Shasta Dam
From: Damon Arthur, Redding
Record Searchlight
Officials with the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation got an earful of mostly negative comments and questions Tuesday on
its proposal to raise the height of Shasta Dam.
Coalition response...Shasta Dam was originally planned to be 800-feet tall but labor and
material shortages during World War II reduced its height to 602-feet. Raising
the dam is possible because of the wide base that was built to uphold the
taller height. As pointed out by the Environmental Impact Statement, salmon
will benefit from an added supply of cold water and gravel beds as they make
their way up the Sacramento River to spawn. Additional Shasta storage will also
provide benefits to Northern California's water users by adding to local
supplies if future minimum river flow requirements are adopted. More storage
will provide a buffer for Northern California farms, homes and businesses.
Farmers who have a more reliable water supply can provide a more dependable
food supply for consumers throughout the state.
Those who first planned the
construction of Shasta Dam recognized the benefits that would be provided to
the people of California. Now is the time to move forward with that vision,
even if only by a few feet.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Doug Obegi, NRDC
Earlier this month, state and
federal agencies were invited to submit comments on the administrative draft
Bay Delta Conservation Plan documents. While comments from the federal
agencies and some state agencies are not yet available (the state says they
will be posted online later this week), comments from three independent state
agencies (the State Water Resources Control Board (available here ), Delta Independent Science Board
(available here), and the Delta Stewardship Council
(available here)) show the need for significant improvement
to the BDCP draft plan, as well as to the analysis of the effects of the plan
and alternatives in the EIS/EIR.
Coalition response...Comments and suggestions to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan are sought
as drafts of the Plan are released and public meetings conducted. The Plan's
development process analyzes these comments and suggestions to determine
whether they fulfill the co-equal goals of a reliable water supply and a
restored Delta ecosystem established by the Legislature. NRDC's Portfolio
Alternative and its single tunnel does not meet either of these goals.
From: Gene Beley, Central
Valley Business Times
Solano County Supervisor Skip
Thomson probably shouldn't expect a birthday card from Jerry Meral, Gov. Jerry
Brown's top person on the controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
"Meral is an interesting
fellow," says Mr. Thomson at a recent meeting in Rio Vista. "He will
promise you anything you ask for.
Coalition response...There are major differences between the proposed 1982 Peripheral Canal
and today's Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The Canal had the capacity to transfer
21,800 cubic feet per second while the capacity for the BDCP's two tunnels is
only 9,000 cfs. The Canal was an isolated conveyance but BDCP allows for
through-Delta operations and more flexibility to maintain in-Delta water
quality. Learn more at www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.
The Delta continues to
deteriorate and increased regulatory restrictions to protect species are not
proving fruitful. These restrictions are also limiting the ability of local,
state and federal water agencies to move water to serve thousands of family
farmers and 25 million Californians. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is the
best opportunity available to secure a reliable water future for our state.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Jerry Meral, Manteca
Bulletin
The Manteca City Council has
expressed concern that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan's "twin
tunnel" scenario could endanger the city's existing water rights
("Manteca leaders: Twin tunnels put water in jeopardy," June 26).
This fear arises in part from a common misperception: that the tunnels are
intended to increase the amount of water sent to points south of the
Delta. In reality, the tunnels are aimed at simply restoring a consistent
flow of water that answers the needs of the system's many stakeholders.
From: Terry Erlewine,
Sacramento Bee
Re "Can Steinberg head off a
Delta train wreck?" (Editorials, July 15): The editorial on the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan portrays the seven-year-long planning process as inadequate.
BDCP has assembled the most complete analysis to date about what we know about
the Delta and how to solve the crises facing the statewide water system and
this important ecosystem, within the framework of existing environmental laws.
From: Mike Luery, KCRA-3 TV
It was supposed to be a simple
groundbreaking ceremony for a big upgrade on Sacramento's water treatment
plant, but Mayor Kevin Johnson couldn't resist throwing a little dirt on Gov.
Jerry Brown's twin tunnels project.
From: Ryan Lillis, Sacramento
Bee
Mayor Kevin Johnson and City
Manager John Shirey both expressed their opposition today to Gov. Jerry Brown's
proposal to build giant tunnels that would divert water from the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta to farms and cities in Central and Southern California.
Water Supply
From: Staff, Porterville
Recorder
The federal Bureau of Reclamation
has increased what it will release to the Central Valley Project's Friant
Division from 55 percent of allocation to 62 percent, slightly improving what
was a dire water situation this summer.
From: Staff, Capital Public
Radio
Water Shortage? California has
just experienced one of the driest springs in nearly a century and water
storage levels are dropping as the hot summer plods on. We'll talk today with
the president of Northern California Water Association, David Guy, about how a
State Water Resources Control Board "Notice of Water Shortage for
2013" will affect agriculture in the Sacramento Region.
From: Heather Hacking, Chico
Enterprise-Record
A warning letter went out this
week says that even the state's most secure water rights might not be totally
secure during a dry year.
The State Water Resources Control
Board sent out the notice, which suggests landowners be realistic about what
they plant later in the year, and suggested steps to take in case less water is
available.
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
State officials warned late
Monday that extremely low runoff in California rivers could require even senior
water rights holders to reduce their consumption this summer and fall.
The noticeby the State Water
Resources Control Board, which regulates water rights, is informational only.
But it is a "heads up" that formal curtailment orders could follow if
water users don't begin taking action to conserve water now, said Les Grober,
assistant deputy director for water rights at the board.
Colorado River
From: Michael L. Connor, USBR
Chairman Udall and members of the
Subcommittee, I am Michael Connor, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) at the Department of the Interior (Department). Thank you for the
opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee today regarding the Colorado
River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (Study). The Colorado River Basin
(Basin) is one of the most critical sources of water in the West.
Courts
From: Antoine Abou-Diwan,
Imperial Valley Press
A judge in the coordinated Quantification
Settlement Agreement lawsuits denied a request for another 90-day stay of his
final decision of the decade-long lawsuits, setting back the Imperial
Irrigation District's attempt to settle the cases with all parties involved.
"...The Court has found no
basis to conclude that 90 days of mediation would likely produce a global
settlement of the issues awaiting final resolution in the Court's statement of
decision and judgment," wrote Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd
Connelly on Tuesday.
From: Associated Press,
Sacramento Bee
California water agencies are
contesting a federal judge's decision to double the size of a designated
habitat for a threatened fish in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
From: Associated Press, Contra
Costa Times
A Klamath Falls judge denied a
request Tuesday to keep the state of Oregon from shutting off irrigation water
in the upper Klamath Basin.
That leaves intact a state
decision recognizing the senior water rights of the Klamath Tribes.
Meetings
From: Capital Alert,
Sacramento Bee
Lawmakers are taking a break from
bill hearings, but a California Water Commission meeting today intersects with
several legislative hot topics. They include a presentation from the California
Department of Conservation on proposed hydraulic fracturing regulations and an
update from the Delta Stewardship Council on its blueprint for balancing
ecological imperatives and a sustainable water supply. Starting at 9:30 a.m. at
the state's Resources Building on 9th Street.
Speaking of the proposed Delta
water project, the organizations crafting the Bay Delta Conservation Plan are
meeting today to discuss its recently released final chapters, which detail
what it will cost and how to pay for it. Featuring Jerry Meral, deputy
secretary at the California Natural Resources Agency, the meeting runs from
noon to six at the DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center.
From: Ross Farrow, Lodi
News-Sentinel
The San Joaquin County Advisory
Water Commission will discuss a draft memorandum of agreement with the East Bay
Municipal Utility District today to develop a demonstration project to preserve
groundwater in the county.
EBMUD, based in Oakland, holds
water rights to most of the Mokelumne River and provides domestic water to
portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
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