Water Supply
From: Howard Hardee, Chico
News & Review
Don't let the recent rains fool
you-it's been a dry year in Butte County. Or, perhaps more accurately, it's
been a dry decade.
Coalition response...San Joaquin Valley farmers have been aggressive during the past century
in managing groundwater supplies. They stepped forward and supported the
construction of the Central Valley Project (CVP) that delivered surface water
to the region to reduce reliance on groundwater. This support required them to commit
billions of dollars toward repaying the costs of constructing the dams, canals,
maintenance and operation costs of the CVP.
Another example of improved water
supply management is the $2.1 billion farmers have spent upgrading irrigation
systems on 1.8 million acres of San Joaquin Valley farmland, including the
installation of drip and micro-irrigation technology.
Barbara Vlamis is concerned that
the proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its tunnels will
"devastate" other regions' water supplies but there is nothing to
support what she is saying. The BDCP is designed to provide reliable deliveries
of water that people already have a right to use. And the amount that would be
exported is on average the same that has been moved over the past 20 years.
From: Alex Breitler, Stockton
Record
On what happened to be the
wettest day of the year, state water officials announced Wednesday that some
cities from the Bay Area to San Diego may receive just 5 percent of the water
they have requested next year.
Coalition response...Bill Jennings continues to beat the drum with the same message that
others need to cut back on water use in order to protect the Delta. This may be
a "news flash" for him but others have already cut back. In fact, San
Joaquin Valley farms have been cutting back for 20 years thanks to federal
regulations intended to help fish that have been largely ineffective. How can
Jennings, or anyone else for that matter, justify the same old path when it
obviously isn't working? Is their priority helping fish or is it putting
farmers out of business? If its fish you would think they would devote their
energy to finding a solution that really works.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Richard Stapler, BDCP
As California has matured as a
state, we continue to take well-conceived steps toward lessening our potential
for harm from earthquakes. Updating building codes ensures our homes, offices,
and places we shop stay structurally sound and that public safety is
prioritized. Bridges are upgraded or replaced, hospitals reinforced, and our
infrastructure is armored against catastrophic failure.
From: Staff, Bakersfield
Californian
(A subscription may be required
to read this article.)
California is currently waiting
on the final environmental impact report on Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to move
water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta via two tunnels.
Wednesday on "First Look
with Scott Cox," Californian columnist Lois Henry talked about the
potential problems this decision could have.
From: Andrew Creasey,
Marysville Appeal-Democrat
The need for more water storage
and the assurance that water from North California isn't sent south were the
main concerns voiced at a town hall about water issues Tuesday night in Yuba
City.
Laird stressed the plan wouldn't
change the amount of water allocated to various parts of the state - including
the Central Valley, Southern California and the Delta. He said it would instead
improve the conveyance of the water via two tunnels, which would allow agencies
to better manage what water is already there to improve habitats and create a
reliable supply for farmers.
From: Frank Mickadeit, Orange
County Register
(A subscription may be required
to read this article.)
I haven't written about the water
industry much in my nine years as a columnist, and now I remember why.
With Gov. Jerry Brown starting to
roll out his $25 billion proposal to radically alter the Sacramento Delta and
send more water to Southern California, I figured that last month would be a
good time to dip my toe in. I wrote a column that focused on an alternative
vision, as articulated by some water-industry folks who attended a conference
in Irvine.
Water Supply
From: Seth Nidever, Hanford
Sentinel
The driest 10-month stretch in
California history prompted state officials today to announce an initial 5
percent allocation for the State Water Project.
The project delivers
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta water to farms in western and southern Kings
County, to other large tracts of San Joaquin Valley farmland and to urban
residents in Southern California.
From: Michael Cabanatuan, SF
Chronicle
As the first significant rain of
the season fell on Northern California Wednesday, the state Department of Water
Resources issued an ominous water supply estimate that makes it clear that much
more precipitation is needed this winter.
From: Dale Yurong, KFSN-30
TV
Overnight showers weren't enough
to impact the state water supply. On Wednesday the Department of Water
Resources announced just a 5% allocation for contractors in the State Water
Project, which includes farmers in Kings and Kern counties.
From: Staff, Chico
Enterprise-Record
The Department of Water Resources
(DWR) today announced an initial allocation of five percent of requested
deliveries to State Water Project (SWP) contractors in calendar year 2014, a
DWR press release states.
From: Janet Zimmerman,
Riverside Press-Enterprise
For only the second time, the
state issued an early-season water delivery forecast of 5 percent of the
amounts requested by agencies supplying much of Southern California.
From: Antoine Abou-Diwan,
Imperial Valley Press
Farmers continue to speak out
against the Imperial Irrigation District's recently adopted water apportionment
plan.
"The 2014 (equitable
distribution plan) based on 50 percent history and 50 percent straight line
will discriminate against those growers that have installed water conservation
measures and have been conserving water," said El Centro farmer Paula
McConnell Pangle, addressing the board Tuesday during public comments.
Groundwater
From: Dawn M. Henley, Oakdale
Leader
The topic of groundwater brought
a standing-room-only crowd to the Oakdale Irrigation District Board of
Directors Nov. 19 regular meeting. OID Water Operations Manager Eric Thorburn
presented on groundwater specific to the OID service area where he covered a
basic overview of groundwater, its management in OID, and OID's future plans.
Subsidence
From: Amy Quinton, Capital
Public Radio
Chase Hurley is general manager
of the San Luis Canal Company in Dos Palos. He points to a small dam near the
river in western Madera County. It's likely the most important structure for
the irrigation company because it guides water from the river into its canal
system.
"That dam, and this canal
are sinking roughly six inches a year," says Hurley."So when that
happens the dams not going to be high enough to physically gravitational push
that down the canal."
No comments:
Post a Comment