Wednesday, December 4, 2013

News articles and links from December 4, 2013


San Joaquin River 

From: Cannon Michael, Fresno Bee

A number of recent articles and blog posts have highlighted salmon being released into the San Joaquin River. From the pictures and glowing prose, one would imagine that the restoration of the river is on its way and proceeding as planned. A closer look reveals a different story whose outcome is far from certain.

Water Transfers

From: Antoine Abou-Diwan, Imperial Valley Press 

The Imperial Irrigation District is one step closer to participating in a historic water agreement with Mexico.

The Board of Directors approved on Tuesday an agreement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in which both agencies will equally share in the costs and benefits of upgrading water infrastructure in the Mexicali Valley that suffered earthquake damage in 2010.

Sacramento River

From: Amy Quinton, Capital Public Radio

The cities of Woodland and Davis in collaboration with the agricultural community have joined forces to replace a century-old intake on the Sacramento River.

It's part of a larger regional project that's designed to provide a reliable supply of water and improve water quality for the cities of Woodland and Davis, and UC Davis.

Groundwater Banking 

From: Lois Henry, Bakersfield Californian

Time for a McAllister Ranch water banking update.  If you're wondering why I keep such close tabs on this water banking proposal, I have two reasons.

First, it's water. Any increase in water storage is of acute interest to this community and Kern's economy overall.

Second, and even closer to my heart, the water banked at McAllister would most likely be from Buena Vista Water Storage District's Kern River rights.

Salton Sea

From: Jerome H. Holmlund, mydesert.com  

The Salton Sea water loss poses a growing environmental and economic threat to the Coachella Valley, Imperial County and the state. Salton Sea dewatering began in 2003, and will significantly increase after 2017, adding to the regional threat. Seaside community health, air quality, wildlife, recreation and tourism have all been affected.

Preservation, not restoration, is the only solution. However, preservation will require water inflow to balance natural evaporation plus limited desalination for the sea to again become an attractive recreation asset. This following brief outline, based on reported costs suggests an overall approach for preserving the Salton Sea.

Water Quality 

From: Roberta Firoved, AgAlert

The rice harvest has wrapped up and the crop has been sent to the dryers for storage in warehouses until delivery to the mills. Rice farmers are collectively taking in the sense of accomplishment that comes with the end of every season. Farmers take pride seeing the results of their hard work in cultivating a crop from seed to grain. The sense of accomplishment is what keeps them farming every year-the anticipation and optimism of what the next year will bring.

From: Nick Welsh, Santa Barbara Independent   

A coalition of statewide environmental organizations - including Santa Barbara's Channelkeeper - sued the California Water Resources Control Board, charging that the new conditions imposed on contaminated agricultural runoff do not go far enough in protecting surface streams and underground water supplies from further pollution.

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