Water Supply
From: Logan Hawkes, Southwest
Farm Press
As expected, a recent
announcement from the United States Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) that warns of a
historically low reduction in the amount of water to be released from Lake
Powell next year has alarmed water officials across the Southwest and in
California.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Editorial Board, San
Diego Union-Tribune
Q: The governor's plan has two
overarching purposes: to provide a more reliable supply of water for everybody
and to restore the ecosystem of the delta. How would this plan achieve those
goals?
MERAL: The facility size (9,000
cubic feet per second) is pretty important, and not just because of the dual
goals. Another factor is the fragility of the delta. The delta itself is mostly
below sea level. And its geological future is uncertain. We're spending
hundreds of millions of state dollars to maintain the delta levies. Under any
plan that we would adopt we still have to divert water from the delta to some
extent. So it's important to maintain its integrity. We're probably, in the
next couple of decades or so, going to have a major earthquake that could
collapse a lot of the delta levies. Seawater comes in, we no longer have the ability
to export water from the delta, at least until we fix it - and it could take a
long time to fix. So whatever we build as part of this project is our emergency
backup facility, our insurance policy that we can keep delivering water.
From: Editorial Board, San
Diego Union-Tribune
Q: Tell us why you are opposed to
the governor's Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
Nottoli: We are very concerned
about not only the impacts to the delta, to the way of life here, to the
agricultural pursuits, the recreational pursuits, but also with the coequal
goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration. The coequal goals
are law, and BDCP obviously needs to conform with that. We are asking for a
reasonable, comprehensive approach. There seems to be this tendency to paint a
very grim picture of the delta, that if the sea level rises and the levee
failures don't get you the earthquakes will. We recognize that there's risk; we
have a fragile system of levees that serve as the conduit for conveyance of
waters through the Central Valley and to places as far south as your city and
your communities. But we also believe that the BDCP has taken a pretty narrow
focus that, under the guise of a conservation plan, has as its first
conservation measure construction of a new conveyance facility. That's where
there seems to be some departure, certainly with the views of the many people
we represent.
From: Thomas V. Wornham/San
Diego County Water Authority, San Diego Union-Tribune
California needs a 21st century
solution for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, the hub of the state's water
supply system. That solution must be feasible, reliable and affordable. It must
be right-sized, and the state must secure firm financial commitments from those
who have said they will pay for it.
The multibillion-dollar question
is how best to attain that vision in the Bay Delta to sustainably meet the
needs of water supply reliability and the ecosystem. It might seem like a
distant problem for those of us in San Diego County, but our region draws about
20 percent of its water supply from the Bay-Delta, and we'll be on the hook to
pay for a substantial piece of any solution.
From: Mike Mangas, KRCR-7
TV
A state water official was in
Redding on Tuesday to try to clear up misconceptions about the Bay Delta
Conservation plan. The proposal that includes the twin tunnels that would ship
water from the north around and to the Delta.
Department of Water Resources Director
Paul Hellicker got a lukewarm reception from Shasta County supervisors and
people who were worried about a water grab from San Joaquin Valley agriculture
and Southern California.
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
The new route proposed for Gov.
Jerry Brown's giant Delta water-diversion project may conflict with direction
from California voters, who spent $35 million in 2001 to acquire part of the
new route as permanent wildlife habitat.
Water Bond
From: Laurel Rosenhall and Dan
Walters, Sacramento Bee
Two bills that were heavily
amended in recent weeks lay out different visions for how California should
revise the water bond slated for the 2014 ballot.
Drought
From: Reed Fujii, Stockton
Record
Federal farm officials have
declared nearly the entire state of California a drought disaster area, which
gives farmers and ranchers hurt by the arid conditions access to low-interest
emergency loans.
Groundwater
From: David Pierson, LA
Times
While the world clamors for more
Paso Robles wine, rural residents like Denise Smith yearn for something far
more precious: local water.
The retired teacher is one of
dozens of homeowners in parched northern San Luis Obispo county whose wells
have run dry.
From: Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News
From: Associated Press, KCRA-3 TV
Wine connoisseurs may be enjoying
the latest Zinfandel or Syrah from the Paso Robles region, but residents are
complaining the growing number of vineyards is straining the local water supply.
A dispute has been bubbling
lately between residents and winemakers over the use of an ancient aquifer that
covers nearly 800 square miles and is large enough to support annual demand.
Transfers
From: John Holland, Modesto
Bee
San Francisco has sketched out a
possible water purchase from the Oakdale Irrigation District next year, and
other buyers could follow if the drought continues.
The OID board on Tuesday will discuss
a draft contract under which San Francisco would get as much as 2,240
acre-feet, about 1 percent of the district's annual draw from the Stanislaus
River.
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