California plans to cut off state water

February 3, 2014

water2California officials announced Friday plans to shut off state water allotments to farmers and communities beginning in the spring. [MercuryNews]

For the first time in its 54-year history, the State Water Project won’t allot any water to the 25 million people and 1 million acres of farmland that it usually services. Each month, state officials will reassess the zero allotment policy based on rainfall accumulations.

The announcement means that communities allotted state water will have to utilize ground water and water from reservoirs.

For example, the tap on Pismo Beach’s 1,100 acre feet (358 million gallons) of state water will be shut off. Pismo Beach will have to get water from its 896 feet of Lopez Lake and it’s of 700 feet of ground water.

 


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Morro Bay, Public Works Director made some statements at the Council Meeting last Tuesday regarding the amount of water each ‘citizen’ uses. he said the number was very low and I began to wonder about ALL the water users, Households, Restaurants, Motels, Schools, etc. What are these numbers he is giving? Some research is needed to find out who consumes the water here and what they are paying. I know that in the past vacation homes paid almost nothing for water even though they benefitted from getting the State Water (vacation homes make up a part of what goes on in this City, some who live here more than 6months of the year can vote here, but I always wonder ‘who checks’ , how would you know?), anyway, now they must pay for some amount whether they actually ‘use’ it or not. This helped pay for getting the water here, originally, and maintaining it. Don’t know how that will work for the cost of the State water, when we aren’t getting any, but still have to pay. I hope we have a report at every Council meeting with up dates, results from our water wells, how much desalting we must do and the progress of the WWTP and selecting a site. I fear those who favored the old site by the beach front will be filing lawsuits no matter what this council approves. Just to get in the way. Frustrating to deal with when you have to drag some council members along every step of the way. Some cooperation would be good.


What may be lost in this article is that the state may not deliver any water but we, the ratepayers, will need to continue to deliver the $$$$$. In the example above, Pismo beach water ratepayers will pay the state water project about $1,650,000 and receive nothing in return (not a drop). All other contracting agencies, Oceano, Morro Bay, etc will find themselves in similar situations … paying big money and receiving nothing.


As an aside … does anyone doubt the wisdom of those Pismo Beach citizens who fought against the Spanish Springs development … as the city counsel was told … there isn’t any water for this project nor any other project along Price Canyon Road


Unfortunately, this isn’t new news. The commercial ‘voters’ supported State Water, and even though those opposed to buying in to it did the best job they could NOT to buy it, it PASSED!!, NOw, we have it and the truth is here. Pay, Pay and don’t get any!!, Governments do what the voters say. Morro Bay rate payers will suffer. Get on with reclaimed water for the sewer treatment plant!! ASAP.


thank Activist1, you have once again stated the truth. We tried to point out the failings of State Water…in the 90s as you said, but the motels and restaurants and real estate people wanted more water, always more water for developers, so here we are…needing to figure a way to survive without State water, (just draw from the wells and whale rock, we are told), Okayyy, sounds good to me, but how long can we last? Without drastic cuts to the high end users (didn’ we force the schools to buy State Water?), I sure hope someone knows the answer and just washing your car with a bucket instead of a hose isn’t going to cut it!!


The State Dought Reliablilty Report loudly expressed their inabilty to meet the contracts during a drought yet the County of San Luis Obispo tried to sell this option to the community of Santa Margaita after saying good by to the entitlement of 200 acre-feet of our lake water and avoided exploring a better local well.


How we manage our local resources once again has proven to be the only way to keep devlopement in balance. Using local taxes or fees to import water only guarantees

a revenue stream, obviously, not water stream.


Shame on local gov for their mis-mangagement of Santa Margarita’s local water resources, kudos for the storage and distribution improvements. The affordability of water is a big part in the land values for those lucky enough to buy or live in there.


Jesus stated; “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, BELIEVING, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)


Jesus stated; “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11, 24)


We still have to find that elusive Christian that “truly believes” so they can throw some prayers skyward to eliminate California’s drought, as alluded to by Jesus Himself in the passages above.


Careful Ted,


If the weather patterns change and we have a “MIracle March,” will you credit all the “true believers” for it? Or will you find some contradictory Bible verses to “move the goal posts?”


OTOH,


The point is, so far, there’re no true believers because Christians have prayed for rain in the context of the bible passages in question, and the drought continues.


I’ll leave the act of moving the goal posts to the Christian community, and implementing contradictory passages to suit any need.


My apologies Ted, I was out of line…


I just don’t get it though; how we can take a gift such as water and think it is anyone’s to control? How can that be? Be it God that gave it to us or some Big Bang, it is still a gift!


Here is a case where the needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few; where the person at the end of the flow should be as important as the ones at the headwaters! Anything less than that I just don’t get it!


I guess it was a couple of years ago that the World Bank came out with a value figure on potable water in the world, right around $800,000,000,000.00 dollars! What the hell! This is a need for all living organisms on this planet, if any value should be set on it it should have been INCREDIBLY INVALUABLE!


Again, my apologies, but bringing God into the discussion as you do, as an antagonistic point, irks the hell out of me! God does answer all prayers, but not in our time frame;


“The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD (Lam 3:25).


And what about Paul when he prayed to be delivered from his physical affliction:


“Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12:7-10).


And if it is God who gave us this garden (something I have no doubt of) He gave it to us as caretakers not as the rapists and pillagers of it that we’ve become. And maybe, just maybe, He’s giving us a little taste of what’s to come if we keep doing what we’re doing to this gift. Free will has a price Ted…


I just don’t get it…


Just Sayin’…


jrstone,


“God does answer all prayers, but not in our time frame;”


It is hard to imagine how this promise in the passages shown below could be any more unequivocal. If the text really does mean that any prayer by a faithful believer will be granted, in what way would it have to be different for you to recognize and accept this as the actual intent? Huh?


Jesus stated; “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, BELIEVING, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)


Jesus stated; “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11, 24)


Your lame excuse has to be presented because the passages in question fall flat upon their proverbial face and you’re trying in vain to use apologetics to spin doctor them into acceptance, basically saying that you know more than Jesus!


THINK, your insidious loophole is so broad that it drains these verses of all absolute meaning. Why bother to make such absolute promises about the dramatic power of prayer if there is no guarantee that any prayer will ever be answered in the time needed?! Example; a prayer for a dying child of cancer cannot wait for “but not in our time frame” accept for the present actual time!


Your apologetic tactic turns your God into an overzealous advertiser who is prone to his claims being rescued by disclaimers from the apologist legal department, aka, jrstone! Your excuse will not stand because it turns these Bible verses of “direct absolutes” spoken by Jesus, into broken promises.


I’ll stand by my “lame excuse”. I know more than Jesus? No, not all. The only way I know Jesus at all is through the writing of His Father’s Book. In it where there seems to be contradiction I only find explanation; Prayers ARE answered BUT God is outside of time (being omnipresent He is not bound by our constraints of the 24/7/365 mentality {Isaiah 57:15, 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20, etc}) so for us to expect an answer when we want it has no basis in the Bible.


But let me answer your question by expanding on the scriptures in the manner in which you imply (in CAPS):


Jesus stated; “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, BELIEVING, ye shall receive IT NOW.” (Matthew 21:22)


“What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye shall have them NOW” (Mark 11, 24)


Isn’t this what you’re implying? The “NOW”? How is that Biblical? It isn’t. And as the rest of your post? I am not an apologetic, I’m just not theologically or scientifically educated enough or socially sophisticated enough to be so. I cannot answer for God as to why some die while others don’t with the same fervent prayer by believers, I just can’t. But why is it that folks always use children in this question? I know why, you know why; because on all levels, even with God directing things, the death of a child is beyond any reasoning we can grasp. You put that same question out with an 80 year old male in the equation you’ll probably hear folks say “Well, God was just calling him home”. Why not with a child? I don’t know?


Just sayin’…


jrstone,


You are a Burger King Christian, where you want your bible “your way” and not the Hebrew God’s historical and intended way.


I can’t bear to watch you grasp for any more of the proverbial straws, so I will let you be in your bible rewrite adventures.


So wrong! And if not, where does your absolute authority over the true intended Hebrew God Historical version come from, even to the point of pointing out my deficiencies? Is it from God or from your obvious prejudice against it’s teachings?!!


I’ve known Pastors who after many years of exploring the Bible, teaching from it, having the majority of their formal education based around it, still don’t have all the answers to the questions it brings out. But you do? How?!! Be specific, please.


I don’t have all the answers as to why God does the things He does, or doesn’t do, I just don’t, and I’m very comfortable saying that. You on the other hand act as if you not only have the knowledge but the authority to answer all the questions the Bible gives rise to. How?


And more importantly; why do you think you have to? Are you God? Are you Jesus? Or maybe you’re the only one anointed to do so?


What I see is someone who’s intentions are to hurt, diminish and even demonize, to the point of absolute glee on your part. Why?


And how do I come to this conclusion? By the very fact that I reached out to you and apologized for my out of line response to you initial post and in response you attacked me.


Get a grip Ted, please! And, God Bless You!


Just Sayin’…


In Morro Bay, residents have been warning City government for years that State Water is a totally-unreliable source. The decision in the mid-nineties to become dependent on State Water is one of the worst ones that City government ever made.


Thinking they could replace well water with State water, they let the sewer system deteriorate and contaminate the Morro Basin wells, and then blamed the nitrate problem on the farmers. They let a ramshackle facility in the Chorro Valley contaminate the Chorro Basin wells, and once again, blamed the problem on the farmers.


Now, the wells are essential sources of water and cleaning up the sewage problems is critical. Hopefully, City government will now face the truth and do what’s right.


So did past city council and manager cause these problems??


The past management did nothing else but follow the lead of any and all governments in the US. Don’t do anything unless you have to.

The levies in Louisiana were known to be too weak. The Government did nothing before the disaster.

Everyone knew that low lying communities in New York were at risk, the Government did nothing.

Everyone and their uncle knew California was headed towards a water crisis and that the Delta levies are inadequate, The Government is doing nothing.

Why would you expect a lowly city government would do better?

Take measures into your own hands. Kill the lawn. Plant cactus and dig a cistern.

Your government will do nothing to help you.


No exactly I say as California did listen to its voters. Much like our drill for oil war It listened to the ones who said tear down every dam and forget about any new sources for storage cause its killing fish, three legged frogs and rare weeds. Just put everything back like mama nature made it. Then we can all suck rocks when thirsty and ride bicycles when we need to go somewhere. Who says man was never a cave dweller long ago. Might as well go back to our roots eh?


The “drill for oil war” you speak of was one that needed to be fought and needed to be won on the side of those who opposed it. The Monterey Shale formation, which is what I’m assuming you were speaking of in your “war”, would be a drain on our water supply in monumental proportions.


The Monterey Shale formation would utilize hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which takes millions of gallons of water to utilize. One well can take between one million to ten million gallons of water for EACH fracking, and each well can be fracked as many as ten times! I’m not even going to touch on the type of waste water fracking produces, just the amount of water it uses, and loses, is enough in my opinion to stop this controversial method of further raping our planet.


Here’s the kicker, again in my opinion… The largest participator in drilling for oil in California, Chevron, which has been pumping oil conventionally in the area for over a century (The Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County and the San Joaquin Valley), has stated, “Chevron does not see the same level of promise in the Monterey Shale formation as other companies…we have not been encouraged by the results of the wells we have drilled into the formation.”


Renewable Energy is the real key to our future. And maybe going back to some of our roots is not such a bad idea, when those roots were in place we were a whole lot less dependent on the rest of the world, eh?


Just Sayin’…


One more thing; I encourage all of you to watch a doc’ film titled “GasLand” it’s an eye opener…