Voices in Water

With the Delta Stewardship Council poised to release the fourth staff draft of its Delta Plan today, a broad coalition of water agencies and organizations is hoping an alternative plan submitted Friday will help trigger much-needed discussion by the council in the coming days and weeks.

The Region 5 Board began preparations in December to host an event that focused on the Freeport Regional Water Project and City of Sacramento River Intake facilities. East Bay Municipal Water District's Katy Foulkes chaired the event with great support from ACWA's Marcia Wulff and Katie Dahl. This special event began May 22 with a cruise to view the old and new river intake facilities from the Sacramento River. A reception followed in Old Sacramento hosted by Parsons, represented by Daven Oswalt.

The 2011 ACWA Spring Conference was a great success, and ACWA regions played a starring role.

The next issue of ACWA News will have in-depth coverage of our conference programs, but here’s a run-down of some highlights.

Amid controversy over water bonds, canals and pumps, the City of Stockton took the initiative to find solutions by diversifying their water portfolio during a time of economic squeeze.

On a bright and windy Wednesday afternoon, over 50 ACWA agency members and sponsors gathered outside of a partially constructed intake and pumping facility northwest of Stockton to see for themselves what the hubbub was all about. 

Water agencies throughout the San Joaquin Valley are extremely concerned about impacts of groundwater, fees and the future of the comprehensive water package of 2009. 

ACWA’s Regions 6 and 7 decided it was time to invite local legislators to the Visalia conference center and ask the hard questions themselves.  On April 22, local water agencies and legislators convened for a water forum and participated in an in-depth dialogue with their state representatives. 

Water agencies around the state are facing many challenges, among them...how do we educate our customers on the rising costs associated with providing reliable water service at a time when the economy is down and they're using less water?

When it comes to fixing the Delta, failure is not an option. But if the Delta Stewardship Council continues the direction of its latest draft Delta Plan, failure is looking like a distinct possibility.

Members of the council have a heavy responsibility and a huge opportunity to advance a workable plan to resolve water supply reliability and ecosystem problems in the Delta. But as I stated in comments before the council today, the latest draft is headed in the wrong direction.

Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to officially declare the drought over on Wednesday when the latest Sierra snowpack readings are reported by the Department of Water Resources.

The end of the hydrologic drought is great news for watersheds and reservoirs that had languished through consecutive dry years in 2007, 2008 and 2009. But while a massive snowpack and nearly full reservoirs are welcome indeed, our water supply picture is about much more than what Mother Nature provides in a given year.

The Bureau of Reclamation announced today that Central Valley Project contractors south of the Delta can expect a slight bump in their 2011 allocation. The 5% increase is certainly welcome, but a projected 55% supply in a year when the snowpack is 146% of average shows there is something greatly amiss in our statewide water delivery system.

As 2011 unfolds, significant changes in our political landscape are under way in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Gov. Jerry Brown is facing an extremely challenging fiscal environment, and Senate and Assembly budget committees are beginning their search for solutions. Lawmakers have until Feb. 18 to introduce bills, but early signs point to a busy year with potential legislation on groundwater, fees and other water-related topics.