A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 16, 2009
2. Supply –
Water agency steps up search for more supplies
The
Experts: Water rationing not needed locally
The
FALLBROOK: Future of agriculture industry on the line as water woes play out
The
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Water agency steps up search for more supplies
The
By Michael Gardner
Since 2007, Metropolitan's stockpiles have shrunk by nearly half, drained by a combination of drought, diversions to safeguard fish, cuts in
As a result, the wholesaler's board of directors is expected next month to roll out a proposal to curtail deliveries to its
"April is when we have to come to grips with all of this," said Keith Lewinger, who serves on the boards of Metropolitan and the San Diego County Water Authority.
Metropolitan has been pursuing an aggressive strategy to refill supply pipelines to keep cuts from inflicting economic pain, officials say.
The Los Angeles-based agency is emptying a water bank in central
Metropolitan's hunt also has taken it to familiar territory: traditional cash-for-water deals with farmers from Blythe to
"We're looking for water wherever we can find it," said Roger Patterson, the district's assistant general manager.
Most of the attention during this drought has been riveted on whether lakes Oroville, Shasta, Folsom, Mead and Powell will ever be fully replenished. But there is a growing realization that Metropolitan's once-flush supply network is approaching critically low levels.
Two years ago, Metropolitan's reserves approached 3 million acre-feet of water – equal to the amount used by 6 million typical homes per year. Today, that amount is 1.6 million acre-feet.
For instance, Metropolitan's self-financed $2 billion investment against drought – the 800,000 acre-foot
"At the rate we've been drawing on reserves, that's 2½ to 3 years before we're tapped out," Patterson said.
Recent gloomy skies in
But even as reservoirs inch higher with spring snowmelt, Metropolitan must remain cautious because the weather can turn dry just as quickly.
"Are we out of the woods? The odds are against us," said Lewinger, also general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District.
For Metropolitan, that means receiving 280,000 acre-feet instead of the more than 1 million acre-feet the state in total normally delivers.
Tim Quinn, head of a coalition of water agencies and former Metropolitan executive, does not expect the water supply crisis to dissipate for some time.
That's because pumping restrictions to protect fish have diverted about 40 percent of the deliveries that usually move south out of the
Metropolitan officials are ramping up their quest for supplies while preparing its 26 member agencies and 19 million residents for rationing.
New water is not be cheap. For example, Metropolitan's board on Tuesday ratified a one-time emergency purchase of 66,000 acre-feet from farmers near Blythe in the Palo Verde Valley. The cost? More than $22 million, at $340 per acre-foot.
In contrast, Metropolitan has an ongoing 35-year deal with Palo Verde, a reliable well, that pays farmers about $250 per acre-foot. In return for cash, growers fallow land to free up water. This year, in addition to the emergency purchase last week, Metropolitan expects to ask for the entire 120,000 acre-feet available under the existing contract – a $30 million bill.
In 2008, Metropolitan called for about 100,000 acre feet, and just 73,000 acre feet in 2007.
Metropolitan is incurring debt with the Las Vegas-based Southern Nevada Water Authority. Metropolitan borrowed 70,000 acre-feet last year and is back for more: as much as 100,000 acre-feet. No money will exchange hands, but the water will have to be repaid starting in 2020.
The deal is another illustration of détente among once-warring states and water agencies forced to cooperate by a landmark deal to share the
"We have come to understand that we have to work together," said Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Southern Nevada's cooperation has helped boost
Southern Nevada also signed an agreement that allows Metropolitan to store extra water in
Metropolitan is also working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and others to expand a small pilot project at the long-shuttered
Farther north, Metropolitan this year will draw the last of its water stored in the Central Arizona Project.
In Central California, Metropolitan has about 300,000 acre-feet tucked into groundwater banks operated by several
Metropolitan is also shopping for water among the
Metropolitan's goal is 300,000 acre-feet, but Patterson is pessimistic.
"Obviously, there's not going to be that much available," Patterson said. #
| Experts: Water rationing not needed locally The By Marc Aspillera Despite three years of drought, a relatively dry forecast for the year and a state of emergency proclaimed by the governor, the Tony Winnicker, SFPUC director of communications, said March and April would have to be "bone dry" in terms of rainfall for mandatory conservation to be an option. The SFPUC provides water to several Winnicker said February's rainfall left Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at 85 percent capacity and Mid-Peninsula Water District Conservation Specialist Jeanette Kalabos said it's a "fifty-fifty shot" over whether mandatory conservation will be implemented. Mid-Peninsula Water District handles water for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency regarding the state water shortage on Feb. 27. The governor requested urban water users reduce individual water use by 20 percent. Winnicker said the governor's request for 20 percent reduction was a good one, but added that 20 percent is not necessary for the region. Tim McAuliffe, an assistant superintendent for Burlingame Public Works, said the city has a 10 percent voluntary reduction program. Additionally, the city provides rebates on low-flow toilets and washing machines. Runoff rate for rain in The number for reservoir storage statewide is around 70 percent, Winnicker said the The Public Utilities Commission will meet with 2009 marks the third consecutive year of the ongoing drought.# |
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=107154
FALLBROOK: Future of agriculture industry on the line as water woes play out
Water shortage taking heavy toll as agriculture continues to steer local economy
The
By Tom Pfingsten
FALLBROOK ---- Water is the fuel that powers Fallbrook's largest industry, flowing to the roots of avocado trees and dripping into flower pots at dozens of nurseries.
But as the Southern California water shortage intensifies across
A shortage of water isn't the only problem facing many growers: Invasive pests that harm citrus trees have surfaced elsewhere in
But water is the thing that seems most worrisome to anyone who makes money off of agriculture in Fallbrook.
"I've been in the industry for 34 years, and this is the worst I've seen groves looking," said Bob Lucy, owner of Del Rey Avocado Co. packinghouse in downtown Fallbrook.
Lucy, who serves on the board of directors for the Rainbow Municipal Water District, said 2008 took a heavy toll on avocado growers, the vast majority of whom were forced by the Metropolitan Water District to cut back water usage by 30 percent.
"It just wasn't enough water," he said.
Outside of town, at the midsize Sunlet Nursery, Janet Kister said her operation, which annually grows millions of indoor and patio flowering plants, has pursued every conceivable way of conserving water.
"I think we've squeezed out every drop that we could," said Kister, who started the nursery with her husband, John, in 1984. "We are about as efficient as you can get ---- I don't know anything we could do that we haven't done already."
Across the county, agricultural businesses accounted for $1.5 billion of the economy in 2007, the last year for which statistics are available.
Of that figure, 68 percent was from nursery and flower crops, and 15 percent was from fruit and nut crops, including avocados.
While county officials do not keep a breakdown of those numbers for the Fallbrook area, officials say much of its economy is wrapped up in nurseries and avocado-related businesses, from growers to packers to grove service companies ---- all of which stand to lose if the amount of water flowing into Fallbrook continues to decrease.
Water pressure
Things started looking bad for growers in August 2007, when a federal judge in
The ruling was issued to protect the endangered delta smelt fish, but its side effects were massive, agriculture industry leaders say.
In October 2007, officials at the Los-Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District notified farmers who had for years received rate discounts under the district's "Interim Agricultural Water Program" that they would be required to reduce their 2008 water usage by 30 percent of what they used in 2007.
In Fallbrook, everyone from small-time avocado farmers to some of the largest commercial operations was left scrambling to upgrade expensive equipment and streamline irrigation systems.
"It rained quite a bit early in the year, so we were able to bank that water" to use in the dry summer months, Kister said.
She said her business spent $150,000 last year, not including labor costs, to change out irrigation equipment and install computers to automatically shut off the flow of water at just the right time.
"It was very expensive to do ---- everything is expensive when you start changing things like that over," said Kister. "But we didn't have a choice. We needed the water."
More recently, growers have been given several options to keep watering their crops and receive marginal discounts, but the threat of further cutbacks looms large.
Avocados take the heat
Fallbrook is perhaps best known for avocados ---- a product that has infused millions of dollars a year into the local economy and is even the theme of the town's largest street fair every spring.
But industry leaders who have witnessed a series of bad turns for avocado growers in recent years predict further declines if water supplies continue to dwindle.
"This is a very pivotal year, I think, for the industry," said Lucy, whose packing operation relies on local avocado groves for a product to export.
On top of the reduced availability of water last year, a heat wave during the spring avocado bloom led to what growers call a poor "crop set" ---- meaning there's less fruit on the trees than there should be.
"In my opinion, it's the small crop that's going to hurt more than anything," said Charlie Wolk, a longtime Fallbrook resident who owns a grove service to help growers maintain and harvest their crops.
This year's blooming season is coming up, and Lucy said the results could determine how many growers are left standing next year.
"We're hoping that we'll come back with a very good bloom and good crop for next year, and hopefully that will encourage farmers to stay in," he said. "If that doesn't happen, I think we'll see a lot of acreage in Fallbrook and
Rankin McDaniel, president of McDaniel Fruit Co., said avocados are still a big player in Fallbrook's economy, no matter how hard growers have been hit by water cutbacks.
"I believe they'll continue to play a major role in the economy," said McDaniel, whose avocado company runs Fallbrook's other large packing service. "It's a role that will be redefined in the next few years, as we see how the water situation plays out and how the economy rebounds."
Still, some leaders are predicting that many smaller groves will go out of business.
Wolk wouldn't venture a guess as to how many, but did acknowledge that 2009 will be a trying year for the industry.
"If they farmed their land correctly, they should have been making money in past years. Hopefully, they were prudent and have some of that money set aside to get them through this year," said Wolk. "2009 is going to be survival mode for a lot of growers."
The challenges are mounting just two years after one of the most difficult seasons in recent memory for avocado growers: In January 2007, frost damaged more than 26,000 acres of groves in
Losses from those two calamities were estimated to be $62 million countywide, and yet, experts say a lack of water represents even greater peril for one of Fallbrook's most important sources of income.
Nurseries
Sprawling across large swaths of rural land, nurseries constitute the gentle giant in Fallbrook's agriculture industry, rivaling the economic force of avocados.
Kister, whose 25-acre Sunlet Nursery sells several million plants every year to garden centers, supermarkets and hotels, among other clients, said her operation was forced to cut back production by 5 to 10 percent during 2008.
Spread over gently sloping land in southwest Fallbrook, Sunlet specializes in flowering plants, many of which require special care inside state-of-the-art greenhouses.
"We have a good sense now, from last year, what we can manage," said Kister, who was named
With around 85 employees, Kister said that last year's trials revealed how far her company could cut back on water before it starts to harm the business.
"We can cut back somewhere between 25 and 30 percent ---- we know we can do that, and we've done it," she said. "Could we get to 40? No way, no how."
She said she would have to grow fewer plants, which would be bad for business because the nursery wouldn't have enough product to offer its clients, such as amusement parks and garden centers.
"Each nursery's going to fare differently," said Kister. "We're down less than 10 percent from last year. We're not doing great, we're not doing terrible ---- we're doing OK."#
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