State Water Project
From: Joseph P. Byrne,
BB&K
Water in California sparks news
headlines on nearly a daily basis. Much of the attention is focused on the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a sprawling river delta and estuary wedged
between Sacramento and Stockton that acts as a funnel for water traveling from
water-rich Northern California to heavily populated but water-poor Southern
California. The news articles tend to focus on the Bay-Delta Conservation
Plan's proposal to build conveyance tunnels to protect endangered species
living in the Delta, or the lack of snowmelt that has made 2013 one of the
driest year on record in California, leaving the State Water Project to deliver
only an estimated 35 percent of requested water to millions of Californians.
And then there are the articles about the increased anxiety over climate change
and its effects on the reliability of long-term supplies.
While all of these are very
important concerns, there is a critical piece to California's water supply that
is lurking in the background without the needed attention. The State Water
Project is arguably the most critical infrastructure system to the California
economy and the quality of life of many of its residents, but it is getting old
and is not being operated as efficiently as it has been and needs to be.
Water Supply
From: Mark Grossi, Fresno Bee
But, here's the kicker for the
Valley. Take a look at two key reservoirs where farmers get a lot of water:
Pine Flat and San Luis.
Pine Flat Reservoir in Fresno
County is down to 30% of capacity. San Luis Reservoir in western Merced County
is at 20%. With most of July and all of August still ahead, farmers and small
towns may get the worst of this summer.
Groundwater
From: Heather Hacking, Chico
Enterprise-Record
Is Northern California going dry?
Not yet, and probably not. But the topsy-turvy cycles of Mother Nature are a
good reason to keep up on well maintenance if that's where you get your water.
December started off looking like
a wet winter, with nearly 6 inches of rain recorded at the National Weather
Service gauge at Chico State University Farm. Weather watchers were even
worried, briefly, about flooding.
But then the graph drops
precipitously.
From: David Sneed, SLO Tribune
San Luis Obispo County
supervisors Tuesday directed staff to develop a series of emergency land-use
restrictions that could halt precipitous declines in the Paso Robles
groundwater basin.
No later than late July or early
August, county administrators and public works staff will come up with a series
of options for limiting groundwater pumping for supervisors to consider.
Transfers
From: Garth Stapley, Modesto
Bee
The Turlock Irrigation District
has called off a deal to buy extra water this year from the Modesto Irrigation
District, saying mountain snowmelt is a little more plentiful than feared
earlier.
Also, TID farmers can pay a
premium for water beyond this year's restricted allotment of 34 vertical inches
per acre, board members decided on a 4-0 vote with board chairman Michael
Frantz absent.
Rivers
From: D.L. Taylor, Salinas
Californian
A tentative agreement hammered
out between attorneys for the Monterey County Water Resources Agency and State
Water Board water rights prosecutors could result in the cancellation of a
planned revocation of a key water right to the Salinas River.
Courts
From: Julie R. Johnson, Colusa
Sun-Herald
Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority has
lost a critical court case heard by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
concerning the area of origin water rights.
The TC authority was fighting for
priority of water allocations in dry years over exports to Central Valley
Project contractors located south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
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