California's new water deal

Okay, I'd like to tread lightly here in consideration of DG's request to not get political, but the passage of California's water bills last night will surely have an impact on us as citizens and gardeners if the bills are approved by the voters next November. I've been trying to find out more about exactly what each of the five bills contains, but most of the media seems to be focusing on the legislative process rather than the content of the bills.

What I have learned is that the bills will ask city residents to reduce water usage by 20% by 2020. There will also be money set aside for new dams to be built, groundwater cleanup projects, land preservation, and shoring up quake-susceptible levees along the delta.

I'm sure it's a very complicated issue with innumerable unseen ramifications, but do you guys have any initial thoughts, concerns, or praise for these bills?

Here's a link to one story on the issue if you aren't familiar with it: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13715579

In our water district we are still voluntarily cutting back by 8%. I can tell you that most will probably be cutting back by more than that since the water bills just get higher and higher. I'm familiar with this route. In the 70's we were living in Contra Costa and were rationed. We in our neighborhood were rationed less since we received canal water, then they cutt off our canal water, then since people were all using less water, they had to up our rates because we were not using enough for them to make a profit. Metropolitan Water District which distributes through SoCal now has the cajones to say they want to up our rates by 25% so that their employees can receive a better retirement package...perhaps they should think about being lucky to still have jobs. That plus the additional 10% in taxes now to be taken out of paychecks...my feelings are simple...definitely time to leave the state....

Up until the spring of 2010 my water has always been paid on a flat-rate basis. But our water district is installing meters at each house in my neighborhood as I type this and they will turn those meters on in a few months and let us know how much we are using before they switch to the pay-for-use method.

I think my initial concern is that the people who benefit from the passage of these bills will not be the same people that pay for them.

Not to be misunderstood, I believe in water conservation, but I'm not convinced of the fairnness of me conserving water so that others can use it wastefully. I don't know if that is what will happen here, but from what I've read, it kinda seems headed in that direction.

My father lives just outside Modesto, in the same house for 50 years, and yes, they're installing water meters there. I lived there when I was a child, but of course, did not pay attention to those things then. I've never lived anywhere that didn't have a water meter. So, my thought is that while he's been watering his grass as much as he likes, I've been paying for each drop as I use it and my water bill last month was $415.......

Oh my gosh, Sherry, $415! From what I have heard and seen photos of in your garden, most of your plants are xeric, are they not? Do you have any lawn? What size property are your irrigating? How many people life there?

We are spoiled living with our well. Our electricity would be a little less without the pump, but I have heard of folks with much higher Edison bills and no well. We do not have any lawn and even though we are on 1.5 acres, there are not many plants to water. I have planted mostly near the house and water those regularly, but trees and bushes in back get it once a week. We have the 3 of us + 5 animals in our house and 5 livestock outdoors.

As much as I say I love California - geographically speaking - I am afraid you are right about getting to be the time to move out. With teenage daughter, doubt she will buy into that.

Lynda

Lynda, no, we have no grass. We're on about an acre and a half, but I do have about 175 trees because I think the trees are really important and I see the destruction and loss of the groves and orchards around us. If I have to live without trees, I may as well be in Arizona and I really don't like the desert. I have the nursery and while I do mostly salvias, not all salvias are xeric and I have large beds for mother plants to propagate from. This is the first time that our bill has gone this high, but usually in the summer it runs to $300. We've used less water this year than last year and last year we used less water than the year before that, but the bills stay the same. It's time to think of hydro-drilling a well...or moving...we've been thinking that for a long time, pros and cons....

CA's new water bill = the Peripheral Canal by any other name. NorCa now provides 60% of the water that SoCa uses, and this bill basically ensures that percentage will remain the same or even increase.

From one of the local ANG reporters (today's feature story in the Oakland Trib):
"Northern CA lawmakers by and large voted against the main provisions of the water pkg last week, while lawmakers from farther south mostly voted for it. "It's going to call for more exports," says Dennis Diemer of EBMUD. "Where is that water going to come from?"

Winners: Schwarzenegger, Delta exporters (SoCA Met Water and Westlands Water), San Diego county

Losers: Northern CA, Delta Counties including Contra Costa, taxpayers (who will subsidize dam construction in an unprecedented fashion to the tune of $11.1B in new bonds and will specifically prohibit the Legislator from slowing said spending), the State General Fund (which will eventually pay $600M or more to service bond debt).

The article says environmental groups are bitterly split on whether this bill will actually help the environment or not. Some say the 'flow standards' for the Delta are not enforceable, and that the state has promised more water than it can actually deliver.

A sop was thrown to the land conservancies in the form of $1.8B allotted for watershed protection and conservation, to secure votes for the bond measure when it comes up on the ballot.

It's all insane...overpopulation and the usual...as long as there are buyers, keep building, building, building. And losing some of the best growing grounds in the country....we won't get them back. Gone are so many of our citrus and avocado groves down here....I will NOT buy produce from Chile or Mexico.....
If I were currently living in Northern California I would be against the bill..perhaps the state should be cut in half horizontally...lol....I'm also in favor of cutting it in half vertically. Having lived in Northern and Southern California and along the coast and in the San Joaquin I can see all sides of it. I also think we should bring water down from Oregon and Washington...having lived there also, if I lived there now, I'm sure I would be against that too.

What gripes me is why new housing doesn't have gray water options mandated. It's going to come to that in the end, so why don't they start now?

Haven't you noticed? Everything always comes too little, too late and change happens only when finally forced to ...

I wonder what it would cost to set up a grey water tank. I use only organic cleaning products and shower items, I could very well use the water for my garden.

CC

I wrote the gray water ordinance for the City of Cottonwood Arizona six years ago. It's a simple building ordinance that requires that houses be plumbed with the gray water drains plumbed separately from the brown water and access provided so that the home owner can get to it if they want to use the gray water.

Most new homes are built on a slab so access is the primary issue. Typically the only gray water you can access at all is your washing machine. And if your laundry room is in the middle of the house, that even becomes difficult.

The problem in California is the same one we had in Arizona before. There are state environmental laws that restrict the use of gray water. We had to change the state law in order to create the gray water ordinance. It's a very smart way to go, but it's really only one of many things we can do to use less water.

The real problem is not "how do we use less?" It's how do we use what we have wisely? And more importantly, "why don't we stop issuing building permits??" Lastly....as long as the government has control over the water, it will always be a political matter and guess who'll make all the decisions about it. I think we all know that Sacramento is just as bad as Washington DC when it comes to corruption and favoritism. If all the water districts were privatized, common sense would rule and we'd pay according to supply and demand. There'd be a natural curb to water use and everyone would get innovative when it comes to conservation.

I probably just trampled all over the AUP as pertains to getting political, but this does affect all us gardeners.

Yep, we probably are all 'trampling' with this thread. I agree with both WCG and DP. No ONE thing is going to solve the problem, but a lot of small steps could have made it less severe by now.

I'm amazed there are still places in CA where there are no meters!

Kaper - I think the days of no water meters in CA are coming to an end. When I received the notice that they would be working in my yard to install a meter the notice mentioned that they were doing so as a result of a law that had passed mandating that the meters be installed by a certain year. I'm a little hazy on the details, but the impression I got was that it's just a matter of time before everyone has a water meter.

I'm amazed that people keep building things in places with no water. It doesn't seem like a coincidence to me that throughout history most villages, forts, cities, etc. "sprung up" near sources of water.

Must be because I was raised in Southern California - we grew up being told not to waste water (well, not to waste anything!) and my mom says we always had water meters (my parents moved here in the 30s). Funny how we assume everyone lives like we do! :-) We have relatives in the north, but they have their own wells.

In Arizona, there's a movement by the Az Dept of Water Resources and Salt River Project to install meters on PRIVATE wells.

Sherry we have Trees :o)

Randy my dad will not like that at all. he is on a well right next door to me.

I'm not thrilled about it either. I have two properties with wells in Central AZ myself.

Randy can you direct me to any info on this. I am not sure he is aware of it.

That is just wrong...:-(

No offense, Marie...I spent two years in Yuma and I hate the desert....there were some trees, but they weren't very big...lol...

No offense taken but really we do have some nice trees although they will never rival Califorias and I do not live in Yuma ( YUCK)

Marie, so far it's just rumblings within the ADWR and SRP. There's no official pursuit of it, but folks in the north land have picked up on it. If he's a private well owner, it's probably a good idea for him to get involved with a local well owners group where ever he lives. There's plenty of them all over the state.

And as to trees in Arizona, it completely depends on where you live Sherry. I'm going to AZ this weekend, I'll send you pictures of lots of trees that more than rival the ones here.

Went over and took a look at Flagg, Sedona, Prescott, etc. a couple of years ago just to make sure......nope, it's not for me. When the West Coast falls off and there's an ocean in AZ, then I could do it. And yes, Marie, Yuma was the pits. This was years ago, but I doubt that it's changed much since then. I really need lots of green around...and preferably moist,cool air..fog...yum. Given my choice, it would be British Columbia for me.

This message was edited Nov 9, 2009 7:12 PM

Well stated DP.
The main problem isn't the amount of water we have available, but allowing too many new houses, and not using our water wisely.
I'm not perfect. I have my indulgence of my gh, which is purely for therapy/pleasure, although the banana sure likes it. I don't like the meters, and we've got an allotment for each month based on the previous years usage, as noted from the meter.
We also have several wells on the property which are heavily mineralized, which we use to irrigate the thousands of Monterrey Pines we grow for the Choose and Cut retail market. What's the harm here? We drip irrigate, we mulch, we help replenish habitat and the aquifer. We provide a service for our community, and help mitigate the loss of the other trees they've taken out by planting new trees for every one we harvest. We don't use chemicals that would be harmful to the environment or watershed, but we are still getting a "Tax" for nitrates, even though we don't use them. I for one would be really unhappy and bring case about the water useage laws as they pertain to farmers in this state if they try to meter our well water usage.
The worst producers of nitrates in our area are not the farmers, but the horse ranches and Dairy farms and Cattle Ranches. Most of the Dairy farms moved a couple a years ago up to the Bakersfield area.
I have been working on minimizing my water usage, and know a lot of others are too. It is my hope that if we all work together community by community on recycling, reducing, and reusing our water sustainable solutions will be developed.
The population growth needs to be curtailed. People are loving CA to death.
The worst part is of course, that the infrastructure is woefully inadequate for the population we currently have and our opulent use of water. What suffers for it? Short term the wild life that needs the water that is currently being diverted. The long term we all will suffer for it.
So maybe we can share ideas on conserving and reusing water. Personally, I want to get more than one use out of it if I have to pay money for it.
There's my 2 cents worth.
WIB,
SW

We just got our water meter installed a few weeks ago. They are giving us time to acclimate to the idea, and then a year from now, start charging per amount used rather than a flat rate for everyone. There is a duplex around the corner from me that waters the lawn everyday - winter, spring, summer, fall. It is almost as if someone set the timer when the lawn was young and needed more water, but never bothered to change the timer after that. Could be renters who cannot bother to figure out the system, or don't know how. Gardensox - are they installing in your area soon?

Technically, we have watering regulations, but the number of people enforcing it is very small, so very few people actually get fined. It will be interesting to see how people's habit will change once the metering gets started and their pocket books are affected.. I am glad that I live in a water-rich area, but I still understand the need for water conservation,

And I totally agree with limiting the amount of growth in areas that do not have the resources. And stop building in deserts.

Dianne

Dianne - Yes, they just installed my water meter last week. Although I'm not looking forward to paying more for water, I am curious to see just how much water I am using. I already do try to conserve water when I can, but when the new meter is officially turned on I think I will try to see how much more I can cut back.

We have had meters for ever, and this year we were asked to cut back by 10 percent.
I turned the sprinklers off for the grass, it was going to be taken out anyhow, and we were more careful with water ( Bought a thrifty water use washer, close the tap while washing up in the shower or brushing teeth etc) and that seemed to have taken care of the 10 percent.
We have renters nextdoor too and they have the sprinklers on constantly too, even when it rains. Funny, or, in California, NOT so funny!
I hope we will get more rain this year, certain trees seem to be suffering everywhere by now, all those dry years.
CC

Our allotment was not set by the prior year's usage, but that of several years ago. Of course, that was before we did all the planting on our bare lot. We have one big extravagance - our pond. But we have always cut back everywhere else and our usage did not go up much at all after we put it in - just for the initial fill. What gripes me is that we've always tried to conserve, and now we're essentially being punished for it. :-(

We were asked to cut back 20% - no way we can do this, but our last newsletter said the water district had reached that goal, so apparently people are taking it seriously.

We've had 4 or so dry years in a row here...
You are right, people who were already conserving as much as they could will be punished.... If you can't conserve more you can't! They should look into cases one by one.

Up here there still are too many people overwatering their precious overfertilised grass like they own the waters!

KC - I agree. That doesn't sound fair. It would make more sense if they set a benchmark for all homes in a given neighborhood and asked them to use about the same amount of water. They could base it on lot size even. Why punish those that conserved and reward those that didn't when the end goal is shared responsibility for conservation?

Gardensox - I hope that we will have a system like SMUD's tier system for electricity use. A lower priced tier for the amount that is reasonable for an average household (what you refer to as a benchmark), and then charge progressively more for each increment above that base amount.
And, really penalize users that are way above the maximum amount.

For those of you who are already metered - are you charged on a tier system?

Not here!

Not here either!

Yes here in Las Vegas. The first tier is just enough to brush your teeth with and yes, we do turn off the water while brushing.

Yes, we are. The more you use the higher the tier/cost for the water usage. They give us so much allotment based on back usage (DH thinks it was averaged over the past 3 years or so). If you go over allotment it moves you into a higher tier and you have to pay more for your water.
DH has heard of them wanting to put meters on private wells. He don't like it. He hasn't heard of it around here yet, but has heard of it in San Diego County.
Sorry it took me so long to answer, but I had to ask DH some questions about how it has changed recently.
Hope it helps you some, Soils.
WIB!
SW

I heard something several years ago about the metering of private wells in San Diego County, but haven't done any checking into whether or not that has come to pass or is on the drawing board. The water table is quite high down at the back part of our property. We may check into the feasibility of hydro-drilling. Can you imagine? People would be putting in their own wells and inspectors coming around to check your property to make sure you aren't hiding a well? Water revenuers......

wc, yes, I can imagine it and it scares me.
WIB,
SW

Since the late 70s or early 80s in Arizona, you have to register your wells. Well drillers can lose their license if they drill a well and don't report it to the ADWR. (dept of water resources) So they already know WHERE all the wells are. It's just a matter of time before they put meters on them to see how much water each well is using.

That's a scary thought, but they prolly don't know about the old wells on the farm. They don't seem to know about a lot of stuff out here. I'd like to keep it that way too. They prolly do know about the new wells we've drilled (2). Sigh. What a cheering thought. Let's hope it takes 'em a while to figure it out.
WIB,
SW