This is just one post in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Category

Bay-Delta threatens water supplies; comprehensive plan is needed, commentary says

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 8, 2008 at 8:29 am

From the San Diego Union Tribune, this commentary, written by Tom Wornham, chairman of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and a member of the San Diego County Water Authority board of directors:

If the plumbing in your home or business was broken, you’d get it fixed right away. Today, the plumbing system that is critical to the quality of life and economic well-being of more than 25 million Californians – including the 3 million residents of San Diego County – is broken, and we need to fix it now.

Last year, more than a third of all water used in San Diego County came from the Sacramento River-San Joaquin River Delta east of San Francisco Bay. This region, commonly called the Bay-Delta, is an estuary comprising a vast network of aging levees, channels and other water infrastructure. For years, it tried to serve as both a water delivery system and a viable aquatic ecosystem. Now it’s breaking down, and the impacts are starting to ripple across the state.

….

In Southern California, water agencies are making up for the shortfall by pursuing short-term water transfers and withdrawing water from reservoirs and groundwater storage accounts. While these measures will help us avoid rationing this year, we cannot count on these water “savings accounts” to forestall water shortages for much longer.

Clearly the Delta is failing, says Mr. Wornham, and he discusses the issues and the pressures affecting this region. A comprehensive plan is needed, he writes:

The BDCP would help map out a comprehensive Bay-Delta solution by creating a long-term conservation plan for restoring habitats for key Bay-Delta species in a manner that also allows for reliable water supply deliveries. The BDCP is currently undergoing stakeholder input as part of its development process.

This BDCP is not a “silver bullet” that will address all of the Bay-Delta’s problems and issues. But the BDCP deserves support because it makes restoring habitats and restoring water supply reliability equal priorities. That puts it on the right track for addressing the most pressing and critical issues impacting the Bay-Delta and, in turn, water supply reliability in regions such as San Diego County.

Read the full text of Mr. Wornham’s commentary in the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.

It will be interesting to see how the Bay Delta Conservation Plan will work with the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force’s plan, and how all of these will interface with the governing structures already in place. Seems to me the Delta has suffered from ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’.

July 8, 2008 · Filed Under Bay Delta Conservation Plan