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[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 1/31/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

January 31, 2008

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People

 

WATER TRANSFERS:

Water sale could cover county's bill - Oroville Mercury Register

 

Who's buying Butte's water? - Chico Enterprise Record

 

MANTECA LEVEE CERTIFICATION:

Manteca levee gains a tentative OK from FEMA - Modesto Bee

 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FLOOD ISSUES:

Sutter to join flood advisory program - Marysville Appeal Democrat

 

NATOMAS ISSUES:

Army Corps of Engineers determines Natomas levees substandard; FEMA requires new buildings be 20 feet off the ground - The California Aggie (Davis)

 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FLOOD WATERS:

Editorial: Flood waters; RP mobile home residents' anger is misdirected - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

 

FLOOD CONTROL ISSUES:

Letters to the Editor: Safety above everything else - Sacramento Bee

 

WATER PLANNING:

Supervisors approve new water charges - Monterey Herald

 

 

WATER TRANSFERS:

Water sale could cover county's bill

Oroville Mercury Register – 1/30/08

By Roger Aylworth, Chico Enterprise Record

 

Conventional wisdom holds that water — at least in the West — is something to be fought over, but for Butte County this week it became something to be sold.

 

Since the early days of the California Water Project, Butte County has had a contractual right to 27,500 acre-feet of water from Lake Oroville.

 

Over the years Butte County has sold about 2,500 acre-feet of its allocation to the Oroville district of California Water Service and to Del Oro Water Co. The rest of the water was left under DWR control in the lake to be shipped south as the agency chooses.

 

Last year DWR changed its policy. As of 2008, the county has to pay DWR $765,172 for its entire water allocation or risk having the allocation canceled.

 

Butte hadn't budgeted for this unanticipated cost, so late in 2007 the Board of Supervisors directed the county Department of Water and Resource Conservation to investigate alternative ways to deal with the situation.

 

At the same time DWR decided to bill the county for the water, it also adjusted rules on water sales.

 

Previously State Water Project contractors, including Butte County, could only sell water within their designated service areas. However, DWR changed the rules to allow contractors to sell water to each other, even outside of the service area.

 

That gave Butte County authority to peddle its allocation elsewhere.

 

Tuesday, Paul Gosselin, director of the county Water and Resource Department, and assistant director Vickie Newlin, briefed the Board of Supervisors on a proposal to sell the local share.

 

Newlin said her department had received a "letter of intent" from the Palmdale Water District seeking to purchase the county's water.

 

Just how much water the county would be allowed to sell is dependent on DWR's water guarantees to its contractors.

Late last year, before the arrival of the current rains, DWR predicted it would provide 25 percent of the contractors' maximum allotment in 2008.

 

If the 25 percent allocation holds for 2008, according to Newlin's figures, the county could receive $1,437,500 from a deal with Palmdale.

 

As the percentage of the allocation the county gets grows, the per-acre-foot payment for the water would drop.

 

However the increasing amount of water sold would more than make up the difference.

 

Newlin told the board if the county could sell 100 percent of its water allotment, Butte could receive $4.4 million.

 

"Although the cost to the county for water year 2009 and future years is still unknown at this time, using the 2008 price as an indicator, the county could meet and exceed its costs for 2008 through 2010 with the revenue generated through the sale" of the water in 2008 and 2009, states a report prepared for the board by Newlin.

 

Newlin stressed that the proposed sale of water to Palmdale is a short-term arrangement and that in the next several years the county anticipates using all of its 27,500-acre-foot allocation locally.

 

The board voted unanimously to give Gosselin authority to continue negotiations with Palmdale, and to have his staff produce the environmental documents necessary to conclude the agreement.

 

The supervisors also directed Gosselin to come back to them with a completed contract for future review.

 

The county will have to pay the DWR bill on the 2008 water to avoid any late penalties, but revenue from the contract will be used to backfill that cost. #

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_8126059

 

 

Who's buying Butte's water?

Chico Enterprise Record – 1/31/08

By Heather Hacking, staff writer

 

Palmdale Water District is located about 60 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, in a high-desert climate.

Jon Pernula, water and energy resource director for the district, said the district has about 26,000 water service connections.

 

As a State Water Contractor, Palmdale is in the same situation as many who buy water from the State Water Project and will likely need more water than the state will provide.

 

The target is for Palmdale to buy and additional 10,000 acre-feet of water this year. One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons of water, or enough water to cover one acre with one foot of water.

 

Like other places in the state, a court judge's decision to limit pumping through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the delta smelt population has made water supply even more difficult this year.

 

Pernula said the Palmdale district has already mandated water conservation, including only allowing landscape watering every other day.

 

In addition to the deal with Butte County, Palmdale is still looking at other possible water purchases from the Northern Sacramento Valley.

 

"We didn't want to put all our potential water supply needs in one basket," he said. "It was in our best interests to make overtures to several different" water suppliers.

 

The district has been tight on water for some time, with rainfall very low and only a small amount of surface storage available.

 

Groundwater pumping has lowered the aquifer and pumping costs have increased. Also, groundwater usage is in the middle of being worked out through the court system, a process known as adjudication.  #

http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_8123663

 

 

MANTECA LEVEE CERTIFICATION:

Manteca levee gains a tentative OK from FEMA

Modesto Bee – 1/31/08

By Inga Miller, staff writer

 

A levee protecting eastern Manteca has a provisional bill of health from federal officials.

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had eyed the levee as a possible problem spot. But it issued the provisional approval, according to a recently released map.

 

Local levee officials must provide the federal agency with proof the levee would hold in a 100-year flood, the kind estimated at a 1 percent chance of happening each year.

 

Reclamation District 17, which owns the levee, has until Aug. 23, 2009, to provide that data. In the meantime, it is listed as provisionally accredited on a preliminary new map.

 

The area includes luxury homes on the former site of the Manteca waterslides east of the city, a subdivision north of Woodward Road and east of McKinley Avenue within the city, and areas designated for development in the city's general plan.

 

Even protected, the areas are within the so-called 0.2 percent annual flood zone -- that is, an area with a 1 in 500 chance of flooding every year.

 

"One thing we need to emphasize to people, something we have always wanted to emphasize and particularly after Katrina, is that levees are not perfect," said Jim Stone, deputy public works director and flood-plain administrator for the city of Manteca. "Levees do fail. And because they fail or because a storm comes along that is so big the levee can't handle it, people who live behind levees should be aware there is some risk. None of our levees are designed to provide protection from the 500-year flood."

 

The maps show that a 1-in-500 chance flood would reach even farther west in pockets north and south of the Highway 120 Bypass. The maps are a preliminary version of updated flood maps being prepared by FEMA for insurance purposes, which are expected to be final next year. When the maps are done, those living in areas within the 100-year flood area will be required to carry flood insurance.

 

But Stone encourages homeowners anywhere within even the 500-year flood zone and nearby to buy insurance. For homeowners in a low-risk area, insurance runs about $317 a year for coverage of $250,000 on a house and $100,000 on its contents, according to an estimate provided on FEMA's Web site. The premium jumps to $2,462 a year in high-risk areas.

 

"All we have are calculations about where the water might go," Stone said. "We don't know exactly how nature is going to perform. So if people have a lot of equity in their home, they might want to think about getting that protection."

 

The levee, which runs between Stockton and Manteca, is known for seepage. But that isn't necessarily a problem unless the flow carries with it soil from the levee, and the reclamation district maintains that the levee meets requirements.

 

In accordance with the levee's 1990 accreditation, workers watch for soil flow and shore up the levee with sandbags and gravel blankets when necessary. Stone said the district and cities also are working to improve the levee.

 

Stone said the city is planning information sessions within a month or two.

 

San Joaquin County will have maps available for viewing from 1 to 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday in Conference Room A at its office at 1810 E. Hazelton Ave. in Stockton. Maps also can be found online at www.sjgov.org/pubworks/firmpanels.htm. #

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/197037.html

 

 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FLOOD ISSUES:

Sutter to join flood advisory program

Marysville Appeal Democrat – 1/30/08

By John Dickey, staff writer

 

Sutter County is joining an incentive program that could lower flood insurance premiums by 10 percent or more.

Once the county is rated through the federal government's Community Rating System program, it would get credit for current activities such as floodplain construction regulations and community outreach on flooding. Meetings with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are planned in the next month to pursue a county rating.

"We are doing some of the things that qualify us already, but you have to package them," said Doug Gault, the county's director of public works.

The ratings could be of interest to federally-backed mortgage holders in south Sutter County where mandatory flood insurance could be required late this year as part of efforts by FEMA to remap the area into a special flood-insurance zone.

Gault said he expects the ratings to be completed in about three months, before the new floodplain maps become effective.

If a Class 7 rating is achieved - the county's goal - flood insurance premiums could go down as much as 15 percent for homeowners who have to get flood insurance because they are in a special flood-insurance zone.

"We're pretty confident we're getting a rating that would qualify us for a discount," said Gault. "We're not sure if the county will get the rating it is shooting for."

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved participation in the Community Rating System as part of a package of routine items that were not discussed. FEMA describes CRS as a voluntary program to reduce flood losses, facilitate accurate insurance rating, and promote the awareness of flood insurance.

While homeowners currently paying $317 for preferred policies would not save a huge amount, the savings would add up when special hazard flood insurance zones proposed for south Sutter County become effective. Flood insurance premiums would increase to $1,200 for homeowners with policies in place who want maximum coverage.

"At $317, it's not that big a deal, but it would be pricewise, if the policies go up," said Charyl Anthony, a customer service representative who handles flood insurance for the Huntley-Sheehy Inc. insurance agency, in Marysville.

Yuba City joined the Community Rating System program in October 2007. Residents can get 5 percent off their preferred insurance policies thanks to the city's Class 8 rating. Yuba County also has a Class 8 rating that it received in 2003. #

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/insurance_59733___article.html/flood_rating.html

 

 

NATOMAS ISSUES:

Army Corps of Engineers determines Natomas levees substandard; FEMA requires new buildings be 20 feet off the ground

The California Aggie (Davis) – 1/31/08

By Alysoun Bonde, staff writer

 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers delivered some bad news to the city of Sacramento earlier this month - levees in Natomas fall far short of meeting safety requirements.

In October 2007, the city and county of Sacramento asked the Corps to certify the Natomas levee system in order to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency qualifications for a less restrictive flood zone classification. The FEMA designation would lower flood insurance rates and allow unrestricted development.

The Corps' findings were not what Sacramento was hoping for. It found that some sections of the 34-mile levee system that protects Natomas' 70,000 residents were either too low or weakened by water seepage. In light of the Corps' findings, FEMA put a restriction on building in Natomas, requiring new construction to be at least 20 feet off the ground.

The Corps determined it could not certify the levees for a 3 percent flood event, meaning there is a 3 percent chance a flood too powerful for the levees will happen in any given year, or a 60 percent chance that this flood will occur over the life of a 30-year mortgage.

Many Natomas residents support the new building restrictions. The Natomas Community Association is strongly opposed to Greenbriar, a proposed 3,450 home development. The Sacramento City Council gave conditional approval Jan. 22 to annex the 577 acres needed for the project.

"We've been trying to get the city to put a moratorium on building, but they continue to press forward," said Rose Tribolet, vice president of the Natomas Community Association. "It makes me feel like the city council is being irresponsible."

Natomas is a natural basin for the Sacramento and American rivers. It is home to the Sacramento International Airport and Arco Arena. A disastrous flood would put the region under 15 to 20 feet of water, according to the report released by the Corps.

Developers began building homes, malls, offices and apartments after the Corps originally certified the levees in 1998 for a 100-year flood protection. The Corps decertified them in 2006.

"Hurricane Katrina caused us to tighten up our standards a bit," said David Killam, public affairs spokesperson for the Corps. "Most of us went down to New Orleans to help with the recovery, and it was really an eye-opening experience."

The Corps did not complete its study of the entire levee system. It discovered enough problems in two western sections of the levees to make their decision.

"We felt that it was critical for the city to receive the information in a timely manner. If we had done a total analysis, it would have taken much longer to complete the study," said Roger Henderson, senior engineer with the Corps. "If any area fails the analysis, the entire flood defense system is non-certifiable."

The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency has an ambitious program to repair the levees, Killam said. SAFCA began work on the levees in 2007. The project has a $414 million price tag and is expected to qualify for 100-year flood protection by 2010 and 200-year flood protection by 2012, said Jay Davis, a SAFCA consultant. #

http://media.www.californiaaggie.com/media/storage/paper981/news/2008/01/30/CityNews/Army-Corps.Of.Engineers.Determines.Natomas.Levees.Substandard-3175797-page2.shtml

 

 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FLOOD WATERS:

Editorial: Flood waters; RP mobile home residents' anger is misdirected

Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 1/31/08

 

Water. A couple of months ago we were lamenting the lack of it. Now we are worried about too much.

ADVERTISEMENT


The fact that this is the California story doesn't make it a happy one for residents whose neighborhoods have been flooded during recent heavy rainfalls. In Petaluma, homes and businesses near the outlet mall flooded. In Rohnert Park, water filled the streets of the Rancho Verde Mobile Home Park.

In both communities, unhappy residents are looking for someone to blame. Mother Nature appears to be the culprit in Petaluma, where water officials say there was just too much rainfall in too short a period for creeks to handle.

Weather was also the primary factor in the mobile home park flooding -- although the park owner appears to be at fault, too.

According to city officials, Florida-based Sunset Strip Corp. and California-based Indian Springs have been unresponsive to the city's suggestions to reduce flooding in the low-lying neighborhood.

Even worse, it appears that someone in park management is blaming the city for the flood problems -- even though the park's streets are private property and are the owner's responsibility.

Residents whose streets flooded last month and in 2006 are right to be demanding action. But they should be talking to the park owners -- not the city. #

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080130/WIRE/801300351/1043/OPINION01

 

 

FLOOD CONTROL ISSUES:

Letters to the Editor: Safety above everything else

Sacramento Bee – 1/31/08

By Dan Lungren, Gold River, Republican member of Congress, 3rd District

 

Re "Levee report shocks city," Jan. 16: The Federal Emergency Management Agency's declaration that North Natomas is a flood hazard zone brings the question of the integrity of our levee system again to the fore.

 

We would be remiss to bypass such an opportunity to set a sound agenda toward repairing and strengthening our levee system by succumbing to the short-term incentives of developing the North Natomas floodplain.

 

There is no question that all involved desire to see investment and economic vitality thrive; however, that passion for a growing economy must necessarily lead our vision toward long-term, sustainable development. That very sustainability relies on a dependable, proven levee system.

 

The levee breach in neighboring Nevada serves as a reminder of the mandate upon us to prioritize safety above all other concerns. As a member of Congress who shares the North Natomas area with Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, I am dedicated to working with local elected officials, community leaders and other members of the Sacramento congressional delegation toward significant and necessary levee improvements.

 

The Folsom Dam spillway groundbreaking was one aspect of the wide effort we must and will make toward securing our region from the devastation of mass flooding. #

http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/675215.html

 

 

WATER PLANNING:

Supervisors approve new water charges

Monterey Herald – 1/31/08

By Jim Johnson, staff writer

 

With just token opposition, the Monterey County Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved new water charges for property owners of about 12,000 acres in the Salinas Valley to pay for operation and maintenance of a new rubber dam and treatment facility on the Salinas River.

 

Just three property owners representing a little more than 1 percent of the affected acreage submitted protest letters, far short of the 50 percent needed to force a possible vote on the charges.

 

Property owners will pay $66.23 per acre-foot of water delivered from the rubber dam and treatment facility as part of the Salinas Valley Water Project.

 

River water will be collected behind the collapsible rubber dam from April to October, then pumped to a treatment facility where it will be combined with recycled water to irrigate agricultural fields stretching from the coast to near Espinosa Lake and from Moss Landing to north of Marina.

 

Operation and maintenance of the rubber dam and treatment facility are expected to cost about $1.26 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year, and the project will produce an average of nearly 19,000 acre-feet per year. The cost also covers operation and maintenance of a fish screen and bypass, and flow monitoring and control facilities.

 

During Tuesday's hearing, Supervisor Simon Salinas complimented Curtis Weeks, county Water Resources Agency general manager, and water officials for moving ahead with the long-delayed project despite numerous obstacles.

 

Two property owners showed up at the meeting to address the charges. Chris Bunn Sr. urged the board to continue with the project, while property manager Robert Goodwin suggested the board should do a more comprehensive analysis of the long-range project costs because of the amount of time that has elapsed since it was approved by voters in 2003.

 

Property owners were notified of the pending new charges in December and had 45 days to respond.

 

Construction of the rubber dam and treatment facility is slated to begin in April, with completion due in early 2009, and water deliveries are scheduled to begin later that year. The collapsible rubber dam will be constructed about two miles upstream from Highway 1 near Moro Cojo.

 

Currently, property owners in the affected area use a combination of groundwater and recycled water to irrigate their fields as part of the Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project. Because river water will replace the groundwater, which is currently being pumped from already overtapped underground water supplies, the project's intent is to recharge area aquifers and turn back seawater intrusion.  #

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.

 

 

 

[Water_news] 4. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATER QUALITY - 1/31/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

January 31, 2008

 

4. Water Quality

 

SEWAGE SPILL:

Report faults Navy in sewage spill; Despite improvement, region has too many overflows, water board says - San Diego Union Tribune

 

REGULATION:

Warren Resources charged for four oil spills in refinery - Associated Press

 

 

SEWAGE SPILL:

Report faults Navy in sewage spill; Despite improvement, region has too many overflows, water board says

San Diego Union Tribune – 1/31/08

By Mike Lee, staff writer

 

Inaction by the Navy and its contractors allowed at least 14 million gallons of sewage to gush from the San Diego Naval Base into Chollas Creek over about two years ending in November 2006.

 

That's the conclusion of a months-long investigation by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. The finding is part of a report prepared for the agency's meeting in two weeks.

 

“They could have prevented it if they had just followed up” on a consultant's observation about the potential for a wrong pipe connection, said Mark Alpert, a senior enforcement agent at the water board. “They blew it.”

 

The Navy sewage spill – one of the largest in recent county history – highlights a broader trend: The number of sewage overflows has dropped in recent years, but water-quality officials said the region still suffers from too many large overflows – a catch-all term for releases, spills, leaks and diversions.

 

In many cases, the water board imposes penalties to deter more pollution. But the agency can't go after the Navy because the military is immune to fines assessed for violations of the federal Clean Water Act, even though the military has been a major source of water pollution in San Diego County and across the nation.

 

Based on other big sewage spills, the one from San Diego Naval Base at 32nd Street could have generated a penalty of $1 million or more.

 

It's not clear what else the water board can do given its lack of enforcement authority. In general, the agency's leaders said they may try to force the Navy to make up for the environmental damage caused by the spill.

 

Navy officials blame the two-year-long leak on a contractor who incorrectly connected the sewage pipe from the 1,032-bed Palmer Hall barracks to a storm-water drain. After they discovered the mistake while working on an unrelated construction project nearby, they corrected the hook-up and checked for similar problems elsewhere.

 

Navy spokesman Lee Saunders said in a statement that the potential for piping trouble was raised in correspondence between the prime contractor and the plumbing subcontractor. The issue was not brought to the Navy's attention until after the mix-up was found, he said.

 

After the problem surfaced, “The Navy . . . instituted improved standard procedures which list step-by-step requirements for connection to sewage systems,” Saunders said.

 

Water-quality agents said sewage agencies countywide are making progress in reducing sewage overflows. However, there were six discharges of more than 100,000 gallons, plus one of undetermined size, last year.

 

“Overall, the regulated community has done a good job. But there were these large spills during the dry season, and that is kind of troubling,” Alpert said this week.

 

The number of sewage overflows in the region dropped from 427 in 2002-03 to 214 in 2006-07. The water board's records are filed each fiscal year. Halfway through the current fiscal year, the spill count is on pace to match last year's total.

 

The trend for the county's largest sewage agency, the city of San Diego, resembles the one for the region. The city reported 77 spills in 2007, down from 127 in 2004.

 

However, San Diego's volume of spilled wastewater in 2007 more than quadrupled from the previous year because of an August overflow near Lake Hodges. The discharge went undetected for a few days and leaked roughly 391,000 gallons of sewage.

 

The water board blamed that spill on grease and other items that clogged a pipe.

 

“It's a constant battle for us,” said Bob Ferrier, assistant director of San Diego's wastewater department. “Every minute of every day, there are roots getting in the system, and the pipes are getting older (and) grease is accumulating.” The Lake Hodges overflow was far from the largest leakage in the region last year.

 

The Rainbow Municipal Water District had an overflow nearly twice as big near Interstate 15 and Pala Road. At 756,000 gallons, it was the second-largest spill on record in the county last year. The water board linked it to roots and debris that caused a pipe to back up.

 

The county's worst spill of 2007 occurred in Buena Vista Lagoon, where about 7.3 million gallons of wastewater spilled when a pipe owned by Carlsbad and Vista sprung a leak in April.

 

Regulators have proposed a $1.1 million fine, and they are negotiating a settlement with the cities. They hope the resulting penalty will encourage wastewater officials countywide to be more vigilant.

 

“My response to any sewering agency that is still having spills is, 'You can do better' ,” said John Robertus, executive officer for the water board.  #

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080131/news_1m31sewage.html

 

 

REGULATION:

Warren Resources charged for four oil spills in refinery

Associated Press – 1/30/08

 

LOS ANGELES—Warren Resources Inc. and several workers at its Wilmington oil refinery face criminal charges related to four oil spills last year, prosecutors said Wednesday.

 

Warren was charged with failing to report the threatened discharge of oil into marine waters and failing to prepare and implement an oil spill contingency plan, the city attorney's office said.

 

The refinery was charged with eight counts, including violations of the California Department of Fish and Game code regarding discharge of petroleum into the state's water, and the state Clean Water Act.

 

Six employees, including the refinery's general manager and an environmental consultant, were also charged. They were scheduled to be arraigned March 11.

 

Prosecutors alleged the refinery released more than 4,000 barrels of oil through a crack in a storage tank last March 7.

 

Fish and Game agents learned about the spill two days later when they noticed two vacuum trucks leaking fresh oil outside the facility. Prosecutors said the trucks' operators were seen burying puddles of oil in the dirt road surrounding the refinery, and other employees were seen trying to clean up the oil without protective equipment.

 

Company officials admitted that a pump operator didn't close a valve, causing the pump to overflow for more than 90 minutes, prosecutors said.

 

An after-hours message left at Warren was not immediately returned.

 

Los Angeles Fire Department engineers used dirt to block the storm drain to halt further run-off.

 

On July 14, investigators saw black liquid flowing from the facilty into a nearby storm drain, according to prosecutors.

Two other spills occurred Sept. 3 and Nov. 14, prosecutors said. #
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8123573?nclick_check=1

####

[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 1/31/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

January 31, 2008

 

3. Watersheds

 

SALMON SEASON ISSUES:

Fishermen fear lost salmon season; Dramatic drop in chinook returning to Sacramento River may idle North Coast boats - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

 

Salmon report disastrous news for fishermen; Sacramento River's chinook population plummets precipitously - Inside Bay Area

 

Chinook return uncertain - Marysville Appeal Democrat

 

Editorial: Our shrinking salmon; Answer to 'unprecedented collapse' needed - Sacramento Bee

 

Editorial: Salmon mystery; What is happening with California's Chinook? - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

 

LAKE DAVIS PIKE

Open house on Lake Davis pike - Sacramento Bee

 

 

SALMON SEASON ISSUES:

Fishermen fear lost salmon season; Dramatic drop in chinook returning to Sacramento River may idle North Coast boats

Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 1/31/08

By Robert Digitale, staff writer

 

North Coast sport and commercial fishermen fear they might lose this spring's salmon season, a mere two years after federal officials declared the same fishery a disaster.

ADVERTISEMENT


"When they start talking about no fishing at all, that's obviously a concern," said Chuck Wise, a Bodega Bay fisherman and president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.

"It would be devastating to the charter boats in Bodega Bay," said Rick Powers, the skipper of the New Sea Angler. Powers' vessel and other charter boats provide ocean salmon fishing trips for sport anglers.

The possible fishing closure is tied to reports of a dramatic drop in the number of adult chinook salmon returning to spawn in the Sacramento River, the state's most productive salmon river. About 90,000 adult chinook returned this fall to the Sacramento, the fewest since 1992.

Federal regulators suggested in a press release that they might be unable to conserve enough Sacramento salmon this year "even without any commercial or recreational salmon fishing where these fish are found."

The regulators will meet in early April in Seattle to devise season rules and recommend them to the U.S. secretary of commerce.

The state's commercial fishery has declined sharply during the past two decades, even as the number of salmon raised worldwide in aquaculture, or fish farms, has grown exponentially. More than 2,500 commercial vessels landed salmon in California in 1988, compared with fewer than 500 in 2006, the most recent year of record.

That year, the federal Pacific Fisheries Management Council sharply curtailed fishing because of low salmon stocks from the Klamath River north of Eureka. The federal government eventually provided $64 million in relief for West Coast fishermen and related industries.

Now attention is turned to the Sacramento, from which come the majority of salmon caught in both California and Oregon.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who sponsored the disaster relief legislation, said Wednesday that a fishing ban on salmon this year could cost West Coast fishing ports upwards of $80 million.

"It's terrible news for both the fish and the industry," Thompson said.

If the fishery is once more declared a disaster, Thompson said he again will seek aid for the fishermen.

State and federal officials are reporting low salmon runs this year from California to British Columbia.

"As you go up and down the West Coast, there are not very many bright spots," said Harry Morse, spokesman for the state Department of Fish & Game.

Returning chinook salmon on the Russian River this fall numbered 1,900, compared with an average this decade of about 4,500, said Sean White, a fisheries biologist for the Sonoma County Water Agency.

Federal regulators said the reason for the decline is unclear but probably related to ocean conditions.

However, Zeke Grader, executive director of the federation of fishermen's associations, maintained the decline is much sharper on the Sacramento than other rivers. Water diversions for farms and cities "is at least a major cause" of the problems in the river system, he said.

"We've just taken too much water out," Grader said.

Despite the grim outlook for this season, fishermen maintained the declines aren't permanent.

"I fully expect these fish to bounce back," said Chris Lawson, president of the Fisherman's Marketing Association of Bodega Bay. Nonetheless, he said, "I'm concerned with the season we're going to get this year." #

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080131/NEWS/801310346/1033/NEWS01

 

 

Salmon report disastrous news for fishermen; Sacramento River's chinook population plummets precipitously

Inside Bay Area – 1/31/08

By Julia Scott, staff writer

 

PRINCETON-BY-THE-SEA — Local fishermen saw doom in a report released Tuesday warning that the Sacramento River's fall chinook salmon population fell by two-thirds in 2007 and is headed for collapse, according to data from the federal government.

 

The sharp drop in chinook, or "king," salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River led the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which released Tuesday's report, to suggest that it may be necessary to close the salmon season entirely.

 

That would spell disaster for both commercial and recreational fishermen at Pillar Point Harbor, who typically depend on the salmon and Dungeness crab seasons for their entire incomes. Poor salmon returns from the Klamath River in 2006 and 2007 previously caused regulators to cut the first month and a half of salmon season, which normally starts May 1, resulting in untold financial losses for fishermen.

 

Those losses would be compounded by an even poorer season this year. And the pain would be borne not just by fishermen, but by all the groups that benefit from salmon season — from processors to bait shops, RV parks, and fishing guides along the Klamath River.

 

Duncan MacLean, a Half Moon Bay fisherman who is on a team that advises the fishery council, said he's bracing for hard times.

 

"It's probably going to be worse than anything we've experienced before," said MacLean, 58, who relies on salmon fishing for as much as 70 percent of his income.

 

"It's going to put a lot of us out of business."

 

Fishermen say they knew the Sacramento River runs were weaker than expected last year, but even they were shocked by the low number of chinook returning to the river to spawn. Only about 90,000 returning adult salmon were counted in the Central Valley in 2007, the second lowest number since 1973, according to the report.

 

More worrisome is that only about 2,000 2-year-old chinooks — whose numbers are used to predict returns of adult spawners in the coming season — returned to the Central Valley last year — by far the lowest number ever counted.

 

On average, about 40,000 juveniles, or "jacks," return each year.

 

Some believe the losses are related to changes in the ocean linked to global warming. Others blame the troubles in California on increased pumping of fresh water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, which supplies drinking water to millions of people in drought-stricken Southern California, as well as irrigation for America's most fertile farming region.

 

The Pacific Fishery Management Council will use the data to decide on possible restrictions to, or a complete closure of, the season when it meets in Sacramento in March. Final decisions will be made in April.

 

Sacramento salmon form the cornerstone of the Pacific salmon fishery. They have a much greater range than Klamath River stocks, and are caught in California, Oregon, Washington and even British Columbia.

 

The news would be easier to take if the Dungeness crab season had been less of a bust this year, said Jim Anderson, chairman of the California Salmon Council and a commercial fisherman out of Pillar Point.

 

Fishermen across Northern California lost the first two weeks — the most profitable two weeks — of the crab season in November when the Cosco Busan oil spill forced Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to ban all fishing in potentially affected areas. It's been impossible to catch up since then, said Anderson.

 

"The weather's been really bad, and there's not much crab out there. I talked to a lot of guys, and they've just made their expenses. Nobody's been able to make any money," he said. "I'm still trying to catch up on the gear I bought last year."

 

In his work with the California Salmon Council, Anderson helped secure a $33 million emergency compensation package last year for California fishermen and fishing-related businesses from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

 

The payouts, which were based on a fisherman's catch history between 2002 and 2006, helped ease the pain a little, but "didn't do anything for the future," said Anderson.

 

He said he has already been in touch with officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the Department of Commerce, about the possibility of putting together another compensation package or securing zero-interest loans for fishermen and others affected across the state.

 

Any loss of the salmon season would strip away 50 percent of the annual profits at Huck Finn Sportfishing, a mainstay of Pillar Point Harbor for years.

 

"Salmon has always been our bread and butter, along with rockfish," said Peggy Beckett, who owns the store along with her husband Bill.

 

"It's not been a good winter. If we lost the salmon season, I don't know. Unless I can figure out something else to do, I don't know how we'll survive."  #

http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_8127445?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

 

 

Chinook return uncertain

Marysville Appeal Democrat – 1/30/08

By Howard Yune staff writer

 

A dramatic fall in the Sacramento River's salmon population has fishing-related businesses uncertain when, or if, sales will bounce back anytime soon.

Bait-and-tackle shops and other businesses linked to recreational fishing reported steep sales declines during the past fall's salmon season - the effect, they say, of a chinook salmon population federal regulators believe has dropped precipitously in five years. With a possible closure of the salmon-fishing season looming, no quick relief is apparent.

"Mainly, it's going to cut out that whole season," said Mike Searcy, owner of Star Bait and Tackle in Linda. "We'll basically lose three months of business because of the loss of (salmon) season, because there isn't any other species to target during that time. A good 25 percent of our business would be gone."

The numbers of chinook, also called king salmon, returning from the Pacific Ocean to the Sacramento River system to spawn fell steeply in river systems across the North State, according to an internal memo of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The Associated Press released the memo's contents on Wednesday.

Last year's total of about 90,000 salmon in the Sacramento River and its tributaries marked a near-historic low and an 88 percent falloff from the record 804,000 chinook that entered the river and its tributaries in 2002. It was the Sacramento's smallest salmon tally since the 82,000 fish counted in 1992, according to fishery council records.

Scientists, anglers and water authorities are debating the cause of the decline.

In the Mid-Valley, some blame heavy-handed management of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta - particularly the pumping of water to support agriculture and the millions of residents in Southern California.

Excessive drawing from the delta has shrunk the supply of one-celled plankton and upset the food chain that salmon depend on, according to Searcy. He also pointed to non-native plants like water hyacinths stripping the delta of native plants that give young chinooks cover from predatory adult fish.

"I had guys who used to catch 70-100 salmon a year, and last year they were counting the number of salmon they caught on both hands," he said.

In Yuba City, Bob Boucke reported salmon-related business at his shop, Johnson's Bait & Tackle, has shriveled to barely 10 percent of the level five years ago. While others focus on the draining of the Sacramento, he pointed to intensified ocean fishing that enriches overseas fishers at the expense of West Coast anglers.

"You've got Russians, Japanese, and their boats are taking every salmon they can get and we don't have control over those people," said Boucke, who added his shop and local competitors are having to lean far more heavily on striper bass anglers to stay profitable.

Fishery council members will meet in Sacramento in March and could shorten or even cancel the salmon season, which is slated to begin in May.

But a longtime Colusa angler cautioned authorities against such haste, saying more research is needed to understand the disappearance of salmon - and adding such declines have happened before.

"I've fished the Sacramento River since I was 8, and I'm 42 now," said Pat Kittle, co-owner of Kittle Outdoor & Sport Co. "When I was in high school, next to nobody caught salmon in the river, and if you did you were a hero. Then for the last eight years, it was pretty common.

"Why? There are so many variables, I couldn't point a finger at any one." #

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/salmon_59735___article.html/river_sacramento.html

 

 

Editorial: Our shrinking salmon; Answer to 'unprecedented collapse' needed

Sacramento Bee – 1/31/08

 

Throughout the ages, salmon populations have been known to gyrate from year to year.

 

Newborn salmon that enjoy a perfect combination of river and ocean conditions come swimming back in huge numbers three or four years later. Lousy environmental conditions lead to a salmon decline.

 

Apparently, life for Central Valley salmon was pretty lousy four years ago. The current fall run of fish is at near-record lows. A preliminary count suggests that the 2007 class of Valley salmon will consist of a mere 90,000 fish, compared to more than 250,000 in 2006 and 800,000 in 2002.

 

Federal fishery regulators are calling the downturn an "unprecedented collapse," meaning that commercial fishermen can expect to see fishing restrictions beyond those that are already hurting this industry. Gone are the days when consumers could easily find fresh, locally caught salmon for less than $10 a pound.

 

If only it were easy to understand what is driving this downturn. Dams, water diversions, pollution and loss of shady river habitat clearly are hurting the effort to rebuild numbers of natural spawners.

 

But water diversions have spiked steadily since the 1990s in the Central Valley, and salmon nonetheless had impressive runs from 2001 to 2003. That suggests that stresses on salmon go beyond the Valley's water projects and extend far out into the ocean.

 

While out at sea, salmon eat shrimp-like creatures called krill, as well as anchovies and other small fish. Some scientists have found that changes in West Coast wind patterns have disturbed a normal "upwelling" of the ocean that helps energize the food chain. This could be a harbinger of climate change or just a temporary cycle. Much more research is needed to understand the links.

 

In coming decades, California is expected to invest billions of dollars in new water projects, including a possible canal to divert fresh water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But will such projects help or hurt salmon? Or have no impact? Californians will want answers before opening their wallets. #

http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/675216.html

 

Editorial: Salmon mystery; What is happening with California's Chinook?

Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 1/31/08

 

The decline of California's salmon population is no mystery. Sonoma County residents have experienced first-hand the impacts of the decline -- from fishing bans to water conservation efforts.

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The mystery now is why efforts to bolster the number of Chinook or king salmon, particularly those returning from the Pacific to the Sacramento River, have failed -- and what can be done to turn the situation around.

According to a Pacific Fishery Management Council memo, the state's largest salmon run is suffering an "unprecedented collapse." The number of salmon returning to the Sacramento River and its tributaries this past fall dropped 67 percent from a year earlier. In just five years, the Central Valley salmon population has dropped 88 percent.

Is it global warming? Fishing? The influence of fresh water being pumped from the delta? Whatever the cause, the effect is going to be another season or two of severe fishing restrictions throughout the West. #

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080131/WIRE/801310375/1043/OPINION01

 

 

LAKE DAVIS PIKE

Open house on Lake Davis pike

Sacramento Bee – 1/31/08

By Jane Braxton Little, staff writer

 

PORTOLA – Northern pike in Lake Davis and the $16.7 million project designed to eradicate them will be the focus of an open house Saturday.

 

California Department of Fish and Game officials will review last year's chemical treatment process and ongoing procedures for monitoring the Plumas County reservoir, said Randy Kelly, the department's pike project manager.

 

They will also discuss plans to restock Lake Davis with nearly 1 million Eagle Lake trout and other efforts to re-establish it as a trout fishery.

 

The open house is scheduled for 1 to 3:30 p.m. in the Eastern Plumas Healthcare education room, 500 First Ave., Portola. #

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/676005.html

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