A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 14, 2008
2. Supply –
How does drinking water get to the Santa Clarita Valley?
Santa Clarita Valley Signal- 7/14/08
Water: Is it drying up?:Water boards say supply not enough for development
The
Editorial
Save money on water storage with Tulare Lake
The
Blue skies ahead for 'gray water' systems?
The
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How does drinking water get to the Santa Clarita Valley?
Santa Clarita Valley Signal- 7/14/08
By Jim Holt Senior Writer
This is the part one of a two part series.
Snow falls on the rocky crest of Kettle Rock in
In this remote and rugged stretch of the
But, this is where our story begins - with a single drop of water, melting from the snow pack atop Kettle Rock.
Our story ends in Santa Clarita Valley, where that same drop of water drips from a tap.
"This is your watershed. This is the state's watershed. This is Santa Clarita's watershed," said a man who has devoted his life to holding back the forces of climate change threatening the state's water supply and the supply of water to Santa Clarita.
"This watershed is the watershed of the State Water Project, there is no other source."
Jim Wilcox is the project manager for the Feather River Coordinated Resource Management team in
For more than two decades, he and others on his team have been working steadily, and quietly, in the tranquil meadows of
The meadows are disappearing.
Receding snow packs on the peaks in this Sierra Nevada mountain range are creating rapid snow-melts that send torrents of water rushing down the mountain sides, bypassing meadows and deepening trench-like channels on their way to the
"The meadows are natural reservoirs," Wilcox explains. "These channels are becoming disconnected from their naturally-evolved flood plains. Spring runoffs now send the water shooting down here, instead of sheeting out slowly across the meadow.
"The water comes flying down here now so fast the channels are deepening," he said. "The water is not spreading out across the flood plain anymore."
The meadows act as sponges that serve as natural reservoirs, holding the water in one place.
So, for the last 23 years, Wilcox and his team have been filling in the trenches of water-gauged channels in efforts to keep the water in the meadow.
"We've slowed the water down from 10 feet per second to one foot per second."
Why should Santa Clarita ratepayers care how fast the water moves through the State Water Project?
For that answer, we have to revisit our drop of water on its journey south.
The Oroville Dam & Reservoir
As our drop of water flows out of
Before it actually gets to the reservoir, however, that drop of water rushing down the Feather River will have pushed the turbines of at least three hydro-electric plants owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electric.
"This is some of the hardest working water in the state of
The Oroville Dam, completed in 1968, is the nation's tallest - taller than the Hoover Dam - at 754 feet.
State water experts, however, are seeing no where near that amount of water in the reservoir this year which, according to their latest snow survey is at less than half of its capacity, and 58 percent of average storage for this time of year.
In May, the 2008 snow survey calculated by the Department of Water Resources showed snow water content to be 67 percent of normal for the date.
Snow depth and water content have declined since April, when statewide snow pack water content figures were just under 100 percent of normal, despite a dry March.
A month later, on June 4, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought.
Water storage in
"If we have another dry year, we're going to be looking at mandatory rationing in a number of areas," Ted Thomas, spokesman for the Department of Water Resources, told The Signal last week.
March and April 2008, based on the snow survey, are now logged as the driest two months in the northern Sierra since 1921, the first year that records were kept.
Water runoff into streams and reservoirs is only 55 to 65 percent of normal.
Our drop of water represents only one of two that would have made its way to
"The Sierra Nevadas are crucial to the
"The snow pack is essentially a frozen reservoir, a time-released mechanism," he told The Signal last week.
"The last two years have been dry which gives us concern," he explained. "Every year that's dry you need to do a little better the following year to recover that water, so it makes next year even more critical."
A great deal of snow went into making our one drop of water headed for Santa Clarita.
On average, 10 inches of snow translates into one inch of water. Heavy, wet snow may contain as much as 16 percent meltwater by volume. A dry, powdery snow may be as little as 1/13 meltwater by volume.
Melting of the snow pack, which typically begins around April when snow on the peaks is built up, Rizzardo said, is now happening earlier in the year due to climate changes.
With back-to-back dry years, an earlier thaw and dwindling snow packs, he said: "You don't have much of a frozen reservoir left."
Regardless of how much or how little water ends up at the Oroville Dam, - despite shrinking frozen snow pack reservoirs and shrinking sponge-like meadow reservoirs - the state-run dam and reservoir, continue to deliver water to communities including Santa Clarita Valley.
These are the same heart and lungs of the State Water Project that began beating a quarter of a century ago.#
http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/2894/
Water: Is it drying up?:Water boards say supply not enough for development
The
By Linda Lee, Staff Writer
But can current and future water supplies sustain a region that is projected to house 1.2 million people by 2045?
Data outlined in a newly adopted regional water management plan for the Valley shows demand outstripping the supply.
"We're basically going to run out in 2008," said Adam Ariki, assistant division chief for Los Angeles County Waterworks.
That doesn't mean residents will turn on empty taps any time soon. But it does mean County Waterworks District 40, which serves much of
Ariki said it would be irresponsible to promise water to new homes and businesses without first finding a new water supply.
It's a decision some
"The moment word gets out that we're somehow shut down for business, we're in huge trouble and have got to fix that issue," Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said.
"We're going to respond with all of the resources we can muster," said Parris, who is looking to Palmdale, sometimes an adversary, as a potential ally.
"There are two major areas that the city of
"And if we would do that, if we would come together and aggressively work together, because we are certainly going to die of thirst together, we could solve this tomorrow."
Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said a regional water plan adopted by 11 agencies earlier this year will serve as "a launching pad where we can now work collectively and without stepping on each other's toes, recognizing the fact that we all share in this responsibility."
Already,
But global warming and environmental problems are making imported water increasingly unreliable, which is changing the face of water supply and delivery.
The changes mean that wheeling and dealing between water buyers and sellers is increasing outside traditional practices. Recycled water has become the "new" water, and water users may have to adjust to higher costs for a commodity that has been historically cheap.
Developers, who are hunting for their own sources of water, may have to resort to trade-offs such as retrofitting older homes with low flush toilets and low-flow shower heads to free up water for their proposed developments.
New residents may have to give up their attachments to lush green lawns in favor of drought-tolerant landscaping and cut back on outdoor water usage.
Existing residents may find developers willing to pay for their lawns to be ripped out and replaced with xeriscaping.
And all residents will be asked to step up conservation efforts.
"The public needs to understand we have a significant challenge in managing our water resources," Ledford said.
"We don't want them to panic, because that's not necessary. But we do need them to help us by changing some of their behaviors and be partners in bringing solutions to this crisis."
Valley leaders said one of the challenges is convincing residents to shift from lush grass and gardens to drought-tolerant landscaping that reflects the climate and elevation of the high desert.
"People want to bring their old lifestyle with them from other communities. We don't need to transform the desert. We need to live with it," Palmdale City Councilman Mike Dispenza said.
People in desert cities like
State conditions
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month declared a statewide drought and warned that water rationing may be imposed next year if there is another dry winter.
The governor's proclamation came after two years of below-average rainfall, low snowmelt runoff and the largest court-ordered restrictions on water transfers in state history.
Much of
Drought conditions have been exacerbated by the recent court-ordered restrictions on pumping of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta into the California Aqueduct. The restrictions are meant to protect the endangered Delta smelt, a fish that indicates the health of the Delta and surrounding ecosystem. The order has severely restricted the amount of water that can be delivered to
The Public Works Department says Waterworks District 40, which serves the
Local water suppliers believe they can get through this year, but are worried about 2009.
The Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, which supplies aqueduct water to smaller water districts, will fall short of meeting its customers' demands this year, but "the really, really serious situation is '09," AVEK General Manager Russ Fuller said. He expects the state Department of Water Resources to allocate only 5% to 15% of normal State Water Project supplies next year, due to a very dry spring this year.
And what happens elsewhere in the state directly affects how much imported water will be available in
In updating its Urban Water Management Plan in 2005,
"Unfortunately, in 2007, this Delta smelt issue blew up in everybody's face out of nowhere," Ariki said. "That pushed us ahead of running out of water in 2016."
Ariki said he has been meeting with AVEK officials on supply planning since the 1990s, but it was never an urgent issue until now.
"At one point all of these forces just kind of happened and all of a sudden we found ourselves in a situation where we're running out of water quicker than we thought we would," Ariki said.
The Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to 18 million people in six Southland counties, has already sucked up half of its emergency water reserves.
The city of
"The state of
While county waterworks officials refuse to guarantee water to new housing projects, the Palmdale Water District has never withheld water service availability letters for new development.
Why can the water district continue to supply water to new development when its customers are asked to conserve more water?
In deciding whether to guarantee water to new developments, the district relies on long-term planning documents based on average year supplies from the State Water Project, Littlerock Dam and groundwater, interim water district manager Curtis Paxton said.
"If we planned based on what a single dry year would be, most of the people in the
When developers are restricted in building more projects, it slows down the revenue stream for new infrastructure, said Wayne Argo, who represents rural town councils on the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Leadership Committee.
"Eventually the problem is going to compound itself and get worse," Argo said. "Or, we get down on our knees and pray for wet weather."
Local suppliers
But more recently the tables have turned, with many water districts relying more on imported water in an effort to protect their groundwater supplies.
The Palmdale and Littlerock Creek Irrigation districts contract separately with the State Water Project for imported water.
"Relying on AVEK water is many times easier and more reliable than worrying about the maintenance of a well,"
AVEK supplies water to Valley residents via 17 retail water agencies and companies such as the Quartz Hill Water District, County Waterworks 40 and the Rosamond Community Services District. AVEK also supplies water directly to about 20 farmers.
"We have always tried to be very careful that it's supplemental water and through the years that hasn't always been the case," Lane said.
AVEK contracts with the State Water Project for 141,400 acre-feet of water, but will only receive 50,000 acre-feet this year.
An acre-foot of water equals 325,851 gallons, or enough to supply a typical
"Some customers started conserving in '07 in anticipation of a dry '08. It was good planning on their part," Fuller said.
"Some of the water we will deliver this year is from conserved water in '07 already, probably about 7,000 acre-feet," Fuller said.
In order to maintain this year's allotment, the agency will have access to water stored in San Luis and
Other areas that have built storage facilities have planned well, which allows water to be carried over from one year to the next, he said.
"If you hold back water (from the reservoirs) and then you have a very wet winter, you're not going to have spill water to maintain flood storage," he said. "Over the long run, you will get your best production out of the State Water Project if you use all the water you can out of those reservoirs every year."
Winter rains and snow in the San Gabriel Mountains helped fill Littlerock Dam to full capacity - 35,000 acre-feet - which will help the Palmdale Water District as well as the Littlerock Creek Irrigation District next year.
"We believe we have all of our resources lined up for this year," Paxton said.
Estimated customer demand for the Palmdale Water District is 30,000 acre-feet. The district will fill those needs through conservation efforts, groundwater pumping, extra supplies obtained from a Statewide Dry Year purchase and a recently approved agreement with Butte County for an additional 8,750 acre-feet of water, Paxton said. Through the Dry Year Purchase program, water districts are able to buy water from farmers who are selling their agricultural water rather than growing crops that year.
Typically, the district gets 40% of its needed supplies through groundwater, Paxton said.
From the California Aqueduct, the Palmdale Water District will receive 7,455 acre-feet of water this year, even though it contracts for 21,300 acre-feet.
The Rosamond Community Services District will be able to meet the demand of its customers this year, said assistant manager and engineer Claude Seal. The district had a new well coming online and is planning to dig and install two more within the year. Like Palmdale, the district also obtained water through a dry-year purchase.
But the "ace in the hole" for Rosamond is participation in the Semitropic Rosamond Water Bank Authority, which will store water underground to provide additional supplies next year.
"I don't anticipate problems in any given year. One way or another we're going to have the water coming in," Seal said.
The Quartz Hill Water District will be able to meet its basic needs this year, but "it's a totally different story for next year," manager Chad Reed said.
The water district gets about 60% of its water from AVEK; the rest comes from the district's nine wells.
About 5,700 acre-feet is needed to supply its 17,000 residents.
Reed said the district is looking at several options for next year and wants to save its groundwater as an emergency backup, because it doesn't pump more water than is replenished.
"We have major concerns with overdrafting," he said.
Looking ahead, Paxton said
"People can argue all they want about the cause of climate change, whether it's a natural cycle or whether it's manmade, but I think statewide what we're planning for is that there will be more precipitation in the form of rain, and not as much in snowpack, and so we need to be in a position to capture that," Paxton said.
Needed infrastructure such as storage, recycling facilities and treatment plants require years of planning and lots of money.
"What you do now is what you're going to see five, 10, 15, 20 years in the future," AVEK director Lane said.
Lane likened the aqueduct to the Antelope Valley Freeway, which was years in the conceptual and planning stages before it was built.
"A lot of times it goes from one generation to the next."
What to expect
"Water is no longer going to be cheap," Lane said. "I think you'll see healthy growth in the Valley, but I think it's going to be much more difficult and much more expensive, and the expense may outweigh the ability to build as we have in the past."
Lane said population projections are not in tune with the water supplies available in the
"Just about anything can be done if you have enough dollars, so if the billions that it would take want to be expended, you probably could. But is there any entity capable of doing that?"
Until more facilities are built, existing customers will have to conserve more water, Quartz Hill Water District manager Reed said.
"Conservation's just been a word before, but we need to make it an action word now."
Reed predicts water rates could increase for its customers next year if the district must buy emergency water supplies. How much the increase will be would depend on where the district can buy the water.
Argo also predicts a tough road ahead.
"I see that we are going to have to find a way to keep people from overusing the water we do have and maybe that's putting in a different kind of landscaping," he said. "We need to get the reuse up and going as soon as we can. That's going to help with irrigation water for different parks, roads, medians."
Every gallon saved from using reclaimed water frees up potable water, he said.
And if water costs go up, it will affect everyone, he said.
"What do people think of gasoline now?" Argo asked. "It's pretty much on everyone's mind, isn't it, and the cost went up. I think water would be very much the same."#
http://www.avpress.com/n/13/0713_s1.hts
Editorial
Save money on water storage with Tulare Lake
The
Dear Gov. Schwarzenegger:
I'm sure your water advisers mean well, but I don't think they're telling you all you need to know about the
One of your big goals is to increase water storage south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Guess what? You don't have to put $5 billion into a dam at Temperance Flat.
Not when you have a natural terminal lake between the California Aqueduct and the
I'm talking about historic
But times have changed and we must recognize that Mother Nature knows best.
Consider this: using just 10% of the old lake bed would yield twice as much water storage as the dam proposed for Temperance Flat above
Know what a pain in the backside the environmentalists can be? Even if you find the money to build Temperance Flat, the greenies will use the courts to block its construction for years, if not decades.
On the other hand, environmentalists will embrace
Taxpayers will love
I know you're paying attention to
Guess what?
Now, I can't vouch for this plan personally. But folks at Revive the
By now, you're thinking, "What isn't this crazy newspaper guy telling me?"
Well, there's an obstacle.
Even though some of the old Tulare Lake bed has been abused and isn't good for farming anymore, a lot of it is still productive -- and the J.G. Boswell Co. won't want it under 10 feet of water. But something can be worked out, especially since the
And if you have your heart set on doing something at
Governor:
http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/mcewen/story/727123.html
Blue skies ahead for 'gray water' systems?
The
By Francine Brevetti
With the statewide drought upsetting homeowners who cling to their gardens and lawns, the concept of "gray water" irrigation systems is enjoying a kind of revival in interest.
"Whereas we used to get one or two requests a year about gray water before the drought, now we get about one inquiry a day," said Dick Bennett, water conservation administrator for East Bay Municipal Utility District. EBMUD supplies brochures and guidelines on how to install gray water systems.
The concept, pioneered in part by Oakland's Greywater Guerrillas a decade ago, has been hampered by the state's restrictive building codes — but it looks as though the barriers that have prevented easy installation of these systems may be coming down in the near future.
The systems — which use water from sinks, tubs and washing machines to irrigate home landscaping — are touted as a way to keep lawns green and flowers blooming without abusing a scarce resource or inflating water bills.
Greywater Guerrillas launched its first jerry-rigged experiments with gray water in 1999, when the original guerrillas were trying to reduce the water bill for their house of six roommates. The systems and devices have become much more sophisticated since then, said Laura Allen, an educator with Greywater Guerrillas.
Gray water systems channel the used household water (though not from toilets) to irrigation ducts 9 inches below the surface of a home's lawn or garden.
Advocates say it's a practical use of water that otherwise would go into the sewer system, and therefore an expedient means of conservation. And conservation is important as water becomes an increasingly valued resource, proponents say.
"Our water bill is going to be like our oil bill in the future," said John Russell, a landscape designer who heads WaterSprout, an
However, the building codes in
"Today, there are hundreds of non-permitted gray water systems in the Bay Area, but only a handful of legal ones," Allen said. Still, there is no evidence inspectors are shutting these projects down, she said.
Russell, however, is trying to convince his clients to install such systems legally because he said he's trying to gain acceptance for the concept and legitimize the process. So far he has installed four permitted systems. He does not install non-permitted systems, he said.
Larry and Tam Gray of Berkeley are among Russell's clients. They recently had a system installed in their new home's front and back yards. The Grays are proud their house is the second permitted gray water system in
Depending on the size and slope of the property, Russell said, a permitted system can cost $4,000 to $6,000 more than the cost of a typical irrigation system, including permitting and plumbing. Depending on the property, the lowest a basic irrigation system costs $8,000 to $9,000, he said.
Non-permitted systems, on the other hand, cost only hundreds of dollars, advocates said.
According to Russell, a family of four consumes about 36,000 gallons of gray water a year on average. "Since gray water accounts for 75 percent of total household usage," he added, "you can expect your water bill to drop at once."
No businesses are known to use gray water. Some of them, however, use reclaimed water from waste treatment plants and recycle it into their cooling towers when and if they need to cool overheated tools or equipment, EBMUD's Bennett said. Official objections to the gray water method of irrigation for houses have stemmed from fears of its being unhygienic — fears that Allen and Russell called baseless.
"As long as the edible parts of the plant are above ground, there should be no problem," Russell said.
So that would mean the systems should not be used to water root plants — carrots and potatoes, for instance — or at least no there should be no contact between the edible part and the gray water tubing.
Recently there's been a considerable push from activists, environmentalists and real estate developers to change legislation to allow more relaxed standards for gray water systems. The state Senate and Assembly have both passed legislation to this effect and their versions need only to be harmonized in order to be ratified.
"The Department of Housing and Community Development will give another look at standards and see if they have to be relaxed," said Carrie Cornwell, chief consultant for the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.
This takes time, of course.
"The guerrilla gray water movement in the Bay Area will not be legalized in a year," Cornwell cautioned. In two years then?
"Perhaps," she said.#
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_9863987
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