Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 3, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Water Management in
YubaNet
So much water under the bridge - Editorial
Woodland Daily Democrat
Offshore windmills hold clean-energy promise
San Francisco Chronicle
Company donates 185-acre conservation easement to Arcata
Times-Standard
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Water Management in
YubaNet – 8/3/09
By Susan Snider
Recently, a group of civil engineers came together in
Organized by the Environmental & Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (EWRI/ASCE), the ASCE Committee on Sustainability, and the Floodplain Management Association, the symposium served as a forum for exploring the potential for sustainability in
"We want new ideas as a first step toward change," EWRI Vice Chair Robert Shibatani challenged those present. "With these, we will be preparing a white paper to put on the Governor's desk." Offering up the first comment on challenges to sustainability, Shibatani suggested that
Keynote speaker Jim Branham, Executive Director of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, agreed that population growth along with climate change, risk of catastrophic fire, and unemployment represent critical challenges to creating sustainable communities in the Sierra. "The link between economic well-being and the environment is inextricable," Branham noted. He also expressed the need to integrate economic viability with environmental protections. "The Sierra contributes so much to the state's economy. We need to protect it."
"Don't Steal From Your Kids"
For John Andrew, Executive Manager for Climate Change with the California Department of Water Resources, this quote represents his interpretation of sustainability. While he emphasized the need for educating people on the concept, Andrew observed that changing our habits regarding water usage will be difficult. "Sustainability is not part of our DNA," he suggested. "We have traditionally thought that we don't need to think beyond the ‘tap' in the waterworks industry -- and this remains our failing. People need to be thinking about where their water comes from."
There was consensus among members of the plenary panel that water planning must become more integrated at a regional level. But panelist Ellen Hanak with the Public Policy Institute of California offered additional thoughts on integrated water management. "This does not just mean building dams. Sustainability is more of a portfolio approach," Hanak said. The group concurred with her remarks and concluded that
On the subject of challenges and impediments to sustainability, Fran Spivey-Weber, Vice Chair of the California Water Resources Control Board, pointed to the current budget crisis. "We can't look at the state of the budget and say we are on a sustainable path," Spivey-Weber acknowledged. But she did cite some instances where positive achievements have been made, like the
Still, in spite of efforts by some agencies and municipalities to reassess how they utilize and value their water sources, our current budget crisis highlights a growing issue: the way Californians pay for water investments -- both supply and ecosystem management -- has become an unsustainable path. Moreover, with the state's financing system in shambles, relying on bond funding has become far too risky.
On the subject of resource management, Kaymar Guivetchi, Manager of DWR's Division of Statewide Integrated Water Management, thinks the process is too decentralized in
More interagency communication is necessary, the panel agreed. Joan Clayburgh, Executive Director with the Sierra Nevada Alliance suggested that integrated planning should also include public input and participation. "We need a cultural shift for people to understand the impact of their lifestyles," Clayburgh said, prefacing her suggestion. "We need to work toward a ‘collaborative' with people as a stakeholder group involved in the process."
Along with population growth, the uncertainty of climate change makes creating a statewide water plan difficult, the panel also agreed. It was also noted that creating good models for managing water resources is often challenging because of one critical unknown: water usage. "We don't really know how much water we use, especially in urban areas," Spivey-Weber pointed out. "We don't know how much we use between surface and groundwater sources."
While California Department of Conservation director Bridgett Luther advocated the need for resource conservation at the private sector level, Spivey-Weber cited the
Joseph Grindstaff, Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Director of the California Bay-Delta Authority, agreed with Spivey-Weber on the subject of regulations. "We need legislation forcing
The concept of redistricting by watersheds was also discussed. By merging all of the districts in the Sierra together as one -- as a whole watershed -- all stakeholders would then be talking together.
A Sustainability Portfolio: Dealing With Aging Levees, Ensuring Sustainable Water Resources, and the Importance of Water Quality Management
Presuming that planned water resource sustainability is the best way to ensure the long-term viability of
The financial risk of living in a floodplain
While many communities throughout
As a member of the Yuba County Board of Supervisors, Mary Jane Griego said that small farm communities in her county have difficulties funding levee improvement projects. Similarly, flood insurance is too high for many residents. "Here is our dilemma: can these communities afford to draw more people into floodplains as a means to increase the tax base for funding projects?" questioned Griego. "Or are we just inviting more people to be at risk."
Susan Tatayon of the Nature Conservancy and a resident of
But according to Rod Mayer with DWR's FloodSAFE program, even with these changes, money to fix floodplain problems is limited and the levels of protection vary. Bond improvements often apply only to areas with 10,000 people or more. "The
Bill Edgar with the Sutter-Butte Flood Control Agency offered some observations on sustainability and living in flood-prone areas. "Rural communities must grow to sustain themselves. To be sustainable they need increasing revenues," Edgar maintained, while adding that they also need to constrain their general plans to fulfill their respective visions of sustainability.
"IRWMPs (Integrated Regional Water Management Plan) should be included in general plans," he insisted. At the same time, he said that counties need to make sure that their general plans can be implemented in the face of floodplain issues, especially when a community ends up on a FEMA map. "The problem with some small communities is they upgrade their general plans which then conflict with constraints associated with FEMA maps," Edgar said, referring to development restrictions -- and higher flood insurance rates -- for those communities which are identified on FEMA maps.
According to Mayer, there is legislation in Congress to tie FEMA maps to risk-based flood insurance premiums.
Sustaining water resources: supply vs. demand
"We need actions to address climate change impacts." Robert Roscoe, General Manager with the Sacramento Suburban Water District, offered this statement with more than a clear understanding on how climate change is affecting available water sources for districts like SSWD. Panelist Jim Metropolus with Sierra Club
And when this group of panelists was asked what they should be doing today, the overwhelming response was conservation. "Conservation is the most cost-effective way to increase supply," responded Alan Zelenka, Energy Services Leader for consulting firm Kennedy-Jenks. "Water isn't priced at market value in most places. We need to create cost tiers to encourage conservation. In order for conservation to work, you must have price controls in place," Zelenka added.
According to Brian Thomas, Assistant Manager for the Metropolitan Water District, for every acre foot sold by MWD, the cost includes $41 which goes toward conservation. "Two decades ago we were building infrastructure and our water supply. Now we are working on sustainability," Thomas observed, also adding that a "conveyance facility" -- a euphemism for the peripheral canal--is imperative. "We need to start early with actions in the Delta, especially land acquisitions for restoration projects."
Later in the discussion, moderator Roscoe echoed Zelenka's observations that water is a highly undervalued resource. Asking for more debate on this subject, Roscoe insisted we should be paying more for water. He also observed there is a lack of price signals to increase public awareness on an issue facing many
MWD's Thomas agreed, saying as an advocate of higher prices, he sees the need to recover the cost of providing water service. He pointed to the importance of improved technology, but noted that upgrading to better systems is expensive. Jeffrey Beehler with the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority added that there should be additional pricing for ecosystem services. "Wetlands provide benefits," he noted. "We need a handle on environmental issues and impacts."
The question of groundwater supplies -- including their reliability and issues of pollution -- was also raised. It was suggested that
Ensuring economic, social and environmental benefits: the importance of water quality
Moderated by Pamela Creedon, Executive Officer with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, the final panel debated ways to ensure statewide water quality. She pointed out that
Discussion began around the subject of IRWMPs and why it would be important for communities to integrate these into their overall planning process. Sargeant Green with the California Water Institute at CSU Fresno insisted that addressing groundwater quality is an important component of an IRWMP. He also said that local planning must be integrated with addressing water supply. "We need good local planning," Green noted. "We can't keep paving over good recharge areas or locating facilities in places where they will impact water resources."
Judy Corbett, Executive Director of the Local Government Commission, believes planning should be inclusive of regional models. She also noted that in planning and development, there are conflicting rules in the bureaucratic system. Creedon later visited the subject of land-use issues and how sustainable projects can be achieved without major environmental tradeoffs. She pointed to where communities object to regulations that require environmentally low-impact housing developments. Corbett offered a real-case scenario where low-impact construction is feasible. Citing her highly-acclaimed Village Homes project, a sustainable development in
But California Water Institute's Green was not convinced that low-impact is the best way to go. "Who is going to pay for services?" he asked. "Low-impact works better on a smaller scale, but when you talk about people demanding more services. These require energy and then as you begin scaling up a community, you eventually bump into tradeoffs."
Focusing directly on water quality, the panel emphasized the need for viewing reclaimed water as a community resource. But as Jeffrey Rupp of the consulting firm David Evans and Associates observed, the current public mindset usually views recycled water as "waste." "We need to reuse water," Rupp insisted, further adding that recycled water can provide additional revenue streams. Michael Bryan with consultants Robertson-Bryan agreed, taking the subject one step further to address the need for "purple pipe" infrastructure. "If we have the infrastructure [for recycled water] in place, we should use recycled water first,"
Acknowledging that water quality has become an expensive mandate, especially as it relates to wastewater operations,
On stormwater runoff, Creedon asked the panel about its specific role in IRWMPs. For Green, dealing with service water is all about location. While discharging into a stream can be problematic, releasing service water into the soil is an option -- as long as land is available.
It was also noted that urban runoff has its own set of issues, such as pyrethroid insecticides. "We keep finding problems with these,"
For Green, one of the real issues is communication, particularly as it relates to how water agencies, regulators, and managers communicate with the public. He also emphasized the need for training and education. "Anyone working on the state water board should be properly trained," Green said. "Everyone involved in water governance should be better educated on why we can or can't do things with and to our water. I'd like to see a school for water districts."
Corbett echoed Green's priority on communication, stating that charettes, for example, are an often successful means of engaging and involving communities in the process of making good policy decisions.
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional organization representing more than 146,000 civil engineers. Created in 1999, the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) is a specialty
So much water under the bridge - Editorial
Woodland Daily Democrat – 8/2/09
By Editorial staff
Celebrated writer Mark Twain is credited (perhaps wrongly) with the quote that "Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over." That saying may prove prophetic in the recent efforts by the cities of
The fact that our little "cow town" would even consider meeting with the city that's "right and relevant" is hard enough to accept, let alone that both have something in common.
Nonetheless, the agreement this past with between
As deputy Public Works Director Dick Donnelly has said "If you don't have water you don't have town." Both
From
But to get our water from the
We are just at the beginning stages of working together with
Nonetheless, it seems odd that after so many years of cultural sniping at one another, the two cities have found common ground -- in water, no less. #
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/editorial/ci_12978058
Offshore windmills hold clean-energy promise
San Francisco Chronicle – 8/3/09
By David R. Baker
Someday decades from now, California's sprawling coastal cities could draw their power from floating windmills that bob on the sea like buoys, far from shore.
Their blades would spin over deep ocean water, turning in winds that are steadier and stronger than they are on land. Undersea cables would send their electricity to shore.
This kind of floating windmill has not yet been deployed en masse. But a model of one sits in the
Principle has signed agreements with utilities to test its device, called the WindFloat, off the coasts of
"The most prolific minds in the renewable energy business are talking about taking land-based wind and dragging that power out to the coast, which really doesn't make much sense," said Jon Bonanno, the company's president. "It makes much more sense to generate that power from deepwater sources and transmit it to the coast."
Used in
While the idea may be simple, executing it isn't.
Offshore wind farms have been used for years in
But the seabed off most of
Oil companies have long used floating platforms to drill into the seabed far from shore. But those platforms tend to be wide and heavy, and they aren't designed to catch the wind. A windmill floating on a small platform will have to endure heavy gusts without tipping.
Big rewards
The potential rewards are huge. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that the wind blowing across
Principle Power, based in
If all works as planned, the WindFloat project will expand into an entire offshore wind farm, covering 12 to 15 square miles and capable of generating 150 to 200 megawatts.
Concerns over birds
The WindFloat design is stable enough to withstand the fierce winter storms that pound
Environmentalists, however, want to ensure that offshore wind projects don't prove as deadly to birds as onshore wind farms have. Gary Langham, director of bird conservation for Audubon
"You can get a hundred thousand seabirds in a big patch at once," Langham said. "So the more we can do to avoid those hot spots, the better we'll avoid impacts." #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/03/MN0Q18ABIT.DTL
Company donates 185-acre conservation easement to Arcata
Times-Standard – 8/3/09
By Donna Tam
Arcata has recently gained one of the largest land donations in the city's history, ensuring more public access in a protected conservation easement on the north side of the
The city announced last week that BI Investments has donated a 185-acre conservation easement adjacent to the forest's northern boundary in the upper
BI Investments, owned by the Samuels Family, will retain ownership of the parcel and continue to manage the property as a working forest under uneven age management, according to a press release.
Environmental Services Director Mark Andre said the conservation easement not only protects the land from subdivision or development, but will also allow the city to develop public access for recreation such as hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.
”The people of Arcata will be grateful for many generations to the legacy of the Samuels Family,” Mayor Mark Wheetley said in the statement. “Through their tremendous generosity, they have provided permanent protection for the headwaters of
Arcata will take on the responsibility for monitoring the easement and will work to establish a trail system that augments the existing
Andre said the property, worth several million dollars, would previously have likely been the target of development pressures in the future.
A conservation easement allows private landowners to protect land while maintaining ownership. Easements provide permanent protection from land use that could damage or destroy its scenic, recreational, ecological and natural resource values.
As with most other donated conservation easements, this property remains on the local tax rolls and the landowner retains discretion over access to the property by others. But under the terms of the easement, further development of the property is prohibited.
”The main thing is it'll keep the watershed intact, which is important to us,” Andre said. In addition, he added, the city will be able to have an alternative route for logging transportation.
”We are very excited to have entered into this long-term working relationship with the city of
For more information, contact the Environmental Services Department at 822-8184 or eservices@cityofarcata.org. #
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_12981816
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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
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