Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 29, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Editorial
Legislators: Dry up or water supply will
The
The
A fearful
The
Eastern Municipal Water District has own 'cop' chasing down water wasters
Riverside Press- Enterprise- 8/28/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Editorial
Legislators: Dry up or water supply will
The
How long have
As the politicians go round and round without budging, it's only natural to come full circle. And so we have. A couple of months ago, Gov. Schwarzenegger proposed a $9.3 billion water bond -- his second try for such a bond in two years. On Aug. 15, Assembly Democrats proposed a $9.8 billion water bond, their second try in two years.
After looking at the two very similar ideas, it's clear we've been here before. And the same issue that kept our elected officials from getting a bond onto the ballot in 2007 is likely to kill it again in 2008.
In 2007, Schwarzenegger proposed a $9.1 billion water infrastructure package with a down payment on two dams (Temperance Flat near Fresno and Sites Reservoir west of Sacramento), an improved "conveyance" (call it anything except a peripheral canal) and conservation programs. Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, countered with a $6.8 billion proposal, but his figures went up. When they did, the plans became similar in all ways but one: how the money would be allocated.
The governor's proposal was based on a "continuing" allocation, meaning once projects were approved there would be only regulatory oversight in spending the money. Perata's proposal required an "annual allocation" by the Legislature, which meant projects would be subject to annual review before the money to build them would be released.
Political principles can be adjusted, but divvying up money allows for no compromise. So the water bond never reached the ballot and Californians never got the opportunity to secure their liquid future.
Now it's August 2008, and it's déjà vu all over again. We have competing water bond proposals with very similar elements. The most significant difference is in how to allocate the money.
Fresno Assemblyman Juan Arambula is the leading proponent for the Democrats' effort. He says his bill is a good compromise -- except that it isn't, because it still contains the "annual allocation."
Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, is leading the charge for the governor's proposal (originally carried by Sen. Dave Cogdill).
Berryhill has guaranteed that not one Republican will vote for a plan that includes annual appropriations because such annual review provides too many "offramps" for the money.
So we're back to the same old debate, and we're likely to get the same old result. The deadline for putting a water bond on the Nov. 4 ballot probably is Monday. Meanwhile, after two years of drought, cities up and down the state are restricting water use by 10 percent or 20 percent.
Arguing over water can be thirsty business. We just hope the politicians' mouths run dry before the state does.#
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/story/411200.html
The
By Jean Merl, Staff Writer
A judge ruled Thursday that water quality standards designed to protect the region's beaches from polluted storm-drain runoff will remain in place, at least for the time being.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Thierry Patrick Colaw granted a request from a coalition of environmental groups that sought to keep the standards in place while the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board complied with the judge's order to review its runoff standards.
This summer, Colaw had ruled in favor of a consortium of local inland cities and a building industry association that had filed a lawsuit -- against the state Water Resources Control Board and the local board -- seeking to overturn the regulations.
The local board said the ruling, which applied to most cities in
Builders could not get the necessary permits from the state board because the standards had been frozen.
"The court's decision provides much-needed relief and just in time for our Labor Day celebration," Francine Diamond, chairwoman of the local board, said Thursday.
David Beckman, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council representing environmentalists, also hailed the ruling.
"If you drink water or like to swim in the ocean, today was a very good day," Beckman said, adding that the environmental groups would still probably appeal the judge's ruling that the standards be reviewed and modified.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit said the local board had failed to consider whether the standards could be reasonably met and what economic effect they would have.
The disputed standards were imposed to try to end bacterial contamination at local beaches, some of which are among the most polluted in the state. Pathogens flowing from storm drains into the surf can cause rashes, ear infections and other maladies.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-water29-2008aug29,0,7708109.story?track=rss
A fearful
The
By Miguel Bustillo, Staff Writer
Tropical Storm Gustav, which was lashing
But
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday and announced that he would order a mandatory evacuation of
"Ladies and gentlemen, in my estimation I feel we are ready for this threat," Nagin said Thursday during a City Hall news conference. He added that he did not expect an evacuation until Saturday.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency, activated the National Guard and triggered a government contract that allowed him to bring up to 700 buses to the hurricane zone to help with evacuations. The rising GOP star also said he was prepared to skip next week's Republican National Convention, where he is scheduled to speak.
"We have to take this storm seriously," Jindal said during a news conference in the capital,
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison also traveled to
Officials' biggest fear by far was a direct hit to
"Although we have made strong strides in rebuilding our infrastructure, the levees have not been fully repaired and we have an $800-million budget gap to complete our sewage and water systems," Nagin said earlier in a statement.
Tourists nonchalantly strolled through the French Quarter on Thursday afternoon, and restaurants were filled with diners eating shrimp po' boys and catfish almondine as usual. But the city canceled some of the events it had planned for the third anniversary of Katrina, including a jazz funeral, and in neighborhoods hit hard by Katrina locals were apprehensively watching the Weather Channel.
A report published Thursday found that almost half of the deaths from Hurricane Katrina were people 75 or older, and drowning was the leading cause. Elderly residents may have disregarded warnings, feared abandoning their homes to possible looting, or simply didn't want to leave familiar surroundings, according to the study, which was published online and will appear in the October print edition of the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.
Everyone was making plans to get out of town this time -- so much so that hotel rooms were already impossible to find in
"I'm going to tell you right now -- this time I'll be going," said Tom Allen, 46, as he helped rebuild a house on a concrete slab in the Lower 9th Ward, a neighborhood devastated by Katrina that is still largely vacant. Last time, Allen admitted, he thought he could brave it out. He had to rescue his elderly neighbors when floodwaters rose and wound up with thousands of others inside the fetid Louisiana Superdome.
"No use lyin' to you: I've got no faith in these levees," added Allen's work partner, Leonard Jacobs, 75, who had recently rebuilt his own home in the neighborhood. "We're in a soup bowl right here."
The threat of Gustav had already caused oil companies to evacuate more than 1,300 workers from offshore platforms in the
In Chalmette, a city outside
A year ago, much of the area was still empty, and many vowed they would not return. There were still a fair number of damaged homes, including one still shrouded with a big blue roof tarp, but many residents had decided to rebuild after all, discovering that they missed the close-knit world of "Da Parish."
Lonney Sciortino leaned over his pickup truck, talking to neighbor Frank Lewis about how he was planning to take a gun with him during the evacuation, in case chaos ensued on the highway.
Both thought about boarding up their homes before deciding there was no use. Chalmette's potential problem, they agreed, would be flooding from failing levees, which is what inundated homes with more than 7 feet of water here after Katrina and after Hurricane Betsy four decades before.
"A lot of people were proud they rebuilt here a few days ago, but right now, it's a different mood," said Sciortino, 57, who lamented that his children, who used to live down the street, were now living in Gulfport, Miss., and Abita Springs, La. "If we get hit here one more time, we're done.
Eastern Municipal Water District has own 'cop' chasing down water wasters
Riverside Press- Enterprise- 8/28/08
The sun is just rising over the Inland region and Bill Stephens is on his cop beat, chasing down abusers. Water abusers, that is.
Perhaps the region's first and only water cop, he arms himself with a camera looking for over-saturated lawns across a vast area of western
"I just saw a spot back there," he said, bringing his van to an abrupt halt. He jumps out to check a broken sprinkler head outside a large commercial facility in Perris. The leaking water drenched the sidewalk and gushed down the curb to the road.
"That's running pretty good, I'd say a good six to seven gallons per minute," Stephens said.
Although Stephens scours the region only for runoff outside commercial and industrial complexes, the district's employees will start looking at residential yards for similar violations starting Monday. Fines beginning at $100 will be assessed if two warnings go unheeded.
"Pretty much anywhere that water leaves the property over the sidewalk and into the gutter, we're going to look for, taking pictures," he said.
Bill Stephens, a conservation program specialist with the Eastern Municipal Water District, has additional duties these days. He checks out signs of water runoff at commercial and industrial complexes. After two warnings, a fine will be issued.
In a time of drought and court-ordered restrictions on
The $100 fine assessed by Eastern will show up on a customer's water bill if a third violation occurs within 12 months of the first warning. The fine jumps to $200 and $300 for the fourth and fifth violations, respectively, and never goes beyond $300. People won't be penalized for runoff if they are washing their cars, the district said.
Like the commercial and industrial offenders, residents will have 14 days to fix the problem.
Stephens takes note of the offense outside the commercial facility, snaps a few photos and, like throwing a dart, tosses down his calling card on the soggy earth: a gray flag that reminds folks to "Use water wisely. Stop runoff."
"We don't want to collect the money. We want to get their attention," Stephens said.
The Water Beat
Since November, Stephens has been driving by schools, city parks, warehouses and other commercial properties in Perris,
Normally a conservation program specialist for the district, he tracks streams of water cascading over sidewalks and onto streets.
Sometimes the stained asphalt reveals a repeat offender. Other times, he has to crouch below bushes to find the culprit, whether it is a broken sprinkler head or an overactive irrigation system.
"This water is coming from somewhere," he says as he follows the trail to the front of a housing development. There, water from the sprinklers arcs over patches of browning grass, and instead waters the sidewalk and creates a canal at the bottom of the slope.
Stephens explains that the problem can be as simple as fixing the nozzle.
"It needs to be fine-tuned so you get that curtain of water, and so it picks up the brown spots," he said.
Other water agencies in the Inland region have talked about the idea of employing a water cop like Stephens but have yet to do it. Still, many Inland water agencies in the last couple of years have promoted drought-resistant plants and efficient sprinkler systems to homeowners as a way to reduce the amount of water used on landscaping.
Considering Hot Lines
Dennis Mahr, a spokesman with the Coachella Valley Water District, said desert cities have considered developing joint hot lines that would allow neighbors to report runoff.
At Eastern Municipal, which serves about 660,000 people, the water district has set up an e-mail account for residents to report overwatering.
In
Violation Means Letter
After a water violation report, the city sends a letter to remind people of the dire water-supply situation, but there is no fine, Alsop said.
Eastern's board approved the runoff fines for their residential customers in May as part of an update to its overall water-use efficiency plan.
Melanie Nieman, a district spokeswoman, said she hoped that once customers get a warning about runoff, they will call the district to get more information or request a water audit, where a district specialist would help them pinpoint their problem spots inside and outside the home.
She said recommendations may be as simple as turning down the irrigation system to fewer minutes or fewer days of the week.
"It's something that people can do without sacrificing their quality of life," she said.
Board member Randy Record, a San Jacinto farmer, said although he voted for the plan, he believes a tiered rate structure that would charge more for those who use more water than allocated would provide a stronger incentive. The district is working on that pricing system, which will start as early as spring.
"I'm going to reiterate to staff that that is the last resort," Record said of residential fines.
Record said he prefers the program to continuing to scrutinize large public landscaped areas that sit outside commercial and industrial venues. He said he still comes across vast amounts of runoff at a major intersection in
"Until we get those kind of situations resolved, I don't want to go after homeowners," he said.
Still, Record said, he doesn't think the public understands the depth of the water-supply problem. Water rationing could be in the region's near future, he said.
"If it doesn't rain this winter," he said, "it's going to be really serious." #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_watercop28.47b28b7.html
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
