Water,
Water Everywhere
Your Mountaineer Progress Newspaper dated 10/7/1999 indicated
in a front page article that the El Mirage area was planning a meeting to
propose a ground water study, and was hoping it would be soon because well data
accumulated by the Mojave Water Agency (MWA) during the year indicated that
private water wells are dropping, on average, about a foot a year.
The above coupled with a my reading several articles
about MWA (Mojave Water Agency) imposing a two-for-one water rule, followed by
outcries from the backers of the proposed power plant proposing to oust the MWA
board members; well I confess, I got interested. Briefly, on a four to three vote, the board moved to require the
High Desert Power Project and other large water users to buy surplus water to
replenish dwindling ground water supplies.
The $250/$350 million power project proposed for the
Southern California Logistics Airport may need as much as 4,000 acre-feet of
water annually, But they say their water plan calls for all the water to be
purchased from the State Water Project, which own the California Aqueduct. In
addition, a 13,000 acre-foot "water bank" would be created to supply
the plant when the aqueduct is shut down for maintenance. They want to back out
and Mayor Terry Caldwell of Victorville is furious.
There isn't much that can be done about the 4 to 3
decision because the MWA was created to do just what it is doing, that is make
arbitrary decisions regarding water usage and conservation:
My research shows that four of the seven board
members have either served as Watermaster or as officers on the Watermaster's
staff prior to becoming board members.They at least know exactly what they are
doing. In the November elections the voters have an interesting choice...there
is an even split two "no" and two "yes" votes are up for
grabs. Much as I'm reluctant to offer
advice, I'll make an exception:
Take a good hard look at this proposed power project
and its high water usage demands. Look at the current situation and the
evolving trend. Especially, the California Aqueduct...the following excerpt from a
report on the aqueduct indicates:,
"Increasing
resistance from northern Californians and the various users along the way south
together are likely to be enough to cut southern California off. As mentioned
above, during the 1975-76 "drought, " Los Angeles was in fact shut
off from the California Aqueduct water.
A second major obstacle to the increased diversion
of fresh water from northern California and from the delta involves the little
understood problem of salt water
intrusion. The Sacramento Delta, around which a peripheral canal is to be
built, supports one of the state's most important agricultural regions. Fresh water from the delta is now being
pumped south. And large urban and industrial centers, such as the Oakland and
East Bay area, already use the delta for their major source of fresh water."
This excerpt from the latest report from the
California Water Management District supports reasons to be wary of dependency on aqueduct water:
"Level I options are those programs that have
undergone extensive investigation and environmental analyses and are judged to
have a high likelihood of being implemented by 2020.
Level II options are those programs that could fill
the remaining gap between water supply and demand. These options require more
investigation and alternative analyses.
With planned Level I programs, 2020 average and
drought year shortages could be reduced to 373,000 and 848,000 acre feet,
respectively, under Decision 1485 operating criteria for Delta supplies. A shortage of this magnitude could have
severe economic impacts on the region. This remaining shortage requires
both additional short-term drought management, water transfers, and demand
management programs, and future long-term and Level II programs depending on
the overall level of water service reliability deemed necessary, by local
agencies, to sustain the economic health of the region. In the short-term, some areas of this region that rely on Delta exports
for all or a portion of their supplies face greater uncertainty in terms of
water supply reliability due to the uncertain outcome of actions undertaken to
protect aquatic species in the Delta."
Although press releases carried reassurances that
The water for the High Desert Power Project would come from the aqueduct, and
stated, "No native ground water will
be used," my research into the High Desert Power Project
Website at:
http://highdesertpower.com/info.htm -- this info page describes the
complete construction permit parameters, one of which is Product Sales...it
indicates Electricity 230 KV, possible steam, hot water, and chilled water.
Clicking on a link at the bottom of the page labeled
in-depth plant info is more revealing:
one the technical aspects of the construction permit
carried the following infrastructure descriptions:
Infrastructure:
HDPP will need various qualities of high pressure gas, electric transmission, and water.
{A 2.5
mile water pipeline for raw water will be constructed to connect
HDPP to an existing 16 inch Victor Valley Water
District pipeline. There
are also seven extraction wells proposed as part of
the HDPP.}
The above
brackets are mine. Someone is obviously stretching the truth. A close read of
the proposal reveals that they will always be using Mojave Water Agency water
to operate the plant. Supposedly, after the fact, they will buy water from the
aqueduct and dump it back in the aquafiler. If the aqueduct shuts off their
supply, they just keep on using the water from Mojave Water Agency with no
disruption in service with no time or quantity limit.
I think we should be lauding the courage of these
four neighbors who refuse to be intimidated and stand willing to be crucified
by the politicians and the media when they have nothing to gain from their
position, and all we have to lose is 1,303,680,000 gallons of water every year
until it is all gone.
Water is becoming the major issue of concern, and
the dominant control in growth planning as we enter the 21st century, and I do
not believe we in the High Desert should be entering into contract with an
entity with high maintenance costs, questionable veracity, and uncertain
future.