Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 16, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Water conservation district defeats merger efforts
Riverside Press-Enterprise
LAFCO votes down water deal
Redlands Daily Facts
Council member questions size of water team
North County Times
Irrigation district picks firm to design Folsom Lake pump
Sacramento Bee
Pentair Wins $65 Million Contract to Supply Fairbanks Morse Pumps to Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Fresno Bee
Turkmenistan begins creating vast lake in desert
S.F. Chronicle
Damon's his name, water's his game
S.F. Chronicle
Alex Forman, MMWD board president, environmentalist, dies at 62
Marin Independent Journal
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Water conservation district defeats merger efforts
Riverside Press-Enterprise-7/15/09
By Imran Ghori
A Redlands water conservation district succeeded Wednesday in fighting off a takeover by a larger water agency, ending a three-year battle over control of local water resources.
The San Bernardino County Local Agency Formation Commission voted 4-3 to reject a merger of the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District, based in Redlands, with the larger San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District.
Conservation district officials, who opposed the move, said the decision is a victory for East Valley residents.
"They will have an agency that will continue to exist that has no other agenda than to conserve our water," said John Longville, a district board member and former state assemblyman.
The conservation district, created in 1932, recharges aquifers in the Bunker Hill basin that supply groundwater to much of the region. The San Bernardino-based municipal district imports water from Northern California through the State Water Project and sells it to other water agencies. It also recharges aquifers from Fontana to Yucaipa.
LAFCO staff had argued that the two water districts perform duplicative tasks and it would be more efficient to combine them.
"The purpose of both agencies is to maximize local water resources in the best way possible," said Kathleen Rollings-McDonald, LAFCO executive officer.
The agency, which oversees boundary changes, began the process in 2006 when it took away the conservation district's spheres of influence -- a step that removes its ability to expand and usually a precursor to dissolving a district.
The water conservation district went to court to stop the merger, but in May a state appellate court rejected its contention that LAFCO didn't have the legal authority to force the consolidation. That cleared the way for it to be considered.
On Wednesday, some LAFCO directors expressed doubts that a combined agency would be more efficient. Some were concerned whether local water sources would get the same level of protection under a larger, regional agency.
Highland Councilman Larry McCallon said he sees the two water agencies as having separate roles -- the conservation district conserves water while the municipal district sells water.
"The losers are the taxpayers of San Bernardino County and the taxpayers of my city and the loss of local control," he said.
Opponents also feared that San Bernardino County residents would have to make up for the loss of groundwater recharge fees paid by other agencies that feed into the basin, including Riverside. The fee would have been eliminated by the merger because the municipal district doesn't have authority to collect it.#
http://www.pe.com/localnews/colton/stories/PE_News_Local_N_nwater16.48c9a43.html
LAFCO votes down water deal
Redlands Daily Facts-7/15/09
By Jesse B. Gill
The city hung on to control of a local water source thanks to a narrow vote Wednesday.
The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for San Bernardino County voted 4-3 to reject consolidation of the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District and the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District. LAFCO made the decision after a more than 3-hour public meeting where more than a dozen speakers voiced strong opinions on the issue.
"This is a proposal that has generated probably the most controversy and litigation in the history of this commission," said Kathleen Rollings-McDonald, LAFCO's executive officer.
The city of Redlands was prepared to stay neutral in the argument as long as the LAFCO proposal wouldn't take away control of one its local water sources.
The San Bernardino Valley Conservation District supplies local water providers with water from the San Bernardino mountains by way of the Santa Ana River and Mill Creek.
The city of Redlands once owned a series of ponds called the Mill Creek spreading basins. The city relinquished ownership of the basins to the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District for $1 in the 1970s.
The basins provide water that recharge the wells that provide about 60 percent of the water delivered to Redlands, said Municipal Utilities/Public Works Commission Chairman Steve Stockton.
Control of the Mill Creek spreading basins could have been transferred to another agency or city under LAFCO's proposed consolidation of the the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District and the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District.
The loss of the basins would have meant the city would have lost control of an important source of local water, said water resources manager Chris Diggs.
"It's always been the city's position that the Mill creek spreading basins come back to the city," said city Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director Rosemary Hoerning said Monday. "It was our property originally."
The City Council held a special meeting Monday to discuss LAFCO's proposal. The council voted unanimously to oppose any LAFCO intention to transfer the ownership or control of the Mill Creek basins to any other entity than the city of Redlands.
"The city has a vested interest in the Mill Creek spreading basins," City Councilman Mick Gallagher said Wednesday. "I submit that Redlands is a good steward of our local water."
LAFCO members and staff did not make attempts to discuss the matter with the city of Redlands, according to a city staff report.
After LAFCO's Wednesday vote, there will be no change to the Mill Creek spreading basins.
"We'll return to the status quo," Diggs said.
LAFCO commissioners Neil Derry, Brad Mitzlefelt, James V. Curatalo, and Larry McCallon voted to reject the proposed consolidation and commissioners Kimberly Cox, Richard D. Pearson and Mark Nuami opposed the vote.
"I don't recall anything this contentious since the doughnut hole," Derry said.#
Council member questions size of water team
North County Times-7/15/09
By Gary Warth
Enter first comment. Increase Font Decrease Font email this story print this story POWAY ---- While other California cities are trimming their budgets, Poway officials are being asked to explain why the city is spending about $700,000 on a seven-member team to target water conservation.
City Councilwoman Merrilee Boyack has raised the issue a few times this year, including at last Tuesday's council meeting.
"From the very beginning, when this team was proposed to be this size, I thought it was too many," Boyack said about the team that costs the city $680,000 in salary and benefits annually. "I think three or four (members) would probably be more appropriate."
Boyack has asked the city manager for an explanation of what work needs to be done by the team and how many people are needed. A report is not expected to return to the council this month.
The city's water conservation team had only one person until last April, when it was increased in anticipation of a new billing system designed to decrease water use.
In an e-mail sent to fellow council members, Boyack wrote that Poway probably could get by with far fewer members on its team, considering that the city of San Diego, which is about 20 times the size of Poway, has only nine members on its team.
But Luis Generoso, water conservation manager for San Diego, said his team actually has 24 members, including some who were recently brought on board to help residents deal with new mandated water restrictions.
Generoso said San Diego's water conservation team used to have 19 members, but five were added since adopting mandatory conservation rules. Those extra people include two customer service representatives at the call center and three people to handle complaints. Generoso said there is plenty of work for them.
"Only one field representative was assigned to do water-waste complaints, and we usually averaged about 80 complaints a month," Generoso said about why the team was increased. "In our first month (of mandatory conservation), we counted 700 calls."
But whether San Diego has nine or 24 team members, Boyack said, she still wants to know whether Poway can justify having seven employees to help people adopt to a tiered water-billing system that will begin in September and to educate residents about water conservation in general.
Besides being asked to justify the size of its water conservation team, Poway also had to explain why it dumps thousands of gallons of water from one of its reservoirs while asking residents to cut back on irrigating their lawns. Officials are planning to spend about $100,000 on a system upgrade that will cut back on the water waste, said Public Workers Director Leah Browder.
The 54-year-old Sagecrest Drive reservoir in the Rancho Arbolitos neighborhood has been used mostly as a backup, Browder said, and its water level usually is kept low. During fire season, however, the water level increases in case more is needed. That water becomes stagnant and undrinkable over time, and the city empties between 200,000 to 600,000 gallons a year from the reservoir.
Residents have noticed the practice, and Browder said calls to the city have prompted officials to take another look at alternatives to dumping the water.
In the past, she said, retrofitting the aging tank was seen as not cost-efficient. With the price of water increasing, and the city looking hypocritical because of the waste, Browder said several steps will be taken to curtail the waste. New chemicals and a mechanical device to mix the water will keep it fresher for longer.
City Manager Rod Gould said the city is taking steps to recognize its role in conservation.
"We must do our part to ensure that every drop of water is used properly and not wasted," he said.#
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/07/15/news/inland/poway/zf25f33427c36c6c7882575f4006b012b.txt
Irrigation district picks firm to design Folsom Lake pump
Sacramento Bee-7/16/09
By Cathy Locke
The El Dorado Irrigation District awarded a $3 million contract for design of a new pump station that will help preserve cold water in Folsom Lake to protect endangered fish.
The district board this week approved a design contract with Black & Veatch Corp., as well as $677,675 for geotechnical investigations for the project.
The new water intake and pump station is proposed west of the current pumping facility at Folsom Lake, below Lake Hills Estates in El Dorado Hills.
Staff members said the nearly 50-year-old pump station needs to be replaced to provide increased capacity for the El Dorado Hills area. The new facility will include several intake pipes, allowing water to be extracted at various depths to preserve cold water for release into the American River for steelhead trout and winter-run chinook salmon.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will reimburse the district for 50 percent, or about $1.2 million, of design work related to the temperature-control device. Staff members said the bureau has $4.7 million available for the project.
The design phase is expected to take up to 2 1/2 years, with an additional two years for construction.#
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2030142.html
Pentair Wins $65 Million Contract to Supply Fairbanks Morse Pumps to Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Pump Station Expected to be Largest in the World
Fresno Bee-7/16/09
Pentair, Inc. (NYSE:PNR) announced that it recently was awarded a contract to provide thirteen of the company's Fairbanks Morse ("Fairbanks") pumps to the US Army Corps of Engineers for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Complex in New Orleans, La. Fairbanks is part of Pentair's Engineered Flow business.
Each pump will have a discharge diameter of approximately 15 feet and capable of pumping nearly 700,000 gallons of water per minute. The equipment will be provided through Parson & Sanderson and MR Pittman of Harahan, La., and is valued at approximately $65 million.
"We're excited to announce the largest contract in our history, one which highlights Pentair's and Fairbank's strength in this key market," said Michael V. Schrock, president and chief operating officer. He added that this contract is one of more than a dozen major flood control projects Fairbanks has won in the last several years.
The Pentair Fairbanks Morse pumps will handle all flows exiting from 22 miles of levees and floodwalls and ten pump stations into Harvey and Algiers Canals during hurricane events. Equipment deliveries are set to commence in 2010 and culminate in 2011.#
http://www.fresnobee.com/547/story/1539185.html
Turkmenistan begins creating vast lake in desert
S.F. Chronicle-7/16/09
The Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan is creating a 2,000-square-kilometer (770-square-mile) lake in the heart of a barren desert.
State media say water is being channeled toward the 70-meter (230-foot) Karashor depression in northern Turkmenistan to create what will be called the Golden Age Lake.
It could take 15 years to fill the lake. Once finished it will hold more than 130 billion cubic meters (4,600 billion cubic feet) of water.
President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov used a spade on Wednesday to breach a dyke and start the water flowing. He says the lake will make the desert bloom.
Some experts fear the Soviet-style engineering feat could cause an environmental catastrophe.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/16/international/i050506D34.DTL
Damon's his name, water's his game
S.F. Chronicle-7/16/09
By Cameron Scott
Opinion
Celebrity is a kind of capital. If you're famous, and especially if you're sexy and famous, your name easily brings to your chosen charity money and media attention of the sort other nonprofits struggle to obtain.
The sexy, famous, and talented Mr. Damon has used his celebrity to advance causes linked to poverty, which has led him to an interest in safe drinking water.
Today, Matt Damon announced a merger of an organization he co-founded, H2O Africa, with the global group WaterPartners to form Water.org.
Damon's role is largely ceremonial, with the former director of WaterPartners, Gary White, staying on to head up Water.org. Damon explained, "As a clear leader in the sector at delivering innovative and sustainable solutions for those in need, WaterPartners was the natural choice with whom to work to truly affect lasting change."
As for his interest in water? "Every 15 seconds," Damon says, "a child in the developing world dies from water-related disease." Indeed, the new group's website says a billion people are without safe water.
The lack of safe water in developing countries makes California's woes look like child's play, doesn't it? It's inspiring to see Damon's earnest efforts to assist.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=43665
Alex Forman, MMWD board president, environmentalist, dies at 62
Marin Independent Journal-7/14/09
By Mark Prado
Alex Forman, board president of the Marin Municipal Water District and a longtime environmental leader and civil rights activist, died at his San Rafael home Thursday after a battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was 62.
While first diagnosed with the disease in May 2005, Mr. Forman remained resolute to the end of his life. He presided over a rancorous water board meeting on desalination two weeks before his death and spoke powerfully about the importance of the future of water in Marin.
"One of our jobs is to guarantee there is a water supply," he said. "I'm not talking about for some large garden in Ross, I could care less about that. I'm talking about water for Marin General and Kaiser, and for restaurants and for schools. We have to remember Marin County is never more than two years away from the limits of its water supply."
Forman had impeccable environmental credentials: He joined the Sierra Club in the 1990s and was quickly elected to the executive committee of the San Francisco Bay chapter, a position he held from 1996 to 2002. He was also active in the Sierra Club Marin Group, serving on its executive committee for 14 years through this year, including terms as its chairman in 2003 and 2004.
Mr. Forman decided to run for public office in 2000, and was elected to the MMWD's board representing San Rafael, emphasizing water conservation, efficiency and resource protection. He ran unopposed in 2004 and 2008.
Ironically, Forman was assailed by some environmentalists for being open to the possibility of desalination - using bay water for drinking water.
"He felt responsible for his position as an elected representative on the board, he wanted to see through his commitments," said Mr. Forman's wife of 30 years, Lauren Vanett, on why her husband presided over recent meetings when he easily could have stayed home. "Even though he was ill he felt he had something to contribute, as well as mediate and understand divergent views."
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1947, Mr. Forman grew up on Long Island and attended high school in Great Neck, N.Y.
After attending Antioch College in Ohio and working as a community organizer in Boston, he made his way to the Bay Area. Drawn to the music, the spirit of openness and the new possibilities brewing in the Bay Area, he settled in the city during the Summer of Love and soon became active in the burgeoning student and anti-war movements, Vanett said.
"He loved to play folk and bluegrass music on the guitar," Vanett said. "He had an incredible memory. He knew so much about history and politics and he could remember lyrics. He could play a Bob Dylan song all the way through. We would only know the first verse and he would know all five."
Involved in the civil rights movement from an early age, Mr. Forman continued to work for peace, social justice and, later, a wide array of environmental issues.
In the 1960s, as a student at San Francisco State University, Mr. Forman was a leader of the student strike against racial discrimination. That strike led to the formation of the first ethnic studies department on a U.S. college campus.
He also was an activist against the war in Vietnam and the draft and worked to broaden the movement both on and off campus.
Mr. Forman spent his professional career working in both alternative and traditional medicine. As a trained acupuncturist, he helped start the Alternative Therapies Unit at San Francisco General Hospital, the first integrative health clinic established in a public hospital.
He received a master's degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in sociology from San Francisco State University. After further medical training at Stanford, Mr. Forman became a physician assistant, a career he maintained for nearly 30 years.
As a physician assistant, he divided his time between doing clinical medical research on hypertension at UC San Francisco and at the Preventative Medicine Center of Marin. He and his wife moved from San Francisco to San Rafael in 1995.
"I'm stunned," said Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, who was a colleague of Mr. Forman earlier this decade on the water board. "He always thought about both sides and anguished over getting it right. He was a great environmentalist, a true believer and a kind and gentle spirit."
In addition to his wife, Mr. Forman is survived by a sister, Dr. Lesley Fishelman of Vermont.
Donations in his memory can be sent to the Sierra Club, Save the Redwoods League or Amnesty International. A celebration of his life is planned for September with details forthcoming.#
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_12838693
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