Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 18, 2009
2. Supply –
Desalination part of solution
Marin Independent Journal
Cloud-seeding program shuts down
Tahoe Daily Tribune
Water supply big concern for local residents
Victorville Daily Press
Sacramento offers class on lawn watering rules
Sacramento Bee
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Desalination part of solution
Marin Independent Journal-8/17/09
By Margy Eller
Opinion
The League of Women Voters of Marin County has followed closely the activities of the Marin Municipal Water District.
Two league members served on the MMWD board, others have served on citizen advisory committees on the issues of water supply and price, and we have monitored the district board meetings for 20 years as a matter of routine.
The league carefully follows the process that governments use to develop policies and make decisions.
Having watched the MMWD board and staff work for years to plan for future needs, we believe that the process has been excellent, with a wealth of information and numerous special events to keep the public aware of the issues and options.
This open and inclusive process has been indispensable to us in understanding the complex issues and the choices available to the board.
We have observed the development of the district's planning on the issues of future water demand, supply and price. We agree with the staff's conclusions on a number of points.
We agree that there is a deficit in the supply of water, and that it must be met with new supply. Except for the plan to pump an additional 1,000 acre-feet from Kent Lake, the district has reached its legal limit under federal law for diverting water from the watershed.
While we think that the commitment of $43 million through 2025 to be invested in conservation programs is important and impressive, in addition to nearly $12 million since 1999, we agree with the staff that the supply deficit cannot be remedied by conservation alone.
The League of Women Voters of Marin County endorses the package of supply options that the district has developed to meet future needs.
That package includes additional water from the Sonoma County Water Agency and desalination as options for new supplies of water.
However, the current supply from Sonoma County has been reduced because of impairments in the delivery system and drought conditions in Sonoma County. Desalination remains the only guaranteed, locally controlled source of new water during a drought.
While desalination is an expensive alternative that will increase the district's already high use of energy, we think that significant steps are being planned to mitigate that impact, and that having desalination as part of the supply package is reasonable and responsible.
No matter which programs are used to meet the need for water, there will be no cheap water in our future, not for this district or any other.#
Margy Eller of Mill Valley is president of the League of Women Voters of Marin County. The league wrote this letter to the MMWD board, which meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall in San Rafael.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13142854?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com
Cloud-seeding program shuts down
Tahoe Daily Tribune-8/16/09
By Annie Flanzraich
After more than 30 years of stimulating snowfall in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Nevada Cloud Seeding Program closed for good this month as a result of budget cuts.
“It's not really good for the ski resorts or anyone worried about water supplies in Lake Tahoe,” said Tom Swafford, principal research technician for the program. “Especially because it's going to reduce the amount of snow that falls in the Truckee and Tahoe Basin. Anyone who uses water will be impacted.”
The last of 26 small stations stationed on mountaintops in and around Nevada was removed Aug. 7 from Alpine Meadows.
The cloud seeding program was an operation of the Desert Research Institute Division of Atmospheric Sciences and was in effect in Tahoe since the late 1960s. Mountain-top generators or planes would shoot particles of silver iodide into storm clouds to help form ice crystals and encourage snowfall.
The generators were activated during snow storms when needed, Swafford said.
One generator could generate an up to a 20-square-mile plume that could create hundreds to thousands of acre-feet of water, Swafford said.
Impacts of the folded program could include reduced yearly snowpack, reduced water storage and less water, he said.
The program was shut down due to Nevada's cuts to research funding. The program needed $550,000 to keep it going, Swafford said.
The stations created 65,000 acre-feet of water, Swafford said, the equivalent of two Stampede Reservoirs. Activated during a winter storm, the generators could squeeze another 10 to 15 percent more in snowfall, Swafford said.
Although it's difficult to measure the exact impact cloud seeding had on the snow pack each year, Federal Water Master Garry Stone said the program definitely produced additional precipitation.
“It's probably going to end up having a negative affects on precipitation,” Stone said about the closure. “It's been a good program and it has produced a greater snowpack than what we would have had.”#
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20090816/NEWS/908169990&parentprofile=search
Water supply big concern for local residents
Victorville Daily Press-8/16/09
BY Kramer Sullivan
Nearly 90 percent of High Desert residents are concerned about the availability of water, according to survey results released Friday by the Mojave Water Agency.
The MWA sees this as a good sign that people care about their water source.
Of the 412 people questioned during the Inland Empire Annual Survey earlier this year, 88 percent said they are concerned ABOUT future water supplies. Seventy-six percent agreed that bringing in additional water supplies to the area is important to support businesses and spur job creation.
Local water quality is good or excellent, according to roughly two-thirds of residents surveyed. Of the 38 percent who rated the quality of their water as poor or fair, the main reasons cited were its taste and concern over how healthy it is.
The MWA, working with the Alliance for Water Awareness and Conservation, have started a regional Water Conservation Incentive Program to encourage residents to participate in conservation efforts.
One of the incentives offered is Cash-for-Grass, where residents can get up to $3,000 for removing their lawns.
Only 53 percent of those surveyed had heard of this program. And of those who had, only 52 percent actually participated in it.
Some of the leading reasons residents cited for not participating in the program were they were not interested, they didn’t think about it and they didn’t have time to deal with it.
“The changes consumers made were broad based,” said Mike Page, MWA board president, “but the one change we’re most thrilled about is outdoor landscaping because 53 percent indicated they watered their landscape less than previously.”
The results are encouraging, according to Page. However he said that “conservation is one strategy in a portfolio of projects for us to meet water demands.”#
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/supply-13911-apple-valley.html
Sacramento offers class on lawn watering rules
Sacramento Bee-8/17/09
By Matt Weiser
The city of Sacramento offers residents a free class Aug. 29 to learn how to use water wisely and comply with new watering rules.
The Saturday class runs from 10 a.m. to noon at the city's Water Conservation Office, 2260 Glen Ellen Circle. Participants will learn about new watering rules that took effect June 12, which restrict landscape irrigation to alternate days and certain hours on those days, among other things.
They'll also learn how to maintain a beautiful yard while reducing water consumption.
To reserve a space in the workshop, call the city operator at 311, or email Julie Friedman at jFriedman@cityofsacramento.org.
The city also recently updated its water conservation website at http://www.sparesacwater.org, and is providing water conservation information on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SpareSacWater.#
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2116326.html?mi_rss=Our%2520Region
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