A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 8, 2008
2. Supply –
Editorial
The
Editorial
Catching liquid gold
The
Drought losses pass a quarter of a billion dollars
Central Valley Business Times- 9/8/08
Water measure could dampen home sales: Draft ordinance to enforce a conservation standard for all
The Antelope Valley
Cal City concerned about water supply, availability
Antelope Valley
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Editorial
The
We can do more with less. Nations in drier climates around the world and forward-thinking farmers in
The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is in a state of crisis, both as an ecosystem and as a water supply. Almost half of the water used for
Given that agriculture accounts for about 80 percent of delta water consumption, reducing withdrawals from the delta will inevitably affect farmers. We have two options, two very different paths to reduced agricultural water use. One is to choose to let events evolve as they will, which may lead to growing disruptions in the agricultural sector, uncertainty about the reliability of food production, and the weakening of a vital component of our traditional economy. The other is to work toward a carefully planned and efficient agricultural sector, long-term protections for land and water resources, and the production of more high-valued crops grown with efficient irrigation systems that are effectively managed to respond to weather and crop conditions.
By changing what crops are grown and how we grow them, the report concludes that we can achieve substantial water savings, ranging from 0.6 million to 3.4 million acre-feet of water annually, and for far less than building new, centralized water storage. In fact, if we look at water savings in "dam equivalents," the scenarios examined in the study could save as much water as three to 20 dams the size of those being proposed.
But for the agricultural sector to make such adaptations and investments, the state needs to implement policies and incentives that support water conservation and efficiency improvements. Farmers are already trying to undertake many of these strategies, but they need to overcome some difficult financial, legal and institutional barriers.
There are numerous ways to move forward, including:
-- The state can offer tax exemptions and rebates for farmers who upgrade to more efficient irrigation systems.
-- Courts and regulators can apply
-- Water use measurement and monitoring should be drastically improved.
-- Misguided federal and state subsidies that encourage wasteful use of water can be redesigned to encourage efficiency and conservation.
Farmers have been moving in the right direction for decades, growing more food with less water under difficult conditions. Let's remove the barriers in their way and help them move even faster.
Agricultural water-use efficiency can be improved through careful planning, by adopting existing, cost-effective technologies and management practices, and by implementing feasible policy changes. Our findings show that it is possible - indeed, far preferable - to take less water and still improve the delta's economic and environmental conditions. Not only can we do more with less; we must do more with less.
A new report from the Pacific Institute, "More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in
Heather Cooley and Juliet Christian-Smith are senior research associates at the Pacific Institute, a nonpartisan research institute that works to advance environmental protection, economic development and social equity. The institute's new report, "More with Less," is available at www.pacinst.org.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/07/EDTK12OSFV.DTL
By Mike Lee and Michael Gardner
Since November, Bill Stephens and his fellow water cops have issued more than 450 warnings and tickets to water wasters in
This month, Stephens started to cite residents for excessively using water. After two warnings, homeowners will be fined $100 or more.
“You see a lot of waste. You just see it everywhere,” Stephens said.
He mainly writes citations when water is streaming off landscaped areas or sprinklers are spraying onto pavement.
Water cops are the way Eastern,
One exception is the Padre Dam Municipal Water District in
“It's time to get serious,” said Mike Uhrhammer, spokesman for the Padre Dam district.
The odds are increasing that similar restrictions and enforcement measures will become the norm throughout
Next year “could be the worst drought in
The actions of a few aggressive water agencies provide a glimpse of what 2009 and beyond likely holds for residents in
County. They have raised rates for those who exceed allowances, threatened repeat offenders with flow restrictors and banned outdoor watering on certain days, according to a survey by the Association of California Water Agencies.
Sacramento-area districts have tried several tactics. One has adopted an odd-even daily outdoor watering schedule, another shuts off deliveries to farmers and ranchers three days a week and a third adds a surcharge to the bills of customers who haven't met its conservation standard.
As of Friday, homeowners and businesses in Folsom, along the
In
“We are stating unequivocally to all residents that anyone wasting our most precious resource will pay the price,” Villaraigosa said.
First-time violators in
“Communities throughout
“Our board wanted to make wasting water as socially unacceptable as lighting up a cigarette in a crowded room,” said Ryan Alsop, spokesman for
Alsop said
In
The independent San Diego-based Utility Consumers' Action Network says that is not enough.
“We are still in a state of denial. I think that most of the residents of
Shames recently issued a study that compared local conservation efforts with programs worldwide.
“I was really, really surprised at how timid and how uninspiring and modest our efforts have been,” he said.
His recommendations include prohibiting new or expanded lawns, forcing developers to offset new water use, changing prices to more heavily favor conservation and starting a door-to-door public education campaign.
“The most effective approach will be a combination of both restrictions and pricing, along with greater community involvement,” said the UCAN report.
Some water officials and local leaders such as Bruce Reznik, executive director of the environmental group San Diego Coastkeeper, have said the region needs to take stronger measures. San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre repeatedly has called for the city to force reductions in water consumption.
Decision-makers in the
They also point out that Metropolitan Water District,
“We don't want to get too far ahead to where we are overreacting,” said Dana Friehauf at the San Diego County Water Authority. The authority supplies water to 24 member agencies, who serve almost all of the county's residents.
Friehauf said the county's “thoughtful, planned approach” means giving the current voluntary conservation program and a countywide advertising campaign more time to work.
Behind the scenes, area water managers are preparing for the worst. Most districts are creating special drought pricing rates that, like power bills, will charge customers much more for greater use. Many also are preparing to stop allowing connections for new development.
The San Diego Water Department recently began publicizing its water-waster hotline, which has existed for several years.
In late July, Mayor Jerry Sanders issued a Stage 1 drought declaration. Among other things, it means that water wasters could eventually be fined.
“We're developing a protocol for how this would work,” said Kurt Kidman, a spokesman for the Water Department.
Kathy Wall of Scripps Ranch said she has adopted several conservation measures, including telling her children to take short showers.
Wall said she dreads the prospect of mandates and water cops.
“I just feel saddened that voluntary solutions haven't worked,” Wall said. “I don't want to police my neighbors. I really don't want any part of it.”#
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080908-9999-1n8water.html
Editorial
Catching liquid gold
The
The kind we've seen in the
Not focused? Because our region is in a drought. Water departments and agencies instead are urging customers to reduce home water use; some, as is
But now that autumn is almost here and that means the start of the rainy season, it's time to put in place new technologies that can capture rain water when it falls and - fingers crossed - it will fall. Because wasting the liquid gold from the sky is just as detrimental to the water quantity picture as "Hoser Dan" who uses his garden hose as a broom.
But there's a problem.
The local water agencies don't benefit from capturing storm water. In fact, many, like the county Sanitation Districts, treat sewage waste and turn that into recycled water. While that's positive and something we've praised, they are not set up to handle storm water.
Likewise, if more rainwater gets captured and finds its way into the water table, that creates a conundrum for the folks who pump and sell ground water. Who gets to use this bounty? How much can they charge? Without a new "use" agreement,
What's needed is a paradigm shift in water conservation. Instead of building storm drains and concrete channels, environmental groups recommend installing bio-swales. These are earthen ditches that collect polluted street run-off and instead of a one-way trip to the ocean - it gets returned to the water table. The soil and rocks act as a natural cleanser. Nature is wonderful. Another green idea is to install a cistern underground, then allow the water to percolate into the aquifer.
Unfortunately, these kind of projects go against the grain of entrenched government, and private water agencies who could lose revenues and profits.
Maybe that's why a 2005 federal grant to include a mile-long bio-swale along Whittier Boulevard between Mar Vista Street and the Five Points is still tied up in red tape up at Caltrans.
Bio-swales and water-catching cisterns are low-tech answers to capturing rainfall and returning it to the ground where it can be pumped as potable water. Some groups, including Amigos de los Rios, which is building a new park in
Many developers are installing bio-swales as a component of a parking lot. They get it. But it will take more than small nonprofits to help
Conservation is still a good tool. But from 1993 to 2003,
In the same way, bio-swales must be institutionalized. They must become mandatory in all developments and redevelopments. There needs to be a sea change in the way water agencies, regulators and developers accommodate saving rainfall and storm runoff. Because building concrete channels that whisk away precious water to the ocean is no longer an answer. It is part of the problem.#
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/opinions/ci_10406542
Drought losses pass a quarter of a billion dollars
Central Valley Business Times- 9/8/08
Farmers and ranches in the Central Valley and the rest of California
The biggest share is rangeland, where the loss is estimated at $94.5 million.
Cotton is next at $61.5 million. Those losses include both unplanted fields and those abandoned for lack of water.
Almost 79,745 acres are estimated as either unplanted or abandoned. Cotton is the majority of this at 48,114 acres, CDFA says.
The state’s commercial vegetable growers say they’ve lost $60.8 million worth of crops because of the dry conditions.
Other crops and estimated losses:
• Processing tomatoes, $9.6 million
• Cattle, $7.4 million
• Melons, $7.1 million
• Alfalfa (hay), $6.5 million
• Grain, $5.8 million
• All other crops, $6.6 million
Other
• Stanislaus, $12.9 million
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• Kings, $10.9 million
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Other
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=9759
Water measure could dampen home sales: Draft ordinance to enforce a conservation standard for all
The Antelope Valley
By JAMES RUFUS KOREN, Staff Writer
The proposed ordinance would limit the amount of grass that homes could have and mandate separate water meters for outdoor and indoor water use, weather-based sprinkler controls and regular maintenance of sprinkler systems.
The ordinance is "purely a draft" and won't be heard by the city council until October, said city public works Director Randy Williams.
He said the city released the draft to trade groups and others to "throw out as many ideas as we can and collect their ideas in return."
"There are things included that are going to be very distasteful to some," Williams said.
Indeed, the draft ordinance drew criticism from the Greater Antelope Valley Association of Realtors, which said it could hurt the already flailing real-estate market.
"The intent is good - it's all in the name of water conservation," said Pamela Vose, chief executive officer of the Greater Antelope Valley Association of Realtors. "But this is really going to hurt."
Vose estimated retrofitting an existing home to meet the draft ordinance's requirements would cost between $6,000 and $10,000.
"Every time you sell your home, if you haven't met the requirements, this would come up," Vose said. "This just kind of came out of left field."
Palmdale's City Council will be presented a similar ordinance on Sept. 17, but that version does not include the mandate to retrofit homes before they are sold or transferred.
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Retrofitting would be especially expensive because the draft ordinance requires much of the work to be done by professionals.
"If you have to get a landscape architect to go through all the planning process, that's a really onerous approach to it,"
But that part of
"More than likely, at this point, I'm against that," Smith said. "You can't just tell all the homeowners, 'By the way, you've got to spend $5,000 and redo your landscaping.' "
Smith said he had not reviewed the entire ordinance, which had been scheduled to go before the City Council on Sept. 23 but will be held until mid-October.
He said requirements for new and existing homes should be handled separately.
"My feeling is that this ordinance was for new development right now," he said. "Then we have to work on getting all the existing homes taken care of. … We do want to get all the 40,000 homes we have now moved up."
The draft ordinance has been presented to GAVAR members for their comments.
"They want to require landscaped front and back yards and have no more than 100 square feet of dirt," she said. "It's not really a water-saving measure."
http://www.avpress.com/n/05/0905_s2.hts
Cal City concerned about water supply, availability
Antelope Valley
By ALLISON GATLIN, Staff Writer
CALIFORNIA CITY - As in communities all over Southern California, water supplies and availability are a pressing concern for California City, and one residents will have to consider more often as supplies tighten.
Public Works Director Michael Bevins presented a status report and forecast on the city's water supplies during Tuesday's regular City Council meeting.
The city depends on the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency for 25% to 33% of its water supply, Bevins said. The remainder is pumped from the aquifer below the city by a series of wells. A study commissioned in the 1990s recommended the city draw as much water as possible from the water agency, which has resulted in lower pumping rates in the recent years, Bevins said.
Although
"The issues with water are regional, they're not just local," Bevins said.
"The actual supply of available water has been dropping the last couple year," Bevins said, with
In addition, the pumps used to move water through the system from the north to the south have been found to be harmful to the endangered Delta smelt fish, causing such pumping to be greatly curtailed under a court order. These two issues combined mean there is much less water available from the state system, Bevins said. AVEK is cutting its deliveries to 10% to 15% of normal.
"That's about enough water to feed Wonder Acres, period," Bevins said, referring to a small section of the city located on its western boundary, near State Route 14.
Therefore, the city plans to reserve AVEK water solely for Wonder Acres, which is not adequately served by the city's well system.
The majority of residential water use, in
Depending on the area, this accounts for 50% to 70% of water used.
"Green lawns are tremendously consumptive of water," he said, noting that attitudes regarding what kinds of landscaping are best suited to the local environment are slow to change.
The city - as in much of the rest of the drought-stricken Southwest - is looking for sustainable solutions to water conservation, actions which will have long-range effect on the amount of water used.
As a starting point, Bevins pointed to the water-saving tips found on Web sites such as bewaterwise.com and wateraware.org. These may be as simple as only running the dishwasher or washing machine with full loads, and adding a gallon jug to the tank of a toilet to decrease the amount of water used when flushing.
Such actions cost very little and may collectively save thousands of gallons of water each month, he said.
One of the biggest problems is waste from broken sprinklers or sprinklers that spray water on the pavement instead of just on the grass or landscaping.
Homeowners should monitor their sprinkler systems to avoid such waste, Bevins said.
In addition, steps such as leaving grass a little longer in height to conserve water beneath and watering longer but fewer times per week will help reduce the amount of water used and lost in lawns.
Installing landscaping appropriate to the desert environment is another long-term solution.
"If you look around and see what nature does in the place where you live, you can have a good idea of what works with the water you have," Bevins said.
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Using a series of federal loans, the city is in the process of replacing the worst of these water lines to cut down on the number of leaks.
Councilman Nick Lessenevitch noted that any solution to the region's water woes will not be forthcoming from the state government.
"What's happening at the state level is a bunch of legislators sitting around on their hands," he said. "This is something we're going to have to take care of on our own."
Resident Ed Waldheim recommended inserting water-saving tips into the monthly water bills sent out by the city.#
http://www.avpress.com/n/05/0905_s7.hts
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