The Campbell Reporter
News
Water authority will weigh climate change in projects
By Stephen Baxter
Evidence of climate change is real, and regional droughts and flooding associated with it must be controlled, the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board decided at its Jan. 29 meeting.
After several presentations on how the South Bay may have to confront rising water from San Francisco Bay, heavier bursts of rain and longer droughts, the board adopted a resolution to apply climate-change factors to its flood protection, infrastructure and water supply plans. The authority also pledged to minimize its greenhouse gas emissions and promote more water conservation.
Some board members, including chairwoman Rosemary Kamei, said the district had been anxious to include climate-change factors in its plans. As precipitation patterns are altered, the board indicated that its water storage facilities should be equipped to handle it.
The district--a wholesale water supplier--operates 10 reservoirs, three large groundwater basins, three wastewater treatment plants and 800 miles of streams.
Campbell residents receive their water from the West Valley watershed, an 85-square-mile area of multiple small creeks, including San Tomas Aquino Creek.
"Climate change is real and we think it's going to be the No. 1 challenge for water resources," said John Andrew of the California Department of Water Resources, at the meeting.
Andrew and Ed Maurer, a Santa Clara University environmental engineer, showed the board studies indicating that rising carbon dioxide levels are heating the Earth and changing its climate.
In Northern California, historical data from the last century suggest that the annual Sierra Nevada snow pack is shrinking and rain is replacing some winter snow. Some scientific models show that short, strong bursts of rain are likely to test levees and reservoirs as water funnels from the Sierra to the South Bay.
The Guadalupe and Coyote rivers might have to contend with heavier winter rain, studies suggest, and spring and summer months may have less rain.
Some board members said the district should take steps to reduce its impact on global warming. Generating power from nonrenewable resources adds to carbon emissions, and the district has been trying to reduce its power use in recent years.
Every yard that water travels--from pumping to treatment to distribution and drawing it from a tap--takes energy.
Jeannine Larabee, a member of the Santa Clara Valley Water District's water use efficiency unit, said California's water supply chain consumes 15 to 20 percent of all power used in the state.
"We're a large energy user, and we recognize that," said board member Larry Wilson. "Anything we can do to reduce that is a good thing."
Wilson represents District 4, which includes Campbell, Santa Clara and West San Jose.
The board's next steps will be to develop a climate action plan by June and gather data on the district's greenhouse gas emissions. The district expects to create an emissions reduction target by July.
The district also plans to research increased flood risks, protecting tidal wetlands and technological advances that could help reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Christine Tulloch, a water supply planner for the district, said that having a broad range of actions would help the district deal with global warming.
"Any future projects that we undertake must take into account climate change," she said.