PUBLIC AGENCIES OPPOSE NEW THREAT TO STATEWIDE WATER SUPPLY
POSTED - November 18, 2008
Press Release:
Public Agencies Oppose New Threat to Statewide Water Supply
State Water Contractors - 11/13/08

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov 13, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- California Fish & Game Commission's Proposed Restrictions to Address Fish Decline

Called 'Major Threat' And 'Without Merit'

The State Water Contractors, a statewide organization of 27 public water agencies, voiced serious concern today regarding California Fish & Game Commission proposed regulations that could impose drastic new restrictions on pumping out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) to protect longfin smelt, a small fish species that is found in several estuaries along the northern Pacific Coast. The Commission will consider these proposed regulations, which public water agencies consider a major potential threat to statewide water supply, in a hearing this Friday.

The California Department of Water Resources estimates these restrictions could reduce water supplies by approximately one (1) million acre-feet in wet and average year conditions and by 600,000 acre-feet in dry conditions from both the State Water Project (SWP) and federal Central Valley Project (CVP). In average year conditions, these constraints represent approximately 17% of anticipated supply for the two projects, which serve as California's primary water delivery systems.

These proposed restrictions are in addition to severe cutbacks already imposed to address the decline of another similar fish species, the Delta smelt. Last year, a federal judge cut 660,000 acre-feet from the water system, a 31% reduction that could have served 5.3 million Californians for one year.

In a worst case scenario, restrictions to protect both Delta smelt and longfin smelt in 2009 could amount to nearly a 50% slash in water deliveries from the state's primary water delivery systems.

"If the Fish and Game Commission adopts these draconian proposals, we'll be looking at a scary situation," said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors. "The significant drawbacks of this proposal are way out of proportion to its benefits -- there's no guarantee that these restrictions will even protect the fish. We are in the midst of a governor-declared drought and the worst economic downturn in recent memory. This is the wrong time to propose regulations that could have severe impacts on California's economy while offering little, if any, help to the longfin smelt."

These proposed regulations for longfin smelt could impact pumping levels in December, January and February, but are most likely to impact operations in January and/or February. The consideration of these cuts would be triggered at the sole discretion of one individual -- the Director of the California Department of Fish and Game -- if as few as six fish are present near the SWP and CVP pumps during these months.

Public water agencies are critical of the proposed restrictions because they only focus on project pumping operations. Ignored in the proposal are other potential causes for the decline in Delta fish species currently being explored by scientists, including invasive species, ammonia discharges from wastewater treatment plants, other toxics, power plant operations and numerous local diversions. Fish surveys have repeatedly shown that the bulk of the longfin smelt population in the Delta is miles to the west of the water projects and out of their influence. The Fish and Game Commission is reviewing new restrictions for pumping operations in December even though the two projects have not salvaged a single longfin smelt in this month since 2003.

"These proposed restrictions continue the past practice of narrowly focusing on project pumping to protect Delta fish species, an effort that lacks scientific merit and hasn't demonstrated any benefit," said Moon.

"Trying to protect fish in the Delta in this manner could devastate our water supply and is an irresponsible strategy," added Moon. "Rather than continually chipping away at water supply, we need a comprehensive strategy that protects fish in the Delta and ensures Californians have water for their farms, homes and businesses. Unprecedented cutbacks are not the answer, especially in these tough economic times."

In addition to regulatory cutbacks, California has been hit with ongoing dry conditions. State reservoirs are drying up and many are at their lowest levels in years. To make matters worse, the water crisis goes beyond these regulatory and weather conditions. Twenty-five million Californians and more than three million acres of agricultural land currently get their water supplies moved through the Delta. However, the water delivered through the Delta is at risk because of the estuary's failing condition, antiquated levees and the threat of natural disaster.

Public water agencies, environmental organizations, and state and federal agencies are working together to develop a long-term solution. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), a comprehensive conservation plan for the Delta, is researching new ways to protect the struggling ecosystem by physically separating its natural tidal movements from the conveyance of water supplies, a strategy that has been identified as the best way to restore and protect the Delta ecosystem and ensure a reliable water supply for California. For more information on the BDCP, please visit http://www.resources.ca.gov/bdcp/.

The State Water Contractors is a statewide, non-profit association of 27 public agencies from Northern, Central and Southern California that purchase water under contract from the California State Water Project. Collectively the State Water Contractors deliver water to more than 25 million residents throughout the state and more than 750,000 acres of agricultural lands. For more information on the State Water Contractors, please visit www.swc.org.

http://www.marketwatch.com

WATER SUPPLY FALLING SHORT; RATIONING MAY BE NECESSARY

POSTED - October 30, 2008
09:19 AM PDT on Thursday, October 30, 2008

By JANET ZIMMERMAN
The Press-Enterprise

Inland water agencies could get only 15 percent of the supplies they requested from the State Water Project next year -- one of the lowest anticipated deliveries since 1993 -- possibly spurring mandatory rationing in some areas, officials said Wednesday.

The state Department of Water Resources is scheduled to announce the estimated allocation of water from Northern California today. But a state expert confirmed it will be 15 percent, and local authorities said that was consistent with what they were told to prepare for.

"We're anticipating getting a low allocation, possibly a record low," said Bob Muir, spokesman for Metropolitan Water District, a wholesaler for 18 million customers in the Inland area and other parts of Southern California.

The Department of Water Resources supplies Metropolitan and 28 other agencies.

The announcement follows two dry years and court-ordered reductions in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumping that cut the amount delivered to suppliers by two-thirds, said Ted Thomas, department spokesman.

The 2008 water year, which ended Sept. 30, was deemed critically dry, with statewide runoff from snowpack at 57 percent of normal. Instead of the normal two-thirds full, the state's major reservoirs are at about one-third of capacity.

The state commonly makes conservative estimates for allocations, then boosts them if supplies become available. This year, allocations were estimated at 25 percent early on, then increased to 35 percent based on rainfall and snowpack.

In 1993, when the estimate was for 10 percent allocations at the end of a six-year drought, agencies ended up receiving 100 percent of what they'd requested.

"We're hoping this is not the final allocation," Thomas said. "We're keeping our fingers crossed that it gets better. ... It all depends on the weather."

State meteorologists are predicting average rainfall, although forecasts are not unanimous.

If this winter is dry, suppliers might have to ratchet up conservation and fine water wasters. Metropolitan has a plan to double prices for its customers who go over a set limit and will discuss in April whether to begin rationing next summer.

"Southern California is facing the very real possibility of water shortages, which could mean water rationing," Muir said.

His agency made 30 percent reductions in agricultural water deliveries in Riverside and San Diego counties last year and invested in groundwater storage, recycling of waste water and water-saving technologies, he said.

In anticipation of shortages, water agencies have been preaching voluntary conservation, especially outdoors.

Western Municipal Water District, which serves about 24,000 retail customers in western Riverside County, relies on the state for 80 percent of its supplies. The agency will offer more aggressive grants and rebates for products such as moisture-sensing irrigation controllers. It also will pay residents to replace grass with native plants, and it could fine outdoor water wasters, General Manager John Rossi said.

The district's retail agencies, including Norco, Corona, Elsinore Valley and Rancho California in Temecula, have agreed that the agencies less reliant on imported Northern California water will share with harder-hit districts, Rossi said.

Water officials cautioned that until issues in the Delta are resolved, including new or better ways to move water through a crumbling canal system, the likelihood of getting full allocations again are slim.

The San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, which serves 10 agencies from Fontana to Yucaipa, has gotten by using water from reservoirs and wells, said Douglas Headrick, deputy general manager. The district relies on groundwater for about 70 percent of its supply.

Average rainfall in Northern and Southern California this year, combined with a 15 percent allocation from the state, would allow the district to "squeak by" without rationing. But cutbacks will be needed in some places, he said.

"No one likes to use the word rationing, but there it is," Headrick said.

Reach Janet Zimmerman at 951-368-9586 or jzimmerman@PE.com

WATER RATIONING IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY
POSTED - October 9, 2008
What Water Rationing Will Look Like
By Rob Davis
Voiceofsandiego.org

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 | Last September, when a federal judge cut water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a major source of Southern California's drinking water, the Long Beach Water Department bucked convention: It immediately instituted mandatory restrictions on consumption.

Monday, Thursday and Saturday are the only permissible lawn-watering days (and only after 4 p.m. or before 9 a.m.). Letting water run off into the street is prohibited. Restaurants can serve water only upon request. Hotels must offer guests the option of not having fresh towels and sheets each day. Violations can bring $50 fines that double with each incident. (Just two fines have been issued in the last year.)

As San Diego water agencies have called on residents to voluntarily conserve water, Long Beach has written it into the law. San Diego residents have cut consumption about 6 percent; Long Beach's have cut 9 percent. That small increase in savings has been the difference between meeting conservation goals in Long Beach and missing them here.

"We don't have lawns dying," said Kevin Wattier, Long Beach's general manager. "I don't see any difference. You can get 9 to 10 percent without doing any damage to your local economy."

With water agencies in San Diego County currently considering how they'll handle an expected cut in supplies next year -- what would be the first water rationing since 1992 -- Long Beach's steps offer a glimpse of what may be in store. Endangered species protections in the Sacramento Delta and prolonged drought on the Colorado River, arid San Diego's two main drinking water supplies, threaten to make 2009 a tough water year.

Local water agencies are planning for a 10 percent cut in deliveries from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District, the wholesaler that delivers a majority of San Diego's supply. If that cut comes, the 24 local agencies that supply drinking water to county residents will have to deliver savings or face significant fines.

If the call for conservation continues being unsuccessful and mandatory restrictions are put in place, agencies' strategies for enforcing those measures will vary. Many will turn to financial penalties for excessive use. Homeowners who use water excessively will see a bigger increase in their bills than those who don't. Rates that would double or triple a users' typical bill are possible.

"When the rates go way up because we have to use way less, that's when we'll see a noted reduction in the use of water," said Mark Weston, general manager of the Helix Water District, which supplies La Mesa.

Some agencies are planning tougher steps. Mark Rogers, general manager of the Sweetwater Authority, which supplies National City and parts of Chula Vista, said his agency's board will consider a proposal in December to cap the amount of water it delivers to customers based on their historic consumption levels.

Deliveries would vary from home-to-home and business-to-business, Rogers said. Homeowners and businesses would be allowed 20 percent of the water they used based on a three-year average from 2004-2006. Instead of fining violators, flow restrictors on water pipes would halt deliveries to scofflaws.

Rogers calls it "the adult approach." He said the agency fears financial penalties won't dissuade some homeowners from keeping green lawns if they can simply pay nominal fines to continue excessive use.

"We don't want people to be able to pay their way out," he said. "I'm not going to tell you how to use your water. I am going to tell you how much you can use."

Other water agencies say they are concerned about penalizing residents who have conserved water since the last drought struck the region from 1987-1992.

"It's an issue we face now that we didn't in 1991," said Ken Weinberg, water resources director at the San Diego County Water Authority. "You have people who are doing the right thing and people who aren't."

The region may also face the possibility of water police: Code enforcement officers who ensure that water isn't being wasted. The Padre Dam Municipal Water District, which supplies almost 100,000 people from Santee to Alpine, in June became the first water agency in San Diego to institute mandatory restrictions on consumption, limiting lawn watering and other outdoor uses.

The district's staff has been trained to keep a lookout for wasteful water uses -- broken sprinklers, irrigation runoff in the streets -- while out in neighborhoods, spokesman Mike Uhrhammer said. Since July, the district has sent 100 warnings to residents who are violating the new rules. Just three warnings have been repeat offenders. Uhrhammer said those residents face a $150 fine or the option of attending a two-hour water conservation class. It's too soon to measure the effort's success, he said.

Residents can file complaints about their neighbors' use, but Uhrhammer said Padre Dam won't issue warnings from such a grievance without follow up, concerned that the district may get caught up in a Hatfield-McCoy dispute.

"We have a lot of neighbor-versus-neighbor type of things going on out there," Uhrhammer said. "We have had neighbors talk about restraining orders."

Extensive policing is not likely at the city of San Diego, which asks residents to report wasteful water use. Jim Barrett, the city's public utilities director, said the Water Department estimates it would have to hire 10 staffers to investigate complaints if they increased. Before declaring a water emergency in July, the city received few complaints; it now gets about six each day. In contrast, Long Beach has received almost 4,000 complaints (that's an average of about 11 a day) since instituting mandatory restrictions a year ago.

San Diego officials remain hopeful that they will not have to enforce punitive measures to get residents to save water.

"We haven't gotten to the point yet where we're willing to admit that mandatory conservation and financial penalties are the only solution," Barrett said. "We don't need to come around with a 10-pound sledgehammer and hit people in the head, just because we have one."

Please contact Rob Davis directly at rob.davis@voiceofsandiego.org with your thoughts, ideas, personal stories or tips. Or set the tone of the debate with a letter to the editor.

UPDATE ON SAN DIEGO'S NEW IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL WAIVER

POSTED - October 1, 2008
San Diego's new irrigated agricultural waiver became effective January 1, 2008. With this Ag waiver, the Water Board's intent is to reach out to the Ag community, obtain water quality data, and give the Ag sector an opportunity to show that discharges from Ag operations are not a problem or are not as big a problem as initially believed.

A grower’s workshop was held at the San Diego Farm Bureau back in March 2008 to inform growers about the new Ag waiver and how it will affect Ag operations in San Diego. As of today (October 2008), the San Diego Water Board is awaiting the final approval of the waiver from the State Water Resources Control Board and the Office of Administrative Law.

If approved, the new regulation will require growers to enroll in the Ag waiver program by January 1, 2011. There will be no annual fee or enrollment fee. Growers will be required to conduct water quality monitoring for one year during 2012 and submit a report at the end of 2012. (San Diego Water Board is expected to come out with the enrollment applications in October 2008. Enrollment applications and other basic information to assist Ag operators will be available on their website.)

Growers can choose to enroll as a group or as an individual. The San Diego Water Board is encouraging growers to establish monitoring groups. The goal is to get as many agricultural operators as possible enrolled in a small number of groups. The idea of having one monitoring group administered by the Farm Bureau is also being considered. While, the San Diego Water Board is generally in support of the idea, it is likely that there will be a need for some alternatives.

The San Diego Water Board continues to coordinate with the State Irrigated Lands Program and other regional boards in developing the program. This includes holding workshops and sharing information about how to proceed with the waiver implementation.

The San Diego Water Board is proceeding with the waiver as though it will be approved. A workshop will be held on November 6, 2008 at Rancho California Water District. Speakers from the State Water Board and the San Diego Water Board will be presenting information on the new water quality regulations. There will also be speakers from Mission Resource Conservation District and from NRCS to give presentations on management practices for Ag.

STATE ACTIVATING DROUGHT WATER BANK

POSTED - September 24, 2008
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 23, 2008

By JANET ZIMMERMAN
The Press-Enterprise

Facing the third dry winter in a row, the state is activating a plan to transfer water supplies from Northern California to drought-plagued areas farther south, possibly staving off mandatory rationing, water officials said Tuesday.

Consumers could get hit with higher water bills as a result.

This would be the first use of the state's drought water bank since 1992, the end of six dry years that killed lawns and fish populations, drove down agricultural land values and forced severe rationing in some communities across the state.

This summer, Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a drought statewide and a drought emergency in the Central Valley, where farmers have been devastated by the water shortage.

Under the banking plan proposed by the Department of Water Resources, willing sellers in Northern California would agree to curtail their use of water so it can be shipped south via canals operated by the State Water Project or federal Central Valley Project.

Most of the sellers are farmers north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta who would be paid to idle crops or pump groundwater instead of using surface water, said Teresa Geimer, water bank coordinator.

The action is a way to deal with court-ordered sanctions on the amount of water taken from the Delta, where fish populations are threatened by massive pumps that alter the water flow. The Delta supplies water for two-thirds of California's residents.

The state has asked that water providers in dry regions express interest in using the bank by Oct. 15, Geimer said. The allotment could be enough to serve 1.2 million homes, although the supply is not guaranteed.

Sellers have yet to set their prices, Geimer said.

"Once we know who wants to participate and how much water they want, we'll do our best to meet those needs," she said.

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies 26 member agencies serving about 18 million people, probably will participate but hasn't decided how much water to ask for, spokesman Bob Muir said.

"It would help shore up our supplies as we head toward 2009," he said.

The additional costs were figured into an overall 14.2 percent rate increase for MWD customers beginning in January. It's still unclear how the rate increase will affect household consumers. MWD already has imposed a mandatory 30 percent cut in supplies for agricultural users.

Water officials have declared a water crisis and are urging extraordinary conservation and development of ways to recharge local groundwater supplies.

The Delta isn't the only problem. Global warming has decreased the snowpack that feeds rivers, and imported water from the Colorado River has been severely curtailed because of an eight-year drought and increased demand.

So far, local water districts have not imposed rationing for residential customers. They have managed without cutbacks by using reserves, such as Metropolitan's Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet, a six-month emergency supply now drawn down by about one-third, said Peter Odencrans, spokesman for Eastern Municipal Water District in Perris.

John Rossi, general manager of Western Municipal Water District in Riverside, praised the water bank idea and said the water will ultimately be less expensive than Metropolitan's penalty rates that will be imposed on districts exceeding their allotments.

"It will help," Rossi said.

Reach Janet Zimmerman at 951-368-9586 or jzimmerman@PE.com

MORE WITH LESS
POSTED - September 24, 2008

A comprehensive report on agricultural water conservation and efficiency in California, with a special focus on the Delta.
View the report
View the report update for September

METROPOLITAN PLAN COULD CURB HARVEST
POSTED - September 10, 2008

Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 10, 2008

Metropolitan plan could curb harvest
The San Diego Tribune- 9/10/08
By Mike Lee

The Metropolitan Water District plans to end a 14-year-old program that gives discounted rates to farmers in Southern California. The move is likely to reduce the amount of food produced in the region.

Growers in San Diego County account for about two-thirds of the water sold through the program, which offers lower prices in exchange for supply cutbacks during dry years.

Some growers are willing to pay higher rates for a more reliable water supply, while others – particularly avocado farmers – said losing the discounts will make it hard to stay in business in an era of quickly rising costs for fuel and fertilizer.

“I just don't see how the avocado industry can make it. I have been doing this for 34 years and it looks like this is the end of the road to me,” said Russ Hatfield, an avocado farmer in Fallbrook.

Under Metropolitan's program, growers obtain a price break by agreeing to have their water allotment cut by 30 percent or more when the region's supplies run low. This year was the first time that the agency imposed restrictions.

Yesterday, the agency's board discussed phasing out the discount pricing over five years. A final decision isn't expected until October.

The proposal allows farmers to opt out of the discount program in January. It also outlines new conservation incentives to help farmers who pay full price install highly efficient irrigation equipment. Metropolitan also might pay farmers to not irrigate some parcels.

“If the program is going to end, at least this is a bit of a soft landing instead of an instant end,” said Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau.

He said the days are numbered for irrigation discounts because Metropolitan's board consists mainly of representatives for urban water districts that dislike giving farmers price breaks while the agency's reserves are dwindling and conservation mandates are growing.

Jeffrey Kightlinger, Metropolitan's general manager, said the program for farmers no longer makes sense because the agency would have to impose restrictions almost every year given the drought and other water-supply constraints across California.

He said there's still a future for agriculture in Southern California, but that farmers will have to select only high-value crops – such as flowers and strawberries – to cover their full-price water costs.

Avocado growers face the toughest challenge because they have thin profit margins and typically lack other crop options, Larson said.

“When you look at the kind of ground (avocados) grow on – the real steep hillsides – that land will never convert to another ag use,” he said.

The situation is filled with difficult questions for hundreds of North County farmers such as Hatfield, for whom water is the main expense. The discount water program saves him thousands of dollars a year, he said.

Hatfield said he'll probably take a few months to decide whether to drop out of the program in 2009.

Even farmers who opt to pay full price next year would be subject to any reductions in the regional water supply, just like non-farmers.

That means growers could face another round of cutbacks next year unless a wet winter ends the statewide drought, said Dave Seymour, general manager at the Rainbow Municipal Water District in Fallbrook.

He said farmers with just a few acres of land are likely to exit the discount program quickly while owners of larger groves will probably hang on to their price breaks next year.

“It's going to be a short-term blessing for people if they can get out of the program and get as much water as they need,” Seymour said. “But in the long run, they are going to have to pay a higher price for that water and that's going to cut into the bottom line.”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080910-9999-1m10water.html

Special to the San Diego Union-Tribune
POSTED - July 9, 2008
Word Count: 461words
Contact: Bob Muir, MWD Press Office, (213) 217-6930

"Southern California Needs to Discuss Water Strategy for Agriculture"
By Jeff Kightlinger

A word may no longer play such a major role in Southern California water planning. That word is "surplus." The region has long managed its water supplies as though there was extra to provide in any given year. This so-called surplus has been sold at a discount rate to some (but not all) farming operations under a program overseen by the region's primary water wholesaler, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. But now the region is facing a worsening water shortage and Metropolitan has been forced to reduce agricultural water deliveries. In San Diego County, some avocado farmers have stunted their trees down to the stump to minimize their need for water. This exemplifies how continuing tough choices lie ahead. Our entire region needs to adjust to a new water reality, and that includes agriculture. Since the 1987-92 drought, Metropolitan has increased the region's storage capacity by more than 10-fold. The district constructed Diamond Valley Lake in southwest Riverside County, nearly doubling Southern California's surface storage capacity. It developed underground storage programs of similar capacity in the San Joaquin Valley. The goal has been to store additional supplies when water is available in wet years and minimize the impacts of the inevitable dry years. In 1994, the district created a unique water program for interested farmers. They could purchase water at a discount when extra water was available. But, there was one proviso--if reserves began to dwindle, farmers would be the first to face supply reductions. This year, farmers relying on discounted water from this program are having their supplies reduced by 30 percent. Prior to 2008, Metropolitan had never curtailed water supplies to these farmers. However, the region's two major imported supply sources--from the Colorado River and Northern California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta--face unprecedented challenges. The Colorado River is recovering from a historic drought, highlighted by record dry conditions for eight of the last nine years. Deteriorating environmental conditions in the Delta are triggering supply cutbacks to agencies serving more than 25 million Californians statewide and farmers throughout the fertile Sacramento and Central valleys. A comprehensive fix in the Delta will take years, and Metropolitan has been forced to draw on its reserves. Faced with these challenges, Metropolitan's Board of Directors will be reviewing in the coming months the future of its agricultural water program. Regardless of any changes to this program, agriculture will remain a part of Southern California's future. However, all of Southern California's sectors-residential, commercial, industrial and agriculture-must face a future that demands greater water efficiency. Conservation and careful water planning are needed to sustain our economy and lifestyle, and to keep those beautiful, productive orchards alive.

Jeff Kightlinger is the general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES UPDATE OF HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS

POSTED - May 8, 2008

Spring 2008 is turning out to be extremely dry.

The current 8-Station Index for Water Year 2008 indicates: