Bay Delta Conservation
Plan
From: Staff, Los Angeles Daily News
From: Staff, Long Beach Press-Telegram
From: Staff, Torrance Daily Breeze
From: Staff, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
From: Staff, San Bernardino Sun
From: Staff, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
From: Staff, Pasadena Star-News
From: Staff, Whittier Daily News
Is it Southern California's lot
to be cast forever as the villain when it comes to water? Maybe. Probably, in
fact.
But that doesn't mean it's fair
or right.
Californians have engaged in
battles over water rights for as long as there have been Californians and water
rights. But a firm line was drawn in the sand between North and South three
decades ago when our neighbors to the north joined with environmentalists and
Central Valley farmers to reject the Peripheral Canal, which was supposed to
divert water to Southern California before it entered the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta. It was painted as a water grab by greedy southerners.
Coalition response...This editorial accurately describes the dilemma that grips California's
water supply. The distrust aimed at Southern California fails to acknowledge
the benefits to our entire state that are available through the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan. Improving the Delta's ecosystem through increased fish
protections and the addition of over 100,000 acres of habitat is significant.
Equally significant is a reliable water supply for 25 million Californians and
thousands of farmers who grow the food we all enjoy.
The estimated cost
to those in Southern California who receive water from the Delta would be an
estimated $4 to $5 per household, per month, according to Metropolitan Water
District.
The overall cost for new urban water supplied through the Bay
Delta Conservation Plan is $300-$400 per acre-foot, according to UC Berkeley
economist David Sunding. This is a savings when compared to $1,000-$4,500 for
recycled water or $1,200-$1,400 for conservation measures.
Farmers have been plagued with an
uncertain supply of water in recent years caused by drought and regulations
written to protect Delta species. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan reduces that
uncertainty and the effects caused by the regulations that have resulted in a
40 percent reduction in supply to farmers receiving water from the State and
federal systems. This means that consumers can continue to rely on fresh
Californian-grown produce when they visit their grocery stores.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Maven, Maven's Notebook
On July 17, a public meeting was
held to discuss the remaining chapters of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan that
were released at the end of May. Led by Jerry Meral, Deputy Director of
the Natural Resources Agency, the meeting was well attended and included a
large 'visually-vocal' contingent of Discovery Bay residents.
On the agenda is how much the
project will cost and how it would be funded, as well as a discussion by Dr.
David Sunding on how the benefits of the project for water contractors were
calculated.
Rivers
From: Mark Grossi, Fresno
Beehive
The Kings River Conservation
District wants to study a project to install a small hydroelectric unit on the
Kings River near Sanger - creating electricity by using the river's flow at
Gould Weir.
It's part of California's push to
have 33% of its energy portfolio in renewable technologies, such as solar, wind
and hydro, by 2020.
Water supply
From: Press release,
Department of Water Resources
The California Department of
Water Resources (DWR) has announced a 30-day public review period on a Proposed
Negative Declaration (Proposed ND) for a proposed State Water Project supply
allocation settlement agreement with four water agencies that receive water
from the State Water Project.
From: Matthew Martz, Tehachapi
News
It's been a dry year for
California, and Tehachapi's water supply may be starting to feel the pinch.
According to Tehachapi-Cummings
County Water District Manager John Martin, the district has been pumping 19.5
cubic feet per second since May 13, and has imported 1,186 acre-feet in June,
slightly more than the districts forecast of 1,176.
Fisheries
From: Steve Knell, Manteca
Bulletin
(NOTE: This article requires a
subscription.)
John Wooden, UCLA's legendary
basketball coach, famously said, "Don't mistake activity for
achievement." Californians who are interested in the health of our native
salmon and steelhead populations should take heed of the coach's advice. Next
week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine
Fisheries Service will host a two-day workshop at UC Davis to discuss "the
State of the Science on Fish Predation on Salmonids in the Bay-Delta." The
workshop will include the assessment of key predation studies by a panel of
experts; identification of data gaps; and development of a framework for
follow-up research. All this culminating in...you guessed it...another report.
While additional science may be good chicken soup for scientists, at some point
"actions" need to speak louder than words regarding this critical
issue.
Courts
From: Michael Nolan, Redlands
Daily Facts
California water agencies have
filed arguments in a federal appeals court challenging a lower court judge's
decision that upheld the expansion of the Santa Ana Sucker fish's critical
habitat, much of which is in the Inland Empire.
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