Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: John Kirlin, Sacramento
Bee
Discussion about the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan mostly revolves around new water intakes and the twin
tunnels. But this ongoing debate misses a large elephant in the room; the plan
proposes to lock in public policies on water operations for 50 years, and limit
future policy decisions even though circumstances can - and inevitably will -
change.
Fifty years is a long time;
having been engaged in public policy analysis for nearly as many years, I know
well the long-term impacts of policies that no longer fit the times. Before the
state moves forward with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, potential unintended
consequences need to be examined. In particular, Monday's announcement of the
formation of the "Delta Conveyance Facility Design and Construction
Enterprise" is worrisome, in that it shares state agency authority with
water contractors. This will undoubtedly muddle accountability and invite
conflict.
Coalition response... California needs certainty to attract investment. That certainty helped
drive agricultural investments that made California the No.1 farm state on the
nation in just a few decades as well as the aerospace and technology center of
the world. A 50-year planning horizon is necessary for business to make the long-term
investments California's economy needs.
The environmental community can
help tremendously by encouraging meaningful ecosystem restoration projects that
align with the need for upgraded public infrastructure. Why did Sen. Dianne
Feinstein say recently that environmentalists have never been helpful in
finding solutions to California's water supply challenges? Perhaps it's not in
their nature to balance environmental and human priorities but we all live on
this planet together. When environmental solutions are delayed it delays any
progress on the kinds of projects that help people, which is where real
progress is needed.
Drought
From: Staff, Sacramento Bee
For the first time since the 1977
drought, California water officials are considering widespread curtailment of
longstanding water rights because of a scarcity of supply. Over the next few
weeks, the state is expected to begin issuing orders to many water agencies,
farmers and other property owners to stop diverting water from streams and
rivers.
During its bimonthly meeting
today, 9 a.m. at the Cal/EPA Building on I Street, the State Water Resources
Control Board will vote on an emergency regulation to curtail diversions on
three Sacramento River tributaries important for fish passage if minimum flows
are not met.
From: Megan Durisin,
Bloomberg
California's agriculture industry will incur less than half the losses forecast in
March from the worst drought on record, after groundwater supplies eased the
burden on farmers, a group said.
Losses will reach $3.4 billion
for farming and related economic activity, including trucking and shipping,
compared with $7.48 billion forecast on March 18, Mike Wade, executive director
of the California Farm Water Coalition, said today in a telephone interview
from Sacramento. The reduced estimate
reflects research from the University of
California, Davis, that shows less land will be left fallow than expected as
the state pumped more from aquifers and farmers got some unexpected deliveries
from state and federal water projects.
From: Sharon Bernstein,
Reuters
California's drought will cause
thousands of workers to lose their jobs and cost farmers in the state's Central
Valley breadbasket $1.7 billion, researchers said in the first economic study
of what may be the state's driest year on record.
The most populous U.S. state is
in its third year of what officials are calling a catastrophic drought, leaving
some small communities at risk of running out of drinking water and leading
farmers to leave fallow nearly a half-million acres of land.
From: David Pierson, Los Angeles
Times
California's leading agricultural
region, the Central Valley, could lose $1.7 billion and 14,500 jobs because of
the state's severe drought, according to preliminary results of a study
released Monday by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences..
Researchers estimate irrigated
farms in the valley, which stretches from Kern County to Shasta County, will
receive only one-third of their normal river water deliveries this year.
From: Staff, Associated Press
California's drought will cost
the state's agricultural economy an estimated $1.7 billion this year and leave
some 14,500 farmworkers without jobs, says a preliminary study released Monday
by the University of California, Davis, Center for Watershed Sciences. The
study was done at the request of the California Department of Food and
Agriculture and used computer models and recent water delivery figures to
arrive at its conclusions.
Central Valley farmers expect 1/3
less irrigation water in a state that leads the nation in the production of
fruits, vegetables and nuts. The report estimates 6 percent of farmland in the
Central Valley - or 410,000 acres - could go unplanted because of cuts in water
deliveries. A more detailed report is due out this summer.
From: Richard Howitt, UC Davis
Center for Watershed Sciences
This year's drought will have
severe impacts on irrigated agriculture in California's Central Valley. To
estimate this impact, we updated and applied the Statewide Agricultural
Production (SWAP) model for estimated cutbacks in surface water supplies (based
on interviews with Valley water providers) - with limitations on groundwater
pumping capacities (based on highest pumping estimates for 2006 - 2010).
Our analysis, released in a
report today, was prepared at the request of the California Department of Food
and Agriculture, which co-funded the study with the University of California.
Water Supply
From: Mark Grossi, Fresno
Bee
Curious about the water flowing
out of Friant Dam into the San Joaquin River during this intense drought? The
news about it continues to evolve. The headline last week was historic, as is
this year's drought.
On May 15, the federal government
began a first-ever release of water meant for west San Joaquin Valley growers
who have water rights dating back to the 1800s. Wildlife refuges also would get
some water.
From: Glenda Anderson, Santa
Rosa Press-Democrat
Forced by drought to take
dramatic action, California officials are poised to curtail rights to draw
water from the Russian River above Healdsburg for the first time anyone can
recall.
"It's unprecedented,"
said Janet Pauli, a Mendocino County rancher who sits on the boards of multiple
water organizations.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
The state's proposal to restore
habitat in the Delta and build two massive water diversion tunnels on the
Sacramento River "falls short" in its scientific rigor, according to
a new report by a group of scientists.
The tunnels are just one
component of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a $25 billion project proposed by
the California Department of Water Resources. The project, intended to reform
water management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, has been in the works for
eight years. It is now undergoing public review, with a decision on approval
expected by the end of this year.
From: Alex Breitler, Stockton
Record
The scientific foundation for
Gov. Jerry Brown's twin tunnels plan "falls short of what the project
requires," a panel of experts said Monday.
The latest in a series of
strongly worded critiques by outside experts finds that the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan - as the tunnels plan is formally known - overstates the
project's benefits for fish, fails to recognize uncertainties and fails to
identify contingency plans in case the results are less than what supporters
expect.
Transfers
From: Ramona Giwargis, Merced
Sun-Star
The Merced County Board of
Supervisors on Tuesday will consider an emergency item dealing with the
potential sale of 23,000 acre-feet of groundwater from Merced County to two
water districts in Stanislaus County. The contract calls for the same amount
each year for four years.
The comment period about the
proposal was extended 24 hours to allow the Merced County supervisors and the
public time to provide feedback. It was originally set to end Monday. The
four-year contract being proposed through the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would
allow two private landowners within Merced County to sell the water to the Del
Puerto Water District and Patterson Irrigation District.
Groundwater
From: Raygene Velhuis, Merced
Sun-Star
Overlying groundwater rights are
essentially the right to use the groundwater that lies under a parcel. The
drought has forced farmers and ranchers in Merced County to increasingly rely
on groundwater to survive. The impact is declining water tables and, in many
cases, deteriorating water quality.
Salton Sea
From: Staff, Associated Press
A federal appeals court says
environmental reviews were properly done on the nation's largest farm-to-city
water transfer, the latest ruling to uphold a 2003 agreement on how California
agencies divide that state's share of Colorado River water.
A three- judge panel of the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that federal authorities properly
considered how the transfer from Imperial County to San Diego would affect the
Salton Sea, California's largest lake. The shrinking lake relies on water
runoff from Imperial Valley farms.
Events
From: Edward Ortiz, Sacramento
Bee
Dire consequences face the
state's powerhouse agricultural industry if it does not take steps to adapt to
climate change, said a panel of 14 scientists, as well as Gov. Jerry Brown, at
a conference on climate change Monday in Sacramento.
The conference brought
together economists, analysts, scientists and policymakers from the University
of California and state government at the California Museum downtown.
No comments:
Post a Comment