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Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council

Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council. The Watershed Council Grew Out Of. Not a law suit Not the Endangered Species Act Single purpose agencies that don’t talk to each other Need for a forum for cross communication. Comprehensive Multipurpose

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Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council

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  1. Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council

  2. The Watershed Council Grew Out Of • Not a law suit • Not the Endangered Species Act • Single purpose agencies that don’t talk to each other • Need for a forum for cross communication

  3. Comprehensive Multipurpose Stakeholder-Driven Consensus Process 18 Voting Directors: Environmental/Community Groups Federal/State/Regional/Local Government Academic Institutions/Professionals Business Groups/Property Owners Water/Wastewater Agencies Public at Large Nonvoting Liaisons (12 at Present)

  4. The Double Watershed Large Geographically Complex Hydrologically Complex Politically Complex

  5. Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watersheds

  6. Mission To facilitate a comprehensive, multi-purpose, stakeholder-driven consensus process to preserve, restore and enhance the many beneficial uses, social, environmental and biological, of the Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River watersheds ecosystem through education, research, planning and mediation.

  7. Four Sources of Water in Southern California • Los Angeles Aqueduct • Colorado River Aqueduct • State water Project • Native Ground Water

  8. The EntireState isPlumbed

  9. LA Aqueduct, Owens Valley and Mono Basin 1st barrel from Owens Valley completed 1913 2nd barrel to Mono Basin 1970s Capacity 560,000 AFY Delivering 320,000AFY or 57% of capacity

  10. Problems Caused by LA Aqueduct • Mono Lake Level Low Land bridge to nesting islands Increasing salinity • Owens River Riparian & Wetland Habitat • Owens Dry Lake Dust Control • Ground Water Pumping

  11. Colorado River All Used Up California 4.4 Plan MWD aqueduct capacity 1.25 MAF MWD entitlement 0.55 MAF Shortfall 700,000 MAF

  12. Colorado River Environmental Issues • Estuarine Wetlands 95% gone Pacific fly way Indigenous people • Salton Sea Wildlife Sanctuary Increasing Salinity • Restoration of Riparian Habitat

  13. State Water Project • Bond act passed with 1/3 of 1% majority vote • Service contracts, not entitlements • Can deliver about half of 4.2 MAF in an average water year • MWD has signed up for 48% of the water

  14. Hub of State Water Project is the Delta95% of delta wetlands now in urban or ag use

  15. Issues in the delta: CALFED As much as 70% of flow through is diverted Tule peat islands as much as 30ft below sea level Levees not well engineered Pumps cause reverse flows around islands Water quality ocean water out disinfection by-products Reduced nutrients to nourish marine life

  16. Native Ground Water & Surface Water Provides about 1/3 of So California supply Storm water captured for recharge Superfund sites Brownfields Mining of resources

  17. Use Water More Efficiently -Urban Conservation Establishment of CUWCC.org 16 BMPs – listed on web site Water agencies that have signed on Levels of compliance Additional BMPs for the future

  18. Agricultural Conservation Agriculture uses about 80% of all developed water Almost half of that irrigates 4 water intensive low value crops alfalfa, irrigated pasture, *rice and *cotton *subsidized

  19. Use Water Efficiently - Reuse Bureau of Reclamation Backbone Study 28 Projects in LA County = 260,000 AFY Direct Reuse: landscape irrigation industrial process water cooling towers recreational lakes, habitat

  20. Conjunctive Use Storing wet year surpluses against dry year need Association of Ground Water Agencies (AGWA) study identified 1.78 MAF of storage capacity in LA County Chino Basin has at least 2 MAF of unused storage

  21. Watershed Management Storm Water: Water Augmentation Study Landscape Ethic: Native and Mediterranean Plants Remove Noxious Exotic weeds

  22. Water Transfers – Happening Now Politically expedient Use market forces Responsibility for allocating water belongs to the state Private benefits from a public resource

  23. New Technologies Desalinization of brackish water Desalinization of sea water

  24. Conclusion Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting Too many agencies working at cross purposes Arcane water laws: use it or lose it Ability to profit from transfers Lack of statewide policy mandating efficiencies

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