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California water wars renewed in salmon run

Posted by: Maven on July 6, 2009 at 10:40 pm

From the Courthouse News Service:

The latest dispute in a long-running feud between growers and environmentalists is centered at the base of the Santa Lucia Mountains, where the Carmel River winds through the pastoral Monterey Peninsula. Growers feel the pinch of drought and environmentalists bemoan the loss of steelhead trout, whose numbers have dropped dramatically.

In a federal lawsuit, the Sierra Club and the Carmel River Steelhead Association claim the California American Water Company’s unauthorized diversion of water from the Carmel River is responsible for the steelhead’s decline. The groups say that despite their fish-rescue efforts, they cannot “prevent the death of an unknown but presumably large number of juvenile steelhead that perish as flows decline.”

The groups say that California American is allowed to divert 3,376 acre-feet from this critical steelhead habitat, but has been diverting up to 10,000 acre-feet annually. “There are of course other causes to the declining steelhead population,” said lead attorney Laurens Silver. “But we believe, and everyone concedes, that the reason behind the major decline has been the diversions.”

Growers say that environmentalists are naïve to blame them for the decreased fish populations. “Certain environmental groups argue that certain fish species are endangered and that requires a change in the water policy in our state. Their solution is to flush more water out to the ocean and all will be good,” says Joel Nelson, president of California Citrus Mutual, a growers’ association.

Read more from the Courthouse News Service by clicking here.

July 6, 2009 · Filed Under Wildlife & Endangered Species

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