News articles and links from December 6, 2013

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: Diverting more water will harm the Delta

From: Frank Besso, Sacramento Bee

Re "One shot to save the Delta's ecology" (Forum, Dec. 1): How will diverting more than half of the Sacramento River's Delta flow to Southern California help restore the wetland habitat? The article says that today about 3 percent of marshes remain and 23 percent of seasonal wetlands remain.This being said, explain to me how removing most of the river flow for Southern California is going to solve the wetlands problem. Isn't the fact that we have already diverted a large portion of water causing part of the existing issue? A report in your paper states an estimated 18,000 cubic feet per minute will be diverted in the two tunnels. It also noted that the Sacramento River's flow is about the same. In this case, two plus two doesn't equal four.

Coalition response... As noted in the original piece: "the Bay Delta Conservation Plan includes the restoration of approximately 146,000 acres of habitat, including 65,000 acres of tidal wetlands. Most of the natural habitat of the Delta has been lost or substantially altered, starting with the reclamation of Delta marshland into agricultural land in the late 19th century."

It is important to remember that many stressors affect the remaining Delta ecosystem, including invasive species, predation, water pollution, and others. Finding a solution to these challenges will benefit the entire state.  

(Note- To read the original Dec. 1 piece: "The Delta, the plumbing and rectifying the problem" by biologist Dennis McEwan, please click here.

OPINION: Delta proposal lacks guarantees for ecology funding

From: Carol Rubin, Sacramento Bee

Re "One shot to save Delta's ecology" (Forum, Dec. 1): Dennis McEwan's opinion glosses over the fundamental weakness of the ecological component of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan: While the hardware has guaranteed funding by assessing consumers of the water, funds for the ecological component must be raised by California voters approving future bond measures. If these bond measures fail, California gets the tunnels and the water diversion, but no ecological restoration. Bee staff writer Matt Weiser's March 28 news story "Bay Delta Conservation Plan documents reveal details, stir concerns" says, "The new plumbing is estimated to cost $14 billion,... paid by farm and urban water ratepayers ... via rate increases to repay bonds issued by DWR." The story also says the plan calls for converting many Delta islands into restored wildlife habitat. This is estimated to cost $4 billion, which the planners expect all California taxpayers to fund, according to the article.?

Coalition response...  Improving the Delta ecosystem is one of the co-equal goals mandated by the State legislature in 2009. Improving natural habitat is a public benefit, which is why elected officials made restoration activities in the Delta part of the upcoming water bond. It is appropriate for all Californians to share in costs that provide broad benefits that go far beyond simply improving water supply reliability. 

(Note- To read the original Dec. 1 piece: "The Delta, the plumbing and rectifying the problem" by biologist Dennis McEwan, please click here. 

OPINION: Politics hurt Delta water policies

From: Bill Kier, Sacramento Bee

Re "One shot to save Delta's ecology" (Forum, Dec. 1): I've known Dennis McEwan as a state Fish and Game biologist, not as a water policy pundit. I would have been stunned if he had written this shout-out to the Delta "Chunnels" while at Fish and Game. But now McEwan works for the promoters of the proposed twin-tunnel project, the state Department of Water Resources. The Delta protection problem is as it was with the Peripheral Canal 40 years ago. The state Water Resources Control Board was created in the 1960s to establish, among other things, how much freshwater through-flow is needed to protect Bay-Delta estuary resources. The board has been politically restrained from doing its job. Building first and finding out how badly it affects the estuary second was the problem with the Peripheral Canal. Now it's the problem with the Chunnels.

Coalition response... It is a refreshing change to read the opinions of professionals with the expertise of a fish biologist like Dennis McEwan. Protecting and improving the Delta ecosystem is a responsibility we all share- the BDCP is a focused effort to provide reliable water supplies, while working to improve the Delta ecosystem. 

(Note- To read the original Dec. 1 piece: "The Delta, the plumbing and rectifying the problem" by biologist Dennis McEwan, please click here. 

OPINION: State lacks alternative to Delta tunnels plan

From: Rogene Reynolds, Sacramento Bee

Re "One shot to save Delta's ecology" (Forum, Dec. 1): Dennis McEwan's employer, the California Department of Water Resources, has a lot invested in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. If the project is not permitted, not only will some positions have to be reconstructed, but the Department of Water Resources will have to come up with an alternative to tunnels. Unfortunately for the Delta, no such commitment to a different solution exists at the department. It would be interesting to put McEwan and Dr. Peter Gleick, whose opinion piece ran Nov. 6 in Forum, on the same stage and have them debate their viewpoints. Pass the Kool-Aid, please ... I'm confused, too.

Coalition response... The BDCP is a focused effort to provide reliable water supplies, while working to improve the Delta ecosystem. Significant time and cost has been committed to ensuring that the BDCP meets these goals.

(Note- To read the original Dec. 1 piece: "The Delta, the plumbing and rectifying the problem" by biologist Dennis McEwan, please click here. 

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: Peripheral Canal could have helped Delta more

From: Dale Creasey, Sacramento Bee

Re "One shot to save Delta's ecology" (Forum, Dec. 1): Too Bad Dennis McEwan did not apply his expertise to changing the Peripheral Canal, so that it could produce an abundant fishery by creating artificial breeding grounds along the canal. The canal was much more versatile in that it could provide water in several channels to augment Delta flows. The canal was proposed because it was recognized that the Delta was being harmed by the current diversions. It would have foreclosed any pumping out of the south Delta. But environmentalists fought and won an alternative that is far worse.

(Note- To read the original Dec. 1 piece: "The Delta, the plumbing and rectifying the problem" by biologist Dennis McEwan, please click here. 

Water Bond

EDITORIAL: Water bond talk rightfully goes above the dams

From: Staff, Redding Record-Searchlight

To beef up the state's water supply, we need chain saws as much as dams.

That was one of the unexpected takeaways from Wednesday's legislative hearing in Redding on a possible new state water bond.

Arranged to share North State perspectives on water needs with lawmakers from elsewhere, the hearing naturally included boosters of Sites Reservoir, a proposal to store Sacramento River water in a bowl in the hills of western Colusa County. If it lives up to its promise, the new reservoir would store additional winter runoff, add flexibility to the overworked Sacramento Valley water system, and without building a new dam that blocks the flow of a major river or creating nearly the disruption and controversy of a larger Lake Shasta.

Meetings 

Building a Water and Energy Efficient California

From: Staff, caii.org

What is the future of the water-energy relationship? Can a balance on water use efficiency and energy use be found?  Come engage with other water and power professionals as we explore the future of water and energy efficiency at the 52nd Annual California Irrigation Institute Conference! 

Thursday & Friday, Jan. 23-24, 2014

Sacramento Arden West Hilton

2200 Harvard Street, Sacramento

From: Ian James, mydesert.com

Golf courses and farms are big water users in the Coachella Valley. What steps are they taking to conserve water? And how can golf courses and farms lessen their water footprints in the future to help prevent declines in groundwater levels?

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 6 p.m.

Indio Senior Center

45-700 Aladdin St, Indio

Admission: Free

News articles and links from December 5, 2013

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: Viewpoints: There's no good deal for Sacramento in the Delta tunnels

From: Darrel Fong, Sacramento Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown and major water interests from Southern California and the Central Valley are trying to sell a proposal to the residents of Sacramento and other Delta communities to allow the construction of twin underground tunnels costing $25 billion to siphon water from the Sacramento River and deliver it to farms and cities to the south. We should not be fooled into thinking that the Sacramento region will gain from this preordained proposal.

Coalition response... Council-member Fong repeats a number of discredited statements in this commentary on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

•                Research shows that BDCP will NOT have adverse impacts on local water supply;

•                BDCP will NOT cause a condition known as "dead pool" at Folsom Lake.  Analysis shows that climate change could have an effect on reservoir levels, whether or not efforts are undertaken to improve water supply reliability and Delta ecosystems outlined in the BDCP.

•                The entire state has shared in water conservation efforts, as water users and suppliers seek to reduce use and improve management of water across the state.  The people of Sacramento should be recognized for their efforts during the past 13 years, but it is not an effort limited to the Sacramento-area.

•                BDCP will NOT cause a massive increase in the water exported from the Delta. It will improve the reliability of the water delivered through the Delta to those who already have rights to receive it.

For more information on these, and other discredited statements - please check out the "Your Questions Answered" section of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan at: http://baydeltaconservationplan.com/AboutBDCP/YourQuestionsAnswered.aspx

Water Bond

State Assembly committee hears from North State residents on water bond

From: Damon Arthur, Redding Record-Searchlight  

Larry Miller has a solution he says will solve the state's water shortage problems. The Shingletown man was one of dozens of North State residents who spoke today at an informational hearing of the state Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee meeting held in Redding.

Members of the committee, invited speakers and members of the public talked about water issues facing California and possible solutions, including building more dams, conserving water, forest management and groundwater overpumping.

Water Supply

OPINION: Interior must ease rules on water delivery

From: Bakersfield Californian Staff, Bakersfield Californian

San Joaquin Valley farmers have been told they'll get only a tiny fraction of the water they've asked for in 2014. The least the state can do is try to help them maximize their meager allotment.

That's the only way to look at Congressman Jim Costa's request that Gov. Jerry Brown take emergency action to obtain additional water for valley farmers. By officially declaring that California is again in a drought, Brown might help persuade the U.S. Department of the Interior to ease certain water-delivery restrictions.

Reservoirs 

San Luis Reservoir expansion in Merced County?

From: Mark Grossi, Fresno Bee

Federal authorities this week released their appraisal of enlarging San Luis Reservoir, the major watering hole in the center of the state. This reservoir is always worth following.

San Luis gets a spotlight each summer as west San Joaquin Valley farms and Southern Californians call for more water.

Quantification Settlement Agreement  

IID will not meet on-farm conservation goals

From: Antoine Abou-Diwan, Imperial Valley Press

Imperial Irrigation District officials acknowledged months ago that the IID will not meet on-farm water conservation requirements for 2013, a fact that was underscored at Tuesday's board of directors meeting.

The on-farm efficiency water conservation program is one component of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, which transfers water from the Imperial Valley to coastal, urban areas. The program offers incentives to farmers to install irrigation efficiency measures in their fields, like sprinklers, pump-back, and drip irrigation systems. Conserved water is transferred out of the Valley.

Salton Sea

Salton Sea may become financial sinkhole

From: Steven Greenhut, U-T San Diego

The Legislature's efforts to "save" the Salton Sea, California's largest lake and one of the nation's eeriest places, have gone virtually nowhere in the last decade, unless one counts the millions of dollars that have been spent on personnel and consultants. That's the conclusion of a recent report by State Auditor Elaine Howle.

State Water Plan

County water leaders say state water report on Sacramento Valley is shoddy

From: Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

The state is trying to make good on some deadlines for the California Water Plan Update, but county water leaders say the section on the Sacramento Valley needs more work.

"Unsatisfactory" was one word used by a water commissioner to describe it.

Commissioners urged county staff to send a strong letter to the state Department of Water Resources that the report was late and incomplete.

News articles and links from December 4, 2013

San Joaquin River 

OPINION: River is wet, but money has dried up

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

IID approves water-sharing agreement with MWD

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

Project Will Replace Largest Unscreened Intake On 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 

If water's involved, progress can be drip by drip

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

OPINION: Desalination could preserve the 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 

OPINION: Water quality work continues after rice harvest ends

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.

Pollution Rules Watered Down?

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.

News articles and links from December 3, 2013

Water Use

OPINION: A healthy Klamath River benefits California fisheries and farms

From: Curtis Knight and Glen Spain, Sacramento Bee

Recent droughts, wildfires and floods throughout the West point to one stark reality: An integrated approach to water management is essential to securing our region's long-term prosperity. A long history of divvying up water too freely among competing interests has left none satisfied. We continue to live with an over-appropriated water system that pits farmers against fisheries and urban users against agriculture.

If we are to thrive, or even survive, it's time to step out of our narrow perspectives. We must embrace a more coordinated approach that recognizes that many of our rivers are altered landscapes. Today's working watersheds provide drinking water, produce hydropower, grow food, provide recreational opportunities and support valuable fisheries for commercial, sport and tribal interests. Saving these working watersheds can no longer mean rewinding them back to some pristine, romantic past. We must instead craft comprehensive and durable water management solutions for the modern world.

Coalition response... The legislature of California has directed urban and agricultural water sectors to seek quantification of water use efficiency. Any comprehensive integrated approach to water management must include responsible, efficient management of environmental water uses such as fisheries as well.  The people of California have a right to know that their scarce resources, whether monetary or water are being used productively.

California's cities and farms have committed tremendous resources developing and implementing water management plans that seek to quantify the water use efficiency in each sector- any federal funding of a Klamath Settlement Agreement should make provision to ensure that water being used by fisheries and the environment are being responsibly and efficiently managed.

Water Supply

OPINION: Restore Yosemite? It Can Be Done.

From: Dan Lungren, John Van de Kamp, L.A. Times

One hundred years ago this month, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Raker Act, which allowed San Francisco to build a dam in Yosemite National Park and convert the spectacular Hetch Hetchy Valley into a municipal reservoir.

As native Californians who have often visited Yosemite, we can think of no greater crime committed against the national parks. But it's not too late to undo the damage. We should take the opportunity of this centennial to reform San Francisco's water system and return Hetch Hetchy Valley to the American people.

Struggling with one of the driest years on record

From: Jamie Hansen, The Press Democrat

Rex Williams' sheep normally are munching green grass in early December. But this year, one of the driest on record, the land he leases remains mostly brown.

"We planted our winter crop into dust, dry ground," Williams said. Hardly any grass germinated, so Williams has been forced to feed hay to his sheep months earlier than normal.

"It's scary; we've never been in a situation like this before," said Williams, who's been ranching about 23 years. "We've always had some grass to go to."

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: State water plan must be sustainable

From: Jared Huffman, San Jose Mercury News 

The Mercury News editorial (Nov. 24) asked exactly the right question: How much water is needed to bring the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta back to health? When I served in the Assembly, we passed comprehensive bills that recognized the need for meaningful water conservation goals, regional self-reliance and improved groundwater management. The linchpin of that package, the Delta Reform Act, directed state agencies to reduce reliance on San Francisco Bay and the Delta and to develop a plan to ensure that the bay-Delta ecosystem and wild fisheries would always have enough fresh water to thrive.

Groundwater

State water board faces suit

From: Dennis Taylor, Bakersfield Californian

A coalition of environmental groups and an elderly Monterey County woman filed a lawsuit against state water regulators for failing to protect the public from toxic agricultural discharge.

The suit, filed on behalf of Antonia Manzo, a Monterey County resident, by Monterey-based The Otter Project and Monterey Coastkeeper and five other organizations, alleges that the state Water Board passed a regulation governing agricultural discharge that is so weak it is in violation of state law.

OPINION: Don't turn our water into wine for China

From: Mike Nelson, Sacramento Bee

Re "Dry winter ahead, state's experimental forecast warns" (Our Region, Nov. 30): Another year of drought? No worries. We'll just pump more water from that infinite source, the underground aquifer. That seems to be the attitude of the wine industry that continues to deeply rip the land around Galt, Lodi, Elk Grove and Herald. And these are not mom-and-pop operations at work. I am all for agriculture that puts food on our tables, not wine on tables in China.

News articles and links from December 2, 2013

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: The Delta, the plumbing and rectifying the problem

From: Dennis McEwan, Sacramento Bee

"Denny, you and your environmentalist buddies better vote for this thing, 'cause it's the best deal you're ever going to get."

Those words were spoken by my father in 1982, extolling me to vote "yes" on Proposition 9, the referendum on the peripheral canal. He was a 30-plus-year, veteran engineer with the California Department of Water Resources, and I was a 20-something idealistic college student majoring in conservation biology. As such, we couldn't have been further apart on water issues in this state.

Coalition response... It's refreshing to see a balanced article about the problems in the Delta and how solutions need to address multiple stressors, such as inadequate fish screens, predators, water quality and the loss of habitat. Clearly there's a problem when, "...only 18.5 percent of young Chinook salmon that were drawn into the State Water Project fish facility survived the process. Most are eaten by predators, and others succumb to the jostling of holding tanks and hauling trucks."

It's time to move past the position that the Delta is OK the way it is. It's not. And the requirement to provide adequate and dependable water supplies that drive much of California's economy isn't going away. As the author says, "...the status quo is death to Delta ecology."

Water Bond 

Assembly committee plans water-bond hearing in Redding

From: Damon Arthur, Redding Record-Searchlight

North State residents will get the chance to comment on a proposed statewide water bond when the state Assembly holds a hearing in Redding next week.

The Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife is holding a hearing on a proposed $6.5 billion water bond at the Shasta County Board of Supervisors chambers on Wednesday.

Reservoirs

Oroville Dam earthquake investigation may be needed

From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee

A recent federal inspection has concluded that Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the nation, needs a comprehensive earthquake safety assessment.

The dam on the Feather River is the primary storage facility for the State Water Project, the state-owned plumbing system that provides drinking water to more than 23million people across California. Failure of the dam could inundate not only the city of Oroville but numerous other communities downstream, including Yuba City, Marysville and even West Sacramento.

Groundwater

OPINION: Paso Robles groundwater basin needs lots of help

From: Phil Dirkx, San Luis Obispo Tribune

The Paso Robles groundwater basin is in more trouble. You've probably heard that we've been pumping water from that basin faster than nature replaces it. We've also been having a drought. And now the basin has attracted lawyers and lawsuits.

The story was in Wednesday's Tribune. The headline said, "Two lawsuits filed to stop emergency water measure." The lawsuits seek to prevent our county supervisors from regulating the pumping of water from the basin.