A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 23, 2009
2. Supply –
Crisis On Tap:
Riverside Press
Riverside Press
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Crisis On Tap:
Riverside Press
Storms that drenched much of the state in February may have turned parched earth into fields of wildflowers, but they did little to reverse three consecutive years of drought.
In fact, the signals have grown more ominous, culminating in an emergency declaration late last month by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and warnings of mandatory water rationing.
The state's population has ballooned.
Water exports from
And a trend among farmers to grow tree fruit and other permanent crops rather than plantings that die off every year has made it harder for them to fallow their land.
Evidence of the diminishing water supply can be seen in the "bathtub rings" that run along the banks of
All private boat launches on the lake south of
Boaters aren't the only ones affected by the drought.
Homeowners are paying more for water and, in some areas, those caught excessively watering their lawns could get slapped with fines.
Consumers will likely pay more for fresh produce.
Tens of thousands of farming jobs in the
Some say the state desperately needs new reservoirs and canals to capture and deliver water more efficiently.
Others say that's a waste of money and that the government should focus on getting farmers, homeowners and businesses to conserve more water, and on getting communities to recycle more wastewater -- though sometimes getting residents to overcome the "ick" factor can be a challenge.
The situation has gotten so dire, some say, that cities inevitably will have to limit growth.
Reaching a consensus won't be easy. Territorial rifts have been a hallmark of the state's water history.
Farmers blame environmentalists. Environmentalists blame developers. Northern Californians blame
Experts say all sides are going to have to suck it up.
At a 2007 water conference in
"The four horsemen have arrived," Cantú said in a recent interview. "We don't have a drop to waste."
Bleak Forecast
Californians rely on a Byzantine network of reservoirs, canals, pipes and pumping stations to deliver water to their faucets, showerheads and sprinklers.
The two main conduits of that supply, the Delta and the
Since 2006, precipitation across the state has been down about one-quarter, not as bad as
Several factors are exacerbating the problem:
The state's population has grown by 9 million since 1992, putting extra strain on the system.
A federal court order in late 2007 scaled back pumping in the Delta to protect smelt and other imperiled fish species, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in water deliveries from the Delta.
More and more farmers over the years have switched from growing annual crops to permanent crops.
While permanent crops are more desirable because they have a higher value and require less water, farmers cannot idle those crops without incurring a heavy cost.
It appears the drought will only get worse in the long term:
Projections show that the state population, now at 38 million, could soar to 60 million by 2050.
The warming earth is causing less snow to fall in the winter. That means a diminished mountain snowpack, a key source of the state's water.
And what snow does fall is melting faster, meaning less water available for the drier and hotter months.
State water officials say the winter snowpack in the
Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego say there is a 50 percent chance that Lake Mead, the massive reservoir on the Colorado River 30 miles southeast of
Melting arctic ice caps could raise the sea level 4 to 16 inches by midcentury, increasing the risk that saltwater from
And the levees protecting the Delta are aging and at risk from a major earthquake and flooding caused by rising seas.
If the levees fail, freshwater exports to
Ripple Effects
The drought's impacts have been immediate and far-reaching.
Water deliveries to regional and local suppliers have been cut, mandatory conservation is spreading, and water rates are climbing.
The state Department of Water Resources oversees the delivery of water to most urban water agencies, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region's major water wholesaler.
Last year, the department was able to deliver only 35 percent of the water those agencies requested.
This year, the department expects to deliver 20 percent.
With supplies diminishing, officials of the MWD, responsible for delivering water to local agencies serving 2.3 million Inland residents, say there is a 75 percent chance they will cut allocations this year.
The agency hasn't rationed water since the last drought in the early '90s.
A decision on rationing is expected in April.
Many local water agencies, anticipating cutbacks, already have imposed mandatory restrictions on when residents can water their lawns, how they wash their cars, and how well they manage their sprinkler systems.
The Eastern Municipal Water District, one of the Inland region's largest water agencies and dependent on MWD for two-thirds of its water, is among those imposing restrictions.
"It's only smart to put those into effect now, because we don't know if the current water situation will get worse," said Peter Odencrans, a spokesman for Perris-based Eastern.
Eastern approved a tiered rate system earlier this year that penalizes households for using excess water. The rates took effect March 1.
Other areas that have adopted or are considering tiered rates include Coachella,
Some customers are not happy.
Bruce Osgood, a
Osgood blames the district for allowing too much development.
The district can't keep charging homeowners "up the ying yang," he said.
Farmers are feeling the pinch, too.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation oversees the delivery of water to most
Last year, the bureau delivered only 40 percent of the water farmers had asked for.
This year, farmers have been told they are getting nothing -- for now.
Many farmers in the
Last year, the state lost $309 million worth of rangeland and crops, and farmers left 106,000 acres unplanted or abandoned, the California Farm Bureau reported.
This year, in the western
Richard Howitt, an agricultural economics professor at UC Davis, predicts 30,000 to 60,000 jobs in the
Experts say that the basic laws of supply and demand dictate that the price of lettuce, melons, tomatoes, almonds, walnuts and other produce will likely go up.
Joe Pezzini, director of operations for Castroville-based Ocean Mist Farms, the largest grower of artichokes in the nation with crops in the
"Truthfully, there's not enough water to go around now," Pezzini said.
No Simple Fix
Some experts say the state desperately needs new ways to capture and deliver water more effectively.
"We're operating a system that was designed and constructed a half-century ago . . . (that is) inherently incapable of balancing the needs of the aqua system and water-supply reliability for the
The most ambitious plan under consideration is a canal that would funnel fresh water around the Delta, instead of through it.
The peripheral canal, as it is known, would protect imperiled fish in the Delta and ensure a more reliable flow of water from the Delta to Central and
Cost estimates range from $5 billion to $8 billion, plus land acquisition and habitat restoration.
It would be paid for by water users.
The governor is pushing to fast-track the timeline and start construction in 2011.
Opponents, including some farmers and environmentalists, have vowed to tie up the plan in court.
The state also is looking into building new dams to capture runoff during storms.
Increasing surface and groundwater storage was a key component of a $9.3 billion water bond measure proposed in July 2008 by the governor and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
The proposal also set aside money for rehabilitating the Delta and for wastewater recycling and conservation projects.
It failed to get on the November state ballot.
State Sens. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, and Dean Florez, D-Shafter, tried to kick-start the idea recently by introducing separate water bond bills.
In the near-term, it appears some money will be available for drought solutions.
State water officials say they hope to release guidelines next month for distributing to communities $100 million approved last year for local recycling, conservation and other projects.
The state also hopes for an infusion of money from the federal stimulus package to combat the drought, though it remains to be seen how much it will get and for what projects.
Conservation
One remedy that has almost unanimous support is conservation: Everyone -- residential consumers, businesses and farmers -- needs to use less.
Landscape irrigation is an obvious target for water agencies.
Sixty to 70 percent of household water goes to keep lawns green, experts say.
"Grass is really my enemy," said Cantú of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority.
Most homeowners could easily cut their lawn watering in half and their lawns would still survive, she said.
Some water agencies are working aggressively to get the message out, providing rebates and other incentives for homeowners to cut water use.
The Eastern Municipal Water District has assigned a worker to look for oversaturated lawns.
Violators get two warnings. Subsequent violations could lead to fines up to $100.
Since the program took effect in September, the agency has warned or fined more than 2,200 residents and businesses.
Farmers are being asked to pitch in, too.
For the first time since the early 1990s, the state has activated a water bank in which farmers upstream from the Delta can voluntarily let their land go fallow and sell their water to those in need.
In farm and water-rich areas of Southern California -- the
Their water goes to
Some water observers say farmers should simply stop growing certain low-value, water-intensive crops.
"Alfalfa and cotton crops are not valuable enough to justify the amount of water" needed to grow them, said Cary Lowe, a San Diego-based land-use lawyer and urban planning consultant who works with developers.
Wendy Fink-Weber, a spokeswoman for the Western Growers Association, said the market, not government, should dictate what farmers sell.
A better solution is to ease environmental restrictions and improve water delivery and surface water storage, Fink-Weber said.
Alfalfa feeds dairy cows, farmers say, and growing less of it would send the price of milk, cheese and butter climbing and, worse, send the dairy industry out of state entirely.
Some farmers and agricultural and water officials said they worry about food safety if the state becomes too reliant on imports.
Production of garlic, melons, onions and tomatoes has already been scaled back in some areas due to the drought.
Valuable almond trees in the
"I don't want to rely on a foreign country for my food. We do that with oil, and it's not working out so well," said Randy Record, a member of the Eastern Municipal Water District's board.
Curb Growth?
If homeowners and farmers have to make sacrifices, what about developers?
Curbing "mindless development" has to be considered, said Tim Barnett, a marine research physicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and co-author of the
"Have you been to
Curtailing growth is not going to be an easy sell.
When Barnett floated the idea at a conference of
The response was that people have a right to live where they want, he said.
Some attempts have been made to reconcile growth and water supply.
In 2001,
But the law hasn't been enforced, say researchers with the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit organization that looks at the state's natural resources.
They also say the law should apply to more proposed projects and should require a water source beyond 20 years.
"Obviously, there are a lot of loopholes," said Juliet Christian-Smith, a senior research associate with the institute.
In early 2008, Eastern Municipal Water District officials temporarily halted several large projects, including a giant Skechers warehouse, because they weren't certain they could meet the long-term water demand.
A few months later, the district approved all of them.
Officials said recycled water, desalination and conservation would make an extra 60,000 acre-feet of water available annually.
As long as developers meet the law's requirements, Record said he has trouble saying no to new homes and businesses, because the projects create jobs.
He said he has even more trouble supporting calls to stop growth when he sees water flowing down gutters from saturated lawns.
Some environmental groups have succeeded in blocking developments.
A few years ago, Vineyard Area Citizens for Responsible Growth sued the city of
In 2007, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the group, saying local officials had failed to evaluate the long-term water supplies for the project and the potential impact of groundwater pumping on river flows and fish migration.
Joel Kotkin, a futurist and fellow at
"What the greens want to do is make it impossible for the state to grow," Kotkin said. "If
But
"If you want to continue to grow, where are you going to get the water?" he asked. "There has to be limits. It's a no-brainer." #
http://www.pe.com/reports/2009/water/stories/PE_News_Local_S_water22.19771d4.html
Riverside Press
Visitor brochures bill
But these days, it's hard to visit the popular recreation spot just north of
Drought has driven down the water level, exposing a dramatic red-tinged "bathtub ring" along its shoreline.
The dried shells of freshwater clams litter parts of the former lake floor.
Bass tournaments and resort reservations have been canceled, putting a dent in a local economy that has increasingly relied on tourism since the lumber industry fell flat in the late 1980s.
Though recent rains have helped pump up the lake from about 30 percent of capacity in January to more than 50 percent this month, they have not eased the tug-of-war among the competing interests that depend on the reservoir.
Tourism isn't the only business
Water also is released from the 600-foot-high concrete Shasta Dam to protect salmon and other fish species downstream, fight salinity problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, generate hydroelectric power, and deliver water to homes and factories.
The lake is being stretched too thin, said Chuck Desautelle, sales manager at Harrison's Marine in
"You can't keep bleeding the resource you do have," Desautelle said.
Near-Record Lows
Unlike other reservoirs,
Rainfall has been disappointing the past three years.
In an average rainfall year, which runs from July through June, the lake receives an average of 61.92 inches of rain. In 2006-07, the total was 37.54 inches. In 2007-08, it was 47.35 inches.
So far this rainfall year, 41.58 inches have fallen.
In October, the lake surface dropped to 157 feet below crest, exposing century-old relics, including parts of a bridge and train tunnels.
Recent rains have helped raise the surface level to 76 feet below crest.
In 1977, the lake reached a record low of 230 feet below crest during an extended drought.
"While Shasta does not deliver water directly to
The lake's resort owners are a hardy bunch, used to wild fluctuations in the lake's water levels.
They know that a continuous deluge of rain can turn things around instantly.
But in the third year of drought, they're on edge.
Larry McCracken is the owner of Antlers Resort & Marina, situated on the Sacramento River arm of
Normally, a walking path leads from his rental cabins to a steep staircase that descends to McCracken's dock and 180 boat slips.
In mid-January, the staircase led to a beach of rock and dirt and a slow-moving stream.
"It's right down to the riverbed, amazing to me!" he said, as he walked along the water's edge.
For the past two summers, McCracken has had to move his dock five miles downstream where the water is deeper.
He said he estimates rentals for his cabins and houseboats have fallen 25 percent.
The deepening recession has only made things worse.
Stretched Too Thin?
McCracken and other area business owners said they are often frustrated with the timing and amounts of water released from Shasta Dam and wonder why the Bureau of Reclamation doesn't conserve more.
The bureau knows the state is in a crisis situation, McCracken said.
At nearby Sugarloaf Cottages Resort, owner Harold Jones uses the Internet to monitor daily releases of water from the dam.
Jones' dock area in mid-January looked like the landscape of Mars.
"Most people curse the stock market," said his wife, Arlene. "He curses the dropping water levels."
Jones acknowledges that the lake was originally built for irrigation and flood control; recreation came later.
But if water is now being released from the dam to also protect fish or combat salinity problems in the Delta, surely the federal government can hold back some water to help tourism operators, he said.
"The opinion I see from them is that we're sometimes more of a nuisance than a help," Jones said. "Sometimes I do feel that fish and fowl have many more rights than we do as human beings and business owners."
Officials of the Bureau of Reclamation said they sympathize with the resort owners' plight but are legally obligated to accommodate other interests.
"Each interest has their own valid point, but there's only so much we can do," Harral said.
There's a perception that the bureau releases water "on a whim," and that's not true, she said.
Paul Fujitani, water operations chief in the bureau's
Shasta Dam is releasing only 3,250 cubic feet of water per second, the minimum required, Fujitani said.
He acknowledged that it is becoming increasingly difficult to accommodate all the demands on the system.
"It'll be difficult to figure out how much to stretch the water we have right now," he said.
Several Shasta Lake-area residents said they believe the only solution is to build more reservoirs to ease the burden on existing water sources.
Nearly everyone resents how much water is sent to
"It is always a topic of discussion," Jones said. "Most of us up here unfortunately believe the power in this state is in
In the near term, locals have one thing to hope for, said Bob Tu, a worker at The Fishen Hole bait shop in
"Rain," Tu said. "It's the only thing that's going to save our butt." #
http://www.pe.com/reports/2009/water/stories/PE_News_Local_S_shasta22.19770a0.html
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