News, Articles and Links from August 1, 2014

Water Supply

BLOG: How Conservation and Groundwater Management Can Gird California for a Drier Era From: Andrew Revkin, New York Times It's way past time for California to come to grips with the possibility that its extraordinary water woes are the new normal - and essentially the return of the old normal given the state's climate history, in which drought has been the rule and the verdant 20th century the exception. In the weekly update to the U.S. Drought Monitor site yesterday, nearly 80 percent of the state was in extreme or exceptional drought conditions.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: Status quo in Delta isn't working for California From: Mark Cowin, Sacramento Bee  The California Department of Water Resources and its federal and state partners on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan have a legal responsibility to protect threatened species and supply water to millions of Californians. It is important to correct serious misrepresentations of facts around those responsibilities. Natural Resources Defense Council staff attorney Doug Obegi and Defenders of Wildlife program director Kim Delfino assert that DWR "has lost sight of the bigger picture and ignored the need for long-term solutions that work within real fiscal and environmental limits," ("  'Tunnel vision would worsen health of the Delta, California's fish stocks," Viewpoints, July 29).

Groundwater

OPINION: Groundwater can't be regulated without increasing surface supplies From: Dan Nelson, Sacramento Bee Increased groundwater pumping is under growing scrutiny. The devastating consequences of a third year of drought, coupled with over-regulation of surface supplies, have increased momentum in Sacramento for state intervention in local groundwater management. The governor, legislators and others are calling for potentially far-reaching changes in the use and management of groundwater - new fees, new requirements and new bureaucracy to administer it all. Protecting California's groundwater is vitally important for everyone. However, we cannot legislate new approaches to groundwater management in isolation; the surface supply shortages driving the overdraft of groundwater supplies must also be addressed if we are to successfully protect and restore our precious groundwater basins.

OPINION: Groundwater can't be regulated without increasing surface supplies From: Dan Nelson, Sacramento Bee Increased groundwater pumping is under growing scrutiny. The devastating consequences of a third year of drought, coupled with over-regulation of surface supplies, have increased momentum in Sacramento for state intervention in local groundwater management. The governor, legislators and others are calling for potentially far-reaching changes in the use and management of groundwater - new fees, new requirements and new bureaucracy to administer it all. Protecting California's groundwater is vitally important for everyone. However, we cannot legislate new approaches to groundwater management in isolation; the surface supply shortages driving the overdraft of groundwater supplies must also be addressed if we are to successfully protect and restore our precious groundwater basins.

OPINION: Increasing concern over valley water From: Tony St. Amant, Red Bluff Daily News There is increasing concern in the Northern Sacramento Valley that the dwindling well water supply that irrigates the valley's vast fruit and nut orchards and provides water to the large majority of homes and businesses is at risk of being drained beyond recovery. The threat comes from the agribusinesses of the western San Joaquin Valley where farmers no longer have enough local water.

OPINION: Selling Valley's water to hedge funds won't help us From: Neil Hudson, Modesto Bee Last week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited the drought-stricken town of Farmerville in Tulare County. Many homeowners' wells there have gone dry due to overpumping of the groundwater basin. In other parts of Tulare County, the land is subsiding from overpumping and the aquifer has disappeared forever. It was reported that Vilsack described an "extraordinary" demand from communities in rural America for capital to invest in wastewater systems, energy projects and infrastructure development.

Colorado River

$11M deal struck to conserve Colorado River basin From: Staff, Associated Press Water providers from four western states and the federal government announced an $11 million agreement Thursday to fund projects meant to counteract critically low water levels in the Colorado River basin, which supplies water to about 40 million people in seven states. The Interior Department said Thursday that local water providers in Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado will take part in the deal.

Water Use

OPINION: Water czar is key to California's survival From: Denny Freidenrich, Long Beach Press-Telegram  The broken water main that flooded UCLA Tuesday with millions of gallons of water was no comedy of errors. When you combine that one-time event with the state's recent water usage report, well, it's hard to know whether we should laugh or cry. Not only did California fail to meet its projected statewide reduction goal, overall water usage actually increased! Talk about playing with fire (no pun intended). We are on the verge of a catastrophe and no one seems to care.

Transfers

Federal agency determines Merced County groundwater sale has 'no significant impact' From: Ramona Giwargis, Modesto Bee The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday approved the environmental report for a multimillion-dollar proposal to allow the transfer and sale of Merced County groundwater to buyers in Stanislaus County. The federal agency issued a "Finding of No Significant Impact" report, which occurs when an environmental analysis determines that a project has no major impacts on the quality of the environment.

News articles and links from July 30, 2014

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: 'Tunnel vision' won't solve Delta's woes

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

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.

Drought

Modesto Irrigation District leaders hustling to get growers more water

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.

Running on Empty: Our Epic Drought

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.

Citrus Growers Push Water Bond for November Ballot

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

Farmers hit with new regulatory fee

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 

San Diego Farmer Recognized by White House

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

Huffman leads Northern California Letter Opposing Bay Delta Conservation Plan

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.

Congressman Garamendi Argues BDCP's Twin Tunnels Project Fails to Include Full Range of Better Alternatives as Required by State & Federal Law in Public Comments for Environmental Report

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.

News articles and links from July 25, 2014

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: New engineering project last thing the Delta needs

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 

OPINION: Offering voters new water bond is essential

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.

BLOG: The Clock is Ticking to Craft a Good, BDCP-Neutral Water Bond for California

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

Water wholesaler rallying local support for Bay Delta project

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.

OPINION: Bay Delta Conservation Plan a boondoggle

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

Groundwater levels drop in Southwestern U.S. in ongoing drought

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

Drought starting to kill salmon in Klamath Basin

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.

LETTERS: Problem is real; so are solutions

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.

News articles and links from July 24, 2014

Drought

California Water Prices Soar for Farmers as Drought Grows

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).

Why the California drought affects everyone

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

OPINION: New engineering project last thing the Delta needs

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

IID officials discuss water use

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 

BLOG: Drought Becomes Top Environmental Priority for Californians

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.

Poll finds Californians back smaller water bond

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.

Poll: Public wants water limits

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

Water: Outlook not good

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

Madera County seeks more local control on water issues

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

BLOG: Reconciling ecosystem and economy

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.

LOG: Delta smelt rehearing denied

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.

California's salmon, steelhead get help

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.

News, Articles, and Links from July 23, 2014

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Property taxes could pay for $25 billion Delta tunnels without public vote From: Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News  Major water districts in California are quietly considering using property taxes -- and possibly raising them without a vote of the public -- to help fund Gov. Jerry Brown's $25 billion plan to build two massive tunnels through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.   Most property tax hikes require a two-thirds vote, as required under California's landmark Proposition 13, which voters passed in 1978. But the water agencies contend they are not bound by that requirement.

Water Supply

TID leaders see how Turlock recycles water   From: John Holland, Modesto Bee Leaders of the Turlock Irrigation District, which has provided Tuolumne River water to the area since 1900, got a look Tuesday at another possible source. They toured the city of Turlock's sewage treatment plant, which turns out water fit for use on crops.

Water Use Efficiency

Water initiative goes from annual to multi-year plan From: Antoine Abou-Diwan, Imperial Valley Press The Imperial Irrigation District has expanded its on-farm water conservation initiative from an annual program to a multi-year endeavor. The program pays Imperial Valley farmers to adopt water-efficient irrigation processes in their fields, like sprinklers and tailwater recovery systems. The board's action Tuesday addressed a common criticism of the program: How can farmers recoup their investments in technology like sprinklers and sub-surface drip irrigation, when the IID offers the program on a rigid, year-by-year basis?

Fisheries

State, feds unveil Central Valley salmon restoration plans From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee State and federal wildlife agencies Tuesday unveiled ambitious plans to restore endangered salmon and steelhead fish in California's Central Valley, including returning them to some habitats where they were shut out decades ago by dams and other development. Although the two plans differ somewhat, officials said they both aim to prevent extinction of three species: endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, and threatened Central Valley steelhead.

Groundwater

Merced Irrigation District to pump less groundwater From: J.N. Sbranti, Modesto Bee The Merced Irrigation District expects to pump significantly less groundwater this year than it did last year, in part because the irrigation season will be about eight weeks shorter. "Our projected total is to pump just over 40,000 acre-feet," district General Manager John Sweigard said. His district pumped more than 56,700 acre-feet of groundwater during 2013. By comparison, it pumped 33,465 acre-feet this January through June.

Farmers tap into groundwater reserves From: Dennis Taylor, Salinas Californian Unbridled pumping of well water along the Central Coast and in the Central Valley could have dire consequences for the agricultural economy, according to a new study released by the University of California, Davis. According to the study, titled "Drought Impact Study: California agriculture faces greatest water loss ever seen," Monterey County is faring better than areas around Tulare County and other Central Valley communities. Growers there, after their Water Project was shut down to divert water to people, tapped into ground water basins that are even more perilous than basins here. Groundwater management discussions begin   From: Staff, Porterville Recorder If groundwater management is the wave of the future in California, the Tulare County Supervisors want to make sure they, and local stakeholders, have a say in how it plays out. A proposed state law that would regulate the pumping of groundwater in basins where the water table is being depleted was one of the topics at a 90-minute meeting on water issues Tuesday. The study session was held three years into a severe drought that has curtailed surface water supplies and forced many farmers in the San Joaquin Valley to resort to pumping groundwater for irrigation.