Thursday, September 19, 2013

News articles and links from September 19, 2013


Groundwater

From: Jeff Jardine, Modesto Bee

 It's something we live with in Northern California.

The northern and eastern parts of the state have water. The rest of the state always wants it or wants more of it. Not only will they do whatever it takes to get it, we'll get stuck paying part of the shipping and handling costs, as will be the case should those pipe-dream tunnels south of Sacramento come to fruition.

Equally important and more imminent is what's happening here in the Valley and the hills to the east. Vast amounts of water are being pumped out of the ground, much of it for agricultural uses including the rapidly expanding almond industry.

Coalition response...Those "pipe-dream tunnels" the author refers to will be paid for by those water users who receive the water according to the benefits received. The statement saying, "...we'll get stuck paying part of the shipping and handling costs," simply isn't true if you're not benefiting from the project.

Transfers

From: Joe Szydlowski, Redding Record Searchlight  

One of Shasta County's most valued - and contested - natural resources took center stage Wednesday night among a panel of experts who fielded questions about a local district's decision to send water to Southern California.

The Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District will be sending about 2,400 acre-feet of water south, a "very minor amount," ACID's general manager, Stan Wangberg, told about 60 people gathered at the Cottonwood Community Center. Shasta County Supervisor Les Baugh set up the meeting.

Coalition response...Pat Minturn is mistaken in his thinking that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and its proposed tunnels will divert twice the amount of water needed in the San Joaquin Valley. Operation of the tunnels is designed to deliver about 5.2 million acre-feet, the average amount delivered over the past 20 years. The BDCP is about improving the reliability for users south of the Delta that have been unable to receive the amount of water they have a legal right to use. Area-of-origin water rights are protected by State law that prevents new projects from having a negative impact on existing upstream users. 

The amount of water that can be delivered at any given time is limited by a number of factors that protect existing water rights holders, water quality and the environment. According to BDCP documents, the project would only be permitted to operate with regulatory protections, including river water levels and flow, which would be determined based upon how much water is actually available in the system, the presence of threatened fish species, and water quality standards. Individuals seeking to learn more about the flow of water through the tunnels can find information at http://bit.ly/18FGxrl.

Boxing

From: Dan Rafael, ESPN 

Junior welterweight Jose Ramirez, the talented 2012 U.S. Olympian, will have his first professional hometown fight when he headlines a card at Golden Eagle Arena on the West Hills College campus in Lemoore, Calif., on Nov. 9 (UniMas).

The card has been dubbed "The Fight for Water," because Ramirez wants to help make a difference in farm-related employment and with farm workers' families, who have lost jobs when water supplies have been reduced. Ramirez recently joined the Latino Water Coalition, which aims to help resolve California's water crisis and to promote economic growth in the area he grew up in.

Water Bond

From: Theo Douglas, Bakersfield Californian 

Faced with a resolution supporting a statewide water bond at this week's annual League of California Cities conference, fiscally conservative Bakersfield is recommending its delegate stay neutral during an expected vote Friday.

Water Supply

From: Staff, Imperial Valley Press 

A public workshop will be held Wednesday in El Centro to provide a briefing to the Imperial Irrigation Board of Directors and the public regarding major water policy issues facing the district.

Charles DuMars of Law & Resource Planning Associates and Ronald L. Olson of Munger Tolles & Olson, LLP, will provide a briefing and seek public input regarding preserving the water supply available to IID and maintaining sustainable solutions for protection of the water and the environment of the Imperial Valley.

From: Dennis Wyatt, Manteca Bulletin

Most reservoirs in California are dropping to near low record  levels this month. That's not the case with Woodward Reservoir.

When midnight on Monday, Sept. 30, rolls around, the South San Joaquin Irrigation District's in-district storage reservoir will be right at 210 feet with water filling the entire 36,000 acre capacity.

Salton Sea

From: Editorial Staff, Imperial Valley Press

Comparisons between the Salton Sea and Owens Lake have been made for years, and they've had a variety effect on residents and local officials.

Usually there is a healthy dose of fear, of the future, of the unknown, and what exactly is in store for Imperial County is the Salton Sea dries up.

Unfortunately, there is also a degree of apathy that comes with stories that sometimes feel like the tales of Chicken Little.

Dams

From: Doug Craig, Redding Record Searchlight

I first laid eyes on Shasta Dam when it was "only" 46 years old and I was 28. Now almost three decades later, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of its grand beginning, we would be remiss to not acknowledge its tremendous value to our state. Capable of holding more than 6 billion tons of water, Shasta Dam is the second largest in the nation. Can we fully grasp how much water this is?

People

From: Press Release, Office of the Governor

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.

Laura King Moon, 60, of Woodland, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of Water Resources, where she has been a project manager for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan since 2011.

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