This is just one post in the Delta Issues Category

AP Story on the today’s Wanger court ruling

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 31, 2007 at 9:42 pm

From the Associated Press tonight:

A federal judge on Friday imposed limits on water flows caused by huge pumps sending water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River delta to users around the state, saying the pumps were drawing in and destroying a threatened fish.

U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger said pressure from the pumps helped reverse the natural direction of water within the estuary, damaging habitat and killing delta smelt, a fish experts say might be on the brink of extinction.

“The evidence is uncontradicted that these project operations move the fish,” Wanger said after hearing objections from defendants, who had argued that other factors led to the fish’s decline. “It happens, and the law says something has to be done about it.”

Under the ruling, limits would be put in place from the end of December, when the fish are about to spawn, until June, when young fish can move into areas with better habitat and more food.

Wanger also prescribed other measures, such as increased monitoring of the fish’s presence in its adult and juvenile stages at several points in the delta.

State officials are still determining the effect of the ruling on pumping operations, which could mean anywhere from 6% to 33% less water for agricultural users and Southern Californians.

Tim Quinn, who heads the Association of California Water Agencies, said the ruling would have a serious impact in a state already coming off a dry winter and spring. Some districts have already ordered conservation measures and tapped into their water reserves, he said. “A sober assessment of this says it’s a very large deal,” Quinn said. “We are not only losing supply here; you are greatly compromising the tools we have developed to deal with water shortages.”

Environmental groups were generally happy with the decision, saying it is an improvement over current conditions.