A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 24, 2009
2. Supply –
Mandatory water restrictions in the works
Walnut water wasters face mandatory low flow
The Press Democrat
Meeting scheduled on water pipeline project
Fish prevail over Californians, again
Western Farm Press
Mary Wells: Reservoir would help ease water crisis
Marysville Appeal-Democrat
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Fee increases on hold for agricultural customers
By Barbara Henry
Residential water customers will face water rate increases come Aug. 1, but the city's famed floral tourist attraction and its strawberry fields region were granted a fee reprieve Tuesday.
In its role as the leaders of the Carlsbad Municipal Water District, the City Council agreed to support most of a series of proposed water fee increases, including a new tiered system for residential water customers.
But the council members decided to hold off on proposed fee increases for agricultural customers after hearing protests from representatives for the strawberry fields and The Flower Fields.
CB Ranch Enterprises, which operates The Flower Fields, could end up owing an extra $100,000 a year if the rates increased, company official Chris Calkins said. He told the council that The Flower Fields doesn't have the choice of going out of business quickly. Under its permits, it is required to give the city five years' notice before it can take the land out of agricultural production, he noted.
Meanwhile, the general manager of the region's strawberry fields said his per-acre water use fees would go up from $3,000 to $7,500.
"I can tell you, we cannot sustain that kind of an increase," General Manager Peter Mackauf said. "It takes all of the profit out of the business."
As he made his case, Mackauf displayed a case of strawberries to the council and talked about the various U-pick strawberry programs his company offers to the public.
Both men said their operations provided the city with special benefits that and their water bills should reflect that.
Council members said they could hear support for their argument, given that a majority of the city's voters several years ago supported a ballot measure that would preserve the strawberry region as permanent open space. However, the city's attorney said
Other options, including reworking the agricultural water fee system, were suggested instead. Water district staff members expect to return to the council with a proposal by late July. They also are looking into fees for reclaimed, or treated sewage water, that is used on non-edible landscaping. The council also delayed a fee increase for that water use.
Other water district customers will face increases come Aug. 1. Like many of
The
"If we were to attempt to fall into first tier, everything would die, creating a fire hazard," said Mercedes Martin, a
The city's mayor, Bud Lewis, then told her that he too lived on a large lot and he thought he should pay higher rates rather than asking people with smaller lots to subsidize his water usage.
He and Councilman Keith Blackburn voted against the fee plan that the council adopted Tuesday, but not out of opposition to raising rates. They had both sought a slightly higher system that would have added more money into the water district's reserve accounts to help it recover from a 2007 court settlement.
Under the newly approved rate increases, the average residential customer would owe $44.26 a month for water, up from the current average rate of $39.98. About 50 percent of the city's residential customers use no more than 12 units of water ---- 8,976 gallons of water or less ---- and would fall into the lowest rate category under the new tiered system.
For information on the various water rate categories, visit: http://www.carlsbadca.gov/water/#
Mandatory water restrictions in the works
Council is expected to vote for plan that would limit how often lawns may be watered
By Melanie Hicken
Outdoor watering will likely be limited to three days a week under a revised mandatory water conservation proposal that gained traction Tuesday with the City Council.
Mandatory 10% conservation, which still must be approved by the council next week, is recommended by the utility to help it stay within a reduced allotment from the Metropolitan Water District of California, which supplies up to 70% of
In response to the growing statewide water crisis, Metropolitan is reducing shipments by 10% on July 1 to all of its member agencies.
The utility will levy heavy penalties on agencies that exceed their allotment.
"We now need to start treating water like the valuable resource it is," said Councilwoman Laura Friedman.
The City Council coalesced around the outdoor watering restrictions as an alternative to an unpopular proposal from Glendale Water & Power earlier this year that would have billed customers at least twice the regular rate for any water used that exceeded individually assigned benchmarks, which would be calculated at 10% less than their average consumption in 2006.
Council members also emphasized the need for massive public outreach to help the effort succeed.
"Sometimes what is fairest is what is most easily comprehensible, and that is what this is," said Councilman John Drayman.
Last June, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared an official statewide drought, Glendale Water & Power enacted a 10% voluntary conservation effort, but that yielded average cutbacks of only 4%, officials said.
"Unfortunately, we're going to have to do something to require more stringent reduction in water usage," said Glenn Steiger, general manager at Glendale Water & Power.
But residents who have already been conserving water questioned the fairness of the original proposal, arguing it would punish those who had already been conserving 10% or more.
"We heard that time and time again," Steiger said.
While the limited watering days would be easier for both consumers and the utility, it would also be harder to enforce, officials said.
The household benchmark option could easily be policed through higher rates, but any outdoor watering violations would have to be handled by code enforcement officers, who would levy penalties between $100 and $1,000.
"I don't know if this is going to work," Councilman Dave Weaver said, questioning its effectiveness.
But faced with an unpopular alternative in the form of the original proposal, council members appeared willing to go with the option that other cities, including
"I think the fairest way to conserve water would be the most burdensome . . . therein lies the paradox," Councilman Ara Najarian said.
Utility officials hosted three public meetings called for by the City Council in May to encourage and compile public input.
In addition to questioning the benchmark proposal, residents argued that the city should limit development as water constraints remain and should consider expanding the use of recycled water, Steiger said.
Utility officials also met with local Realtors who were concerned about a proposal to make the retrofit of plumbing fixtures to use less water a condition for the resale of a property.
As a result of that meeting and pending state legislation that could address the issue, the proposal was removed, said Peter Kavounas, assistant general manager for water services.
In order for mandatory conservation to be effective, council members emphasized that residents need to readjust their expectations of water availability, especially for landscape uses.
"We have to cut back on water because the water isn't there," Friedman said. "We have to pick our medicine and do it . . . Maybe we are at the point where expansive green lawns aren't going to work anymore."
Glendale Water & Power officials are expected to return in the coming weeks with a finalized ordinance for adoption.
The new regulations are planned to take effect Aug. 1.#
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2009/06/24/politics/gnp-conservation24.txt
Walnut water wasters face mandatory low flow
By Kendra Ablaza
The Walnut Valley Water District has passed a strict set of laws and penalties for water wasters.
Among the toughest penalties approved Monday is a law allowing the district to restrict water flow to its worst offenders by placing a gadget on water lines to limit flow to one gallon per minute.
Bob Muir, spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said about one-third to one-half of the districts under MWD have used this type of flow restraint as a last resort if someone is habitually wasting water.
Water agencies all over the region are passing similar laws to to reduce the amount of imported water
Mike Holmes, general manager of the Walnut Valley Water District, said the city is in its first stage of water supply shortage, which calls for a 10-to-15 percent reduction of water use.
Some of the restrictions in the current stage prohibit watering of lawns and other vegetated areas between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. unless by a handheld bucket or handheld hose with a self-closing nozzle, serving drinking water only upon request at restaurants, and the option to decline daily linen services at hotels.
Restrictions in stages two through four would vary from limiting lawn watering to three days a week on a schedule established by the district
to prohibiting re-filling swimming pools to the top after water evaporates.
Holmes said the ordinance rules provide ways to conserve water that should be "common sense" to everyone.
"Every drop of outdoor water we use, we can all do better on, including myself," Holmes said.
The Walnut Valley Water District began planning this ordinance a couple of months ago to continue receiving funding from MWD.
"We've had these rules for many years," Holmes said. "Only now do these rules have mandatory use."
Muir said these types of restrictions were necessary to meet MWD allocations and take action all over
The Press Democrat-6/23/09
By Clark Mason
With summer under way,
The Town Council on July 1 will consider declaring a "Stage 2" water shortage emergency, triggering immediate mandatory water conservation measures.
Residential water customers would be asked to limit irrigation to three days a week, confine watering to night and early morning hours, and make sure there is no over-spray and excess irrigation that leads to gutter runoff.
Penalties for those who violate the ordinance have not been precisely determined, but Town Manager Matt Mullan said "we like to believe residents will respond to a crisis. If they understand the need, they will, for the most part, do their part."
Varying types of conservation measures are being enacted in the
The water agency's customers are
Lower than average rainfall the past few years, combined with reductions in the amount of water diverted from the
To ensure there is sufficient water for fish migration in the fall, the state reduced how much the county agency can take from the
"It's not just for fish this year. It's also for water supplies in
Other agencies already have taken steps to meet the 25 percent conservation goal or are ready to do so, said Lynn Florey, the Water Agency's principal water programs specialist.
Cotati has a 20 percent mandatory program in place and believes it can achieve the additional 5 percent through the ban on irrigating commercial turf.
The Rohnert Park City Council on Tuesday voted to continue its voluntary 15 percent program, which according to public works director Darren Jenkins has yielded a 25 percent reduction use for April and May, thus far meeting the state board's goal.
"It is possible that if weather conditions change and we have a long drawn-out heat wave, we may have to reconsider," said Councilman Jake Mackenzie.
The council also directed staff to send letters to all commercial accounts asking them to reduce irrigation by 25 percent.
Some agencies in
Cloverdale also has asked its citizens to water every other day except Mondays, but has stopped short of making it "mandatory."
And Healdsburg has asked its residents to voluntarily conserve to achieve a 20 percent reduction in consumption compared to 2008.
In
Those who live west of the freeway would irrigate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
There would be no watering on Monday.
Commercial water customers with overhead sprinkler irrigation would be required to use 50 percent less water on their landscape, but not be limited to specific days.
The new rules also could apply to some parks, but does that mean the Town Green will transform into the Town "Brown?"
"Actually not. One of the features of the Town Green is it uses 100 percent recycled water as does the Windsor Golf Course," said Town Manager Mullan.
He said the residences in the Vintage Green subdivision also rely on recycled wastewater instead of potable water and would not be impacted by outdoor water limits. Those lawns "will look lush and picturesque all summer long," he said.
In addition to inspecting, adjusting and repairing irrigations systems, residents can report leaks and water waste by calling
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090623/articles/906239964
Meeting scheduled on water pipeline project
Meeting scheduled on water pipeline project: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will hold an open house tonight on its draft environmental impact report for the Irvington Tunnel.
The PUC is planning to build the 3.5-mile tunnel between
The tunnel will be used to transport water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents while seismic improvements are made on the nearly 80-year-old existing tunnel.
The PUC hopes to certify the final environmental impact report this November and begin construction in April 2010.
Construction-related traffic and noise is expected to impact work sites at the Vargas Road/Interstate 680 interchange and the vicinity of
The session starts at 6 tonight at Fremont Main Library, Fukaya Room B,
Fish prevail over Californians, again
Western Farm Press-6/22/09
By Harry Cline
Editorial
The latest fish-saving biological opinion from the National Marine Fisheries Service reaches far beyond the infamous Delta pumps where most of the focus lately has been in the "save the minnow (smelt)" melodrama.
It would dramatically alter the way the
Yep, you read correctly. Killer whales. Shamu. Those big black and white things you pay to see leap out of the water at Sea World. You know, the fish you see swimming in the California Aqueduct; the ones that can grow to 32 feet and weigh as much as 18,000 pounds.
No kidding, the National Marine Fisheries Service says the decline in salmon can be blamed on the operation of the
Specifically Resident Southern killer whales, which according to the Marine Fisheries Web site, live much of the year in the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound in the
The latest biological opinion has drawn criticism across the political spectrum. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in with: "This federal biological opinion puts fish above the needs of millions of Californians and the health and security of the world's eighth-largest economy."
U.S. Rep. Jim Costa of
"Despite the serious crisis facing our state, the Obama administration announced a new biological opinion that will end water deliveries in
The federal fish protectors say fall run salmon spawning on the upper Sacramento are adversely affected by high agricultural demand for flooding rice fields in the fall to decompose rice straw. This flooding creates wetlands habitat for millions of waterfowl each winter. If the federal recommendations are followed, this habitat would disappear.
Managing the state water system for fish would reduce flows to a 14,000-acre flooded water habitat in northwestern
Unfortunately, as Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, says, the latest absurd biological opinion is "just more of the same" and yet another water supply cut "driving
http://westernfarmpress.com/environment/cline-column-0622/
Mary Wells: Reservoir would help ease water crisis
Marysville Appeal-Democrat-6/22/09
Opinion
When my family purchased our ranch 35 years ago in the small foothill community of Sites, we knew there were discussions to flood our land and make it a reservoir. Even so, we hoped we could continue to ranch here for generations to come.
We could not predict back then that
It would be sad to see our land and our neighbors land flooded, but I understand that every Californian would benefit in some way from storing this water.
For years,
That short-term thinking has created a long-term problem for everyone.
As the great, great-granddaughter of W.H. Williams, the founder of a small town in western
My children and grandchildren sit on tractors and harvesters and on horseback in
Over many years, people have assumed conserving water would solve our crisis. While helpful, conservation alone cannot provide for the future of a growing population.
As a state, we have done little for decades to expand the amount of water we can store in wet and normal years and to ensure we have water available in drought years to meet the needs of citizens, business, agriculture and fish and wildlife.
A partial solution to our problem lies in rural Colusa County, where a natural bowl formation in the hills on the west side of the Sacramento Valley provides what the Department of Water Resources calls the best alternative for increased water storage for California.
Known as the "Sites Reservoir" because the small community bears the name of its earliest landowner, John Lee Sites, some 2 million acre feet of water — that is 652 billion gallons — could be stored. This offers the most cost-effective and environmentally sound alternative to provide water so that we don't experience shortages each and every year.
With this reservoir, excess water that flows down the Sacramento River, sometimes causing serious winter and spring flooding before heading to the
The water could be used to maintain water flow in our rivers during drought years, water that is critical for both fish and river habitats. The citizens of this state decided to place great value upon protecting our environment for future generations. This water storage supports that effort.
The water also would be available to meet the state's contractual obligation to provide water to farming families throughout
The water needs of our state's growing population must be addressed without sacrificing agriculture or the environment. Water diverted to farms is only partially used to grow crops. Much of it flows back into our streams and rivers to be used over and over again by more farms, cities, wildlife refuges and our Bay-Delta ecosystem.
I cherish my ranch and my home in Sites with all the memories that go with it. For me, the time has come to use our land in a different way. We need Sites Reservoir to help solve
Californians need to understand and embrace water storage as part of their future. This requires thinking and acting beyond the kitchen faucet that provided water this morning. We must work together to ensure that future generations have the water they need at their faucets, on their farms and in their environment.
(Mary Wells, 62, is a fifth-generation Californian who owns ranchland in the proposed Sites Reservoir area).#
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/water-78893-california-years.html
July 4 holiday plans could be affected with few public boat ramps on popular
The Lower Colorado River Authority in
LCRA spokeswoman Krista Umscheid-Ramirez says in the next week that boat ramp likely will be unusable as well.
News 8
The LCRA, on its Web site Wednesday, listed the lake level at about 25 feet below the historic June average. The authority says extreme to exceptional drought conditions remain.#
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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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