Water Education Foundation
This is just one post in the Delta Vision Task Force Category
Click here to view all posts

Sunne McPeak commentary: Securing California’s water future - now is the time for action

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 11, 2008 at 8:14 am

From Red Orbit, this commentary by Sunne McPeak, one of the members of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force:

THE WATER SUPPLY for all of California is in crisis. Our California Delta — a signature feature of Contra Costa’s environment and the heart of the estuary that defines the Bay Area as a region — is in serious jeopardy and cannot be sustained as we know it today.

Fortunately, there is a workable, common-sense solution set forth by the Governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force. The people need to demand action from their elected officials to adopt the vision recommended by the task force last year and to implement the strategic plan that will be completed this month.

The task force solution begins with a call for two “co-equal goals”:
– Restore and protect the Delta ecosystem.
– Improve water supply reliability statewide.

Wisely, this approach recognizes that the Delta ecosystem can never truly be protected unless the rest of the state’s water supply is assured. Likewise, to the extent that the rest of the state relies on water that otherwise would flow through the Delta, those supplies will be further curtailed if Delta fisheries continue to decline.

The stark reality of this conundrum compels a solution that works for all of California.

While there is no “silver bullet” to resolve California’s water crisis, there is “silver buckshot” — that is, there is a “critical mass” of actions that must be taken together as an integrated package to achieve the two co-equal goals and greatly reduce water conflicts in the future.

Read more of Sunne McPeak’s commentary from Red Orbit by clicking here. You can find a copy of the draft of the fifth Delta Vision Strategic Plan by clicking here.

October 11, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Vision Task Force

Comments

Leave a Reply