[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 6/5/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

June 5, 2008

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People –

 

 

Scientist: Warming bodes ill for water

The Las Vegas Sun

 

Editorial:

Palm Springs is wise to take a green path to sustainability

The Desert Sun

 

Editorial:

Water crisis grows while Californians dither

Our inability to overcome ideology may dry up state.

Fresno Bee

 

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Scientist: Warming bodes ill for water

The Las Vegas Sun – 6/5/08

By Phoebe Sweet

 

Federal scientists and Western water managers will call Congress’ attention Friday to the potentially devastating effects of climate change on the Colorado River, warning that an expected warming trend would reduce the amount of water in the river.

 

All told, the Colorado is a water source for more than 25 million people in seven states and Mexico. The volume of the river is particularly critical for Southern Nevada because the Colorado feeds Lake Mead, which supplies 90 percent of the Las Vegas Valley’s water.

 

At Friday’s congressional briefing, research scientist Gregory J. McCabe will present a study that shows even a 1.5-degree increase in the overall temperature of the Southwest will decrease the river’s flow and increase the likelihood that it will fall short of the amount needed to meet the annual allocations upon which Nevada and the other members of the Colorado River Compact rely.

 

“I live in the West. I worry about water supply,” McCabe said. “We have lived in an anomalously wet century. A shift to a much drier climate coupled with additional warming spells trouble for the future.”

 

“Because the water usage is so large in the (Great) Basin, it is very sensitive to even small warmings,” McCabe said.

 

McCabe’s study estimated the effects of 0.86-degree Celsius warming, which is 1.548 degrees Fahrenheit — the same amount as the climate has changed in the past century — and the 2-degree Celsius, or 3.6-degree Fahrenheit, warming of the climate that scientists say is possible in the next century. He analyzed these changes against the backdrop of tree ring records used to estimate river flows going back more than 500 years, as well as more than 100 years of data from the river.

 

Friday’s hearing comes on the heels of the release last week of a report detailing effects of warming on fish, forests, rangelands and arid lands. The U.S. Agriculture Department report predicts dwindling rivers, an increase in extreme weather — droughts and floods — and the death of plant life.

 

None of these conclusions should come as a surprise, said Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District. Kuhn said he hopes Friday’s briefing will impress upon congressional staffers — including two from the office of Nevada Rep. Jon Porter, a sponsor of the briefing — that continued funding for scientific studies and river flow monitoring is crucial.

 

But Tim Barnett, author of a controversial study published in February that predicted a 50 percent chance that Lake Mead would go dry by 2021, said Wednesday that no matter how much new science is done, the future is clear. The professor with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said every credible Southwest water study has concluded that serious water shortages will hit in the 2020s.

 

If global climate models are anywhere close to correct, Barnett said Wednesday, “we’ve got a real problem coming.” The time line is so short that preventing global climate change before the predicted water shortages become reality is impossible, so it’s time to plan, instead, for how we’ll deal with the inevitable deficits when they arrive, he said.

 

And shortage guidelines agreed upon in December by state and federal water management agencies, designed to cut water deliveries to Western states if river flows and reservoir storage dip below certain levels, won’t cut it, he said.

 

We are heading toward a future in which water will probably be rationed, Barnett warned.#

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jun/05/scientist-warming-bodes-ill-water/

 

Editorial:

Palm Springs is wise to take a green path to sustainability

The Desert Sun – 6/5/08

 

Water is becoming more scarce and nearly everything - gas, food, services - is more expensive, but we have the ability to make real change by being more thoughtful about our resources and wasting less.

 

Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet is leading the charge by outlining steps the city is taking to create a "sustainable community," which is a community that is self-sustaining by conserving resources, energy and thriving economically because of smart development.

 

Palm Springs plans to cut water use by 50 percent and reduce energy consumption by 20 percent, and the timing couldn't be better. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared California in drought conditions Wednesday.

 

We applaud Pougnet and the City Council's efforts and great vision. We also recognize the key stakeholders in the community, who have pledged their support to promote conservation.

 

After Pougnet outlined the plan last week to promote conservation by 2012, several officials immediately voiced their support. Among those answering the "call to action" were county supervisors Roy Wilson and Marion Ashley, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, and Fred Bell of the Desert Chapter Building Industry Association.

 

Conservation is a win-win situation. It's good for the planet, helps our communities save money and could create new jobs and stimulate newer technology.

 

The 20-step plan, "the Palm Springs path to a sustainable community," calls for greater conservation. Under the plan, agencies should conduct energy, water and waste audits; create new jobs that focus on renewable energy; promote ecotourism; participate in the cities upcoming sustainability summit in November; and work with the College of the Desert to incorporate environmental sustainability training and classes into the upcoming Palm Springs' campus.

 

In addition, Palm Springs will develop a recycling action plan focused on zero waste, re-landscape the Tahquitz Canyon median as a showcase of smart water-saving landscaping, award partners who promote sustainability and develop an interactive Web site to spread awareness and get residents involved.

 

The Palm Springs path to a sustainable community is a good, aggressive plan, and the city's leadership in this area is commendable. But city officials obviously can't do it alone. The entire community must join forces and every business, agency and resident must do his or her part in creating a "greener" Palm Springs.

 

It's easy being green

Not only is Palm Springs' vision for a more sustainable community a solid conservation plan that makes sense for the city, businesses and other governmental agencies, it also provides residents with much-needed ideas to cut waste and save dollars at home. The following is a list of 20 simple tips the city is promoting to help conserve energy and cut waste:

Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Turn thermostats down.

Clean or replace air conditioning filters.

Conserve water.

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Use energy-efficient appliances.

Turn off lights, computers and televisions when not in use.

Bike, walk, carpool or take the bus whenever possible.

Add shade in landscaping.

Insulate your home.

Get a home energy audit.

Use paint without or low in volatile organic compounds.

Buy local.

Get a water audit and incorporate changes.

Consider replacing lawn with desert landscape.

Buy alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles.

Use green or sustainable building techniques when building or remodeling.

Save on plastic bottles and drink tap water.

Maintain your vehicle with regular tune-ups.

Wash only full loads of laundry or dishes.#

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/OPINION01/806050311/1026/news12

 

Editorial:

Water crisis grows while Californians dither

Our inability to overcome ideology may dry up state.

Fresno Bee – 6/4/08

 

Hundreds of farmers in the Westlands Water District will get even less water than they expected. That's the bad news delivered by federal officials on Monday. A Westlands spokesman said many would be forced out of business. That would cause reverberations throughout the Valley's economy.

 

Westlands accounts for about 20% of Fresno County's massive $5 billion in agricultural production each year. In addition, as many as 20% of the jobs in the region are tied to agriculture, and not just on the farm.

 

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, called it "the perfect storm," the combination of very dry weather and court-ordered cutbacks in water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Add one more ingredient: The inability of generations of Californians and their political leadership to get their hands on the problem and solve it.

It's not as if people didn't see this coming. Predictions of water shortages due to the effects of climate change, coupled with population growth and the concomitant increase in demand, have left the state short of the supplies we will need in the coming years.

 

We have long advocated a combination of measures to address the problem: New surface storage (dams), underground water banking and vastly increased efforts to conserve the water we have.

 

But environmentalists and Democrats in the Legislature won't support any plan that includes dams, and Republicans and their allies in business and agriculture won't back any effort that leaves them out.

 

The upshot is a standoff that leaves us years behind in addressing a growing crisis.

Even if the ideological logjam is quickly cleared, new dams and new underground facilities will take some time to come on line, giving us all a chance to enjoy things getting even worse.

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/story/645003.html

 

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