Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
August 4, 2009
1. Top Items–
Vital Central Valley water sensors at risk from budget cuts
Sacramento Bee
State prepares to deal with heat waves, flooding, wildlife die-offs and other expected results of climate change
L.A. Times
Calif. water officials study building delta tunnel
S.F. Chronicle
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Vital Central Valley water sensors at risk from budget cuts
Sacramento Bee-8/4/09
By Matt Weiser
Dozens of critical sensors tracking temperamental Central Valley rivers could blink out next year because of California's budget problems.
Some of the sensors, known as streamflow gages, have operated for more than 100 years, providing vital real-time data on river elevation and flow volume that are vital to flood safety, environmental protection and water supply.
All but six of the threatened gages are in Northern California, and most monitor rivers converging on Sacramento and the Central Valley.
"I'm just astounded by this," said Joe Countryman, president of MBK Engineers in Sacramento, a consulting firm that relies on data from the gages to design flood-control projects accurately. "To cut basic data when you have a budget crisis does not make any sense. You're sacrificing your entire future."
The devices are operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, but 60 percent of the money to keep them going comes from the California Department of Water Resources under an annual contract.
State budget problems delayed this year's contract. It wasn't signed until late June – nine months late – and the state has not yet paid any of the $1.2 million it owes USGS under the contract.
In July, USGS published a list of the threatened streamflow gages on its Web site: 279 in 35 states. California, with 56 on the list, has the most at risk.
There are dozens of additional stream gages throughout the state. But those identified by the USGS as "threatened" are important because they are longtime benchmarks for understanding rivers.
For example, one gage at risk is at a point called Vernalis on the San Joaquin River. It's a key monitor for fish protection and flood management in the southern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A gage in some form has tracked the river at this location for 85 years.
Another, at a point called Verona on the Sacramento River, helps emergency managers determine how much floodwater is headed for the Sacramento metro area. A gage has operated there for 83 years.
The budget signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week contains funds for the program, said Arthur Hinojosa, hydrology branch chief at the Department of Water Resources. This means the gages are assured to operate through the end of October.
But problems loom. That's because DWR will tap part of next year's budget allocation to cover money due this year, Hinojosa said. This could leave a budget shortfall for the program in 2010.
"We could still end up making cuts to what we provide USGS over the coming year, and have to scale back some of the gages," he said. "I'm just holding my breath hoping for no more (budget) cuts."
The gages consist of electronic devices that measure the depth and flow in rivers. Usually solar powered, their data are relayed via satellite to computers that make the data available on the Internet.
This allows environmental regulators, water managers and flood control officials over a vast area to learn in an instant what all the Valley's rivers are doing.
The information, among other things, provides a long record of river behavior that helps hydrologists design safe levees. It also helps local communities predict when and where a flood might strike.
Each gage costs $22,000 a year to maintain, because an expert must visit each site monthly to check accuracy.
The potential reductions come even as scientists want more river monitors to better understand climate change. Hundreds of streams feed the Central Valley, the funnel for half of California's precipitation, and many have no sensors at all.
Jim Bowers, program manager at USGS, fears perhaps 20 of the threatened gages could be shut down next year.
He said more gages not on the list also could be in danger. That's because they are funded by cities and counties, which have had billions of dollars in revenue taken away by state budget balancing tactics.
"We need a backbone network of gaging stations to assess water supply and provide critical flood-hazard information," Bowers said. "The program now is subject to the ups and downs of the economy."
He said other federal agencies have recently expressed interest in helping pay for some monitors if state or local funds aren't available.
Another bright spot is the potential for $5 million in new USGS funding for national stream monitoring in the federal budget recently proposed by the Obama administration. This could help keep some California gages operating next year if state money isn't available, Bowers said.
Countryman believes the federal government should carry a larger share of the monitoring costs as part of the national agenda on flood protection and climate change.
"A first-class data acquisition program ... would be a very, very small (federal) budget item," he said. "Without this data, policy is just speculation."#
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2080044.html
State prepares to deal with heat waves, flooding, wildlife die-offs and other expected results of climate change
L.A. Times-8/4/09
By Margot Roosevelt
Along with California's efforts to crack down on its own greenhouse gas emissions, state officials have begun preparing for the worst: heat waves, a rising sea level, flooding, wildlife die-offs and other expected consequences from what scientists predict will be a dramatic temperature increase by the end of this century.
California's Natural Resources Agency on Monday issued the nation's first statewide plan to "adapt" to climate change.
Climate change could put the heat on...It offers strategies to cope with threats in seven sectors from firefighting to public health and water conservation. Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman called the plan an effort to acknowledge the problem and suggested that Californians "recognize their role in solving that problem and alter their behavior so that the change lasts."
The draft is "a good step in the right direction," said Gina Solomon of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group.
"It highlights the importance of local adaptation planning, protecting vulnerable communities and the importance of public education."
But she cautioned: "These are all just words on paper without funding to carry them out.
"The federal government should help states to prepare for climate change. Spending some money now will save billions later, and these strategies save lives."
David Festa of the Washington-based Environmental Defense Fund voiced the hope that the report would "add urgency to our state's desperate water supply situation," noting that the Legislature will consider five new water-related bills when it reconvenes on Aug. 17.
In 2006, California adopted the nation's first comprehensive law to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that scientists have found to be heating the planet.
Last year, state officials laid out a detailed plan to slash the state's emissions to 1990 levels in the next 11 years. And they began to adopt regulations, including the nation's first rule to mandate low-carbon fuel.
The public may submit comments to the draft over the next 45 days (e-mail address is adaptation@resource.ca.gov.) Public hearings will be held in Sacramento on Aug. 13 and in Los Angeles on a later date.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate4-2009aug04,0,2417887.story
Calif. water officials study building delta tunnel
S.F. Chronicle-8/3/09
Monday, August 3, 2009
State engineers are studying a proposal to send water supplies to Southern California through a tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, rather than through a peripheral canal.
The Department of Water Resources is considering the tunnel option as part of a broader, long-term effort to lower pressure on the beleaguered estuary.
Proponents say routing water underground could help protect endangered fish species while securing supplies for San Joaquin Valley farmers and southern cities.
But opponents fear diverting water would turn the delta into a swamp.
By year's end, officials with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan are expected to release a draft conservation plan that could include options both above and below ground.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/08/03/state/n180010D51.DTL
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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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