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Doug Obegi: Westlands’ legal strategy causes less water for farming, more dead fish?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 9, 2010 at 8:49 am

From Doug Obegi at the NRDC Swirchboard blog:

“Last week, Westlands Water District filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to eliminate pumping restrictions in California’s Bay-Delta estuary that protect endangered salmon and steelhead runs. Although salmon fishermen, environmentalists and the federal government all opposed the motion, the Court granted it.

High pumping levels causes water flowing down the San Joaquin River and past the Delta pumps to run backwards, away from the ocean and towards the pumps. Under the biological opinions, pumping is limited by targets for these reverse flows in Old and Middle River, because as reverse flows in Old and Middle River increase, more salmon, delta smelt and other fish are sucked into the pumps and killed.

Of course, the number of fish that are killed at the pumps are a small fraction of those harmed by these high pumping levels and reverse flows (for instance, these reverse flows reduce the likelihood that salmon can successfully migrate out of the Delta even if they don’t get sucked into the massive pumps). … “

Continue reading this post at the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.

February 9, 2010 · Filed Under Westlands Water District

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