HomeMy WebLinkAboutNB 1 CA WATER ISSUES 03-16-81I~,TE:
February 26, 1981
~ BUSINESS
3-16-81
Inter-Corn
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: ADMINISTRATION DEPAR2Mk/~
SUBJECT: CALIFORNIA ~ATER ISSUES
The attached letter from the California Water Resources Association (CWRA)
requests the City's support on 12 major water issues in California.
Essentially, the CWRA is seeking various actions and repeals on
significant water policies by the new U.S. Secretary of Interior, many of
which were imposed upon California by the Carter Administration.
Of the 12 issues addressed in the letter, our Water Services Manager
identified 4 issues whid~ directly or indirectly concern the City's
capability to sustain water service continuity:
No.3 New Melones Dam
Encourage policies that will lead towards entirely filling the
$330 million dam on the Stanislaus River, which will assure
proper water supply backup in times of critical need for our
system.
No. 4 Peripheral Canal
Council has previously gone on record supporting the
construction of the Peripheral Canal Project as being vital to
the water needs of Southern California, primarily due to the 55%
cutback in Colorado River water supply around 1985.
No. 5 Auburn Dam
Urge construction of this dam in the Central Valley Project as
being critical for water supply backup assurances to our
community.
NO. 12 Mono Lake
If the City of Los Angeles is required to reduce its water
supply from Mono Basin (constituting about 20% of L.A.'s water
needs) as recommended by a 1979 Task Force report, that City
would seek water diversions from other sources.
This action could, again, negatively impact proper water supply
backup assurances for our service.
Direct Staff to prepare correspondence for the Mayor's signature to the
Secretary of Interior urging adoption of the City's position on 4 of
12 water issues cited in the attached communication from CWRA.
City Council may wish to collectively specify a position on the remaining
issues if so desired, and direct Staff to include sud~ actions in the
correspondence.
Respectfully submitted,
GN:dmt
Attachment: Letter from CWRA
ASST. TREAS.
CALIFORNIA
WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
SINCE 1955
A non-?roS't, non-part/$;~n state w/de c,ti~:;l~ a;soc£at/on dedicated
to the ba/anced deve/opment of wat~: ? ,,~curces of California
and the West to meet the ~ceds of matz ar)'_/ improve his environment
245 EAST OLIVE AVENUE, BURBANK, CALIFUR;JIA 91503 o (2'~3) 842-5229
Executive M~:er, Jack W. Keating Public Re!ations O~cer, Joseph Hanania
February 4, 1981
SPECIAL NOTICE TO ALL WATER-INTERESTED PEOPLE
Enclosed is a January 23, 1981 letter sent to the new
Secretary of Interior, James G. Watt, urging him to adopt
specific policies with regard to 12 major water issues in
California.
Heading this list of recommendations i$ a request that
the eleventh-hour action of Secretary of Interior Cecil Amdrus
placing a substantial part of five Northern California Rivers
in the Federal Wild and Scenic Rivers System be cancel]ed.
We urge you to support our position on these issues
in what we believe to be the best interests of all Califor-
nians.
Please write Mr. Watt giving him your views on these
matters.
Sincerely,
Dennis E. MacLain
President
DEM/rv/tnm
C
O
January 23, 1981
Honorable James G. Watt
Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Mr. Watt:
The California Water Resources Association, whose members
include cities, counties, water agencies, agricultural,
industrial and business interests, environmentalists an~
many individual citizens, urges you to take the following
actioms with respect to serious water and energy problems
facing California, some of which problems were generated
during the previous administration at the National Capitol:
1) CALIFOR/~IA WILD RIVERS-- We urge you to act
promptly to undo a last-minute action by former Secretary
of Interior Cecil Andrus, who acceded to a request of
CalJforr:ia Governor Jerry Brown by placing a substantial
portion of five Northern California rivers in the Federal
Wild and Scenic Pivers System. CWRA urges the adminis-
tratiOn to support expected legislation to nullify this
order.
This matter is expected to be the subject of further
litigation in the federal courts since the 9th Circuit
Court held just before Andrus' action that lawsuits to
stop implementation of Governor Brown's request were pre-
mature and should be dismissed until the matter had been
acted upon by the Interior Department. If litigation is
resumed, we strongly urge you to support the position of
broad California interests who contend that the involved
rivers are adequately protected under existing state law
until the time when statewide water needs may require
possible development of some of these rivers.
2) TRINITY RIVER FLOWS-- We urge you to reappraise a
last-minute decision of Secretary Andrus establishing as a
fish mitigation measure permanent increases in the water
flow in the Trinity River below Lewiston Dam, recommended
by the Fish and Wildlife Service. This order would increase
flows from about 120,500 acre-feet ultimately to 340,000
acre-feet in normal years, although such flows would be
reduced in dry years. This figure is substantially in
excess of the flows recommended by the Department of
Interior's own consultants--namely 260,000 acre-feet a year.
over.....
- Hon. James G. Watt -2- January 23, 1981
We believe that Mr. Andrus' decision is unnecessarily excessive.
Public hearings brought out that other factors such as overfishing by
sportsmen and Indians, development, siltation, etc., have an important
bearing on fish runs. Reduction of fish runs on other Northern rivers
without major dams seems to bear this out.
Implementation of Andrus' order will reduce the Central Valley
Project's hydroelectric capacity and water yield to the detriment of
agriculture and industry.
3) NEW MELONES DAM-- We urge you to order filling as soon as
possible of the $330 milliom New Melones Dam on the Stanislaus River.
You should resist efforts of the State Water Resources Control Board to
keep this dam only partially filled in favor of white water rafting
activities upstream.
The Department of Interior should continue its plans to fill this
reservoir as soon as possible to realize its full multipurpose potential
for hydroelectric power, irrigation and domestic benefits, alleviation
of groundwater overdrafts and substantial environmental benefits down-
stream, particularly for the Delta.
4) PERIPHERAL CANAL-- We urge the Department of Interior to recon-
sider the decision of the outgoing administration not to participate at
this time in the vital $600 million Peripheral Canal project, already
approved by the State Legislature and the Governor, pending three or
four more years of study based on new multipurpose objectives which
give ecology priority over human needs. This action puts federal par-
ticipation in this project beyond its need date both for the State
Water Project and the Central Valley Project.
5) AUBURN DAM-- CWRAurges the Department of Interior to implement
as soon as possible plans for construction of this important cog in the
Central Valley Project, much needed to bolster the dwindling yield of
CVP and provide urgently-needed flood control and hydroelectric power.
Originally authorized in 1965 under Public Law 89-161, the previous
administration initiated new studies after a 1975 earthquake cast doubt
on proposals for a double-curvature, thin-arched dam, on which $202
million already has been spent for foundations, etc.
Former Secretary Andrus decided after long studies that a concrete
gravity dam would be safe but there were many environmental questions
to be resolved. CWRA believes the time to end further studies has come
and action should be implemented.
6) RECLAMATION LAW REFORM-- CWRA urges the Department of Interior
to support legislation in 1981 designed to modernize the 1902 Reclamation
Law by expanding the limitation on acreage in a single ownership which
is eligible to receive project water (now 160 acres). We further support
the equivalency concept to allow more acreage in areas where productivity
is reduced, and oppose restrictions on leasing, reimposition of the
more.
Hon. James G. Watt -3- January 23, 1981
long-defunct residency requirement and requiring family relationships
among all the owners or operators of a farm.
Farmers and landowners should be given the option of repaying full
project costs and being relieved of Reclamation Law restrictions;
Congress should validate existing contracts and official representations
which farmers have relied upon in entering into Reclamation projects,
and projects built primarily for flood control should not be subject
to Reclamation Law.
7) NUCLEAR POWER-- CWRA urges the Department of Interior to support
an end to the federal moratorium on new nuclear power plants which is
stalling operation of the completed $1.6 billion Diablo Canyon nuclear
generating plant of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which could
save more than 25 million barrels of oil a year and help reduce soaring
electricity rates in Cemtral California.
8) M_ID-VALLEY CANAL-- CWRA urges the administration to reactivate
studies of a proposed Mid-Valley Canal in the San Joaquin Valley which
were put in deep freeze by the outgoing administration for the purported
reason there is a lack of Central Valley Project water--for which the
outgoing administration is substantially responsible. This project is
essential to help overcome groumdwater overdrafts of some 1.5 million
acre-feet yearly.
9) REAUTHORIZATION OF CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT-- CWRA urges the
Department of Interior to carefully consider the effect on the multi-
billion-dollar agricultural economy of California and on municipal and
industrial water uses of a proposed agreement between the state and
federal governments on the joint operation of CVP and the State Water
Project, which would require reauthorization of the CVP.
CWRAbelieves that a proposed agreement still under negotiation
at the time of the exit of former Secretary Andrus should be carefully
reviewed to assure that there is a proper balance between environmental
factors and utilitarian water needs.
CWRA is concerned that former Secretary Andrus' promise to comply
with the State Water Resources Control Board's Decision 1485--except
in major droughts--could place the nation's fruit and vegetable basket
in jeopardy by reducing Central Valley Project yield by some 600,000
acre-feet a year.
There are some who be"lieve that such a promise may be contrary to
provisions of the Congressional Act authorizing the Central Valley
Project.
10) TUOLU~E RIVER WILD RIVERS PROPOSAL-- CWRA is opposed to a
1979 recou~nendation to Congress of former Secretary Andrus that a por-
tion of the Tuolumne River be placed in the Federal Wild and Scenic
Rivers System. We urge the Department of Interior to reverse this
recommendation because it would kill the proposed Clavey-Wards Ferry
over.....
Hon. James G. Watt
-4-
Jar~uary 23, 1981
hydroelectric project on the Tuolumne River which could produce 800
million KWH a year of electricity, plus 12,000 acre-feet of water for
domestic use, thus saving 1.5 million barrels of oil a year.
11) LOCALLY-SPONSORED MARYSVILLE DAM PROPOSAL-- ~RA urges the
Department of Interior to support a proposal for construction of Marys-
ville Dam on the Yuba River under agreement between the Yuba County
Water Agency and the North Kern Water Storage District, acting on behalf
of a number of San Joaquin Valley water agencies.
Local sponsorship of this project, once contemplated as a federal
project, was developed because of state and federal delays in moving
vitally-needed water progr~m~. Marysville Dam would improve flood
control and provide hydroelectric power and water supply for Yuba and
Sutter Counties, with any water surplus being made available for use
in South San Joaquin Valley counties.
12) MONO LAKE-- The Department of Interior is urged to turn its
back on the 1979 recommendation of a state-federal Interagency Task
Force which would reduce the City of Los Angeles' diversions from
Mono Basin by about 85,000 acre-feet annually, nearly 20% of the
City's water needs. This report was not adopted by any federal, state
or local agency involved in the study and should not be revived.
DEM:rv
Sincerely,
/s/
Dennis E. MacLain
President