A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 10, 2009
2. Supply –
New water use rules go into effect Friday in Sacramento
Government needs to put our farmers ahead of the fish
State needs a full water plan
Fed study, proposal another blow to ag
Water Scarcity and the Western Oil Shales
New York Times
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New water use rules go into effect Friday in Sacramento
Sacramento
By Matt Weiser
This week, Sacramentans are expected to start taking baby steps to conserve water.
New rules on outdoor water use take effect Friday. The goal is to change the city's thirsty habits and to align with watering rules that have become commonplace in
The rules are permanent, and they start slowly. As of Friday, city residents will be banned from watering between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., when daytime heat causes more evaporation. That's two hours more than under the old rules, which restricted watering between noon and 6 p.m.
Residents still will be allowed to water only on alternate days based on address: odd addresses on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; even addresses on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; no watering on Mondays.
Also starting Friday, it will be illegal to wash a car without having a shut-off nozzle on the hose. And cars can be washed only on designated watering days.
About 65 percent of that usage in
The city has ample water rights in both the American and
Yet the city faces increasing pressure to use water more wisely, notably from state officials who have the power to restrict those water rights if they find the city is abusing the resource.
Excessive water use increases city treatment and pumping costs. Excessive runoff from urban areas also pollutes waterways and harms the environment.
"It's important we set an example, as a region and state capital, on conservation efforts," said Mike Malone, field supervisor in the Utilities Department. "We don't know what the future is going to hold. So it's important we take steps to preserve this precious resource."
Stiffer enforcement also can be expected, though it remains to be seen just how stiff.
A first violation of the rules brings a warning notice, as before. But now a second violation comes with a $25 fine, which is waived if the perpetrator attends a water conservation class. Fines increase for subsequent violations.
All city employees will be empowered and encouraged to report water waste, though the Utilities Department will have only three employees to investigate those reports.
Residents can report water waste by calling the city operator at 311.
"Our goal is for the city to be known as a water conservation capital," said Marty Hanneman, assistant city manager and utilities director. "We know we've got a long way to go, but this is a big step forward."
A bigger adjustment will be required this winter. During the months that standard time is in effect – generally early November to mid-March – landscape watering is allowed only one day a week: odd addresses on Saturday, even addresses on Sunday.
The city plans to roll out a campaign this week to educate the public about the rules. This will include billboards, utility bill inserts, public service announcements and advertising.
The campaign was developed by
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1933426.html?mi_rss=Top%20Stories
Government needs to put our farmers ahead of the fish
Modesto
Editorial
The biological opinion issued last week by the National Marine Fisheries Service is troubling for the many things that it does not say.
The rushed opinion
will have a huge impact on San Joaquin Valley agriculture, yet the Fisheries Service did not take the time to consider all the factors that are jeopardizing fish populations. That's shoddy work.
This decision plays into the arguments of those who claim the federal government would rather protect fish than humans. We believe endangered species must be protected, but we also think there should be a balance struck when issuing opinions that will cause economic turmoil.
The federal opinion says salmon, sturgeon, killer whale and steelhead are jeopardized by the federal and state water projects. The practical effect of that conclusion would limit water pumped to valley farmers and
Farmers on the west side already are enduring significantly decreased water deliveries because of previous rulings. Some fields are not being farmed at all; some orchards will barely get enough water to keep the trees alive, but not enough to produce this year.
Both Democratic and Republicans members of the valley congressional delegation have condemned the latest opinion -- for good reason.
While the Fisheries Service is blaming the federal and state water pumping for the decline in the fish populations, the agency does not take into account documented factors such as sewage dumping from Sacramento and Stockton, the private pumps that divert water without screens, other pollution from nearby urban areas and the impact of striped bass and other invasive species on the protected species.
It appears this opinion was targeted at agricultural uses only, and that is wrong.
The Obama administration must reconsider this ill-conceived action. One way is to convene the so-called "God Squad."
The Endangered Species Act has a provision that would allow a panel of seven Cabinet officials to intervene. They could rule that the economic hardship from reduced water flows overrides protecting the threatened species.
The panel, which is informally called the "God Squad," was added to the ESA in 1978. It has only been used sparingly, but we believe this is exactly the occasion that the provision was intended for.
In late May, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger issued a ruling saying officials must focus not just on protecting the endangered delta smelt when discussing the water pumping, but also must take into account "the harm being visited upon humans, the community and the environment."
Wanger is exactly right.
The opinion issued last week by the fisheries service is narrowly drawn to focus on fish, not farmers. We hope the Obama administration realizes how devastating it will be to the individuals and to the communities that rely on farm water to survive. The president should not ignore the impact that his administration is having on some of the nation's poorest people.#
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/story/736322.html
State needs a full water plan
Editorial
The biological opinion issued last week by the National Marine Fisheries Services was bad news for the Valley.
Acting in response to a federal judge's ruling, the fisheries service issued new rules for management of federal water in
The new rules will require more water to be released into river channels to support fisheries in the Bay delta and the
To family farmers, of course, it sounds again as if the government values fish more than people. The huge
But Valley water interests must be realistic. They know the trend. They have successively lost each battle over water for the past three decades. The Endangered Species Act will not be repealed, no matter how much conservative Republicans wish it would be. It is unlikely it will be modified sufficiently to make a difference in water policy.
Valley growers have to figure out how to live with increasing environmental restrictions, not fight them. The state needs to have its own water policy that includes all interests.
The fact is that
There are three dominant and stubborn political forces contesting
There is actually enough water to support all three. About 200 million acre-feet fall in rain and snowfall annually in
Why haven't we? The various water interests in
Ultimately, ag interests and Valley lawmakers have only themselves to blame: They have not take the steps to compromise and craft a comprehensive water plan for California that recognizes the value of all interests.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein correctly points out that
With every new water ruling the agricultural community reacts with indignation and threats of lawsuits. The ag community ought to be developing the partnerships with other groups that will lead to more water development. There are more options than simply complaining. Let's work on something positive that has a better chance of succeeding than a frustrating shouting match.#
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20090609/OPINION/906090304
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Fed study, proposal another blow to ag
By Seth Nidever
The study, issued Thursday by the National Marine Fisheries Service, says that the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project are endangering the survival of winter and spring-run Chinook salmon,
Both projects have massive pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that suck water out for delivery to hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and millions of residents to the south.
Thursday's study estimated that deliveries will have to be cut by 330,000 acre feet a year to protect the fish, many of which spend most of their time in the ocean but must swim upstream to spawn.
An acre-foot is enough water to cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot. It's estimated that
The reductions, if implemented, would be on top of cutbacks already in place to protected the endangered Delta Smelt.
Those cutbacks began in 2008 after Oliver Wanger, a
Wanger's decision was reinforced by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study released in December 2008.
Environmentalists and fishing interests hailed the Wanger decision and the study as a victory for the fragile Delta ecosystem.
They hailed Thursday's study too, saying it will improve water quality, protect spawning grounds and support ocean fisheries.
But for local farming interests and political figures, it was another blow to the dwindling water supplies that the
Congressman Jim Costa, D-Fresno, denounced the study, as did Assemblyman Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford.
Westlands Water District, the nation's largest, said Monday that it will file a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Westlands includes approximately 30,000 acres in
The fisheries study was completed without a public vetting process required by the National Environmental Policy Act, according to Jason Peltier, Westlands' deputy general manager.
Peltier also accused the fisheries service of unfairly focusing on pumping and not adequately studying other factors such as treated sewage being dumped into the Delta.
Westlands is also disputing the 330,000 acre-foot estimate, saying the true cutback would be much greater.
Westlands recently won a narrow court ruling affecting the Delta Smelt. The ruling, issued by Judge Wanger on May 22, said that the Fish and Wildlife Service must take into account "the harm being visited on humans, the community and the environment" when in considers pumping cutbacks to protect spring spawning beds.
Westlands is hoping that both the Fish and Wildlife Service smelt study and Thursday's National Marine Fisheries Service study will eventually have to go through a full public environmental review process, including an analysis of the economic impacts of lost irrigation water in the
http://hanfordsentinel.com/articles/2009/06/10/news/doc4a2eb84c9f3bc572295059.txt
By Bethania Palma Markus
In the face of an ongoing drought, the city will be adopting water conservation guidelines in an effort to help prevent rationing, officials said.
Residents are being asked to forego things like spraying down sidewalks and driveways, washing cars with a running hose and watering lawns during daylight hours, officials said.
Cities throughout the state were asked to cut water usage by 20 percent this year under a drought emergency declared by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Some, like
"This is probably the first step in water conservation," Assistant City Manager Jeff Prang said. "If things continue to get worse, we'll have to take more aggressive steps, which could include water rationing."
Five other cities that are members of the Central Basin Municipal Water District either have or will adopt similar ordinances, officials said.
Residents will not immediately be cited for violating the ordinance, which goes into effect in 30 days, officials said.
But officials could easily put penalties on the table. Residents could eventually be cited by city code enforcers if the water situation worsens, officials said.
"We don't have any enforcement we are recommending, it's more an advisory," said Al Cablay, public works director. "But it does give us the option for later coming back and, depending on how drastic the shortage is, going down that route."
Much of
But
"If we continue with the drought, we have to pump longer and farther down, and it starts to affect us as far as the cost of water," Cablay said.
As groundwater levels decrease, water quality worsens, he said. Two wells have been rendered inactive because low levels caused poor quality.
While many Central Basin-member water agencies rely mostly on groundwater sources, a water district spokeswoman said if the now three-year drought continues, such cities may eventually need to resort to imported water.
"We've really taxed our reserves at this point, and really need a lot more rain to get us back to where we were a few years ago," said Valerie Howard, Central Basin's public affairs manager. "We're not out of the woods yet, and conservation is more important for that reason."#
Water Scarcity and the Western Oil Shales
New York Times-6/09/09
Nathan Bilow for The New York Times The West has lots of oil, but getting out of the shale where it rests requires a lot of water — which the West doesn’t have.
Vast technical and environmental challenges have long stood in the way of commercial oil shale production.
But it is water – or more specifically, its scarcity – that is likely to be shale oil’s greatest stumbling block in the arid West.
The United States Geological Survey recently estimated that there may be as many as 1.525 trillion barrels of oil trapped in the rock of
“There is this theoretical idea that if you could somehow extract all of the oil” from the
The W.R.A. report, citing figures from the Bureau of Land Management and the RAND Corporation, argued that increased water use for oil shale development could hamper urban growth in the Rocky Mountain Front Range, threaten agriculture and critical habitat for endangered fish and increase the likelihood that Lower Basin states like Nevada, Arizona and California would issue a “call” — a legal decree that forces junior upstream water rights holders to reduce, or eliminate altogether, water use until senior downstream rights are met.
Mr. Abelson said the group’s findings are based on a “full production” model — a scenario that by even the most optimistic of projections is more than 15 years off.
Glenn Vawter, executive director of the National Oil Shale Association, a group that represents the industry, said that the study’s findings are overstated and play on tensions surrounding a regional water war that long predates the oil shale industry.
“Many people that we have encountered who are involved in the oil shale water issue represent
Mr. Vawter said that water produced during shale-processing and from local oil and gas wells could potentially reduce the amount of water taken from
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/water-scarcity-and-the-western-oil-shales/
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