May 29, 1974 (8 pages)

nevana coun NYE { Ser: 2g the communities of Nevada City, Grass Valley, ed San Juan, North Bloomfield, pres, A ‘Relief Hill,-Washington, Blue Tent, Hill, Liberty Hill, Sailor Flat, Lake Ci VOLUME 49 ~ . Selby Flat, Grizzly Hill, Gold Flat, So * x ~ Will they last? — California’s water resources By PHYLLIS L. SMITH The “‘expert”’ types who spend every waking hour of their lives studying such things, tell us that California has “sufficient water supplies to meet its future needs.” ; Then, in the very next breath, they say — “however, we cannot take nature’s abundance for A sort of wobbly-based “rationalization” comes from yet another source which declares “The major problem today is the maintaining of a proper balance between the use of the state’s water resources on the one hand, and protecting and enhancing our environment on the other hand.” Who, we humbly ask, will give ug a final and wholly satisfying definition of those two little words, “proper balance’? It is * this writer’s belief that it will take a genius yet unborn to answer that one to the satisfaction of all of us. It almost belabors the point to remind our readers that precipitation (both rain and snow) is its heaviest up here in the Northern third of our state; and that it is grossly deficient in pr r all the rest of the state. And, by that same reasoning we arrive at the certain knowledge that our n, FS; runoff; while the southern part of California, with the heaviest and the greatest need for it. resources ai commenced with the ment of the ‘Missions and_ their saat gardens, two centuries ago South and Central California. Up of-gold spurred efforts to start and channe “water where it was. most n And, later, when an al economy began to’ assert certain inescapable pressures water became @ crucial factor, And, in 1850, the first water law was This was the “Law Of Ruan: Rights” born out of English ‘Common ‘Law and adapted to: the peculiar needs of the newly “The story of this particular: law and the multitude of * problems which it solved and-or created would take a large volume to tell properly. It is perhaps one of the most fascinating stories to come out of the earliest history . of California, and cannot be done justice in this cameo presen~ tation. In the 1870s the Doctrine of Appropriative Rights originated in the arid lands to permit maximum use of water; and it is under the provisions of this Doctrine that water is being transported from Northern to Southern California. The earliest. land irrigation was done by individuals accustomed to solving _ their problems unaided.. they just “muddled” their way through to some kind of answer. It was not ~ until mid-1856, over in Yolo county that the first ‘company built” irrigation canals were systemized and. put. into operation.-Within the following _ three decades, however, much larger such projects were underway down through the San Joaquin Valley and deep. into Southern California : State legislative action, in ‘1887, in passing the original Wright Irrigation Districts Act, a base for locallyfinanced irrigation districts. And, in 1920, redistribution was pronean F the Marshall Plan to effect the suggestion that water from the Sacramento River be channeled into the great Central Valley and, that the flow of Kern . Eleven years later, in 1931, a deficient areas in the Central Valley came about through the more comprehensive State Since that time, more than 40 “years ago, California has been a literal beehive of activities, construction projects, legislative action and just a lot of wishful thinking — all of it water-related. The figures for ‘ dammed-up, canal-diverted and otherwise ‘impo use” acre feet of the wet stuff would surely dazzle our forefathers. They just wouldn’t LaBarr. Meadows, Cedar Ridge, sville; Gold Bar, Lowell H' rleans Willow Valiey, Newtown, Indian Flat, Bridgeport, Birchville, Moore’s Flat, Or water. Dog, Town Talk, Glenbrook. Little York, Cherokee, Mooney Flat, Sweetland, Alpha, Union Hill, Peardale, Summit City, Wednesday, May 29,1974 10 Cents A Co £5 (88S OPT LEA. ont mE Omega, French Corral,Rough and Ready, Graniteville, North Walloupa, Gouge Eye, Lime Kiln, Chicago Park, Wolf, Christmas ill, Bourbon Hill, Scotch Hill, North Columbia, Columbia Hill, Brandy Flat, Sebastopol, Quaker Hill, Flat, Remington Hill, Anthony House, Delirium Tremens. : A NEW branch of the Bank of America opened May 20 at the Glenbrook Plaza. Taking part in the ribbon cutting ceremonies are (in front left to right) Mike McKee, Grass Valley vice-mayor; Jay Cooper, Grass Valley Chamber president; Fred Conway, supervisor district 3; Dorothy McLennan, manager of the branch. Jerry Brust, Grass Valley councilman; and in back are employes Betty Scurr, Fay Klayer, Debbie Joyner, Elaine Brooksby and Jeannette Mc Masters. believe such figures even if they into some more familiar frame of reference! a: times wholly impractical, But the State Water Resources Control Board, founded in 1967, is constantly at. work towards eventual solution of that problem. The improvement of possible water quality has also been the of the 1970 PorterFurthermore, there are many experiments underway towards Cologne Act; all quantity desalination of sea water and to determine the feasibility of reclamation . of water from industrial and domestic wastes. Another source of more water rests in the theory of ‘‘Weather Modification”, and so it goes. The next time you reach for a cold, refreshing water, just think what it would belike to reach andnot find any! “ibe plese pywuert "US “vd age SIVOIMOLESd eOT. #L-91-S) b il iis, ok See oe See Sgn pt abet nee dnaaggeL ape.

nevana coun NYE { Ser: 2g the communities of Nevada City, Grass Valley, ed San Juan, North Bloomfield, pres, A ‘Relief Hill,-Washington, Blue Tent, Hill, Liberty Hill, Sailor Flat, Lake Ci VOLUME 49 ~ . Selby Flat, Grizzly Hill, Gold Flat, So * x ~ Will they last? — California’s water resources By PHYLLIS L. SMITH The “‘expert”’ types who spend every waking hour of their lives studying such things, tell us that California has “sufficient water supplies to meet its future needs.” ; Then, in the very next breath, they say — “however, we cannot take nature’s abundance for A sort of wobbly-based “rationalization” comes from yet another source which declares “The major problem today is the maintaining of a proper balance between the use of the state’s water resources on the one hand, and protecting and enhancing our environment on the other hand.” Who, we humbly ask, will give ug a final and wholly satisfying definition of those two little words, “proper balance’? It is * this writer’s belief that it will take a genius yet unborn to answer that one to the satisfaction of all of us. It almost belabors the point to remind our readers that precipitation (both rain and snow) is its heaviest up here in the Northern third of our state; and that it is grossly deficient in pr r all the rest of the state. And, by that same reasoning we arrive at the certain knowledge that our n, FS; runoff; while the southern part of California, with the heaviest and the greatest need for it. resources ai commenced with the ment of the ‘Missions and_ their saat gardens, two centuries ago South and Central California. Up of-gold spurred efforts to start and channe “water where it was. most n And, later, when an al economy began to’ assert certain inescapable pressures water became @ crucial factor, And, in 1850, the first water law was This was the “Law Of Ruan: Rights” born out of English ‘Common ‘Law and adapted to: the peculiar needs of the newly “The story of this particular: law and the multitude of * problems which it solved and-or created would take a large volume to tell properly. It is perhaps one of the most fascinating stories to come out of the earliest history . of California, and cannot be done justice in this cameo presen~ tation. In the 1870s the Doctrine of Appropriative Rights originated in the arid lands to permit maximum use of water; and it is under the provisions of this Doctrine that water is being transported from Northern to Southern California. The earliest. land irrigation was done by individuals accustomed to solving _ their problems unaided... they just “muddled” their way through to some kind of answer. It was not

~ until mid-1856, over in Yolo county that the first ‘company built” irrigation canals were systemized and. put. into operation.-Within the following _ three decades, however, much larger such projects were underway down through the San Joaquin Valley and deep. into Southern California : State legislative action, in ‘1887, in passing the original Wright Irrigation Districts Act, a base for locallyfinanced irrigation districts. And, in 1920, redistribution was pronean F the Marshall Plan to effect the suggestion that water from the Sacramento River be channeled into the great Central Valley and, that the flow of Kern . Eleven years later, in 1931, a deficient areas in the Central Valley came about through the more comprehensive State Since that time, more than 40 “years ago, California has been a literal beehive of activities, construction projects, legislative action and just a lot of wishful thinking — all of it water-related. The figures for ‘ dammed-up, canal-diverted and otherwise ‘impo use” acre feet of the wet stuff would surely dazzle our forefathers. They just wouldn’t LaBarr. Meadows, Cedar Ridge, sville; Gold Bar, Lowell H' rleans Willow Valiey, Newtown, Indian Flat, Bridgeport, Birchville, Moore’s Flat, Or water. Dog, Town Talk, Glenbrook. Little York, Cherokee, Mooney Flat, Sweetland, Alpha, Union Hill, Peardale, Summit City, Wednesday, May 29,1974 10 Cents A Co £5 (88S OPT LEA. ont mE Omega, French Corral,Rough and Ready, Graniteville, North Walloupa, Gouge Eye, Lime Kiln, Chicago Park, Wolf, Christmas ill, Bourbon Hill, Scotch Hill, North Columbia, Columbia Hill, Brandy Flat, Sebastopol, Quaker Hill, Flat, Remington Hill, Anthony House, Delirium Tremens. : A NEW branch of the Bank of America opened May 20 at the Glenbrook Plaza. Taking part in the ribbon cutting ceremonies are (in front left to right) Mike McKee, Grass Valley vice-mayor; Jay Cooper, Grass Valley Chamber president; Fred Conway, supervisor district 3; Dorothy McLennan, manager of the branch. Jerry Brust, Grass Valley councilman; and in back are employes Betty Scurr, Fay Klayer, Debbie Joyner, Elaine Brooksby and Jeannette Mc Masters. believe such figures even if they into some more familiar frame of reference! a: times wholly impractical, But the State Water Resources Control Board, founded in 1967, is constantly at. work towards eventual solution of that problem. The improvement of possible water quality has also been the of the 1970 PorterFurthermore, there are many experiments underway towards Cologne Act; all quantity desalination of sea water and to determine the feasibility of reclamation . of water from industrial and domestic wastes. Another source of more water rests in the theory of ‘‘Weather Modification”, and so it goes. The next time you reach for a cold, refreshing water, just think what it would belike to reach andnot find any! “ibe plese pywuert "US “vd age SIVOIMOLESd eOT. #L-91-S) b il iis, ok See oe See Sgn pt abet nee dnaaggeL ape.