News articles and links from August 13, 2014

Water Bond

OPINION: Deadbeat dam projects shouldn't be part of water bond

From: Steve Evans, Modesto Bee

In November, California voters will be asked how much money they want to borrow to improve the state's water infrastructure and fight the drought. Because polls show an $11.1 billion general obligation bond on the Nov. 4 ballot is too expensive for many voters, legislators are scrambling to revise the water bond to make it more palatable.

  

Along with the total amount, another point of contention is how much is allotted to building new and enlarging existing surface storage dams. The current bond and the $8.7 billion version proposed by Senate Republicans include $3 billion for new and bigger dams, but Gov. Jerry Brown's $6 billion proposal whittles this down to $2 billion. A coalition of environmental groups allocates $1 billion for surface storage in its $6 billion plan.

  

Coalition response... Contrary to Evans' repetition of antiquated view of water storage dams, for more than fifty years environmental interests have benefited from the many advantages that our past investments in surface storage provide to our managed waterways. Reservoirs have enabled us to meet the needs of fisheries, wetlands, and meet other environmental water issues while seeking to meet the needs of our cities, businesses and farms. 

We only have to look at where water in our rivers is coming from in the middle of this year's hot summer. It's not natural flow. The water we see supporting wildlife resources in our rivers and the Delta is coming from previously built upstream storage - storage that was built specifically for the purpose of providing water during a time of the year when nature can't.

Thankfully the legislature isn't falling for obstructionist rhetoric this time and is taking seriously the need to build new storage projects for California's growing economy. Wise investments will pay off down the road as previous ones are now. 

Water Bond 

Amid drought, California Democrats seek Republican votes on water plan

From: Sharon Bernstein, Reuters

California Democrats scrambled on Tuesday to win Republican support for a plan to improve water supplies that has been mired in regional and party politics for a year, even as the state suffers from a three-year drought that shows no sign of ending.

A day after voting for a two-day extension to put a proposal on November's ballot to pay for reservoirs and other projects by selling bonds, Democratic lawmakers enlisted the support and negotiating clout of Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, a fiscal moderate who said previous plans were too expensive.

Lawmakers plan vote on new California water bond

From: Fenit NIrappil, Associated Press

Pressed by a deadline and California's severe drought, state lawmakers are scheduled to vote Wednesday on a measure that would swap out an existing water bond on the November ballot and authorize billions in borrowing to pay for new reservoirs, groundwater cleanup and habitat restoration.

On Tuesday, lawmakers were negotiating what they hoped would be a final agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown for a plan that would boost the state's water supply while protecting the environment. The governor and Democratic legislative leaders had agreed on a $7.2 billion package to replace the existing, $11.1 billion bond, but Republican lawmakers were pressing for more money for water storage.

COLUMN: New water bond may be close, but it's not fully cooked yet

From: Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee

Chances are that sometime Wednesday the Legislature will place a new water bond issue on the Nov. 4 ballot. But it's not certain, because as of late Tuesday, not all Democratic legislators had signed onto a $7.2 billion plan and it still lacked votes it needs from Republicans even if all Democrats were aboard. 

California water bond: Support for the latest $7 billion plan builds as deadline looms to OK it

From: Jessica Calefati, San Jose Mercury News

Powerful voices in California's water wars pledged their support Tuesday for a $7 billion state water bond that lawmakers must pass before Wednesday's midnight deadline if they hope to see it on the November ballot.

The California Farm Bureau Federation and Los Angeles County's Metropolitan Water District had hoped for at least $3 billion in the bond for construction of dams, reservoirs and other storage projects.

OPINION: Valley legislators should stand firm on water bond deal

From: Staff, Modesto Bee

The state's water bond will turn into a rotten pumpkin if no deal is reached by Thursday's already extended deadline. But legislators from the Northern San Joaquin Valley might just be wearing glass slippers, if you'll forgive the fairytale metaphor.

Our state desperately needs a water bond, but with urban Democrats squabbling, our legislators have a chance to protect our region's water security.

EDITORIAL: $6 billion water bond is still sweet spot for voters

From: Staff, Long Beach Press Telegram

Like Goldilocks tasting the bowls of purloined porridge, California voters have been looking for a water bond that is not too dear, and not too cheap, but just right.

If our Legislature has waited until not only the last minute - that was Monday - but created a new last minute, which is Wednesday, to finalize the language and thus the proposed scale of spending on a crucial water bond during this third year of statewide drought, well, what else is new? Legislative leaders were able to push the deadline for printing the argument for such a bond on millions of sample ballots by 48 hours, and if it results in a bond measure with the number of billions of dollars voters will approve and an appropriate scope of work that will aid in drought relief, so be it.

Water Supply

Farmers brace for the worst as America's largest reservoir reaches record low water levels with only enough supply to last another year

From: Staff, Daily Mail - U.K.

Once-teeming Lake Mead marinas are idle as a 14-year drought steadily drops water levels to historic lows. Officials from nearby Las Vegas are pushing conservation, but are also drilling a new pipeline to keep drawing water from the lake.

Hundreds of miles away, farmers who receive water from the lake behind Hoover Dam are preparing for the worst. 

Delta farmers accused of 'unlawful' water diversions

From: Alex Breitler, Stockton Record

Delta farmers have quietly sipped from rivers and sloughs for generations, but they face increasing pressure this drought year from outside interests who argue those water diversions are - or may be - illegal.

State and federal officials late last month asked regulators to use their emergency powers to demand information from more than 1,000 of those farmers as to how much water they're using.

OPINION: All sides in water wars should get behind protecting Mokelumne River

From: Bill Jennings & Jerry Meral, Sacramento Bee

People who follow California's water wars may wonder whether experts who disagree on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan ever agree on anything at all. The answer is yes. We agree it's time to protect 37 miles of the Central Sierra's Mokelumne River as a state Wild and Scenic River.

Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, introduced the legislation to protect the river, Senate Bill 1199, which is now in the state Assembly. The legislation would bar new dams and diversions on 37 miles of the "Moke" between Salt Springs Dam and Pardee Reservoir and protect the river's water quality. It has no relationship to the larger water fights in the state but should be judged on its own merits.

Fisheries

Klamath salmon advocates ask more water for fish

From: Staff, Associated Press

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell agreed to an impromptu meeting with salmon advocates demanding more water for salmon in Northern California's Klamath and Trinity rivers.

After the Tuesday meeting in Redding, California, salmon advocate Regina Chichizola said Jewell agreed to send someone to assess the situation, but made no promises.

News articles and links from August 6, 2014

Water Bond 

Governor Proposes $6 Billion Water Bond for California

From: James Nash, Bloomberg

California Governor Jerry Brown called on lawmakers to put a $6 billion "no-frills" bond measure on the November ballot, about half the size of a pending proposal, to secure the water supply amid a record drought.

Brown's plan would take the place of an $11.1 billion bond offering, scheduled for a vote in November, approved in 2009 by lawmakers and then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Brown said California can't afford the $750 million a year it would add to the state's $8 billion in annual bond debt service.

In rare campaign email, Gov. Jerry Brown pitches $6-billion water bond

From: Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times

Seeking to balance the state's water needs with his reputation for fiscal caution, Gov. Jerry Brown called for a "no-frills, no pork" $6-billion water bond in an email to campaign supporters Tuesday afternoon..

Brown kicked off the letter by noting that "drought conditions in California grow more serious by the day," and acknowledging more must be done for the state's water infrastructure.

Drought

Drought impacts crops, livestock throughout California

From: Krista Daly, Imperial Valley Press

As counties across California begin to submit their annual agricultural crop and livestock reports, the impact of the drought is being seen.

Fresno County, for example, is historically No. 1 in the state and the nation for crop output but has dropped below Tulare County this year, said Dave Kranz, spokesman for the California Farm Bureau. Field crops had a 41.7 percent decrease followed by a 19.1 percent decrease in industrial crops. "Drought is a direct factor in that," Kranz said. "We would expect to see continuing impacts with 2014."

Water Supply

Irrigation cut off to some Klamath Project farms

From: Jeff Barnard, Associated Press  

Water is being cut off to about a third of the farms on a federal irrigation project in the drought-parched Klamath Basin of Oregon and California.

A July 31 letter from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to irrigation districts says that the flows into the Klamath Reclamation Project's primary reservoir have been below pre-season forecasts from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, forcing a reduction in releases to districts with junior claims on water in order to meet minimum water levels for endangered fish.

Groundwater

Groundwater Removal During Drought Could Cause Earthquakes

From: Leigh Martinez, KOVR 13

The drought has forced many homeowners and farmers to dig deeper wells, tapping into the California aquifer. A recent Take Part web publication, citing NASA scientists, suggests using too much of this underground water could cause earthquakes.

University of the Pacific geology professor Kurt Burmiester said the possibility is a "maybe."

Burmiester said scientists have found that adding water, like in oil fracking, can cause the plates to slip, but removing water may produce smaller earthquakes outside of the faults.

Fisheries

Huffman comments on water release decision

From: Staff, Humboldt Beacon

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) released the following statement after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced its decision today to withhold water releases on the Trinity River needed to prevent a repeat of the 2002 Klamath fish kill:

"The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's decision today to withhold water releases needed to prevent a repeat of the 2002 fish kill in the Lower Klamath River is the latest example of how the federal government fails to plan for drought to the detriment of tribes, fishermen, and the environment.

News articles and links from July 24, 2014

Drought

California Water Prices Soar for Farmers as Drought Grows

From: Alison Vekshin, BusinessWeek 

Farmers in California's Central Valley, the world's most productive agricultural region, are paying as much as 10 times more for water than they did before the state's record drought cut supply.

Costs have soared to $1,100 per acre-foot from about $140 a year ago in the Fresno-based Westlands Water District, which represents 700 farms, said Gayle Holman, a spokeswoman. North of Sacramento, the Western Canal Water District is selling it for double the usual price: $500 per acre-foot, about 326,000 gallons (1.2 million liters).

Why the California drought affects everyone

From: Katharine Mieszkowski, Center for Investigative Reporting

California Gov. Jerry Brown has asked restaurants not to serve water unless diners ask for it. He's letting lawns at the state Capitol turn brown. Farmers in the Central Valley are getting just a trickle of the water they usually do. Conspicuous water wasters - commercial and residential - face fines of $500 a day.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

OPINION: New engineering project last thing the Delta needs

From: Paul Rockwell, Contra Costa Times

Like the Florida Everglades, the Bay Delta watershed is a national treasure. Every Californian has a stake in the outcome of the fierce controversy over the re-engineering of our unique and precious estuary.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is 40,000 pages long. To keep it simple, the $25 billion water-transfer project is based on a single assumption: that California's water-ecosystem crisis is caused by a lack -- a lack -- of engineering projects in the Delta watershed. As if the Delta needs more steel, more pumps, more cement (and more farmers dispossessed through eminent domain). The peripheral tunnels, the industrial heart of the project, do not replace, they actually augment hundreds of dams, aqueducts and pumps that already send water to corporate farms and cities south of the Delta.

Colorado River

IID officials discuss water use

From: Antoine Abou-Diwan, Imperial Valley Press

A deceptively simple question was raised at the Imperial Irrigation District's Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday.

If the IID has consumed slightly less than 50 percent of its annual Colorado River water entitlement so far this year, how is the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projecting an annual over-consumption of nearly 38,000 acre-feet? That projection is especially troubling for IID officials and farmers because any amount of water that the district uses in excess of its entitlement needs to be repaid.

Water Bond 

BLOG: Drought Becomes Top Environmental Priority for Californians

From: Craig Miller, KQED Blog

Drought has moved to the top of the list in the latest survey of Californians' environmental worries. In a statewide poll conducted during the second week of July, more than a third of respondents (35 percent) cited water supply and drought as "the most important environmental issue facing California today." That more than doubled the second most popular response, which was air pollution.

It's the first time since the annual survey was launched in 2000 that Californians have cited water supply as their top concern, according to Mark Baldassare at the Public Policy Institute of California, which conducts the annual "Californians and Their Environment" poll. Even when asked the question in the drought year of 2009, only 18 percent pinpointed water supply as their biggest concern.

Poll finds Californians back smaller water bond

From: Staff, Associated Press

A slim majority of likely California voters support an $11.1 billion water bond slated for the November ballot, but public support would grow if the bond comes with a smaller price-tag, according to survey results released late Wednesday.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll comes as lawmakers are negotiating changes to a funding package for water projects that legislative leaders see as too large and full of pork-barrel spending to win voter approval.

Poll: Public wants water limits

From: Mark Walker, San Diego Union-Tribune  

Drought-conscious Californians say they support mandatory restrictions on water use and back a massive state bond to increase water supplies.http://www.utsandiego.com/news/most-recent/

Those are among the key findings in a Public Policy Institute of California poll that comes as the San Diego County Water Authority is expected to recommend limiting outdoor watering throughout the county to reach an overall cutback in the region's usage of up to 20 percent.

Water Supply

Water: Outlook not good

From: Dennis Wyatt, Manteca Bulletin

A streak of sub-90 degree days has Public Works Director Mike Houghton concerned. He's the man responsible for overseeing Manteca's municipal water system. "My worry is the cooler weather will get people to thinking they don't have to conserve as much," Houghton said. "We are still in the middle of a severe drought."

Groundwater

Madera County seeks more local control on water issues

From: Corey Pride, Merced Sun-Star

As California copes with one of the worst drought years in the state's history, Madera County officials are preparing to take steps to maintain local control of its water issues. Government officials are in the process of forming a Joint Powers Authority and reviewing whether there will be a moratorium on agricultural wells.

Johannes Hoevertsz, Madera County public works director, said varying county interests are being asked to form a JPA. "It's an effort to have local enforcement," Hoevertsz said.

Fisheries

BLOG: Reconciling ecosystem and economy

From: Staff, U.C. Davis Center for Watershed Sciences  

A growing number of ecologists say we need to rethink how we go about "saving nature." We should not attempt to restore a wounded meadow, estuary or wetland to some legendary pristine state, they say. Instead, resource managers should accept that human footprints are everywhere and manage ecosystems for the species and functions we desire.

LOG: Delta smelt rehearing denied

From: Jonathan Wood, Pacific Legal Foundation Blog

This morning, the Ninth Circuit denied a rehearing before the entire court, leaving March's panel decision in place. The denial sets the case up for a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. Longtime Liberty Blog readers will recall that PLF previously sought Supreme Court review of the case on our Commerce Clause challenge. Although that issue is no longer live, there should be plenty of issues remaining to interest the judges.

California's salmon, steelhead get help

From: Staff, KION

State and federal wildlife officials have unveiled ambitious plans aimed at helping endangered salmon and steelhead thrive again in Central California rivers.

The fish were abundant, migrating from the Pacific through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and up rivers, but dams were built, blocking 90 percent of passageways to their historical spawning areas at the heart of California. By the 1990s, the fish were nearly extinct and given protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.

News, Articles, and Links from June 17, 2014

Water Supply Stealing the Sacramento River- California agro-barons' last huge water grab From: Will Parrish, The Ecologist  California's watersheds have been altered more than any other place in the world. The state first achieved this dubious distinction in the early-mid-20th century. The Hoover Dam (on the Colorado River), which began operation in 1936, was the largest dam in the world at the time of its completion. With regard to the world's biggest concrete river plugs, Shasta Dam (upper Sacramento River) rated second only behind Hoover when finished in 1945. Water Storage OPINION: Don't expand water storage without direction From: Jim Brobeck, Chico Enterprise-Record  The majority of developed water in California goes to irrigate agriculture acres. Expanding surface storage creates unrealistic expectations of reliable annual supplies by private property managers and encourages expansion of irrigated acres into previously unirrigated grazing/wildland acres. Inevitable dry periods force investors to exploit groundwater to keep permanent crops hydrated when reservoirs fail to fill.

Drought

OPINION: California's water woes can't be solved by conservation alone From: Paul Wenger, Modesto Bee  The severe drought of 2014 has unleashed a flood of responses, including calls for draconian legislative action to prevent things from "getting worse" and wide-ranging discussions about a water bond intended to address some of our water infrastructure shortfalls, accompanied by the predictable studies from environmental organizations purporting to show that California can meet all its water needs through conservation alone.

Dried up: poverty in America's drought lands   From: Amy McDonald, Imperial Valley Press In more than two decades working at a Central California food bank, Sandy Beals has never seen anything like this spring. Last month alone, FoodLink of Tulare County served 22,000 people who came in for food - 5,000 more than it usually serves each month and a 12 percent increase from the same month last year. For Beals, who runs the food bank, the spike in hunger traces back to one thing: drought.

Thirsty West: The No-Water Way From: Eric Holthouse, Slate   In a year with (practically) no water, here's something that was inevitable: farming without any water at all. Small farms around the Bay Area are reviving an ancient technique that is just what it sounds like. Add "dry farming" to the list of ideas that could get this dry state through the worst dry spell in half a millennium.

Water Transfers

Redding proposes water transfer to Bella Vista From: Jenny Espino, Redding Record-Searchlight A proposal to provide up to 1,200 acre-feet over the summer makes its way to the Redding City Council Tuesday night. The tentative agreement between the city and water district has been in the works for about a month and a half. That means the two sides got to work only two weeks after the city took a public-opinion beating over its April 15 decision to broker a water sale between the McConnell Foundation and the Kanawha and Glide water districts in Glenn County, while doing little to help neighboring Bella Vista, of whom a third of its customers are Redding residents. Fisheries  Fish evacuated from American River hatcheries due to drought From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee The drought is forcing state officials to evacuate rainbow trout and steelhead fish from two hatcheries on the American River amid concern the water will become warm enough to kill the fish in coming weeks. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Tuesday will use tanker trucks to remove about 1 million trout from the American River Hatchery. From there, they will be planted throughout the state as usual - mostly in Sierra Nevada lakes - but at a much younger age and smaller size.

News articles and links from June 16, 2014

Drought

Drought Parches the West, but Americans Shrug It Off

From: Mark Koba, NBC News

The severe drought parching states in the Southwest and West is undoubtedly causing hardships: The list includes higher prices for food and water, water-use restrictions, blazing wildfires and billions of dollars in lost productivity.

But most people seem to be taking it in stride-even within drought states. A recent poll by the Los Angeles Times indicated that only 16 percent of those surveyed in California say it has personally affected them in a measurable way. That's despite the Golden State being in its third year of drought and in a state of emergency since January.  

Editorial: Water report might be drawing eyes our way

From: Staff, Imperial Valley Press

An aggressive water management and conservation report by academics and environmental think tanks claims that 14 million acre-feet of water can be recycled, reclaimed or conserved a year, a figure that is more than double the water deficit California finds itself in at the moment, if large-scale efficiency projects are put in place across all sectors.

It's a bold report, that leaves no area of the water-using public - and private users - unaffected by potential conservation measures in its best-case scenario, paying particular attention to farming, which the report states takes up 80 percent of the water used in the state.

Water Supply

OPINION: Water conservation efforts aren't taking hold, but there are encouraging signs

From: Jay Ziegler, Sacramento Bee

The drought is our wake-up call that California's water supply system is out of balance. Even in the face of this drought, conservation efforts have not taken hold. We are talking about it, but we are failing to act.

A focused water bond is key to any solution. The billions of dollars that would be raised by a bond could give California greater flexibility for managing water, and provide a sustainable path to meet future needs for people and nature.

OPINION: Gov. Brown's abysmal environmental record

From: Dan Bacher, Sacramento Bee

Re "Brown's steady march to an alternative energy future (Forum, June 1): Tom Hayden is right that nobody calls Gov. Jerry Brown "Moonbeam" now. He has instead transformed himself into Big Oil Brown, one of the worst governors for fish, water and the environment in California history.

Brown signed Senate Bill 4, the green light for fracking bill that clears the path for the expansion of fracking in California.

Fisheries

Salmon migrate by truck during California drought

From: Terence Chea, Associated Press 

In drought-stricken California, young Chinook salmon are hitting the road, not the river, to get to the Pacific Ocean.Millions of six-month-old smolts are hitching rides in tanker trucks because California's historic drought has depleted rivers and streams, making the annual migration to the ocean too dangerous for juvenile salmon.