Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 27, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Valley Latinos gain ground in California
The
Some See Splitting State as Solution
The
Efficient toilets, appliances help save water
The San Francisco Chronicle
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Valley Latinos gain ground in California
The Fresno
A group called the Latino Water Coalition is pushing for state-financed dams and canals, joining white farmers and big water districts.
The coalition — mostly comprising Hispanic business and civic leaders — is targeting the Legislature’s Latino caucus in hopes the lawmakers will break with other Democrats who oppose dams for environmental reasons.
It’s a mostly personal appeal.
“We’re able to connect because these are individuals who, for the most part, understand the culture,” said Firebaugh City Manager Jose Ramirez, a Democrat and coalition member. “They speak our language.”
His farming town is reeling from the drought and pumping cutbacks at the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the state’s water hub. In December, Firebaugh’s jobless rate was 23%.
Rather than quote numbers, the coalition likes to put a human face on its cause: hundreds of poor farmworkers whom they say will suffer if the state does not boost water supplies.
In early February the coalition sent about 60 workers to
The coalition is scoring some victories.
Assembly Member Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, vice chairman of the 26-member Latino Legislative Caucus, said he would support a state bond that includes money for dams.
“I’m not from the Central Valley, but I understand,”
The Latino caucus plans to soon send a letter to Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, and Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, urging them to restart water negotiations.
Latino Caucus member Jose Solorio, a Democrat whose Assembly district includes
“It’s nice to know that the needs for water in the
The coalition supports the bond, as well as a proposed new canal to send water around the Delta to cities and farms. In the short term, they want the state and federal government to ease environmental regulations to increase pumping from the Delta. The rules are in place to protect endangered fish.
Environmentalists say conservation and ground-water storage are the quicker and cheaper options to boost the state’s dwindling water supplies.
Some groups say the Latino caucus is too focused on farms, while ignoring the clean drinking water needs of farmworker communities.
“I appreciate the fact that they’re going out and trying to engage folks on the ground,” but “I’m not sure they’re conveying the whole story,” said Debbie Davis, legislative analyst for the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water based in
The Latino coalition was formed in 2006 after a meeting in
“The water world has not been a world where there’s been great diversity of people,” Santoyo said. “There’s only a few Latinos in that world. I always felt kind of lonely.” #
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1226116.html
| Some See Splitting State as Solution The Joe Naiman |
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While most Californians lament that the state is broke and many criticize a broken system, an organization formed primarily by agricultural interests seeks tobreak up the state.
Citizens for Saving California Farming Industries (CSCFI) have proposed dividing
The eastern portion would include 45 counties, including
“We’ll be able to manage what kind of revenue we’re getting,” said CSCFI chief executive officer and president Bill Maze.
Maze, who lives in
He was in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and spent the previous 10 years on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors.
“They [the state] hold local government – cities, counties, and other special districts – hostage,” he said.
Maze saw a polarization of political parties while in the state legislature and also saw the results of a redistricting process intended to preserve incumbents rather than to represent citizens.
His Assembly district was the largest geographic state Assembly, House of Representatives, or House of Delegates district in the continental
It covered 33,000 square miles including Highway 99 through the
The passage of Proposition 11 in last November’s election may mitigate some of the gerrymandering of legislative districts, but Maze feels that the political process is still present.
“We’ve all had these little ‘plans’ to fix how we design the districts,” he said. “All of them still have political input into them.”
Those who represent large geographical districts often complain not only about the relative lack of political power compared to urban legislators but also about their inability to represent a variety of constituencies.
The diverse state constituency is seen as a need for two separate states.
“To me the final straw that broke the camel’s back was the passage of Proposition 2,” Maze said.
Prop. 2 addressed the housing conditions of poultry. Animal rights activists saw Prop. 2 as improving the welfare of agricultural birds while farmers doubt they can remain economically competitive with imported egg production.
“They’re going to put them out of business in
Although Prop. 2 passed on a statewide basis, it was rejected in 41 of
“You have these kind of voting numbers of basically agriculturally uneducated city dwellers,” Maze said. “That’s the way we see this thing.”
The split would likely make the eastern portion of
The general conservative politics of
“It’s all the agricultural base of it as well as what has been more rational commonsense thinking,” Maze said.
Ironically, the type of conservative politics in the two states could be different.
While urban conservatives often focus on social issues, rural conservatives place more emphasis on local government, and water issues are also more important in the decisions of rural voters and legislators.
Maze was born in Woodlake and grew up in
While that would give the western remnant an agricultural college,
“We can be very self-sustaining, self-supporting,” Maze said.
Maze also noted that the retention of the
The deficit of the
“They’re getting the lion’s share of the state budget as well as having almost exclusive control of what the outcomes are,” Maze said.
The current population of what would be the coastal state is approximately 18.4 million while the population of the 45 counties slated for the primarily inland state totals approximately 19.6 million.
Currently a State Assembly district has a population of approximately 480,000 while a State Senate district contains more than 900,000 residents.
Maze isn’t averse to a unicameral legislature for the new state (currently
“We ought to be thinking about how we change the whole legislature up there,” he said.
The proposed new state does not yet have a specific name, although Grand California has been mentioned as well as
CSCFI had a booth at a farm show in
Maze noted that the response in the
CSCFI will utilize an initiative ballot measure to divide the state.
“You think this legislature in
The initiative, if sufficient petition signatures are collected, will likely be on the 2012 ballot. “It takes a long process here,” Maze said.
The actual petition process timeline could place the initiative on a 2010 ballot, but CSCFI will hold seminars and other educational forums throughout 2009.
Individuals will be identified to be county coordinators in each county; at this time no
The outreach will extend to other business groups in addition to the agricultural origin.
“People can really think about it,” Maze said. “Let’s really create some change to this state.” #
http://www.thevillagenews.com/story/36049/
Efficient toilets, appliances help save water
We're talking about a toilet here.
Specifically, the Toto toilet - a water-efficient commode made by Japanese company founded in 1917.
The toilet's legendary power-flush engineering has garnered fans for decades. But water experts say Toto and others like it which use as little as 1.28 gallons per flush, aren't just novelties or stylish accessories: They're a key component of water conservation in
Peter Gleick, of
Other technology, from water recycling to desalination, holds promise as well. But everyday appliances still represent the low-hanging fruit of water conservation.
"We're faced with the reality of a diminished water supply in
Using less water to flush is not a novel idea.
But as
Many have tried to entice customers to swap out aging toilets or 40-gallon-per-load washers with rebates of $100 or more. These days, the customers are making the first move.
"There's an insatiable appetite for this stuff right now," according to Dan Carney, water conservation manager for the Marin Municipal Water District. "Because the technology is so much better, people are just thrilled."
Each generation has seen improvements in the amount of water used for flush toilets. In the 1930s and '40s, toilets used about nine gallons, Carney said.
From there, water-per-flush decreased to seven gallons, then five, 3.5 then to 1.6. While the low-flow 1.6-gallon toilets did mark a sea change in the bathroom, some of those toilets were known for requiring, uh, two flushes. The latest common toilet requires 1.28 gallons per flush. But there are already some that use just one gallon (waterless, or composting, toilets exist, too, but aren't as popular).
Most large manufacturers make high-efficiency toilets - Kohler, American Standard and Toto.
And while some buyers have been downright disappointed with clogs, high prices or even "fit," there are many low-flow toilet junkies out there.
On one Web site devoted to toilet reviews, a commenter wrote, "We just replaced two twenty-two year old toilets, which required 2 to 3 flushes before everything went down, with two (high-efficiency toilets from Toto). Is it possible to fall in love with a toilet? One flush ... gone! Clean bowl, very quiet, and only 1.6 gallons."
Frank Brown, who's been in the plumbing business in
"They say, 'The city has been out to my house and shown me how much water I'm wasting,' " Brown said. "They're concerned about the water shortage, and they want to keep saving."
Still, low-flow or high-efficiency toilets aren't cheap. Switching an old commode for a high-tech toilet costs about $550 on average, Brown said. (Fixing damaged flooring or sewer connections adds more to the costs).
In these days of wallet-watching, fewer consumers may opt to take the plunge, even with municipal incentives. Over the long-term, however, they may pay in other ways. If
That's when many more people may jump on the low-flow bandwagon, Brown said#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/26/BARD164VN4.DTL
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