News articles and links from October 9, 2013

Water Supply  

Comedian Paul Rodriguez: Valley Water Crisis No Joke!

From: Erik Rosales, KMPH-TV 26

A bit of Hollywood came to the valley, comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez made a stop in Visalia.

However, Rodriguez was not there to tell jokes.

He spent the time talking about one of the valley's most precious resource, water!

Food, Farms and Water

From: Amy Quinton, Capital Public Radio

California is the nation's largest agricultural state. It would not be possible without water from the Delta. Farmers say the water is their lifeblood, but it's been cut back year after year.

California's farms and ranches generated nearly $45 billion in revenue last year. Without water exported from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to arid Central Valley land, much of the produce we get in restaurants and grocery stores wouldn't come from California.

Butte County signs off on agreement about Lake Oroville water

From: Staff, Chico Enterprise-Record  

After what seemed like a never-ending wrangling in court, Butte County can have about $2 million more funding available each year and is more secure in its water rights due to a court settlement with the Department of Water Resources.

One of the key points is a contractual acknowledgment that as the "area of origin" - the place the state water project gets its water - Butte County has special status.

Water Quality 

Study seeks cure for north Tulare County water woes

From: Valerie Gibbons, Visalia Times-Delta

Water from the Alta Irrigation District is being lauded as an inexpensive solution to one of the county's most vexing problems.

A $247,580 state-funded study may signal the beginning of a new era for water districts in East Orosi, Sultana, Monson, Seville and Yettem that have each gained national attention for their contaminated drinking water and dilapidated delivery systems.

Supes protesting new irrigation regulations

From: Susan Meeker, Glenn County Transcript

The Glenn County Board of Supervisors is protesting new regulatory requirements that may soon apply to local farmers with irrigated agriculture land.

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board's Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, which was adopted in the San Joaquin area in December, is quickly heading for expansion to cover all agricultural water discharges to groundwater, officials said.

Growers will be expected to track their nitrogen use and efforts to protect both surface and ground water starting in 2014.

Groundwater

Supervisors extend moratorium on new pumping from Paso Robles basin

From: David Sneed, SLO Tribune

With newly sworn-in Supervisor Caren Ray on board, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday extended a controversial emergency ordinance banning new pumping from the Paso Robles groundwater basin to its maximum two-year limit.

Water Legislation

California governor signs bills to tackle state's water crisis

From: Sharon Bernstein, Chicago Tribune

California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed more than a dozen bills aimed at improving access to water in the state, where drought is common and tension is high over the competing needs of residents, agriculture and the environment.

Governor Brown Signs Water Legislation

From: Staff, Imperial Valley News

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed a package of bills to help expand access to clean drinking water in California.

Gov. Brown signs controversial water bills, including Maywood plan

From: Patrick McGreevy, LA Times

Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a flood of bills aimed at improving water quality and reliability in California, including a controversial measure introduced in the middle of a dispute between water agencies in Los Angeles County.

News articles and links from July 22, 2013

Water Supply

Conditions for major reservoirs - July 21, 2013

From: California Data Exchange Center, DWR

Data as of midnight, July 21, 2013

Folsom Lake, American River levels to hit 5-year lows

From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee

Water levels in Folsom Lake and the American River this fall will drop to levels not seen in five years as California verges on another extended drought period.

Other problems are emerging on the Klamath River. Last week, the bureau opened a public comment period on plans to release water from reservoirs on the Trinity River to help salmon runs downstream on the Klamath River. The run is expected to be large this fall, but without more water, another large-scale fish kill could occur like the one that left thousands of salmon dead in 2002.

Opinion: Long drought has Isabella in critical state

From: Staff, Bakersfield Californian

We're seeing a lot more "beach" than we'd like at Lake Isabella. The historic average capacity for the mountain lake atop Kern County's western Sierra is 35 percent this time of year, but it's now at about 13 percent. If nothing changes, Isabella could bottom out at 8 percent by November.

Working through a dry spell: No relief from state drought for Humboldt County ranchers

From: Kaci Poor, Eureka Times-Standard

With a request from the Humboldt County Agriculture Commissioner's Office for a secretarial drought designation pending before the U.S. Department of Agriculture, local ranchers say they are feeling the burn of a dry year.

A drought survey sent out by the Humboldt County Agriculture Commissioner's Office to about 60 livestock producers in the area last month found that the lack of rain plaguing Humboldt -- and the rest of the southwestern United States -- this summer has led to an estimated 47 percent reduction in rangeland and grass growth in the county.

Running on empty in the Klamath Basin

From: Staff, The Oregonian

The Klamath Basin straddles Oregon and California and comprises an area larger than nine American states. It is famous for its natural beauty and supports farms and ranches as well as tribal homelands and vast wildlife refuges. The Basin also is the center of the most contentious and consequential water struggle in the United States.

The Klamath Tribes this year exerted their newly affirmed senior rights to the upper Basin's water, joining a call for water by Klamath Project irrigators, and several upper Basin water shutoffs unwound like a game of Russian roulette. Income will be hobbled, some folks could go out of business. Thousands of migratory birds, meanwhile, have chosen not to land in wetlands that are dried up from drought. And the peculiar hydrology of the Basin, hammered in recent years by diminished snowpack levels, defies long-term projection.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Federal officials criticize Delta tunnel plans

From: Christopher Arns, Sacramento Business Journal

The federal government isn't happy with Gov. Jerry Brown's tunnel plan.

According to a story from the Los Angeles Times, biologists from the National Marine Fisheries Service have criticized a draft environmental impact report of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which calls for funneling water from the California Delta to farms in the San Joaquin Valley.

California representatives: Federal reports confirm Bay Delta plan not based on sound science

From: Staff, Lake County News

On Friday, several U.S. Representatives from Northern California called on the Brown Administration to withdraw and fully revise their proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) in light of draft environmental documents being found "biased" and "insufficient" by federal agencies in public comments made available Thursday.

Political Notes: Garamendi says tunnel plan is 'destructive'

From: Eric Vodden, Marysville Appeal-Democrat

Area Congressman John Garamendi is one of several Northern California congressmen who have weighed in against Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

However, it has drawn the ire of the group of Northern California congressmen in the wake of comments from federal agencies that commented the report is "biased" and "insufficient."

Trinity River 

Blog: Water for salmon proposal infuriates farmers, who threaten lawsuit

From: Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle

Low water on the Klamath River has prompted the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to recommend a large release of water from Trinity Dam to help what is projected to be one of the best salmon runs in a decade, but farmers are all but jabbing pitchforks at the plan.

The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, representing agricultural interests in the Central Valley, has threatened to sue if the bureau proceeds with the plan to release 62,000 acre feet of cold Trinity River water into the Klamath between Aug. 15 through Sept. 21.

Trinity River Water Could Save Klamath Fish, But California Farmers Need It Too

From: Devan Schwartz, Northwest Public Radio

Water struggles in the Klamath Basin are spreading to the Trinity River. Managers at the federal Bureau of Reclamation say by releasing extra water from the Trinity into the Klamath River, they may avoid a fish kill.

Shasta Dam

Should California's Biggest Reservoir Be Even Bigger?

From: Mike Osbourne, KQED

Water planners are exploring the possibility of expanding Shasta Dam, a concrete slab across the Sacramento River that forms California's largest reservoir, Shasta Lake. A $1 billion proposal to raise the dam by as much as 18 and a half feet would expand the reservoir's capacity by 634,000 acre feet, enough to supply more than a million families for a year. (Though how the water would be parceled out between farms, families and fish is still up for debate.)

Colorado River

Congress urged to take action on Colorado River basin

From: Associated Press, Casper Star-Tribune  

Government officials are urging Congress to consider solutions to deal with possible water shortages in the Colorado River basin that could include finding ways to reduce demand, conservation and better management of water supplies. Other solutions being considered include reuse of water and augmentation from other water sources.

Fisheries

Big batch of threatened salmon get more cool water

From: Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record  

Hot weather predicted for today and tomorrow means more cold water from Philbrook Lake to Butte Creek.

PG&E began releasing the extra water Thursday morning, and within about 22 hours the temperatures should drop a bit along the 11 miles where threatened spring-run chinook salmon are waiting to spawn.

Legislature

Vidak, Perez on taxes, ag issues

From: Staff, Hanford Sentinel

What is your position on the key issues facing agriculture, including water, food safety and farm labor/immigration issues?

VIDAK: Water is the number one issue for agriculture and for job creation in the Valley.

PEREZ: I support increased surface water storage. I support ground water recharge.

News Articles and Links from May 24, 2013

      Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Peaceful Delta in danger of plunder From: Gene Beley, The Record I read Jerry Meral's May 19 op-ed piece in The Record, "Clarifying issues with Bay Delta Conservation Plan." He did not mention how BDCP's twin tunnel plan will use eminent domain to take away thousands of acres of Delta family farms. Coalition response...The Delta has undergone a slow but continual change dating back hundreds of years. The Swamp and Overflow Land Act of 1850 spurred substantial changes that created the islands found in the Delta. Cities began to pop up around and in the Delta. Each change resulted in benefits that ultimately favored California, but that have undeniably created a Delta that is vastly different from its natural state. History is poised to repeat itself with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The Legislature's 2009 mandate for co-equal goals includes both improved water supply reliability AND ecosystem restoration. Fixing the host of problems confronting the Delta will take a lot of work and may cause temporary inconveniences. That's a necessary part of returning the Delta to its potential as a vibrant and productive ecosystem and serving the water supply needs of 25 million Californians and thousands of farmers. Doing nothing means that the Delta will continue to collapse, which is unacceptable for water users and true advocates for the environment.

Supervisors fear Delta water grab From: Dennis Wyatt, Manteca Bulletin Frank Ruhstaller and Steve Bestolarides are rallying the troops as California's perennial water wars heat up. This time they warn San Joaquin County's economic vitality and ability to make local land use decisions without potentially kowtowing to a regional agency are at state. Coalition response...People incorrectly view the Bay Delta Conservation Plan's two tunnels as depleting the amount of water in the Sacramento River and the Delta. The water that will flow through the tunnels is that supply that is already legally contracted for by water users south of the Delta.The amount of water that will flow through the tunnels will be limited by the actual day-by-day conditions and flows of the Sacramento River. Studies have concluded that water diversions will likely be in the range of average exports over the past 20 years. When flows are high more water can be moved through the tunnels. When flows are lower less water will be moved...or none at all under dry conditions. Learn more at www.farmwater.org/exportthrottle.pdf. Supervisor Ruhstaller should understand that of the nearly 4,000 farmers in the San Joaquin Valley receiving water that flows through the Delta, most are family farmers. According to USDA statistics, nearly 96% of all farms in California are owned by families, individuals or partnerships and that percentage is likely representative for the San Joaquin Valley's southern and Westside that he attempts to vilify.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

The Buzz: Southern California lawmakers trumpet 'strong support' for Jerry Brown's water plan From: Jeremy B. White, Sacramento Bee North-south split on water includes House members Weather, terrain, culture - there are plenty of things to distinguish Northern California from the south state. Add to that list where House members stand on Gov. Jerry Brown's divisive plan to construct a massive new water delivery system in the state.

Fisheries

Wayward salmon trapped in canal near Willows From: Alastair Bland, Chico Enterprise-Record As many as several hundred adult endangered winter-run chinook salmon have been discovered in a shallow freshwater canal near Willows, where federal officials said Thursday the fish - which had been on their way upstream to spawn - may have been trapped for about five months.

Legislature

Delta-Related Bill Held in Senate Appropriations Committee From: Lisa Lien-Mager, ACWA An ACWA-opposed bill dealing with reduced reliance on the Delta was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee May 23.

People

Machado retires from Delta Protection Commission From: Gene Beley, Central Valley Business Times Michael Machado, who has served as executive director of the Delta Protection Commission since Sept. 20, 2010, announced his retirement at the commission's May 23 meeting in Courtland.