A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 29, 2007
2. Supply
HETCH HETCHY SYSTEM:
SF to release report on Hetch Hetchy system revamp - Modesto Bee
Water Authority board approves rate hike - North County Times
WATER CONSERVAITON PLANNING:
Water Agencies Agree to Develop Long-Term Plan - Santa Clarita Signal
HETCH HETCHY SYSTEM:
SF to release report on Hetch Hetchy system revamp
By Michael G. Mooney, staff writer
Later today, the San Francisco Planning Department will release a massive draft environmental report, outlining the potential effects of a $4.3 billion plan to retool the Hetch Hetchy water system.
Critics already are attacking a key section of the 3,000-page document: a proposal by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to divert an additional 25 million gallons of water daily from the
Such a diversion would swell
The proposed diversion, however, is just one aspect of the SFPUC's ambitious plan to revamp the Hetch Hetchy's aging network of pipes and tunnels, which is used to move water from the Sierra to
Representatives of the
Earlier this week, the SFPUC briefed both MID and TID staff on the pipeline portion of its plan.
Representatives for both irrigation districts said a possible increased water diversion from the
"The concern is
"Taking more water from the
The Tuolumne River Trust, with offices in
Tony Winnicker, SFPUC director of communications, said the whole purpose of the environmental review is to seek comment on the agency's plan, which identifies potential harmful effects, as well as suggesting ways to eliminate or lessen those effects.
"This (release of the report) starts a 90-day public comment period," Winnicker said. "We will be holding public hearings in September in all of the counties affected by the project, including one in
"We want to urge folks not to rush to judgment; not to adopt abunker mentality about this. The 25 million-gallon-a-day diversion is just one of the scenarios the city planning department was asked to study."
While acknowledging that the diversion was the SFPUC's "preferred alternative" when it submitted its plan almost two years ago, Winnicker said, "other scenarios take less water from the (
Both the MID and the TID have legal rights to use water from the Tuolumne River that supercede the water rights held by San Francisco.
The SFPUC would pay Oak-dale to take surplus water, drawn from the
Winnicker, however, said a potential water transfer agreement with Oakdale, if it materializes, isn't part of the multibillion-dollar Hetch Hetchy proposal.
"That's a separate negotiation," Winnicker said.
A long way to go
The San Francisco Planning Department has spent two years studying the SFPUC's proposal, Winnicker said, adding that the process still has a long way to go.
He said the final version of the document would not be completed before summer 2008.
Winnicker said each piece of the project, including its pipeline renovation plans, also will require separate environmental review.
Nearly two years ago, the SFPUC dropped a plan to route a new water pipeline across
Under a compromise, the SFPUC would add shorter sections of pipe near Oakdale and Vernalis, avoiding
The new sections of pipelines would make it easier to upgrade the SFPUC's three existing pipelines, Winnicker said, and also make it easier to keep water flowing to
Wesselman of the Tuolumne River Trust said he's not worried about the scaled-back pipeline proposal, which would add about 17 miles of new pipe rather than the 47 miles originally envisioned.
Diverting more water from the upper
"All of the water they're talking about is for the southern
"We say there are cheaper, faster and less destructive ways to meet
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13739556p-14323755c.html
Water Authority board approves rate hike
By William Finn Bennett, staff writer
Water consumers in
The hike was approved Thursday by the board of the San Diego County Water Authority, which sells water to local utilities.
The new rates, effective Jan. 1, are likely to increase average monthly water bills by up to an average of $2.25 per household.
Authority officials said Thursday they decided on the increase because their suppliers have raised prices on water the agency buys, and because construction and maintenance costs are on the rise for the authority's projects. The water authority sells water to 24 water districts and agencies in the county.
Water authority spokesman John Liarakos said that while the rate hike may be unpopular, the change in rates is "not that significant overall.
"More importantly, it is an investment in the long-term water reliability in
The 8.1 percent increase comes to $51 an acre-foot for 2007, and will bring the estimated cost of an acre-foot of water to $679 each calendar year.
An acre-foot of water is roughly 325,000 gallons of water, or enough to sustain the water needs of two families of four for a year.
Among other things, the rate increases will help pay for several water authority projects, officials say, including a 100 million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant, the completion of a pipeline connecting the San Vicente Reservoir to the region's water distribution system and the creation of the All-American canal-lining project in
Most of the rate hike was made up of the rate increase the authority received from its own wholesale supplier, Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District. That water district supplies about half of
In April, Metropolitan voted to adopt a $30 per acre-foot raise for its customers, raising its rates from $478 an acre-foot of treated water to $508 per acre-foot. Metropolitan officials blamed the rate increase on increasing costs of electricity used to carry the water and the spiking costs of treating water to make it safe to drink.
In general, the cost of water consists of what it takes to maintain the dams, reservoirs, treatment plants and pumps and pipelines that deliver the water from its source.
Locally, only about 22 percent of the county's water comes from local sources, such as ground water, local surface water, recycled water and through conservation. The rest is imported. Of that, about 60 percent comes from the Colorado River, and 40 percent from
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/29/news/top_stories/23_18_096_28_07.txt
WATER CONSERVAITON PLANNING:
Water Agencies Agree to Develop Long-Term Plan
Santa Clarita Signal – 6/29/07
By Katherine Geyer, staff writer
Aiming to develop a plan to conserve the Santa Clarita Valley's water, the Castaic Lake Water Agency and the Santa Clarita Water District entered into an agreement Wednesday with local water purveyors to develop a long-term strategy.
At their meeting, the CLWA board of directors approved the memorandum of understanding that states CLWA will contribute $34,000 to the plan, while the Santa Clarita Water District will contribute about $54,000. Valencia Water company will contribute the majority of the funds at $59,000.
"It's basically to work up a long-term program to try to achieve 10 percent conservation that we set forth in the Urban Water Management Plan," said Dan Masnada, CLWA's general manager. "We've got the consultant on board and the purveyors and the agency will be working to come up with a long-term strategic plan."
He said the plan could result in suggested ordinances for the county and the city to adopt that will help the Santa Clarita Valley utilize water more efficiently. He said it could include restrictions for certain types of landscaping.
In other business, the board approved CLWA's 2007-08 budget.
The $115.5 million budget is one of the largest in the agency's history. #
http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=49285&format=html
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