<html>
<body>
Emilia was not saying stop dairy farming in CA, just have it in places
where grass would be more abundant and need less irrigation. I may be a
little biased about cattle however as I have been vegetarian for nearly
50 years. Same goes for many crops like rice. Should grow things in
suitable places and maybe stop subsidizing marginal practises. Her
comments made nothing but complete sense to me and hopefully to others.
Regardless of if we catch run-off, we all need to be aware of the finite
resource and start getting really serious about what water shortage is
going to mean to CA and other western states and plan accordingly, and
that does not mean just finding more storage, but like she said, using
more wisely. Reservoirs that you spend billions on, will just end up dry
eventuallly and depleting the underground water supplies is not the
answer either!! <br><br>
Great film at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival about that - wish I had
the time to look up the name, but too crazy busy right now. You can check
the details out the Water/River Issues section of the films available by
genre
<a href="http://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/2003-2013-All-Genres.pdf">
www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/2003-2013-All-Genres.pdf</a>
and if you find it in your area would not miss it. Otherwise be sure to
come to Nevada City next January. Thanks Emilia for your insight.
<br><br>
Thanks, Lorraine Hall<br>
rafting@whitewatertours.com<br><br>
<br>
At 01:52 PM 6/15/2013, yen2fish@netzero.net wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Emilia, if we had more water
storage to help catch the winter run-off and store it some where it could
help the overall water supply in the summer time when it is needed most.
We don't have to fill it from the present water supply just catch the
run-off. As for dairy industry it could help if they started
recycling some of their water like some of the dairy farmers do in
Turlock, it does help. Of course we could stop all dairy farming in CA
and import our cheese, milk and other dairy products into Calif. but I
think that would really jack up the cost of food for all Californians.
Water is the new gold rush for this century and we all have to learn how
to use it wisely, that includes southern CA as well as farmers. Farmers
are working on how to conserve water and get the best use of it for ag.
but the Westlands water is a good example of waistfllness. <br>
<br>
---------- Original Message ----------<br>
From: Emilia Berol <ema.berol@yahoo.com><br>
To: Tom Stokely <tstokely@att.net><br>
Cc: "env-trinity@velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us"
<env-trinity@velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us><br>
Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Sacramento Bee:Dianne Feinstein: California
needs more water storage to end conflicts, bolster its economy<br>
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:42:41 -0700<br><br>
It's a pity that our Senator, Diane Feinstein, has such outdated views on
water policy. Our state needs a new Senator with the vision to lead the
state where it needs to go. Building more water storage is not going to
create more water. Does she think the water will magically appear from
the Heavens? Squeezing the very last drop out of the available water
supplies only prolongs the inevitable shortage for a few more years, at
great cost, to ecosystems and taxpayers. <br><br>
We need statewide water budgets. One example of poor water management is
the dairy industry. <br>
It uses half the developed Agriculture water supply, and given that the
Ag industry uses 85% of the state's developed water supply, one can see
that removing dairy farming from the dry regions of the state would free
up an enormous amount of water for the other half of the Ag industry.
<br>
Dairy farming is good where there is plenty of rain and green pastures.
Wisconsin, Oregon, and Northern California counties like Marin, Sonoma
and Humboldt is where dairy cows belong. <br><br>
And I do not need to mention the Westlands, as we all know what retiring
their toxic, salty desert lands would do to improve state water supply.
<br><br>
We don't need more reservoirs, we need a more sensible allocation of
water supplies. <br><br>
Emelia Berol<br><br>
Sent from my iPad<br><br>
On Jun 14, 2013, at 8:10 AM, Tom Stokely
<<a href="mailto:tstokely@att.net">tstokely@att.net</a>>
wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><br>
<h1><b>
<a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/14/5495782/california-needs-more-water-storage.html">
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/14/5495782/california-needs-more-water-storage.html</a>
</b></h1><br><br>
<br>
<h1><b>Dianne Feinstein: California needs more water storage to end
conflicts, bolster its economy<?xml:namespace prefix = "o"
/></b></h1><br><br>
By
<a href="http://www.sacbee.com/search_results/?sf_pubsys_story_byline=Dianne%20Feinstein&link_location=top">
Dianne Feinstein</a><br>
Special to The Bee<br><br>
Published: Friday, Jun. 14, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 15A<br>
<image001.gif><br><br>
Flying over California recently on my way back to Washington, I was
dismayed to see how bone-dry the state is so early in the summer
season.<br><br>
There was virtually no snowpack. Lakes and reservoirs are circled with
rings of barren, dry soil. And plumes of smoke from
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/forest+fires/">forest fires</a> dot the
skies, something that will worsen as the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/fire+season/">fire season</a>
progresses.<br><br>
The message is clear: We must do more to prepare for increasingly harmful
dry years by capturing more water in wet years. In short, California
needs a lot more water storage – and we need it now.<br><br>
The dire state of affairs was confirmed by
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/David+Hayes/">David Hayes,</a> outgoing
deputy secretary for the Department of the Interior, at a recent budget
hearing. Despite a promising start to the water year, Hayes testified,
"This is the driest January-through-April period in California's
history in the last 100 years."<br><br>
Farmers, of course, are acutely aware of the situation. Water allocations
for some of the largest South-of-Delta Central Valley Project irrigation
districts stand at just 20 percent of their contract amount. Declining
reservoir levels suggest that next year will be even worse.<br><br>
Complicating matters are pumping restrictions mandated by the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Endangered+Species+Act/">Endangered
Species Act.</a> Despite being found scientifically deficient by a
federal court and the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/National+Academy+of+Sciences/">National
Academy of Sciences,</a> these restrictions continue to have a negative
effect on <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/water+supplies/">water
supplies</a> throughout the state.<br><br>
The <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Bureau+of+Reclamation/">Bureau of
Reclamation</a> is putting together a plan to address this year's water
shortages based on water transfers that could increase the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/water+supply/">water supply</a> for
South-of-Delta contractors to the equivalent of a 40 percent
allocation.<br><br>
These one-time patches, however, are not an adequate solution. Absent
state action, it is my view that we may be faced with the possibility of
more far-reaching changes, such as modifications to the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Endangered+Species+Act/">Endangered
Species Act.</a><br><br>
Expanding and improving California's water storage capacity is long
overdue. The last time we saw significant state and federal investments
in our water storage and delivery system was in the 1960s, when the
state's population stood at 16 million. Today, that same system supports
38 million individuals and will need to support 50 million by
2050.<br><br>
If we don't take significant and rapid action, I fear California is at
risk of becoming a desert state.<br><br>
The need for additional storage is hardly a revelation. More than a
decade ago, legislation passed that authorized the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Bureau+of+Reclamation/">Bureau of
Reclamation</a> to do feasibility studies on expanding or building four
reservoirs: Shasta, Sites, Los Vaqueros and Temperance Flat.<br><br>
A draft feasibility report on raising
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Shasta+Dam/">Shasta Dam</a> was
completed last year. It found that raising Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet – at
a cost of $1.1 billion – would yield up to 133,000 acre-feet of new
water.<br><br>
Good news, but the eight years it took to complete the draft study was
entirely too long. Even worse, final feasibility studies aren't scheduled
to be completed by the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Bureau+of+Reclamation/">Bureau of
Reclamation</a> until late 2016.<br><br>
Building or expanding these four reservoirs would result in hundreds of
thousands of acre-feet of additional water storage, benefit urban and
rural communities and increase the pool of water available for releases
that benefit fish species. Waiting a decade or more for these studies is
unacceptable. The
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Bureau+of+Reclamation/">Bureau of
Reclamation</a> must complete these studies, and they must do so
now.<br><br>
California's Legislature also must do its part by updating the
long-anticipated water bond and ensuring that it includes adequate
funding for water storage.<br><br>
The current water bond, which was approved by the Legislature in 2009 and
scheduled for the November 2010 ballot, has been repeatedly
postponed.<br><br>
The bond includes $3 billion to improve state, regional and local surface
storage; groundwater storage; modernizing reservoir operations; and
conveyance to improve interregional system operations. But with an
overall cost of $11.14 billion, it will be difficult to win voter
support.<br><br>
With only three months left in the session, it is important the
Legislature work to craft a scaled-back bond that provides robust water
storage funding.<br><br>
Because the full benefits of expanded storage capacity can't be realized
without the ability to move additional
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/water+supplies/">water supplies,</a> it
is also vital to complete the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. This long-term
state and federal effort to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is
essential if we are to acquire the regulatory approvals necessary for new
water transportation infrastructure.<br><br>
As chairman of the Senate subcommittee that funds the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Bureau+of+Reclamation/">Bureau of
Reclamation,</a> I have done what I can to address California's water
challenges.<br><br>
Over the past few years, the Senate has approved bills that permit
additional water transfers, authorize and expedite groundwater banking
plans, require drought management plans and set a deadline to complete
the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.<br><br>
But there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly in the area of
water storage. I will continue to urge the
<a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Bureau+of+Reclamation/">Bureau of
Reclamation</a> and the state to move as fast as possible to approve
plans and funding to allow us to bank more water in wet years for the
increasingly dry years.<br><br>
Although California is getting drier, plans are in place to move us in
the right direction. But it will take a commitment from federal, state
and local stakeholders to get us there. There is no time to
waste.<br><br>
<i>U.S. Sen. <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Dianne+Feinstein/">Dianne
Feinstein,</a> D-California, chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on
energy and water development.<br>
</i><br>
<i><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/copyright">© Copyright The Sacramento
Bee. All rights reserved.</a><br>
</i><br>
Read more here:
<a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/14/5495782/california-needs-more-water-storage.html#storylink=cpy">
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/14/5495782/california-needs-more-water-storage.html#storylink=cpy</a>
<br>
<br>
<br><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
env-trinity mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:env-trinity@velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us">
env-trinity@velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us</a><br>
<a href="http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity" eudora="autourl">
http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity</a></blockquote><br><br>
<font size=2>
____________________________________________________________</font><br>
<font color="#004080"><b>
<a href="http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3242/51bcd45434b6454531744st02vuc">
Political system upset?</a></b></font><br>
<font size=2>
<a href="http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3242/51bcd45434b6454531744st02vuc">
Democrats BIG advantage in America about to completely vanish<br>
</a>
<a href="http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3242/51bcd45434b6454531744st02vuc">
stansberryresearch.com</a></font> <br>
_______________________________________________<br>
env-trinity mailing list<br>
env-trinity@velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us<br>
<a href="http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity" eudora="autourl">
http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity</a></blockquote></body>
</html>