Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 1, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Water-saver rebates are now rationed out
The
It’s official: Canal lining completed
The
Opinion: Water won't wash away Valley's recession
The
Plant genetics could yield crops that need less water
The
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Water-saver rebates are now rationed out
The
By David Hasemyer
OVERVIEW
Background: The SoCal Water$mart program provides rebates for installation of water-efficient washers and toilets, synthetic grass, weather-smart irrigation control systems and specialized sprinkler heads.
What's changing: The success of the program has nearly exhausted the rebate budget and forced a reservation system in which consumers must be approved for a rebate before making a purchase. Rebate reservations can be obtained by calling (888) 376-3314 or going to socalwatersmart.com.
The future: The reservation system will continue into the next fiscal year, when the budget will go from $6 million to $4 million.
WATER SAVINGS: BY THE NUMBERS
91,000: Estimated gallons of water saved by synthetic turf each year, per household
13,000: Estimated gallons saved by high-efficiency toilets
11,000: Estimated gallons saved by high-efficiency clothes washers
SOURCE: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern
A rebate program that encourages people to replace water-guzzling lawns with artificial turf and install water-efficient washing machines and toilets is straining under the weight of its own success.
The huge demand for reimbursements has nearly drained the rebate pool, forcing officials of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to impose new restrictions on rebates that until April were automatically granted.
The program's popularity shows that consumers are embracing the importance of water conservation, Metropolitan officials say. But the restrictions have aggravated some residents who were counting on the money, and they come just as mandatory water rationing is in the offing.
When the rebate program began nearly a year ago, anyone who proved their purchases through contractor records or sales receipts could expect a check in the mail: 30 cents for every square foot of turf installed, $80 for an improved irrigation timer, $165 for a toilet or $135 for a washer.
Now, Metropolitan is making rebates available only on a first-come, first-served basis, and requiring reservations before items are purchased.
The 951 reservations and $125,000 available for April were exhausted in the first eight days, leaving people who called after April 8 with a recording telling them to try again May 1, when another $125,000 would be available.
“For the current month, we regret to inform you that due to high demand and a limited number of reservations we cannot issue new reservations at this time,” the message said.
“Reservations will be open again at the beginning of the next month, so please return then to reserve your rebate.”
That's exactly what Otay Ranch resident Julie Beel plans to do today. “I'm going to be on the phone as soon as the lines open up,” she said.
Beel and her husband ripped out 450 square feet of grass in their small yard last month in preparation for installing turf. Then they called and got the recording.
The couple told Brian Redfern, owner of Turf Pro Enterprises, that they were delaying the purchase until they could get the rebate. Their yard has sat unfinished while Beel has anxiously waited to try again.
“I'll probably be on hold forever, but I'm going to make sure to get one of the reservations,” she said.
Metropolitan started the rebate program in July with $4 million taken from revenue generated by the sale of water to districts throughout six Southern California counties, including the 24 water districts in
For the first nine months, $4.2 million was paid out on 35,235 rebate claims.
At that pace, it was clear even the larger budget would be exhausted before the end of the district's fiscal year June 30, said Debra Man, assistant general manager and chief operating officer for Metropolitan.
“Because of the popularity of the program, we had to make changes to make sure we stayed within our budget,” she said.
Man said the district will do its best to accommodate everyone seeking a rebate.
“The reservation system is designed to make sure people get the rebate,” she said. “Once they call in and get the reservation, they will know they have the rebate for sure.”
The reservation system will continue through the next fiscal year and will be even more vital, Man said, because the rebate budget will go back to $4 million, though officials said they are looking for additional money.
That means people are faced with the choice of installing turf or devices without being assured of a rebate, or holding off until they are lucky enough to get a reservation number, said Fritz Quindt, chief executive of True Turf in Escondido.
“There is something wrong when they are saying they are promoting water conservation though rebates and then make people jump though so many hoops,” he said. “This is a gigantic speed bump to accomplishing water conservation.”
Quindt compares the phone-in reservation system to hustling for hot concert tickets.
“It's like calling Ticketmaster when (Bruce) Springsteen comes to town, and the lines open at 8 a.m. and by 8:15 the tickets are gone,” he said.
Diane Downey is the owner of The Yard Fairy, a
“I can't use it as an incentive now because of the uncertainty,”
Ed and Kim White were all set to lay down sod in the small yard of their
“The rebate offer was one of the things that led us to make the decision to install turf,” Ed White said.
But once the Whites installed 233 square feet of turf, they learned about the rule changes. They were no longer automatically eligible for their rebate and were too late calling for approval last month.
White said he would have delayed installation until he got approval had he known of the changes.
William Granger, the Otay district's water conservation manager, said his agency has encountered a few people like White who are frustrated by the revised process.
But “for the most part, people understand there is limited funding available,” Granger said.
William Rose of the San Diego County Water Authority, which helps promote the program, said people should not feel discouraged from installing water-saving devices.
“We are aware of the frustrations . . . ,” he said. “We are a bit of a victim of our own success.” #
It’s official: Canal lining completed
The
By Megan Bakker
It was in the 1980s that Congress first authorized the lining of the
It was 1994 when IID water manager Mike King first was assigned to the project.
Construction didn’t start on the lining of the nearly century-old canal until June 2007, after a lawsuit that froze the process was lifted.
And Thursday, representatives and officials from the Imperial Irrigation District, San Diego County Water Authority, the Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Water Resources,
“This project is the shining example of the good that can be done when you take something old and make it new again,” IID board President Jim Hanks said at the ceremony.
The lining on the 23-mile stretch of the canal is estimated to save about 67,700 acre-feet of water a year, which will be sent to San Diego County Water Authority and the tribes that make up the San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority.
Hanks said he can remember stories from his grandfather about when the
“What a difference a new millennium makes,” Hanks said.
King, who also spoke at the ceremony, said that when the
“This canal represents a promise fulfilled to the people who lived here,” King said.
The lining comes at an equally crucial time, said Mark Watton, the vice chairman with San Diego County Water Authority.
Watton said that in light of supply challenges, such as the drought facing
He said the canal also demonstrated that cooperation between different agencies is crucial in moving these projects forward.
“Leading up to this celebration was a lot of time and cooperation between the agencies involved,” Watton said.
Lester Snow, the director for the California Department of Water Resources, said that when it comes to water, agencies often devolve into complaints, arguments and lawsuits.
“All too often there’s no action at the end of it,” Snow said.
But, he said, the canal was an example of what happens when agencies stick with it despite that.
Snow said the biggest congratulation had come from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he passed on the governor’s comments to the crowd:
“Congratulations on finally getting something done in this state.”#
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/05/01/local_news/news01.txt
Opinion: Water won't wash away Valley's recession
The
By Jeffrey Michael
Jeffrey Michael is the director of the Business Forecasting Center and an associate professor at the University of the Pacific in Stockton
What is causing unemployment in the
However, the facts don't support the water contractors' view. The latest payroll data through March finds that farm jobs have grown faster than any other sector of the economy in the past 12 months, even outpacing health care. In fact, farm jobs have been growing throughout the three-year drought. Compared with 2006, farm jobs have increased 5 percent in
The same is true in
In
Since the drought began three years ago,
In light of these statistics, how can water exporters, politicians and others claim that rising unemployment in the Valley is a result of water shortages for farms rather than the broader recession? The foreclosure crisis is at the heart of the recession, and the Central Valley has the highest foreclosure rates in the
Water contractors point to 40 percent unemployment in Mendota as evidence of the water crisis. These unemployment estimates for towns aren't a current survey, but are crude extrapolations from the 2000 Census, the last time any real data were compiled for these areas.
The 2000 census gives a good picture of the prosperity that increased water pumping would bring to Mendota's hard-working residents. Delta water exports were above average in 2000, and local farm employment was at a nine-year peak.
Despite this, the 2000 census found unemployment in Mendota exceeded 32 percent, highest of the state's 494 towns.
Per-capita income was below $8,000, the lowest level in the state, nearly 20 percent lower than
In fact, growers have been complaining about shortages in recent years, even as Mendota's unemployment estimate was 25 to 30 percent.
There will be substantially fewer seasonal farm jobs this year as thousands of acres are idled, and this will further increase the pain of the recession in farming areas south of the Delta water pumps. As these impacts appear, it is important to consider them over the entire three-year span of the drought, rather than treat agriculture's recent unsustainable peak as normal.
In the early years of the drought,agriculture expanded in response to a commodity bubble that more than doubled crop prices, farm profits, and farmland values in a span of a few years. Much of the increase is attributed to permanent crops in desert regions with interruptible junior water rights. Between 2006 and 2008, more than 50,000 acres of new almond orchards were planted, mostly south of the Delta pumps, while a nut glut led to a price collapse for all growers. Similarly,
Taxpayers are the forgotten stakeholders in the various Delta planning processes. With no one protecting taxpayer interests, it's no surprise that Delta Vision recommended the most costly options to the governor. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan does not plan to make a cost estimate of their plan until after it is complete.
Recent state tax increases are hurting families, businesses and private sector job creation, while
Their plan would also have adverse impacts on Delta agriculture, recreation and tourism, commercial fishing and the jobs supported by these industries.
Delta Vision, water contractors and now the Bay Delta Conservation Plan are primarily making economic arguments for their plans. While spending millions on engineering studies and public relations, the state is not sponsoring any serious research to comprehensively evaluate economic effects of the water plan.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/1825084.html
Plant genetics could yield crops that need less water
The San Diego
By Michael Gardner
Their prize is a protein molecule that relays signals to cells that help plants cope with environmental stress, such as drought.
“It has indeed been a holy grail,” said Julian Schroeder, a biologist at UC San Diego who was part of the research team.
Lead researcher Sean Cutler, a UC Riverside assistant professor of plant cell biology, said he was drawn to the work by the global implications of learning how to help plants thrive even in arid soil.
Cutler said the United Nations has warned that water shortages are escalating a world food crisis. Millions go hungry or, worse yet, are starving to death.
“Water is one of the 21st century's major challenges,” Cutler said.
It's too soon to gauge the economic and social significance of the breakthrough, or whether the results can easily and cost-effectively transfer from the laboratory to the field. But the researchers are optimistic.
“You can't convert a corn plant into a cactus overnight. But we know we can get incremental improvements,” Schroeder said. “There's a lot of hope in this.”
The findings, published yesterday in the online journal Science Express, were developed in cooperation with researchers in
The UC Riverside team isolated what's called the plant's “receptor,” which has eluded researchers across the globe for more than two decades.
“The receptor has been the missing piece of the puzzle,” Cutler said.
A receptor works in conjunction with the important hormone abscisic acid. This hormone turns on tolerance mechanisms that react to environmental stress, such as preventing cells from dying of dehydration. It also signals roots when to grow deeper to search for moist soil.
Success could clear a path for private industry to develop synthetic chemicals that can be sprayed on mostly food crops, such as corn, soybeans and rice. Also, the research has the potential of providing companies the option of using genetics to create a new generation of drought-tolerant, cultivated plants.
“As far as we know, by using this pathway, it should be possible to do this in any plant,” Cutler said.
The results have attracted interest from the international agbiotech and agrichemistry industries, both for their global and California-specific promise.
“The discovery from Schroeder and Cutler may open new routes for breeding new crop, fruit and vegetable varieties which can be grown in dry areas, (such) as California,” Michael Metzlaff, senior scientist for Bayer BioScience based in Belgium, said via e-mail.
“This would open novel routes in crop breeding and commercial agriculture. . . . The amount of water needed for irrigation could be cut down without loss of harvests. This would mean a substantial cost saving for farmers and the whole of
But not for some time.
Metzlaff said the agbiotech industry follows stringent testing requirements in the laboratory and the field, coupled with regulatory compliance. As a result, introductions of new seed for stress-tolerant crops generally will take seven to 12 years to reach the market.
The UC research teams used Arabidopsis, a small, flowering plant with unique traits, making it a valuable tool in understanding the molecular biology of plants.
“It's like the lab rat of the plant world,” Cutler said. #
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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
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