Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
June 29, 2009
1. Top Items–
Interior chief offers water help to
Pacific Legal Foundation asks Obama, Salazar, and Schwarzenegger for action to convene federal “God Squad” to address
Pacific Legal Foundation-6/26/09
Turf wars loom as services retooled
San Diego Union-Tribune
Army Corps levee tree rules rattle
The
Valley's ag and water economics a complex conundrum
The
It's not only fish vs. people
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Interior chief offers water help to
Salazar talks of expedited transfers, Recovery Act cash
By Tracie Cone
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Sunday announced several steps he hoped would ease the toll the state's water shortage is taking on farmers and said he would assign a top deputy to help find solutions.
At a spirited town hall meeting in California's agricultural heartland, Salazar told a packed auditorium that Deputy Interior Secretary David J. Hayes will "bring all of the key federal agencies to the table" to coordinate efforts.
Salazar said he wanted to direct $160 million in Recovery Act funds to the federal Central Valley Project, which manages the dams and canals that move water around the state, and will expedite water transfers from other areas.
Members of the
"The time for meetings and talk is over," said Rep. George Radanovich. "We need action now."
Farmers packed into the auditorium at
The congressional delegates and other agriculture industry representatives asked Salazar to hasten the environmental review of the so-called two gates proposal, which would place removable gates in the central Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to block threatened fish such as the tiny smelt from getting killed by the pumps.
"We hope to make an expedited review of that project," Salazar said after the meeting.
The cause of the state's water shortages is not simply three years of below-average rainfall. Federal protections for threatened fish has limited the transfer of water from Lakes Shasta and Oroville through the delta into the state's system of aqueducts.
Searing 109-degree temperatures on Sunday underscored the need for water, and farmers appealed for action.
On the west side of Fresno County, the most prolific agricultural county in the nation, farmers have been told they would receive just 10 percent of their allocation this year, news that forced them to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres.
The farmers argued that cutting water deliveries to farms in the
"At this time, that would be admitting failure," Salazar said.
Fishing industry speaks up
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, told Salazar that farmers were bearing full responsibility for environmental problems caused by waste-water discharges from cities and by invasive species that eat native fish.
Lost in the chorus of catcalls and applause were the voices of environmental groups, fishermen and coastal communities affected by the collapse of the salmon season. They were there to remind Salazar that the north coast fishing industry has been hard hit by a decline of salmon in the delta and has resulted in the cancellation of commercial fishing season for two years.
Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, said that 23,000 commercial and recreational people were unemployed because
Researchers at the
Comedian Paul Rodriguez, who owns 40 acres of nectarines near Dinuba and heads the Latino Water Coalition, mocked environmentalists' argument that the decline in smelt is the "canary in the coal mine" warning of a declining ecosystem.
"The canary is there so it will perish and the miner can live, but these people got it backward: They want the fish to live so we can die," Rodriguez said as audience members stood and cheered.#
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/110/story/924849.html
Pacific Legal Foundation asks Obama, Salazar, and Schwarzenegger for action to convene federal “God Squad” to address
Pacific Legal Foundation-6/26/09
Pacific Legal Foundation announced today that it has formally requested both President Barack Obama and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to act to convene a special federal panel – nicknamed the “God Squad” – to address
On Monday, June 28, PLF’s online petition will go “live” at www.pacificlegal.org, allowing members of the general public to add their signatures to a call for President Obama, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Governor Schwarzenegger to act to convene the “God Squad.”
“Water cutbacks caused by draconian federal environmental regulations have already caused devastation for
The Endangered Species Committee, nicknamed the “God Squad,” is a panel of cabinet officials that can be convened by the Secretary of the Interior, with power, in essence, to countermand Endangered Species Act (ESA) restrictions that cause excessive destruction to jobs and the economy.
The governor of an affected state may formally petition for the convening of the Committee. For this reason, PLF has sent a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger, urging him to submit a petition to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. PLF’s letter to President Obama urges him to make sure that his administration – including Secretary Salazar – acts favorably on a petition from Governor Schwarzenegger, and, indeed, that all available steps are taken to convene the Committee, to address California’s water emergency.
Over the past year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has imposed devastating cutbacks on water pumping into California’s main water system – idling farmland, causing urban communities to consider rationing, and driving up unemployment in San Joaquin Valley’s rural areas – as part of a regulatory scheme to protect the delta smelt, a small fish listed as “threatened” under the ESA. Now, federal officials are proposing sweeping new reductions in water supplies to agricultural and urban areas, as part of a “biological opinion” relating to several species, including chinook salmon and steelhead. These further cuts in pumping and water supplies are estimated to remove an additional 500,000 acre-feet of water, the amount that is required to serve two million people annually.
“Without relief from the God Squad, the harsh enforcement of rigid environmental rules will inflict more pain and suffering in a state that is already enduring its worst unemployment in more than 60 years,” said PLF’s Rivett. “PLF calls on Governor Schwarzenegger and on the president to immediately do all in their power to ensure that the God Squad is convened as quickly as possible.
Turf wars loom as services retooled
Governor, Legislature catch reorganization fever
By Michael Gardner
Overshadowed by the more immediate budget crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers are crafting separate plans to restructure state fire protection and water-delivery services across
Desperate to save money and under intense pressure to shrink government, lawmakers have caught reorganization fever – evaluating offices that oversee everything from fishing to logging to boating.
Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, one of the leaders of the reorganization drive, said deliberations are designed to “see what makes sense for the 21st century.”
What emerges could determine who controls two of the most vital public services the state provides. But major political fights loom, particularly for the water portion, given that even modest and inexpensive variations in the status quo can set off turf battles.
No one is suggesting that the public would notice any on-the-ground change. Fire crews will still respond to alarms and water will still flow to homes, businesses and farms. Ultimately, the question will be whether those services can be done more efficiently.
A proposal that has drawn considerable attention would create a Department of Natural Resources with command over a variety of responsibilities. That would allow the state to ax the Board of Forestry and the Department of Water Resources.
In conjunction, lawmakers are advancing a proposal to move Cal Fire, which provides front-line protection for much of rural
They also are looking to wrest control of the vital State Water Project from the Department of Water Resources and turn over the plumbing system to a new state-controlled utility or oversight commission. The structure of that utility has not been determined, but likely would be appointed by the governor. About one-third of the
Lester Snow, water resources director, said just splitting off the project would be “a knee-jerk reaction with unintended consequences.”
But, Snow added, “I'm all for” a broader review that takes into account other vital functions, such as flood management and dam safety. Legislators have suggested moving flood protection into the little-known Central Valley Flood Protection Board.
The energy side of the Department of Water Resources, which operates several dams, could be turned over to the Public Utilities Commission, some legislators suggest.
Moreover, legislators are weighing plans to shut down some major boards and departments and merge those functions into other offices. Agriculture, waste management, fish and game, and toxics are among those on various lists.
Addressing one high-profile target, some Democrats propose to eliminate the Integrated Waste Management Board, often criticized for being stacked with appointed political allies paid about $125,000 a year. The proposal calls for reorganizing department duties, dumping staff and setting new job qualifications – and lower pay – for those serving on a new Pollution Prevention and Recycling Board.
The plans are in their infancy and the most aggressive of those probably will not be acted on until later this year, if then. Some relatively painless consolidations may be approved sooner. Democrats are looking for an immediate cash-savings of $50 million in 2009-10.
“In order to do this right, it will take some digging,” said Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego.
At the same time, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top resources aides are crafting a separate set of recommendations. They declined to provide details, saying it's a work in progress.
“He has expressed agreement with some of the Legislature's consolidation and reorganization proposals. The governor supports a targeted approach to making government more efficient, and to that end, he supports eliminating some agencies,” said Ana Matosantos, a Department of Finance deputy director.
Given that many of the proposals could directly affect the state's approach to managing valuable resources, environmentalists are closely monitoring developments.
“If we preserve the standards and authorities of the agencies while we capture efficiencies through reorganization, it could be good for the environment as well as future generations,” said Michael Endicott of the Sierra Club of California.
Pavley said policy as much as the budget is guiding lawmakers.
For example, she said, Cal Fire has evolved into a full-service agency, no longer singularly charged with suppressing wildfires. As growth has spread deeper into forests and rural areas, Cal Fire is expected to respond to more structure fires, car accidents and other emergencies.
To that end, Democrats say it only makes sense to house it with the emergency services agency. There are 6,900 full-time and seasonal paid firefighters within Cal Fire.
Terry McHale, who represents a firefighters union, noted that the Office of Emergency Services just underwent operational changes.
“Take your time – lots of time,” McHale urged lawmakers studying Cal Fire operations.
One question swirling around moving Cal Fire and shutting down the Board of Forestry involves the potential impact on policies toward forest thinning, ostensibly for fire prevention. That is why one influential senator, Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, opposes the merger.
The California Forestry Association, which represents timber interests, has registered some concerns, but wants to see “more meat on the bone” before it makes a final judgment, said P. Anthony Thomas, its lobbyist.
Perhaps even more controversial is the emerging plan to create a public utility to oversee the State Water Project. Thirty-three contractors, including the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, pay for a large share of operations. The San Diego County Water Authority buys supplies from Metropolitan.
Roger Patterson, Metropolitan's assistant general manager, said the wholesaler is not dismissing any proposals outright. But, “this is not something you should jump into without doing homework,” Patterson said.
The Department of Water Resources has come under fire for being too cozy with its contractors by allegedly inflating urban and farm deliveries and shorting fish and wildlife. Critics suggest the agency's directives helped speed the decline of salmon and smelt that are blamed for today's water crisis.
Relocating State Water Project oversight is also fraught with potential political repercussions because it is coming during intense debate over a $10 billion water bond, dams, a new delivery channel and a broad plan to restore the Sacramento Delta, the hub of
Schwarzenegger is pushing hard for a new north-to-south canal that he insists the Department of Water Resources can build without legislative approval, as long as agencies that buy the water put up the money.
But would any new public utility so readily agree to a new canal?
The department “is just going full speed ahead with a 100-lane freeway, 48-miles long through the heart of
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/1n29reorg01186-turf-wars-loom-services-retooled/
Army Corps levee tree rules rattle
The
By Matt Weiser
If a tree grows on a levee, is it bad?
According to a recent scientific review, there's no way to tell by reading federal policy.
In 2007, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in
The corps' rules have caused alarm in the
The levee maintenance policy has never been applied uniformly in
The corps commissioned a scientific peer review of its policy last year. Finished in December, the corps provided The Bee a copy last week.
"The policies and guidance lack scientific foundation, as evidenced by broad anecdotal assumptions and lack of (non-Army Corps) literature citations," the three-member review panel wrote. "The document is from the single perspective that vegetation on levees is bad and should be removed. Some vegetation may help stabilize … levees."
This echoes the consensus of a science symposium on the subject hosted in 2007 by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. Numerous experts said there was little proof that trees threaten levees. On the contrary, they cited a large body of research that trees may actually strengthen levees by binding loose soils together with their roots.
The federal policy relies largely on field experience rather than scientific studies to justify its conclusions.
The corps stands behind its policy and rejects the critique of its scientific merit.
"We don't agree with that at all," said Eric Halpin, Army Corps special assistant on dam and levee safety. "Our primary mission is to keep public safety forefront, and not everyone has that mission. Certainly the folks that are solely focused on the benefits of trees don't have that focus."
The peer reviewers also criticized the corps for failing to consider experience from other regions of the nation and world. The corps has stated previously that the policy is based on conditions and experience in the American Midwest, which differ greatly from
In
That was shortsighted: It not only gave rivers less room to flood, but eliminated virtually all riverside habitat.
Today, the only habitat left along hundreds of miles of
No one knows how many trees grow on
Last year the state Department of Water Resources reported the results of a trial inspection using the new criteria. It found that 64 of 107 levee maintenance districts would fail inspection, compared to just six under the old criteria.
Failure means the loss of federal money to rebuild levees after a flood.
Gil Labrie, a levee engineer in Walnut Grove, said removing trees poses an enormous burden on levee maintenance districts, which struggle to fund basic upkeep now.
"We couldn't even get there," he said. "That would be very expensive."
The peer reviewers said the corps also failed to consider other pros and cons of tree-covered levees. There is evidence, for instance, that plants may prevent erosion.
One example: recent research at UC Davis shows that native shrubs "lay down" against the soil during a flood and prevent erosion, while causing little restriction in flows. The shrubs also sheltered juvenile salmon from currents, allowing them to remain in preferable habitat.
The research focused on floodplains, but similar results may be possible on levees.
"It definitely highlights that there are attributes of plants we should be taking advantage of in our designs that we've ignored in past, and we can't really ignore in the future," said Stefan Lorenzato, watershed program manager at DWR and lead author of the study.
State and local officials have worked with the Army Corps to develop a temporary exclusion from the rules. Finalized in March, it allows trees to remain on levees as long as branches are pruned 5 feet off the ground to ensure access for inspections.
The exemption lasts until 2012, when state law requires the Central Valley Flood Protection Board to adopt a comprehensive new flood management plan for the region.
At that point, the state will likely seek a permanent variance from the corps rules. What that will require is unknown, said Jay Punia, the board's executive officer.
"We have dodged a bullet on a temporary basis," Punia said.
Halpin said the corps is willing to consider the variance. It is also conducting additional research on its own to refine the vegetation policy.#
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1983292.html
Valley's ag and water economics a complex conundrum
The
By Tim Sheehan
The message from farmers is dramatic and direct: drought and federal water restrictions are crippling
"This is a crisis, and it's a worsening crisis," said A.G. Kawamura,
Yet even as growers fallow thousands of acres and lay off workers, farm employment in
What's going on?
There's no fast and easy answer. Valley agriculture and water economics are too complex for that.
There are stark differences between the east and west sides of
In the vast reaches of the west side, sharp limits on water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have forced growers to plant fewer acres and hire fewer workers. Unemployment rates are above 30% in towns like Mendota, Huron and
But on the east side, farmers face fewer water cutbacks. More water means more work -- enough so far, apparently, to take up the slack being felt in the west.
Estimates from the state Employment Development Department show that through May, the number of farm jobs in
The number of agricultural jobs in
Water deliveries cut
The sprawling Westlands Water District this year will receive only 10% of its contracted federal water allocation from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta -- the lowest allocation in more than 30 years.
Pumping restrictions to protect the Delta smelt and salmon also make it hard for farmers to obtain surplus water from water districts north of the Delta. Instead, farmers must pump low-quality, salty ground water just to keep permanent crops such as almond trees alive. They need more and better water to produce a viable crop from those trees.
"I'm teetering on a pogo stick out here," said grower Shawn Coburn, who farms several thousand acres, including almonds and wine grapes, on the west side. "Without water, I'm done. ... The people who used to provide food for
Farmers in Westlands will fallow more than 100,000 acres because of a lack of water, said Sarah Woolf, a spokeswoman for the district. That is nearly double the 55,000 acres fallowed in 2006, the last time Westlands received its full water allocation. The district encompasses about 600,000 acres, including about 100,000 that are permanently retired.
West-side grower John Harris said his farm payroll for the first six months of this year will be about $3.2 million -- a little over half what it was in 2007, when the current drought began.
"Were it not for ground water pumping and carryover water, these declines would have been even more dramatic," Harris said.
The decline in work has meant hardship for many families. In Firebaugh, local charities gave away about 1,500 boxes of food to needy families last week.
"If there wasn't a need, these people wouldn't be standing in line for hours," Firebaugh City Manager Jose Antonio Ramirez said. "It's embarrassing for them, but it's a necessity."
"Not everything happening out here is related to water, but the majority is," Ramirez said. "We were giving out food before, even when things were better, but maybe only about 300 boxes."
Water limits hit jobs
There's no doubt that water restrictions hurt employment on the west side, said David Sunding, a professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of California at Berkeley and director of Berkeley Economic Consulting Inc.
Moreover, it's still too early to see effects of the water shortage in employment and farm revenue statistics, Sunding said. He expects the numbers will get worse.
"Peak farm employment only starts to happen around now with the harvest of vegetable crops, tree crops and others through late summer," Sunding said. "We need to see what the data says six months from now."
But Jeffrey Michael, an economist from
Experts also have long pointed out that farming on the west side faces a growing challenge from minerals in the ground water that build up in soil, eventually poisoning crops.
"The economy is more complex than a lot of folks out there let on," said Michael, who infuriated west-side farmers with a newspaper essay last month in which he questioned the link between west-side jobs and water availability.
Local agriculture officials agree that the east side of
"
Last year,
But Hafner expects no records for 2009.
"The west side is losing acreage, and I would expect the annual crop report to go down," Hafner said. "Production levels are dropping because there isn't enough water."
One economist argues that agricultural employment is an unreliable indicator of economic health because there's no distinction in the state figures between part-time or piece work and a full-time job.
"It doesn't mean the total wealth as a result of those farm jobs has gone up," even if employment has increased this year, said Richard Howitt, a professor of agricultural resource economics at UC Davis.
Steve Patricio, president of Mendota's Westside Produce, agreed.
"The reality is that people on the west side are working less, even though they have jobs," Patricio said. "The total numbers don't tell the whole story."
Patricio said reduced water supplies on the west side have shifted production of some crops such as melons and processing tomatoes to other regions of the Valley.
Within the Westlands Water District, melon acreage has dropped by about 50%, Patricio said. And picking up the slack are growers in other areas who have more water available.
The relative health of other farming areas isn't something to be taken for granted, state agriculture secretary Kawamura warned. Future environmental regulations in the Delta and demands for water to re-establish salmon runs on the San Joaquin River could result in irrigation hardships for farmers beyond the west side.
"I don't think this will be the only area to be affected by regulations," Kawamura said. "The entire east side of the Valley could easily find itself in this same kind of pattern."
Michael said he understands there is real pain in the west-side cities. He's just not convinced that water is primarily to blame.
"I've seen the anecdotes from farmers who say they're letting people go, and that adds up across a lot of farms," he said. "I'm sure the water situation is having huge impacts on the profitability of individual farmers."
Sunding and Howitt agree with Michael that the west-side economy is lackluster even in good times.
"If they gave the west-side farmers all the water they wanted, would all of the problems in these cities be solved? No," said Sunding. "But the point is, it would help."
Affixing blame on water or other economic factors doesn't change the reality for west-side residents, Howitt said.
"The bottom line is, we know that if farmers can't get water, they can't grow the crops," he said, "and if they don't grow the crops, they don't employ farm labor."
"We know we're starting from a basis of high unemployment in these west-side towns anyway, so what this creates is an incremental impact on these people who are already having a difficult time," Howitt said. "It's making life rougher -- by a lot."#
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1501313-p2.html
It's not only fish vs. people
Editorial
The National Marine Fisheries Service has issued a wake-up call on the dangers facing the
The wake-up call came in the form of a "biological opinion" that the fisheries service filed earlier this month. Prompted by a federal court ruling on a lawsuit by environmentalists and fishermen, it found that the ways the state and federal water projects operate threaten the survival of endangered chinook salmon and steelhead, and it required that they change their policies.
The changes the agency envisions include finding ways to get the fish around the dams and other barriers that currently stop them as they migrate upstream to spawn. With immense structures like Shasta Dam spanning the
The price of not acting, however, will likely be steeper.
To begin with, the winter- and spring-run chinook salmon of the
That probably won't take salmon off diners' plates, although there are persistent questions about the taste, healthfulness and environmental impact of what's produced on fish farms.
But if these natural populations vanish, they will likely take with them the state's commercial salmon industry, which has already been shut for two years in the wake of the fish population's crash. The Fish and Game Department estimates that in 2008, the shutdown cost $255 million in revenue and more than 2,200 jobs.
Beyond that, the federal fisheries service's opinion is a wake-up call on the need for a major reassessment of state water policy. Pretty much everyone involved in the current system recognizes that it's broken, unable to store excess supply in wet years or deliver needed supply in dry ones.
The new federal rules, which will likely face a court challenge, don't require an immediate solution. The current blueprint requires studies starting later this year, trials of fish-moving procedures by 2012 and a decision on an ultimate answer by 2020.
Water officials should use that time not only to find the best way to get the fish around the dams but to explore cheaper ways to save them. One possibility being pushed by a
Whatever solution is ultimately embraced, the region will likely never return to the days when so many salmon choked the
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/1984751.html
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