Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 19, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Not Enough Water
The Santa Clarita Signal
Water rationing on agenda
The Santa Clarita Signal
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Not Enough Water
The Santa Clarita Signal – 5/16/09
By Judy Reinsma
The "Small fish causes big problems in the delta" story on Sunday's front page (May 10) might have been titled, "Fish out of water and so are we."
It is disturbing to see developers stating they have rounded up sufficient water to build more houses in our area when the facts just don't support their allegations.
Newhall Ranch plans on building 21,000 homes. Using standard calculations that's 21,000 acre-feet of water per year minimum just for these homes.
Then there will be the commercial buildings, schools, parks, fire stations and the surrounding landscaped medians, parkways, common grounds and so on that all use water. Where are these water uses factored in?
Using the statistics in The Signal story, Newhall Ranch needs a minimum need of 21,000 acre-feet of water per year. Of that, 7,038 acre-feet are available from the agricultural wells on the property and 3,200 are from from the current residents of Santa Clarita via the Valencia Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another 1,600 acre-feet of "repurposed" agricultural water will be purchased from
That adds up to 11,838 acre feet per year - 10,162 acre-feet shy of the minimum 21,000 needed for 21,000 residences.
The planned Newhall Ranch Reclamation Plant may have a capacity of 6.8 million gallons per day, but it can only produce clean water from what goes into it. Therefore, its ability to provide water depends on the ability of the project to obtain water. This water can not be factored into the equation of "available" water. This water will depend on how much water comes from existing wells and out of the area water suppliers and is used by homes and businesses in Newhall Ranch.
It must first be provided and used, then be processed and re-used.
The Valencia Wastewater Treatment Plant will provide 3,200 acre-feet of water annually for Newhall Ranch. This water is paid for by Santa Clarita homes and businesses, twice.
First, they buy the water they use and then pay the sewer fees to process it. How very kind of the residents of Santa Clarita to provide the water for Newhall Ranch.
This water should be pumped to the east, allowed to recharge the wells in the aquifer that serves the city of
There is a multitude of reasons many current residents of the Santa Clarita Valley are not in favor of this massive development, inlcuding traffic, air pollution, overcrowded schools and environmental impact on the
The water issue, however, is not a matter of emotion or conjecture. It is a matter of facts. There is not enough water available. Not here, not now and if drought conditions continue, probably not from
Water rationing on agenda
The Santa Clarita Signal – 5/15/09
By Christopher Cadelago
CITY HALL — The City Council on Tuesday will bring back six stages of proposed mandatory water restrictions for consideration, two weeks after Councilman David Gordon led a successful effort to table the measure to vet possible legal implications.
City officials this week determined that the proposed water rationing measures, which would mandate varying degrees of water restrictions according to drought conditions, are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, which requires agencies to perform environmental-impact studies.
Modifications to the current sustainable water use ordinance, approved in April 2008, would expand it from four to six stages, impose irrigation timetables, prohibit residents from hosing down driveways, patios and sidewalks and ban restaurants, hotels, motels, cafes and cafeterias from serving water unless requested by customers.
The two-week delay gives council members the opportunity to again consider specific measures and provides a forum for the public to address city officials on the proposed revisions. The six-stages piggyback on the original ordinance and are modeled after a set of guidelines from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, officials said.
Despite improved reservoir levels across the state and a 6.3% increase in conservation citywide, pumping restrictions have dramatically reduced Burbank Water and Power’s ability to recharge its reserves, said Bill Mace, assistant general manager for water systems.
Suppliers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region face constrained pumping ability in light of recent federal environmental court decisions protecting native fish species, which in turn have cut into MWD’s annual water allotment from the State Water Project.
“We’re going to have to adopt a plan, whether it’s
Although
Under Burbank Water and Power’s proposed water use ordinance, each of the six stages builds on the previous stage in terms of the restrictions. The city utility must get council approval before shifting stages.
The first stage would ban outdoor watering between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Hand watering would be allowed in some cases. It would also prohibit outdoor water use for landscaped areas during, and at least two days after, rainy days. It also includes six additional mandatory practices, including a ban on hosing driveways and patios, requiring hotels to give customers the option of cutting back on towel and linen service, and prohibiting eateries from serving water unless it’s requested.
The second stage forbids watering of outdoor landscaped areas for more than 15 minutes per day, per station, and no more than three days per week April through October. Irrigation would be restricted further to just one day per week November through March.
Customers found to be in violation are first notified by the city. The first citation carries a $100 fine. The second and third violations, if issued within a 12-month period, climb to $200 and $500, respectively. The penalties were approved last year as part of the original ordinance.
Despite the penalties, the purpose of the ordinance is not to establish a “water police,” Mace said.
“The first two stages, particularly the first stage, is made up of real simple things,” he said. “There is not going to be a big force of people out there writing tickets.”
First-time offenders are eligible to attend a free, four-hour education session on water conservation in lieu of paying the penalty.
Perhaps the most contentious measure would require homeowners and residents with swimming pools and spas to use covers to decrease evaporation should the third stage be invoked. The requirement was originally listed in stage two.
“If we have such a serious situation that we need to ration water, prevent people from filling their swimming pools, and impose significant fines for water use, then how can it be justified to allow increased demand?” Gordon said. “It’s illogical to my way of thinking.”
Stages five and six build on one another and conclude with an all-out ban on watering lawns and refilling swimming pools.#
http://www.burbankleader.com/articles/2009/05/18/politics/blr-rations16.txt
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