declaring that the state is in a drought and asking water districts and agencies to promote water conservation.
The state's situation is the result of a number of factors, including a low-rainfall spring and below-average rainfall for two years.
Adding those factors to a decision in federal court drastically cutting the amount of
Barela said he favors putting a hold on issuing letters of water availability - certificates saying a development will receive sufficient water supplies - for two years.
Barela said the moratorium would probably not have an immediate impact because development is mostly at a standstill due to the economy.
Not everyone is willing to halt development right now.
"I really don't think we need to be at the moratorium point of decision. If people are responsive to the governor's call, if people conserve, we won't need to be at that point," said Celeste Cantu, general manager of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, which oversees the
Other avenues can be taken other than stopping development altogether, said Richard Atwater, general manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.
"We need new development, new jobs,"
His agency provides imported drinking water and recycled water as well as collects, treats and reuses wastewater for communities in
At the state level, there are several efforts going on that would conserve water. Among those proposed is AB 2175, which aims to reduce water use in the state by 20percent by 2020.
One of the issues with this bill is that there is no benchmark year from which the reduction would be calculated,
"We're reaching our limit of surplus water,"
The use of recycled water is not new for the Inland Empire Utilities Agency - new projects must incorporate recycled water.
"We need to look at smart irrigation, and we need to get all the new developments water-efficient,"
The Preserve in
Cantu said one of the problems is that many people over-water their lawns. If people cut that in half, it would result in a savings of 30 percent of all the water used in the state, she said.
Horst said that board members are given data that projects water supply for the next five years.
"The agencies that I have known to do a moratorium don't know where their water is coming from in the foreseeable future," Horst said. "That's not the case in Jurupa."#
http://www.sbsun.com/sanbernardino/ci_9495722
Expect higher food costs with drought
The
By Dennis Pollock and Mark Grossi
The drought -- marked Wednesday with an official declaration by Gov. Schwarzenegger -- is expected to deliver a tremendous blow to the
Shock waves also could spread throughout the local economy, experts say.
Food prices will climb. More farmland will be fallowed. Farm jobs will be trimmed.
Many growers on the Valley's west side will be shopping for extra water. Many will be pumping water from the ground and lowering the underground water table.
In the region's cities, residents will hear more pleas for conservation, but there probably will be no water rationing, say many water officials.
Here are answers to some questions about the drought's effect:
Farms
Question: Could this trigger higher costs for food?
Answer: Yes.
Farmers already face higher costs for fertilizer and fuel, and now some of them -- dairy operators, for example -- will see higher costs for feeds such as alfalfa, said Dan Sumner, an agricultural economics professor at University of California at Davis. Those increased costs likely will mean higher prices at the grocery store, he said.
He didn't offer an estimate of how much the increase might be.
And the effects could be felt across the nation and even the world -- especially in wine and almonds, because of
Will jobs be lost?
Many farmers in the Westlands Water District believe water shortages will force them to abandon crops already planted.
"Any time crops are taken out of production, that means fewer jobs," said Dan Errotabere, who farms on
Mark Borba, a Riverdale farmer, said workers who make $8 or $9 an hour are already distressed because of skyrocketing gas prices.
Do farmers have alternative water sources?
They can pump well water onto some crops, but that can take longer and it lowers the aquifer.
And well water from the Westlands district is not a solution for crops such as vegetables and almonds because it's high in boron, which can be damaging to crops, said Sarah Woolf, a spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District.
Farmers also may be able to purchase water through exchange systems with farmers in other districts. But that can be costly and -- because the drought is a statewide phenomenon -- sellers of water may be scarce.
The governor's declaration is aimed at speeding water exchanges in response to emergency shortages. It also directs the Department of Water Resources to work with local water districts and agencies to improve coordination, help those water districts and agencies improve efficiency and conservation, identify risks to the water supply and help farmers suffering losses.
Will farmers choose to plant other crops?
Most farmers settled on the season's crop mix earlier this year. However, those who planned to plant lettuce for a fall harvest are expected to cut back acreage.
Many growers -- anticipating a water shortage -- already switched from crops that take a lot of water, such as cotton, to those that take less, such as safflower.
The lack of water is one reason that cotton, once a crop that topped a million acres in
Will farmers install water-saving irrigation?
Many already have taken that step, installing miles of drip irrigation in recent years in the Westlands district alone.
It's likely that the trend toward putting water exactly where it's needed -- and only there -- will continue.
Are farmers on the east side of the central
The growers on the east side are not as affected, because they generally do not rely on water that goes through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is facing restrictions to protect threatened fish.
On the east side, many farmers get their water from regional rivers, including the Chowchilla, Kaweah, Kern, San Joaquin,
Cities
Will cities in the
No. Most Valley cities pump water from underground to supply their residents. It is not likely city wells will run dry in places such as
Some cities, such as Orange Cove, get water from the federal Central Valley Project, which delivers river water. State health and safety codes prevent large cutbacks in these deliveries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Can I still water my lawn?
Yes. But many cities have landscape watering restrictions.
People living at even-numbered addresses can water on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Residents with odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No one is allowed to water on Mondays.
Water inspectors sometimes cruise the city and write citations for violations of the restrictions.
How dry was it this spring in the Valley?
For March, April and May, three cities had their lowest rainfall total on record. They are
Will it really help if I cut back my water use?
Yes. Officials from Valley cities say a reduction in water use will save money on the electricity bill for pumping water. It also saves money on water treatment.
Conservation also helps keep the underground water table from sinking. If there is another dry year, a slumping underground water table will drive electricity costs higher because the water must be pumped from lower depths. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/647457-p2.html
No comments:
Post a Comment