A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 20, 2008
2. Supply –
Schwarzenegger, Buffett and California
Sacramento
Falling levels on Folsom Lake mean boaters must leave marina
The Sacramento
Lack of meters make water wasters no surprise in Folsom
The Sacramento
Splash in a drought?
The Sun- 6/19/08
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Schwarzenegger, Buffett and California
Sacramento
By Dan Bacher
A silent storm sweeping across Northern California has figuratively turned gravity on its head lately as an unlikely coalition of commercial fishermen, American Indian tribes, environmentalists and farmers battle billionaire Warren Buffett in an effort to tear down four dams on the
The governor has attempted to revive the long-stalled plans to build the new dams and the canal ever since he was elected, but like the declining number of salmon returning up the
That hasn’t pleased two groups of Schwarzenegger’s primary financial backers, agribusiness and real-estate developers. And two dry winters in succession provided the governor the opportunity to raise the issue once again at a June 4 press conference, at which he proclaimed a statewide drought and ordered “immediate action to address the situation.”
That is, build new dams and a canal, by any means necessary, including ballot initiative.
Meanwhile, on the California-Oregon border, in the wake of a dramatic, nationally reported fish kill in 2002, the unlikely coalition of fishermen, American Indians and environmentalists has successfully made its case to tear down four dams on the
The only person standing in the way?
Just the world’s richest man, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who holds a controlling interest in the dams.
At the center of the squall is the chinook salmon. For thousands of years, the anadromous fish has helped sustain the indigenous people on the
It’s a cliché to call the salmon the canary in the coal mine, but that’s what it is. The Klamath and
But critics of the system say we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul. The salmon, they say, are trying to tell us how much is enough.
The Governator strikes again
The novelty of the action hero-turned-governor may have worn off, but at the press conference June 4, the media’s love for the always quotable Schwarzenegger was evidenced by the crowded room full of television, radio and print journalists from across the state and the nation gathered before the oracle of yet another slickly produced pronouncement.
He arrived at the podium flanked by Lester Snow, director of the California Department of Water Resources, and Ken Pimlott from the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. First, Schwarzenegger painted a dramatic picture of the devastating drought he was declaring. Then, once again, he trotted out his annually rebuffed solution, voluntary water conservation and the building of two new dams—Temperance Flat on the San Joaquin River and Sites reservoir on the west side of the Sacramento Valley—combined with “water conveyance,” a euphemism for the peripheral canal that California voters shot down in a landslide vote in 1982.
“Over the last two years,
The final snow survey of 2008 by the Department of Water Resources showed snowpack water content at only 67 percent of normal and the runoff forecast at only 55 percent of normal, the governor said. He argued that allowing “excess” storm water to run off into the ocean without being captured for “productive use” is intolerable—neglecting to mention the important role freshwater storm runoff plays in sustaining the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary and salmon fisheries up and down the West Coast.
“This drought is an urgent reminder of the immediate need to upgrade
Schwarzenegger reminded reporters that for the last two years, as part of his Strategic Growth Plan, he has proposed a comprehensive water solution, including $3.5 billion for above-the-ground and below-the-ground water storage, upgrading the water delivery system and fixing the Delta’s ecosystem. The governor and state Sen. Dave Cogdill’s $11.9 billion water bond failed it to make it out of the Legislature last fall during the special session that Schwarzenegger declared due to opposition from Democrats. Since then, the governor has tried to revive the proposal in negotiations with Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“Are you prepared to bypass the Legislature and go straight to initiative if that’s what it takes?” asked one reporter.
“Well, if that’s what it takes,” the governor responded. “I don’t see water as a political issue. I think that there are Democrats that want to drink safe and reliable water, and there are Republicans that want to drink safe and reliable water, and they want to have a guarantee that they’ll have water 20, 30 years from now.”
Evoking the populist surge that got him elected governor in the recall election of 2003, Schwarzenegger concluded by saying that providing water to Californians “shouldn’t be a party issue, it should be a people’s issue, and it should be an issue that is facing farmers and business people. Ordinary people, everybody is suffering when we have no water.”
On that score, the governor ironically finds himself in agreement with some of his water policy’s fiercest critics.
Enter the blue-collar panel
The battle to restore the Klamath River and California Delta has brought together folks who often times have been at odds with one another—American Indian tribes, commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, farmers and environmentalists. All must work together to make sure there is enough water for sustainable farms, sustainable fisheries and the cultural traditions and ceremonies of
Troy Fletcher, a Yurok tribal member and natural resources consultant for the tribe, who noted that little headway had been made despite numerous studies that have been conducted, has helped rally the disparate groups that depend on the salmon and the water for their livings together.
“What we need is not another blue-ribbon panel, but instead a blue-collar panel with the guys and gals who get their hands wet, whose hands touch the water,” Fletcher said. “On these issues that impact us, it’s always somebody else that makes the decisions—the federal and state governments or other agencies. We have to get the people who are directly impacted engaged in making the decisions.”
More than any other single event, the 2002 Klamath fish kill has galvanized tribes, commercial fishermen, environmentalists and farmers to work together. An estimated 68,000 fish died, in addition to the hundreds of juvenile salmon that perished in the river because of low, warm flows spurred by a Bush administration change in water policy that favored
The unlikely coalition has demanded the removal of four PacifiCorp Klamath River dams owned by Warren Buffett subsidiary MidAmerican Energy, contending that they kill salmon and create massive blooms of toxic algae. On May 3, for the second year in a row, they went to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in
Although Buffett rebuffed dam removal advocates just like he did when they attended last year’s meeting, this year’s actions made the
Wearing shareholders badges, three dam removal advocates stepped up to the microphone to deliver their message to Buffett, the world’s richest man, in a packed convention center that included Bill Gates, the world’s second richest man, and a crowd of 31,000 shareholders.
Chook-Chook Hillman, a 23-year-old Karuk World Fatawan [renewal priest], who fasted last year with other young world renewal priests in an unsuccessful effort to force a meeting with the tycoon, introduced himself in the Karuk language and challenged Buffett. “As a European-American, you are the visitor in our country. Will you not meet with the native people impacted by your fish-killing dams?” he said. “You say you want to address poverty and disease in the Third World, but you are creating those same Third World conditions right here in
He then presented a dam removal agreement for Buffett to sign as Yurok tribe members Georgiana Myers and Annalia Norris unfurled a large banner that read “Klamath Dams Equal Cultural Genocide.”
Buffett responded, as he has in the past, that the issue is out of his hands: “I’m prohibited from speaking out by an agreement that we signed with FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. However, there is strong disagreement in your area about this issue.” He then deferred the question to MidAmerican CEO David Sokol, who echoed, “It would be inappropriate for Buffett to comment on Klamath relicensing.
“We would be pleased to move ahead with a solution when the 28 parties agree on a solution,” Sokol said, claiming that the dam relicensing process is complex. “If public policy moves in the direction of the removal of dams, fish ladders or the status quo, then that would be where we go. It is a complicated situation where a cooperative solution is needed.”
Sokol acknowledged the existence of the toxic algae, but dismissed the role of the dams in creating the algae and blamed the high-nutrient load in the river on
Like Schwarzenegger, Buffett swims against the current. The California Energy Commission largely agrees with the fishermen and the tribes. After reviewing data from a 50-page filing submitted by PacifiCorp recently to the FERC, the commission issued a report last year saying that removing the dams and purchasing replacement power would cost $114 million less than the costly relicensing process and installing expensive fish ladders.
“PacifiCorp must choose the alternative that makes the most economic sense for its ratepayers,” commented state energy commissioner John Geesman. “Using PacifiCorp’s own numbers, the new analysis clearly indicates that it is best for the ratepayer that these four dams be removed.”
PacifiCorp, one of 60
After the lunch break, Buffett, clearly upset by the morning’s proceedings, refused to entertain any more questions on the topic. Commercial salmon fisherman Dave Bitts, traditional Karuk dip-net fisherman Ron Reed and Karuk medicine woman Cathy McCovey were denied access to the microphones despite being next in line to speak.
Bitts, a commercial salmon troller out of
“I traveled over 3,000 miles to be here and woke up at 2 o’clock in the morning to speak—then I was told I couldn’t speak,” he said. “The story I have to tell is that of an out-of-work commercial fishermen. Buffett spent a lot of time today explaining what he couldn’t do for us. I wanted to ask the richest man on the planet what he could do for us.”
Defending the Delta
Although the battle to remove the Klamath dams and restore the Delta may at first glance seem not to have much in common, the Sacramento River and Klamath River systems have been joined for decades by the diversion of water from the Trinity River to Sacramento River farmers and the Westlands Water District in
The successful battle by the Hoopa Valley tribe, recreational fishing groups and commercial fishermen to pressure SMUD, Palo Alto, the Port of Oakland and other cities to pull out of a lawsuit blocking restoration of the Klamath left Westlands Water District isolated. A federal judge in July 2004 ordered that the river be restored—and that victory paved the way for similar broad-based coalitions to be built on the California Delta and on the Klamath.
Members of the coalition were quick to pronounce their disagreement with Schwarzenegger’s proposed solution to the drought.
Traci Sheehan Van Thull, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League, criticized Schwarzenegger for using “outdated strategies” to deal with the water crisis.
“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,” she said. “Unfortunately, the governor’s executive order relies heavily on outdated strategies that have created the very problems we now seek to solve.”
In regard to the construction of new dams and the peripheral canal, fishing groups, environmentalists and tribes frequently cite a report compiled by the Pacific Institute in September 2004 that contends
The analysis—in sharp contrast to the Department of Water Resources 2005 Draft California Water Plan—details how smart technology, strong management and appropriate rates and incentives can allow the state to meet its needs well into the future with less water.
“We need a new approach to
Bill Jennings, chairman of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and former Deltakeeper, likewise blasted Schwarzenegger’s call for more dams, pointing to the California Supreme Court Bay-Delta decision that was filed the same week as Schwarzenegger’s press conference.
“I encourage the governor to read the decision,” said
The decision is at odds with the governor’s push for dams. In very unequivocal terms, the ruling states, “The decision to concurrently pursue each of CALFED Program’s objectives means that no additional storage will be built, no new stream diversions will occur and Bay-Delta water exports will not increase, unless accompanied by measurable progress in restoring the Bay-Delta ecosystem.”
“The plan to build more dams is just another raid on the taxpayer’s money,” said
Fishing groups were also critical that the governor’s order and press conference didn’t mention anything about the need to restore four pelagic (open-water) fish species on the Delta—Delta smelt, striped bass and threadfin—or the collapsing Central Valley fall chinook population impacted by massive increases in water exports. While agribusiness, industry and municipalities face water shortages this year, fish advocates argue that
Jennnings emphasizes that largest annual water-export levels in history occurred in 2003 (6.3 million acre feet), 2004 (6.1 MAF), 2005 (6.5 MAF) and 2006 (6.3 MAF). Exports averaged 4.6 MAF annually between 1990 and 1999 and increased to an average of 6 MAF between 2000 and 2007, a rise of almost 30 percent. More dams and a peripheral canal designed to increase water-export capacity will only aggravate this problem, fishing groups say.
Mark Franco, headman of the Winnemem Wintu tribe, approaches the dams and canal issue from another angle: To him, Schwarzenegger’s concept of building more water-storage facilities and the peripheral canal to “restore” the Delta goes against the very core of indigenous people’s concept of the Earth.
“Traditional people see the Earth in balance,” said Franco, whose tribe conducted a war dance at Shasta Dam in 2004 to oppose the proposed raising of the dam by the Bureau of Reclamation, and in 2005 committed themselves to the battle to restore the Delta. “If you take something from the Earth and don’t replace it, it takes everything out of balance. For example, our McCloud River salmon were introduced many years ago to New Zealand where they are now thriving, but the salmon are no longer in the McCloud. They shifted the balance—and the salmon are now in collapse.”
The proposed raising of Shasta Dam, which the tribe adamantly opposes because it would flood the tribe’s remaining sacred sites, is an integral part of state and federal government plans to increase water exports out of the Delta via the peripheral canal.
“The rivers are the arteries of the Earth,” he noted. “Building more dams and a peripheral canal to save the Delta is like putting a tourniquet on your arm and leaving it there. If you don’t take it off, you will die.”
Old-school salmon cook-off
Several weeks after the protest at Buffett’s Woodstock of Capitalism, Ron Reed and a crew of members of the Yurok, Hoopa Valley and Karuk tribes visited Ocean Beach in San Francisco to kick off the first ever SalmonAid Festival in Jack London Square. There, they baked salmon the traditional way, on redwood sticks over an open fire.
Drawing the close connection between fishery failures on the Klamath and
The SalmonAid Festival followed the declaration of a “fishery disaster” by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez on May 1. This year, for the first time in history, commercial and recreational fishing in
Although the immediate cause of the fishery failure this year was the unprecedented collapse of Central Valley chinook salmon, just two years ago, salmon fishing was severely restricted because of the decline of
To the Karuk and other American Indian tribes, the river is more than just a stream. And the salmon is much more than just a fish. It’s an integral part of their religion and culture. Reed, who traditionally dip-nets salmon below Ishi Pishi Falls on the Klamath above Orleans, has been instrumental in drawing diverse groups of fishermen, American Indian tribes, environmentalists and farmers together to lobby for dam removal on the Klamath and has spoken often at rallies to restore salmon runs on the Sacramento, Klamath and other West Coast rivers.
“As a traditional fisherman at
The broad coalition of tribes, commercial fishermen and environmentalists that went to Omaha to protest Buffett’s dams is paralleled by Restore the Delta, a similar banding together of Delta farmers, Delta business people, recreational fishermen and American Indian tribes. Many from both camps believe their efforts will ultimately save the California Delta and restore the
Caleen Sisk-Franco, spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu tribe, summed up the urgent need for sustainable use of water and resources so that dwindling stocks of salmon and other fish can be restored—and the need for a new way of looking at water, dams and the environment. “Shasta Dam blocked over 200 miles of cold water tributaries, including the
“Unless people do a complete paradigm shift, there will be no more salmon. If we don’t put water for fish as the top priority, we will lose wild salmon. We can’t live without the salmon, and we won’t be here when the salmon are gone.”#
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=681521
Falling levels on Folsom Lake mean boaters must leave marina
The Sacramento
By M.S. Enkoji
For the first time in 14 years, plunging levels at Folsom Lake are forcing boat owners to pull out their vessels from the marina before July 4 – or have them stuck in mud.
Drought conditions are hitting hard on recreational boaters who are at the mercy of the rise and fall in the reservoir based on water needs elsewhere.
Water managers had anticipated the minimum water level for floating boats at the marina – 412 feet – would not be reached until July 13, but on Thursday, the date was revised to July 2.
"This is very disappointing to see the water down so soon," said John Poimriioo, past president of the Folsom Yacht Club. "It will be a shame to have the boats pulled. There's a sense of loss. A little bit of the soul of the place is gone."
Boaters, who have paid marina fees a year in advance, will have to pull their boats into a parking lot or park them elsewhere. To use the lake, boaters will have to launch from ramps, which generally creates long lines and adds as much as an hour of maneuvering in and out of the water.
About 600 boats are floating at Folsom Lake Marina at Brown's Ravine. Last year, boats had to be hauled out on Aug. 1. A flush year in 2006, boats stayed in the water until Dec. 1.
The average lake level for this time of year is 444 feet. The last time boats had to be hauled out before July was in 1994, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The worst year, in 1977, when the lake shrank a half-mile from the shoreline, the water level plummeted to 376 feet by June.
As water drains from the lake, more hazards, like boulders and islands, emerge, which could eventually mean a speed limit of 5 mph for all boats.
For some, it's too much.
"Everyone is equally disgusted," said Karen Preston, owner of a 26-foot sailboat. "We don't question our decision to own a boat, but we are questioning whether to keep it at Folsom."
The man-made reservoir was tapped earlier than expected for other duties, including sending water into the Delta for agricultural use, said Lynette Wirth, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
"We forecast the best we can," she said.
"But we still pay a heck of a lot for it," she said.
She and her husband, who live in
They are talking about coughing up more berth fees somewhere else for the remaining season, she said.
Poimriioo, a sailing buddy of
"There's all kinds of power boats racing around," he said Thursday. "The peninsula between the lower and upper fork of the American seems to be growing every day."
He keeps his 13-foot dinghy in his garage and can easily get to the lake to sail, but he believes dropping water levels discourage prospective boaters and change the character of the lake.
"There's this emotional effect when they see all the boats out of the water," he said. "People will say, 'Oh, my gosh, I shouldn't be doing this.' "
Boats on asphalt also discourage the longtime ritual of people gathering on their decks for the evening just to relax, he said.
Revenue at the lake, a state park, also could drop with the water levels, said Dan Tynan, the superintendent of the Folsom sector of the state Department of Parks and Recreation.
Another blow for boaters could come if the water level drops to 400 feet: The required 5-mph speed limit would mean no water skiing or wake-boarding.
In the meantime, unseen hazards just beneath the surface create safety hazards even more treacherous than the emerging rocks. "It becomes a real public safety issue," Tynan said.
Rattlesnake Bar and the Peninsula Campground boat ramps have already been closed because of receding water. Ramps at
"I wish there was something we could do, but there's not," he said.#
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1027386.html
Lack of meters make water wasters no surprise in Folsom
The Sacramento
By Sam McManis
Water holds Folsomites in its sway. Be it lake or river, lap pool or golf-course water hazard, residents literally are in their element.
So the special report in Thursday's Bee showing that the city of Folsom uses 381 gallons of water per day per person – second in California only to the San Juan Water District and more than twice the state average – hardly came as a revelation to the water-saturated citizenry.
Some Folsomites shrugged. Some expressed mild surprise. A few, including the city's water management coordinator, confessed to embarrassment and admitted that City Hall is concerned.
And, yes, there are people like Derek Phelps, 42, a 13-year resident of Folsom's American River Canyon North neighborhood. He's an unrepentant water hog.
"That's the way of the Western world. We consume. We're consumers," says Phelps, lounging in a neighborhood Starbucks on
"I use a lot of water for my yard. It's a large yard. And showers. That's where I use most of my water, standing there and letting it rain on me and turning it as hot as it'll go and draining it dry. I'm thinking I need a tankless heater so I can have unlimited hot water."
That let-it-flow attitude is illustrative of a cultural and aesthetic shift in town, says Renee Luchini, a resident for 27 years.
"This is not a very eco-friendly town," she says. "I've seen an influx of new people that's changed the atmosphere. It used to be a rural community. Now, it's full of Hummers and Suburbans, if you get my drift. I don't know what you can do to change it."
Indeed, Phelps is the kind of guy who is, well, a challenge to water conservationists. Donald Smith, water management coordinator for the city, is hoping others will take heed.
Part of the problem is that most of Folsom is not on a metered water system, so the majority of residents pay a flat rate of about $90, which includes other municipal services.
Only about 900 customers living north of the
The rest have no idea how much water they are using. But the city is taking steps to educate with a program called the "Water Wise House Call," in which a conservationist will inspect household irrigation systems to see if they are working efficiently.
But a big part of Folsom's water consumption, Smith admits, is from irrigation used by the city's lighting division (which includes landscaping) and parks and recreation departments.
"We're trying to get our house in order," Smith says. "Over 50 percent of the water is used outdoors and a lot of that is wasted. We're asking both of those departments to cut back on usage by 20 percent. And we have some long-term projects, such as better equipment, to help them do it."
Folsom does not use reclaimed water to irrigate parks and cityscapes, Smith says, but the city is considering becoming equipped to do so.
Changing residents' attitudes may be a more daunting task. One help, Smith concedes, would be putting the entire town on meters. The city is looking to install 5,000 meters by 2011 to comply with state law.
"Meters are the ultimate conservation device," Smith says. "I mean, just think of what would happen if SMUD wasn't metered for electricity."
For instance, Davis, a community similar in size to Folsom, is a water-metered city. On average, residents pay $51.68 every two months for water.
"If it was metered, maybe people would care more," Folsom resident Julie Burkhalter says. "Right now, people don't think twice about watering their lawn. We live near a golf course, and that takes up a huge amount of water."
Burkhalter says she does what she can to conserve. She gets her car washed "at a place where they hardly use any water." But she admits to one vice: "I do take a 20-minute shower. Don't tell my husband."#
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1027349.html
Splash in a drought?
The Sun- 6/19/08
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
The city's new 570,000-gallon
Are public officials sending mixed messages as they build such projects while asking residents to curtail water use?
Not really, says Mayor Mark Nuaimi.
Water is only one aspect of conservation that cities must grapple with, Nuaimi said.
Rather than residents cranking up air conditioners to endure the blistering summer, "the best way is to have them in a pool, cooling themselves," he said.
They'll cool themselves in the center's 14-lane competition pool, an instructional pool, an interactive splash area and two water slides.
The complex sits on the $61.5million, 40-acre
All features use water, a resource the governor says is scarce.
The Department of Water Resources' final snow survey of 2008 showed snowpack water content at 67 percent of normal and the runoff forecast at 55 percent of normal, the governor's office has said.
Department officials say the governor's declaration is a precursor to declaring a statewide water emergency, should the drought drastically worsen.
The governor ordered the department to work with local agencies to conduct an aggressive water conservation and outreach campaign.
"His goal is to reduce urban water use by 20 percent by 2020, but it's voluntary," said Matt Notley, department spokesman.
How are public water parks affected?
"We are discouraging that, but there aren't too many laws that have the teeth to stop that," Notley said.
That could change during a declared emergency, he said.
Meanwhile, water districts should apply for the last round of funding provided under Proposition 50, which passed in 2002, officials said. It allocates $35 million for water conservation innovation throughout the state.
The city applied for grant money through the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to overhaul its irrigation system, said Chuck Hays, public works director.
Hays said the park will house a weather station that will feed information to a computerized irrigation system that will water the grounds as needed.
Recycled water is in the park's future as well, Hays said. His department is working with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency to pump recycled water from its treatment plant at the 10 Freeway and
"We're doing everything we can to conserve water," Hays said. "And we were doing that before the governor's declaration."
IEUA will bring water from the plant to the city's
"Clearly, now it's more important than ever," Love said.
The aquatic center is equipped with in-ground recycling and filtration systems in each of its four water areas.
His company has built more than 2,500 public pools across the country, he said. It also built the Olympic training pool in
The city's center is in the top tier of conservation-conscious aquatic complexes,
"It's about as efficient as you can get," he said.#
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_9643045
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