Cooperation on water lauded again
Chico Enterprise Record - 3/28/03
By Heather Hacking, staff writer

California water leaders again this week lauded cooperation between Northern and Southern California to meet the state's future water needs.

Major organizers of the Sacramento Valley Water Management Agreement gathered Tuesday in Chico for a meeting of the California Bay-Delta Public Advisor Committee.

David Guy, executive director of the Northern California Water Association, explained that a statewide water management plan came about on the eve of what would have been a tough legal battle of Northern California water rights vs. state efforts to improve water quality.

The state has struggled with water quality problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for decades. Seven million acres of farmland is irrigated through the delta and 22 million people rely on the delta for drinking water. The delta also supports 750 species of plants and animals.

In 1994 a state plan was adopted to address water quality and the State Water Resources Control Board began proceedings to figure out which water users should have responsibility for meeting these standards.

There were eight groups to negotiate with and phases one through seven have been completed.

Phase eight, which dealt with Sacramento Valley water rights, was sure to be contentious because senior water rights holders in Northern California felt strongly that they were not responsible for water quality problems.

The state water agency however believed Northern California water users should cut some diversions for water quality improvements.

To avoid prolonged legal battle, major water users and state and federal regulatory agencies agreed to come up with a plan to work together to address the state's water issues.

A major agreement was made in April of 2001.

The move was one of "unprecedented collaboration," Guy said.

Gary Nuss, director of the water resources practice at CH2M Hill in Sacramento, is leading the development of the specifics of the plan.

The plan calls for coming up with projects on a local level rather than having government agencies mandate how water quality will be improved, Nuss said.

As part of the plan, water users will come up with ways to be more efficient and save 100,000 acre-feet of water a year through things such as canal lining or modernizing water projects.

An additional 185,000 acre-feet of water will come from water management programs, such a groundwater planning, pumping groundwater instead of using surface water and better coordination among water users.

For example, Butte County is currently working to understand the underground aquifers. Once better understanding of groundwater is achieved, it's possible more water districts could tap into groundwater, providing more water to the state system.

Nuss said the first half of that 185,000 acre-feet of water would first be offered in the Sacramento Valley when there are shortfalls. Half of that would also be earmarked for water quality.

Progress on Sites Reservoir, a proposed water storage facility near Maxwell, is also a requirement of the plan. Currently a feasibility study and environmental review are under way.

Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, the largest irrigation district in Northern California, would play a key role in proposed groundwater/surface water management.

Manager Van Tenney said the new approach looks beyond the "artificial boundaries" of individual water districts or local governments.

"Managers sense how the integration of resources could better manage water," he said.

Over the past year and a half Northern California water district have gotten together and come up with a series of 50 projects in collaboration with hydrologists and engineers, Guy said during testimony to the state Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee last month.

Association of California Water Agencies executive director Steve Hall heaped praise on the initiative. He joked it was good his organization wasn't involved in the deal because that way they didn't interfere.

"These folks never even made it into the courthouse (with legal battles). They knew they would be in court for decades. They dreaded what they were about to go through." Hall said.

Now "potential combatants are partners. If these folks don't get a medal then something is wrong," Hall said.

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