On Water

This is the last post of the year.  Thanks for reading.  We'll be back on January 2nd.  Happy Holidays!

Residents file suit over levee project
Sacramento Bee / by Matt Weiser

Snow boosts tourism, water supplies
Reno Gazette-Journal / by Jeff Delong and Steve Timko

Week of rain filling up Lake Mendocino: Runoff into lake Thursday was 4 times volume Water Agency is releasing into Russian River
Santa Rosa Press Democrat / by Mike Geniella

Salton Sea bill may be in peril
Desert Sun / by Keith Matheny

First, a vision - now comes real work
Vacaville Reporter Editorial

One perchlorate issue may be near end
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin / by Jason Pesick

Arnold holds key to site's Superfund listing
Los Angeles Daily News / by Kerry Cavanaugh

Glenn-Coulsa sued over plan to drill test wells
Chico Enterprise Record / by Heather Hacking

Water agreement 'good' for the valley
Indio Sun / by Denise Goolsby

Council taps tap
Gilroy Dispatch / by Chris Bone

Water Demand Sinking SoCal Valley
Associated Press / by Gillian Flaccus

Agency makes plans for treated wastewater
Los Angeles Daily News / by Patricia Farrell Aidem

Southern Nevada Water Authority to get double credit for rural water
Ely Times (Nevada) / by Henry Brean

Lake Shasta water level trickles up
Redding Record Searchlight / by Dylan Darling

Board approves plan to cut bacteria at creeks, beaches
San Diego Union Tribune / by Terry Rodgers

Water worries keep worsening: U.S. needs a better plan for infrastructure
Stockton Record

Reclamation board must act on Natomas levees: With 70,000 at risk, there's little time for lengthy deliberations on flood protection
Sacramento Bee Editorial

River pact in drought good, mostly, for western states
Tucson Citizen Editorial

$10.8 million in '08 for Napa flood control: ‘Not great’ federal allocation will go toward new RR bridges
Napa Valley Register / by Kevin Courtney

California Hopes Storms Ease Drought
Associated Press / by Don Thompson

Flood fears fizzle as storm wanes: No major mudslides occurred, as the system proved gentler than expected.
Los Angeles Times / by Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Snow to sock Sierras: Storm bringing reservoir relief
Marysville Appeal-Deomcrat

December Downpour: Rain runoff to help local reservoirs
KSBY 6 Action News, San Luis Obispo / by Rob Carlmark

IID water rationing reduced to ‘pilot program’
Imperial Valley Press / by Brianna Lusk

Solano stays with flow on delta issues
Vacaville Reporter / by Danny Bernardini

Spill cleanup costs expected to hit at least $61 million
San Francisco Chronicle / by Zachary Coile

Border sewage facility funded: Issues of location and builder remain
San Diego Union Tribune / by Mike Lee

Santa Paula water plant deadline extended
Ventura County Star / by Sam Richard

Water cleanup eyed: State department says a treatment plan is viable
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin / by Liset Marquez

County forgives $500,000 in sewer loans for Cascade Shores
Grass Valley Union / by Dave Moller

Nitrate fix may double Manteca's water bills
Manteca Bulletin / by Jason Campbell

Focus on Natomas basin levee work
Sacramento Bee

State experts discuss long-term water solutions
Siskiyou Daily News / by Dave Kranz

Stockton officials consider deepening channel from Bay: Commission to decide whether to supplement $35 million in state funds
Stockton Record / by Reed Fujii

Water rises behind Martinez beaver dam
KGO-TV ABC 7 News / by Lyanne Melendez

In a news release issued yesterday, the State of California Resources Agency announced the completion of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force's "Our Vision for the California Delta"  Read the report to find out the direction this vital region will be headed in 2008 and well into the future.

Pasadena Water & Power urges conservation as water shortage worsens
Pasadena Star-News / by Elise Kleeman

Parched valley expected to be drenched this week
Modesto Bee / by Eve Hightower

District to make wasting water costly
The Californian / by Nicole Sack

Grant aids Madera Ranch water bank: Nearly $300,000 given to fund an environmental study
Fresno Bee / by Charles McCarthy

Why are parts of valley sinking?
Desert Sun / by Denise Goolsby

Western states choose to be good neighbors
Arizona Republic / by Dirk Kempthorne

The cost to quench Nipomo
San Luis Obispo Tribune Editorial

Fewer salmon seen: Up to 25,000 chinook return to Anderson hatchery
Redding Record Searchlight / by Dylan Darling

Coachella Valley sinking as aquifer is over-pumped, report says
Riverside Press Enterprise / by Jennifer Bowles

PG&E agrees to buy power from Canadian firm's proposed 'wave park'
San Francisco Chronicle / by David R. Baker

South Bay Reservoirs Severely Parched: Mandatory Water Rationing Possible
NBC 11 news

Smelt ruling could spell scarcer and pricier water: Delta pumping limits will cut supplies to Bay Area, Los Angeles.
Sacramento Bee / by Matt Weiser and John Ellis

Water exports may be cut to save tiny fish: Southland could see supplies reduced by a third after a federal ruling requiring protections for the delta smelt.
Los Angeles Times / by Eric Bailey

Long Beach water ban dripping with success
Los Angeles Times / by Deborah Schoch

Desal in the details: Poseidon Resources working to answer questions about environmental impact
North County Times / by Gig Conaughton

Water deal for Folsom OK'd
Sacramento Bee / by Dorothy Korber

Sharing shortage: Colorado River deal is hopeful
Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

Dispute blocks San Joaquin river restoration: Congress must offset half of the $500 million cost, but how to do so has lawmakers stumped.
Sacramento Bee / by Michael Doyle

Taken by surprise: Yolo officials caught off guard by purchase of sprawling ranch
Woodland Daily Democrat / by Robin Hindery

Hook, line ... sinking the fish population?: 'Catch and release' is popular, feel-good approach to angling, but some wonder if it's destructive
Sacramento Bee / by Carrie Peyton Dahlberg

New project seen as septic solution
Chico Enterprise Record / by Roger H. Aylworth

Big hike in works for water and sewer in Robbins
Marysville Appeal-Democrat / by Robert LaHue

City of Agoura Hills to manage region's monitoring of watershed
Ventura County Star / by Daniel Gelman

L.A. must dump water from two reservoirs
Los Angeles Times / by Duke Helfand

Group pushes $11.7B bond: Ballot initiative would fund dams, delta restoration
Capital Press / by Bob Krauter

A report entitled "An Evaluation of Compensatory Mitigation Projects Permitted Under Clean Water Act Section 401 by the California State Water Resources Control Board, 1991-2002" (PDF) was released today.  The report, which was prepared by UCLA and USF researchers for the State Water Board, explains that while developers are replacing wetlands as part of a "no-net-loss" policy, the biological health of the new wetlands is questionable.  Read the Monterey Herald's coverage of the report for background and comment from the key players.

Seven states sign Colorado River water pact
USA Today / by Patrick O'Driscoll

Water forethought
Riverside Press Enterprise Editorial

Talk of water transfers grows more serious, even with the dry weather
Chico Enterprise Record / by Heather Hacking

Water district imposes cutbacks: Long drought takes its toll
Agoura Acorn

Point of View: Dry Times Ahead
Santa Monica Mirror / by Timothy Quinn, Executive Director, Association of California Water Agencies

Mine's impact on wells unknown: Gold producer can't assure residents that water levels won't decline
Grass Valley Union / by Greg Moberly

Water district buys Yolo tract: The Central Valley giant says it wants to aid fish habitat
Sacramento Bee / by Matt Weiser

Splendid sanctuary: Yolo refuge serves multitude s
Sacramento Bee / by Ngoc Nguyen

Local salmon struggle to survive: Folsom and Nimbus dams wiped out sensitive habitat and Nimbus Hatchery tries to compensate
Sacramento News & Review / by Jennifer Davidson

Senator warns groups against water bond work
Associated Press / by Samantha Young

One Fewer Lawsuit for Water Agency: Litigation on Santa Clarita Water Company purchase appears to be over.
Santa Clarita Valley Signal / by Karen Elowitt

Ben Wicke named to ACWA regional board
Friday Flyer

The video of Professor Charles Benton's (Architecture, UC Berkeley) lecture, "A Camera Aloft: California's Wetlands and Streams from a Bird's Perspective" is now available to view.  Posted along with the lecture is the accompanying slideshow featuring examples of the kite aerial photography described in the lecture.  To see even more photos, visit Professor Benton's kite photography web site.

That's it for the Colloquium this semester, but check back for information about the spring series, which starts in February.

PG & E criticizes revamped Calpine power pact: The utility says the new terms negotiated by a state agency will boost costs for its customers.
Los Angeles Times / by Elizabeth Douglass

Water supply gets less (and more) secure
North County Times / by Gig Conaughton

Nipomo will go forward with desal plant and pipeline from Santa Maria
San Luis Obispo Tribune / by Nick Wilson

Pump station to assist in water crises: Facility to bring water in event of quakes and other emergencies
Ventura County Star / by Michele Willer-Allrred

Redwood Valley seeks deeper cuts to water use
Santa Rosa Press Democrat / by Mike Geniella

Recycled sewage-water proposal gains steam
San Francisco Examiner / by John Upton

Agency to seek water-use rules: Pasadena Water & Power will ask council for declaration, plan
Pasadena Star-News / by Kenneth Todd Ruiz

Re-routing Delta water isn't the best answer to some major questions
Stockton Record Editorial

22,000 pounds of trout put in recovering Lake Davis: One last residue from poisoning remains, and waters will stay closed until tests show it's gone.
Sacramento Bee / by Jane Braxton Little

Gravel on its way to aid fish spawning habitat
Sacramento Bee

Trinity restoration: Promises should be kept
Eureka Times-Standard Editorial

Grant awarded for Yuba River project
Grass Valley Union / by Laura Brown

Sewer system agreement reached
Lake County Record-Bee / by Tiffany Revelle

10,000 along San Timoteo Creek no longer in flood plain
Riverside Press Enterprise / by Darrell R. Santschi

Federal judge orders agencies to monitor smelt near water pumps
Associated Press / by Samantha Young

Perris-based water district first to postpone delivery deals to major new developments
Riverside Press Enterprise / by Jennifer Bowles and Dan Lee

IID joins landmark agreement
Imperial Valley Press / by Brianna Lusk

Villaraigosa weighs curbs on water usage: The mayor says he will decide early next year whether to impose mandatory restrictions on L.A. residents.
Los Angeles Times / by Deborah Schoch

Climate change linked to declining snowpack, scientists say
San Jose Mercury News / by Betsy Mason

State experts discuss long-term water solutions
Ag Alert / by Dave Kranz

District asks customers asked to save water
Ventura County Star / by Joanne Cunha

County agency helps consumers conserve water: New program designed to save about 30M gallons of water a year
Vallejo Times-Herald / by Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Latest Salton Sea plan introduced
Imperial Valley Press / by Jonathan Dale

Mudslide wipes trout off Orange County map
Orange County Register / by Pat Brennan

50-year plan for turning South Bay salt ponds to tidal wetlands
San Francisco Chronicle / by Jane Kay

Discharge from new sewage plants feared
San Diego Union Tribune / by Sandra Dibble

Marysville levee OK after mow
Marysville Appeal-Democrat / by John Dickey

Examining dangers: Hazards of development on alluvial fans studied
San Bernardino County Sun / by George Watson

See the materials that have been recently added to WRCA's collection in the Selected Recent Accessions list.  All materials listed are now available for viewing and/or circulation at the Archives.  Come by and check them out!

California tackles historic drought: States reach 'monumental agreement' on Colorado River water
San Diego Union Tribune / by Michael Gardner

Banking on a wet winter: But ski resorts, water agencies may be in for another dry year
Ventura County Star / by Zeke Barlow

Cloud seeding decision delayed: Water board wants more data
Monterey County Herald / by Daniel Lopez

Water sales hit historic peak
North County Times / by Gig Conaughton

Rainfall helps IID’s estimated excess usage decrease
Imperial Valley Press / by Brianna Lusk

District's plan didn't gauge Delta effect, judge says; East Bay: Jurist rules Sacramento agency failed to properly weigh impact of increased wastewater discharge
Contra Costa Times / by Meera Pal

Final EIR/EIS Released for the Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord

Transit district to pay $160,000 fine for runoff: Water quality agency cites violations on Sprinter line
San Diego Union Tribune / by Michael Burge

Phase I completed on Araujo Dam
Siskiyou Daily News / by Jamie Gentner

Pismo Beach zeroes in on funds to study water quality
Santa Maria Times / by April Charlton

Old nuclear lab near Simi Valley is closer to making Superfund list: Agency says the site near Simi Valley should get Superfund money.
Los Angeles Times / by Gregory W. Griggs

Professors Jeffrey Mount and Peter Moyle of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis were the focus of an article appearing in the Oregonian yesterday for advocating the exploration of dam removal on the Klamath River. In a letter to the Department of Fish and Game, both men call for a thorough scientific study of the uncertainties associated with dam removal.

For more on dam removal, visit the Clearinghouse for Dam Removal Information.

Western States Agree to Water-Sharing Pact
New York Times / by Randal C. Archibold

Peripheral canal study criticized for secrecy: State water project users wanted data
San Jose Mercury News / by Mike Taugher

L.A.'s water savings are just a drop in the bucket
Los Angeles Times / by Deborah Schoch

Eroding Huntington Beach levee survives storms
Orange County Register / by Jennifer Muir

Battle of the beavers continues
Chico Enterprise Record

Drought Busters respond to 400-plus complaints in less than a month
Los Angeles Daily News / by Dana Bartholomew

Appeal to conserve water is spread slowly: 'It's a really tough message to convey,' county official says
San Diego Union-Tribune / by Mike Lee

Dry season parches ranchers: County livestock herds struggle with short supply of water, feed
Redding Record Searchlight / by Tim Hearden

State to review test wells denial: Cambria hopes a key hurdle in the town’s plan to build a desalination plant will be reconsidered
San Luis Obispo Tribune / by Kathe Tanner

Fish benefit of a Klamath pact questioned: As groups plan to vote on water deal, new studies say salmon may get shorted.
Sacramento Bee / by David Whitney

Tiny snail adds to pressure on San Lorenzo River fish: Officials fear that species could take food supplies needed by coho salmon, steelhead trout
Contra Costa Times / by Kurtis Alexander

Coastal wetlands project shows progress halfway to completion
San Diego Union-Tribune / by Elizabeth Fitzsimons

Symposium looks at climate change
Auburn Journal / by Gus Thomson

Casino wins OK to release wastewater: Chukchansi permit allows discharge in creek.
Fresno Bee / by Paula Lloyd

Panel looks for ways to manage flooding, development on alluvial fans
Riverside Press Enterprise / by Jennifer Bowles

Thousands of fish die, but where's DFG?
San Francisco Chronicle / by Tom Stienstra

Water: H2O = Life is a new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The exhibition encompasses many aspects of water including use, quality, engineering and aquatic life from all over the world. There are special sections devoted to subjects as diverse as Mono Lake, Southeast Asian mudskippers and global warming. Also highlighted is the Three Gorges Dam in China, the largest concrete structure in the world. You can check out the exhibit online, and take note of the section on dam removal. For more information on dam removal, check out the Clearinghouse for Dam Removal Information.

Read the New York Times review of the exhibition, including pictures.

Agencies admit fish blunder: They apologize for failing to stop massive Delta kill
Stockton Record / by Hank Shaw

Wolk calls for Delta protection agency: A recent fish kill shows fragmentation of system, she says.
Sacramento Bee / by Ngoc Nguyen

$5.2 million grant from Moore Foundation funds ambitious project to barcode an entire ecosystem
UC Berkeley News Center / by Sarah Yang

San Joaquin River bill up for debate
Modesto Bee / by Michael Doyle

Water Officials Seek Monterey Feedback: Reps stop in Ventura to field comment about the controversial plan.
Santa Clarita Signal / by Jim Holt

Time for a New Look at the Monterey Agreements: Environmentally Speaking
Santa Clarita Signal / by Lynne Plambeck

Pelicans' stopover seen as boon for Lake Elsinore
Riverside Press Enterprise / by Aaron Burgin

Southern Nevada's Efforts to Get More Water Scores Major Win
CBS 8 (Las Vegas) / by Edward Lawrence

Palmdale mayor objects to proposed 'toilet to tap' plan
Antelope Valley Press / by Bob Wilson

Rain too little to end Redwood Valley water woes
Santa Rosa Press Democrat / by Glenda Anderson

Natomas levee improvement plan enters first stages of development: Construction projected to be complete by 2010
California Aggie (UC Davis) by Caitlin Cobb

California on course for another water debacle
Sacramento Bee Editorial

Pesky snail discovered in San Lorenzo River
Santa Cruz Sentinel / by Kurtis Alexander

State tries to save smelt
Tracy Press

Businesses float water bond plan: Stalled legislative efforts prod bid to qualify measure for the November ballot.
Sacramento Bee / by E.J. Schultz

Catastrophic threat facing Sierra: Climate change symposium has grim forecast for future
Stockton Record / by Alex Breitler

La Quinta's water conservation plan is 'dawn of a new era'
La Quinta Sun / by Marcel Honore

Musseling out hitchhikers
Lake County Record Bee / by Elizabeth Wilson

Mt. Shasta headwaters research urged
Mt. Shasta Herald / by Paul Boerger

Trickery may not be damming: City buys flow-control device to reduce beaver activity in creek
Inside Bay Area / by Lisa P. White

Waste ponds have to go
Marysville Appeal-Democrat / by Nancy Pasternack

Sewer needs millions for repairs
Lake County Record Bee / by Elizabeth Wilson

Bidding heats up on control of resorts
Napa Valley Register / by Kerana Todorov

Rainbow water district ratepayers could get dinged with relocation costs, officials say
North County Times / by Darryn Bennett

Funds OK'd for breeding smelt as safeguard against extinction
Sacramento Bee

Truckee, Placer County target stormwater: Plan aims to control runoff and keep waterways clean
Sierra Sun / by Greyson Howard

Winters walnut farmer earns state conservation recognition
Woodland Daily Democrat / by Elizabeth Kalfsbeek

Bill caps dam security cost: House deal sets expense of anti-terror patrols for local water, power users.
Sacramento Bee / by Michael Doyle

No bridging gap between state, federal agencies: Despite new bridge, security risks for Folsom Dam still debatable
El Dorado Hills Telegraph / by Roger Phelps

Officials mull water options: Briefing for people vested in the area addresses how the state will tackle crisis over limited supply.
Burbank Reader / by Ryan Vaillancourt

A toast to recycled sewage: Water that once had been sewage tastes great, actually
Orange County Register / by Gordon Dillow

Rain may help water crisis in RV
Ukiah Daily Journal / by Ben Brown

Transforming wastewater: Thirsty L.A. should take a clue from Orange County
Los Angeles Times Editorial

Fish and Game faces fish stocking quandary
Plumas County News / by Diana Jorgenson

Storm runoff can cause problems at some area lakes
Riverside Press-Enterprise / by Aaron Burgin

Osos district offers plan to save rare snail
San Luis Obispo Tribune / by Sona Patel

"Water and Politics in Southern California:  A Retrospective on the Centennial of the Los Angeles Aqueduct"

To mark the centennial of the beginning of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) cordially invites submission of papers for a conference on water and politics in Southern California. The conference will take place on 4 October 2008 at LMU and examine the following topics: (1) Historiography of the Los Angeles Aqueduct; (2) Water Politics in Southern California; (3) The Owens Valley as a Water Market for Los Angeles—Past, Present, and Future; and (4) Primary Source Collections for the Study of the History of Water in Southern California.  Dr. Steven Erie, of the University of California, San Diego, will be the keynote speaker.

Interested persons should submit a c.v. and abstracts of no more than 250 words for papers to Dr. Clay Stalls, Department of Archives and Special Collections, Von der Ahe Library, 1 LMU Drive, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA 90045-2659. The deadline for the submission of proposals is 31 January 2008.  LMU’s Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the Department of History, and the Department of Archives and Special Collections, of LMU’s Charles Von der Ahe Library, are supporting the conference.

New effort to repair Sacramento levees
ABC 7 News KGO-TV / by Terry McSweeney

Local water cup is 3/4 empty
Napa Valley Register / by Kerana Todorov

City, water district may pool conservation efforts
Desert Sun / by Marcel Honoré

Redwood Valley water board may declare emergency
Ukiah Daily Journal / by Ben Brown

Ask not for whom the global warming bell tolls
Sacramento Bee Editorial

Take delta task force's coming report seriously
Modesto Bee Editorial

Rialto eyeing Superfund list
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin / by Jason Pesick

Plans for Piru sewage facility could change: Builders' bids come in higher than expected
Ventura County Star / by Tony Biasotti

Dredging Toxics Report Still Not In
Berkeley Daily Planet / by Riya Bhattacharjee

Lime Saddle ramp closes
Paradise Post / by Paul Wellersdick

Council beats veto on water recycling
San Diego Union-Tribune / by Mike Lee and Jennifer Vigil

State gathers data for suit against those involved in spill: Commission leading motion seeks funds for extensive damages
Inside Bay Area / by Steve Geissinger

Landmark groundwater monitoring approved
Sonoma Index-Tribune / by Sandi Hansen

1 December

State panel calls for new California water delivery system
San Francisco Chronicle / by Tom Chorneau

Delta fish rescuers issue plea for amphibious vehicles
Sacramento Bee / by Carrie Peyton Dahlberg

Paltry rainfall fails to replenish Lake Shasta
Redding Record Searchlight / by Dylan Darling

Colorado River fosters life
Imperial Valley Press / by Brianna Lusk

Flood agency makes the right call for Natomas
Sacramento Bee Editorial

DWR to Conduct Underwater Topographic Surveys

2 December

State to clean up mercury from abandoned Upvalley mine
Napa Valley Regsiter / by Kerana Todorov

What will La Niña bring? Flip a coin: Weather system's effects on winter Valley rainfall have been varied, unpredictable.
Fresno Bee / by Mark Grossi

Privies to get more efficient
Sacramento Bee / by E.J. Schultz

Water supply changing for many: Fluoridation will begin tomorrow
San Diego Union Tribune / by Anne Krueger

Raw sewage pollutes creek
Sacramento Bee

3 December

How does climate change affect valley?
Modesto Bee / by Martha Conklin and Lara Kueppers

Water use study begins in January
Santa Rosa Press Democrat / by Bleys W. Rose

Save a fish, please an angler: Volunteers scramble to free bass in the Delta
Sacramento Bee / by Carrie Peyton Dahlberg

How safe is water from the tap?
Los Angeles Times / by Mary Beckman