A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 3, 2009
2. Supply –
Residents in Malibu, Topanga and Marina areas must cut water use or face higher bills
LA County approves water shortage rules for Malibu
The
Pleasant Hill
Contra Costa Times
It's not summer yet; scattered showers expected in San Jose
Ruling: Humans, not just fish, to factor in divvying water
The
Drought hurts county range
Red Bluff Daily News
Lake Red
Red Bluff Daily News
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Residents in Malibu, Topanga and Marina areas must cut water use or face higher bills
Los Angeles
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today declared a "water shortage emergency" in
Residents in those areas must reduce the amount of water they use by 15% or face higher water rates, according to county documents.
Households affected by the rules receive their water from the L.A. County Department of Public Works. Customers will get more details in the mail. Officials cited the continued dry conditions and various legal issues that have reduce water supplies.
On Monday, the city of
LA County approves water shortage rules for Malibu
The Oakland
The board approved shortage rules Tuesday that will require residents to reduce their water consumption by 15 percent or face higher rates.
After three years of drought and with new limits on water pumped from the Sacramento Delta, water supplies have been cut and rates are up.
The supervisors also voted to add a service fee for customers in
Pleasant Hill
Contra Costa Times-6/02/09
By Lisa P. White
Poets Corner residents, unhappy with a water rationing program some say encourages waste rather than conservation, will have an opportunity to suggest changes before the City Council adopts the plan.
The council on Monday directed the Diablo Vista Water System advisory board to hold a public meeting to hear feedback from residents. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday in the City Council chamber. The council is scheduled to adopt the final rationing plan June 15. Diablo
Tara O'Siochain, who described the rationing program as heavy-handed, said panicked neighbors were hoarding water by filling barrels and hot tubs when the system is pumping.
"I'm all for conservation and encouraging others to conserve," she said. "But this plan has got it all wrong."
Residents in the southern
As of May 1, Poets Corner homeowners are restricted to three watering days per week because the water district has reduced by 45 percent the amount of water Diablo Vista will receive this year.
On Sunday, Diablo Vista abruptly turned off the water about four hours earlier than customers expected when it became evident the system had exceeded its monthly allocation from the water district, and risked racking up expensive fines if residents continued watering. The move left residents who had planned to water their lawns Sunday evening seething.
Steve Zalewski, chairman of the Diablo Vista advisory board, acknowledged that the rationing program had caused some panic in the neighborhood and that water pressure drops when everyone is trying to use the system at the same time. But he pointed out that residents came close to meeting the reduction goal for the month of May.
"The biggest issue here is how do we communicate to the 475 households," Zalewski said.
Currently, customers must check the city Web site or call the Diablo Vista office to find out if the water is on. The rationing program goes back into effect today.
Poets Corner resident Bruce Weissenberger has argued that only the City Council, not the Diablo Vista board members, had the authority to implement the water restrictions. He believes residents deserve a rebate for the water they won't get this year. He also wants Diablo Vista to call residents when the board decides to turn off the water.
"We're paying the bill and we're getting nothing from anybody for it. No sorry, no discussion, until now," Weissenberger said.
The council agreed that Poets Corner residents should determine the best way to ration the water.
"I don't think we're going to come up with a solution because we don't have to bear the risk of the solution going wrong," said Councilman John Hanecak.
Councilwoman Terri Williamson, who lives in Poets Corner, recused herself from the discussion Monday on the advice of the city attorney.
The 475 homeowners in the Diablo Vista service area pay an annual assessment, included on their property tax bill, for unlimited canal water. In 2008, customers paid $285 plus one-half of 1 percent of the assessed value of their homes, according to Zalewski.
Typically, the water for Diablo Vista customers flows from April through mid-December, when the water district drains the canal for maintenance. Due to ongoing drought conditions this year, Poets Corner residents are restricted to watering on weekends and one weekday.
So far, Zalewski has said it is premature to discuss a rebate because Diablo Vista must pay the water district four times more if customers use too much water, and maintenance costs could increase this year. He estimates potential savings this year would amount to about $51 per customer.
Residents argued the restrictions were unfair and asked the Contra Costa Water District to increase their household water allocation so they can maintain their landscaping this summer. The water district denied the request, saying Poets Corner residents would have access to plenty of water, even with the restrictions in place.
For more information about the Diablo Vista Water System, visit the Pleasant Hill Web site at http://www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/.#
It's not summer yet; scattered showers expected in San Jose
While expectations for June weather in the
And that's exactly what the
Temperatures in the low- to mid-70s are also expected.
"June rainfall: it's not unusual and not in infrequent," Gudgel said.
However, when it does rain in June, it's usually just a drop in the bucket. The average rainfall totals for June is a paltry .08 inches.
During this rainfall season,
The system is expected to clear out by the weekend, when sunny skies and temperatures in the low-70s are expected.#
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12509050
Ruling: Humans, not just fish, to factor in divvying water
The
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
Drought hurts county range
Red Bluff Daily News-6/03/09
By Geoff Johnson
The county, now in its third consecutive drought year, saw only 67 percent of its average rainfall from July 1, 2008, up to the present, Tehama County Agricultural Commissioner Rick Gurrola told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
As such, the county's rangeland produced $5,728,000 less in range than it would have produced in a year without a drought.
In hopes of helping local farmers, Gurrola wrote a letter to the California Office of Emergency Services dated May 20 requesting a disaster declaration for the county.
Such a declaration would allow local farmers to apply to the USDA for low-interest loans from the federal government.
If considered for declaration, the county's claims could be subject to investigation by the Farm Services Agency and be approved in as soon as two to three months.
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/ci_12509254
Lake Red
Red Bluff Daily News-6/03/09
By Rich Greene
Lake Red Bluff's prospects for the summer may finally be decided Thursday when a biological opinion of the National Marine Fisheries is scheduled to be released.
The opinion, originally set to be released Tuesday, is expected to contain a recommendation for the gate operations at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam.
The gates have remained raised since Sept. 3, 2008 and were not lowered in mid-May as had been the typical annual operation schedule following a ruling they interfered and posed jeopardy to several species of engendered fish.
When the dam's 11 gates are lowered water from the Sacramento River fills the Tehama-Colusa and
Bureau of Reclamation officials in charge of gate operations had planned to lower the gates on June 15, but said that was contingent upon Thursday's opinion.
A federal judge ruled in July 2008 to create a shorter gates-in schedule during a period of the year fewer fish are likely to be migrating past the dam.
With the gates not following their normal schedule, the Tehama- Colusa Canal Authority installed temporary pumps this spring to begin diverting water for agricultural use.
Canal Authority General Manager Jeff Sutton said pumps and motors have been installed and the canal authority is working out the final bugs.
So far, Sutton said water demand has been met this year in part due to lower allocations put in place at the beginning of the season.
It's been close but we've been able to meet demand and avoid disaster, Sutton said.
A plan for a permanent pumping plant to replace the diversion dam has received federal stimulus money, although the plant will take several years to construct.
Officials hope Thursday's opinion will contain a plan to deal with the gates operations for the remaining years until the plant is built. #
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