Dan Bacher commentary: American Rivers names Sacramento-San Joaquin River as most endangered; portrays the peripheral canal as a possible alternative to solving the problems of the Delta

From Dan Bacher:

American Rivers, a Washington-based conservation organization, has named the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system, including the California Delta, as the most endangered river in the U.S.

The group released “America’s Most Endangered Rivers, 2009 Edition” today. The annual report identifies ten rivers facing uncertain futures and provides an opportunity for the public to act on their behalf. “Unless we overhaul the way we manage water supply and flood protection on the Sacramento-San Joaquin, the lives of millions of people and the entire economy of the state of California will continue to be jeopardized,” said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. “It’s time for 21st century solutions to restore the health of these rivers and protect the health, safety and quality of life of Californians.”

American Rivers called on the California Department of Water Resources, the Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers, and other “stakeholders” to “invest in 21st century sustainable solutions that protect water supply, farms, and cities, while restoring the health of these great rivers and their estuary.”

“The future of California is joined at the hip with the Sacramento-San Joaquin River System,” said UC Davis geologist and American Rivers board member Jeff Mount. “This Most Endangered River listing should be a wake up call to our elected leaders. It’s time to get to work restoring these rivers.”

Mount was one of the authors of last year’s highly controversial PPIC report, partly funded by Bechtel Corporation co-owner Stephen D. Bechtel Jr., that endorsed the peripheral canal as a “solution” to California water supply and Delta ecosystem needs.

However, Steve Rothert of American Rivers emphasized that the organization is not endorsing the peripheral canal. “There is not enough information now available on the potential impacts and benefits of the canal to the Delta ecosystem and its tributaries for us to make an endorsement,” said Rothert.

“Some believe that we should reject the proposal out of hand and believe that it shouldn’t be studied, but we believe it should be studied as one of the options,” Rothert said.

In a policy statement on their website, the group portrays the peripheral canal as a possible alternative to solving the problems of the Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas. In a careful review that I made of the group’s analysis of the peripheral dam proposal, it appears that the group is very favorable to Schwarzenegger’s and BDCP’s proposal, even though it hasn’t officially endorsed the canal.

“One alternative that has emerged in the BDCP process, as well as others, is the construction of what is known as the ‘peripheral canal,’ which would deliver Sacramento River water along the Delta’s eastern edge to the pumps, circumventing the Delta,” the statement reads. “The canal would protect water exports from the vulnerabilities of levee failure and reduce the alteration of water flows created by the current configuration of the pumps.”

“A more comprehensive and lasting solution would be to wean municipal and agricultural water interests from their reliance on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers,” the group claims. “The state must also invest significantly in ecosystem restoration projects and alternative water storage initiatives.”

American Rivers acknowledges the “concerns” of Delta residents about the canal. “The peripheral canal proposal was defeated in a state referendum in 1982, and remains controversial today,” the organization acknowledges. “Residents along the eastern edge of the Delta are concerned about the effects of a 40 mile long canal with a 1000 foot wide foot print.”

The group claims that the current canal is an “improved version” that will supposedly meet “co-equal” goals of ecosystem restoration and water supply, appearing to echo Arnold Schwarzenegger and Resource Secretary Mike Chrisman’s press releases and news conference statements. American Rivers provides no evidence whatsover to show how these two disparate goals will be achieved.

“The purpose and design of the current canal proposal are improved from the concept defeated more than 25 years ago, but conservation groups fear that once a canal is built, it will facilitate even more unsustainable levels of water exports to the south,” American Rivers said. “Any consideration of a canal must first begin with a commitment to water conservation and efficiency efforts throughout the state on a scale not yet attempted. A canal must also come with a coequal purpose of Delta ecosystem recovery and water management.”

The group adds, “Finally, such a proposal must include an enforceable framework of governance, regulatory and financial mechanisms that ensures the environmental and water supply goals are met and local interests are addressed.”

The organization claims that the canal, BDCP and “related strategies” represent “a tremendous opportunity – perhaps the best in a generation – to create a path toward recovery for the Sacramento-San Joaquin system and greater water supply reliability.”

Fishing Groups Blast Canal and BDCP Process

Fishing groups are very critical of any proposal for “restoring” the Delta that involves a canal. They believe that it will transfer the impacts of Delta pumping that have killed millions and millions of salmon, steelhead, striped bass, delta smelt, longfin smelt and other species from the San Joaquin River side of the Delta to the Sacramento River.

Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), criticized American Rivers’ statement on the canal, particularly the group’s stress on achieving “co-equal goals” of ecosystem restoration and water supply.

“The coequal goals were what doomed the CalFed process,” said Jennings. “There is a limited supply of water that has been overallocated in California. There is no win-win situation, there is no painless solution to restoring the Delta. The canal will only exerbate the collapse of Central Valley salmon, delta smelt, longfin smelt and other Delta fish populations.”

He also took aim at the group’s call for an “enforceable framework of governance” on the estuary. “We already have water rights laws, water quality laws and environmental regulations on the books that the state and federal governments refused to comply with, resulting in our current ecological crisis,” he stated. “How will the very same people that fail to comply with the law establish the governmental structure to restore the Delta?”

“Imperfect as they are,” Jennings emphasized, “we have adequate laws to prevent what happened to the Delta.”

He also criticized American River’s assessment of the Delta for being “a sloppy and oversimplistic” analysis with no evidence buttressing it. “However, we certainly agree with them that the Delta is indisputably the most endangered waterway in North America,” he concluded.

Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), responded to the release of the report by saying, “It doesn’t come to us as a surprise that the Sacramento-Sacramento River system has been listed as endangered. Everything in them is also endangered, including incredibly valuable salmon runs that support the whole West Coast salmon fishery.”

Like Jennings, Spain is opposed to the building of a peripheral canal. “The construction of the peripheral canal would be a disaster for the Delta,” he said. “What the salmon runs need in the Delta for their survival is more water. A peripheral canal would mean less water.”

Restore the Delta Calls On Political Leaders to Protect the Estuary

Restore the Delta, a Delta- based coalition including Delta farmers, environmentalists, fishermen, business leaders, the faith community, recreation enthusiasts and everyday folks, responded to the report by calling on local, state, and federal political leaders to take “broad actions” to protect and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in accordance with American Rivers’ findings that the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the nation’s most endangered river system.

“The report released today notes that outdated flood management practices, the 1600 miles of levees that border the San Joaquin and Sacramento River, prevent rivers from spilling over into flood plains,” explained Restore the Delta Campaign Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla. “Restore the Delta maintains that restoration of flood plains could become the most environmentally sound way to store water for agricultural uses throughout the state, thereby reducing the demand for water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A permanent and significant reduction in Delta water exports could help to improve Delta water quality and improve fisheries. We are calling on involved political leaders to advocate for flood management programs that will simultaneously protect people and grow our state water supply.”

As noted in the American Rivers report, enhanced levees, while necessary to protect existing urban populations, could inadvertently increase development in floodplains. Barrigan-Parrila added, “We need a flood management plan, for the protection of people, that ensures that continued urban development does not take place in floodplains. We need a water plan that finds ways to augment the water supply in each region, rather than our current practice of shipping water from one part of the state to the other. These are two sides of the same coin.”

While Restore the Delta agreed with American Rivers findings that excessive water exports of over 6 million acre feet of water per year have lead to the decline and destruction of Delta species, the group questions the role of new “conveyance” – the peripheral canal – in solving the problem.

“American Rivers maintains that new conveyance will only work with water conservation and efficiency measures on a scale that has not yet been set in place in California,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. “We fear that the planning process that has been set in place (the Bay Delta Conservation Plan) has skipped over putting such conservation programs into place as well as addressing governance for the Delta. They have left out protection for Delta communities from the plan’s desired outcomes.”

“The question at this point in time should not be from where water should be taken from the Delta. What needs to be answered now is how much fresh water should flow through the Delta for restoration of our fisheries and for improved water quality for Delta communities,” stated Barrigan-Parrilla.

The report is funded by Orvis, the oldest mail order company in the US. “Orvis is proud to support this call to action to protect and restore the rivers that are so essential to our nation’s businesses, heritage, and recreation,” said Perk Perkins, CEO of Orvis.

Here is the list of this year’s rivers:
1. Sacramento-San Joaquin River System (CA)
2. Flint River (GA)
3. Lower Snake River (ID, OR, WA)
4. Mattawoman Creek (MD)
5. North Fork of the Flathead River (MT)
6. Saluda River (SC)
7. Laurel Hill Creek (PA)
8. Beaver Creek (AK)
9. Pascagoula River (MS)
10. Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (MN, WI)

Here is the American Rivers policy statement on the Sacramento-San Joaquin rivers and the canal: http://www.americanrivers.org/assets/pdfs/mer-2009/sacramento-san-joaquin-river….

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