[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY -10/27/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

October 27, 2008

 

2. Supply –

 

Willits imposes tighter water rationing

Willits News

 

Drought, or water heist?

San Francisco Chronicle

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

 

Willits imposes tighter water rationing

Willits News – 10/24/08

By Linda Williams, staff writer

 

With water reservoirs levels dropping to record lows, the Willits City Council imposed Phase 4 water rationing Wednesday night.

 

A Phase 4 emergency requires all city households to cut back water to 200 gallons per day or less, and requires a 25 percent cut by all other users. No new water connections will be allowed until the emergency is lifted even those authorized by prior building permit.

 

Households are required to limit usage to eight units or less (as shown on monthly water bills).

 

Councilwomen Tami Jorgensen and Karen Oslund voted against the measure. Oslund felt it might be better to move directly to a Phase 5 emergency in November if necessary, rather than keep incrementally changing the requirement.

 

Without significant rain or a major reduction in city water use, the water emergency is expected to reach Phase 5 the most serious level by the next scheduled council meeting in November. Under Phase 5, households will be restricted to no more than 150 gallons per day (six or less units on the monthly bill); all other users will face a 35 percent reduction.

 

Recently the city hired HID Waterworks of Seattle to undertake a sonic survey of the city's water system. The group identified leaking areas, estimated at 41,400 gallons per day.

 

"All those leaks have been repaired," says interim City Manager Bob Christofferson. "When new leaks occur, we are responding quickly to repair them and save the valuable water."

 

Between the more aggressive leak repair efforts and the conservation of the Willits population, a significant reduction in the amount water processed through the water plant in September was seen compared to previous years, according to Christofferson. The Willits population responded to the request to conserve water by reducing their overall water use this September by nearly 19 percent compared to 2007. This represents water savings of almost 215,000 gallons per day.

 

The current reservoirs had 382 acre feet in them as of October 20 and about three acre feet per day are being drawn down daily, Chief Water Operator Denny Caine told the council Wednesday. Exactly how low the reservoirs can effectively be drawn down is unknown but it is estimated at between 75 and 100 acre feet, says Caine. As the lakes get lower, the algae and other material become more concentrated.

 

There appears to be an above average chance of precipitation in the 8- to 14-day outlook, although November precipitation is likely to be below normal for Mendocino County, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center.

The longer-term forecast continues to have drought conditions easing throughout Northern California this winter. #

http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_10806489

 

Drought, or water heist?

San Francisco Chronicle – 10/26/08

By Tom Stienstra

 

(10-25) 15:19 PDT -- Gov. Schwarzenegger is calling the year's lack of rain and snowfall a drought of epic proportions and points to the low lake levels to prove it. The answer, he says, is passing a $9.3 billion water bond next year to build a peripheral canal and several new reservoirs in a program designed to send more water to points south.

 

The facts are that the past two years are only the ninth driest two-year period in the past 88 years, and that California routinely experiences such periods once every 10 years, according to the Department of Water Resources.

 

What happened last year is that water managers were betting on a wet spring. When it didn't happen, many lakes were drained down to nothing in order to send water to L.A. and farmers.

 

Shastina, tucked on the north slopes of Mount Shasta, is a testament to this bad bet. In the past two summers, water was drained from the lake to irrigate hay fields in the Shasta Valley as if there was no end in sight to the water available. The lake hit bottom last month. So when you drive up to the boat ramp, all you can see is exposed lakebed. This isn't a drought. This is a created shortage.

 

True droughts are measured by soil moisture, and in some cases, water levels at wilderness lakes. In a true drought, soil moisture is so low that plants go into artificial hibernation to protect themselves, as in 1992, and that has not happened. Up in the high country, most wilderness lakes - outside the reach of water-grabbers - are full.

Even more telling is that along Interstate 5 near L.A., Pyramid Lake, which gets water from Northern California, is 97 percent full right now.

 

Yet while all this is going on, ocean conditions are setting up right now for decent chance of a very wet fall. #

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/26/SPE813N9LM.DTL

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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 California.