Local Truckee River News

Tahoe, Truckee conservation efforts feel budget pinch

lynellg — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:25:18 -0800

Greyson Howard / Sierra Sun
12/30/08

Lake Tahoe and Truckee area conservation groups are being squeezed enough to stop a number of projects as California goes through large-scale budget cuts. The state has halted thousands of projects across the state supported by General Obligation bond measures such as Proposition 50 and Proposition 84 — the source of Sierra Nevada Conservancy funding, wrote Jim Branham, executive officer of the conservancy in an e-mail.

The $93,500 grant awarded to the Mountain Area Preservation Foundation for a pocket park on the corner of Bridge and Jibboom streets was frozen by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. Likewise five projects slated for the coming year at the Truckee River Watershed Council have been put on hold.

Kaitlin Backlund, executive director of the Mountain Area Preservation Foundation, wrote in an e-mail the group would schedule a steering committee meeting in January to plan the next steps for the park. “They’re still processing agreements so I’m hopeful that when the budget is resolved the grants will be processed,” said Alex Terrazas, assistant to the town manager.

Town council has set aside $50,000 in funds for the park, Terrazas said, but the money is meant to match grants, so the town will likely wait to see what happens at the state level.

Lisa Wallace, executive director of the watershed council, said while the group doesn’t have to worry about letting people go like the South Yuba Citizen’s League on the west slope, five projects have been put on hold.

“As we understand it our projects haven’t been canceled, they’ve just been suspended for a period of time, we just don’t know how long,” Wallace said.

The effected projects include watershed and stream restoration work in Perazzo Meadows, Coldstream Canyon and Merrill-Davies Creek, along with a residential erosion control retrofit program and a monitoring project for the Truckee river, Wallace said. “The suspension the way it is described does stay in place it is very serious for us,” Wallace said. “We would not go away, but five major projects is a big impact.”

For entire article, please visit website.

Tahoe agency to close offices briefly to save money

lynellg — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:27:21 -0800

By Jeff DeLong • jdelong@rgj.com • December 31, 2008

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency faces a deficit of $500,000 to $800,000 in its $11.7 million operating budget for the current fiscal year, agency spokesman Dennis Oliver said.
The shortage stems, in part, from declining application fees associated with the sluggish economy and a $75,000 cut in contributions from Nevada, Oliver said.

The special environmental license plate fee in California that helps fund TRPA has not been affected, but the agency did lose interest in California's contribution because of the late passage of the state's budget. Among cuts planned are the Jan. 15 closure of the agency's North Shore office in Tahoe City, which opened in January 2007, and closing the South Shore office for six days in 2009, with employees required to take the days off without pay.

The agency has offered its staff voluntary separation and sabbatical packages in effort to avoid layoffs, with six to eight separations necessary if no layoffs are to occur, Oliver said.

For entire article, please visit website.

Budget woes freeze Tahoe projects

lynellg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:02:56 -0800

By Adam Jensen / Tahoe Daily Tribune
12/23/08

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Numerous South Shore projects were put on indefinite hold last week following a suspension of critical payments by California officials due to the state budget crisis.

On Dec. 17, the three-member Pooled Money Investment Board voted 3 - 0 to suspend approximately $4 billion in state funds for an estimated 2,000 infrastructure projects throughout California.

“The PMIB took this action to preserve necessary cash resources to pay the day-to-day operational needs of the state for the balance of the fiscal year pending further PMIB action in January,” according to a letter to state agencies from Department of Finance Director Michael Genest. “If loan reimbursement continues at the current pace, the state’s portion of the Pooled Money Invested Account is projected to run out of liquid cash before the end of the current fiscal year.”

The 56-acre project, Sawmill Bike Path, Upper Truckee River Restoration Project, Bijou Area Erosion Control Project, Sierra Tract Erosion Control Project, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s best management practices program and numerous erosion-control projects along state highways are among the Lake Tahoe projects that depend on bond funding suspended by the board’s decision, according to Lake Tahoe Basin officials.

Future funds will only be approved once the state budget crisis is resolved, according to the letter.

The sudden suspension caused anxiety at basin agencies.

About 90 percent of the approximately $20 million the California Tahoe Conservancy has invested annually in the basin during recent years comes from bond funding that’s now suspended, said Conservancy Deputy Director Ray Lacey.
Lacey remains hopeful the funding will return, but said unknowns about the national and global economy persist, and it is “difficult if not impossible” to sell bonds at this time.

“It’s a little frustrating right now for us. We were given a halt order without any follow-up,” said Cindy Wise, a grant coordinator for the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, adding details from the state about how affected agencies should proceed is lacking.

“I’m sure we’ll get that direction, but we haven’t gotten that right now,” she said.
The suspension affected nine projects administered by the water board, including seven projects in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River watersheds totaling $20 million, Wise said.

Groups like the Tahoe Resource Conservation District and the Sierra Nevada Alliance — a South Lake Tahoe-based network of conservation groups throughout the Sierra Nevada range — implement the projects, Wise said.

Alliance Executive Director Joan Clayburgh said she was forced to lay off several employees because of the suspension of payments.

“It basically just dissolved our watershed program,” Clayburgh said.

The program included various programs to protect water quality, including volunteer water-quality monitoring days and native landscaping programs at Lake Tahoe.
While Clayburgh hoped the program could eventually be rebuilt, she said she was “devastated” by the board’s decision.

Clayburgh said the suspension of payments comes at a particularly bad time, since stimulating the economy through the development of green jobs has been discussed by government officials.

For entire article, please visit website.

Stormwater Management in Arid and Drought-Prone Regions: As water becomes scarce, some cities are changing how they deal with SW

lynellg — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:22:00 -0800

From: Stormwater Magazine, January-February 2009
By Jeff Gunderson

Arid and drought-like conditions affecting different regions across the US are forcing many cities and municipalities to change the way they deal with stormwater management and water reuse. As water scarcity becomes serious, more and more water professionals are recognizing the value of rainwater and stormwater and are beginning to adopt and implement progressive strategies for catchment and retention.

Tucson, AZ
In the arid Southwest, an eight-year drought has significantly drained Colorado River reservoirs, including Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation. In January 2000, Lake Mead had 96% capacity. Two years ago that capacity fell to 51%, and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has warned that the lake could go dry in 10 years.

In addition to the Colorado River, drought in the Southwest has seriously depleted water resources of many towns and cities, especially in Arizona. Tucson was formerly the largest municipality in the country sustained by groundwater. However, after years of overpumping and less-than-average precipitation, the aquifer has been significantly reduced.

In response, the city has developed and adopted a Water Harvesting Guidance Manual, a tool to help guide residential and commercial developers plan strategies for implementing water harvesting for new developments, including city projects.

“The Water Harvesting Guidance Manual incorporates a long-term view on water sustainability,” says Ann Audrey, environmental projects coordinator for Tucson’s Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development and the manual’s editor. “It is based on the need to reduce our dependence on groundwater, which has been seriously depleted, and on Central Arizona Project water, which is very expensive.”

The primary goals of the manual and Tucson’s water-harvesting program are to reduce water demand, extend water reserves, and best use the opportunities of rainwater. Water harvesting and stormwater retention designs outlined in the manual include microbasins, on-contour and off-contour swales, French drains, gabions, water tanks and cisterns, and the use of mulch. In addition to harvesting water, the designs aim to improve stormwater discharge quality, while at the same time decreasing discharge quantity. The water-harvesting program complements the city’s Xeriscape requirements in the Land Use Code, another external water-use-reduction program that encourages the use of native, drought-tolerant landscaping. Cumulatively, these practices are designed to create a sustainable water model for Tucson and preserve the city’s groundwater supply for the future.

“The basic philosophy in the Southwest for years in terms of stormwater management has been to treat runoff as a waste instead of a resource,” says Frank Sousa, lead hydrologist with Tucson’s Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development. “We’re trying to change that paradigm. Stormwater should absolutely be viewed as something to use and benefit from.”

Microbasin capturing rooftop runoff in Tucson
On average, Tucson receives approximately 11 inches of rain per year. However, rainfall events can be complicated. “In the winter, rainfall in our region is gentle and semi-reliable,” says Sousa. “But our summers are characterized by intensive, localized, and conductive thunderstorms. It’s not unusual during these times to receive an inch and a half of rainfall in 30 minutes. As such, with very infrequent and non-uniform rain supply, it is very important to find ways to slow down runoff, increase retention, and facilitate more uniform groundwater recharge.”

Presently, about 40% of Tucson’s potable water usage is allocated toward landscaping. Taking into account the region’s water scarcity, Audrey says that this usage is a big draw on a limited resource. “The water harvesting program aims to reduce that external water usage. Stormwater that is collected or captured is utilized to supplement irrigation systems for commercial developments,” she says.

The Water Harvesting Guidance Manual outlines a process for evaluating site conditions and developing integrated designs that match the characteristics of the landscape. An efficient design is described as saving resources, while improving the function and sustainability of the site. Effective water harvesting systems reduce water consumption, energy requirements, and landscape maintenance, and are site-adaptive for various developments such as subdivisions, commercial sites, public buildings, and public rights of way. Tucson’s manual was created as a general guide; implementation of specific water harvesting techniques requires site-specific modification, sizing, and engineering.

“There is basically an unlimited amount of different water-harvesting methods with a huge range of associated costs,” says Sousa. “Each site is unique, so it’s very important to find and implement a customized system that is adaptive to the specific onsite conditions. It needs to work with the contours, drainage, and landscape. Cookie-cutter designs can be functional, but they won’t achieve maximum efficiency.”

The manual describes the use of microbasins, which can be effective on gently sloping or nearly flat land areas with low volumes of runoff water. They can also be designed in a series for areas with more concentrated runoff, with offset spillways to create longer flow paths that facilitate more soil infiltration. Microbasins can also be constructed on contour to intercept water running off a ridge, or as localized depressions or lowered soils levels inside curbed areas for rainwater retention.

For entire article, please visit website.

Fuel leak closes industrial center

lynellg — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:35:01 -0800

Fuel leak closes industrial center
Staff report: RGJ.com • December 17, 2008

Leaking fuel Tuesday closed Ireland and Britain drives in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center for several hours. The leak was reported about 10 a.m. and cleaned up by 5 p.m.

Crews from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection and a commercial environmental firm flushed the system into an isolated holding pond, which will be properly disposed of, Storey County Manager Pat Whitten said.

Officials estimated less than 200 gallons of fuel leaked into the storm drain system.

Whitten said there was a fuel valve leak in a containment system at a small tank farm at the center that has various types of fuels.

Officials said there was no risk of explosion or seepage into the Truckee River.

Washoe buys two tracts of land for trailheads

lynellg — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:23:08 -0800

December 17, 2008
RGJ.com

Washoe County commissioners on Tuesday approved buying 22.2 acres along the Truckee River for trails and open space near Mogul and 1.28 acres in New Washoe City for a trailhead for Washoe Canyon.

The county paid $400,000 for the larger tract on the south side of the Truckee River to Kathleen Carcione. The hilly land will be used for access to U.S. Forest Service lands and connects with the Canepa Ranch property to the west where the county plans to build a trail head. The land was purchased with county and state voter-approved bond sales.

The county paid $154,000 for the small tract to Jay and Rita Stone for a trailhead to link Washoe Canyon to the Galena Canyon. State voter-approved bond proceeds were used for the purchase.

Contract awarded for first Truckee River flood control

lynellg — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:19:08 -0800

RGJ.com
December 17, 2008

A contract for $2,715,101 has been approved for Sparks firm to build the first flood wall and levee for the Truckee River flood control project.

The wall and levee would be on Reno-Sparks Indian Colony land leased by Wal-Mart along the river between U.S. 395 and the Glendale bridge, north of the High Sierra Resort. Wal-Mart and the county have agreed to split the costs up to

$3.4 million, with the retailer paying any further costs. Campbell Construction Co. was the low bidder among 13 companies.

For entire article, please visit website.

Waxman Report: EPA ‘Decimated’ Clean Water Act

lynellg — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:33:46 -0800

By Mike Lillis 12/16/08, The Washington Independent.

California Rep. Henry Waxman (D) might be headed for the chairmanship of the House energy committee, but not before he gets a final shot at the Bush administration from atop the oversight panel.

A report released today from Waxman’s office — a joint effort with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, headed by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) — found that the Environmental Protection Agency has shown a lax interest in enforcing the Clean Water Act in recent years, leading to hundreds of instances when investigations have been neglected and waterways have been threatened. From Waxman’s statement:

Our investigation reveals that the clean water program has been decimated as hundreds of enforcement cases have been dropped, downgraded, delayed, or never brought in the first place. We need to work with the new Administration to restore the effectiveness and integrity to this vital program.

The controversy surrounds a 2006 Supreme Court ruling on the Clean Water Act (Rapanos v. United States), which restricted traditional interpretations of the law by requiring the EPA and other federal agencies to show that a waterway is a “significant nexus” to “traditional navigable waters” before officials can apply the environmental protections under the act. Following the Bush administration’s interpretation of that vague ruling, Waxman found, the EPA has whitewashed hundreds of potential violations.

The effects, according to the findings, are nationwide. The EPA branch in Dallas, for example, reported in January that it had 76 cases of confirmed oil spills, “but no follow-up for penalties or corrective action has been sought due to difficulties asserting jurisdiction post-Rapanos.”

That same month, officials in the EPA’s Denver office sent notice to the agency’s headquarters that, “We literally have hundreds of OPA [Oil Pollution Act] cases in our ‘no further action’ file due to the Rapanos decision, most of which are oil spill cases.”

Another example: Last February, an official in the EPA’s San Francisco office announced that the agency was abandoning a case against a potential Clean Water Act violator, explaining the reason thusly:

It is time to pull the plug on keeping this case on life support. With the march of time largely attributable to the impact on the case by Senor Rapanos and his merry band of supreme court justices we had lost many many violations due to statute of limitations . . . . So we will withdraw the referral, and save our ammo for another fight.

Sierra hikers dispute federal report about declining use of U.S. forests

lynellg — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:02:34 -0800

By Jeff DeLong • jdelong@rgj.com • December 15, 2008

It's what the Incline Village woman loves to do, and she regularly encounters many others -- young and old alike -- who share her outdoor passion. That's why Devine was surprised to learn about a new government report suggesting fewer people are using national forest land these days.

"I talk to people who are hiking and using the trails all the time," said Devine, 46. "That does surprise me." The visitor use national summary report, recently released by the U.S. Forest Service, shows that visits to the country's national forests declined from 204.8 million in 2004 to 178.6 million in 2007, a drop of about 13 percent and a continuation of a trend first noticed several years ago.

In the Forest Service's Region 4, which includes Nevada, Utah and southern Idaho, the report showed a 9 percent decline. Visitors to Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, which at 6.3 million acres is the largest national forest in the lower 48 states, also apparently dropped, said Forest Supervisor Ed Monnig.

In 2004, an estimated 2.9 million people visited the forest but the number dropped to 1.9 million in 2007, a decrease of nearly 35 percent.

The government's methods of gauging visitation have varied since efforts commenced in 2000 and the task is a difficult one, Monnig said. "We don't have turnstiles; we don't take tickets," Monnig said. "It's a challenge to determine how many people really use the national forest."

For entire article, please visit website.

USGS: Chemicals Remain in Public Drinking Water After Treatment

lynellg — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:01:38 -0800

WASHINGTON, DC, December 9, 2008
Environmental News Service

Low levels of manufactured chemicals remain in public water supplies even after they have been treated in selected community water facilities across the country, according to new research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and released today.

Water from nine selected rivers used as sources for public water systems was analyzed for the study. The populations in communities served by these water treatment plants vary from 3,000 to over a million. Testing sites include the White River in Indiana; Elm Fork Trinity River in Texas; Potomac River in Maryland; Neuse River in North Carolina; Chattahoochee River in Georgia; Running Gutter Brook in Massachusetts; Clackamas River in Oregon; Truckee River in Nevada; and Cache La Poudre in Colorado.

Scientists tested water samples for about 260 commonly used chemicals, including pesticides, solvents, gasoline hydrocarbons, personal care and household products, disinfection by-products, and manufacturing additives.

Low levels of about 130 of the chemicals were detected in streams and rivers before treatment in the source water at the public water facilities. Nearly two-thirds of those chemicals were also detected after treatment.

The most commonly detected chemicals in the source water were herbicides, disinfection by-products, and fragrances. Most of the chemicals found were at levels equivalent to one thimble of water in an Olympic-sized pool.

"Low level detection does not necessarily indicate a concern to human health, but rather indicates what types of chemicals we can expect to find in different areas of the country," said USGS lead scientist, Gregory Delzer.

"Recent scientific advances have given USGS scientists the analytical tools to detect a variety of contaminants in the environment at low concentrations; often 100 to 1,000 times lower than drinking-water standards and other human-health benchmarks," he explained. Delzer said that chemicals included in this study serve as indicators of the possible presence of a larger number of commonly used chemicals in rivers, streams, and drinking water.

Many of these chemicals are among those often found in ambient waters of 186 rivers and streams sampled by USGS since the early 1990s, and are correlated with the presence of upstream wastewater sources or upstream agricultural and urban land use. About 120 chemicals were not detected at all. Measured concentrations of chemicals detected in both source water and treated water were generally less than 0.1 part per billion.

For entire article, please visit website below.

Federal Agencies Revise Guidance to Protect Wetlands and Streams

lynellg — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:45:25 -0800

*Agencies Revise Guidance to Protect Wetlands and Streams *

**EPA Contact: Enesta Jones, (202) 564-7873 or 4355 / jones.enesta@epa.gov
Army Contacts: Doug Garman, (202) 761-1807 or Gene Pawlik, (202) 761-7690

(Washington, D.C. - Dec. 3, 2008) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army are issuing revised guidance to ensure America's wetlands, streams and other waters are better protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The guidance clarifies the geographic scope of jurisdiction under the CWA.

"We are providing improved guidance today to ensure the information is in place to fully protect the nation's streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA's assistant administrator for water. "The guidance builds upon our experiences and provides consistent direction to our staff and the public."

"We are committed to protecting America's aquatic resources as required by the Clean Water Act and in accordance with the Supreme Court decision," said John Paul Woodley Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works). "This revised interagency guidance will enable the agencies to make clear, consistent, and predictable jurisdictional determinations within the scope of the Clean Water Act."

The revised guidance replaces previous policy issued in June 2007 and clarifies a June 2006 Supreme Court decision in Rapanos v. United States regarding the scope of the agencies' jurisdiction under the CWA. The guidance follows the agencies' evaluation of more than 18,000 jurisdictional determinations and review of more than 66,000 comments.

For more information on this guidance, please visit website below.

State grant could keep Sparks wetland teeming

lynellg — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:42:01 -0800

By Susan Voyles • svoyles@rgj.com • December 9, 2008

Even on a winter day, the marsh at the proposed Kiley Ranch Wildlife Wetland Preserve is alive as ruddy ducks dart among the reeds. Canada geese walk across a thin sheet of ice at one pond, while hawks circle overhead. And a large coyote scampers across the tall grassy fields, perhaps hoping to roust a rabbit.

With the help of a $2.1 million state parks grant now being sought, the Kiley family would provide an equal match in land and water to create a 215-acre wildlife preserve that would be open to the public in the fast-developing southern end of the Spanish Springs Valley.

In the tulees, people could scout for birds on walking paths, totaling nearly a mile, that exist on top of dikes separating four ponds.

Similar to Swan Lake in Lemmon Valley, the trail would be extended on stilts over the water and lead to two observation towers, said Stacy Crowley, a director of a nonprofit foundation working to create the preserve and a planning executive for the Kiley Ranch Communities. The wetlands -- which turn an emerald green in the spring -- are home at times to 70 varieties of shorebirds and waterfowl.

Ranchers created the wetlands more than 100 years ago as a place to concentrate water that ran off pastures irrigated by the Orr Ditch in the valley. The wetlands filter the water before it flows back into the Truckee River via the North Truckee Drain.

Washoe County Commissioners today will be asked to support the state grant request of the Kiley Ranch Preservancy Foundation. County approval is required for the grant funds, supported by a $200 million bond issue for wild lands approved by Nevada voters in 2002.

With the county's approval, the foundation will make its pitch for the grant later this week and expects a decision in January. Kiley Ranch Communities, which holds the 215 acres under option from the Kiley family, is developing 900 acres around the wetlands for housing and commercial uses.

The Kiley family, which owned the ranch for more than seven decades, is offering to donate half of the land's appraised value of $1.6 million ($3.2 million total) and another $508,935 in cash to buy 200 acre-feet of reclaimed water rights for 66 months.

The grant would provide legally required $508,000 match for use to purchase 200 acre-feet of reclaimed water from Sparks to maintain the marsh in perpetuity, Crowley said. About 97 acres are federally delineated wetlands and probably could never be developed.

But if the grant is not obtained, there's some fear that much of the remaining 215 acres could be developed. About 15 acres zoned for high-density residential use along Vista Boulevard could be sold for development, Crowley said.

For entire article, please view website.

TCID Water Supply Conditions

lynellg — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:55:14 -0800

Updated Dec. 7, 2008
Submitted by Truckee-Carson Irrigation District to Lahontan Valley News

As of December 7, storage in Lahontan Reservoir was 27,352 acre-feet. Storage in Lahontan is expected to increase to about 37,200 acre-feet by the end of December.

The maximum Truckee Canal diversion allowed by the Bureau of Reclamation is 350 cfs, which is more than what is available of the Floriston Rates water that arrives at Derby Dam. For December the reduced Floriston Rate is 300 cfs, because Lake Tahoe is below elevation 6225.25.

On November 22 the Truckee Meadows Water Authority requested a further reduction in the Floriston Rates to 160 cfs pursuant to a supposedly never before used provision in the Truckee River Agreement. This provision allows Sierra Pacific to reduce Reduced Floriston Rates during the non-irrigation season not to exceed 6,000 acre-feet since the signing of the Truckee River Agreement in 1935. The Federal Water Master is not aware of this provision being used before.

The reasoning given by TMWA was that Floriston Rate water in Boca would be exhausted by about December 8. This change would extend the release of Floriston Rate water until about January 8.

Later, on December 5, TMWA requested Reduced Floriston Rates be increased from 160 cfs to 200 cfs. The reason given for this was to avoid increasing releases when the 6,000 acre-feet was reached and then reducing the releases after all Floriston Rates was exhausted.

For entire article, please visit website below.

Lake level low

lynellg — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:53:36 -0800

Daily Tribune: In the works for the weekend
Staff report
12/5/08

When the water in Lake Tahoe falls below the natural rim, at 6,223 feet, water stops flowing into the Truckee River. At midweek, Lake Tahoe measured 6,223.25. If the lake level drops below the natural rim, Tahoe turns into an enormous bathtub.

Lake level nears natural rim

lynellg — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:02:35 -0800

Annie Flanzraich / North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
Dec. 4, 08

With Lake Tahoe’s water level nearing the natural rim, water authorities are hoping for record-breaking precipitation to bring the level up.

“We desperately need a big winter and a big snowpack to bring Lake Tahoe back up again,” said Federal Water Master Garry Stone.

When the water in Lake Tahoe nears the natural rim, at 6,223 feet, water flows more slowly into the Truckee River. At midweek the lake measured 6,223.25. Under normal conditions, the flow into the Truckee is about 250 cubic feet per second. The current rate is about 12 cubic feet per second, Stone said. If the lake level drops below the natural rim no more water will flow into the Truckee.

“We can’t get any more water out of it,” Stone said. “It’s like a bathtub, we do not have the ability to release water through the natural rim.”

For entire article, please visit website.