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San Joaquin River restoration bill clogged; Fish and Game Commission votes to cut water deliveries

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 20, 2008 at 3:27 pm

From the Capital Ag Press:

Delay in the action on the San Joaquin River restoration bill until early 2009 is cutting it close. Interim flows down the river are scheduled to begin next year.

The legislation, authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., funds the massive restoration project aimed at returning a salmon run on the river. On Monday, Nov. 17, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., decided to postpone action on the large public lands bill that included Feinstein’s bill.

The Senate will take up the bill when the new Congress convenes. Stalled since 2006, the bill provides $88 million in funding, far short of the $250 million in the original legislation. The funding will implement the settlement reached between east side water users and environmental groups in 2006.

Water users who receive San Joaquin River water stored behind Friant Dam agreed to send part of their water down the river channel to restore a salmon fishery. In the settlement, they are promised that the amount of water they lose will be capped, and there will be improvements in the water delivery system to route water back to them.

Recent news of further restrictions for the longfin smelt could have implications for Friant water users:

New restrictions in delta pumping to protect longfin smelt would not directly affect the water deliveries to exchange contractors, Chedester said, but it could impact the Bureau of Reclamation and how it operates the water delivery system. If the bureau can’t deliver water from the delta, they will have to take it from Friant, he said, because the districts hold senior water rights.