In 2008, California’s Department of Water Resources, or DWR, published an updated Urban Drought Guidebook. Since DWR rearranged its website, you can’t find a copy online, so I’ve posted a copy here.
This guide will help water managers facing water shortages by showing them how to use tried and true methods of the past as well as making use of new tools and methods.
Managing water shortages involves using programs to temporarily reduce demand and find alternate water to temporarily increase supply. The guidebook discusses water shortage management programs that belong in water shortage contingency plans. It was first written in 1988, and then updated in 1991 and 2008 to help water suppliers cope with potentially severe drought and other water shortages.
The news of the death toll and injuries from the earthquake in Haiti is horrifying and tragic. We’ve already given to CRS, which already had staff in country before the tragedy. Donations go toward emergency relief work. CRS is a great charity, and despite their affiliation with the Catholic church, they don’t prosyletize or try to convert anyone.
Once the dust settles, I am hoping that this tragedy will cause us to reflect on the question of what would happen if a magnitude 7 earthquake struck in a populated area in California, for instance Los Angeles or San Francisco. We are in the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most seismically active zones in the world. This map from the USGS makes it abundantly clear: it shows 793 earthquakes in the last week.
I recently finished reading the book A Dangerous Place: California’s Unsettling Fate. The author, Marc Reisner, is best known for the classic exposé on western water, Cadillac Desert. Reisner died before he finished the book, which he considered as a dire warning and the most important work of his career. In it, he paints a vivid first-person account of what the Bay Area would look like when the next big one hits. He concludes that tens of thousands would die, many more would be injured, most major bridges would be unusable, transportation would be crippled, and many would be without water and power, possibly for a long time. In short, it would be a catastropher, and would take many, many years to recover.
Worthwhile reading, and one that will make you carefully consider having an emergency plan and plenty of food and water. Reisner concludes: Don’t expect any help from the government or anyone else for up to two weeks, probably more.
Crews broke ground on an important part of the South Bay Wetlands Restoration yesterday, as reported in the San Jose Mercury News.
Scientists say the project is a key step in the effort to restore 15,100 acres of former salt-evaporation ponds back to tidal marshes for fish, birds and other wildlife. The federal and state governments purchased the property from Cargill Salt in 2003.
UC Davis is hosting a series of speakers this spring on California water policies and politics, and broadcasting them live or archived via their website. Should be interesting. Watch and listen here:
An article by Malcolm Maclachlan in the Capitol Weekly in October 2009 reveals that the CA Latino Water Coalition is not what it purports to be. I can’t say I’m surprised, as they’ve been an unabashed booster for spending billions on new dams and canals to support what are probably some of the hardest, lowest-paying jobs in America.
The California Latino Water Coalition is one of several groups that have sprung up in recent years as the Golden State has tried to address its water woes. But according to critics, those blue signs are hiding another color: the green of Astroturf. In politics, “Astroturfing” means creating and financing a group to make it appear to be a real grass-roots organization when, in fact, it isn’t. It is a common practice in the high-stakes world of Sacramento lobbying and communications strategy.
“The Latino Water Coalition is about as real as Schwarzenegger’s hair color,” said Democratic political consultant Steve Maviglio.
Documents on file with the secretary of state show that the Coalition was formed as a nonprofit and registered by influential Sacramento lobbyist George Soares, whose A-list of about three dozen agricultural clients include the California Rice Commission, the California Cotton Growers and Ginners Associations, the Friant Water Authority, the Nisei Farmers League and The Grape and Tree Fruit League, among others.
Levees in the Delta are tremendously important to California’s water infrastructure. Water for 24 million people in Southern California, and vast expanses of irrigated agriculture, depend on water pumped from the Delta. A levee failure could cause saltwater to rush in from San Francisco Bay, and would mean shutting down the pumps.
Here is an informative poster on levee failures in the Delta, at the CA Dept. of Water Resources website.
I was browsing new listings at grants.gov this morning – those of us in the nonprofit world always have to be on the lookout for how we’ll pay our next paycheck—and found this:
Submersible Aircraft
DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals on the topic of a Submersible Aircraft. In particular, DARPA is interested in a feasibility study and experiments to prove out the possibility of making an aircraft that can maneuver underwater. The proposal needs to outline a conceptual design along with identifying the major technological limitations that need to be overcome in order to maneuver an aircraft underwater. In addition to the conceptual design studies, performers need to outline experiments or computational models that will be used to demonstrate that the major technological limitations can be overcome.
I’ve been waiting sooo long for this. But I’m almost certain that it will have been worth it. If you are anywhere near Boston, you should make sure to be at this show. In my first experience with artists who “self-finance”, I pre-ordered my copies of the album back in 2008.
Friday, Feb 5th at Somerville Theater 8pm with Tim Gearan & Will Dailey 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144
“Dwight Ritcher and gorgeous dusky-voiced Nicole Nelson lay down sultry, soulful music” - Boston Globe “Magnificent!”- Dr. Maya Angelou “A voice for the ages” – Boston Phoenix
Boston/NYC based duo Dwight & Nicole (Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson) follow their 2006 self titled EP with the release of their new album !Signs February 5th at the Somerville Theater. Doing most of the footwork themselves, and with a little help from over $30,000 dollars raised in pre-orders and donations from fans, they were able to bring together the elements of soul, blues, jazz, country & rock that color their live shows. Special guests that evening include acclaimed Boston based singer/songwriters Tim Gearan and Will Dailey. Visit www.dwightandnicole.com to preview the new music, and for more information. Tickets go on sale January 7th.
The album !Signs was recorded and mixed at Boston’s Rear Window Studio, which is known for it’s classic instruments, 20ft ceilings, and rare gear. Following a performance in the winter of 2008, studio owner & producer Milt Reder, fell in love with Dwight & Nicole’s sound and set out to record with them right away. “Dwight and Nicole’s music has a real timeless quality which is what I look for” said Reder, who invited Dwight & Nicole to live with his family in his hundred year old Victorian home in Brookline, MA while working on the album. Throughout the year, friends, family, musicians and fans came together offering assistance with everything from recording time to design, photo shoots to video and sound. “We both learned so much in 2009″ said Dwight. “Maybe the most important lesson is that being an independent artist does not have to be synonymous with struggling, and it certainly does not mean that you’re going at it alone”
“Our fans are very devoted. We give ourselves over to them onstage each night, and vice-versa” said Nicole. “It’s reciprocal; we all feel that same great high after a show.” Dwight & Nicole have both performed in the Boston area for nearly a decade, building a diverse following and regularly selling out concerts ranging from jazz venues like the Regattabar to rock clubs like the Middle East. Their fans are a broad multicultural group of all ages. “We are fortunate that our music hits a chord with so many different people- and that we’ve been able to make a beautiful album that would not exist if we had to follow a formula for selling music to the masses” said Dwight. Fans who have pre-ordered the album can pick up their autographed copy at the show along with a thank you package with personalized artwork, posters and other merchandise.
I recently finished reading the book 
