Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 28, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Drought relief in Fresno Co. gets $4m in food aid
Fresno
At Home, City Politicians Outpace Region's Water Conservation
Voice of
Editorial: Water study has reality drought
Chico Enterprise
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Drought relief in Fresno Co. gets $4m in food aid
Fresno
Millions of dollars in food relief will help some
Some of the county's hardest-hit communities will receive a total of $4 million in aid to supply needy residents with food over the next three months through the Governor's Office of Homeland Security.
The first food giveaway is at 9 a.m. today in
"We have never done a disaster effort related to a drought," said Dana Wilkie, chief executive officer for Community Food Bank in
Each family will be given about 40 pounds of food per person in the household, she said.
"We expect that these lines are going to be long and it's going to be hot," Wilkie said. "People will get enough to meet their basic needs for two weeks."
Food giveaways in Mendota, Huron, San Joaquin, Firebaugh and
Those five cities are dealing with large-scale unemployment. Mendota, Huron and San Joaquin had a June jobless rate twice
For the first food distributions in each community, nobody will be turned away, Wilkie said.
But future food giveaways will be for people left unemployed by the westside water situation. They will have to show proof of residence in the community where the giveaway is held, as well as a termination slip, proof from an employer that they are affected by the drought or unemployment documentation, Wilkie said.
Last month, the food bank gave out 1.6 million pounds of food, its largest month ever, Wilkie said.
The bulk of the $4 million in aid will go to California Emergency Foodlink in
The money was made available after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency because of the water shortage in June. He specifically cited the Valley, where "no water means no work -- and no work means people cannot feed their families."
There is no doubt that times are tougher, said Jose Antonio Ramirez, Firebaugh's city manager.
He said more residents in Firebaugh -- with a 26% jobless rate -- are seeking payment plans for their water bills and "we are trying to set up food stamp programs and energy efficiency programs." #
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1562251.html
At Home, City Politicians Outpace Region's Water Conservation
Voice of
By Rob Davis
While the threat of the most serious water restrictions in 20 years loomed earlier this year, most elected officials in
A few didn't.
City Councilwoman Marti Emerald's water consumption during the first half of the year increased 22 percent from the same time a year earlier. Councilman Kevin Faulconer's use increased a small fraction, as did Councilman Tony Young's.
But the majority of the city's elected officials used less than they did during the same period a year earlier. And all of them -- including Emerald, Young and Faulconer -- consume less than the average
Taken as a group, the city's elected officials outpaced the 9 percent region-wide cut in water consumption so far this year. The eight city officials who live in single-family homes used 18 percent less water, according to data obtained through a California Public Records Act request.
In an arid region coping with the first mandatory water-use restrictions in two decades, the officials demonstrated how individual actions add up. Council President Ben Hueso removed grass at his house and installed 1,300 square feet of artificial turf. Councilman Carl DeMaio replaced three inefficient toilets and reduced his lawn-watering schedule. Mayor Jerry Sanders stopped shaving in the shower.
Those actions and others helped save a combined 92,000 gallons in the first half of 2009 -- enough water to supply an average
Identifying the largest user among the officials during the first half of the year is difficult. Because the city now bills households every two months, elected officials are on alternating cycles. Some officials' 2009 water bills are available through mid-June, when irrigation increases. Others stop in mid-May.
City officials' water use data is public because they set water rates and water-use policies. And those officials are some of the region's most prominent voices trumpeting the need for conservation.
None has talked more about conservation than Sanders. In 2007, when he started calling for others to conserve, the mayor used 50 percent more than the average San Diegan household.
Today, it's the opposite. Sanders uses just more than half what the typical household consumes. He's replaced showerheads at home. He's changed out some potted plants, and despite his love of gardening, he's replaced others with rock landscaping, said his spokesman, Darren Pudgil.
"The mayor isn't going to ask of others what he's not willing to do himself," Pudgil said. "He's leading by example."
DeMaio, who had been the highest user among city officials in 2008, fulfilled his promise to use less at home. His consumption in the first six months of the year was down 39 percent.
DeMaio had a water audit performed at his home (the city offers them for free) that helped him pinpoint inefficiencies -- including a leaky toilet.
"He's proud of the fact that he saves water," said DeMaio's spokeswoman, Erica Mendelson. "It makes it an attainable goal for people. He's done it and achieved it himself."
Emerald, whose use increased 22 percent in the first half of the year, said in an e-mail that she sat down with her husband and daughter to talk about conservation after seeing their usage. "Probably the same conversation a lot of families are having right now," she wrote.
"We have room for improvement," Emerald wrote. "Take shorter showers, don't leave the water running while brushing our teeth, prepping food or doing dishes, water the potted plants less often and for shorter durations. Try to keep the water in the pool not all over the patio when we're swimming and playing fetch with the dog. All these little things can add up."
Despite the slight uptick, both Faulconer and Young have cut their consumption during the last four years. Young used 36 percent less in the first half of the year compared to the same time in 2007, before the region-wide water conservation effort began.
Faulconer's use in the first half of the year was 6 percent lower than it was in 2007. Faulconer has a water audit scheduled at his home in September, said his spokesman, Tony Manolatos. In a written statement, Faulconer said water conservation was a priority for his family.
"Although we’ve cut back, we’re continuing to look at ways to decrease our use," he said.
Water usage can vary from month to month, depending on a number of factors such as whether residents are home and how wet and hot the weather is.
City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and Councilman Todd Gloria were excluded from this analysis because they live in multi-family complexes without individual water meters. #
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/07/28/environment/842wateruse072709.txt
Editorial: Water study has reality drought
Chico Enterprise
By Editorial staff
Our view: It's easy to solve the state's water problems — if you don't have to deal with reality.
There's another one of those studies out that seems to be written to support a pre-drawn conclusion, no matter what kind of mental contortions are required to pull it off.
The Oakland-based Pacific Institute took a look at the state's water shortage and concluded, basically, that it's all the farmers' fault.
The report, peculiarly titled "Sustaining California Agriculture in an Uncertain Future," claims to have been undertaken to help
How does it propose to do that? By taking their water away.
No kidding. It says farmers don't need as much water. They just need more efficient irrigation systems. Really, really expensive irrigation systems that will be paid for ... somehow.
It says water rights should be renegotiated so users with firm rights — generally those closest to the source of water — will have more uncertainty in their supply.
It says the operation of the water delivery system in the state should be changed in ways that are technically impossible.
And if all that is done there will be more water for the cities, and we won't have a water shortage anymore.
We're likely to have a food shortage thanks to the battering ag would take, but not a water shortage ... at least, not in the cities.
The whole report appears to have been written to support the idea
When these kinds of phony studies and workshops are done, the facts don't have to add up, the suggestions can be wacky, and it doesn't matter. It's proof, in black and white, of what you wanted to prove.
One has to wonder why the Pacific Institute bothered. The people who think we don't need dams are already convinced, and those who know better will recognize the document as worthless.
But you have to wonder if there had been groups like this around in the 1950s whether Oroville Dam would ever have been built. Hey, the lake's gotten pretty empty the last couple of years. Maybe with a little more conservation, we wouldn't need it.
Probably shouldn't make that joke. Might give some people ideas. #
http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/ci_12927420
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