Residents fear underground basin is too contaminated for potable use melissa@theacorn.com A proposal to tap into Simi Valley’s groundwater basin as a source for drinking water drew angst and anger from residents who claim the water has been contaminated by runoff from the Santa Susana Field Lab.
About 30 people urged the City Council on Monday not to act on a study by Ventura County Waterworks District No.
Since 2014, the waterworks district, which provides water to about 65 percent of Simi Valley, has studied how much water the basin can produce, the quality of the available resource and how much could be pumped out annually.
Joe Deakin, Simi’s assistant public works director, previously told the Simi Valley Acorn that the basin’s feasibility as a drinking water source would provide a vital additional option for residents and potentially reduce the cost of water.
The remaining 15 percent is treated groundwater from Simi’s basin that the agency says is used for drinking water.
it’s absolutely frightening,” Becerra told the Simi Valley Acorn Tuesday.
“But what these residents are saying should definitely be taken into account because some folks have been impacted in ways we would wish on no one.” The waterworks study is a preliminary look at the feasibility of using groundwater and any related action is at least five years away, Simi’s City Manager Eric Levitt said, adding that the concerns of residents will be taken into account.
Residents can weigh in on the matter at a neighborhood council meeting on Aug. 21 and at future council meetings.
Holly Braithwaite, Boeing spokesperson, said the groundwater from SSFL is part of a different aquifer than Simi’s basin and therefore any potential contamination isn’t from the field lab.
“No matter the source, all drinking water delivered to customers is subject to regulatory analysis and must meet rigorous state and federal drinking water standards,” Zorba said.

From the Office of the Governor: Joel Ledesma, 49, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of the State Water Project at the California Department of Water Resources.
This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $178,992.
Pyramid Lake Algal Bloom Now at ‘Caution’ Level; Toxin Level Lower than Last Week From the Department of Water Resources: The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has detected a reduced amount of microcystins at Pyramid Lake’s Vaquero Day Use Swim Beach.
While swimming is now allowed, all recreational users are still urged to avoid direct contact with blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles County.
However, laboratory testing of a sample taken on July 11 at Vaquero Swim Beach found 1.13 micrograms/liter, a level that prompts “Caution” signs to be posted.
The Vaquero Day Use Area remains open for picnicking and shoreline activities, and the swim beach has been reopened; swimmers should avoid contact with blue-green algae.
Silverwood Lake Algal Bloom at ‘Warning’ Level; No Swimming Allowed, Public Should Avoid Water Contact From the Department of Water Resources: The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has issued a “warning” advisory for Silverwood Lake’s Sawpit swim beach and Cleghorn swim beach due to the presence of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria).
(See Statewide Guidance on Cyanobacteria & Algal Blooms on page 2.)
While the lake remains open to boating, the Sawpit and Cleghorn swim beaches are closed to swimming, and signs have been posted warning the public against swimming at those locations.
——————— About News Worth Noting: News Worth Noting is a collection of press releases, media statements, and other materials produced by federal, state, and local government agencies, water agencies, and academic institutions, as well as non-profit and advocacy organizations.

She provided an overview of the State Water Project facilities, project purposes, key agreements and requirements under which the State Water Project must operate, Delta operations, how the water allocation to our contractors is determined, and the challenges they face in operating the State Water Project.
There are several key agreements and requirements under which the State Water Project operates.
There are also State Water Resources Control Board permit and conditions: Water Rights Decision 1641 has water quality and outflow standards that both the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project have to meet; there is also a water quality certification for Lake Oroville as part of the hydropower relicensing.
“One thing in managing for fish, we’re seeing more of increasing requirements for fish protection and enhancement, but we’re also seeing actions upstream and in the Delta,” Ms. Petitt-Polhemus said.
The Sacramento River flows in from the north; three-quarters of the water in an average year is from the reservoirs; in drier years, up to 90% of the inflow coming into the Delta is from reservoir releases, Ms. Petitt-Polhemus said.
“We use forecasts to help with our inflows or flows, and that helps with planning and how we operate in the Delta.
There is also the Delta consumptive use and return flow from the over 1800 agricultural diversions in the Delta; they are taking water out, and then you have their return flow coming from their irrigated lands, and so that has an effect on water quality and flow and the hydrodynamics within the Delta.” There are also the tidal conditions.
“What happens is, when you think of the exceedance probabilities, you have 50 and a 90, and eventually the 50 is going to go the 90 or the 90 is going to up to the 50, and we’ve seen that this year in our allocations, we had a lower allocation and our final allocation is 100% for north of Delta and 85% for south of Delta, and that’s because the 90 moves up to the 50%.” Storage conditions are also considered, not only what’s in State Water Project reservoirs, but also the reservoirs within the Central Valley Project.
There are a lot of operational challenges for the State Water Project.
“There are times where we’ve operated to one of the State Water Resources Control Board objective versus a biological opinion, and we’ve seen that conflict, or a trade-off in the sense that if you take an action now for Delta smelt, how is that going to affect the fall salmonids, so you can have conflicting standards on species.” There are also changing in-basin demands, the timeliness of real-time monitoring, Delta uncertainty and variability, power scheduling, and facility outages, as well.

Endangered Species Act.
From the Department of Water Resources: “Federal agencies responsible for the protection of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) today provided biological opinions on the proposed construction and operation of California WaterFix.
Under the ESA, other federal agencies must consult with the Service and NOAA when their activities have the potential to impact federally endangered or threatened species.
The Service biological opinion is available here, and the biological opinion from NOAA Fisheries is here.
“The wisest thing to do in the face of uncertainty is to monitor constantly, test hypotheses regularly, adjust operations accordingly, and reassess,” said California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Acting Director Bill Croyle.
“In the Delta, we always will be adjusting to improve resiliency and protect the environment.
The biological opinions are important components of the analysis of the environmental effects of WaterFix.
These biological opinions will also be considered by permitting agencies, including the State Water Resources Control Board in its hearing now underway on a petition by DWR and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to allow for the change in points of diversion to add three new intakes on the Sacramento River as part of WaterFix.
WaterFix would not change the volume of water to which the SWP and CVP are entitled to divert, but would add additional diversion points in a more environmentally protective place that also is easier to safeguard against natural disaster such as earthquake and sea-level rise due to climate change.” Stay tuned to Maven’s Notebook for coverage later today from the media call; Reactions to be posted tomorrow … ——————————————– Sign up for daily email service and you’ll always be one of the first to know!
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Fish Restoration Program Update: Prospect Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project, Real estate acquisition, Regional salinity monitoring, and Restoration RFP.
Prospect Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project Update The Department of Water Resources recently acquired approximately 9 acres of property on Prospect Island in Solano County, completing the purchase of the island.
DWR is finishing the process of reviewing and responding to public comments on the Prospect Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
Restoration Real Estate Acquisition and Project Status Arnold Slough In 2017, the Fish Restoration Program acquired Arnold Slough, formerly known as Property 604, comprising approximately 280 acres of land adjacent to the Blacklock Restoration Site.
Bradmoor Island Bradmoor Island Tidal Restoration Project, previously referred to as the Overlook Club (Property 322) Tidal Restoration Project, is located within the Nurse Slough Complex of Suisun Marsh, Solano County.
DWR purchased the 245-acre Overlook Club in February 2013, the 257-acre Flying D Club (Property 329) in February 2016, and the 242-acre parcel (Property 330) in February 2017.
Two of the three properties will have lease agreements for recreational use of the property until early Spring 2019, at which time restoration actions on the property are expected to begin.
DWR seeks to better understand how collective restoration efforts are impacting salinity on a system-wide scale, and initial work on model calibration and scenario development is ongoing with a study report expected in 2018.
Fish Restoration RFP DWR posted an extensive Request for Proposals (RFP) for fish habitat restoration projects within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh.
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CRS Report: ‘Central Valley Project Operations – Background and Legislation’.
Click on the graphics to enlarge them.
This represents an improvement from one year prior to that date, when 73% of the state was in severe drought conditions, and two years prior, when 92% fell under this designation.
Stress on water supplies due to drought resulted in cutbacks in water deliveries to districts receiving water from federal and state facilities, in particular the federal Central Valley Project (CVP, operated by the Bureau of Reclamation) and the State Water Project (SWP, operated by the State of California).
In 2015, California mandated a 25% reduction in water use for nonagricultural water users, and overall SWP deliveries were limited to 20% of contractor requests.
For the first time in years, initial water allocations for most CVP water contractors were 100%.
Previous cutbacks to CVP deliveries (in particular during periods of increased precipitation) have caused some to criticize Reclamation’s management of the CVP and question the extent to which factors beyond limited water supplies (e.g., restrictions to protect endangered species and water quality) influence water management and the quantity of water delivered to contractors.
They argue that congressionally directed changes in the operation of the CVP that would result in increases to water allocations are needed.
Legislation enacted in the 114th Congress (Subtitle J of S. 612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation [WIIN] Act) incorporated provisions from multiple California drought-related bills that had been considered dating to the 112th Congress.
Congress may consider this and similar legislation, as well as oversight of CVP operations and implementation of WIIN Act CVP provisions.

DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: City of Antioch files claim against DWR; Another giant California dam has downstream residents worried; Delta Council gets an earful; Sites JPA approves deal with Metropolitan; and more ….
In California water news this weekend, City of Antioch files claim against Department of Water Resources; Another giant California dam has downstream residents worried; Delta Council gets an earful; Sites JPA approves deal with Metropolitan; Lessons from Abu Dhabi on using renewables to power desalination; Trump appoints Valley water lobbyist to top Interior Department post; and more … In the news this weekend … City of Antioch files claim against Department of Water Resources: “The City has filed a claim with the State of California seeking relief for the Department of Water Resources’ (“DWR”) failure to perform specific key terms of an agreement between the State and Antioch dating from 1968 commonly referred to as the “1968 Agreement”.
Should state officials sidestep the issue as conditions worsen by the year?
… ” Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Fix California’s dilapidated water system In regional news and commentary this weekend … DWR answers public’s questions, listens to concerns: ““I’m sorry.
Croyle, the acting director of the Department of Water Resources, answered questions and listened Thursday evening as people stepped up to a microphone and were heard during the first of the water agency’s community meetings about the Oroville Dam spillway disaster and evacuations.
Area firefighters are taking part in an intensive training down the Mokelumne River.
… ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: San Joaquin County pesticide use highest since 1990s Kern County: Where does all the water go?
… ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Indian Valley Wells Groundwater Authority Southern California: Why a regional water district is raising its rate for pumping water: “A regional water district in charge of keeping the underground aquifer full is the latest water agency to cite the drought for raising its rates.
“Unfortunately, as in every water agency, as sales go down, revenue goes down and costs go up.” … ” Read more from the Whittier Daily News here: Southern California: Why a regional water district is raising its rate for pumping water Why more water could be in San Jacinto Valley’s future: “Eastern Municipal Water District is about to embark on a first-of-its-kind plan in Riverside County to increase the amount — and improve the quality — of groundwater in the San Jacinto Valley.
Maven’s Notebook where California water news never goes home for the weekend

To implement the California Water Fix project, the Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Water Resources must obtain the State Water Board’s approval of petitions to change certain elements of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) water right permits and licenses, including most notably adding new points of diversion.
That part concluded in December; part 2 will address the effects of Water Fix project on Fish and Wildlife, including Delta flow criteria that might be included.
“Keep in mind that the Water Fix process that we’re talking about here is a State Water Resources Control Board process and it’s focused on a water rights concept and that is a change in point of diversion.
It’s just a water conveyance project that needs a change in point of diversion.”
“I do think it is dual conveyance; in fact, if we were to shift all the pumping to the north, then the projects couldn’t meet the water quality control plans and the ag salinity standards in the south Delta would not be met, so I think what it does do is give flexibility.
He reminded that the water quality control plan criteria and the regulatory constraints on the Department aren’t being changed, and in order to meet the Southern Delta water quality criteria that are currently a condition of the state’s water rights permits, they will have to maintain some pumping from the south Delta, because it’s that pumping from the south Delta that artificially draws fresh water into the south Delta and helps to provide for protection of agriculture in that region.
The 2006 Water Quality Control Plan itself indicated that alternative conveyance was part of the solution.
… Water Fix proposes it’s going to operate a certain way, and yet in the drought years, it says we’re not going to operate the way that we said we would and we’re not going to tell you how we’re going to operate.
So things are bad now; this actually is worse.” Stuart Somach then turned to Stephanie Morris and asked if the NEPA/CEQA documents explain project operations, and is it appropriate to look to those documents to understand the deficits the other panelists are talking about?
It probably could happen but it’s not likely to happen nor do I think it would happen because the Department and the Bureau don’t want to take those risks because they have contractual obligations that they have to meet in the following years and more importantly, they have water quality control plan requirements that they have to meet in the following years, so they are much more conservative then Kevin’s modeler would be and frankly, probably my modelers.” “The concept embedded in these materials include realtime operations and adaptive management as part of this, but the question, isn’t there a ‘trust me’ quality to that?” asked Stuart Somach, directing the question to Tripp Mizell.

“This year to date, we’ve been running at a record pace for the majority of the winter in terms of the amount of precipitation that we’ve seen in the Northern Sierra,” he said.
The average for the northern Sierra is 50” for the water year.
The January-February inflow was 4.4 MAF which is equal to the average annual inflow into Lake Oroville.
“If you recall, we’re well over 200% of average on precipitation and about 166% on snowpack, so what that tells us essentially is we’ve been seeing the volume of precip has been coming in a warmer form than would be average, so that’s why the snowpack is not keeping up with the volume in terms of precipitation.” He noted that the snowpack number is a little bit closer on the Central and Southern Sierra, and there is still a concern moving into the spring of being able to manage the snowmelt that’s going to occur on the San Joaquin basin.
“So the 50% exceedance would include all of the snowpack melt that’s occurred as of March 1st plus precipitation that would occur on average from that point forward.
“Those are all based on those inflows into those reservoirs and the Sacramento Valley.” “To date, we’re running 282% of average in terms of runoff,” he said.
“That also tells you that the storms have been warmer than average because we’re 200% of average on precipitation but we’re 282% in terms of runoff, so typically more of the precipitation would have fallen as snow than it did this year and would runoff later in the year.” With respect to where we were last year, last year there was about average precipitation but runoff was only 6.7 MAF versus the 22.1 MAF, so over three times more runoff so far this year than last year, Mr. Leahigh said.
For Delta outflows just since January 1st , 26 MAF of outflow went out the Golden Gate, so 26 Folsom Reservoirs just since January 1st of water that had to be passed through for flood control purposes in order to continue to hold that vacant storage for snowmelt and for any subsequent precipitation events that could occur from this point forward.” He said that reservoir storage on the San Joaquin system is very high right now, so they are working to create as much of a hole in the tributary reservoirs in order to absorb that snowpack when it does start to melt off a little bit later this spring.
We have some uncertainties with Lake Oroville, but in years like this, there are a lot of other flows that are coming into the Delta so that we’re much less reliant on storage from Lake Oroville in the very wet years, so we’re looking for opportunities to increase that allocation as we move forward in the spring.” To conclude, Mr. Leahigh showed a comparison of the this year’s drought monitor compared to last year at about the same time.
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