[Water_news] 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 5/21/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

May 21, 2009

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People –

 

Fifty-Three Sierra Organizations Pledge to Adapt to Climate Change

YubaNet.com

 

Cam Noltemeyer: It’s not just sanitation rates going up

Environmentally Speaking

The Santa Clarita Signal

 

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Fifty-Three Sierra Organizations Pledge to Adapt to Climate Change

YubaNet.com – 5/21/09

By the Sierra Nevada Alliance

Sierra Nevada, CA May 21, 2009 - Climate change is and will be reducing snowpack, increasing wildfires, species migration, and expanding the number and range of invasive species in the Sierra, affecting the health of Sierra ecosystems and the livelihood of Sierra communities. As of May 2009, fifty-three organizations recognize this current threat and have taken a pledge to adapt to these climate changes through education, local planning and implementing projects.

Diverse organizations taking the pledge, like the South Tahoe Public Utility District and local Sierra Club Chapters, acknowledge the need to reduce emissions and adapt to changes we can not prevent to protect communities and the environment. These groups form the core of a growing network of those taking action to adapt to secure a future with robust Sierra ecosystems, resilient water supply and sustainable local communities even in the face of climate change.

"The commitment of these organizations demonstrates that leadership and innovative solutions will be coming from rural areas like the Sierra, and not just from Sacramento or Washington D.C.," stated Marion Gee, Water and Climate Program Associate at the Sierra Nevada Alliance. "Our Sierra communities can be safer, have reliable water, diverse wildlife and robust economies if we plan ahead. Their commitment is a model for the nation."

Over the past three years, the Sierra Nevada Alliance Water & Climate Change Program has raised awareness of the impacts of climate change, the need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and particularly the importance of adapting to the changes we can't prevent. By distributing more than 1000 Sierra climate change toolkits, giving more than 51 presentations on climate change, and, as of May 2009, collecting 53 Adaptation pledges, the Alliance has been instrumental in empowering local action on climate adaptation.

For more information on climate change impacts in the Sierra and opportunities to adapt to those changes, check out our Sierra Climate Change Toolkit: http://www.sierranevadaalliance.org/programs/db/pics/1133215435_14399.f_pdf.pdf

One member of this Sierra adaptation network is the Mono Lake Committee "Climate change will have huge impacts on Mono Lake. We were pleased to join a growing network of organizations and agencies working to adapt as well as reduce emissions to address climate change," says Geoff McQuilkin, Executive Director of the Mono Lake Committee, an organization that signed the Alliance's adaptation pledge.

Signatories to the pledge promise to be leaders on climate change adaptation by incorporating, whenever possible, seven adaptation principles into Sierra resource plans and projects. The seven principles will help local communities and ecosystems stay more resilient in the face of climate change. The principles are:

- Educate myself and others regarding global, national, statewide, and regional impacts of climate change;

- Identify possible future changes through modeling;

- Use adaptive management strategies to maintain flexibility;

- Monitor and track changes in weather, hydrology and ecosystems in my community, watershed and/or region;

- Promote the resiliency of existing ecosystems and minimize stressors to these systems;

- Prioritize projects that will succeed under multiple scenarios;

- Integrate and coordinate local efforts.

Climate change is a global issue but impacts are already being felt locally. In the Sierra Nevada, snow surveys show that as of April 30 snowpack was at 66% of normal. Last year it was at 72% of normal. Scientists are now predicting a 25 to 40% reduction in the snowpack by 2050. A reduction in snowpack will have implications for our drinking water supply, our watersheds, our agricultural production, our recreation, our industry- in short, nearly all aspects of our lives as well as California's economy and ecosystems rely on that water to thrive. Managers of our precious Sierra resources, such as the Forest Service, and local businesses, such as ski resorts, will need to change their practices in order to adapt to these shifting conditions or climate change will exacerbate existing threats to local jobs and to our irreplaceable landscapes.

To find out more about the Sierra Nevada Alliance Water & Climate Change Program and the Adaptation Pledge go to: http://www.sierranevadaalliance.org/programs/program.shtml?type=pgm01 Individuals may also call 530-542-4546 x 320 or email marion@sierranevadaalliance.org for more information.

The Sierra Nevada Alliance is a conservation non-profit organization that has been protecting and restoring Sierra lands, water, wildlife and communities since 1993.

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http://yubanet.com/regional/Fifty-Three-Sierra-Organizations-Pledge-to-Adapt-to-Climate-Change.php

 

 

Cam Noltemeyer: It’s not just sanitation rates going up

Environmentally Speaking

The Santa Clarita Signal – 5/21/09

 

Cam Noltemeyer is a Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE) board member and a Santa Clarita resident. "Environmentally Speaking" appears Thursdays in The Signal and rotates among local environmentalists.

Too bad no one wants to tell our community what is really going on. For the past 10 years, everyone has known that the effluent emitted by Santa Clarita's sanitation districts is too high in salt (chlorides).

It hurts downstream farming and will eventually hurt us as well. In ancient times, the final action in a war was to salt the earth of the defeated so that their land would never again be fertile. I don't think we want that for our community.

Yes, water softeners were an obvious part of the problem, as is the new trend towards saline hot tubs and pools. Automatic flush softeners sent enormous amounts of salt into the river each time they regenerated. Banning them was a necessary part of the solution, especially when other, far less harmful techniques are available. However, they were not the biggest part of the problem.

It's really all about growth and the water we must get from Northern California to fuel it. No one in Santa Clarita City Hall wants to say this, of course, but it's time that someone starts telling our community the truth.

Not only is water from Northern California expensive, but it has a high salt content. As more and more housing is built and must depend on this water, the used water flushed from the sanitation plants will also be higher in salt.

Drought makes the situation even worse. As less water flows down the Sacramento River due to reduced rainfall and snow melt, seawater moves closer to the pumps that feed the State Water Project. This causes the water we get to become even saltier.

So the more houses and Gate-King Industrial projects we have, the more water we need from Northern California and the saltier the water gets. The city knows this, the county knows this, and the Sanitation Districts know this. It seems they just don't want to tell the public.

Why? Because they want you and me to pay to fix the problem. If we all know that the problem is actually caused by all the new development, wouldn't we want those folks to pay for it? Just better not to tell the public.

But now the community is in an uproar over sewage fee increases and heads may roll in the next election.

This may be a solution for the future, but we have a different suggestion. Why not make the sewage connection fees for new development reflect the real cost of these connections? Why does the public have to pay for new growth?

And by the way, it's not just the sewage fees that will be increasing. Castaic Lake Water Agency is proposing a huge increase in the charge for the water it gets from Northern California.

Valencia Water Company has applied to the Public Utilities Commission to increase its water rates. All of us will pay for getting expensive Northern California water to the new subdivisions.

A citation from the recent Gate-King Industrial project court decision makes our predicament all too clear: "Today, the State Water Project simply does not have the physical capability to deliver 4.23 million AFY (acre feet per year) of water to its contractors. On the contrary, the actual, reliable water supply in the SWP is more in the vicinity of 2 to 2.5 million AFY of water."

Salty and scarce water will become more and more expensive. Costs to transport it and treat it will continue to rise. What will stop the upward march of costs and fees imposed on existing residents? Only a slower, more careful and more sustainable look at how we grow will answer this question.

Building less, building more efficiently and adopting land use practices that protect our groundwater and demand maximum efficiency are the only ways to keep costs down for all of us in Santa Clarita.

The city must demand more from future development, carefully examine the water issues and stop just saying yes to every developer that comes along.#

 

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/13449/

 

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