Tuesday, January 31, 2012

News articles and links from Jan. 31, 2012

WATER SUPPLY

Second 2012 Snow Survey Scheduled for February 1

Press Release

From DWR - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

Dry winter in Calif reduces Sierra Nevada snowpack

Story

From Fresno Bee - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

Another long period of little to no precipitation

Blog

From AccuWeather - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

It's getting to be white-knuckle time on this 'wet' season

Blog

By Mark Grossi

From Fresno Bee - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

California citrus growers grapple with water issues

Story

From The Packer - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

A watered-down bond for water system improvements?

Story

From KQED - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

Klamath River dam removals should go forth

Editorial

From SF Chronicle - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

DELTA

X2 Ninth Circuit briefing completed (for now)

Blog

By Brandon Middleton

From Pacific Legal Foundation - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

News articles and links from Jan. 30, 2012

Water supply

No need to fast-track latest attempt at canal

Editorial

From SF Chronicle - Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

While most of the political chatter following Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State address last week focused on high-speed rail and his proposed tax initiative, the big issue quietly lapping the Capitol halls is water.

Coalition response...To suggest that some San Joaquin Valley farmers should walk away from their lands because of a salt issue fails to recognize how productive these farmers are. These farmers are employing the newest technology and efficient irrigation practices that enable them to produce safe and healthful food that serves California families and many others around the world. Efforts by farmers in the Grassland Bypass Project south of Los Banos have helped to effectively manage salt, selenium and other harmful elements toward halting this discharge from reaching the San Joaquin River. The Environmental Protection agency recently characterized this effort as a "success story." Walking away from the land puts people out of work and disrupts the flow of food to our tables at a time when adding jobs and increasing the world's food supply is a necessity.

WATER SUPPLY

Proposals to drain Hetch Hetchy won't work

Viewpoint

By Sen. Dianne Feinstein

From Sacramento Bee - Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012

Cactus may provide cure for poisoned Valley cropland

Story

From Fresno Bee - Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012

From Modesto Bee - Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

Colorado River models: Wrong but useful

Blog

By John Fleck

From Inkstain - Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012

Winter shaping up to be a dry one

Story

From Press-Enterprise - Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012

Bureau of Reclamation discusses preliminary water year 2012 CVP Water Supply Conditions

Press Release

From USBR - Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

California water projects circling the drain

Story

From Reuters - Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

DELTA

That other, still equal goal

Blog

By John Bass

From Delta National Park - Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012

Peripheral canal proposal, loss of home rule prompts SSJID to join battle

Story

From Manteca Bulletin - Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

Friday, January 27, 2012

News articles and links from Jan. 27, 2012

Water supply

Water conservation, recycling and California's future

Story

From Bilingual Weekly - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

Conservation is the largest, least expensive and most environmentally sound source of new water, and water is being wasted in every sector of California's economy, according to the Pacific Institute of Oakland.

Coalition response...According to the California Department of Water Resources (California Water Plan), agriculture is not the largest user of available water in California. DWR cites water use in California as: environment, 48%; agriculture, 41%; and urban, 11%. While agricultural and urban users must comply with water management planning requirements, there are no such requirements for managed environmental flows. If Peter Gleick is right we should also be measuring and managing the 48% of the available water that goes to the environment.

WATER SUPPLY

Next congressman could be caught in the middle

Editorial

From Tracy Press - Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

Discussion of Salton Sea restoration funding source to continue

Story

From Imperial Valley Press - Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

Santa Cruz facing 'critically dry' year; low rainfall makes December second driest on record

Story

From Santa Cruz Sentinel - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

Confused by the issue

Letter

From Modesto Bee - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

DELTA

Placer water agency concerned about impact of Delta plan

Story

From Auburn Journal - Friday, Jan. 27, 2012

DSC appoints new lead scientist

Story

From Delta Stewardship Council - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

The Delta Caucus and current Delta initiatives

Blog

By Russell Van Loben Sels

From SJFB - January 2012

FISHERIES

Coho salmon face lofty recovery goals; Siskiyou County calls rates 'unfair, unrealistic'

Story

From Record Searchlight - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Thursday, January 26, 2012

News articles and links from Jan. 26, 2012

Water supply

The Peripheral Canal - How much water? At what cost? Who pays?

Story

From Bilingual Weekly - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

Nearly two-thirds of California residents and the majority of agriculture get their water from the Delta and its tributaries, which surround Stockton in an intricate pattern of levees, rivers and farms. But the Delta faces multifaceted environmental problems, which have led to a crisis for fisheries, wildlife and water quality.

Coalition response...It is unfortunate that the author chose to write this article in a manner that includes incorrect information that leaves the reader with a false picture portraying the many efforts currently underway in relation to the Delta. Consider:

1. The BDCP is not charged with "the state's co-equal goals of ecosystem restoration and water reliability." The BDCP is a permitting process for conveyance. The Delta Stewardship Council, created in 2009, is charged with the co-equal goals.

2. Both the BDCP and the Delta Stewardship Council plans are in the draft stages of their respective planning processes. Their work is ongoing and to suggest that either does not include certain documents or processes fails to understand the work schedules by both.

3. The author suggests that exports of water that flows through the Delta may have altered its route to the sea as she writes "which once flowed out to sea..." The Sacramento River still flows to the sea and the water that flows through the Delta is also delivered to 25 million Californians (not just south of the Delta but also to the San Francisco, San Benito and Santa Clara areas) and also to farms to grow the food we rely upon.

4. The SWRCB early report of the flow requirements were publicized with specific instructions from the Legislature that the report did not look at other factors relating to water, such as local uses in areas of origin, the result of water delivered to millions of people and to farms. The report clearly articulates this; yet, many people choose to ignore its narrow scope, instead hanging their hats solely on the specific flow numbers by themselves. The report's accompanying statement strongly recommended that more work needed to be done before final flow requirements could be adopted.

5. Contractors receiving water from the State Water Project pay the associated costs to deliver that water to its eventual point of use. If a contractor is located further south along the Aquaduct than another user, then that contractor must pay the costs for both construction and delivery for that extra distance. This is the major reason that contractors further south along the Aquaduct pay more than their counterparts to the north.

MID water sale worth considering

Letter

From Modesto Bee - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

No basis to oppose water deal yet

Letter

From Modesto Bee - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

DELTA

Delta Stewardship Council meeting

Live webcast

From DSC - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

Governor Brown endorses Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Story

From IVN - Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

Sinking the water bond

blog

From NBC/Los Angeles - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

State board issues notice in next phase of Bay-Delta Plan review

Story

From ACWA - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

FISHERIES

ACWA submits comments on striped bass regulations

Story

From ACWA - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

News articles and links from Jan. 25, 2012

Water supply

How to deny that fish need water

Blog

By Kate Poole

From NRDC - Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

Coalition response...This author goes to great lengths to characterize anyone who disagrees with her as insensitive to the needs of fish and the Delta ecosystem. Farmers and public water agencies south of the Delta have never denied that the Delta ecosystem is in need of restoration or that fish species are suffering. It is in the best interest of these farmers and public water agencies that improvements be made to the Delta ecosystem and its fish populations. Achieving these improvements will bring reliability to a water supply system for 25 million Californians and the farms that grow a safe and healthy food supply that many of us rely upon. This is why they have spent millions of dollars to find solutions.

Rather than dream up a mythical checklist that only serves a biased and opinionated viewpoint, California would be better served to have the energy expended on such efforts redirected toward reaching meaningful water solutions.

WATER SUPPLY

IID talks over cost-sharing agreement for Salton Sea environmental review; vote scheduled for next week

Story

From Imperial Valley Press - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Regional water planning faces uncertain future

Story

From Ag Alert - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Klamath draft report released; Thompson: 'The time for Congress to act is now'

Story

From Times-Standard - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

After giving crops a midwinter drink, canals to empty once more

Story

From Modesto Bee - Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

Storms leave growers wanting more

Story

From Capital Press - Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

DELTA

Supervisors seek to discourage alleged delta agency power grab

Story

From Enterprise-Record - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

From Mercury-Register - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Look to desalination, not canal

Letter

From Sacramento Bee - Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

News articles and links from Jan. 24, 2012

Water supply

Water shortage ---- here we go again, maybe

Viewpoint

By Gary Arant

From North County Times - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

Coalition response...This author correctly portrays the "unpredictability" of rainfall patterns in California from one year to the next. Most water experts agree that a multi-pronged effort is needed to balance California's wet and dry years. Like a balanced investment strategy, California needs to maximize conservation, recycling and new storage in its water strategy. Leaving new water storage facilities out of the mix doesn't give us the balance...or security...we need for the future.

Fisheries

California DFG throws West Coast striped bass under the bus...

Blog

By Mike Spies

From Living with Birddogs - Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012

Coalition response...Striped bass is a sport fish that was introduced years ago to the Delta and it also has a ferocious appetite. Claiming that "there is almost no scientific data to link striped bass to reduction in native Delta species" ignores the research that has found juvenile salmon inside the stomachs of stripers. The large numbers of splittail and threadfin shad salvaged at the pumps during the past year was expected by State and federal biologists because of the water conditions. These biologists knew that the overall populations would be great, which also supported opinions to deny protected status to these species under the Endangered Species Act.

PEOPLE

Alex Hildebrand: Champion of the Delta, 1913-2012

Story

From The Record - Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

WATER SUPPLY

Water districts eye Salton Sea mitigation cost-sharing

Story

From Imperial Valley Press - Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

Water debate renewed after Fresno State report

Story

From Modesto Bee - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

Hope you enjoyed the rain and snow; changes coming

Blog

By Ken Clark

From AccuWeather - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

The dam truth: build more

Blog

By Doug Craig

From Record Searchlight - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

Water agencies brawl over 'use it or lose it' rule

Column

By Lois Henry

From Bakersfield Californian - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

The way I see it: Whiskey's for drinkin'; water's for fightin'

Blog

By Don Polson

From Red Bluff Daily News - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

DELTA

List of problems comes with canal

Letter

From The Record - Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

Looking at a new strategy to save the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Abstract

From Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development - Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

SSJID could join Delta Stewardship opposition

Story

From Manteca Bulletin - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

HORB revisited

Blog

From Bay Delta Blog - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

Council's approval of pesticide recommendation in line with Delta Plan development

Story

From Delta Stewardship Council - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

'Covered actions' draw attention

Story

From Delta Stewardship Council - Monday, Jan. 23, 2012

No reason to fear Delta Stewardship Council

Letter

From Manteca Bulletin - Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012