Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: James Loewen, LA Times
The poll and the article on
Californians' attitudes toward financing huge water projects ignore a very big
piece of the picture.
We don't need these water
projects, which will further strain fish habitats in Northern California rivers
and saddle us with more debt. Instead, we need to fairly price the
over-strained supplies already being shipped south. This will result in lowered
flows that still leave adequate supplies for cities and for farmers who can pay
a fair price.
Coalition response...Farmers use only 41 percent of the available water supply in California,
according to the California Department of Water Resources. The rest goes to the
environment (48 percent) and cities/businesses (11 percent). Water users
throughout California, including farmers, homeowners and businesses, pay their
share of costs to receive the water. Urban users pay for water quality
treatment, pressurization in distribution systems and a reliability that
assures water will be there when faucets are turned. Farmers do not pay these
costs because they do not receive the same benefits. Attempts to characterize
water rates that farmers pay as "very low" ignores how rates are set.
Those who benefit from the use of
water on farms are consumers who have come to rely upon a safe and healthy food
supply in grocery stores.
That supply of water to
California farms has been reduced in recent years because of regulations to
protect endangered fish, namely the Delta smelt. Instead of sending water to
users who have a right to it, the water is kept in the Delta and allowed to
flow to the ocean. Federal water officials have yet to provide demonstrable
proof that their actions are achieving their intended results.
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan
and its proposed tunnels will greatly reduce the impacts on endangered fish.
The Plan will restore a reliable supply of water that is delivered to 3 million
acres of farmland and 25 million Californians. At the same time, ecosystem
restoration will take place in the Delta that will benefit habitat and
wildlife. Without implementation of BDCP, water supplies will continue to be
reduced and endangered fish will suffer.
Water Supply
From: Vince Ross, Almond Board
of California
It is a simple but vitally
important fact: Water availability is of critical importance to California almond
growers and handlers. Water remains the lifeblood of California's almond
industry, which in 2012 produced 2 billion pounds of almonds valued at $4.3
billion. That said, California water policy is incredibly complex, driven by
intense competition among very diverse interests.
Groundwater
From: Garth Stapley, Modesto
Bee
What used to be an encouraging
sign of more business for water agencies - people signing up to buy electricity
- is starting to scare the Modesto Irrigation District.
That's because the MID also
worries about water supply. And those recently asking for scads more power,
district leaders fear, are using it to pump - and maybe deplete - groundwater.
From: Author, Source
The Mid-Valley Pipeline will be
one of the most significant groundwater conservation projects in Coachella
Valley history.
Water Quality
From: Seth Nidever, Hanford
Sentinel
Kings County farmers had a chance
this week to hear firsthand how best to adjust to sweeping new groundwater
pollution rules.
The new regulations, adopted last
month by the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board, require most
commercial growing operations in Kings County to keep track of how much
nitrogen fertilizer they apply, submit groundwater quality assessment reports
and show evidence of erosion and sediment control plans.
California Water
Plan
From: Report, DWR
California's key water planning
document - updated for public review - is being released in separate volumes
today through October 23. California Water Plan Update 2013 - a four-year
effort by DWR - presents a comprehensive picture of California's water supply,
needs, evolving integrated water management and projections of future demands.
Delta
From: Press Release, Delta
Protection Commission
In a region surrounded by
waterways, preparing for devastating floods in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
is critical. Delta waterways contribute to the bucolic setting of the region
but increase the risk to Delta residents in a flood situation.
Meetings
From: Staff, Red Bluff Daily
News
There will be a set of new water
quality regulations imposed on Sacramento Valley irrigated agriculture and
managed wetland owners as soon as April 2014. This is due to adoption of a
waste discharge requirements General Order for the Long- Term Irrigated Lands
Regulatory Program.
An upcoming public workshop, held
by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board),
will summarize the proposed new regulations and give opportunity to comment on
issues of concerns to Regional Board Members.
Interested persons are being
encouraged to attend and present oral comments on Oct. 30 in Colusa.
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