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Restore the Delta’s newsletter: Premature land surveys for the peripheral canal

Posted by: Maven on August 5, 2008 at 6:29 am

From IndyBay.org, Restore the Delta’s weekly newsletter, which this week, discusses the survey plans for possible peripheral canal routes:

Although the related science for the Delta Vision process and for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan has failed to answer the question, “How much fresh water is needed to restore and sustain the Delta?,” the Department of Water Resources is going about preparations to construct the peripheral canal. Last week, The Sacramento Bee reported that nearly 1000 letters were being sent to Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta property owners indicating that surveyors may need to access private land in order to begin planning for the project.

While the peripheral canal is neither a finalized position recommendation by the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force nor a funded project, Governor Schwarzenegger called for an environmental impact report earlier this year necessitating the land surveys

A few weeks ago, Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Diane Feinstein called for a new $9 billion water bond that would include $3 billion in funding toward new conveyance. Conservative estimates for the construction of peripheral canal run between $9 billion and $17 billion. Thus, one can surmise that the bond’s allocation for new conveyance would in effect pay for the planning of the peripheral canal, and later down the road additional funding would be needed for the construction of the project.

In addition, the Department of Water Resources’ analysis of the peripheral canal makes the claim that 8.5 million acre feet of water per year can be exported from the Delta, even though Delta fisheries have crashed and water quality has worsened with exports of 6 million acre feet per year.

Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors Association is cited in a July 31st article by The Antelope Valley Press as saying, “One design suggestion for that canal would be a structure six football fields wide.” Later in the article, she is cited as saying “Because of the routes the peripheral canal would traverse ‘we’ll be negotiating easements’.”

Restore the Delta staff cannot help asking who has given Laura King Moon the authority to take the lead on how much water will be exported from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the size of the peripheral canal, and the negotiation of easements? And for that matter, why has the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force failed to incorporate local Delta representation into its governance recommendations with their Delta Draft Strategic Plan?

Read more from Restore the Delta’s newsletter on IndyBay.org by clicking here.

August 5, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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