Water Supply
From: Lauren Sommer, KQED
Desperate times call for
desperate measures, and California's severe drought is already inspiring a few.
Water districts in the San Joaquin Valley are proposing a drought tactic that's
never been tried: they want to reverse the state's plumbing by running the
California Aqueduct backwards.
The aqueduct is the main artery
of the state's water system. It stretches more than 400 miles, connecting the
northern part of the state, where most of the rain falls, to the southern half
of the state, where most of the demand for water resides.
From: Rob Parsons, Merced
Sun-Star
Irrigation officials this week
closed a complicated deal with state agencies to increase the water supply for
drought-plagued farmers. The deal could also help authorities cut the price of
irrigation water in Merced County.
The State Water Resources Control
Board approved the deal granting Merced County farmers more water, said Mike
Jensen, Merced Irrigation District spokesman.
From: Kelli Ballard,
Porterville Recorder
After a positive water study
session on April 8, with the guest speaker Dr. Kenneth D. Schmidt, certified
hydrologist and the city's geologic consultant for water well development and
recharge programs, stating Porterville is in a unique position for water, and
in good shape, it might have come as a surprise to hear at Tuesday's water
study session that Porterville is in danger of losing water too.
Mario Santoyo, director and
technical advisor for California Latino Water Coalition and assistant general
manager of the Friant Water Authority, presented his 2014 Friant Division Water
Supply and Water Storage study to the public - and the outlook was not great.
From: Anne Stegen, KERO 23
Central Valley citrus growers are
protesting a recent water allocation bump by the state, saying they will not
see a drop ot it.
The California Department of
Water Resources increased water deliveries to farmers from zero to 5 percent,
but it only applies north of Fresno.
From: Staff, Western Farm
Press (subscription required)
A recent announcement that
California growers reliant upon surface water from the State Water Project
would receive 5 percent of their allocation appeared to be good news for much
of the state's $2 billion citrus industry. In short, some trees could be kept
alive on such an allocation. As with many political decisions, the devil is in
the details.
From: Staff, KFSN 30
Citrus growers here are
frustrated with the state's recent announcement of 5% water allocation for
farmers. (VIDEO)
Regulations
From: Abby Schneider, ACWA
On April 21 the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register the
proposed rule revising the definition of "waters of the United States"
under the federal Clean Water Act. This formalizes the proposed changes
released in draft form on March 25 and marks the beginning of a 90-day comment
period that ends July 21, 2014.
Fisheries
From: Chris Clarke, KCET
In a move that could have
ramifications in drought-stricken California, a group representing irrigators
in the Columbia and Snake river basins want to use an obscure federal law to
prevent new protection of the area's salmon and steelhead populations.
The Columbia-Snake River
Irrigators Association has asked the governors of Idaho, Montana, Washington,
and Oregon to invoke the "God Squad" provisions of the Endangered
Species Act to address "excessive and unbridled litigation directed toward
the region's electric power ratepayers," according to a letter sent to
press outlets Monday.
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