Pacific Progressive

20x2020 Water Conservation Plan - What is It?

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta supplies a significant part of California's water. Recent environmental issues in the Delta (habitat protection, endangered species, problems with levees) have caused state government officials to look at comprehensive solutions to fix the area.  One element of fixing the problems in the Delta includes water conservation.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has outlined the 20x2020 plan  http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/hot_topics/20x2020/index.shtml to reduce per capita water use in urban areas by 20% by 2020.   Note that the target is a 20% reduction in per capita (per person) water use, not overall water use. The plan is designed to allow population growth while cutting the amount of water each person is supposed to use.  

10 Regions

Under the plan, the state is divided into 10 hydrological regions.  The 10 regions are:  North Coast, San Francisco Bay, Central Coast, South Coast, Sacramento River, San Joaquin, Tulare Lake, North Lahontan, South Lahontan and Colorado River.  Orange County is in Region 4, South Coast.  The regions are delineated by water flow patterns and geographic features such as mountain ranges. 

What the Plan is and is Not

• Only urban water use and conservation is addressed.  Agricultural use is not addressed in this plan.
• Only drinkable (potable) water is addressed.  Water recycling, such as Orange County's groundwater basin recharging plan, is not addressed.
• Water which is supplied by customers for their own use is not addressed.
• Only per capita use, not total regional or state use, is addressed.  

Gov. Schwarzenegger "Loans" 100,000 Acre-Feet of Water to Central Valley

In an attempt to provide partial relief to hard hit Central Valley agricultural towns, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to release up to 100,000 acre-feet of water to Central Valley farms.  

The water loan works like this:  the State Water Project (SWP) gives water to the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) now.  After the summer irrigation season is over, the CVP is supposed to send the water back to the SWP.  There is no information available at this time about the rate of interest being charged on this loan.  This emergency action allows Central Valley farmers, who receive irrigation water from CVP, to receive water to irrigate crops. Several court decisions which protect endangered Delta fish have left the CVP  without enough water for all customers.

John Garamendi Talks About Sacramento Delta Water Issues

Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, who lives and farms in the Sacramento River Delta, addressed about 250 Delta residents, farmers, and elected officials at a July 7 Sacramento rally.  The rally was to draw attention to the plan for the peripheral canal. 

The peripheral canal http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=810  is a long waiting plan to build a canal, which skirts the Delta, to bring water to the remainder of California without requiring pumping from ecologically sensitive areas of the Delta.  Supporters of the peripheral canal say the canal help the endangered habitats and animals of the Delta by allowing them to be less disturbed by pumping and manage flooding.  Currently, the Sacramento River floods are contained by a system of privately built levees.  Opponents of the peripheral canal say the canal will not protect habitat but could increase the backflow of seawater into the freshwater delta, and is a huge public works undertaking which requires massive amounts of funding and private land to be condemned to build the canal.    

"Any discussion of a peripheral canal must follow a solid guarantee that protects the Delta economy and the terrestrial and aquatic environment of the Delta.  The voice of the Delta must be embedded in any proposal to establish a system of governance in the Delta," said Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a Delta resident.

20x2020 Water Conservation Bills Advancing

Two bills, SB 261 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0251-0300/sb_261_bill_20090629_amended_asm_v94.pdf  and AB 49 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/ab_49_bill_20090709_amended_sen_v94.pdf , which support the 20x2020http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/water_issues/hot_topics/20x2020/index.shtml  water conservation goal are advancing in the California legislature.  Senator Lou Correa is a coauthor of SB 261.  

20x2020 is a statewide water initiative to reduce water consumption by 20% by 2020 (11 years from now.)  The two bills differ in their approaches to California's water problems.  SB 261 has urban water agencies write and implement the plans.  Also included in the Senate bill are  provisions to create commercial and industrial task forces to find and encourage ways for businesses to become more water thrifty.  Additionally, agricultural users would have to prepare and submit detailed usage and conservation plans.  AB 49 is in the process of being reconciled with the Senate bill so a single bill can be agreed upon and passed by both houses.

The bills acknowledge that different types of users (agricultural, industrial, residential) have different needs and capabilities and that different regions (coastal, desert, mountain) have different resources and needs. These bills work to acknowledge these differences, set up uniform requirements statewide but allow the individual areas to find their own unique solutions for their areas.

No Water Causes State of Emergency in Central Valley

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked President Obama to declare a Federal State of Emergency in California's Central Valley due to a lack of water.  http://www.gov.ca.gov/press-release/12562/ Recent dry years and pumping restrictions have severely reduced the amount of water flowing to the Central Valley.  In some towns which rely on agriculture, unemployment has reached 40%.

"Calfornia's Central Valley is our nation's agricultural engine and unemployment here is devastating the economy and hurting the people of California.  These are dire circumstances - no water means no work - and no work means people cannot feed their families.  This drought is truly an emergency, and the actions we are taking today show how government can still work for the people when they need it the most," Said Gov. Schwarznegger.

The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture http://www.fema.gov/dhsusda/searchState.do?state=CA has already declared the counties of Alpine, Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Kings, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Benito, San Bernardino, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama,Tulare,  Tuolumne, and  Yuba.

Longfin Smelt Added to List of Endangered Delta Fish

The longfin smelt, a cousin to the Delta smelt, has been added to the California Endangered Species list.http://www.fgc.ca.gov/meetings/2009/062409agd.asp#thu  California maintains a state list of endangered species, in addition to the Federal Endangered Species list.   Like it's cousin the Delta smelt, the longfin smelt is seen by wildlife experts as an indicator species of the overall health of the Sacramento River Delta region. 

The fish is not currently listed on the Federal Endangered Species list because experts did not fee that the California population of this fish is distinct from other, similar fish found in other areas outside the Sacramento River Delta.

To date, no new pumping restrictions have been ordered to help save the current longfin smelt population.

Farmworkers Rally in Fresno to Protest Lack of Water for Crops

July 1 saw a rally in Fresno of Central Valley farmworkers protesting the lack of water available for crops.  The Central Valley has been hard hit with water restrictions coming from a lack of rain and snow for several years and pumping restrictions on the Sacramento River Delta imposed to protect several endangered fish species.  

The workers rallied to protest cuts in water supplies which lead to loss of jobs in agriculture.  In some Central Valley towns, unemployment has reached 40%.

The rally was coordinated by the California Latino Water Coalition http://www.gotwater.org/ , chaired by comedian Paul Rodriguez, Mayor Victor Lopez of Orange Cove, Ruben Guerra of the Southern California Latin Business Association, and Tony Estremera, Director of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Event organizers are planning similar rallies for San Francisco and the Southern California area. 

Paul Rodriquez recently chaired the Water Summit sponsored by the Orange County Water District http://www.ocwd.com/ .  Adam Probolsky was a co-chair for the event.

Suing to Stop Salmon

Westlands Water District     http://www.westlandswater.org/wwd/aboutwwd/aboutwwd.asp?title=Who%20We ,  located in western Fresno and Kings counties, has filed a lawsuit arguing that the National Marine Fisheries Service should have prepared an environmental impact report (EIR) before issuing a ruling that protected salmon by reducing the amount of water that can be taken from the Sacramento River Delta.  Westlands Water District serves many agricultural users in the cities of Mendota, Huron, Tranquility, Firebaugh, Three Rocks, Cantua Creek, Helm, San Joaquin, Kerman, Lemoore and Coalinga.  

Salmon, steelhead, Chinook salmon, North American Green sturgeon, and Southern Resident killer whales were given protection under a final biological opinion http://www.pacificprogressive.com/2009/06/central-valley-steelhead-chinook-salmon-imperiled-by-pumping.html  issued on June 4 by the National Marine Fisheries Service of NOAA.  The final biological opinion caused changes in water pumping operations at the Federal Central Valley Project.  It is estimated that 500,000 acre feet of water will no longer be available for pumping under terms of the agreement reached as part of the final biological opinion.

Central Valley Steelhead & Chinook Salmon Imperiled by Pumping

Winter and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, North American green sturgeon and Southern Resident killer whales are jeopardized by water pumping operations of the Federal Central Valley Project http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/cvp.html   and the California State Water Project http://www.water.ca.gov/swp/ .   The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/Default.htm released their final biological opinion on June 4.

The Federal Bureau of Reclamation, the operator of the Federal Central Valley Project, has agreed to change its water pumping operations to protect the fish.  Rod McInnis, southwest regional director for NOAA's Fisheries Service, said the requirements will reduce water deliveries by about 330,000 acre-feet per year on average, or about 5% to 7% of the average annual water moved through the Sacramento River Delta by the state and federal projects.  These changes are in addition to restrictions required to protect the endangered Delta Smelt. 

Delta Smelt Lose Preliminary Injunction Hearing

The Delta smelt lost a round on May 29, 2009, when U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger granted a preliminary injunction barring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from implementing water restrictions on pumping water from the Sacramento River Delta.  

Judge Wanger wants the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to explain why alternative, less restrictive measures would not adequately protect the Delta smelt.  The ruling requires the service to consider impacts the pumping restrictions would likely have on "humans, communities and the environment."  The ruling came in a suit filed by Westlands Water District and San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority alleging that the service failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when its biological opinion regarding the Delta smelt.  

A copy of the injunction is here:  http://www.acwa.com/uploads/PI_FindingsFact_ConcLaw5_29_2009.pdf

$7 a Month More for Water

The Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD)  is proposing a rate increase.  SMWD's rate structure includes rates for water based on water meter size and tiered consumption level and power charges.  When you use more water, the cost per unit increases.  SMWD says the average residential water bill will go up by $7/month ($84/year).

Details of the proposed rate increase are here http://www.smwd.com/publications/rate%20incrs%20notice%20051209.pdf

A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 7 PM at the Santa Margarita Water District Headquarters, 26111 Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.  

If you cannot attend the public hearing, you can submit comments or a written protest of the rate increase.  Any customer or property owner within the SMWD service area can file a protest by sending a letter to SMWD, Attention: General Manager, PO Box 7005, Mission Viejo, CA 92690 or 26111 Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688.  A valid protest letter must include your name, the address at which service is received from SMWD, a statement of protest, and your original signature.  Protest letters must be received by the end of the public hearing.  The letters will be tabulated and presented to the Board of Directors at the meeting.  Email protests are not valid and cannot be accepted.  Phone calls do not count either.