A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
December 2, 2008
2. Supply –
Water consumption down
Precipitation spigot shut off in November
Redding News
Water rates rise locally
District increase hits
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Water consumption down
Los Angeles
CONSERVATION: October had no rain, but residents still managed to use less.
Despite a warm October with no rain,
"Water conservation is the cornerstone to our sustainable future," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who signed the tough water-conservation proposal in August.
The Department of Water and Power released figures showing that October was the 15th consecutive month that water use for single-family homes declined.
The October figure of a 7 percent reduction was the greatest single-month drop since the drought of 2002, officials said. It was also significant in that October had higher-than-normal temperatures.
The monthly figures also showed an 11.4 percent reduction by government agencies, with overall water use down by 5.4 percent for the agency.
Villaraigosa credited the savings to greater public awareness, including the deployment of drought-busters teams, which have issued 558 citations for violation of the water conservation law.
It includes a ban on watering between 9a.m. and 4 p.m., no watering down hard surfaces, not allowing water to flow into the street and requiring restaurant customers to ask for water.
DWP General Manager H. David Nahai said conservation must continue.
"Water conservation is here to stay, whether the rains come or not," he said. "There are no more rivers to tap or aqueducts to build from hundreds of miles away." #
http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11116549
Precipitation spigot shut off in November
Redding News, 12/2/2008
By Scott Mobley
November started sopping. But the spigot shut off early last month, with hardly a drop or a flake in three weeks.
And there's no sign that
"Right now, for the foreseeable future, it's looking dry," said Karl Swanberg, a National Weather Service forecaster in
Last month's meager rains did little to boost
The lake managed to rise four feet in November, recovering to 154 feet Monday afternoon, federal Bureau of Reclamation figures showed.
November delivered a surfeit of sunshine after its stormy start.
Though last month was unusually warm, sunny and dry, it was not a record-setter. One need go back only to 2007 for an equally warm - and far drier - November.
The dry weather outlook could always change, as it did late last year. And forecasters who monitor the interaction between tropical thunderstorms and global winds expect the pattern to switch from dry to wet after midmonth.
The massive high pressure dome over the West Coast that steered storms away from Northern California most of November could shift west toward the
Such a pattern last December into January brought plentiful valley rain and mountain snow, quickly building a record pack at
The outlook further into early 2009 is mixed. Forecasters who trace the relationship between sea surface temperatures and the atmosphere say the La Nina that started in 2007 is still with us and could linger through winter, at least.
Cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures over the eastern Pacific in La Nina typically lead to wetter weather in the Pacific Northwest while leaving
Klaus Wolter, a
A dry spring would be bad news for reservoir levels and fire season.
The
Shasta Dam recorded 4.32 inches of rain last month, just over half of the 8.17 inches that usually falls at that spot in November. Most of that rain came down during a pair of potent storms that swirled through
The dam has picked up 8.01 inches since the rainfall season started July 1, state Department of Water Resources figures show. That's only 61 percent of the 13.08 inches recorded at the dam through November.
The story's much the same in
Other November precipitation totals around the north state were 4.82 inches in Mount Shasta, 3.52 inches in west
All those totals are below normal, although
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/dec/02/spigot-shut-off-in-november/
District increase hits
By: Veronica Rocha
DOWNTOWN — The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has increased the rate from $508 to $579 for an acre-foot of water sold to Glendale Water & Power for the next fiscal year due to more water consumption and less supply, city officials said Monday.
The district is planning to increase its rates by 21% in 2010, pushing an acre-foot of water to $700, said Peter Kavounas, Glendale Water & Power water services administrator.
The rate increase is expected to continue after 2010 to a 12% increase in 2011 and a 6% jump in 2012, he said at a Water & Power Commission meeting in City Hall.
But while the water rate will increase for Water & Power next year, residents shouldn’t expect to see their monthly bills increase because Water & Power made cost adjustments for next year, Kavounas said.
“The economic impact of the rise in rates is dwarfed in not having water,” he said, referring to the diminished water supply in
But more adjustments will have to be made for the years following 2009, which may affect customers, Kavounas said.
Commission President John Miller was concerned the rate increases would negatively affect business in the city.
“The public should be aware of this,” he said. “Presumably, there will be some impact on business.”
The district, which supplies about 65% of the city’s water, may also implement regional, mandatory water conservation, Kavounas said.
“We are right now kind of at a breaking point,” he said.
The district is predicting a 33% chance that there will be a regional water shortage, Kavounas said.
“If they declare a regional shortage, we will most likely have to declare mandatory conservation,” he said.
Mandatory conservation could start as early as July if the shortage is declared, Kavounas said.
Knowing that the state’s water supply was low, Water & Power began to encourage customers in July 2007 to cut back their water consumption by 10%.
But the city is struggling to reach a 10% monthly water consumption decrease, said Atineh Haroutunian, Glendale Water & Power public benefits coordinator.
The City Council set forth last year a citywide water conservation plan that bans water wasting and advocates water reduction.
But commission members Monday discussed the possibility of putting together a conservation ordinance as early as next year’s first quarter if a regional shortage is declared.#
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2008/12/02/politics/gnp-gwp02.txt
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DWR’s California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the SWR 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
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