WATER SUPPLY
For farmers, efficient water use can only go so far
Opinion
By Paul Wenger
From SJ Mercury News – Thursday, July 28, 2011
DELTA
Blog
By Peter Moyle, UC Davis
From California WaterBlog – Thursday, July 28, 2011
McNerney positions himself on water
Blog
By Alex Breitler
From The Record – Thursday, July 28, 2011
GROUNDWATER
Press release
From UCLA School of Law – Thursday, July 28, 2011
Blog
By Spreck Rosekrans
From EDF – Thursday, July 28, 2011
Delta
Delta debate back before Fresno federal judge
Story
From Fresno Bee – Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Coalition response...One should never be short-sighted when formulating water policy and only look at the present year. Future years and their water conditions must be a part of the policy-making process. Also, factual and complete information must be analyzed and applied. The information used by federal officials in their attempt to reposition X2---the salt line---further west in the Delta from its present location is weak. The basis for this proposal is that smelt do not do well in saline water. Yet, studies have proven that smelt do survive in a wide range of saline water. Adopting this proposal would further reduce the amount of water that is delivered to 25 million Californians and several million acres of farmland.
PEOPLE
In Western Water Wars, Fighters and, Yes, Peacemakers
Story
From NY Times – Wednesday, July 27, 2011
DELTA
Central Valley congressman comes out against peripheral canal
Story
From Central Valley Business Times – Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Representative Jerry McNerney blasts peripheral canal plans
Blog
By Dan Bacher
From IndyBay Media – Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Forum Friday to celebrate the Delta
Story
From The Record – Thursday, July 28, 2011
RIVERS
Water district calls inaugural rivers symposium a ‘valiant effort’
Blog
From The Record – Wednesday, July 27, 2011
CONGRESS
Thompson leads successful fight to remove ‘extinction rider’ from Interior bill
Story
From Lake County News – Thursday, July 28, 2011
Delta
Delta Smelt numbers show improvement
Story
From Vacaville Reporter – Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Coalition response...An increase in smelt population is good news. Crediting high flows in causing better habitat conditions and water quality leaves out one important factor in the smelt increase---food supplies. Scientists and biologists have agreed that ammonium from wastewater discharges have diminished the available food supply for smelt and other species. The high flows may have diluted the discharges and resulted in an increased food supply. However, it is important to remember that the high flows experienced this year resulted from Mother Nature and operation of the water supply systems through the Delta cannot duplicate the high flows.
DELTA
BDCP Management Committee Meeting on August 3rd
Announcement
From BDCP – Thursday, July 21, 2011
FISHERIES
Salmon season slowly picking up steam
Story
From Corning Observer – Tuesday, July 26, 2011
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Water transfer agreement lawyer hiring is postponed
Story
From IV Press – Wednesday, July 27, 2011
COURTS
DFG lawsuit: Groups can’t intervene
Story
From Siskiyou Daily News – Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Storing Water for a Dry Day Leads to Suits
Story
From NY Times – Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Water supply
Water systems key to restoring jobs, food production
Opinion
By Zeke Grader
From Modesto Bee – Monday, July 25, 2011
Coalition response...The author fails to acknowledge recent scientific studies that have pinned the drop in salmon numbers on ocean conditions, including warm water temperatures and a lack of an adequate food supply. The biological opinions that are held to such high esteem by the author have been ruled “arbitrary and capricious” and “sloppy science” by a federal judge. Federal fish agencies have been ordered to rewrite the opinions. The author also fails to reference comments by the National Academy of Sciences’ committee that stated further study is needed into the impacts of predators on juvenile salmon. The inclusion of select informational items and the purposeful exclusion of factual information renders this opinion article as seriously lacking in its believability.
Delta
Why the Scientists Say Delta Smelt Population Improved Slightly this Year
Blog
From Green Roots – Monday, July 25, 2011
Coalition response...Flows alone will not cause an increase in smelt numbers. An adequate food supply that is not threatened by wastewater discharges containing ammonium is needed. While flows may have aided in diluting the ammonium that biologists agree endanger the food supply found in the Delta, it is the food that smelt and other species need to flourish. These higher than usual flows were caused by Mother Nature; these levels cannot be achieved through the operations of the current water supply systems.
Congress
Congressman Nunes’ Attempt to Destroy California’s Salmon and Fishing Jobs
Blog
By Zeke Grader
From SF Chronicle – Monday, July 25, 2011
Coalition response...This author’s use of inflammatory descriptions to mischaracterize farmers along the San Joaquin Valley Westside provides a false depiction of those who are growing the food and fiber that we all require. For several months during the year the only source of lettuce for consumers comes from these farmers. He labels these farmers as “agribusiness barons” and attempts to label them as “corporate farmers” as if that is a derogatory term. He and others need to realize that over 90% of all California farms have incorporated while maintaining the decision-making process within the family. His attempt to liken these family farmers to those whose operational decisions are made in corporate board rooms fails the test of truth. It’s too bad his admitted “anger” fueled his continued use of falsehoods in describing California farmers.
PEOPLE
Kern County Water Agency Mourns Loss of Former General Manager Thomas N. Clark Press release
From KCWA – Monday, July 25, 2011
Kern’s water rainmaker was a force
Column
By Lois Henry
From Bakersfield Californian – Monday, July 25, 2011
Former Kern water agency chief dies
Blog
By Mark Grossi
From Fresno Bee – Monday, July 25, 2011
By Peter Nelson, CFWC President
From CFWC – Tuesday, July 26, 2011
WATER SUPPLY
Updates on Lake Powell and Lake Mean/Monsoon Moisture
Blog
By Ken Clark
From Accuweather – Monday, July 25, 2011
Highlights of July’s CWC meeting
Blog
By Paul Selsky
From Brown and Caldwell Water News – Monday, July 25, 2011
DELTA
Canal or tunnel would devastate local economy
Opinion
By Craig W. Anderson
From SJFB News - July 2011
Blog
From Restore the Delta – Monday, July 25, 2011
FISHERIES
Salmon may face greater threat than water shortage
Story
From SF Chronicle – Monday, July 25, 2011
Water supply
Letter
From Sacramento Bee – Saturday, July 23, 2011
Coalition response...While attempting to portray Jim Beck as ignorant of California’s water system, the letter writer demonstrates his own lack of understanding of California’s water supply and system in his claims. Mr. Beck’s knowledge is based on years of experience and education. Contrary to the letter-writer's opinion, restoration of the Delta ecosystem is a priority for all water users. When the letter-writer challenges the co-equal goals of the BDCP by questioning the order of goals, it is informative to refer to the very first paragraph of the BDCP’s working draft that reads: "The members of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Steering Committee provide this memorandum reporting on our progress in developing a plan to achieve the co-equal goals of restoring the ecosystem and water supply reliability of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta." This order of reference is repeated throughout the working draft, further disputing the letter writer’s assertion.
Delta
Delta smelt numbers ‘improve’ as pumps kill millions of splittail
Blog
By Dan Bacher
From IndyBay Media – Friday, July 22, 2011
Coalition response...The upsurge in smelt numbers is good news and it is important to recognize the factors that cause these numbers. Recent weather conditions have likely caused an increase in food supply that the smelt need. We must remember that these weather conditions are significant and also remember that operation of California’s water supply systems through the Delta could not match these same conditions; it took mother nature to step in and create the factors that spurred the smelt increase.
These same conditions have also increased the population numbers for other species, including splittail. Agencies and biologists knew in advance that the salvage numbers at the pumps would increase because of the higher populations.
In summary...weather conditions caused an upsurge in smelt numbers and an increase in the salvage numbers at the pump.
WATER SUPPLY
Proposal raises fears of terrorist attack on drinking water supply
Story
From The Record – Sunday, July 24, 2011
Local officials help identify new reservoir in Northern California
Story
From Santa Clarita Signal – Monday, July 25, 2011
Story
From Taft Independent – Friday, July 22, 2011
Viewpoint
By Barbara Lydick
From Visalia Times-Delta – Friday, July 22, 2011
DELTA
Sharing a south Valley perspective on water
Story
From The Record – Sunday, July 24, 2011
WATER SUPPLY
Have we lost the will for big projects?
Comment
By Victor Davis Hanson
From Sacramento Bee – Friday, July 22, 2011
Satellites confirm farms need water
Column
By Don Curlee
From Hanford Sentinel – Thursday, July 21, 2011
Adaptive management means never having to say you’re sorry
Blog
By Jay Lund, Ellen Hanak, Brian Gray
From California WaterBlog – Thursday, July 21, 2011
FISHERIES
Invasive Species in California
Conservation strategy
From CDFG
Local delegation fights sucker fish regulation
Story
From Highland Community News – Thursday, July 21, 2011
Fisheries
Delta smelt population up – wet winters appears to have helped
Story
From Sacramento Bee – Thursday, July 21, 2011
Coalition response...The increase in smelt numbers from last year is good news but we need to be careful in rushing to a reason for this bump in numbers. California has experienced an extraordinarily wet winter, with flood control operations running for seven months. Outflow conditions from the Delta have been far beyond any level that the water projects could possibly do under more normal conditions. It is unfortunate that only a DFG biologist and one environmental group were included as resources in this article. Additional data is available, including a five-year study (POD) that cost millions of dollars that concluded there are many factors affecting the species; indicating that not just one factor (flows) will provide the answer. A food supply that is not threatened by ammonium discharges into Delta waters will play a vital role and must not be overlooked.
WATER SUPPLY
Solution for water woes relies on success of Bay Delta plan
Viewpoint
By Jim Beck
From Sacramento Bee – Thursday, July 21, 2011
It’s time to invest in California’s water infrastructure
Opinion
By Tim Quinn
From Capitol Weekly – Thursday, July 21, 2011
A Paradox for the West’s Pumping System: Flood on the Top, Drought on the Bottom
Story
From NY Times – Thursday, July 21, 2011
WEATHER
Video
From YouTube – Wednesday, July 20, 2011
COURTS
Karuk Tribe, others not part of suit; groups can’t intervene in Siskiyou water use case
Story
From Redding Record Searchlight – Wednesday, July 20, 2011
WATER SUPPLY
Record Bay-Delta Water Exports = 80% of Maximum Contract Allocations
Blog
By Doug Obegi
From NRDC – Tuesday, July 19, 2011
FISHERIES
Klamath Chinook listing is unwarranted, group argues
Story
From Capital Press – Tuesday, July 19, 2011
RIVERS
Will a river ever run through it?
Editorial
From The Record – Wednesday, July 20, 2011
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
IID director asks for QSA lawyer to be placed on agenda
Story
From IV Press – Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Delta
Kern Commission Smaller Delta Conveyance Study with Surprising Results
Blog
From Planning & Conservation League – Monday, July 18, 2011
Coalition response...This blog fails to fully report the conclusion of a presentation made by the State and federal contractors to the Delta Habitat Conservation and Conveyance Program (DHCCP) and instead uses only one of the 35 slides that were presented to suggest that a 5,000 cfs conveyance facility is all that is needed. An accurate reporting of the presentation would have revealed that a 5,000 cfs conveyance would only be useful as long as pumping in the south Delta continues without additional restrictions. The presentation clearly concluded that a larger conveyance facility would be the best choice to provide the water supply needed for the State and federal contractors while providing appropriate protections for the environment.
WATER SUPPLY
California Water War: The Diversions are a Diversion
Blog
From California Greening – Monday, July 18, 2011
DELTA
Story
From The Record – Saturday, July 16, 2011
FISHERIES
Story
From Eureka Times Standard – Tuesday, July 19, 2011
WEATHER
Opinion
By Alex Prud’Homme
From NY Times – Saturday, July 16, 2011
WATER SUPPLY
Lessons learned from California’s most recent drought
Blog
From CalCan – Sunday, July 17, 2011
Conserving ag water isn’t a quick or easy fix
Viewpoint
By Ellen Hanak/Richard Howitt/Ariel Dinar
From Sacramento Bee – Saturday, July 16, 2011
California’s “Newest” Reservoir – It Isn’t in California
Blog
By Tom Philp
From SF Chronicle – Sunday, July 17, 2011
From humble beginnings: The Imperial Irrigation District celebrates 100 years
Story
From IV Press - Sunday, July 17, 2011
House Central Valley water bill worries EID
Story
From Mountain Democrat – Thursday, July 14, 2011
DELTA
City largely MIA on Delta canal
Column
By Michael Fitzgerald
From The Record – Sunday, July 17, 2011
Delta exports projected to reach record level in 2011
Blog
By Spreck Rosekrans
From EDF – Friday, July 15, 2011
Fisheries
Annual NOAA report shows ‘steady progress’ toward rebuilding fisheries
Blog
By Dan Bacher
From IndyBay Media – Thursday, July 14, 2011
Coalition response...This author trumpets NOAA’s report that fish populations are rebounding following reduced fishing programs. Yet when the fishing restrictions of recent years were announced by federal fish agencies, he and other fishing interests screamed against the action...and now he is holding up a report that justifies the action?
Although he sometimes poses as a friend to environmental concerns over declining fisheries when it suits his ideological purposes, the fact is that Dan Bacher’s number-one priority is fishing, which is an effective means of killing fish. Ironically, the NOAA report said that 40 fish stocks are overfished and among them are some of the species that Bacher flaunts on his commercialized fishing web site.
It is also ironic that this author is quick to recognize a qualifier in the NOAA report that suggests other factors beyond fishing may impact fish populations that are characterized as “overfished.” But in a 2010 report by the National Academy of Sciences on the Delta and the biological opinions that cited fish salvage at the Delta pumps, Bacher ignored the NAS “qualifier” that other predation factors need to be studied to achieve a complete understanding of the predation issue.
WATER SUPPLY
Wet winter bringing summer benefits
Story
From Porterville Recorder – Friday, July 15, 2011
Response to ‘Siskiyou County priorities’
Opinion
By Leo “T” Bergeron
From Siskiyou Daily News – Thursday, July 14, 2011
Climate change tempers good news about Colorado River Basin Water Supply
Story
From Climate Central – Wednesday, July 13, 2011
DELTA
A voice for California’s flyover country
Viewpoint
By Jon Mendelson
From Tracy Press – Friday, July 15, 2011
Blog
By Alex Breitler
From The Record – Thursday, July 14, 2011
State high court rules on Delta drilling
Story
From The Record – Friday, July 15, 2011
Supreme Court orders review of order authorizing DWR’s entry
Report
From Somach Simmons & Dunn – Thursday, July 14, 2011
Delta Conservancy wants your stories
Story
From Sacramento Bee – Thursday, July 14, 2011
RIVERS
River restoration meets resistance in Congress
Story
From Fresno Bee – Thursday, July 14, 2011
FISHERIES
Annual stock report shows steady progress toward rebuilding our nation’s fisheries
Press release
From NOAA – Thursday, July 14, 2011
Report: 40 fish populations being fished too hard
Story
From Redding Record Searchlight - Thursday, July 14, 2011
From SF Chronicle – Thursday, July 14, 2011
From Sacramento Bee – Thursday, July 14, 2011
From KFMB-TV 8 – Thursday, July 14, 2011
WETLANDS
Ranching, Wetlands Collide in North Coast
Story
From The Wall Street Journal – Thursday, July 14, 2011
RIVERS
Be Careful What You Ask For – Eliminating Federal Funding for the San Joaquin River Agreement
Blog
By Barry Nelson
From NRDC – Wednesday, July 13, 2011
GROUNDWATER
Groundwater Lacks State Oversight in California – That Can Lead to Overuse
Story
From Bay Citizen – Tuesday, July 13, 2011
RESERVOIRS/WEATHER
Conditions for major reservoirs
From CDEC – Tuesday, July 13, 2011
Cooler summer our new norm? Not likely, experts say
Story
From Sacramento Bee – Thursday, July 14, 2011
Water supply
Ag prospers, but Valley’s crop of social ills persists
Column
By Bill McEwen
From Fresno Bee – Saturday, July 9, 2011
Coalition response...This article is disappointing to read because of the false picture it paints of San Joaquin Valley farmers as being uncaring about their workers and squirreling away huge profits while not contributing to the social malaise affecting the valley. Farmers do care about the lives of their workers and their families; many of these workers have been employed for over 10, 15 and 20 years by the same farmer. This doesn’t happen if a callous disregard exists toward the worker, despite the level of mechanization that has developed.
The writer’s attempt to portray a shifting of farm revenue from the valley to “corporate headquarters and investors outside of the Valley” belies the fact that only 7% of the 81,000 farms in California are corporate-owned. Farmers rely on their local communities not just for a source of employment but also supplies that keep their farms operational.
This writer has been with The Bee for over 30 years and it is sad to realize that in all that time he has failed to understand the important role that farming plays in the life and economy of the San Joaquin Valley.
Delta
Carnage at the Delta death pumps continues unabated
Blog
By Dan Bacer
From IndyBay Media – Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Coalition response...This tired old drum will collapse pretty soon if critics of the flow of water from the Delta to 25 million Californians and several million acres of farmland that grows food and fiber products continue to beat it in relation to the reported number of fish taken at the pumps. Biologists have explained this spike in numbers as a result of weather conditions. These biologists knew that the take number would increase in proportion to the overall population explosion of these species. Biologists have recorded the ups and downs of the take numbers at the pumps over the years in relation to weather conditions and the species are still around. No alarm has been sounded over these numbers other than by those individuals and groups who continue to talk among themselves.
WATER SUPPLY
Agricultural Water Stewardship
Report
By California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply
From Aquafornia – July 13, 2011
State Water Board General Fund cuts Result in Increased Fees
Story
From ACWA – Tuesday, July 12, 2011
GROUNDWATER
Groundwater and Secession in California
Blog
From California Greening – Tuesday, July 12, 2011
QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
IID could bring in “fresh blood” for second opinion on QSA
Story
From IV Press – Wednesday, July 13, 2011
COURTS
Agricultural water discharge approval is challenged
Story
From Central Valley Business Times – Tuesday, July 12, 2011
