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Water
cascades over the North Fork Dam at Lake Clementine, creating a rainbow in the
canyon. The lake, created by the dam, is now used purely for recreation. It was
originally built to prevent mine-contaminated sediment from entering the water
supply. Photo by Don Chaddock.
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Placer County drought-free this year, but governor’s drought proclamation may dredge up old rivalries in state
While many parts of the state feel the impact of two straight years of below-average rainfall, very low snowmelt and the largest court-ordered water transfer restrictions in state history, Placer County remains drought free – at least for 2008.
But Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s June 4 drought proclamation and executive order takes immediate action to address “a dire situation” where numerous California communities are being forced to mandate water conservation or rationing programs.
Statewide, the lack of water has created other problems, said the governor, including extreme fire danger due to dry conditions, economic harm to urban and rural communities, crop losses and the potential for degrading water quality in some areas.
But not in Placer County, reports David Breninger, general manager for the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA).
“This year is not a lot different than last year for those of us here in the Sierra foothills,” he said. “We got through last year just fine and we plan to get through this year just fine.”
Breninger said that while it’s been a below-average year for rainfall,
it’s been “an average year in terms of meeting the demands” of our
region. In fact, combined storage capacity is up slightly for June,
compared to the same time last year, at two reservoirs that serve the
county – French Meadows and Hell Hole.
Additionally, large
commercial growers in the county west of Lincoln, who sometimes get
less water than they desire, will have “an abundant amount of water to
meet all of their needs” this year, Breninger said.
Regardless,
state and regional water officials continue to urge communities to
conserve water whenever possible, especially now when landscapes and
lawns soak up 50 percent of water used during the summer months.
“All
of us should be looking to apply water-use efficiencies and
best-management practices – kind of a conservation ethic, if you will,”
said Breninger. Water officials applaud Schwarzenegger’s proclamation
for making a splash with water consumers by raising awareness that
voluntary conservation statewide is important.
But his
proclamation of drought and stated readiness to declare an official
State of Emergency also helps propel the slew of water-related projects
the governor is proposing, agreed officials.
The governor’s 2008-09 budget proposal includes an $11.9 million water bond for water management investments to address population growth, climate change, water supply reliability and environmental needs. It includes $3.5 billion dedicated to developing additional water storage and $2.4 billion to help implement a sustainable resource-management plan for the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento Delta region.
For many California communities, it’s the drastic reduction of water being pumped out of the Delta that has put additional pressure on the state’s water supply. A court order, issued in 2007, reduced the amount of water pulled from the Delta by about two-thirds due to environmental concerns regarding endangered smelt, a small freshwater fish, said Jeanine Jones, interstate resources manager for California’s Department of Water Resources.
PCWA, along with many other water agencies located “above the Delta,” are not affected by the environmentally troubled maze of waterways.
But with several proposed state initiatives dealing with water-management issues targeting the November ballot, history suggests statewide bond measures often dredge up bad blood between Northern California – where most of the state’s water resources reside – and Southern California, a much drier region.
One of the state’s most polarizing ballot initiatives pitted North against South in 1982 with a proposal to develop the so-called Peripheral Canal, designed to divert water around the Delta to southern locations. While the measure received overwhelming support in the South with 70 percent of voters there, Northern Californians shot the measure down with 90 percent of its voters proclaiming “no way.”
“That battle never goes away, especially here in the north, anytime (a statewide) drought is mentioned,” said Lisa Amaral, water conservation administrator for the City of Roseville.
On April 30, Roseville’s Environmental Utilities Department activated a Stage One water conservation level after its Folsom Reservoir supplies were reduced by 25 percent by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Last week, that spigot was further reduced another five percent. The city is asking residents to voluntarily reduce water use by 10 percent.
While Roseville buys 10,000 acre-feet through a long-standing contract it has with PCWA, and could buy more water from the agency, it chose to implement voluntary conservation programs to make up its deficit this year and keep costs down, said Amaral.
Other communities around the state have taken similar actions, but increasingly, government officials believe more long-term solutions are required.
“I don’t see water as a political issue,” said the governor, responding to media questions during his drought-proclamation press conference. “I think that there are Democrats that want to drink safe and reliable water, and there are Republicans that want to drink safe and reliable water. ... So this is why I think Democrats and Republicans must get together and solve this problem once and for all.”
As the state continues to beat the drought drums loudly, water officials expect the issue likely will rise as reservoir levels sink later this year.
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