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[Water_news] FW: 5. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE - 6/08/09

 

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

June 8, 2009

 

5. Agencies, Programs, People –

 

 

Drought rules set to debut

North County Times

 

Helix Water District rethinking water bill structure

The Union-Tribune

 

Valley farmers at pivotal point in search for more efficient ways to use water

 

Bureaucracy stalls All-American Canal safety measures

Imperial Valley Press

 

Cadiz Announces Major Water Storage Project

Los Angeles Business Journal

 

Neighbor tells on neighbor in L.A.

Los Angeles Daily News

 

Redwood Valley exploring water options

Ukiah Daily Journal

 

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Drought rules set to debut

Watering to be restricted, penalties to be assessed

North County Times-6/06/09

By Dave Downey

 

This summer, area residents will have to live with the most severe water-use restrictions in nearly two decades.

In most cases, providers have backpedaled on threats to sock it to customers with sharply higher water rates if they fail to curb usage. However, all but a few agencies are going to some form of mandatory conservation.

In many communities, people will face restrictions on when and how long they can water, and prohibitions against hosing down driveways and filling ornamental fountains.

And in Temecula, it will be illegal to hold a charity car wash.

Those who violate the new rules, most of which take effect July 1, could be fined hundreds of dollars.

Rules will vary from community to community.

For example, filling fountains, waterfalls and birdbaths will be illegal in most places. But it won't be in the Riverside County territory served by Eastern Municipal Water District.

On the other hand, everyone will be asked to avoid watering lawns and gardens during hot and breezy daylight hours.

And almost every San Diego County agency will limit watering to three days a week. For the most part, families with addresses ending in odd numbers will be asked to water Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, while those with even-number addresses water Saturday, Monday and Wednesday.

Most also will demand that customers repair sprinkler leaks within 72 hours.

In Riverside County, providers are less concerned about specific days than the bottom line: how much water is used in a given month.

Eastern, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and Rancho California Water District will ask customers to stay within specific allocations, or water budgets. If they don't, they will pay more for the extra water they use.

The budgets are based on how much the agencies believe families need, taking into account lot sizes and the number of people in homes.

"We don't want just to take prior years' use and cut it by 10 percent," said Perry Louck, director of planning for Rancho California Water District. "Our goal is to get efficient water use."

Other agencies will ask customers to cut back a certain percentage from historical usage. Rainbow and Vallecitos water districts set mandatory reduction targets of 8 percent, matching the amount by which they must curb deliveries from the San Diego County Water Authority to avoid being penalized by the regional supplier.

However, across the board, districts and cities won't ask the most frugal users to cut back and pay more for their water if they don't.

That was a relief for Clarence Weiler, a retired high school machine-shop teacher from Escondido who is served by Rincon Del Diablo Water District.

"I can't cut another drop," Weiler said.

Weiler lives on 1.5 acres and has dramatically curtailed his water use in recent years.

"We have a little grass area that is 10 by 18 (feet)," he said. "We used to have an area that was a half-acre under sprinklers. That's all changed. It's all dead now. It's just kind of like desert there."

Those in denial about this being a desert region may have the toughest time coping this summer.

"It's going to be very hard for the people who have been using water like we are in a tropical rain forest," said Sheila Walson, a Bonsall resident.

Still, most people are using less water than they were last year.

Consumption is down 15 percent in Eastern territory, 14 percent in Del Mar, 10 percent in the Olivenhain area, 10 percent in Fallbrook and 7 percent in Escondido, officials said.

But officials said they are prepared to hike water rates if people start slipping.

Here are highlights of this summer's restrictions:

Carlsbad Municipal Water District

Serves: 86,000 people
Average monthly household usage: 12 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Banned
Rate increase? Carlsbad City Council to consider June 23
Web site: www.carlsbadca.gov/water/

Del Mar

Serves: 4,000 people
Average monthly household usage: 14 units
Landscape watering: No limits; suggested that homeowners avoid watering between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.delmar.ca.us

Eastern Municipal Water District

Serves: 675,000 people in Menifee, Moreno Valley, French Valley, Hemet, Perris, Temecula, Murrieta
Average monthly household usage: 18 units
Landscape watering: *Limited to 15 minutes per day per sprinkler station; banned between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. No limits on number of days.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? *Penalty for "wasteful" use may double. Eastern adopted permanent tiered rates in March, and consumption within the fourth tier is considered wasteful. The board will consider increasing the rate in that fourth tier.
Web site: www.emwd.org

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District


Serves: 140,000 people in Lake Elsinore, Temescal Canyon, Wildomar, Canyon Lake
Average monthly household usage: 20 units
Landscape watering: Suggested that homeowners water no more than four days a week, 15 minutes per sprinkler station, before 6 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? District board to consider June 25
Web site: www.evmwd.com

Escondido

Serves: 100,000 people
Average monthly household usage: **10 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.ci.escondido.ca.us/depts/ut/index.html

Fallbrook Public Utility District

Serves: 35,000 people
Average monthly household usage: **40 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Banned
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.fpud.com

Oceanside


Serves: 180,000 people
Average monthly household usage: 15 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.ci.oceanside.ca.us

Olivenhain Municipal Water District

Serves: 68,000 people in parts of Encinitas, Carlsbad, Fairbanks Ranch, Elfin Forest, Olivenhain
Average monthly household usage: 23.5 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? No new increase. Drought rates went into effect March 1.
Web site: www.olivenhain.com

Poway

Serves: 50,000 people
Average monthly household usage: 17 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Banned
Rate increase? Poway City Council to consider in July.
Web site: www.ci.poway.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=326

Rainbow Municipal Water District

Serves: 18,000 people
Average monthly household usage: 26 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? Yes. If customers fail to cut back by 8 percent, they will pay extra.
Web site: www.rainbowmwd.com

Ramona Municipal Water District

Serves: 40,000 people
Average monthly household usage: 20 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 15 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Banned
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.rmwd.org

Rancho California Water District

Serves: 130,000 people in Temecula, Murrieta, Wine Country, De Luz
Average monthly household usage: 23 units
Landscape watering: No restrictions on days; banned between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? Yes. Customers who exceed water budgets will pay extra.
Web site: www.ranchowater.com

Rincon Del Diablo Municipal Water District

Serves: 30,000 people in the Escondido area
Average monthly household usage: 25 units
Landscape watering: Suggested that residents limit watering to three days a week; discouraged between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.rinconwater.org

San Dieguito Water District

Serves: 38,000 people in Encinitas
Average monthly household usage: 15 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Banned
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.ci.encinitas.ca.us/Government/CityD/SanDWD/

Santa Fe Irrigation District

Serves: 25,000 people in Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch
Average monthly household usage: 63 units
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Banned
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.sfidwater.org

Vallecitos Water District

Serves: 80,000 people in San Marcos, Lake San Marcos, Escondido, Vista, Carlsbad
Average monthly household usage: 19 units
Landscape watering: limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Banned
Rate increase? Yes. If customers fail to cut back by 8 percent, they will pay extra.
Web site: www.vwd.org

Valley Center Municipal Water District

Serves: 26,000 people
Average monthly household usage: Unavailable
Landscape watering: Limited to three days a week, 10 minutes per sprinkler station; banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? No
Web site: www.vcmwd.org

Western Municipal Water District


Serves: 70,000 people in parts of Murrieta and Riverside
Average monthly household usage: 33 units
Landscape watering: Banned between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. District board to consider June 17 restricting watering to three days a week: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday for even-numbered addresses; Saturday, Monday, Wednesday for odd-numbered addresses.
Water for fountains, waterfalls, birdbaths: Allowed
Rate increase? No. However, the district is developing water budgets for customers and, beginning in spring 2010, people will pay extra if they exceed their budgets.
Web site: www.wmwd.com

*Eastern Municipal Water District board to vote on measures June 17.

**One unit is defined as 748 gallons in most areas. In Escondido and Fallbrook, it is 1,000 gallons. All figures in this article are based on 748 gallons to provide for comparisons.#

 

http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/06/news/sandiego/zad7876065c429b14882575bb0061b247.txt

 

 

Helix Water District rethinking water bill structure

Typical rates could go up by 21 percent

The Union-Tribune-6/06/09

By Anne Krueger

 

The Helix Water District is starting over with its plans for higher rates, and this time all of its customers will be sharing the pain equally.

 

If approved at a public hearing tentatively set for Aug. 19, the district's rates for a typical residential customer would increase by 21 percent beginning Sept. 1.

 

“They may not like the fact that we're raising the rates, but we're raising the rates at the same level,” said Helix board member Chuck Muse.

 

At its meeting Wednesday, the district board also agreed in principle to move ahead with a Level 2 drought declaration beginning July 1. The declaration, expected to be approved by the board June 17, calls for mandatory water conservation measures, but district officials say they don't plan to enforce them.

 

Faced with higher water costs from the San Diego County Water Authority, Helix officials had previously proposed a five-tier rate structure with progressively higher rates for those who used more water.

 

Owners of large properties complained that the rate structure put a disproportionate burden on them even though they said they were trying to conserve water.

The board scrapped the rate structure and canceled a May 27 public hearing.

 

The new rate structure keeps Helix's current three-tier rate structure, and spreads out the higher rates among all the tiers.

 

If the plan is approved, typical Helix residential customers who now pay $108.16 on their bimonthly bills will pay $131.14, a 21 percent increase.

 

Mark Schuppert, a member of the Grossmont-Mt. Helix Improvement Association who protested the district's previous rates, said he was pleased with the revised plan.

 

“I think it's great news for the community and people with large lots and people with large families,” he said. “Everyone is encouraged to conserve at a similar rate.”

Helix's approximately 900 irrigation customers will be given a water budget. If they use more than their allotted amount, their rates could double.

 

Most of the irrigation customers are government agencies, businesses, condominiums or apartments. General Manager Mark Weston said a survey showed 56 percent of the irrigation customers use less than the water they'll be allotted under the rate plan.

 

Nineteen residential customers have irrigation meters, and they will be allowed to use water from those meters at the lower irrigation rate for two years. Any residential customers who want to install irrigation meters will have to pay the higher domestic water rate.

 

Weston noted that if approved, Helix's water rates will not increase in the next year. The neighboring Padre Dam Municipal Water District and Otay Water District have provisions allowing them to pass on higher water costs from the County Water Authority to their customers without holding another public hearing.

 

Helix's rate increase and proposed Level 2 drought declaration are the result of an 8 percent reduction in the amount of water the district will be receiving from the County Water Authority. Weston said the cutback is not as severe as officials had thought, with initial predictions of cutbacks up to 20 percent.

 

Weston said the district plans to impose mandatory conservation restrictions such as limiting watering and prohibiting washing down driveways, but said district staff won't be imposing fines.

 

“To actually go out to be water police is going to be a challenge,” he said.

 

Residents will be limited to watering three days a week, but the district board will decide June 17 whether to assign days of the week based on addresses, or to let residents decide on their own what days to water.

 

Weston said the district should move to mandatory conservation measures even if they're not enforced.

 

“The important thing for us – I think we're elevating the awareness,” he said.#

 

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/06/1ez6helix19594-district-rethinking-water-bill-stru/?metro&zIndex=111803

 

 

 

 

Valley farmers at pivotal point in search for more efficient ways to use water

 

 

From the sky, John Diener's farm looks like a swath of Kansas grafted onto the rugged flatlands of the San Joaquin Valley's west side.

 

Hundreds of acres of crops grow in a circular patches on Diener's land. The idea is to save water with an irrigation system that rotates around a pivot in the center of each field.

 

The automated system is common in the Midwest, where farm labor is scarce -- but it's gaining traction here as growers adapt to the new reality of farming.

 

John Diener of Red Rock Ranch near Five Points is using a watering system that pivots in a circle to irrigate tomatoes, an approach that is common in the Midwest.

 

On John Diener’s west side ranch, tomatoes, peas, alfalfa, wheat and sugar beets are among the crops that now grow in circles. Diener estimates the pivot system, seen in the background, is 10% to 20% more efficient than furrow irrigation common in the Valley.

Three consecutive dry years along with restrictions on pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta -- the main source for the Valley's irrigation water -- have put west-side family farms at risk.

 

Many are furiously pumping salty water from deep wells to keep their nut trees and vineyards alive. Others are searching for more efficient ways to use their limited water supply. At least one farmer has created his own underground reservoir.

 

All the while, farm lenders are keeping a close eye on how their clients will bring in their crops -- if they have any.

 

Diener is among the growers who are doing whatever they can to adjust.

 

Diener estimates the pivot system is 10% to 20% more efficient than furrow irrigation, which can be labor intensive. Generally, furrow irrigation on the west side involves workers moving aluminum pipe from field to field.

 

The pivot-irrigation system also applies water more evenly, resulting in less waste.

 

"One of our challenges is how to water more efficiently and in a way where you can get a comparable or better yield from a conventional system," Diener said.

 

"That is what we are after."

 

Growers searching for similar answers have packed meetings held by private companies, Fresno State and University of California researchers.

 

Farmers who can afford it are drilling new wells at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars, said David Zoldoske, who heads the Center for Irrigation Technology at California State University, Fresno.

 

Others are trying to buy water from the California Department of Water Resources' Drought Water Bank -- but that can be expensive, and the water isn't delivered until late summer.

 

Many farmers who haven't already switched to drip irrigation for their permanent crops are doing so, or looking at better irrigation-management systems.

 

"I think part of this new reality is that we may never go back to the way it was and the amount of water we had to grow any crop," Zoldoske said. "But this new reality may also send us into areas where we are going to push the envelope, such as using genetically modified crops."

 

Over the past several years, growers have begun experimenting with crops that require less water or can tolerate salty water pumped from wells. But not all provide the high-value returns of other row crops.

 

Among the water-saving crops being grown on the west side are safflower, sorghum, garbanzo beans and dryland wheat.

 

Third-generation farmer Ryan Ferguson is growing 300 acres of garbanzo beans along with pistachios, processing tomatoes and cantaloupes on his family's 1,700-acre farm. The beans, a lower-value crop, are sold for use in salad bars or to be made into hummus.

 

In Kings County, farmers are turning to sorghum. Last year, 4,500 acres in Kings County were devoted to sorghum, compared with 45 acres in 2003.

 

Lemoore-area farmer Craig Pedersen planted about 300 acres of sorghum because it requires less water than corn and can be used as feed supply for the poultry and dairy industries.

 

"We are always looking for things that have value, but it is becoming tougher and tougher," Pedersen said.

 

Another less-thirsty crop being grown in California is safflower, a plant whose seeds are crushed for cooking oil. Statewide, the area of land devoted to safflower crops rose 80% last year to 90,000 acres.

 

The plant is well-suited to the Valley's arid climate, said Steve Kaffka, an agronomist with the University of California at Davis.

 

But switching to new crops doesn't happen automatically. Some farmers have invested in equipment for certain types of crops and may not be able to change. Some are uncertain about the sustainability of newer crops.

 

"There is some pressure to resist change," Kaffka said. "And there is a limit to everything."

 

Longtime west-side farmer Dan Errotabere said growing a crop simply because it requires less water isn't the answer.

 

Much of what is grown on the west side -- and especially in the Westlands Water District, one of the regions hardest hit by a shortage of water -- is sold under contract to the area's large vegetable processors or canneries.

 

"You have to grow what they want," Errotabere said. "It has to pay, otherwise there is no point."

 

Errotabere planted safflower this year, but it didn't pan out. He battled a pest called lygus that spread to some of his other crops.

 

He fallowed about 1,200 acres. The rest of his acreage is in almonds, pistachios and pomegranates.

 

Like others on the west side, he knows bankers' concerns are growing.

 

"They want to see a detailed water plan, and they want to know how you are going to bring in your crop," Errotabere said.

 

And Errotabere fears that not everyone will survive.

 

"Farming has always been going through a downsizing," he said. "This just accelerates it."

 

That's Marvin Myers' biggest concern.

 

Myers is among farmers who have weathered past droughts by shrinking acreage and switching to higher-value crops, such as almonds, pistachios and grapes.

 

The plan worked until their water supply began declining. That's why Myers began an ambitious ground-water banking project near Mendota several years ago. As with a savings account, Myers has judiciously allowed water to seep into the ground and bought supplemental water when he could.

 

"I've made such a huge capital investment that I knew I had to do something," Myers said. He farms about 6,000 acres of almonds, olives and wheat.

 

He has banked about 20,000 acre-feet of water, and he has withdrawn about 5,000 so far. He has enough to get through this year and perhaps two more years. But he's not sure what he'll do after that if the government continues to restrict pumping at the delta, and if the dry weather continues.

 

"I worry about my future and that of my children and grandchildren," said Myers, 75. "It is real difficult to sit down and watch your equity and assets decline. I used to joke that I would keep farming till it was all gone. But now at this stage, I really wonder what am I going to be leaving my family."#

 

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1455503.html

 

 

Bureaucracy stalls All-American Canal safety measures

Imperial Valley Press-6/06/09
By Megan Bakker

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since 1943, 530 people have drowned in the All-American Canal, and husband and wife John and Laura Hunter have been pushing the Imperial Irrigation District to stop that number from climbing.

But IID water manager Mike King said that the decision to include safety features, such as ropes and buoys, along the canal ultimately rests with the Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the canal.

“We need to get approval from the bureau,” King said.

In August, at the urging of John Hunter, the IID sent a letter to the San Diego County Water Authority, a partner in the recent lining of the All-American Canal, asking if it was interested in adding safety measures. In February, San Diego responded, and the IID then sent a letter to the Bureau requesting permission to add safety features.

Hunter, who attended last week’s board meeting seeking an update, said that someone needs to take concrete action on the issue.

“Is there going to be any progress or are we just going to pass the potato around?” he asked IID board members at the meeting.

Also at the meeting, Laura Hunter took several minutes to read the names of all drowning victims in the canal since 2006 — 26 in all, nine of which were simply listed as “John Doe.”

“This really angers me,” Laura Hunter said.

The issue of canal safety is not a new one. John Hunter first asked the IID to string ropes and buoys along the canal in 2001. The board at the time initially approved the idea, but backed out when an initial study said adding safety measures could create a “false sense of security” that actually encourages people to cross.

Laura Hunter said the issue was about saving lives, not immigration.

“We don’t care if the Border Patrol catches these people as they’re coming out,” she said.

John Hunter, who has called the 2001 study unfounded, raised the issue again in 2007 as the All-American Canal was being lined. It would have added $3 million to the $280 million project to install fences, climbing ridges and the buoys. Instead, the Bureau of Reclamation opted to go with ladders placed about 375 feet apart along the 23-mile stretch of lined canal.

King said that even if the bureau decided to approve adding the safety measures after the fact, a lot of questions would still remain, including who would pay for them.

“It’s not something that we’re going to be able to do in two weeks,” King said.

He said that it could take at least a year after the Bureau’s approval before the safety measures could be added.

And at an average of one drowning a month, what John Hunter called “an incredibly slow bureaucracy” in unacceptable to both him and his wife.

“We don’t want any more drownings,” Laura Hunter said.#

 

http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/06/07/local_news/news06.txt

 

 

Cadiz Announces Major Water Storage Project

Los Angeles Business Journal-6/05/09

By Deborah Crowe

 

Cadiz Inc. was the biggest price gainer Friday on the Nasdaq after announcing it signed letters of intent with five Southern California water providers to partner on a $200 million underground water storage project.

 

The proposal resurrects a water-banking project that the Metropolitan Water District killed in 2002 after opposition from environmentalists and questions that arose about the finances of the Los Angeles natural resources company.

 

The project would involve pumping Colorado River water into an aquifer beneath 35,000 acres Cadiz owns near the U.S. Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms. The water would then be stored and piped to Los Angeles and other Southern California counties.

 

The prior effort died when environmentalists argued that pumping the aquifer would harm the desert’s delicate ecology. Other critics questioned Cadiz’s ability to carry out the project, given the company’s high debt load.

 

Cadiz is seeking to overcome that opposition by partnering this time with water agencies to share in the costs of producing environmental studies and any measures that need to be taken to lessen environmental damage. The project includes construction of a 44-mile underground pipeline.

 

“The interest in our project reflects an overwhelming public interest in developing long-term sustainable solutions to the water crisis,” said Cadiz General Counsel Scott Slater in a statement. “We are moving actively to bring our water supply and conservation project on line in an environmentally responsible manner.”

 

The water providers include four public municipal water agencies and San Dimas-based Golden State Water Company. They together serve more than 3 million water customers in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and Ventura counties.

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is among several politicians and labor leaders backing the new proposal, which he claimed is environmentally sensitive.

 

“This innovative project, utilizing sophisticated water conservation practices, will sustainably recover more than one million acre feet of water that would otherwise be lost to evaporation and make it available to help provide a reliable source of water for Southern California,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

 

Cadiz shares closed up $3.90, or 45 percent, $12.50 on the Nasdaq#

http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=26191492.3686077.1790932.1585013.8615134.971&aID2=137755

 

Neighbor tells on neighbor in L.A.

Los Angeles Daily News-6/07/09

By Rick Orlov

 

Chris Van Beveren jokes that her husband thinks she's over-reacting when she comes home from her evening walk complaining about the water running down their neighbors' driveways.

 

"I'm not mad or anything like that," said Van Beveren, a travel agent who has lived in her Chatsworth home for more than 20years. "The whole idea is the big picture. We have a water shortage and everyone needs to do their part."

 

Van Beveren has assumed the role of a Drought Buster who reports violators, going so far as to get the DWP to write a strongly worded letter to Caltrans when the agency violated water restrictions.

 

The Department of Water and Power wishes more residents were like Van Beveren - whose own water use is already below the mandated 15 percent reduction - as the first week of tougher water restrictions went into effect.

 

Under the requirements, sprinklers and irrigation systems can run before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays only.

 

Previous restrictions ban hosing off sidewalks and driveways and requiring restaurants to serve water only on request.

 

"We want neighbors to alert each other that they might be in violation so they don't have to pay a monetary fine," DWP spokesman Joe Ramallo said. "That's why we sent out door-hangers that people can give to a neighbor to inform them about the new program."

 

The utility also is taking calls, at 800-DIALDWP, where people can call in anonymously to report violations.

 

The first offense draws a warning and a second violation carries a penalty of $100, with subsequent violations increasing by $100. After the fifth violation, water restrictive devices can be installed.

 

"Most people comply immediately," Ramallo said. "We gave out 3,500 warning citations under Phase Two and only a handful of people ended up paying fines. Most people want to cooperate."

 

Since the new phase went into effect, Ramallo said there has been an increase in calls and hits on the agency's Web site, www.ladwp.com, for information about what people are allowed to do.

 

The program remains under constant review and the DWP is prepared to make changes as necessary, Ramallo said.

 

One group that says it has been hurt by the restrictions is landscapers.

 

Syrus Rasekhi, who owns ZM Green Yard Maintenance in Tarzana, said the designation of Mondays and Thursdays creates problems for landscapers.

 

"What happens is residents water their lawns and plants on those days, which means we can't really work on the property," Rasekhi said. "It seems like, in a city as big as we are, that we could have rotating days for the East Valley and West Valley and the rest of the city."

 

DWP officials said they decided on the Mondays and Thursdays for ease of enforcement and clarity.

 

"We just thought it would be too confusing to have one area of the city with different days," Ramallo said.

 

Also, he said, landscapers should talk with their customers and make arrangements to have sprinklers go on after they work on the lawns.

 

"Our goal was to go after the people who have their sprinklers on four to seven times a week," Ramallo said. "That's the big water wasters."

 

Larry Walsh, assistant executive director of the California State Landscaping Contractors Association in Sacramento, said his organization has been working with water agencies around the state to deal with the drought.

 

"We are asking that there be an exemption for landscapers and for people living in fire areas," Walsh said. "When you have professional landscapers, you use less water. With a two-day limit, people tend to over-water their plants.

 

"What we've seen has been totally unfair toward landscapers. We think the idea of two-day limits is wrong. It would be much better to have a water budgeting system, where people are allowed a certain amount of water at a base rate and they decide how to reach it."

 

The DWP is looking at ways to offset the water problems.

 

Lawns watered through drip irrigation are exempt.

 

The DWP also has a rebate program to encourage landscaping of plants that use less water as well as for those who buy a "smart" sprinkler controller or install drip irrigation systems.

 

But the smart sprinkler has drawn some concern from landscapers who say it is not needed and can create problems if not installed correctly.#

 

http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_12542964?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com

 

 

 

Redwood Valley exploring water options

Ukiah Daily Journal-6/05/09

By Zack Cinek

 

 

Now is the time to think about saving water and maybe not flushing your toilet as much as usual for residents in Ukiah-area water districts.

 

As water-misering comes highly recommended, the Redwood Valley County Water District recently has sought the input of its customers in a survey distributed to all of its residential and agricultural water hook-ups. The survey creates a chance for the people of Redwood Valley to air their opinions on the ongoing water dilemma.

 

"They have been mailed out and we have gotten a pretty decent response," said Bill Koehler, the district's general manager. Early findings indicate that somebody wants everything, he said.

 

Support for an emergency surcharge during water rationing and the prospect of hooking into neighboring water districts have seen some interest in unofficial tabulations of surveys so far.

 

The district hopes to measure its customers' interest in more information about various types of water conservation like roof-water, keeping rain water in the soil, rebate programs, gray water systems and composting toilets, for example.

 

The district serves 1,400 individual homes, mobile homes and has about 200 agricultural hookups, many of which also use water domestically in Redwood Valley. It is the only district that pumps directly from Lake Mendocino.

 

Solutions to the district's water situation are going to cost money whatever is done, the district states.

 

Hooking into a neighboring district would cost about $50,000 temporarily and $300,000 to connect permanently. Such an arrangement would currently be with the Calpella Water District with water mostly from the Millview County Water District.

 

This year has seen low water levels in the lake and fears that the lake would be dry this summer if no action was taken.

 

Lake Mendocino's outlook has improved since a request made by the Russian River Flood Control District and the Sonoma County Water Agency for flows from the dam to be clamped down to a level more appropriate for the drought.

 

In the order granted by the State Water Resources Control Board, a regulatory entity, a caveat of 50 percent water conservation in the Russian River area was stated. The board's conservation request ends this fall when the order expires.

 

Redwood County Water meets in public at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month at its Webb Ranch Road office.

 

Water Quest

Estimated costs from information prepared by the Redwood County Water Agency.

- Auxiliary pump at lake ..... $100,000.

-Temporary inter tie ..... $50,000.

-Permanent inter tie ..... $300,000.

-Temporary emergency charge of $3.50/1,000 gallons.

-Buy 100 acres to build a reservoir

-Connecting wells and small ponds would yield $5 to $10 increase per month per 1,000 gallons.#

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_12534465?IADID=Search-www.ukiahdailyjournal.com-www.ukiahdailyjournal.com

 

 

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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 California.

 

 

 

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