What they said
From:Alex Breitler, eSanJoaquin

Two members of the Delta Stewardship Council are from the Delta, so I was   curious what those members would say and how they would vote when the   long-awaited Delta Plan finally came up for adoption last Thursday.

Water Supply

IID water payback   obligations pouring in

From: Antoine Abou-Diwan,   Imperial Valley Press

The amount of water that the Imperial Irrigation District is expected to   pay back to the Colorado River keeps rising. In addition to nearly 180,000   acre-feet of water that the IID ordered in excess over the last two years and   a projected overrun for 2013 estimated at 13,000 acre-feet of water, the IID   is also expected to repay nearly 47,000 acre-feet of water it put in the   Salton Sea for environmental mitigation in 2010.

Transfers

Gov. Brown issues executive   order to streamline approvals for water transfers to protect California’s   farms
From:Press release, Office of the Governor

With near record-low precipitation in California this year, Governor   Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an Executive Order to streamline approvals   for voluntary water transfers to assist California’s agricultural industry.

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION   PLAN

Twin tunnels plan gains   momentum

Story
From Central Valley Business Times   – Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The Delta Stewardship Council has posted online the “proposed final   Delta plan” that will mandate California water distribution for the   foreseeable future.

Coalition   response…BDCP is part of a larger effort to improve   California water management including the bay delta plan, and when completed   will work in conjunction with other local and regional efforts. BDCP does not   replace water management practices such as conservation, recycling and other   water-saving techniques throughout the state. These efforts should continue   but most individuals involved in the water industry recognize that these   practices will not fulfill the need for a reliable water supply or restore   the Delta ecosystem.

The suggestion of building more   reservoirs is a good but fruitless idea if improved conveyance through the   Delta is not achieved. The proposed BDCP tunnels will provide the conveyance   that is needed for successful storage projects in the future.

Other   News

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MEETINGS

Coalition exhibit booth at   ACWA to debut ‘Farm State’ video

If you are attending the ACWA   Conference in Sacramento this week be sure to stop by the CFWC exhibit booth   and pick up a free coffee mug, some Smokehouse almonds and the latest   information on farm water issues.

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION   PLAN

Draft BDCP environmental   review documents to be released online Friday

Story
From ACWA – Tuesday, May 7,   2013
Administrative drafts of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan’s (BDCP)   Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)   will be released Friday, May 10, on the BDCP website, officials with the   California Natural Resources Agency announced May 7.

WATER SUPPLY

Water worries intensify as dry   year turns drier

Story
From Ag Alert – Wednesday, May   8, 2013
From Sierra Sun Times –   Wednesday, May 8, 2013
It’s going to be a long, hot summer-that’s a given in California’s interior   valleys. What isn’t known, farmers say, is how well billions of dollars’   worth of food crops will weather the heat amid severe irrigation water   cutbacks.

Spring storm is too little,   too late

TV news
From KTXL 40 – Wednesday, May   8, 2013
The rain that came to Northern California early this week did some good, but   in terms of helping overall water supply, it was the proverbial drop in a   bucket.

California Water Crisis – Part   two

TV news
From KSEE 24 – Tuesday, May 7,   2013
“This well gonna be 840 feet deep, expect to get a thousand gallons a   minute,” said well-driller Steve Arthur. Cities and towns and farmers   all over the Central Valley are poking ever deeper holes into the ground.

(This article was   previously published in the Fresno Bee.)

Areas to south of Modesto,   Turlock face dry times

Story
From Modesto Bee – Tuesday, May   7, 2013
A dry winter forced farmers in the Westlands Water District to run their   wells far more last summer than they usually would. The underground water   table dropped a staggering 48 feet.

Upper Klamath Basin braces for   irrigation shutoffs

Story
From Fresno Bee – Tuesday, May   7, 2013
With drought looming, the state of Oregon is preparing for the likelihood it   will have to shut off irrigation access for many of the 200 cattle ranchers   and hay farmers in the upper Klamath Basin as the Klamath Tribes take control   of senior water rights in the region for the first time in a century.

DELTA

The Delta Plan

Release
From Delta Stewardship Council   – Tuesday, May 7, 2013
At its March 28-29, 2013 meeting, the Delta Stewardship Council gave   direction to staff to complete the Final Draft Plan so it could be presented   to the members for adoption. The redline version of that document, showing   the changes made from the Nov. 12, 2012 Final Staff Draft, is listed below.

Stress Relief: Prescriptions   for a healthier Delta ecosystem

Announcement
From PPIC – Tuesday, May 7,   2013
2013 promises to be a big year for policymaking on the Sacramento-San Joaquin   Delta. At this half-day event-following the release of several PPIC reports   on the Delta-participants will explore options for organizing science,   management, and regulatory oversight to improve the health of the troubled   Delta ecosystem.

GROUNDWATER

Stanislaus County farmers   asked to sign up for pollutant monitoring program

Story
From Modesto Bee – Tuesday, May   7, 2013
The Stanislaus County Farm Bureau will put in extra hours to help farmers   sign up for a program that could save them money on water monitoring. Monday   is the deadline to join the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, which   monitors pollutants from irrigated land in Stanislaus, Merced and Madera   counties east of the San Joaquin River.

Deadline looms for Irrigated   Lands Coalition

Story
From Oakdale Leader – Tuesday,   May 7, 2013

It’s the “last call”   to join the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, also known as the   Irrigated Lands Coalition, said Tom Orvis, Governmental Affairs Directors for   the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, at the recent Oakdale Irrigation District   Board of Directors meeting. He said the deadline is Monday, May 13.

TRANSFERS

Butte County Board of   Supervisors wants to gently take firm stand opposing water transfers 

Story From Chico Enterprise-Record –   Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Butte County wants to make it clear that it opposes transferring groundwater   out of the region, but just how aggressively they want to make that point is   another issue.

Westlands will buy water from   Oakdale

Story
From Fresno Bee – Tuesday, May   7, 2013
From Modesto Bee – Tuesday, May   7, 2013
The Oakdale Irrigation District board agreed Tuesday to sell more water to   Westlands Water District, as long as its own customers are not left short.

Water sales net $4M

Story
From Escalon Times – Tuesday,   May 7, 2013
South San Joaquin Irrigation District has what much of California wants ?   Water.

FISHERIES

3 million hatchery salmon   released into American River in Sacramento

Story
From Sacramento Bee – Tuesday,   May 7, 2013
State Department of Fish and Wildlife officials on Monday and Tuesday   released 3 million juvenile salmon at the mouth of the American River in   Sacramento.

CONTEST

Farm water posters earn   fourth-graders cash prizes in statewide contest

Press release
From CFWC – Wednesday, May 8,   2013

Fourth-graders from   agricultural and urban areas claimed the top three prizes in the 14th Annual   Farm Water Poster Contest sponsored by the California Farm Water Coalition.

BAY   DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Report: Flooding as part of   Bay Delta Conservation Plan could ruin Yolo Bypass rice crop

Story

From Woodland Daily Democrat –   Thursday, April 25, 2013

Burying two 40-foot-wide   tunnels beneath the Delta will make a mess, but state officials hope to   offset the environmental damage by improving the ecosystem in other parts of   the Central Valley.

Coalition   response...A clarification is needed to this story regarding who is paying   for parts of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The improved conveyance   measures, including the twin tunnels, will be paid by those users who receive   the water and not the public of California.

Other   News

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BAY   DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Water rights aren’t as simple   as letter writer suggested

Letter
From Sacramento Bee – Thursday,   April 25, 2013
Roger Thibault missed some key facts about water rights and the Bay Delta   Conservation Plan. Rights to use water for beneficial purposes are issued by   the State Water Resources Control Board. The right to use that water isn’t   limited to those upon whose head it falls.

Gov. Jerry Brown presses feds   for quick review of Delta water tunnel project

Story
From Sacramento Bee – Friday,   April 26, 2013
Gov. Jerry Brown is asking federal officials to expedite review of the   controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan, his proposal to build giant water   diversion tunnels in the

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Ag at large: Victim mentality   hinders water use

Column
By Don Curlee
From Hanford Sentinel –   Thursday, April 25, 2013
Folks living north of Sacramento, some of them farmers, occasionally accuse   farmers and others living further south of stealing their water. Hogwash!

Congressional Democrats demand   resignation of Brown appointee

Story
From LA Times – Thursday, April   25, 2013
Five Congressional Democrats have demanded the resignation of a top official   in Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration for comments the official allegedly made   about the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Governor Brown writes letter   urging timely federal review of the BDCP

Blog
By Maven
From Maven’s Notebook –   Thursday, April 25, 2013
Governor Brown has sent a letter to Secretary Sally Jewell and Acting   Secretary Rebecca Blank urging timely federal review of the Bay Delta   Conservation Plan when the documents become available in the upcoming months.

Study: Longer flooding of Yolo   Bypass could hurt ag industry

Radio   news
From Capital Public Radio –   Thursday, April 25, 2013
The plan to expand fish habitat has to do with the proposal to build twin   water tunnels moving Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water to Southern   California.

WATER SUPPLY

Local districts receive late   water supply notice

Story
From Lodi News-Sentinel –   Friday, April 26, 2013
A good water year for the East Bay Municipal Utility District does not always   translate to a good water year for the local districts relying on their flows   to serve customers.

GROUNDWATER

Valley ground water rule draws   fire from both sides

Story
From Fresno Bee – Thursday,   April 25, 2013
A far-reaching plan by the state to protect a large part of the San Joaquin Valley’s   ground water drew criticism from farmers who say it is too costly and from   environmentalists who say it doesn’t go far enough.

SALTON SEA

Salton Sea Authority, State in   pre-contract discussions

Story
From Imperial Valley Press –   Thursday, April 25, 2013
Representatives of the Salton Sea Authority and the California Department of   Fish and Wildlife are discussing the specifics of a wetlands habitat   restoration and renewable energy project at the Salton Sea, and the clock is   ticking.

FISHERIES

Drought won’t help migrating   baby salmon

Story
From Redding Record Searchlight   – Thursday, April 25, 2013

Despite one group’s call to   send more water down the Sacramento River, the six million young Chinook   salmon beginning their journey to the Pacific Ocean this week are not getting   any relief from a dry water year.

CONGRESS

Witnesses highlight the   importance of water rights for job creation & economic growth and local   control

Press release

From Committee on Natural Resources   – Thursday, April 25, 2013

Today, the House Natural   Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held an oversight hearing entitled   “Federal Impediments to Water Rights, Job Creation and Recreation: A   Local Perspective.” The hearing examined growing federal intrusion that   costs American jobs and threatens to divert water supplies away from   agricultural, recreational, and municipal water use. The hearing focused on   federal laws and recent Obama Administration actions, like the Blueways   Order, designed to undermine state water law and locally-driven watershed   protections and recreation.

PEOPLE

Machado to step down as Delta   panel chief

Story
From The Record – Friday, April   26, 2013
Former state Sen. Michael Machado is stepping down as chief of the Delta   Protection Commission, apparently ending two decades of involvement in state   government.

BAY   DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Tunnels are obsolete solution   to water problems

Letter
From Sacramento Bee – Sunday,   April 21, 2013
I find it hard to believe the proposed delta tunnels are so close to being   built. Fresh water diversion and long distance transport is a centuries-old   idea long out of place in the 21st century.

Coalition   response…Scientists have been involved for the past   seven years in studying the development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan   (BDCP). The result of their efforts includes improved conveyance of water   through the proposed tunnels and improvements to the Delta ecosystem that include   a restoration of habitat.

There is no debate that the   current system of delivering water in our state and that the Delta is in need   of help. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is the best opportunity to answer   these needs and at the same time provide a secure water future for   California.

Evaluate alternatives to   tunnels

Letter
From Sacramento Bee – Sunday,   April 21, 2013
Jerry Meral mentioned that in the 1930s and 1960s voters actually voted for   issues related to water.

Will the latest tunnel proposal   be voted on by taxpayers?

Coalition   response…The Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and   its proposed tunnels are not currently expected to deliver significantly   different amounts of water that the average amount over the past 15 years.   Some years is may be slightly more. Other years it will be less. The amount of   water that will flow through the tunnels depends on the amount of water in   the river, as illustrated at  www.farmwater.org/exportthrottle.pdf.

The public is currently   reviewing draft chapters of the BDCP that was developed through seven years   of study by scientists and researchers. It is the best option to achieve a   reliable water supply and a restored Delta ecosystem, both mandated goals by   California’s Legislature.

Give up on saving the Delta

Letter
From Sacramento Bee – Sunday,   April 21, 2013
Both the Central Valley Project of the 1930s and the State Water Project of   the 1950′s included canals and tunnels around or thought the Delta. Engineers   then and now understand you can’t transfer that much water through the   sloughs and rivers without detrimental consequences to the ecology.

Coalition   response…One of the goals of the Bay Delta   Conservation Plan (BDCP) is to restore the ecosystem of the Delta. Efforts   toward that goal are included in BDCP, along with creating a reliable water   supply. Combined, these two goals shape the planning that has gone into   providing a plan that will provide a secure water future for California. BDCP   must move forward in order to safeguard a water supply for 25 million   Californians and 3 million acres of farmland that grow a healthy and   affordable supply that consumers have come to rely upon.

Other   News

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BAY   DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Delta pipeline pact could ‘get   project done, then go away’

Story
From Sacramento Bee – Monday,   April 22, 2013
From Fresno Bee – Monday, April   22, 2013
Southern California water agencies have been quietly negotiating with state   officials to take a major role in designing and building the giant Sacramento   River diversion tunnels at the core of Gov. Jerry Brown’s water policy for   the state, according to documents obtained by The Bee.

Outside water agencies to have   role in delta plan

Story
From KUSI – Monday, April 22,   2013
From Fresno Bee – Monday, April   22, 2013
Outside water agencies would have a key role in the design and construction   of the $14 billion twin-tunnel plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,   under a pact quietly being negotiated by state water officials.

Where is rebuttal on tunnel   project?

Letter
From Sacramento Bee – Sunday,   April 21, 2013
I was glad to see what I hoped would be a balanced discussion on the Delta   twin tunnels. I read the BDCP side — well-written, the arguments presented   good science and some factors I didn’t know before.

Blog round-up: Delta counties   submit their own idea for BDCP governance, saving the Delta, the BDCP and   fish, law is better than trust? and more!

Blog
By Chris Austin
From Maven’s Notebook – Sunday,   April 21, 2013
Delta counties submit their own governance plan for the BDCP: The Delta   Counties Coalition has long advoacted for a greater role in the planning and   implementation of the BDCP, and in a white paper, define a slightly different   governance structure than the BDCP’s Chapter 7, which they say will give the   counties “meaningful participation and control over both BDCP planning   and implementation.”

Politics and policy collide in   fight over water

Story
From Capitol Weekly – Friday,   April 19, 2013
Phil Isenberg is a former state lawmaker, mayor of Sacramento and big-time   lobbyist  –  someone who’s been in a lot of political street   fights but whose latest battle may be his biggest.

GROUNDWATER

Big Valley farm meeting still   on despite court ruling

Story
From Fresno Bee – Sunday, April   21, 2013
The state was poised for one last workshop this week with anxious farmers   about landmark groundwater rules covering a $15 billion swath of California   agriculture.

TRANSFERS

Deals to transfer Sacramento   Valley groundwater are on the table

Story
From Chico Enterprise-Record –   Monday, April 22, 2013

Deals to transfer groundwater   from the Sacramento Valley to farms in the San Joaquin Valley are underway.

MEETINGS

Valley’s West Side water   shortages get screen time in Modesto

Story
From Modesto Bee – Sunday,   April 21, 2013
A documentary about water shortages on the West Side of the San Joaquin   Valley will be shown Friday evening at Modesto Junior College. ”The   Fight for Water: A Farm Worker Struggle” tells of 2009 cutbacks because   of drought and fish protections.

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WATER   BOND

Reservoirs should stay in   water bond

Column

By Dan Walters
From Fresno Bee – Monday, April   1, 2013
From Modesto Bee – Tuesday,   April 2, 2013
From Sacramento Bee – April 1,   2013
From SLO Tribune – Tuesday,   April 2, 2013

The bad news is that a dry   winter means the Sierra snowpack is only half of its statistical normal as   the annual spring runoff begins. The good news is that the previous winter   was wet and major reservoirs — Shasta, Trinity, Oroville and Folsom — on   the Sacramento River and its tributaries, plus the off-stream San Luis   Reservoir, have very healthy leftover supplies, thereby cushioning the effects   of the current shortfall.

Coalition   response…The author correctly explains the   importance of reservoirs during dry times like we are currently experiencing   and the need to increase storage in the future. Just as important is the need   to resolve the movement of water through the Delta to 25 million Californians   and 3 million acres of farmland that grows food for all of us. Federal   regulations written to protect endangered fish have created roadblocks to   water deliveries and offset the value of our reservoirs in providing water   when needed. These regulations took away more than 800,000 acre-feet of   water, that’s 260 billion gallons of water, from farms, cities and businesses   earlier this year. The loss of this water also caused the reduction in water   deliveries announced earlier this year from the two major water systems in   California.

This federal roadblock   emphasizes the need to move forward with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan   (BDCP), which is designed to create a reliable water supply and restore the   Delta ecosystem. Moving the intake location for water to the north Delta from   the south benefits fish and provides a delivery reliability that is crucial   to California. More than 100,000 acres of habitat will be created through the   efforts of BDCP, which is the best option that we have in securing a water   future that benefits our state.

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION   PLAN

Recycling water is the best   solution

Letter

From Sacramento Bee – Monday,   April 1, 2013

Living in coastal North San   Diego County, our water authority recently authorized the Carlsbad   Desalination project, to supply 50 million gallons of water per day, to our   region.

Coalition   response…Recycling should play a role in water   management in the future, as well as conservation. But neither will provide a   reliable, affordable water supply needed by almost 4,000 San Joaquin   Valley farmers to grow the food that we depend on. Nor will recycling and   conservation improve habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.. The Bay   Delta Conservation Plan and its goals, to create a reliable water supply and   restore the Delta ecosystem, provides the best opportunity for a secure water   future in our state.

Other   News

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WATER   SUPPLY

Dry conditions pose economic   concerns

TV news
From KFSN 30 – Tuesday, April   2, 2013
April 1st marked the peak of the state snowpack but this has been a below   average year. Western Fresno County farmers they recently learned their   federal water delivery would be reduced from 25-to-20 percent of normal. As a   result, growers told Action News they’ll be making some very important   cropping decisions over the next month and a half. Many hope their water   districts can buy supplemental water on the open market.

Farm water cutbacks: Small   cities face return of food lines

Story

From Bakersfield Californian –   Monday, April 1, 2013
From Fresno Bee – Monday, April   1, 2013
From Modesto Bee – Monday,   April 1, 2013
With severe irrigation water cutbacks this year, food lines again will form   with unemployed workers and their families on the San Joaquin Valley’s west   side, local leaders said Monday.

San Joaquin Valley elected   officials express concerns about water supply reductions

Story
From ACWA – Monday, April 1,   2013
In a press conference arranged by the California Latino Water Coalition,   elected officials from the San Joaquin Valley expressed concerns today about   recent water allocation cutbacks from the Central Valley Project (CVP.

Local leaders voice water   concerns

TV news
From CBS 47 – Monday, April 1,   2013
A call to action tonight from local legislators after the Federal Government   announces water supplies to part of the Valley will be slashed. They’re   reacting to word  that the allocation to Westlands Water District will   be cut by 5%. They say the water decision will have huge ripple effects in   the local economy.

Growers push for recycled   water storage options

Story

From Napa Valley Register –   Sunday, March 31, 2013
With an assessment approved to pay for the design and expansion of a recycled   water pipeline to the Carneros area, some grapegrowers are pushing for a   change in state law that would make it easier to store that water in some   local reservoirs.

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION   PLAN

Public meeting Thursday on   Delta water tunnels

Story
From Sacramento Bee – Monday,   April 1, 2013
The public is invited to a meeting Thursday in Sacramento on the state’s   proposal to build two giant water diversion tunnels in the Sacramento-San   Joaquin Delta.

Santa Clarita Valley water   officials back State’s Delta Plan

Story
From Santa Clarita News –   Monday, April 1, 2013

Castaic Lake Water Agency   officials are hailing a Gov. Jerry Brown-backed plan that they liken to   “heart surgery” for the future of the Santa Clarita Valley’s water   supply, an official said Monday.

GROUNDWATER

Hearing looks at groundwater   funding

Story

From Santa Cruz Sentinel –   Monday, April 1, 1013
Assemblyman Luis Alejo is holding a hearing Tuesday on new proposals to clean   up the state’s groundwater, particularly in farming communities such as the   Salinas Valley. Tuesday’s meeting of the Assembly’s Environmental Safety and   Toxic Materials Committee will air new proposals for taxes to tackle a   long-standing problem: rural water quality and contaminants like nitrates,   with the state’s celebrated $34 billion agricultural industry seen as a major   contributor to the problem.

TRANSFERS

Oakdale Irrigation District   again shows transfer benefits

Editorial
From Modesto Bee – Monday,   April 1, 2013
From Merced Sun-Star – Tuesday,   April 2, 2013
Once again, the Oakdale Irrigation District is demonstrating how to make the   best use of its generous supply of Stanislaus River water, especially in a   dry year. This morning, the OID board will consider a one-time sale of water   to West Side farmers, who are getting far less than their full allotment.

QUANTIFICATION   SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

Report about QSA lawsuits   settlement negotiations hints at local agencies mindset

Story
From Imperial Valley Press –   Monday, April 1, 2013
The Imperial Irrigation District has filed the first of three progress   reports about its efforts to settle its differences with the County of   Imperial in the coordinated Quantification Settlement Agreement lawsuits.