Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 5, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Opinion:
On Coping With the Drought
Let's innovate and conserve
San Francisco Chronicle
Opinion:
On Coping With the Drought
Don't let the rain get away
San Francisco Chronicle
Grass-roots call for action on Delta
New group's first symposium draws nearly 300
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Opinion:
On Coping With the Drought
Let's innovate and conserve
San Francisco Chronicle – 3/5/09
The ongoing struggles of managing
Water utility conservation efforts have often focused on residential water use through efficiency programs that promote low-flow toilets, drought tolerant landscaping and efficient washing machines, for example. Certainly, through these financial incentives, education, efficiency standards and legislative requirements, we have reduced the demand for water in many areas of
Water use in the business sector is far more variable than in the residential sector. There are a wider variety of devices, processes and water quality needs, making businesses considerably less adaptable to a one-size-fits-all program to save water. To capture the potential savings in
Initial exploration of this approach has led to a number of interesting projects. A hotel converted all of its old ice machines from water-cooled to high efficiency air-cooled models, saving about 8 million gallons per year, recovering their investment within four months. A hospital retrofit of steam machines used for sterilization saved about 6.5 million gallons of water and $80,000 per year on its utility bills. And a sprout growing company is on track to filter and reuse its processed water, saving an estimated 70 percent on current water use and $100,000 per year.
The customers are saving money on both water and wastewater bills, and in the cases where hot water is being saved, on their energy bills as well. In each case, the businesses relied on the SFPUC's efficiency experts to identify the opportunities and provide technical support all the way through implementation. At the end of this experimental pilot program, the SFPUC estimates it will have saved 800 acre-feet of water over 10 years (or nearly 261 million gallons!) while spending 20 percent less than it would have to deliver the water in the first place. Thus, the SFPUC expects to save money while protecting the environment.
The program was highly cost effective for customers as well, whose investments will be fully returned through lower water bills within three months to three years.
Nobody knows how much cost-effective, "low-hanging fruit" of commercial water conservation is out there. Opportunities in
Public utilities normally perform the indispensable public service of providing us with adequate supplies of healthy water at a fair price. As President Obama has stated, it is not less government nor more government that most people want. It is government that delivers services most effectively. In that quest, using private incentives where they work best can help public utilities do a better job of providing clean water for homes and businesses. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/05/EDJS1681AI.DTL
Opinion:
On Coping With the Drought
Don't let the rain get away
San Francisco Chronicle – 3/5/09
Donn Zea is president of the
Californians are accustomed to living with danger - and protecting themselves against it.
Homeowners in earthquake-prone areas carry insurance to protect themselves against financial ruin. In forested areas, homeowners clear nearby brush and trees to create defensible space and are sure to have insurance in the event that catastrophic wildfire hits their community.
Everyone plans for the worst - because it's the smart thing to do.
Unfortunately, as a state we have not planned for the worst when it comes to our water supply, especially during a warming climate.
Rather than stockpiling water as insurance against drought years,
As the water flows into the ccean, so too does our protection against drought.
As
Some might think that recent rains mean that we can relax because the drought is over. Unfortunately, these rains are a drop in
The lack of investment in
Forty years ago, about 20 million people lived in
In those 40 years, much has changed - a huge influx of people who created innovative technology, an expansion of agricultural production to feed our country, and the creation of a unique and vibrant
To keep up, we have built new highways, thousands of new schools, and countless roads to serve our increased population.
Not since
As a result, when drought hits, we have an amount of water suitable for
A critical component to increased water storage is a proposed reservoir in
Without damming a river and with minimal environmental disruption, water could be put in this new reservoir through existing canals that already come close to the property.
When needed, the water could flow back into the
In total, this new reservoir could hold nearly 2 million acre feet of water - twice the surplus of Folsom Lake and about half that of Shasta Lake.
This increased water storage would help
Some state leaders, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and top legislators, have supported increased storage, including the Sites Reservoir.
As we look at another below-normal rain year, despite the recent rain, and a difficult dry summer, it is time to address this issue and not let it remain on the back burner of
The Sites Reservoir site was identified as a possible water storage location more than 15 years ago. Yet today it remains only a hope for
Californians prepare for disasters - it's time for our state to get the "insurance" that water storage provides.
For more information or to see more details on the Sites Reservoir plan, visit www.norcalwater.org,#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/04/ED051680EH.DTL
Grass-roots call for action on Delta
New group's first symposium draws nearly 300
By
Tired of attending agency meetings where they feel their voices are not heard, Delta farmers, anglers and environmentalists had their own symposium Saturday to seek solutions and get organized.
"It was a big call for action," said striped bass fisherman David Scatena of
Scatena became the latest member of the grass-roots group Restore the Delta, which hosted Saturday's event. About 270 people attended, making it one of the largest meetings held purely for the people who live, work or play in the Delta.
No government officials dictating the agenda. None of the powerful water agencies pushing for a peripheral canal. Only a diverse cross-section of Delta interests, from farmers in their boots to water lawyers in their suits.
"Our goal is that each and every one of you becomes a Delta advocate," Restore the Delta organizer Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla told the crowd.
This wasn't just about fighting a canal, although there was plenty of opposition in the room to the state's plans to funnel freshwater around rather than through the Delta.
Local officials presented their view on a better solution: Water conservation, flood basins to recharge sagging groundwater aquifers, collection of rain water that runs off our homes and businesses, water recycling and desalination, strategies that can make distant regions of the state self-reliant, said Tom Zuckerman, a longtime Delta landowner and advocate.
The gloom and doom that clouds over the Delta these days is overstated, some of those in attendance said. The risk of an earthquake crumbling multiple levees and causing mass flooding is not so great as has been claimed, Delta engineer Chris Neudeck said.
But the greatest emphasis might have been on how to step up pressure on the state as a process that could lead to construction of a canal speeds along.
"We need to protect this Delta, and we're going to do that by organizing ourselves," McNerney said.
State Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, said she hopes this is the beginning of a strong effort to raise the profile of the Delta.
In a 2007 survey commissioned by the city of
Saturday's symposium will be followed up by a written report outlining some goals, Barrigan-Parrilla said.#
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090301/A_NEWS/903010316
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