Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
May 26, 2009
1. Top Items–
Effort to save smelt may worsen water shortages
The
Ruling: Humans, not just fish, to factor in divvying delta water
The
The
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Effort to save smelt may worsen water shortages
The
By Matt Weiser
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday set the limit to protect threatened Delta smelt, a small fish sensitive to water diversions. It did so after a team of biologists early last week reported that the number of smelt killed in state and federal water diversion pumps is growing.
Since then, more fish have died in the pumps near
The new limit set Friday effectively requires the pumps to export less Delta water to customers in the Bay Area,
The limit will remain until the smelt migrate out of areas affected by the pumps. #
http://www.sacbee.com/local/story/1891074.html
Ruling: Humans, not just fish, to factor in divvying delta water
The Fresno
By John Ellis
A federal judge stunned and delighted west-side farmers on Friday, ruling that the federal government must consider the effect on humans -- not just fish -- when allocating delta water.
U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger did not tell officials how to operate the Central Valley Project, and he said it was up to them to manage the massive water pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
But Wanger said officials must focus not just on protecting the endangered delta smelt when discussing these issues. They also must take into account "the harm being visited upon humans, the community and the environment." He also said officials must explain and justify how they reached their water-allocation decisions.
A few months ago, the federal government in effect reduced the volume of water pumped out of the delta by issuing new rules to protect the smelt. That means west-side growers are receiving less water for crops.
Wanger's ruling Friday raised growers' hopes of getting some of that water back, although the case is far from over.
As Wanger prepared to rule Friday, west-side farmers and members of the Westlands Water District and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority sat in the courtroom with long faces, expecting the worst. But after a series of losses to environmentalists, they instead found themselves on the winning side.
"The long and short of it for us today is this is a good thing, for the simple fact that it recognizes the impact that is being felt" by farmers and residents of the San Joaquin Valley's west side, said Westlands Water District spokeswoman Sarah Woolf.
Wanger's ruling followed a four-hour hearing on a lawsuit by Westlands and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority to stop the federal government from enforcing a new management plan for the delta smelt.
The lawsuit was filed in March, more than two months after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a new set of federal rules to protect the smelt. The updated rules -- known as a biological opinion -- were drafted after Wanger had invalidated earlier regulations because they did not comply with the federal Endangered Species Act.
A central piece of the lawsuit sought to nullify the updated smelt-management plan. Wanger made no ruling on that part of the lawsuit. But he found that a second claim -- that the new smelt plan lacked an assessment on the environmental effect on humans -- was valid.
The updated smelt-management plan resulted in a sharp reduction in water deliveries for agricultural and urban users, not only in the
But Wanger made it clear that if the water exports stay at current levels -- which west-side officials say are too low and give no consideration to human needs -- federal officials must explain why.
Wanger said the delta smelt remains endangered and at risk of extinction, but he also said Valley residents are facing adverse environmental effects driven by a persistent drought and a cut in water deliveries.
He said the adverse environmental effects include dust rising from fallowed fields that could lead to a decline in air quality.
High unemployment rates in west-side Valley towns also are an effect of the water decisions, Wanger said.
Wanger's order is in effect through June 30, or when the water temperature in two delta channels --
The order's temporary nature almost certainly sets up more legal battles between the two sides. James Maysonett, who represented the federal government, asked Wanger on Friday to hold off on his order while it is appealed.
Wanger denied the motion.
Kate Poole, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said she didn't like Wanger's ruling, but she said no decision had been made on seeking an appeal.
Friday's hearing set up a strange twist: Daniel O'Hanlon, who represented Westlands and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, found himself pitted against federal attorneys who for years were his allies against environmental groups. This time, federal and environmental attorneys were allied against Westlands and San Luis. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/crime/story/1422966.html
The
By Michael Gardner
Now a cash drought and a public sour on politicians make that job all that much more difficult.
Nevertheless, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers still plan deep budget cuts – perhaps totaling $24 billion – while pursuing a costly water bond at the same time.
The governor's tone did not reflect brimming confidence going into the eventual crushing defeat of his budget propositions in last week's special election.
“As soon as you see . . . those propositions fail, we will be consumed by budget talks and figuring out where to make the cuts,” he said just before the vote.
Schwarzenegger has endorsed raising more than $10 billion through a water bond that could go before voters next year.
Of that, $3 billion would be set aside for reservoirs. Environmental restoration, water quality and conservation programs also would be in line for funding. Four competing bond proposals have been introduced.
Moreover, Schwarzenegger will insist that all major elements of legislative action on water come to his desk as a package before he signs any bond, his aides said.
In addition to the bond, the governor wants the package to include plans for a canal to deliver water north-to-south and set policy for statewide conservation by cities and farms, his aides said. Also, the governor is looking to create an oversight council that would enforce a blueprint for how the state plans to restore the troubled
Meanwhile, lawmakers have been privately meeting to draft a bond proposal. They are inching closer, but differences remain over the key issues of cost-sharing, who should be in charge of delta restoration, and building reservoirs and a canal.
“The state's fiscal situation is a consideration and, yet, I believe the public wants us to secure their water future,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.
Sen. Dave Cogdill of
Pressure is mounting. Court rulings and environmental regulations to protect a range of fish have siphoned water away from cities and agriculture. The drought has only compounded the damage. Farmland is being left idle, tossing thousands out of work in the
“We have to link the imperative of an improved water infrastructure for
But can the state afford the investment? At the $10 billion target, the new bond would nearly double the size of the current water record-holder, the $5.4 billion Proposition 84 approved in 2006.
However, $3 billion of the proposed bond set aside for storage would probably not be sold for several years. The estimated annual interest on that piece alone would be about $100 million. If the entire $10 billion was sold together, the interest payment could be in the neighborhood of $660 million annually – an eye-popping amount in these days of slashing budgets for schools, parks and health care.
Also, at least $3 billion dedicated to water programs remains left over from previous bonds, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst.
Steinberg said lawmakers are exploring a range of financing options to limit the size of the bond and taxpayer cost. Among those is a revenue bond that would require water users to repay some of the debt.
Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, who is active in bond talks, argues that the expense can be justified. “The water supply system is the blood that feeds the state,” he said. “The delta is the heart of that system. The (improved) economy will pay it back.”
Cogdill said it will take at least $10 billion to make the demanded improvements.
“I don't think we can go much lower and still accomplish what needs to be accomplished,” he said. “Let's be honest with the people and say this is what it's going to cost.”
Cogdill noted that voters approved a $10 billion high-speed rail bond even as economic gloom settled in.
Debate over a water connection fee or dedicated water rate increase is likely to resurface.
One municipal official representing water users east of
Zaremberg said a connection fee “is not out of the question.” But, he added, “taxpayers and ratepayers are one and the same people.”
One idea emerging out of the Legislature involves dedicating to fish most of the water that would be stored in a proposed off-stream reservoir at Sites, 60 miles northwest of
Don Glaser, federal Bureau of Reclamation regional director, said moving water south at a time of pumping restrictions to protect fish is problematic. As it stands now, unless the delivery system is improved somehow, the cost of the reservoir would outstrip income from water sales to farmers.
Under most bond proposals for Sites Reservoir and other dams, taxpayers would pick up a large share of the costs – about half by some estimates – to account for public benefits such as fish and flood protection. The rest would be paid upfront by water agencies.
The topic of reservoirs has been a constant battle in the state, on par with the lengthy divisions over building a canal through the
Big water purveyors, such as the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District, have agreed in principle to pay for a canal. But whether the state can build it without voter approval remains murky. Some canal supporters are lobbying for clarifying legislation.
Another hurdle involves how to govern delta programs. Twenty-seven cities and five counties, plus about 200 different types of local agencies, have some say over the delta.
“The delta needs a steward. No one speaks for the delta,” said Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, pushing for a powerful oversight commission.
Wolk also proposes creating a special water master position given “real enforcement powers” to make sure state agencies follow water quality laws and restoration goals.
Republicans bristle, worried that a czar could usurp local control and use water as a weapon against development.
Schwarzenegger is leaning toward creating a council that would set a plan for the delta and ensure that agencies follow its guidelines.
Meanwhile, as the debate drags on in
Robert Silva, mayor of the tiny farming community of Mendota, where nearly one out of every two adults are unemployed and the outlook remains bleak, said it's time to stop talking.
“If we don't solve these problems, it's goodbye,” he said. #
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