Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 2, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
GROUNDWATER PUMPING: Pipeline obstacle looming : Water board seeks hearing on
Westlands to ration water through summer: Unprecedented move follows dry 'rainy season.'
The
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GROUNDWATER PUMPING: Pipeline obstacle looming : Water board seeks hearing on
Southern Nevada Water Authority officials have requested a state hearing on the final piece of a massive pipeline project they plan to build to tap groundwater from across eastern
And they may have saved the most difficult part for last.
The authority is seeking state permission to pump as much as 16 billion gallons of water a year from White Pine County's Snake Valley, more than 250 miles north of Las Vegas.
The vast and sparsely populated watershed on the Nevada-Utah border is home to many of the authority's harshest critics, including ranch families who have lived in the area for generations.
"We know there are a lot of very vocal people who live in
"It should be contentious," said Jo Anne Garrett, who has lived just outside the
In a letter sent last week to State Engineer Tracy Taylor, the Southern Nevada Water Authority requested a hearing "as soon as possible" on its nine applications for groundwater in
The applications are for the use of more than 50,000 acre-feet of water a year, enough when stretched through reuse to supply more than 170,000 homes.
"Obviously, I think we'll get some water," Brothers said. "There's quite a bit of unappropriated water in
Susan Joseph-Taylor, chief hearing officer for the Nevada Division of Water Resources, described the meeting in July as a "planning session."
Garrett has been fighting the pipeline since it was first proposed almost 20 years ago.
In the early 1990s, she spearheaded a sales tax initiative that is still helping to fund White Pine County's opposition to the project.
Despite all that history, Garrett said, the call for a hearing on
"This announcement is very sudden and unexpected," Garrett said. "It seems like kind of a rush."
She thinks the state should delay any action at least until a federal environmental review of the pipeline project can be completed.
That process is now under way.
Authority officials insist they already have enough water to justify construction of the pipeline network, which is expected to cost $2 billion to $3.5 billion.
Following a hearing in 2006,
Then in February, the state's top water regulator held a hearing on the authority's plans to pump more than 11 billion gallons of groundwater a year from three valleys in central
The authority's
Before that hearing is held, Brothers said the authority will hold talks with the Department of Interior over a stipulation agreement similar to ones reached for the other watersheds targeted by the pipeline.
Shortly before the two previous state hearings, federal agencies agreed to drop their protests in exchange for assurances that the proposed groundwater pumping won't harm sensitive wildlife and fragile habitat in those areas.
Garrett said it "will be interesting to see" whether federal officials are willing to strike the same sort of deal in a valley that is home to
At the very least, Garrett said, she expects the National Park Service to voice some concerns.
Garrett also expects
"I think the growing intent in
http://www.lvrj.com/news/19450664.html
Westlands to ration water through summer: Unprecedented move follows dry 'rainy season.'
The
By Dennis Pollock and Mark Grossi
After the driest spring in more than 80 years, Westlands Water District is rationing its already reduced irrigation supply through the hottest months of the year.
The move could mean damaged crops, abandoned fields and lost jobs.
Contributing to the unprecedented decision, which cut irrigation supplies by about one-third, is a court ruling setting aside water for threatened fish in
Officials of the Westlands Water District, the nation's largest at 600,000 acres, decided this week to continue rationing through Aug. 31, spokeswoman Sarah Woolf said.
Westlands, most of which is in
The court decision, resulting in shut-downs at pumps, already has cost the district about 700,000 acre-feet of water, which would have been pumped into the San Luis Reservoir in western
The 700,000 acre-feet represents more water than the district would have received all year from the federal government.
Westlands is not the only district affected. About 30 other districts on the Valley's west side also are struggling with water supply.
Westlands and the other districts are part of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, which represents districts covering more than 2 million acres of farmland.
Dan Nelson, authority executive director, said
Mark Borba, a Riverdale grower in Westlands, said crops like almonds, tomatoes and cotton will suffer.
"Yields will fall, quality will decline, fields will be abandoned, trees may die and unemployment will skyrocket," he said.
Farmer Dan Errotabere, a Westlands board member, said many growers will have a difficult time trying to spread out a limited amount of water. "Some will abandon crops to keep others alive," he said.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, has scheduled a briefing Monday in Los Banos to talk about the problem.
At that meeting, officials with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and operates the Central Valley Project, will provide an update on water issues that could include a reduction in this year's allocation of federal water to Westlands and other west-side districts.
That allocation of 45% was announced in February before precipitation levels plummeted.
Bureau spokesman Jeff McCracken said officials expected wetter weather.
"There has not been appreciable rain from March through May," he said.
The crisis is likely to trickle beyond farming.
Earlier this month, residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties were required to reduce water use by 19% after the East Bay Municipal Utility District imposed water rationing. Golf course managers were required to cut water use by 30%.
Federal water managers said some limited water cutbacks could be expected in cities that rely on Central Valley Project supplies. In the
But cities such as
Valley daytime temperatures this weekend are expected to be in the mid-80s under mostly clear skies.
"We're not going to see any rainfall for a while now," said National Weather Service meteorologist David Spector in
Maurice Roos, chief hydrologist for the California Department of Water Resources, said the two-month period of March and April was the driest ever in the 88 years since records have been kept for the Northern Sierra, source of most of the water that flows into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The delta is the source for many reservoirs, including the San Luis Reservoir.
The city of
In the Valley, precipitation is crucial.
Errotabere said some farming operations will be hurt more than others, depending on their mix of crops. "Some may manage to get through it," he said.#
http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/636241.html
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