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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.1 Water Policy Consensus~ ~o~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~C I T Y O F D U B L I N AGENDA STA`I'EMENT ^'ITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: January 14, 1991 SIT~JECT: ~equest for Funding from the Committee for Water Policy Consensus (Prepared by Lou Rnn Riera--Texeira, Assistant to the City Manager) EXHIBITS: Informational Packet from the Cammittee for Water Policy CQnsensus RECON~DATION: Consider request for funding. If approved, the City Council will need to authorize a budget transfer from the ~ Contingent Reserve. FIIdANCIAL If the City Council chooses to fund the Committee for STATEMEI~T: Water Policy Consensus, a contribution of $150, based on the City's population, is requested. A budget adjustment from the Contingent Reserve would be required. DESCRIPTIOAT: The Committee for Water Policy Consensus (CWPC) was organized in 1983 to ensure that the interests of the Bay delta region are effectively represented in dek~ates over California's water probl.ems. The CWPC's work is focused on conservation and efficient use of water in California. The CWPC is requesting support fram all communities within the 12 county B~y-Delta region. Presently, the CWPC receives financial support from the cities and communities of Belmont, Berkeley, E1 Cerrito, Hayward, Hillsbarough, Isleton, Napa, Sacramento and Walnut C.reek, and in-kind support from the City of Oakland. Last year, the City of Dublin c,ontributed $150 to support the CWPC. The CWPC has asked that the City of Dublin continue its support in 1991 with another contribution of $150. Accarding to the CWFC, these funds would be used to support the CWPC in its continuing efforts to promate econoynically sound and environmentally safe solutions to water problems. Contributions can be earmarked for specific city and/or regional activities such as the city-county water conservation program (landscaping maintenance and reclamation guidelines} where CWPC provicies direct technical assistance to participating cities and counties~. This pragram has proved to be cast effective far_participating cities. Funds can also }ae used far general support of CWPC sponsored programs including efforts aimed at improving protections for the Bay-Delta Estuary. The a~.tached literature details some of the programs and activities sponso~ed by the CWPC. During the past year, the CWPC developed and adopted policy statements on urban conservatian and reclamation anc3 reuse programs. Policy statement work is alsa underway on agricultural conservation and on voluntary water transfers and exchanges. A representative from the CWPC will the City Council. Staff recommends from the CWPC representative and co Council chooses to fund the CWPC, a City's population, is requested. be present to respond to questions af that the City Council receive comments nsider the request for funding. If the contribution of $150, based on the ~ ~ • ~ ~ ~r e ~ r~v ~o~~o~ ° ° ~or~ ~a~c~r~ ~o~o~ C~oo ~~ ° ~~ ~ ~~~ IVED IDEC 12 au::,,~ December 12, 1990 Mayor and Councilmembers City of Dublin Post Office Box 2340 Dublin, CA 94568 Dear Mayor and Councilmembers: .~ITY ~F DIJ~LdN One of the keys to the success of the Committee for Water Policy Consensus has been the involvement of local officials in our work as we advocate this region's concerns about protecting the economic and environmental resources of the Bay-Delta Estuary, including drinking water supplies and meeting future water needs in California. We thank you for joining the CWPC last year and for contributing to the strength of our regional voice. The purpose of this letter is to let you know that it is time to renew your membership in the CWPC. Last year Dublin joined the CWPC with a contribution of $150. We hope we can count on your continuing support at this level. An invoice in this amount is enclosed to assist in processing this request. Also enclosed is a list of "CWPC Programs & Activities That Benefit Cities." This has been another productive year for the CWPC. Among other things, the CWPC received an Award of Excellence from the Northern California Xeriscape Conference for our ciry-counry water conservation campaign, including our model recommended landscape guidelines. Our joint project with the Southern California Water Committee -- the State Water Conservation Coalition -- continues to make excellent progress. The Coalition's work is focused on conservation and efficient use of water in California. To date, the Coalition has developed and adopted policy statements on urban conservation and reclamation and reuse programs. (We will be sending you these policy statements soon for your review and endorsement.) Policy statement work also is underway on agricultural conservation and on voluntary water transfers and exchanges. The CWPC continues to be an aggressive watchdog and advocate when it comes to protecting our San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary. I believe you will find the enclosed San Francisco Chronicle editorial to be of interest. The CWPC was responsible for educating the media and the public and for generating an overflow crowd at the important Bay-Delta water quality hearing referred to in the editorial. 1485 Enea Court, Suite 1330 ~ Concord, California 94520 ~(415) 682-6633 ' ~ • . ~ Membership Renewal December 12, 1990 -~ ~~ ~~ Page 2 Receipt of your contribution by the end of December or early January 1991 would be appreciated so that we can continue to aggressively and effectively advocate the interests of this region in the ongoing struggle to protect and wisely manage California's water resources. Progress has been made but much remains to be done, especially with the Peripheral Canal being revived and pushed vigorously by water development interests with a$350,000 public relations campaign, among numerous other avenues of pursuit. We hope we may look forward to your renewed membership. Thank you for your consideration and your support. Sincerely, C;,~ ~~ ~.~~~~C~ Sunne Wright McPeak Supervisor, Contia Costa Counry and Committee Chair Enclosures (3) • ~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~o~ ° ° ~or~ ~a~c~r~ ~o~o~~ ~o~~~~~~~ ~~ PROGRAMS & f1CTIVITIE~ THAT BENEFIT ~CITIES Included among the CWPC's programs and activities that directly benefit the cities in the San Francisco Bay-Delta azea are the following: Promoting a ciry-counry water conservation campai~n, co-sponsored by AEAG, which urges cities and counties to develop and implement landscape guidelines for new devel~p:nent. ~:iP1F~t: ~111Ci~I1Z12S, ~evel:,ped tivitt; t~ze ~iSS1524I1i.~ Gi ~`li: 1;u;~scaF~a~ i;i~US~S%, ~nd other helpful matez~:als are available, saving countless hours af city stafr timA. 'I'lie CV~,'PG's water conservation coordinator is availaUle to work with cities to explain the ease with which effective, cost-saving guidelines can be developed. • Lea~ing campaign to secure legislative protections for all beneficial uses of Bay-Delta Estuary. • ~ponsoring a Bay-Delta Hearings Coordination & Public F.duc:~tior. P~c;~ct, wluch aims to secure favorabie and imnroved water quality standards fron~. t~,.e State~ Water. R.esuurces Contxol Board .(SWRCB) to ~rotect the Bay and De1ta and t~ ens~;re ~ublic participarion and eciucarion in the heari*~g prac~ss. • Working with the Southern California Water Committee in a joir~t projecc focused on conservation and efficient use of water -- urban and agricultural. The intent is t~ develop joint positions and recommendations on conservation so that the responsibility is more equitably shared statewide, rather than placing most of the conservation burden an urban coastal areas, as is now proposed b~ the SWRCB. • Leading adv~cacy for adoptian of water banking in statewide consensus discussions. Water banking in offstieam or underground storage as one of the keys to securing water to m.eet r~ .~„t:-, r.:_. Yut~~ire nee~s in a manner that aiso provides improvtd pi~otec~ons ic~r L'ne uay-Lci~d ~~~ ~ca::y. Supportirig Los Banos Grandes Reservoir and Los Vaqueros Reservoir. • Served as the catalyst and architect for the statewide consensus developed in support of a Coordinated Operation Agreement (COA) between the fzderal and state water projects. The COA commits the federal government to me~ti~-~g state-det~rmined wat~r qualit~,~ standards in the Delta and provides for improved oper.ations management of these two major exporters of Delta water. ~ ~ Spearheaded the coalition effort that successfully secured legislation for a com~Tehensive Delta levee rehabilitation and maintenance prcgrun:. 1485 Enea Court, Suite 1330 ~ Concord, California 94520 ~(415) 682-6633 ~- ~ s s . ~ I ~ ' ~ \ ! ~ ;` ~ ~ ~ ! ~ TME IARGEST DAIIY CIRCUUTION IN NOATHERN UIIfORNIA EDITORIALS ~ AUG 19 i990 rotect a- e ta ater ~~~~'E;~ THE ~'~'EARIEST river winds some«~here safe to sea," wrote a poet who had never met the state Water Resources Con- trol Board. Vi'ith the publication of the board's Re~~ised Draft Water Quaiity Control Plan this summer, all bets are off on such once-eternal verities: After threF }~ears of exhaustive hearings on hou to protect the rich waters of San Francisco Ba~~ and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta ~~hile di~~erting adequate supplies of fresh ~~ater to Southern California, the board has developed a"u•ater-qualit,y" pfan that does not e~~en address the critical issue of fresh-w~a- ter flo~~~ - that is, hoN~ much river ~~ater should actually end up in the bay. That touch}• question, the answer to which is essential to an~• credib]e water-quality plan, has been deferred in the interests of the "water rights" of Southern California diverters, princi- pally Central Valle~~ farmers and the vast Met- ropolitan VVater District of Los Angeles. The Committee for Vl'ater Polic~~ Consen- sus. a Bay Area-Delta coalition of groups and indiriduals acti~~e in the perennial state "water wars," puts this tra~~est5~ in proper perspective ~~hen it sa5~s that "trti~ing to protect the estuar}~ w•ithout fresh v~~ater is like performing open- heart surger~~ ~~ithout blood transfusions." Among the draft plan's other notable fail- ures: It sets ~~ater-quality standards in a piece- meal fashion, failing to take account of how various factors interrelate; it sets maximum temperature standards at several degrees abo~~e the point at ~~hich salmon experience major stress; it sets no new standards for San Francisco BaS~; and it places the burden of proof for better standards on environmental interests rather than on direrters. It should be noted that the current plan is a revised version of an initial 1988 plan that rec- ommended standards for meeting an appellate court mandate for protection of the bay and delta. While Northern California environmen- talists u•ere less than enthusiastic about that plan's standards on fresh-water floc~~ through the estuary, Southern California water inter- ests were irate that the health of the ba~~ and delta was being protected at their expense. The big guns of the MWD and Central ~Ta]- ley agriculture boomed, and the five members of the state water board - who are mostl~ Southern Californians - ran for cover. The plan was quickly withdrawn and a decision was made tb remove the thorny issue of flow condi- tions from any considerations of water qualit~~. The flow question, it was decided, would be settled in a later phase of the plan devoted to implementation and water rights. So now~ we have a"water-quality" plan that fails to set any flo~~ standards to prevent the further decline of bay and delta water qualit~~, even though it concedes that flow is an impor- tant characteristic of marine habitat protection and overall water quality. That decline is indisputable, and its relation to decreased flow as a result of diversion com- pounded by drought is incoritestable. Last month's annual count of the delta's striped bass - a barometer species that serves the old "ca- nary in the mine" function - recorded the lowest level ever measured, an index of 4.3. That compares to an average index of 66 be- tween 1959 and 1976 and 21.7 from 1977 to 1989. "It is as strong evidence as you could possi- bly want that we cannot export more w~ater until we fix the problem," said Gerald Meral, executive director of the Planning and Conser• vation League. ~t ~r yt BUT FII-ING the problem means some- how~ shifting the clear bias of the state board away from serving the interests of unlimited Southern California grow•th and the profligate use of irrigation water. Northern Californians can give the board a push in the right direction at a public hearing scheduled for tomorrou~ at 7 p.m. at the Marin Civic Center.