Water bond revives interest in building Sites Reservoir [Contra Costa Times]
California
hasn't built a state-funded dam or reservoir in more than 30 years, but that
trend could change if voters next month approve a $7.5 billion water bond known
as Proposition 1, one of the largest in decades. More than a third of the money
would be spent on water-storage projects such as Sites, which has a good chance
of being built because other proposals for aboveground storage are even more
controversial….An unlikely coalition of water bond supporters, including some
environmentalists, say more water storage is needed to help the state withstand
severe droughts like the current one, and excitement is building for California
to finally get some relief. The measure is leading 2-1 in the polls. Still,
opponents of the plan insist a new reservoir will harm salmon and further erode
water quality in the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and some water
policy experts argue that more evidence about the public benefits of a new
storage facility is needed before the state greenlights something so expensive.
Plans
for five new Glenn-Colusa wells face a tough crowd [Chico Enterprise Record]
Five
new wells are on the drawing board for Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, the
biggest surface water district in the Sacramento Valley. The idea didn't go
over too well during a scoping meeting, designed to collect comments from the
public….Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District is considering the five wells as a
backup to surface water during dry and critically dry years, presenters
explained. Although Glenn-Colusa has senior water rights, this recent drought
has shown how even strong historic rights can be vulnerable to cutbacks. This
year, for example, the district was cut back 25 percent.
Meet
Doug Verboon, reluctant groundwater activist [Hanford Sentinel]
Doug
Verboon has gotten himself into an interesting position. When the first-term
supervisor was elected to the Kings County Board of Supervisors four years ago,
the county's water supply looked a lot better. Now drought has pushed Verboon
in a direction he couldn’t have foreseen — advocating for a groundwater
management program that is deeply unpopular among local farming families who
count on being able to pump the wet stuff out of the ground as necessary….The
state passed a law requiring a groundwater management plan for the Kings River
basin by 2020….Verboon thinks the new law was rushed, but he’s also convinced
that the groundwater overdraft problem must be addressed.
Colorado
River water-conservation effort to begin [Associated Press]
Providers
of municipal water in Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado are starting a
conservation program for the Colorado River system. The U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation on Wednesday began soliciting project proposals for water
conservation from Colorado River entitlement holders in Arizona, California and
Nevada….The projects are intended to demonstrate the viability of cooperative,
voluntary projects to reduce demand for Colorado River water. The program is
soliciting project proposals from agriculture, and municipal and industrial
Colorado River water entitlement holders.
Drought
causes California to fall short of record almond harvest predictions
[Australian Broadcasting]
The
Californian almond harvest has fallen short of forecasts which predicted the
largest season ever….President and CEO of the Almond Board of California,
Richard Waycott, says there are concerns about the ongoing effects of the
drought….The US Department of Agriculture initially forecast 2.1 billion kernel
weight pounds, which would have been a record harvest for California.
"Most growers up and down the state are reporting on their harvest of
their acreage this year as being below last year - by how much, very difficult
to say. "I'd say most growers are thinking the actual harvest will be
something below the official estimate."
Commentary: Border secure, time
to pass immigration reform [San Diego Union-Tribune]
For
the past 10 years, Congress has tried to pass a comprehensive immigration
reform bill to bring sense to U.S. immigration laws. And for 10 years, Congress
has failed. During those years, one of the biggest obstacles to passing a law
has been the insistence that the U.S.-Mexico border must be secure before any
bill can be considered….Much of the outcry against legislative and
administrative action to bring about immigration reform is based on false fears
that the border is insecure, but the facts indicate otherwise….The bottom line
is that the southern border is more secure than ever, and the border security
package included in the Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill
would further lock it down. There is no excuse to delay action on a reform bill
pending additional action on border security. Let’s do what’s right for the
country and get this done.
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