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Delta dilemma: Comprehensive solutions for our uncertain water supply do exist, but it’s impossible to find any coming out of Sacramento, says editorial

Posted by: Maven on December 22, 2008 at 7:02 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle, this editorial:

Stepping in where the state of California has feared to tread, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a new set of rules designed to protect the endangered delta smelt in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The new rules represent the fish’s last chance for survival, and a last-ditch chance at preserving the Delta’s collapsing water quality. But they will come at a high cost – the ruling will result in reduced water pumping out of the delta, and that means less water for the farmers and urban areas that have come to depend on it.

No one should be surprised by this. It’s old news that the delta smelt are on the verge of extinction, and that the fragile delta cannot continue to serve as a trough for eternity. The ruling is the result of three years worth of lawsuits and negotiations between environmentalists, fishermen, and the state and federal water agencies that do the pumping. Last year, a federal judge ordered cuts in an attempt to save the fish, and the ruling caused a reduction of nearly a third in water exports this year. Despite warnings of Armageddon, the state appears to have survived this reduction just fine.

Read more of this editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

December 22, 2008 · Filed Under Delta Issues

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