Groundwater
From: Editorial Staff, Desert
Sun
The Coachella Valley economy has
been built on cheap water.
Our desert averages 2 to 5 inches
of rain a year. However, thanks to imported water and a vast underground basin
where it can be stored, we support 124 golf courses, a $500 million-a-year
agriculture industry, luxury hotels with lush gardens and water features, and
nine growing cities.
A Desert Sun special report last
week confirmed that we've been taking much more water out of the aquifer than
we put in. This is a serious problem and most of us contribute to it.
Coalition response...This editorial is correct in recognizing the efforts of the Coachella
Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency to preserve the water that
underlies the Coachella Valley. It is also correct in more can be done by
everyone who lives in the valley. The water districts have reached agreements
that bring water from the Colorado River and through the State Water Project
for local use and to recharge the aquifer. Reducing the demand on groundwater
by all water users is an ongoing goal that will require continuing efforts.
The Coachella Valley is a
recipient of the water that flows through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
is delivered via the State Water Project to 25 million Californians and
three million acres of farmland. This water supply has been interrupted in
recent years as government regulations written to protect Delta fish species
have kept a portion of that water from being delivered. Sadly, no definitive
results exist that prove these actions are benefiting fish. Earlier this year
more than 700,000 acre-feet of water was lost to users.
Visit http://farmwater.org/watersupplycutshurtusall.pdf
for more details.
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan
is being developed to provide a reliable supply of water moving through the
Delta to users, including the Coachella Valley via an exchange agreement. The
Plan will also improve the Delta's ecosystem by restoring wetlands and habitat.
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is the best opportunity to secure California's
water future and its implementation is critical to our state.
Water Bond
From: Editorial Staff, Hanford
Sentinel
The state Legislature wrapped up
business for the year Friday, taking no action to set the parameters for a
water bond California voters will consider next November and punting the issue
into next year.
Water Supply
From: Mary Elizabeth Dallas,
Visalia Times-Delta
Recycled sewage water can safely
be used for crop irrigation, according to new research. In what's thought to be
the first study conducted under realistic field conditions, researchers found
that crops irrigated with the water discharged from sewage treatment plants
contains only low levels of prescription drugs and ingredients commonly found
in antibacterial soaps, make-up, shampoos and other personal care products.
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
has awarded a $4.3 million contract to install new fish protection devices at
its water diversion pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Technology
From: Staff, Chico
Enterprise-Record
Starting Wednesday in Oroville
Branch of the Butte County Library and Sept. 21 in the Gateway Science Museum
in Chico, a person can learn about watersheds, groundwater, local crops and
much more with the touch of a finger.
Wednesday, the Butte County
Department of Water and Resource Conservation will unveil a 55-inch computer
with touch-screen technology at the Oroville Library, 1820 Mitchell Ave.
Salton Sea
From: Antoine Abou-Diwan,
Imperial Valley Press
Plaintiffs and defendants in the
recently decided coordinated Quantification Settlement Agreement lawsuits have
filed motions to recoup attorneys' fees, with one party seeking nearly $53
million.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
The Sacramento City Council this
week stepped up its critique of a plan to build two giant water diversion
tunnels in the Delta, warning that it may harm the city's ability to access
drinking water in the decades ahead.
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