On July 24, Alex Breitler of the Stockton Record spoke with Jim Beck, head of the Kern County Water Agency about the south San Joaquin Valley’s perspective on Delta conveyance. The complete interview is available at this link. Beck said that a canal might have lower construction costs but greater mitigation costs. He said, “I...Read More
A year ago this past April, Kern County (where Mr. Beck hails from), came up with a PowerPoint presentation on conveyance. Through a Public Records Act request, a preliminary draft of that presentation has become available to us. Click here to view the draft. Following a detailed analysis of 15,000 cfs size conveyance the Water...Read More
Water Code Section 11580 clearly states that the Department of Water Resources can exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire property only “if the project for which the property is being acquired has been authorized and funds are available therefor.” If the Water Contractors don’t have an authorized (permitted) and funded project, they can’t...Read More
The California Water Commission (CWC) met on July 20 for its monthly briefings, most from Department of Water Resources (DWR) staff, on its various areas of responsibility. After an update from the Executive Officer, commissioners got a presentation on three pieces of federal legislation. We’ve already written at length about the disastrous consequences of one...Read More
At its June meeting, the California Water Commission (CWC) amended and approved Agricultural Water Measurement Regulations developed by DWR staff under SBX7-7. This was a tedious and time-consuming process, with the CWC’s Rules and Regulations Committee proposing amendments, the full Commission scrutinizing them, and public comments being taken. But that wasn’t the end of it. ...Read More
Staff briefed the commissioners on the CWC’s role in eminent domain, reviewing both the land acquisition process and the Resolution of Necessity, a governing authority’s formal decision to acquire real property rights. The CWC is the “governing authority.” DWR isn’t talking about acquiring land for a peripheral canal or tunnel YET. First they have to...Read More
Water Commission staff have scheduled two Water Storage Workshops this fall. Panels for the first workshop, on September 14, will provide the Commission with a historical perspective on water storage projects in California and will give an overview of project types, benefits, and fiscal and climate issues. Panels for the second workshop, on October 25,...Read More
Natural Resources Secretary John Laird has told Restore the Delta in a letter that “The BDCP management and executive committees that have been meeting for the past few years have had their functions merged into a single group. Meetings of the merged committee, now called the BDCP management committee, are open to the public. Meeting...Read More
Below you will find a thorough explanation from Delta Engineer Bill Darsie regarding a significant cut to the Delta Levee Subvention Program. It is crucial that Delta residents contact the Delta Stewardship Council to let them know that the Delta Levee Subvention Program needs to be fully funded and to correct this omission in the...Read More
