Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 21, 2009
3. Watersheds –
DWP floating options for keeping
The Inyo Register - 4/18/09
By Mike Geravis
Frank Girardot: Delta smelt stinking up our water supply
The
Doheny State Beach
The Orange
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What would you do for continued use at
If residents don’t come up with feasible ideas to save it,
With the threat of a quagga mussel infestation growing in the minds of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s higher-ups, the department is taking all the measures it can to protect local waters. But the department has gotten bogged down when it comes to
The problem, said Clarence Martin, LADWP’s quagga expert, is that Klondike has a direct inlet and outlet to the Owens River, and without any facilities there, and no concessionaire, there is no way for the department to inspect or regulate boats and jet skis that use Klondike.
“Klondike does feed back into the river, and if there is an infestation of quagga mussels, it will affect not only our fisheries, but the other waters along the way,” Martin told the Inyo County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, adding that some of the recreational boats that are used for skiing and wake boarding are more likely to carry the invasive bivalves.
“Those boats are more susceptible to carrying quagga mussels because some don’t ever drain completely during the summer.”
Quagga mussels can live for days in dry environments, and can survive for months if they have a steady supply of water. That’s how they made their way from their native home in Eurasia to the
Martin said LADWP has come up with two options that would go a long way to preventing a quagga mussel infestation at
First, the LADWP could hire a concessionaire to monitor the lake and conduct quagga inspections before boats launch.
Martin said that the LADWP probably will not take on responsibility of hiring a concessionaire because of the cost and man-hours involved.
“Most of the time, people want to use the area after our hours” so regulating use would prove problematic.
The second option the department is considering is closing
“We would still allow wind surfers and kayaks, and use a serpentine type deal (a tight, winding road) so you can’t get a trailer in there” to launch boats, Martin said.
If the department does choose to close the lake to motorized use, “we would obviously need the
He added that the department is currently considering an emergency action to close motorized use on the lake by May 15, before the summer water sports season begins.
“I’m willing to take ideas, suggestions and thoughts” that might keep the lake open for its current uses.
One spectator at the meeting suggested that developing a campsite, charging for overnight stays, building rest rooms and keeping it open year-round may justify hiring a concessionaire to conduct boat inspections. He said that, with the river open year-round for fishing, the campsite might see use year-round.
Martin said that is something the department could look into, but he wasn’t sure if the LADWP would be interested in investing that much money and staff time into plans and development of the site.
Because
Martin also said the department must be careful about where it places camp sites on its property because excessive use leads to degradation of the river banks in the area.
Though the Board of Supervisors expressed concerns about the loss of
“Everyone is very concerned about the quagga mussels,” said Fourth District Supervisor Marty Fortney. “People are very afraid that (
Martin said the department has no plans to close the lake completely, but, for the sake of its infrastructure on the river and for the sake of local fishing, it must do something to prevent quaggas from settling in on local waters.
“If you have to close it (to motorized use) to keep them out, I’d just as soon see it happen,” Fortney said, noting that the board was taking measures to ensure that Diaz Lake would be available this summer as a water-sports recreation site.
The board approved a request from Deputy County Administrator Chuck Hamilton to hire a full-time seasonal Parks and Recreation staff member to oversee boat inspections at
http://www.inyoregister.com/content/view/120825/1/
Frank Girardot: Delta smelt stinking up our water supply
The Pasadena
I spent much of the past four days driving around
It felt like I was living that old Hank Snow song:
I've been everywhere man
I've breathed the mountain air, man
Crossed the deserts bare
Travel ... I've had my share, man
I've been everywhere
I've been to:
San Jose, Saratoga, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Los Gatos, Davenport, Buttonwillow, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Stockton, Lodi, Fresno.
Well, maybe not
If there was anything to take away from the trip, it was the feeling that we live in a beautiful state, which is a reason to be a proud.
The thought has occurred to me often, but most of those instances were during good economic times.
(Sigh).
Even though it's beautiful,
I think I saw some proof of that in the
After stopping to watch from a vista point and then reading more about it in the Fresno Bee, I learned the marchers are angry that water deliveries from the Sacramento Delta will be cut off to tons of farms in the western San Joaquin Valley.
All because of a tiny fish known as the delta smelt. This little beast, that's apparently endangered, has already wrecked its share of havoc here in the Southland. Because of environmental protections, we will have to reduce our usage by 10 percent and pay more for it this summer.
A federal judge ordered the protection. Californians are powerless to stop it.
In the
Which in turn means we'll be paying higher prices at the grocery store or simply importing more from
When is that same federal judge going to step in and order the state to protect endangered jobs and family farms?
If this judge was around 10,000 years ago he probably would have ordered the La Brea tar pits boarded up. Then, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves and wooly mammoths too stupid to take care of themselves would be saved from extinction.
Imagine living in that
Here's what the state Department of Fish and Game says about the smelt:
"Delta smelt are found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary (the area where the
Whatever that means.
Here's what the state Department of Food and Agriculture says about protecting farms and jobs in
" "
Can you hear the nonendangered crickets? #
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_12185438
Doheny State Beach
The Orange County
By Chris Daines
Wherever you go along the ocean in
Just don't call them seagulls. Joel Weintraub, emeritus professor of biology at Cal State Fullerton, said "seagulls" is a misnomer you won't find in any bird guide.
Most of the gulls breed far inland and spend their winters at Doheny near the San Juan Creek inlet along the ocean. A naturally occurring berm of sand separates pooling creek water and runoff from the ocean water. The mixture of fresh water near ocean water, combined with nearby landfills and little human presence in the winter, all play roles in Doheny being a popular gull hangout.
The popularity makes it a fantastic place to observe gulls and other birds. But it's not always easy. As if picking out one bird among the thousands of roosting gulls isn't difficult enough, identifying the specific gull species is difficult because it may take as long as four years for adolescent birds to grow into adulthood and be more clearly identifiable.
Weintraub has been studying the birds for years. During one of his gull studies, he spent a winter reading the bands on gulls with a high-powered spotting scope. Over the weeks, he spotted more than 600 different banded gulls. The bands told him the birds are migratory and come from much father away than we might expect.
"People don't think of them as migratory species, but they are, and they cross international boundaries," he said.
One example is the presence of the
Banded
"The most abundant gull during winter at Doheny is probably the
Another species drawn to Doheny is the Heermann's gull. This type breeds in
"It loves to steal food from other gulls and is often seen around people's beach setups hoping for a free meal," he said.
Several years ago, Weintraub spotted an ivory gull at Doheny. That type of bird spends its winters among the
"Somehow it arrived at Doheny and was seen for all of a day before it disappeared. We took a number of photographs, and about 30 or so birders were lucky enough to see it that day," Weintraub said.
As far as he knows, it was the first and only ivory gull seen in
Gulls remain mostly undisturbed along the beaches during the winter. Besides runoff from the cities, their waste has contributed to much of the poor water quality in the Doheny area.
Historically,
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/gull-gulls-winter-2369759-doheny-water
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DWR’s California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader’s services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news . DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
No comments:
Post a Comment