'New Era' in Water Means Brown Lawns
Mayor Jerry Sanders' [of San Diego] latest water conservation proposal calls for designated lawn watering days throughout the city.
By ROB DAVIS
Monday, May 4, 2009 | Coming this summer to an inland neighborhood near you: Brown lawns.
Mayor Jerry Sanders unveiled a plan Monday to designate specific lawn watering days for all residents and businesses, a step one horticulture expert said would "absolutely" cause brown and dying lawns across the city this summer. The risk would be higher farther inland.
Sanders' plan would allow residents in odd-numbered houses to water their lawns on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Even-numbered houses would be permitted to irrigate Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Businesses, condos, apartments and homeowners associations would be allowed to water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
"Today, we're poised at the beginning of a new era in San Diego's water history," Sanders said.
The plan heads to City Council for consideration and possible approval Tuesday afternoon. It comes as the city faces mandatory water cuts from its suppliers for the first time since the early 1990s.
If approved, regulations would begin June 1 permitting residents to water for 10 minutes on each specified day and only between the hours of 6 p.m. and 10 a.m., when less water is lost to evaporation.
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That won't be enough to keep many lawns green, said Don Schultz, an instructor in the ornamental horticulture department at Cuyamaca College. Schultz said on average, lawns in San Diego need about 20 minutes of water three times a week to stay green. That depends on where residents live, the efficiency of their sprinklers and their lawn's soil type.
"To apply half of what I'd consider the optimal water probably wouldn't keep it green," Schultz said.
The city of San Diego's lawn-watering calculator recommends watering grass during the summer between 35-40 minutes weekly along the coast and between 48-50 minutes farther inland, where the climate is drier and warmer.
The 10-minute, three-times-weekly baseline was recommended by the San Diego County Water Authority to water districts across the county. John Liarakos, an authority spokesman, said three 10-minute cycles weekly should be enough to keep lawns green.
"If it's done properly, if they're doing it after dark, before early morning, it should be adequate," Liarakos said.
Under the proposal, the city's Water Department would spend $750,000 to hire 10 code enforcement staff -- water cops -- to investigate complaints of waste and ensure compliance. It will rely on neighbors to report waste. Alex Ruiz, the department's assistant director, said the city would take a "progressive approach" to enforcement. While it could fine residents between $100 and $1,000 for violating the lawn-watering rules, the city will give residents at least two warnings before fining them.
Residents with efficient irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation, would be exempt. So would golf courses' greens and tees.
The county water authority is restricting deliveries to San Diego and other local cities by 8 percent, as it copes with dry weather, low reservoir levels and Northern California pumping restrictions. If the city fails to meet that target -- residents would need to improve on the 5 percent they voluntarily conserved last year -- it will face financial penalties. The city has no means to pass those financial penalties on to its customers if they use too much.
City Councilwoman Donna Frye, who joined Sanders at a Monday press conference, said she believed city residents would respond. "I have a lot of faith in the public," she said. "I believe they'll actually take this to heart."
Sanders had pushed earlier this year for a plan that would've established water budgets for each household based on their historical consumption -- a plan criticized for its lack of fairness.
The city has turned away from that plan as the year's water-supply picture has improved. Sanders said the city now has time to evaluate other options.
"This gives us an opportunity to review what we did, what's out there," Sanders said. "This is a great time to look at all the alternatives as we move forward."
The city's current plan has no guarantee of success. The state Department of Water Resources warned in a 2008 report that designated lawn-watering days don't always work. "Some residents water on the designated days regardless of whether the landscape needs it," the report states. "Others over irrigate their landscapes in the hope the irrigation will last longer. This overuse cannot be controlled by patrols."
The report also cautions that confining lawn watering to nighttime hours, when residents are sleeping, can allow sprinkler malfunctions to go unnoticed.
San Diego's Water Department will report to a City Council committee monthly on the success of lawn-watering days. Ruiz said the city should know how successful the effort has been by the fall. Water use is heaviest during the summer.
Please contact Rob Davis directly at rob.davis@voiceofsandiego.org with your thoughts, ideas, personal stories or tips. Or set the tone of the debate with a letter to the editor.
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/05/05/environment/847wateringdays050409.txt
Showing posts with label US Water Crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Water Crisis. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Across America, Waters In Crisis
http://www.wateronline.com/article.mvc/Report-Across-America-Waters-In-Crisis-0001
Report: Across America, Waters In Crisis
April 14, 2009
How the Supreme Court Has Broken the Clean Water Act and Why Congress Must Fix It
Washington — For decades, the Clean Water Act has broadly protected America's lakes, rivers, streams, and drinking water sources from unregulated pollution and destruction, rescuing them from the dire straits they were in during the late 1960s and early 1970s. But because of a concerted effort by polluters and developers, and muddied rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court, up to 60 percent (at least 15,000 important waters) have lost these vital protections and countless other waters (including more than 50 percent of our streams and 20 million acres of wetlands) are at risk of losing protections.
Today, Natural Resources Defense Council, Clean Water Action, Earthjustice, Environment America, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and Southern Environmental Law Center are releasing a new report entitled Courting Disaster: How the Supreme Court Has Broken the Clean Water Act and Why Congress Must Fix It, which details the threats to America's waters and highlights the urgent need for Congress to act immediately and restore full Clean Water Act protections to our waters.
Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006, and subsequent agency policies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers put in place in 2003 and 2007, shattered the fundamental framework of the Clean Water Act. Today, many important waters — large and small — are being stripped of critical protections against pollution and destruction. These waters not only serve as valuable wildlife habitat, store flood water, return water to aquifers, and filter pollutants, but they also provide some or all of the supply for drinking water systems serving roughly 111 million Americans. The floodgates are now open for polluters to use the chaotic legal state to thwart enforcement and clean up efforts, and actively pollute the waters where we fish, swim, boat, and drink.
Courting Disaster details more than 30 cases which demonstrate that without immediate action in Congress, a generation of progress in cleaning up our nation's waters may be lost. We cannot afford to return to the days of dirty water. These telling examples include numerous instances where:
an administrative agency (EPA or Corps) limited legal protection for a given water body, ruling that it is no longer protected by the Clean Water Act;
a court made a determination undercutting Clean Water Act protections for a water body;
as a defense in an enforcement action, an alleged polluter raised the issue of whether the water they discharged into is a protected water;
the Corps of Engineers originally determined a water not be protected, forcing EPA to step in to overrule the Corps and protect the water body; and
a discharger with a permit argued it could pollute waters without federal safeguards in the future.
"Across the nation, polluters are being allowed to dump into our waterways, including countless drinking water sources," said Jon Devine, Senior Attorney for NRDC. "Congress can and must fix the Clean Water Act so it protects the health of our rivers, lakes, streams, and the millions of Americans who rely on them."
"These examples from across America make clear the urgent need for Congress to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act — every day that passes puts at risk America's streams, wetlands, and our sources of clean water," said Jim Murphy, wetlands & water resources counsel, National Wildlife Federation. "Robust wetlands, rivers, and streams are essential to help people and wildlife survive the impacts of global warming that include more intense storms, droughts and habitat loss."
"Since 2003, drinking water sources for 111 million Americans have been put at risk because of policies that give free reign to polluters," said Paul Schwartz, national policy coordinator, Clean Water Action. "This report shows that action by Congress is overdue."
"The Clean Water Act was created to broadly protect our nation's waters, including the many streams, ponds, and wetlands that provide recreation, fishing, wildlife habitat, and our drinking water," said Dalal Aboulhosn, clean water representative, Sierra Club. "Congress needs to step up now and reaffirm the Clean Water Act as it was originally intended before more of our waters are lost."
"The Clean Water Act is broken," said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel, Earthjustice. "Every week that goes that Congress does not pass legislation to fix it, dozens of streams and wetlands — like those in this report — are lost to pollution and destruction. President Obama said during the campaign that he supports this legislation. There is no reason to wait any longer to address this dire problem."
"The rubber meets the road in the South where most of America's wetlands and its greatest growth collide," said Bill Sapp, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. "The Clean Water Restoration Act is crucial to protecting the South's valuable wetlands since many states have little or no protections in place."
The cases in Courting Disaster provide telling examples of how critical it is for Congress to reverse the damage done from the Supreme Court's decisions by restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections. The Clean Water Restoration Act would accomplish this. This Act was introduced in the Senate two weeks ago. A similar bill should soon be introduced in the House.
About NRDC
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Beijing.
------------------------------
The high cost of wastewater treatment is a major deterrent to treating it. NUALGI seeks to reduce this.
Report: Across America, Waters In Crisis
April 14, 2009
How the Supreme Court Has Broken the Clean Water Act and Why Congress Must Fix It
Washington — For decades, the Clean Water Act has broadly protected America's lakes, rivers, streams, and drinking water sources from unregulated pollution and destruction, rescuing them from the dire straits they were in during the late 1960s and early 1970s. But because of a concerted effort by polluters and developers, and muddied rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court, up to 60 percent (at least 15,000 important waters) have lost these vital protections and countless other waters (including more than 50 percent of our streams and 20 million acres of wetlands) are at risk of losing protections.
Today, Natural Resources Defense Council, Clean Water Action, Earthjustice, Environment America, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and Southern Environmental Law Center are releasing a new report entitled Courting Disaster: How the Supreme Court Has Broken the Clean Water Act and Why Congress Must Fix It, which details the threats to America's waters and highlights the urgent need for Congress to act immediately and restore full Clean Water Act protections to our waters.
Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006, and subsequent agency policies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers put in place in 2003 and 2007, shattered the fundamental framework of the Clean Water Act. Today, many important waters — large and small — are being stripped of critical protections against pollution and destruction. These waters not only serve as valuable wildlife habitat, store flood water, return water to aquifers, and filter pollutants, but they also provide some or all of the supply for drinking water systems serving roughly 111 million Americans. The floodgates are now open for polluters to use the chaotic legal state to thwart enforcement and clean up efforts, and actively pollute the waters where we fish, swim, boat, and drink.
Courting Disaster details more than 30 cases which demonstrate that without immediate action in Congress, a generation of progress in cleaning up our nation's waters may be lost. We cannot afford to return to the days of dirty water. These telling examples include numerous instances where:
an administrative agency (EPA or Corps) limited legal protection for a given water body, ruling that it is no longer protected by the Clean Water Act;
a court made a determination undercutting Clean Water Act protections for a water body;
as a defense in an enforcement action, an alleged polluter raised the issue of whether the water they discharged into is a protected water;
the Corps of Engineers originally determined a water not be protected, forcing EPA to step in to overrule the Corps and protect the water body; and
a discharger with a permit argued it could pollute waters without federal safeguards in the future.
"Across the nation, polluters are being allowed to dump into our waterways, including countless drinking water sources," said Jon Devine, Senior Attorney for NRDC. "Congress can and must fix the Clean Water Act so it protects the health of our rivers, lakes, streams, and the millions of Americans who rely on them."
"These examples from across America make clear the urgent need for Congress to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act — every day that passes puts at risk America's streams, wetlands, and our sources of clean water," said Jim Murphy, wetlands & water resources counsel, National Wildlife Federation. "Robust wetlands, rivers, and streams are essential to help people and wildlife survive the impacts of global warming that include more intense storms, droughts and habitat loss."
"Since 2003, drinking water sources for 111 million Americans have been put at risk because of policies that give free reign to polluters," said Paul Schwartz, national policy coordinator, Clean Water Action. "This report shows that action by Congress is overdue."
"The Clean Water Act was created to broadly protect our nation's waters, including the many streams, ponds, and wetlands that provide recreation, fishing, wildlife habitat, and our drinking water," said Dalal Aboulhosn, clean water representative, Sierra Club. "Congress needs to step up now and reaffirm the Clean Water Act as it was originally intended before more of our waters are lost."
"The Clean Water Act is broken," said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel, Earthjustice. "Every week that goes that Congress does not pass legislation to fix it, dozens of streams and wetlands — like those in this report — are lost to pollution and destruction. President Obama said during the campaign that he supports this legislation. There is no reason to wait any longer to address this dire problem."
"The rubber meets the road in the South where most of America's wetlands and its greatest growth collide," said Bill Sapp, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. "The Clean Water Restoration Act is crucial to protecting the South's valuable wetlands since many states have little or no protections in place."
The cases in Courting Disaster provide telling examples of how critical it is for Congress to reverse the damage done from the Supreme Court's decisions by restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections. The Clean Water Restoration Act would accomplish this. This Act was introduced in the Senate two weeks ago. A similar bill should soon be introduced in the House.
About NRDC
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Beijing.
------------------------------
The high cost of wastewater treatment is a major deterrent to treating it. NUALGI seeks to reduce this.
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