Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 7, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Water service urges 10-percent cutback on use
Oroville Mercury News- 7/7/08
Manteca
REACTION TO THE SUN’S WATER SERIES: The era of simple solutions is over
The Las Vegas
Water proves good resource in portfolio: More ways to invest in supply, technology
Village district fighting drought
Lompoc
Utah-Nevada water standoff quiet, fierce
The Salt Lake
Desert Local News- 7/4/08
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Water service urges 10-percent cutback on use
Oroville Mercury News- 7/7/08
By Heather Hacking, Staff Writer
While many areas of the state are beginning to feel the pinch from lack of water with low lake levels, less feed on pastures for livestock, water cutback to farmers and restriction on when lawn can be watered, most urban water users in
However, a statewide drought has been declared and local water suppliers are asking people to do their part and cut back.
California Water Service, which supplies groundwater to residents of
"In this case, we felt it was important we support the governor, who has issued a drought declaration," Pembroke said.
The 10-percent reduction would be based on water use this time last year.
It doesn't take a lot of sacrifice to cut back at that level. Outdoor watering is the biggest draw on water supplies and over watering is common.
Pembroke said the best time to water is early in the morning when water won't be lost due to evaporation. Also, never water so much that water runs onto the pavement.
Other little things can help such as taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving, and making sure pipes do not leak.
The water agency is also now using conservation water rates, which are tiered. Each unit of water is 100 cubic-feet, which equals 748 gallons. For the first 10 units of water, the price is 60 cents each. The rate increases to 64 cents for 11 to 32 units, and 68 cents above that.
Even with recent water rate increases, water in
There are areas in the state that are in a crisis. Plus, water conservation will become the norm in the future.
Currently, more than a third of California Water Service's 27,000 customers are not on meters. That is due to change to meet state mandates. Pembroke said over the next several years, people without meters will convert to metered water supply.
For most people, converting to meters usually means less water use. If water shortages continue,
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_9806040
Dennis Wyatt, Managing Editor
The "PC" words -
The Manteca City Council is being asked tonight by the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors to stand with them in opposing the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force recommendations.
Leading the list of reasons why the supervisors want
State politicians and bureaucrats alike avoid calling such an option a peripheral canal following the devastating political fallout from the 1982 election when voters overwhelming rejected the proposal 63 to 37 percent. The vote in the counties north of the
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has endorsed the "isolated conveyance" or the peripheral canal.
County opposition is based on the fact such a canal would seriously impact drainage in
More than 70 percent of all of the water used for ag and urban uses in
Other county criticisms of the report include:
• it ignores the system of water appropriation and water rights that have been developed over the last century in
• failure to endorse integrated and regional focused water solutions.
• failure of the State Water Project to deliver a promised 5 million acre feet of supplemental water for California from the North Coast rivers.
Such a plan effectively died in the administration of Governor Ronald Reagan who became the last sitting governor to kill a dam project. The dam at the time was on the
The City Council meets at 7 p.m. tonight at the
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=28&SubSectionID=58&ArticleID=58410&TM=15845.78
REACTION TO THE SUN’S WATER SERIES: The era of simple solutions is over
The Las Vegas
Last Sunday, Emily Green’s depiction of the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s efforts to secure a future water supply for the
These presumptions ignore the science of hydrology, the environmental safeguards embedded in state and federal law, and the fundamental principles of Nevada water law that further protect the environment and existing users.
There has been a concerted effort for more than half a century to estimate the water resources in these basins that are available for use. In fact, the Nevada Conservation and Natural Resources Department published a series of water planning reports in the 1970s; one of those reports dealt with water for Southern Nevada and identified several valleys where water was potentially available for export to
Research efforts include extensive studies by the Desert Research Institute, the Air Force (M-X Missile Program), the U.S. Geological Survey (Great Basin Regional Aquifer System Analysis) and the U.S. Interior Department (Southern Nevada Deep Carbonate Aquifer Study). The U.S. Geological Survey has published many reports in cooperation with the state of
The ground water that can be obtained in these valleys under
To capture this perennial yield, wells must be distributed to tap the ground water uniformly in areas where phreatophytes (deep-rooted plants) obtain the water from a ground-water table, so that the basin returns to a steady-state condition; because ground-water discharge equals the pumping volume, ground-water levels stabilize.
The time required to achieve this new steady state varies from basin to basin depending on many hydrologic factors and may take hundreds of years.
The effect of pumping on the water table is easily monitored and, if unacceptable to the
If need be, well fields can be relocated, pumping can be reduced and artificial recharge of ground water can be accomplished (depending on surface water availability). In short, numerous management options are available to ensure these valleys will not dry up.
However, the bigger issue was not what was said, but rather what was missing.
Nowhere in Ms. Green’s more than 20,000-word series was an alternative described that protects Southern Nevada’s residents if we lose
People who oppose this project generally point to one of two “solutions”: desalinization or growth control. Let’s take the second one first, because virtually everyone in the valley has an opinion about growth.
Economic repercussions aside — and thousands of people have already lost their jobs in the current economic downturn — let’s assume that not another person moves to the
If climate scientists are correct and
We are not the only ones looking for alternatives.
So what is the solution? Some suggest buying agricultural water from
How about desalinization, the favorite silver bullet for project opponents? The Southern Nevada Water Authority is actively working with Arizona and California on projects that will reduce the strain on the Colorado River — including desalinization projects in Yuma, Ariz., and Mexico — but lacking a coastline, Nevada would have to trade with its neighbors for any water acquired from desalinization.
In other words,
I challenge the critics to present a viable alternative that can protect our community in the absence of
We are not working to draw on Nevada’s ground-water resources because it is easy or inexpensive; we are doing it because unless the federal government is willing to move large volumes of water over long distances into the Colorado River to make it once again a reliable supply, Southern Nevada must pursue this water.
A renewable water supply is available in east-central
To that end, we entered into an agreement with the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs that states they will forever be involved in deciding how much water we pump at any given time, and from where.
At their request, we also agreed to use a hydrologic modeling program (MODFLOW) more common than Timothy Durbin’s proprietary model code — the reason Mr. Durbin’s model was not used.
Few people are left who don’t believe climate change will have profound effects on how we will live in the decades to come.
The two most daunting challenges are energy and water; both become more compelling every day in the face of an exploding global population.
Water managers everywhere, particularly in the American Southwest, have come to understand that their communities’ futures depend on cooperation with their neighbors more than ever before.
That realization makes
We realize this new resource must be used responsibly. In addition to being a moral imperative, our nation’s laws demand that we safeguard existing water users and the environment.
There is no question that this supply is sufficient to protect our community from a catastrophic shortage without harming the environment. It is not an issue of whether water is available, but rather how much can be safely used each year and how it is best managed. At the same time,
The era of simple solutions is over; the challenges facing the West in the coming decades are daunting. To meet these challenges, attitudes have to change. The future of all of our communities depends on it.#
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/06/era-simple-solutions-over/
Water proves good resource in portfolio: More ways to invest in supply, technology
Battles over water rights for survival and economic growth were dramatically depicted in the films "Chinatown" about Los Angeles and "The Milagro Beanfield War" about the American Southwest.
The present-day story unfolding over water's future may offer opportunities for investors able to envision it as a valuable commodity that benefits companies involved in its sale, distribution, purification and infrastructure.
Corporate raider and oilman T. Boone Pickens has been buying up water rights in the Texas Panhandle in the belief that water is going to become scarce and salable. This follows the logic that climate change, shrinking lakes and rivers and population growth will make increasing portions of the world susceptible to water shortages.
With that in mind, governments and companies around the world are beginning to take steps to deal more effectively with the issue of water. The number of ways to invest in water-related companies has increased.
Most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds specializing in the sector have been, at best, flat performers over the past year. That's more than you can say for many other investments, yet there is no escaping the fact that investing is an endeavor that requires considerable patience.
"While water is the most crucial element of our lives, it has historically been cheap, and we pay little attention to things that don't cost any money," said Neil Berlant, portfolio manager of the $19 million PFW Water Fund. "Water has been largely neglected from a business and investment standpoint, but that is changing because the price of water is rising."
His fund invests in a wide range of industries related to water.
"There is really a long-term horizon for what is unfolding in the water industry, not a short-term story," Berlant said. "But I don't see anything high-risk or high-speculation in my portfolio, because I invest in growth companies with above-average prospects."
Food products that come from agriculture require irrigation and drinking water for livestock. Quality water is used in manufacturing, power generation and medical applications. Emerging markets, especially
Another mutual fund, the $25 million Kinetics Water Infrastructure Fund, down 2 percent this year, includes in its stock portfolio
"People don't consider water a sexy industry, but it has potential for investors looking for a steady growth group," said Stewart Scharf, equity analyst with Standard & Poor's Corp. in
Only about 3 percent of the world's water supply is drinkable, and much of that is in the ground or in ice, Scharf said. That is making methods of rendering undrinkable water potable, such as desalination, more popular. In addition, many of the pipes used to deliver water are old and decaying. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates $277 billion will be needed to be spent to upgrade
Scharf has "buy" ratings on shares of water-filtration companies Pentair Inc. and Pall Corp.
"Water investments are a way for individual investors to hedge and diversify their portfolios, perhaps investing 3 percent to 5 percent of their holdings with a long-term horizon," said Tom Lydon, editor of ETFtrends.com in Newport Beach, Calif. "What's considered a water company is not as purely focused as many people think, since it could include related things such as the technology that goes into the water supply."
With the primary growth of water-related investments currently in ETFs, Lydon points to:
•The $2.4 billion PowerShares Water Resources fund, which tracks the
•The $386 million Claymore S&P Global Water fund, which tracks the S&P global water index of water utilities, infrastructure and equipment. It is down 13 percent over the past year.
•The $34 million First Trust ISE Water fund, which tracks the ISE water index of companies that derive a substantial portion of revenue from the water and wastewater industries. It is down 6 percent over 12 months.#
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-ym-water-0706jul06,0,3248334.story
Village district fighting drought
Lompoc
With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent declaration that
The Vandenberg Village Community Services District is ahead of the game, offering new rebates to encourage water conservation so soon after the governor's statement.
“We initiated water conservation in 1996, and about a year ago we asked what we could do to expand our efforts,” said VVCSD General Manager Joe Barget.
So the district increased its rebate for ultra-low flow toilets to $160 per toilet, and offered two new rebates: $150 for high-efficiencey clothes washers and a “cash for grass” program that offers $2 per square foot of grass that is replaced with low-water use plants, rocks or synthetic turf.
With the governor's call to local water agencies to reduce water consumption, Barget said the district's efforts are coming at a good time.
“We were just trying to do the right thing,” he said. “Mainly we did it just to sustain the water supply.”
The drought the governor warned of is a result of less water in the Sacramento Delta and significantly lower snow pack in the Sierras, which means less state water.
But since the
“We were hurting until January, “ Barget said. “But we had a high amount of rain, so January brought us up to our average.”
VVCSD Office Manager Cindy Allen said they sent out newsletters in late June describing the new rebates and already are getting calls: “Interest is picking up already.”
Because the VVCSD is seeing more water users moving into the area, specifically in the Providence Landing housing tract, it wanted to increase conservation to try to offset the new growth.
The two districts and the city draw water from what is essentially one basin, yet there is no master conservation plan, Barget said. “But we do coordinate efforts,” he said.
That coordination includes participation in the Santa Barbara Countywide Integrated Regional Water Management Plan. Barget said that 29 county water agencies have worked together to identify over 100 water projects countywide. Of those 100 projects, the various groups agreed on 15 high-priority projects, one of which was in the VVCSD.
The State Water Resource Control Board, on June 3, approved $25 million in grants for the 15 projects, $4 million of which will go to VVCSD, which plans to use the money to help pay for upgrades to the Lompoc Regional Wastewater Plant which also serves VVCSD.Most of the projects are only tangentially related to conservation, according to Cindy Allen. “All the projects had to show water recharge benefits.” This means that each project approved must somehow result in an increase in aquifer levels.
“We'll give the money to
In deciding what incentives to offer, VVCSD's Water Conservation Director Tina McManigal said she researched the types of incentives offered by other communities.
“We're trying to make conservation less inconvenient to the customers,” McManigal said.
The “cash for grass” program is the first of its kind in
“About 60 percent of water usage is for irrigation,” Barget said. “And grass uses the most water, so any grass that can be removed will make the biggest difference.”
With a population of about 5,800 people in
“The biggest variable that influences how much community water is used is rain,” Barget said. “In years with little rain, water use goes up.”
For residents interested replacing grass with low-water use plants, the VVCSD has created, with the help of Miller Landscaping, a demonstration garden that showcases sustainable plants suitable for
McManigal said she's working on a brochure that will list plants used in the demonstration garden.
In association with other county water agencies, including the city of
“We've already taken pictures for it,” McManigal said, “but it be next spring before we get it out.”
When it is ready, the CD will be available at the VVCSD and
http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2008/07/06/news/centralcoast/news03.txt
Utah-Nevada water standoff quiet, fierce
The Salt Lake
BAKER, Nev. - On moonless nights here in the Utah-Nevada borderlands of Snake Valley, the naked eye can see five planets, countless stars and the great swath of the Milky Way.
Climb the hill to
At the same time, Utah wants to build a pipeline on Lake Powell to suck up Colorado River water and send it northward to growing desert communities before it gets anywhere near Glitter Gulch.
For now, the two driest states in the nation are in a quiet standoff, fitfully negotiating or scuffing lines in the sand.
Eventually, though, the outcome of this tale of two pipelines, begun with an agreement struck 86 years ago to share the
Ask Dean Baker and Gary Perea to show you around Snake Valley and they take you to a grassy patch of federal land called Antelope Corral, where animals - perhaps coyotes or badgers - have dug a hole about six inches across to reach water a little
more than a foot down. It looks like desperation. The animals would have to force their heads or entire bodies down the hole to get a drink.
Not that long ago, this part of Antelope Corral was a waist-deep pond.
To Baker, a second-generation hay and cattle rancher, the animals' water hole stands as a fair example of what could happen to this west desert region if
Just to drive home the point, Baker leads the way up a dirt road soft as talc to a windswept 50-acre patch of scrubby sand piles and a few rusty square nails, the scant remains of a farm settled long ago. Across the road a ways is the Eskdale ranching and religious community, surrounded by a forest of tall, lush trees.
There was a trade-off, Baker says: Loss for an individual rancher whose time was up anyway meant gains for the larger population of Eskdale, whose well pumping most likely caused the vegetation that once covered the ghost ranch to dry up and die.
At least the transaction took place within the boundaries of the community the town of
But when
"They're taking the potential for growth in this valley down to
"We should be able to have a future and live out here," says Perea, a member of the White Pine County water district board, former county commissioner and current candidate for a new term. "There's a balance. But if you take all the water out, it's way out of whack."
The proposed Southern Nevada Water Authority pipeline could carry away 80,000 acre-feet of groundwater each year and would imperil every one of the valley's 600 or so residents, they say.
If the aquifer level drops 50 or 100 feet, which
A month earlier, during an interview in her office, Southern Nevada Water Authority manager Patricia Mulroy made similar arguments against the 158-mile pipeline
SNWA, a coalition of five water conservancy districts, is housed in the gleaming
Corporate gambling means billions of dollars to
The day of the interview, a dust storm shrouded the city. Mulroy said when she first looked outside, she thought it was fog, or something was wrong with her eyes. But that's just how it is here, she said.
Mulroy quickly ran through the talking points she has uttered repeatedly over the years to multiple news outlets in fierce defense of her arid city's future. She ticked off the historic Colorado River water-shortage-sharing agreement the seven Colorado Basin states signed last year, the effects of climate change on the river flows, the "world of hurt" Los Angeles and San Diego are in due to abysmal runoff from the Sierra Nevada, Las Vegas' dedication to better water conservation and the fact that more people work in a single Vegas casino than live in all of Snake Valley.
She brushed off
So, given that the Colorado River is overallocated - that is, there is far more water promised on paper than the river actually produces - given the needs of populous downstream states, given Las Vegas' imperative to grow, given that the Powell pipeline is planned for people who have yet to arrive in southern Utah, Mulroy said it would be "unreasonable" to develop the Lake Powell pipeline.
Up until now, Mulroy said,
''There's not enough water to say, 'This is mine, this is yours,' '' Mulroy said. "Neither
She smiled.
Winston Churchill once famously noted that observing Russian politics was like watching dogs fight under a carpet, an apt comparison to what's going on now between Nevada and Utah.
The states demand to have a say over each other's projects.
Indian tribes also insist that they be heard. Fermina Stevens, spokeswoman for the Elko TeMoak Band of the Western Shoshone said the Bureau of Indian Affairs in January signed an agreement that the tribe wouldn't oppose the
"The Western Shoshone people have always asserted
Ona Segundo, chairwoman of the Kaibab Band of Paiutes in
As part of a standard federal environmental-impact study public comment period, Mulroy this month sent a letter to FERC claiming the power agency lacked expertise with the kind of environmental analyses necessary for the Lake Powell pipeline.
In a June 19 e-mail, Mulroy told The Tribune that while "Utah is certainly entitled to utilize its apportionment" of the Colorado River, "SNWA is simply concerned about the impacts of a major water-supply project that will affect two rivers - the Colorado and the Virgin - that serve as major water supplies to southern Nevada."
Launce Rake, a Las Vegas SNWA critic and opponent of the
"She's arguing there are going to be significant impacts from building a pipeline," Rake said. "Hello! Great god of irony, slay me."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said
Countered Utah Department of Natural Resources chief and former state legislator Mike Styler: "
Building the
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_9791996
Desert Local News- 7/4/08
Staff and wire reports
SACRAMENTO, CA– GEI Consultants, Inc., one of the nation’s leading water resources, geotechnical, and environmental engineering firms, announced today that the Coachella Canal Lining Project was named the 2007 Project of the Year by the San Diego Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). As part of a multi-firm team, GEI provided design, construction management, and construction support services for the project.
The Coachella Canal Lining Project is a substantial accomplishment in meeting a goal of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement to conserve
“Water conservation, and the efficient use of water, is an important issue to
The Coachella Valley Water District, the operator of the canal, was able to convey normal water deliveries during construction because the water never stopped flowing. The project team achieved this feat by constructing a new, concrete-lined canal parallel to the old canal within the same right-of-way.
“The Coachella Valley Water District is pleased to receive such a prestigious award,” said Dan Charlton, Project Manager for the Coachella Valley Water District. “The canal system has been serving Colorado River Water to the
The
The Project of the Year award recognizes a commitment to excellence in engineering for the design and construction of a high-quality, cost-effective and innovative project. The honor is based on categories such as the benefits to the well-being of people and communities, environmental mitigation, planning resourcefulness and unique construction methods.
The award was presented to the entire project team at the ASCE-San Diego Section Annual Awards Ceremony on May 17. The team was composed of: the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the
DWR's California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader's services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news. DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
1 comment:
Well balanced article
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