A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 10, 2009
2. Supply –
Only a 20% chance of rain is predicted for the next few days, but that will rise again to 50% by late Friday. Downtown
El Dorado
Los Angeles mayor seeks water restrictions, rate hike
Despite recent rain, the ongoing drought and dwindling water sources prompt Villaraigosa to seek drastic action. The DWP will vote on his proposal next week.
Nunes calls for Obama to ‘turn the pumps on’
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Only a 20% chance of rain is predicted for the next few days, but that will rise again to 50% by late Friday. Downtown
By Carol J. Williams
Four days of on-again, off-again rain and strong wind continued to snarl rush-hour traffic, trigger mudslides, flood intersections and inflict scattered power outages Monday, but the National Weather Service said relief was in sight.
Only a 20% chance of rain has been forecast for the next few days, although that will rise again to 50% by late Friday.
Downtown
Mudslides blocked trails and threatened to overflow barriers in Sierra Madre, and a rain-induced rock slide occurred near
Power outages caused by storm-water overflows persisted for a fourth day, but each of the few areas still without electricity late Monday involved fewer than 50 people, Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Stephanie Interiano said.
All were expected to have service restored overnight.
In the
The fresh snowfall was expected to entice skiers to the mountains over the long weekend that ends Monday with the Presidents Day holiday.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rain10-2009feb10,0,4719557.story
El Dorado
El Dorado Irrigation District is preparing to declare a Stage 1 drought March 9, barring significant increases in snow and rainfall in the next four weeks.
Customers would be asked to voluntarily cut back on water use, with the goal of reducing demand by 15 percent districtwide. The staff also would step up public awareness campaigns and enforcement of water-waste regulations.
The district serves about 100,000 customers on the county's western slope.
The district expects a reduction in the water it will be allowed to draw from Folsom Lake, which is at 25 percent of capacity, Witter told board members Monday.
Director Harry Norris said he would rather start voluntary conservation measures in March than wait until May and have to go immediately to mandatory cutbacks.#
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1612469.html?mi_rss=Our+Region
Los Angeles mayor seeks water restrictions, rate hike
Despite recent rain, the ongoing drought and dwindling water sources prompt Villaraigosa to seek drastic action. The DWP will vote on his proposal next week.
By Phil Willon
Even with the recent batch of rainstorms, the ongoing drought has grown so severe that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday called for increased citywide water restrictions and the adoption of a tiered water rate that would punish Department of Water and Power customers who fail to conserve.
Sprinkler use would be restricted to two days a week under the proposal and, by summer, could be cut to one day a week if the drought continues, Villaraigosa said. The restrictions -- the first of six levels have been in place for more than a year -- and rate changes could be enacted by spring if approved by the City Council and DWP.
"The level of severity of this drought is something we haven't seen since the early 1970s. We have to move quickly to address this problem," Villaraigosa said at a news conference at City Hall.
Quick action is necessary, he said, because the Metropolitan Water District -- a major wholesale water supplier to the city and the rest of
At the same time, the Eastern Sierra snowpack, another major source of water for
"I know it is raining right now," meteorologist Elissa Lynn, of the state Department of Water Resources, said later Monday. "That's not going to entirely make up for this dry year or the past two dry years. And we don't know: Is it the third year of a three-year drought, or the third year of a six-year drought?"
Water restrictions are nothing new in
"What is being delivered here today is grim news indeed. What is being announced is, in effect, water rationing for the first time in the history of the city of
The rationing would be achieved by adopting "shortage-year rates" to encourage conservation by altering the DWP's billing method.
The exact effect on DWP customers is unclear for now. First the DWP board must decide how much it wants customers to conserve, which will determine how to set rates. Villaraigosa said DWP customers probably would be asked to cut water use "in the double digits and it could be as high as 15 to 20%."
"The vast majority of people will actually save money if they comply to reduce their water use . . . those who don't will be penalized," Villaraigosa said, adding that the DWP also will expand its financial aid program for low-income families.
Currently, the DWP has a two-tier rate system, a base of $2.92 per 100 cubic feet and a Tier II rate of $2.98. Single-family homeowners pay the base rate if their water use stays within 125% of the average amount of water consumed by homes on similar-sized lots and temperature zones.
The higher rate kicks in when a customer exceeds that.
For example, an owner of a 1,400-square-foot home in Van Nuys is now charged the base rate for the first 5,000 cubic feet of water consumed. If the DWP decided to impose shortage-year rates to cut consumption by 15%, that same homeowner would pay the base rate on 4,250 cubic-feet of water, and the Tier II rate on everything that exceeds it. And the Tier II rate would increase sharply, from $2.98 to $5.01 per 100 cubic feet of water.
The DWP commissioners will consider the proposal Feb. 17, Nahai said.
"We're going to have to do a great deal of outreach and education to the public. We don't want anybody to be caught unaware and suddenly see their bill go up," Nahai said. "Remember, the idea here is not to increase revenue to the department, it's to encourage conservation."
Still, even if the conservation measures are adopted, that might not prevent DWP customers from getting walloped by a separate water-rate increase later this year if the Metropolitan Water District -- which supplies more than half of the city's water -- raises its wholesale rates.
MWD General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger said the drought and the reduction in water supplies have forced his agency to buy "more expensive water" from farmers and other sources.
"We have to charge what it costs, and we have to go out and get that water," Kightlinger said.
"We can't say, 'Sorry, we're not going to deliver water for the next few months because it's so expensive,' " he said. #
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water-restrictions10-2009feb10,0,31180.story?track=rss
Nunes calls for Obama to ‘turn the pumps on’
Central Valley Business Times – 2/9/09
President Obama should declare a national emergency to force the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project to provide enough water for farming in the
Court orders to protect endangered fish in the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta, coupled with a third year of drought, may result in little or no irrigation water being provided.
“This year we get to watch the fall of modern civilization in the
The congressman says this could result in tens of thousands of people losing their jobs – both on far and in businesses that support agriculture.
“You’re looking at 20 percent unemployment” if the irrigation water is not supplied, he says.
“President Obama could step in right now and say this is a national emergency,” he says. #
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=11097
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