Thursday, July 31, 2014

News articles and links from July 31, 2014





Water Use 

OPINION: Why almonds cover California
From: Carolee Krieger, San Francisco Chronicle 
 
California produces more than 80 percent of the world's almonds, accounting for an export gross of more than $2.5 billion. Almonds, in short, are a profitable crop. But there's a big problem with these new plantings in the San Joaquin Valley. Almonds are thirsty.

California's almond orchards use almost 9 percent of the state's agricultural water supply, or about 3.5 million acre feet. That's enough water to supply the domestic needs of the Los Angeles Basin and metropolitan San Diego combined - about 75 percent of the state's population.
Coalition response... Krieger seeks to portray farmers as a villain, but despite her efforts, the fact is California's farmers just don't fit the part. California's 80,000 farms are almost all (96%) family run businesses, & almond farmers are no different. Growing almonds in the San Joaquin Valley actually does make a lot of sense, & they have been grown there for more than 100 years. The San Joaquin Valley is one of the few places in the world where good soil & a favorable climate have come together to allow for incredibly efficient production of a crop the markets demand. Almond farmers have invested heavily in tailoring their farms to grow almonds. From the equipment they buy to the skills they practice, this focus on specialization ensures they are the best at what they do. Far from being a water-wasting crop, almonds are as efficient as the row crops once extensively criticized by environmentalists.

The real villains for Krieger this time seem to be the countless professional scientists, engineers, hydrologists, policy professionals, & water managers who came together to find ways to mend what was truly a broken water system during our last major drought with the Monterey Agreement. The agreement is truly that, an understanding that brought diverse parties together. It increased flexibility in water storage, improved urban access to more secure water supplies, & reduced the red tape involved in transferring water where needed. In addition, it arranged for a trade. In exchange for precious water rights, the local, public agencies responsible for daily coordination of water deliveries took over control of the Kern Fan property owned by DWR. These local experts would later turn that property into what is now part of the successful Kern Water Bank.

   Other News



Drought

How California Farmers Are Dealing With the Drought  
From: Alan Bjerga, Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg's Alan Bjerga reports on California's drought and how different areas of the state are dealing with it. He speaks with Mark Crumpton on "Bottom Line."

From: Staff, CBS LA, KNX 1070

[Below are a series of food and agriculture related radio segments being run on KNX in Los Angeles.  Click the link above to browse the full list of segments. You can follow the conversation on twitter: #KNXDrought]

Running On Empty: Ice Cream
Running On Empty: Food Prices
Running On Empty: California Grocers Association's Dave Heylen
Running On Empty: Who's Watching The Water?
Running On Empty: Two Farmers

West's drought leads to rising prices, shrinking lakes  
From: Paul Vercammen, CNN

With water sources drying up, farmers are looking for underground springs to support their livelihoods. Steve Arthur works in California's San Joaquin Valley, drilling for water wells on drought-ravaged farms and ranches.

"It's just going crazy; people are starting to panic," said Arthur, the owner of Arthur & Orum Well Drilling Inc.

Groundwater

EDITORIAL: Stanislaus County officials finally responding to water crisis From: Staff, Modesto Bee

This week, Stanislaus County's leaders and officials have shown more initiative, more compassion and more willingness to help residents than we've seen since the start of our drought and ensuing groundwater crisis.

Groundwater Depletion in Colorado River Basin Poses Big Risk to Water Security
From: Sandra Postel, National Geographic

Let's step back for a minute and consider the implications of the study released last week on the depletion of groundwater in the Colorado River Basin.

For anyone concerned about the future of the American West, the findings of this study - which was published online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and conducted by a team of scientists from NASA, the University of California-Irvine, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado-can make the heart pound.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Delta tunnel plan called a fish death sentence by key group  
From: Carolyn Jones, San Francisco Chronicle

The state's plan to build a pair of 35-mile tunnels under the delta would cause the extinction of winter-run chinook salmon, steep declines in dozens of other species and devastate water quality in San Francisco Bay, an environmental group said Wednesday.

Water Supply

California Bill May Jeopardize Water Supply
From: Eric Thomas, KABC 7

A controversial bill that could impact where millions of people in the Bay Area get their water is moving its way through Sacramento. The changes are proposed along a stretch of the Mokelumne River in the Sierra foothills. That river provides millions of homes with drinking water from the mountains to the Central Valley and the East Bay. Some people are wondering if a move to save the river could leave others high and dry.

LETTER: Water picture is blurry  
From: Rebecca Thompson, Fresno Bee

It was with great interest I read the article and editorial on water usage in Fresno. The 20% drop in per capita water usage since the installation of water meters in Fresno is commendable. However, the current Fresno per capita water usage of 240 gallons exceeds the state average of 196 gallons and the United States Geological Survey national average of 100 gallons.

Fisheries

Salmon will only get more water if die-off starts  
From: Jeff Barnard, Associated Press

A federal agency said Wednesday it will release extra water into Northern California's Klamath and Trinity rivers once salmon start dying from drought-related disease, but not before.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Louis Moore said from Sacramento, California, that the decision came under terms of a 2012 emergency water plan, and after consulting with tribes, irrigators and other agencies.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

News articles and links from July 30, 2014


Bay Delta Conservation Plan

From: Doug Obegi, Sacramento Bee

There's no question that California is facing one of the worst droughts in its history. As a state that uses more water than we have available - even in "wet" years - there are some critical decisions we need to make about how to move forward.

But as we decide how to spend billions of dollars on the water solutions needed to carry us into the future, it's critical that we address the short-term needs of this historic drought without getting tunnel vision and losing sight of what's going to be best in the long run for the businesses and individuals who live and work here.

Coalition response... Doug Obegi's portfolio option doesn't provide sufficient water to maintain food production on much of the highly productive land on the San Joaquin Valley's Westside. Along with those farms come jobs for tens of thousands of people in communities like Firebaugh, Huron, San Joaquin and Mendota. Obegi's callous disregard for the people and communities that depend on agriculture is utterly shameful. Rather than seeking options that sustain farmland and rural economies that have produced food and fiber since the late 1800s, Obegi and co-author Kim Delfino would rather see millions of acre-feet of water flushed out to the ocean with no measurable economic or environmental benefits.   

Water Use

From: Carolee Krieger, San Francisco Chronicle 

California produces more than 80 percent of the world's almonds, accounting for an export gross of more than $2.5 billion. Almonds, in short, are a profitable crop. But there's a big problem with these new plantings in the San Joaquin Valley. Almonds are thirsty.

California's almond orchards use almost 9 percent of the state's agricultural water supply, or about 3.5 million acre feet. That's enough water to supply the domestic needs of the Los Angeles Basin and metropolitan San Diego combined - about 75 percent of the state's population.

Drought

From: Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee

Nut farmers and other Modesto Irrigation District customers can wait to water crops as late as Oct. 3. That's two weeks later than initially planned, giving trees a better chance of surviving the drought and being healthy enough to produce again next year.

The MID board also agreed Tuesday to accommodate another round of farmer-to-farmer water transfers with a Sept. 2 application deadline. And the district might offer to sell some extra water reserved in April by a few farmers who haven't asked or paid for it since then.

From: Charles Feldman, CBS LA, KNX 1070

California is at a "tipping point," say leading climatologists, as a historic drought enters its fourth year with no end in sight.

The numbers are both informative and scary: For the first time in 15 years, the entire state finds itself under drought conditions; and our last official "rain year" in Southern California was one of the driest in 500 years, based on an analysis of tree rings. It's "very unusual" to have these extremely dry years, says Lynn Ingram, professor of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley.

From: Staff, KSEE 24

Citrus growers and lawmakers gathered in the Valley Tuesday to push for a water bond for the November ballot. The group called for support in the middle of a dry orchard to show the drought's devastation.

Regulations

From: Staff, Porterville Recorder

Farmers who are already reeling from a lack of water to irrigate their crops this summer are being hit with an annual acreage fee to meet a mandated program to monitor water runoff from irrigated lands.

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board in September of 2013 adopted new waste discharge requirements to protect ground and surface water from irrigated agricultural discharges for the Tulare Lake Basin area. That led to a plan to monitor groundwater and what impacts irrigation has on that groundwater.

Farming News 

From: Staff, KNSD 7

A San Diego lettuce farmer was invited to the White House Tuesday to be recognized as a "Champion of Change." As NBC 7's Greg Bledsoe explains, this farm uses 80 percent less water than conventional lettuce farms. [Video]

Press Releases

From: Jared Huffman, Office of Congressman Huffman

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) today led a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) outlining a strong opposition to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The letter, cosigned by California Reps. George Miller, Mike Thompson, Doris Matsui, John Garamendi, Barbara Lee, Jackie Speier, and Jerry McNerney, was offered as part of the public review and comment period, which ends today.

From: John Garamendi, Office of Congressman Garamendi

Yesterday, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a leader on water policy in California, released his public comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on the Governor's Bay Delta Conservation Plan's (BDCP) proposed twin tunnels boondoggle.

Monday, July 28, 2014

News articles and links from July 28, 2014


Groundwater

From: Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle

Case Vlot pulls up groundwater through deep wells to keep his corn and alfalfa crops alive. Chase Hurley runs a water company nearby that sells river water to farmers who can't depend on wells. Normally the two would rarely talk to each other.

But that was before the drought, and before the land began to sink beneath their feet. Now they and every farmer for miles around are talking to each other all the time, brainstorming in ways they've never had to before.

From: David Pierson, Los Angeles Times

On a dusty clearing between a fallow wheat field and wilting orange groves, Steve Arthur's crew of two mud-splattered well drillers worked furiously to deliver a lifeline to another despondent farmer.

Using a diesel-powered rig that rumbled like a moving subway car, the workers bore deeper and deeper into the packed clay in hopes of tapping a steady supply of groundwater - about the only source of water that remains for many growers in this parched rural community about 40 miles north of Bakersfield.

From: Staff, Long Beach Press-Telegram

"Everyone's talking about water. For once, they're saying the same thing" is the motto of a California group called the Groundwater Voices Coalition.

Well, not exactly saying the same thing when it comes to all things water in our state. Just mention the prospect of an upcoming water bond, for instance, and you've got the same old fighting words: Too much! Not enough! Not a dime for Delta tunnels!

Water Supply

From: David Mas Masumoto, Sacramento Bee

Can the current drought in California make us smarter? Many are feeling the pain of a dwindling supply of water: Farmland sits idle; jobs are lost; cities are forced to make conservation efforts; politicians grope for solutions. Beyond the rhetoric of who stands first in line for this fluid treasure and how best to allocate a scare resource, the reality is that we live in an arid land and climate change will force us to live and work differently. But are we wiser?

From: Peter Gleick, San Francisco Chronicle 

If California and much of the West is suffering from severe drought, then why have the responses to it been weak and largely ineffective? The answers are as complicated as California's water system itself, with our wildly diverse sources and uses of water, prices and water rights, institutions, and more. But here are some observations.

From: William Welch, USA Today 

Even for a regular like Allen Keeten, who has been visiting here since the late 1970s, the retreating shoreline of Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam is a shock to witness.

"I hate to see it,'' the 58-year-old truck driver from Kenesaw, Neb., says, peering over the side of the massive concrete dam on the Colorado River. "Nowadays you've got to be careful when you are out on a boat because of all the exposed ground.''

Water Bond 

From: Steven Frisch, Sacramento Bee 

Before they left Sacramento for summer recess, legislators said they would work together to hammer out a new water bond bill when they returned in August. This would replace the $11.14 billion proposal currently on the November ballot, which has already been delayed twice.

Although legislators and Gov. Jerry Brown have put forward conflicting ideas that may be difficult to reconcile, we have confidence our leadership can get the job done. But it will be up to us to hold our elected leaders accountable because if they don't pass a workable water bond deal, we risk devastating consequences.

From: Cannon Michael, Modesto Bee

With California continuing to endure three straight years of drought with no end in sight, we must have a new water bond that provides us a safe and reliable water supply. We know that the state will continue to grow in population and the demand for water will increase. Even after the negotiations to pass a new bond failed in June, I am pleased that legislators like Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, have taken such an active role in keeping the water bond discussion alive.

Friday, July 25, 2014

News articles and links from July 25, 2014


Bay Delta Conservation Plan

From: Paul Rockwell, Contra Costa Times

Like the Florida Everglades, the Bay Delta watershed is a national treasure. Every Californian has a stake in the outcome of the fierce controversy over the re-engineering of our unique and precious estuary.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is 40,000 pages long. To keep it simple, the $25 billion water-transfer project is based on a single assumption: that California's water-ecosystem crisis is caused by a lack -- a lack -- of engineering projects in the Delta watershed. As if the Delta needs more steel, more pumps, more cement (and more farmers dispossessed through eminent domain). The peripheral tunnels, the industrial heart of the project, do not replace, they actually augment hundreds of dams, aqueducts and pumps that already send water to corporate farms and cities south of the Delta.

Coalition response... The situation in the Delta isn't working for anyone - not farmers, not urban water users and certainly not for fish. The legislature recognized this and passed the Delta Reform Act in 2009. A comprehensive solution that addresses water supply reliability and ecosystem benefits is the goal of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and is the result of the legislature's action four years ago. It's time to take a realistic approach to fixing the degraded ecosystem that makes the Delta useless for two-thirds of California's population and millions of acres of farmland.

Water Bond 

From: Jerry Meral, Fresno Bee

In the ongoing debate over water bonds for California, San Joaquin Valley legislators have a lot of leverage. But if they and their colleagues fail to reach agreement when the Legislature goes back to work in August, the Valley won't benefit and the entire state could suffer the consequences. Voters expect a positive legislative response to the drought, and a good water bond would be the best response.

California has many critical water needs - some related to immediate drought relief but others that will continue producing benefits for the state for many years to come. The governor has proposed a $6 billion bond issue for the November ballot that would help finance a full spectrum of much-needed projects for water quality, water supply reliability, increased water storage, conservation and recycling, storm-water capture and environmental enhancement.

From: Doug Obegi, NRDC Blogs

This November, California voters will almost certainly vote on whether to authorize billions of dollars of taxpayer spending for a water bond. But crucially, the next few weeks will determine what water bond will be on the ballot in November - how much borrowing it authorizes, what it spends that money on - and whether it is a good investment in California's water future.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

From: Anna Bitong, Camarillo Acorn

Local lawmakers, agencies and cities have backed a $25-billion plan to build two 35-mile tunnels to move water more efficiently from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to water purveyors serving 25 million people in the state, including more than 600,000 Ventura County residents.

From: Bill Wells, Tracy Press

Mark Cowin, in his recent piece in the Tracy Press, was correct about one thing: "There has been considerable misinformation promulgated about the BDCP (Bay Delta Conservation Plan), which has confused the public." Much of the misinformation has come from Cowin's Department of Water Resources and the Natural Resource Agency.

Groundwater

From: S. Bernstein; J. Chaussee, Reuters 

Underground stores of water in the southwestern United States have receded dramatically amid ongoing drought that has parched states from Oklahoma to the Pacific Coast and is costing California billions in lost crops and jobs, a new study shows.

The study released Thursday by the University of California, Irvine, shows that groundwater in the Colorado River basin has dropped by 40 million acre-feet over the past five years, the equivalent of two of the nation's largest reservoirs.

Drought

From: Staff, Associated Press 

Low warm water conditions from the drought are starting to kill salmon in Northern California's Klamath Basin - the site of a massive fish kill in 2002.

A recent survey of 90 miles of the Salmon River on found 55 dead adult salmon and more dead juveniles than would be expected this time of year, Sara Borok, an environmental scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said Thursday. About 700 live fish were counted in cool pools fed by springs.

From: S. Garcia; P. Tice, Modesto Bee 

I recently returned from a family camping spot at New Melones Lake, which we have visited in the past and is one of our area's largest water reserves. I was speechless when I saw the water level of this once majestic lake. I have heard much about the current drought, but have not felt affected by it at a personal level. When I turn on a faucet in my house, water comes out as normal.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

News articles and links from July 24, 2014


Drought

From: Alison Vekshin, BusinessWeek 

Farmers in California's Central Valley, the world's most productive agricultural region, are paying as much as 10 times more for water than they did before the state's record drought cut supply.

Costs have soared to $1,100 per acre-foot from about $140 a year ago in the Fresno-based Westlands Water District, which represents 700 farms, said Gayle Holman, a spokeswoman. North of Sacramento, the Western Canal Water District is selling it for double the usual price: $500 per acre-foot, about 326,000 gallons (1.2 million liters).

From: Katharine Mieszkowski, Center for Investigative Reporting

California Gov. Jerry Brown has asked restaurants not to serve water unless diners ask for it. He's letting lawns at the state Capitol turn brown. Farmers in the Central Valley are getting just a trickle of the water they usually do. Conspicuous water wasters - commercial and residential - face fines of $500 a day.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

From: Paul Rockwell, Contra Costa Times

Like the Florida Everglades, the Bay Delta watershed is a national treasure. Every Californian has a stake in the outcome of the fierce controversy over the re-engineering of our unique and precious estuary.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is 40,000 pages long. To keep it simple, the $25 billion water-transfer project is based on a single assumption: that California's water-ecosystem crisis is caused by a lack -- a lack -- of engineering projects in the Delta watershed. As if the Delta needs more steel, more pumps, more cement (and more farmers dispossessed through eminent domain). The peripheral tunnels, the industrial heart of the project, do not replace, they actually augment hundreds of dams, aqueducts and pumps that already send water to corporate farms and cities south of the Delta.

Colorado River

From: Antoine Abou-Diwan, Imperial Valley Press

A deceptively simple question was raised at the Imperial Irrigation District's Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday.

If the IID has consumed slightly less than 50 percent of its annual Colorado River water entitlement so far this year, how is the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projecting an annual over-consumption of nearly 38,000 acre-feet? That projection is especially troubling for IID officials and farmers because any amount of water that the district uses in excess of its entitlement needs to be repaid.

Water Bond 

From: Craig Miller, KQED Blog

Drought has moved to the top of the list in the latest survey of Californians' environmental worries. In a statewide poll conducted during the second week of July, more than a third of respondents (35 percent) cited water supply and drought as "the most important environmental issue facing California today." That more than doubled the second most popular response, which was air pollution.

It's the first time since the annual survey was launched in 2000 that Californians have cited water supply as their top concern, according to Mark Baldassare at the Public Policy Institute of California, which conducts the annual "Californians and Their Environment" poll. Even when asked the question in the drought year of 2009, only 18 percent pinpointed water supply as their biggest concern.

From: Staff, Associated Press

A slim majority of likely California voters support an $11.1 billion water bond slated for the November ballot, but public support would grow if the bond comes with a smaller price-tag, according to survey results released late Wednesday.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll comes as lawmakers are negotiating changes to a funding package for water projects that legislative leaders see as too large and full of pork-barrel spending to win voter approval.

From: Mark Walker, San Diego Union-Tribune  

Drought-conscious Californians say they support mandatory restrictions on water use and back a massive state bond to increase water supplies.http://www.utsandiego.com/news/most-recent/

Those are among the key findings in a Public Policy Institute of California poll that comes as the San Diego County Water Authority is expected to recommend limiting outdoor watering throughout the county to reach an overall cutback in the region's usage of up to 20 percent.

Water Supply

From: Dennis Wyatt, Manteca Bulletin

A streak of sub-90 degree days has Public Works Director Mike Houghton concerned. He's the man responsible for overseeing Manteca's municipal water system. "My worry is the cooler weather will get people to thinking they don't have to conserve as much," Houghton said. "We are still in the middle of a severe drought."

Groundwater

From: Corey Pride, Merced Sun-Star

As California copes with one of the worst drought years in the state's history, Madera County officials are preparing to take steps to maintain local control of its water issues. Government officials are in the process of forming a Joint Powers Authority and reviewing whether there will be a moratorium on agricultural wells.

Johannes Hoevertsz, Madera County public works director, said varying county interests are being asked to form a JPA. "It's an effort to have local enforcement," Hoevertsz said.

Fisheries

From: Staff, U.C. Davis Center for Watershed Sciences  
A growing number of ecologists say we need to rethink how we go about "saving nature." We should not attempt to restore a wounded meadow, estuary or wetland to some legendary pristine state, they say. Instead, resource managers should accept that human footprints are everywhere and manage ecosystems for the species and functions we desire.

From: Jonathan Wood, Pacific Legal Foundation Blog

This morning, the Ninth Circuit denied a rehearing before the entire court, leaving March's panel decision in place. The denial sets the case up for a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. Longtime Liberty Blog readers will recall that PLF previously sought Supreme Court review of the case on our Commerce Clause challenge. Although that issue is no longer live, there should be plenty of issues remaining to interest the judges.

From: Staff, KION

State and federal wildlife officials have unveiled ambitious plans aimed at helping endangered salmon and steelhead thrive again in Central California rivers.

The fish were abundant, migrating from the Pacific through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and up rivers, but dams were built, blocking 90 percent of passageways to their historical spawning areas at the heart of California. By the 1990s, the fish were nearly extinct and given protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.