WesternWaterBlog

Action in Washington could restore water to San Joaquin River

There was good news out of Washington last week.

If you're a salmon.

The Senate Energy Committee approved a bill, similar to legislation a House panel approved last fall, that will restore water flows to the San Joaquin River.

The proposal for the river, the state's second longest, would bring water to a 60-mile dry stretch by next year. With luck, that would mean chinook salmon would return to the river three years later.

Being a salmon has grown increasingly tough in recent years, what with streams and rivers blocked by developments and dams, low water, bad water quality and who knows what else. In fact, we know so little about what has caused the salmon population to collapse that commercial fishing for the species off the California and Oregon coasts as well as sport fishing on the inland waterways has been halted this season.

Putting water back in the San Joaquin River, flowing north from Friant Dam and eventually into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, will not restore the West Coast salmon runs of the past. But it won't hurt, either. Read more

Analyst says dry California weather may hurt water utilities

Analyst warns dry weather in western US may harm supply at public water utilities

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Extremely arid conditions in California and the western United States threatens to drain away the supply of public water utilities, an analyst said in a recent industry update.

Brean, Murray, Carret & Co. analyst Michael Gaugler warned Monday that for four California utilities "the promise of plentiful water supplies for 2008 has largely evaporated."

"While the first two months of the year put California's rainfall level well above average, the driest March and early April in almost 70 years has turned what was looking like a wet year into a near-drought," Gaugler said in a note to clients.

Shares of all four _ California Water Service Group, American States Water Co., SJW Corp. and Southwest Water Co. _ fell during trading last week. American States Water fell the most, losing nearly 7 percent of its valuation.

Gaugler said that at the end of March, rain and snow levels in the Sierra mountains had dropped to 10 percent below average.

The note comes less than a week after American Water Works Co.'s initial public offering. That company's stock may be hampered by its former owner's large holding, and potentially helped if the results over the next several quarters are "impressive," Gaugler said.

American Water operates in 32 states, including California.

In early afternoon trading shares of California Water fell 63 cents to $38.20; shares of American States Water slipped 43 cents to $35.82; shares of SJW rose 66 cents to $30.86; shares of Southwest Water lost 7 cents to $11.12; and American Water Works Company were flat at $21. Read more

Region facing water 'crisis'

Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

With the simple twist of a knob, clean water spills from the tap.
At the end of the month, the bill comes, and if it's higher, it's not by much.

So what's to be worried about?

According to local water officials: more than most people know.

"It's kind of like gasoline," said Albert Robles, director on the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. "The public didn't notice when gas was $2 a gallon, but at $4 they are starting to see that there is a problem."

Even as cities and water agencies warn of impending crisis, asking for increased conservation and promising hikes in rates, the public remains apathetic, water officials say.

At the polls, few voters turn out. Water board meetings rarely attract an audience. And even when elected water officials are caught in scandals, such as Three Valleys Municipal Water Director Xavier Alvarez, who is on trial for lying about receiving the Medal of Honor and has been censured by the board, the public shows little interest in their water districts.

"Are we in a water crisis? You bet your life we are," said Edward Little, director at the West Basin Municipal Water District. "The public needs to understand that there are water problems and they need good people to represent them. But it's a very complicated business, and it is hard for people to understand it."

Droughts, contaminated groundwater, a reduced supply of imported water, environmental pressures and a lack of money for infrastructure are a few of the obstacles facing water agency and governmental officials. In February, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called on the public to reduce water usage by 20 percent in 12 years by doing things like cutting back on watering their lawns, taking shorter showers and getting low-flush toilets.

But water officials contend these requests may soon become demands and that the public soon will see the crisis reflected in their bills.

"We're not talking about, `Gosh, maybe we need to prevent a future crisis.' We are facing the crisis today," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. "There is a disconnect with the public."

That is largely because regional water agencies have spent billions in developing water storage, and those reserves are being drawn on today.

MWD is expected to discuss more serious conservation efforts at its board meeting next month. Read more

Water projects could be thwarted by ballot measure, state memo says

By Michael Gardner/U-T SACRAMENTO BUREAU

SACRAMENTO – Water and flood-control projects across California could be jeopardized if voters approve a ballot measure to greatly restrict the ability of local governments to take private property, warns a state Department of Water Resources legal analysis.

Proposition 98 “could seriously hamstring or thwart future water projects,” state attorney Dave Anderson wrote in a confidential memo to superiors.

The five-page opinion surfaced just as the parties dueling over competing eminent-domain measures on the June 3 ballot wait for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to weigh in.

The governor has not taken a position on Proposition 98, but the review by one of his own attorneys could persuade Schwarzenegger that the measure would stand in the way of his pursuit of new reservoirs and an improved north-to-south water delivery system.

“It is clear that this report raises serious concerns,” said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.

Supporters of Proposition 98 contend that it provides exemptions to allow government to take land for public-works projects, such as reservoirs and canals.

“A farmer's livelihood is dependent on his water supply, and the Farm Bureau would not have drafted a measure that puts his future at stake. We are strong supporters of a water-bond measure that would provide new water storage,” said John Gamper, a state Farm Bureau representative testifying yesterday before a legislative panel.

Proposition 98 generally would prohibit government from seizing property from unwilling sellers and turning that land over to another private user. Water agencies, however, are alarmed by language they perceive as ambiguous that could raise legal barriers to new projects.  Read more

Valley senator backs smelt hatchery

Facility aims to ease water cuts for farms, cities.By Mark Grossi / The Fresno Bee

State Sen. Dean Florez on Monday proposed a $5 million fish hatchery to expand the population of delta smelt, a threatened species that has caused major water cutbacks for farms and cities.

Experts estimate that since January, farms and cities have lost 640,000 acre-feet of water -- a year's supply for 1.2 million households -- to protect the 3-inch minnow from extinction.

The hatchery proposed in Senate Bill 994 would build up the smelt's numbers and allow the state's water projects to avoid future cutbacks, said Florez, a Shafter Democrat, who joined Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, in sponsoring the measure.

"This ought to be something everyone gets behind," Florez said. "If we don't get those water pumps moving, it can mean big economic problems."

He did not suggest that simply breeding more smelt will fix the ecosystem at the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where the fish lives. He called it an interim step so water could flow more freely again to farms and cities. Read more

ACWA Legislative Symposium Set for March 26

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - (Business Wire) The Association of California Water Agencies’ (ACWA) annual Legislative Symposium is set for Wednesday, March 26 at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento. The program will explore key water supply issues facing California and how legislators and policy makers plan to address them.

Specific topics to be addressed include water policy priorities for 2008, proposed water bond packages, conservation and potential moves to tap local property tax revenues to fill holes in the state budget. Read more

California Water Goes From Toilet to Tap

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Parched by a deepening water crisis, the West has launched the world's largest operation to recycle sewer water - and the first such major effort in America - but some residents of Orange County are finding it hard to swallow and branding it distastefully as "toilet-to-tap."

"That's gross!" said Stephanie Pakalns, 23, a trade show decorator, after she used a public bathroom along the beach, which happened to be next to a drinking fountain. "Bottled-water companies - they're going to be making a lot of business."

Not everyone agrees. "I don't have a problem with it," said John Scarich, 88, who is retired from building electrical motors. "It's supposed to be OK."

Beginning this year, the Orange County government started taking sewer water and, instead of dumping it into the ocean after treatment, cleaned it a second time using technology that renders the water almost distilled, exceeding all state and federal drinking standards, officials said.

The water then goes from the new $480 million water plant in nearby Fountain Valley to the drinking supply that lies beneath Anaheim - percolating many months through the earth into an aquifer serving 2.3 million people in 20 cities.

The process departs from the routine: Treated sewage typically is returned to the environment at large, such as in rivers and lakes, and after it dilutes in the vast bodies, the water is reharvested. The Orange County process skips the return-to-the-great-outdoors step.

County officials acknowledge a public "yuck factor," which has stymied similar projects elsewhere, including in Los Angeles. But officials say the additional purification is intensive, involving three steps: microfiltration, also used in purifying baby food and sodas; reverse osmosis, which water bottlers employ; and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide, similar to how hospitals and dentists sterilize instruments.  Read more

Water watchers think ahead

A wet year doesn't ease officials' worries about future supplies
By Scott Hadly /Ventura County Star

Last month, Don Kendall started his discussion about Ventura County's water supply with a picture of a big, dry desert sand dune.

As general manager of the Calleguas Municipal Water District, which provides water to three-quarters of the county's population, Kendall is paid to be careful when making estimates.

Calleguas — mirroring other Southern California water districts — is coaxing residents to reduce water use by 10 percent and is raising its rates.

The district's water conservation campaign slogan is "Put a Cork in It." The marketing effort features a poster showing a cork plugged into a faucet.

Farmers, who make up about 10 percent of Calleguas' customers, are being asked to cut their water use 30 percent.

"There's a lot we can do and are doing," Kendall said.

Calleguas isn't alone in its effort. The massive Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, of which Calleguas is a member, last week approved a rate increase as did Ventura County's small Water District 19, which serves Somis.

The rate hikes and conservation efforts appear inconsistent with the weather, however. Back-to-back winter storms have filled many local reservoirs and stacked snow in the Sierra Nevada, pulling California out of a drought.

So what gives?  Read more

Drugs In Our Drinking Water

A five-month investigation by the Associated Press concludes that drinking-water supplies for at least 41 million Americans contain traces of an array of drugs. Those include antibiotics, mood stabilizers, sex hormones and anti-inflammatory drugs commonly sold over the counter.

Officials in Philadelphia, one of 24 major metropolitan areas targeted by the AP, reported 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in the city's treated drinking water.

Some of these drugs — outdated prescriptions, for example — may have been tossed down the toilet. But even ingested drugs don't fully metabolize; the rest simply passes through the body. And although wastewater and public drinking-water supplies undergo treatment, those technologies aren't designed to remove drug residues.

Even well water can be affected. And bottling companies, some of which are merely selling repackaged tap water, don't typically test or treat for pharmaceuticals. Read more

Reclaimed water law is largely forgotten

Funding for network of pipes slashed by S.D.
By Mike Lee/UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

As drought gripped the region in 1989, the San Diego City Council took a bold step by ordering everyone who could feasibly use reclaimed water for irrigation and industrial purposes to do so. It wanted to save the precious supply of imported water for cooking, bathing and drinking.

Some leaders called the ordinance the most aggressive of its kind in the nation. Council members unanimously said it was “vital to public health and safety” given the city's heavy reliance on imported water. They even threatened to cut off water service for people who refused to comply.

Almost two decades later, San Diego still relies almost entirely on water taken from the Colorado River and Northern California. The region's supplies are being squeezed by population growth, small snowpacks and lawsuits that complicate water deliveries.

One reason the city isn't better prepared for drought is that its reclaimed-water mandate was largely forgotten for years. Another is the expense: It can take tens of thousands of dollars for each business, school, homeowners association and other water users to tap reclaimed water, especially if they have to retrofit their plumbing. Read more