Water Supply
From: Press Release, USBR
From: Press Release, Central Valley Business Times
Due to better than expected
hydrologic conditions through the latter part of June and first 12 days of
July, the Bureau of Reclamation has determined that it will further increase
the Central Valley Project's Friant Division water supply allocation.
In consultation with Friant
Division contractors, the Friant Division Class 1 water supply allocation is
being increased from 55 percent to 62 percent.
From: Staff, Fresno Bee
East San Joaquin Valley farmers
again are seeing an increase in their federal water allotment -- this time from
55% to 62% of their Class 1 water from Millerton Lake.
From: Tim Quinn, ACWA
With state and federal agencies
working toward the release a public draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan,
much attention is focused on the Delta and the need for long-term solutions. We
all know a Delta solution is critical to the state's water future, but it is
just one component of a broader set of actions needed to address overall water
supply reliability and ecosystem health in California.
There is widespread agreement
that a statewidewater action plan is required to ensure leadership and
resources are focused on a suite of other priorities including surface and
groundwater storage, local resources development, water rights protection,
climate change and other vital issues.
From: Staff, YubaNet
The California water rights
system is designed to provide for the orderly allocation of water supplies in
the event that there is not enough water to satisfy everyone's needs. When
there is insufficient water for all, water diversions are allocated in order of
water right priority. Currently, certain water right holders primarily within
the Sacramento River watershed are restricted (through a permit condition
referred to as "Term 91 ") from diverting water when the State and
Federal Water Projects are releasing stored water to meet Delta water quality
standards and in-basin entitlements. The rule of water right priority only
extends to natural and abandoned flows. Stored water that is released to meet
Delta objectives is neither natural nor abandoned flow. This water therefore
cannot be legally taken by riparian and other users. Currently, a substantial
portion of Delta inflow is stored water. In the late summer and fall, there
will be little or no natural and abandoned flows in the Delta watershed and
other stream systems.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
The public is invited to a
meeting in Sacramento on Wednesday to learn more about Gov. Jerry Brown's plan
to build two giant water diversion tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The meeting will focus on the
last round of draft project chapters, released in May. The highlight of these
documents is Chapter 8, which outlines anticipated project costs and funding
sources.
From: Gene Beley, Central
Valley Business Times
Barbara Daly is a librarian and
mother of five in the Delta town of Clarksburg. She could also be considered
the "Erin Brockovich" of the latest battles in California's
intensifying water war. Ms. Brockovich was instrumental in a lawsuit that
ultimately cost Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $333 million for contaminating
ground water near its substation in Hinkley.
In opposing Gov. Jerry Brown's
plans for a $54 billion project to build massive, 45-mile-long twin water tunnels
beneath the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, Ms. Daly says there is a lot more
involved than farmers needing water to grow food.
From: Editorial Board, Modesto
Bee
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell
Steinberg is in a unique position to influence at least a partial resolution of
the brewing battle over the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The question is: Can
he use his leverage in a way that benefits both the district he represents and
the state of California he serves?
Groundwater
From: D.L. Taylor, Salinas
Californian
"The Art of War"
teaches that the first rule of any battle is to know your enemy. With nitrate
levels in Salinas Valley groundwater surpassing state and federal health
standards, regional water quality officials and a coalition of agriculture
concerns are launching an ambitious project to fully understand that particular
enemy.Dubbed the Central Coast Cooperative Groundwater Program, it will
anonymously test wells in southern Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and
Monterey counties for levels of compounds that leach into groundwater from
modern agriculture practices, nitrate being of top concern.
San Joaquin River
From: Spencer Michaels, PBS
Newshour
RAY SUAREZ: Next, the long battle
over one of the largest river restoration projects in the country, an effort
that's facing new troubles over funding.
NewsHour correspondent Spencer
Michels has our story from California.
Colorado
River
From: Press Release, YubaNet
The Senate Water and Power
Subcommittee is holding a hearing today to discuss the future of one of the
West's most critical natural resources - the Colorado River. The hearing comes
on the heels of recent deadly wildfires, a record-breaking heat wave and
worsening drought conditions in the Southwest that have put the region's
residents, wildlife and natural resources at risk.
The Subcommittee will examine the
Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado River Basin Water Demand and Supply Study,
which provides an important look at the costs and benefits of a range of
proposals to ensure the region has enough water to support its economy,
environment and quality of life.
Courts
From: Staff, Chico
Enterprise-Record
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals dealt a blow July 1 to the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority in its efforts
to have the Bureau of Reclamation respect area of origin protections for local
water contractors.
The Court of Appeals affirmed a
decision by the Eastern District Court that ruled in favor of the US Department
of the Interior in a case stemming from the Bureau of Reclamation reducing
water deliveries to TCCA members in recent drought years.
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