Delta plan has other risks: Peripheral canal not the only controversial strategy in mind

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 23, 2009 at 8:06 am

From Stockton’s Record:

“The peripheral canal gets all the publicity, but plans to radically revamp the Delta include other controversial and far-reaching strategies – including converting 80,000 acres of farmland into tidal marsh and flood plain habitat over the next four decades.

Farmers and fishermen argued their opposition on both counts Tuesday as the officials behind the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan visited Stockton to share early drafts of the document, which would give those who export water from the Delta permission under federal law to continue killing endangered fish at the giant pumps near Tracy.

Supporters say the plan is the best opportunity to save fish while stabilizing the state’s water supply.

But at whose expense? The plan calls for re-storation of at least 5,000 acres of marshland in the south Delta, the same area where farmer Cecil Rodgers has tilled the ground for four generations. “This isn’t just a wilderness out there,” he said. “There are people. Farmers.” …”

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

September 23, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Peripheral Canal

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Delta Stewardship Council details irk community; Only one member to represent S.J. interests out of panel of seven

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 5, 2009 at 9:18 am

From Stockton’s Record:

“Four of the seven members of a proposed Delta Stewardship Council would be appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger under legislation unveiled Tuesday, advancing fears that such a council, if formed, would endorse a peripheral canal by the end of next year. Schwarzenegger’s administration supports a canal, or “isolated conveyance,” to skirt water around the Delta to farms and cities as far south as San Diego.

Two more members of the council would be appointed by legislative leaders; only one spot would be certain to represent Delta interests.

“This shortchanges the Delta community,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, head of Stockton-based Restore the Delta. “We’ve been left out of the process. It’s another area where we can’t express our needs as a community in an adequate manner.” …”

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

August 5, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Stockton to pay $4M in sewer spill settlement

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 29, 2009 at 7:33 am

From Stockton’s Record:

The City Council on Tuesday approved a $4 million settlement with environmentalists who claimed that a slew of sewer line spills placed the city in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

The Stockton-based California Sportfishing Protection Alliance sued the city in September, claiming 1,530 sewer overflows during the previous five years endangered human health and the environment.

Tuesday’s settlement requires a gradual decline in the number of spills over the next five years through more vigilant inspections and maintenance, and requires the city to consider new rules requiring private sewer line connections to be inspected prior to the sale of a home.

“These are all things that we are essentially doing now,” said Jeff Willett, assistant director of the city’s Municipal Utilities Department. “The real struggle and cost issues are the time frame in which they need to be completed.”

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

July 29, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, San Joaquin Valley

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Sunday’s top of the scroll is this commentary by Mike Eaton: To save Delta, ditch the groundwater myth

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 26, 2009 at 7:20 am

From the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by Mike Eaton, executive director of the Resources Legacy Fund:

“The remaining wet spots in the Cosumnes River channel in southern Sacramento County faded away earlier this month. Most of the river corridor from the foothills to the Delta will be bone-dry until the rains return. It wasn’t always so. Historically, the river helped replenish groundwater during the wet season, and in the summer, enough groundwater seeped into the river to sustain a rich corridor of life from the Delta to the Sierra.

The extensive pumping of groundwater, first by nearby farmers and then, increasingly, by Sacramento County and its growing cities, upset this natural cycle. Throughout the region, pumping of groundwater now exceeds direct diversions of surface water from rivers significantly.

Enabling this shift to excessive use of groundwater was a legal delusion: a premise that surface water is unconnected to groundwater. Under state law, groundwater, unlike surface water, can be pumped virtually at will, unless limited by local governments or the courts.

This legal delusion dates to California’s early days, when water resources seemed inexhaustible, and salmon were abundant in our rivers and streams. It remains in effect today despite what science and common sense tell us: Water moves constantly from the surface of the land, pulled by gravity out of our rivers and streams to fill the dry space created below ground when water is pumped out.”

July 26, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater, Other Delta Issues

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Any water deal must give Delta protections the top priority

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 23, 2009 at 8:00 am

From Capitol Weekly, this commentary by Barbara Barrigan-Parilla of Restore the Delta:

“This week, California’s budget drama played out in full focus of media. Every television, radio, and print media outlet relayed and Twittered the details of the “Big 5” negotiations to Californians in real-time.

In contrast, there seems to be very little focus on issues surrounding water which is set to be the next big issue on the Legislative agenda. Of immediate concern is how this process will work.

There have been rumors of hearings over the summer recess and a water conference committee that will begin meeting soon, but since the legislation is still yet to be released to the public there are many who fear that this becomes a legislative rush job where a series of bills are gutted and amended in the last week of the session and fast-tracked to the Governor’s desk with little public scrutiny.

We hope that the Legislature will take the time to fully debate all of the pertinent water issues including, but not limited to, governance and management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Region, Delta restoration and sustainability, regional and local water storage projects, groundwater storage, water cleanup and a statewide water conservation plan.”

Read more of Barbara’s commentary by clicking here.

July 23, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Peripheral Canal

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Restore the Delta makes makes pitch to Lathrop Chamber of Commerce

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 22, 2009 at 7:23 am

From the Manteca Bulletin:

Restore the Delta – a group dedicated to finding an alternative to the Peripheral Canal – made a pitch for support at the third annual Lathrop District Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday that drew some 80 members to the Mikasa Japanese Restaurant in the Save Mart Shopping Center.

Barbara Barrigan-Parilla addressed the group at the luncheon:

Speaking on the restoration of the San Joaquin Delta by 2010 to reestablish a fishable, swimmable, drinkable and farmable water source, Barrigan-Parrilla asked for the support of every chamber member.

The Restore the Delta campaign began with 70 members and has now grown to some 3,000 being kicked off in Stockton nearly three years ago, she said. “This is a very important situation and we want all of your participation to do something about it,” she said.

More from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.

July 22, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Sac Bee Editorial: Are we adding to the demise of the Delta?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 19, 2009 at 7:48 am

From the Sacramento Bee, this editorial:

A new study of local waterways has made some troubling discoveries about a widely used group of pesticides and the role of homeowners and businesses in putting them there.

The findings should prompt many people in this region to reflect on their household practices. It also should lead to further scientific investigation of the role these pesticides are playing in the multifaceted crisis of the Delta.

The study, led by a UC Berkeley toxicologist and reported in Tuesday’s Bee, focused on pyrethroids. These are man-made pesticides commonly used in household insecticides, lawn care products and pet sprays. Before the study, what happened to these substances after they killed unwanted pests was something of a mystery. Now it’s a worry.

That’s because the study discovered three things that hadn’t previously been known about pyrethroids’ penetration of local water systems.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

July 19, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Initial victory in striped bass lawsuit; Judge denies motion that striped bass regulations are illegal

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 17, 2009 at 8:18 am

From Dan Bacher:

In an important victory for fisheries and striped bass, the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta (Coalition) lost their Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in their lawsuit against the Department of Fish and Game.

The “Coalition” is comprised of water agencies in San Joaquin Valley that have been attempting to divert attention away from the massive state and federal export pumps in the south Delta that are killing Delta fisheries and water quality. The Coalition filed a lawsuit against DFG claiming the Department’s enforcement of fishing regulations that protect striped bass violates the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because striped bass prey upon salmon. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Fresno California and is attached.

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA, California Striped Bass Association and the Northern California Council of the Federation of Flyfishers (CSPA, et al.) and Central Delta Water Agency joined the lawsuit as Defendant-Intervenors in support of DFG.

The Coalition filed a motion for Summary Judgment seeking the court to declare:
1. That the Central Valley Improvement Act does not exempt striped bass fishing regulations from “take” (i.e., killing) prohibitions under the ESA.
2. That a single “take” of a salmon would violate the ESA.
3. That it is a violation of the ESA for DFG to “take” a federally listed species without first receiving “take” authorization.
4. That Dee Dillion has standing under the US Constitution to pursue the litigation. (Mr. Dillion is a Sacramento resident that claims he has been harmed by DFGs striped bass regulations)

Summary Judgment can only be granted where there are no material issues of fact in dispute. The motion was heard on 29 June 2009.

On 16 July 2009, Judge Oliver W. Wanger issued a decision denying the request for Summary Judgment in its entirety. Should the Coalition continue to pursue the issue, the case will now move to trial in May 2010.

July 17, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Delta is the concern of all, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 16, 2009 at 8:36 am

From Stockton’s Record, this editorial:

We’ve all seen the signs on the curb near storm drains warning against allowing toxins into the drain. Those signs probably should be larger and in bright red letters.

A new study led by a UC Berkeley toxicologist found that pyrethroid pesticides – common in household pesticides – in the American River are strong enough to kill tiny shrimp called Hyalella azteca. And those shrimp are a vital first link in the food chain of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem.

Researchers have hunted the cause of the collapse of the Delta’s ecosystem for five years. That collapse is thought to be behind the decline in nine fish species, including the tiny Delta smelt.

Researcher Donald Weston said studies support the theory that there is no one cause of the problem, but pesticides reaching the American River through storm drains is putting huge amounts of pesticides in the system. The American River twists through a 30 mile, highly urbanized region that is home to some 1.4 million people. From there the pesticides enter the Sacramento River, thence to the Delta, the state’s largest estuary and the water supply for some 23 million Californians.

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

July 16, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Tuesday’s top of the scroll: Sacramento area is Delta’s top pesticide source, study finds

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 14, 2009 at 8:52 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

Urban Sacramento is the leading source of pesticide contamination disrupting the Delta aquatic environment, according to new research on pollution in the estuary.

The study, led by UC Berkeley toxicologist Donald Weston, found enough pyrethroid pesticides in the American River to kill tiny shrimp – among the first links in the aquatic food chain. Those pesticides likely reached the river from urban storm drains, which collect runoff from the Sacramento area’s 1.4 million residents.

For five years, biologists have hunted for the cause of a collapse in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem, a water supply for 23 million Californians. Nine fish species are declining, from tiny Delta smelt to giant green sturgeon. Weston’s research supports the theory that no single villain is to blame. The problem probably lies at the complex interface between people and water.

“We were just amazed by this data,” said Weston. “The American River is not supposed to be toxic. I think it reflects the fact that the river’s going through 30 miles of heavy urbanization.”

The study also found that among the water sources tested, Sacramento’s regional wastewater treatment plant is the single largest source of pyrethroid pollution in the Delta. The plant discharges treated sewage into the Sacramento River near Freeport.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

July 14, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Friday’s top of the scroll: Project pumps water hopes; ‘Two Gates’ proposal authors say project won’t solve Delta’s problems

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 10, 2009 at 7:22 am

From the Capital Press:

As the proposed “Two Gates” project gains popularity in California water discussions, the plan’s authors caution against expectations that it will significantly increase deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The project, much talked-about at recent water gatherings in the Central Valley, would include two temporary, mechanically operated gates that could help restore some of the Delta pumping recently lost because of biological opinions to protect fish. But they would together function as only one tool among many that could allow for successful Delta management in the future, water managers say.

As currently proposed, the gates would amount to a temporary “Band-aid” to help manage fish habitat, said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager of Metropolitan Water District.

“We’re not looking at this being a huge gain in water supply,” Patterson said. “In no way will it improve water supplies to where we were … before the new rules were in place. What we’re trying to do is get by for the next eight to 10 years, before we can get some infrastructure in place.”

Read more from the Capital Press by clicking here.

July 10, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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SacBee editorial: Budget deadlock stalls levee repairs

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 10, 2009 at 7:19 am

From the Sacramento Bee, this editorial:

Massive program cuts, state worker salary reductions and IOUs aren’t the only consequences of California’s budget stalemate. The deadlock is also preventing the state from selling bonds needed to fund initiatives that have already been approved by voters.

A case in point is Proposition 1E, passed overwhelmingly in November 2006, which provided $4 billion for Delta levee repairs and Central Valley flood control. In normal times, the levee repair projects that 1E was written to finance wouldn’t be scrambling for funding. But as an article in last Friday’s Bee pointed out, times are as unusual on the Delta levees as they are in the rest of the state.

New projects have stalled for lack of financing. Old projects, financed by private levee districts on the understanding that the state would reimburse half the costs, have had to wait five months longer than usual for reimbursements.

This may come as a surprise to those who recall the hoopla surrounding the state’s sale of about $13 billion in infrastructure bonds last March and April. The bond sale reportedly allowed the state to restart about 7,000 infrastructure projects that had been frozen by the 2008 cash crunch – including making good on what was owed for completed Delta levee repairs. But new levee repair projects were all but shut out of that money.

Read the rest of this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

July 10, 2009 · Filed Under Levees, Other Delta Issues

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Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 10, 2009 at 7:07 am

From Dan Bacher, this report on the Delta advocates rally earlier this week:

Legislators and hundreds of Delta advocates held a rally at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday to oppose the peripheral canal, a budget-busting and environmentally destructive project that would approximate the Panama Canal in width and length.

“I’m not going to vote for a plan that builds a Panama Canal down the middle of the 15th Assembly District,” exclaimed Assemblymember Joan Buchanan to loud applause from a crowd of recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, Delta farmers, farmworkers, Indian Tribal members, environmentalists and community activists. “I will do all I can to make that the Delta is protected.”

As she spoke, family farmers from North Delta CARES and others held up banners proclaiming “The Peripheral Canal=Panama Canal North,” along with signs saying, “Fewer Water Exports, Not Fewer Delta Fish” and “Give the Delta a Voice!”

Buchanan said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision Process calls for “improved conveyance” that will transport 15,000 cubic feet of water per second (cfs) from the Sacramento River around the Delta. This is smaller than the proposed 1982 peripheral canal, defeated overwhelmingly by the voters, that was intended to transport 22,000 cfs.

A conveyance to transport 15,000 cfs. would be between 500 and 700 feet wide, requiring a 1300 foot right-of-way, based on an engineering report completed in August 2006 by Washington Group International for the State Water Contractors, “Isolated Facility, Incised Bay-Delta System – Estimate of Construction Costs.”

“That’s the width of a 100 lane freeway,” said Buchanan. “The length of the conveyance would be between 47 and 48 miles.” By comparison, the Panama Canal is between 500 and 1000 feet wide and is 50 miles long.

July 10, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Peripheral Canal

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Napa seeks better tap for Delta water; Local cities teaming up to pursue new water canal

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 10, 2009 at 6:42 am

From the Napa Valley Register:

Napa is teaming up with other cities in Napa and Solano counties to find a new spot in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta where it can draw its water supply.

It will cost $9 million to design a new intake site for the North Bay Aqueduct and perform environmental studies, with Napa’s share at about $1 million, Phil Brun, the city’s deputy director of public works, told the Napa City Council Tuesday.

Napa will also participate in a statewide planning effort to find a more efficient, environmentally superior way to transfer State Water Project supplies through the delta. This mammoth project surfaced several decades ago as the “peripheral canal,” becoming a lightning rod for environmental criticism that killed it. The planning effort is now called the Delta Habitat Conservation and Conservation Plan, with Napa’s share of the preliminary design and environmental impact report amounting to $400,000, Brun said.

Napa had to temporarily suspend draws of delta water through the North Bay Aqueduct for two months earlier this year when odor and taste issues made it unpalatable.

Read more from the Napa Valley Register by clicking here.

July 10, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Jerry Neuburger: Delta advocates rally against the canal at state capitol

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 9, 2009 at 8:19 am

Jerry Neuburger from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance covers Tuesday’s rally:

Over 250 fishermen, farmers, businessmen and conservationists gathered at the north steps of the capital to listen to Senator Lois Wolk, Lt. Governor John Garimendi, other legislators, and citizens speak in opposition to a series of bills moving through the legislature designed to fund a peripheral canal and two additional dams.

CSPA was well represented at the conference with Executive Director Bill Jennings, President Jim Crenshaw, Conservation Director John Beuttler, Director and Attorney Michael Jackson, Webmaster Jerry Neuburger and Advisory member John Ryzanych, who also represented the Allied Fishing Groups.

The first of the speakers was Senator Lois Wolk, who was instrumental in organizing the press conference. She was followed by Lt. Governor John Garimendi, Senator Mark DeSalnier, Assemblymember Alyson Huber, Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors representative Mary Piepho speaking for the assembled County Supervisors, and Assemblymember Joan Buchanan.

The theme from the speakers was universal in opposition to any secret deals in the legislature to move bills to fund a peripheral canal and additional water structure.

July 9, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Peripheral Canal

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NRDC Switchboard: The fallacy of “fish versus people”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 9, 2009 at 7:56 am

From Doug Obegi of the NRDC Switchboard blog:

While some Members of Congress and other elected officials have fallen hook, line and sinker for the myth that protecting California’s endangered fish species like salmon is a struggle of “people vs fish,” other voices are speaking out passionately against this false choice. Farmers, fishermen, business owners and others recognize that protecting the Bay Delta estuary and its endangered fish protect farming and fishing businesses, recreational opportunities, and the economies of communities across the state.

The San Francisco Chronicle ran several good op-eds last Sunday from fishermen, conservationists, and restaurant suppliers explaining how protecting the Bay-Delta estuary and its endangered fish species protects their livelihoods and helps ensure fresh, local salmon for California’s consumers (something we haven’t had for 2 years now). Yesterday, several hundred Delta farmers, fishermen, and local government officials held a rally in favor of protecting the Delta and their interests at the State Capitol. And today’s Sacramento Bee includes a great editorial that exposes three of the more pervasive myths about protecting endangered fish species and the Delta estuary.

Ultimately, NRDC wants to see a sustainable Delta, and a 21st Century water policy for California that sustains agriculture, urban communities, the fishing industry and the environment. …

Read more of Doug’s post on the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.

July 9, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Tugboat company manager accused of polluting Delta

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 9, 2009 at 6:41 am

From the Contra Costa Times:

A tugboat company manager has been indicted in federal court in San Francisco on charges of polluting the Delta by dumping dredged materials into waters near Pittsburg.

Mark Guinn, 41, of Elk Grove, the general manager of Northern California operations of Brusco Tug & Barge Inc., was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on four counts of violating the U.S. Clean Water Act. He is accused of dumping or causing other company workers to dump dredged materials directly into Delta waters surrounding Winter Island, northeast of Pittsburg, three times in 2003 and once in 2007.

Brusco, based in Longview, Wash., has a fleet of tugs and barges used for towing and disposing of dredged material generated during various dredging projects.

Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

July 9, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Wednesday’s top of the scroll: Delta supporters rally at Capitol’s doorstep

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 8, 2009 at 8:13 am

From Stockton’s Record:

It seems all the attention has gone to the south San Joaquin Valley, where marches, public demonstrations and news conferences have highlighted the cry for water there.

Tuesday it was the Delta’s turn.

More than 200 farmers, fishers and Delta residents turned out for a rally at the steps of the Capitol, inside of which negotiations on a series of water bills continue even while the budget takes center stage.

While advocates condemned a peripheral canal – the “Panama Canal North,” as some now call it – Tuesday’s event was more about demanding a voice in the proceedings. Advocates say they’re worried behind-the-scenes legislative maneuvering could alter existing water bills, authorizing and funding a canal with little opportunity for the public to comment.

“You can’t fix the Delta without the people of the Delta as your partners,” said state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who argues that water officials in their endless debates have largely forgotten the unique people and features of the largest estuary on the West Coast. Her 5th Senate District includes portions of San Joaquin County.

She described the canal, which would divert Sacramento River flows around the Delta to state and federal pumps near Tracy, as a “100-lane freeway” cutting through Delta farmland; a 2006 report described the canal as anywhere from 500 to more than 700 feet wide at its top. The state has estimated the cost at $4.2 billion to $7.4 billion.

Read more from The Record by clicking here.

From the Fresno Bee:

At Tuesday’s event, delta advocates charged that legislators were ignoring their input as they consider the canal and other water proposals behind closed doors.

“In a time where the budget is spiraling out of control … it makes no sense to move forward with a multibillion boondoggle idea like a peripheral canal and new dams,” said Steve Evans, conservation director of Friends of the River, an environmental group.

Residents near the estuary — including farmers who rely on its freshwater supply — fear the canal is a water grab by the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. Canal supporters say the project could protect fish endangered by delta pumping, while keeping water flowing to south-state users. The canal would siphon Sacramento River water upstream of the delta and send it to the pumps near Tracy.

So-called “working groups” of lawmakers have examined multiple water proposals in private meetings. Multiple bills have been authored calling for water bonds in the range of $9.8 billion to $15 billion. Proposals also include new government agencies to promote the “coequal goals of restoring the delta” and “creating a more reliable water supply.”

But so far no consensus has emerged on any of the proposals as most of the attention in Sacramento is on the state’s budget woes.

Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

Lt. Governor John Garamendi, himself a Delta resident, also attended the rally, and issued this statement on the California Notes blog:

The Delta Visioning Process’s twin goals of reliable water supply and enhanced Delta environment have great merit, but they can not be achieved in secret, or apart from those who live, recreate and work in the Delta. 500,000 people live in the Delta, creating a vibrant social fabric and a vibrant economy. The legislature and the governor must bring transparency to these long term and critical discussions regarding the Delta. The complex interactions of science, ecological systems, water exports, political constituencies, and the extraordinary expense requires a thorough public vetting of all proposals.

Any discussion of a peripheral canal must follow a solid guarantee that protects the Delta economy and the terrestrial and aquatic environment of the Delta. The battle cry in the 1982 peripheral canal fight was “Policy before Plumbing.” To this date no solid lasting public policy is in place to guarantee both goals of the Delta Visioning Commission. Therefore the canal should not be part of any legislation.

The voice of the Delta must be embedded in any proposal to establish a system of governance in the Delta. The proposal by the five counties that encompass the Delta has great merit and should be in any water legislation.

Read more of Garamendi’s commentary by clicking here.

Also attending the rally was Jeff Burgess, the Infrastructure Examiner, who penned this commentary:

Lt. Governor Garamendi seemed even-keeled, noting that the Delta’s ecosystem problems are a result of water exports. Indeed, all the major Delta studies to date have indicated that the export facilities located in the South Delta are the major factor in the degradation of the Delta’s ecosystem. Garamendi also called for expanded reclamation of wastewater, and – of course – greater conservation. Garamendi did note that “They’ve come up with a very viable plan”. However, Garamendi asked “Where’s the policy that guarantees the environment of the Delta?” Obviously that policy is clearly stipulated in the co-equal goals of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision effort: Restore the Delta ecosystem and create a reliable water supply for California.

Back to the premise: is this about having a voice, or control? Delta locals were represented on the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force. They have been invited to join the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Steering Committee. BDCP Steering Committee meetings are open to the public. Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency Mike Chrisman meets with Local Delta leaders twice each month. Numerous public outreach meetings have been held in each Delta county. So why do Delta locals continue talking about not having a voice?

Read the full text of Jeff’s commentary by clicking here.

July 8, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Delta gates proposal builds support, but environmental impact remains murky

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 6, 2009 at 6:43 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

A plan to build gates across two Delta channels has strong support from state and federal leaders, though little is known about how the project would affect the environment.

The so-called “two gates” project would build moveable gates across Old River and Connection Slough in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The channels bracket Bacon Island in the heart of the estuary. They are key passages for water and aquatic life moving between San Francisco Bay and the south Delta, where powerful state and federal water export pumps divert water to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

Water officials argue that blocking those channels at key times could prevent threatened Delta smelt from being sucked to their deaths in the pumps. This might allow water diversions to continue even when smelt migrate into the central Delta in winter. Pumping is often reduced now to protect fish, contributing to statewide water shortages.

The project’s main proponent is the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which imports about 30 percent of its water supply from the Delta to serve 18 million people. “The work we have done shows that by temporarily opening and closing these gates, we could improve the level of smelt protection,” said Roger Peterson, Metropolitan Water’s assistant general manager. “That will eventually result in us being able to operate water supplies with more reliability.”

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

July 6, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Delta advocates plan Capitol rally; Peripheral canal looms large in estuary debate

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 7:43 am

From Stockton’s Record:

Hundreds of Delta advocates plan to rally next week at the state Capitol, fearing that behind-the-scenes negotiations by legislators over the future of the estuary will shut them out of the debate until it is too late.

Earlier this week, it appeared a key committee hearing would take place next week, on Tuesday or Thursday. Grass-roots group Restore the Delta sent an alert to its members, warning that the proposed legislation – perhaps a combination of existing bills – could include authorization of a peripheral canal. That hearing is now in question as legislators grapple with the state budget. Some advocates are concerned there could be no hearing at all.

“One public hearing for a set of water policies that has far-reaching and expensive implications for the entire state is a mockery of the democratic process,” Restore the Delta director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla said in her message to members. “We are tired of the decisions being made without our consent and involvement,” she wrote.

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

July 3, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Peripheral Canal

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Wednesday’s top of the scroll: Dutch expert offers advice on saving Delta

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 1, 2009 at 7:24 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

Tropical islands and mountain glaciers get all the attention. But the planet’s river deltas are the real front lines of climate change. Sharing that message is a goal of the Delta Alliance, a new effort by officials in the Netherlands to unite people around the world struggling to manage river delta regions. This includes Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nigeria – and California.

Scientists have advised California to prepare for 55 inches of sea level rise in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by 2100. Protecting communities and the Delta freshwater supply, which serves 23 million Californians, will be a complicated and pricey task.

The Dutch have lived below sea level for hundreds of years. They’ve survived by building massive levees that are the envy of the world. Last week, a delegation from the Netherlands visited San Francisco and the Delta. One result is a planned September symposium in California on common challenges.

On Thursday, The Bee interviewed Bart Parmet, director of the Deltateam for the Netherlands Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, during the delegation’s stop in Sacramento.

Read the interview from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

July 1, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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CSPA goes to war with Schwarzenegger over Delta salinity standards

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 25, 2009 at 8:37 am

From Dan Bacher of the Fish Sniffer:

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance is going to war with the Schwarzenegger administration over its failure to comply with California Delta salinity standards in an evidentiary hearing in Sacramento on Thursday, June 25.

“The State Water Resources Control Board is again attempting to provide the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) with a shield to protect the agencies from the law: in this case, DWR/USBR’s 31-year failure to comply with salinity standards in the Delta,” according to Bill Jennings, chairman of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. “Compliance with the salinity standards would also benefit fish.”

The hearing takes place as the California Delta ecosystem is in its worst-ever crisis, due to massive water exports from the estuary to corporate agribusiness on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that result in increased saltwater intrusion into the Delta. This increased salinity not only endangers Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish populations, but threatens Delta farmers who depend on fresh water to irrigate their crops.

“In a sense, the hearing is not about DWR and USBR: it is about Governor Schwarzenegger’s and the State Water Board’s ability and willingness to enforce the law,” emphasized Jennings. “It is about whether anyone can rely on the assurances, guarantees and promises to implement, comply with and enforce statutory and regulatory requirements.”

June 25, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Restore the Delta commentary: The good, the bad, the confused and the ugly

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 25, 2009 at 8:17 am

From Restore the Delta, this commentary:

Many different legislative initiatives have been appearing at both the Federal and State level centered on solving the Delta crisis. This newsletter is dedicated to analyzing these efforts.

First, the good. After a great deal of consultation with our Delta supporters, Restore the Delta has decided to support Senator Lois Wolk’s Conservancy Bill SB 458. We believe that it is one piece of a multi-prong effort toward improving governance, funding, and most importantly future management of the Delta. This conservancy bill provides, thus far, the best representation of Delta interests within the structure of a state conservancy. We also applaud Senator Wolk’s consistent effort to remind her colleagues that Delta communities and people have to be part of any future governance changes within the Delta.

While Restore the Delta does not believe that a conservancy alone will solve the primary crisis in the Delta – the crisis of poor water quality and insufficient flows. But a well funded conservancy that represents Delta farming and ecological interests, along with more than adequate fresh water flows into the Delta and a permanent reduction in exports, can help to bring about Delta restoration. Our one question for the Senator regarding the bill, however, still relates to fees. We want to see fees paid into the conservancy to be used only for Delta conservancy projects.

More good. Last week on the floor of the US Congress, Congressman Mike Thompson (D – District 1) and Congressman George Miller (D-District 7) successfully defended the Delta and salmon fisheries from an exemption to the Endangered Species Act. In a tight roll call vote last week, the House voted “no” on Congressman Nunes’ s amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 to override the biological opinion on salmon.

Click the “Read More” to read Restore the Delta’s ‘bad, confused, and ugly’. Read more

June 25, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Fixing the Delta is critical, says commentary; compromise is essential

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2009 at 8:29 am

From the San Diego Union Tribune, this commentary by Ellen Hanak, director of research and a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, and Jay Lund, a professor of environmental engineering and co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis:

Now in a third year of drought, Southern Californians are once again facing the realities of living in a region with variable and unpredictable rainfall. Voluntary rationing, increased water rates and a proliferation of water-use restrictions are the order of the day. This is an opportunity for residents to achieve durable gains in water conservation. One key to resolving the state’s biggest long-term water crisis: fixing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

We believe there is a solution to the crisis in the Delta — the hub of the state’s water supply and the focus of years of conflict — that balances the state’s need for both a reliable water supply and a healthy ecosystem. But it’s one that requires compromise. For Southern Californians and others who rely on Delta water supplies, it is likely to mean taking less water from this source in the future than they’ve gotten in the past.

The most recent flare-up in this troubled region began in 2004, when the populations of several key fish species crashed, including the endangered delta smelt. In 2007, the fish crisis became a water supply crisis: To protect the delta smelt, a federal judge restricted the operations of water export pumps at the Delta’s southern edge. In 2008, he made a similar ruling to protect Chinook salmon. Yet the numbers have continued to tumble for smelt, salmon and other species, raising the specter of additional cutbacks. Compounding these environmental woes, the fragile levees that help keep Delta waters fresh face a high and increasing risk of failure from earthquakes and floods. A catastrophic failure of Delta levees could shut down the pumps for months or even years.

Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area depend on the Delta pumps for nearly a third of their water supplies, and Delta water irrigates nearly a third of the farmland in the San Joaquin Valley. It is not surprising, then, that water managers in regions that rely on Delta exports are reacting to the crisis with a sense of urgency.

Read more of this commentary by clicking here.

June 20, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Governor Schwarzenegger issues statement supporting Two Gates Fish Protection Delta project to bring more water to Californians; & Aquafornia answers the question, what’s the Two Gates project?

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2009 at 7:57 am

From Governor Schwarzenegger’s office, this press release:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement regarding the Two Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project, designed to protect Delta smelt and increase the reliability of water exports:

“With mandatory water restrictions and crops lying fallow, it is clear that every Californian is suffering from our water shortage – and this project will provide much-needed relief. While I remain committed to getting a comprehensive water deal done this year, I will aggressively work with local, state and federal officials toward the speedy approval and completion of the Two Gates project so that California’s bread basket can continue to feed the world.”

Under the plan, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would install and operate removable gate structures in two key locations in the central Delta. The Two Gates Project is designed to provide the same or better protection for delta smelt and other sensitive aquatic species at the State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project, while allowing additional water for use by municipal and agricultural water users south of the Delta. The gates would be temporary facilities to be removed after five years.

Today, Governor Schwarzenegger traveled to Mendota in the Central Valley to view some of the worst affects of our three-year drought. There, he announced that he has requested a federal disaster declaration from President Obama for Fresno County and issued Executive Order S-11-09, activating the California Disaster Assistance Act.

So what is the Two Gates project? Here’s a description from the June 9 board meeting of Metropolitan Water District:

The Two-Gates Fish Protection Project is a key near-term project that, according to modeling analysis, should assist in reducing entrainment of Delta smelt and other sensitive aquatic species at the state and federal Delta pumping facilities without adversely affecting Chinook salmon, steelhead, sturgeon or Longfin smelt. The Project would be implemented by installing of an operable gate structure on Old River and Connection Slough in the central Delta between the cities of Stockton and Antioch. Hydrodynamic modeling analyses have also indicated that gate operations could improve water quality in the central and south Delta.

Staff from Metropolitan, San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority, and Contra Costa Water District have been working together to analyze the Project’s benefits and impacts, and to initiate development of the environmental review documents. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) would likely act as lead agencies under the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Protection Act, respectively.

Read more from the MWD Board of Directors notes by clicking here.

June 20, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Environmental groups sue regional water board over Tracy discharge permit; Permit authorizes massive increase in pollutants discharged to degraded Delta

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 19, 2009 at 7:32 am

From the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and the Environmental Law Foundation, this press release:

Today, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) filed a lawsuit against the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) for issuing a permit to the City of Tracy allowing increased discharges of polluted wastewater to the seriously degraded Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Complaint, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, alleges the Regional Board failed to comply with fundamental state and federal antidegradation requirements in issuing the Tracy wastewater discharge permit.

“The Tracy permit is a poster-child of the state’s failure to comply with laws designed to protect the water quality and fisheries of the Delta,” said CSPA Executive Director Bill Jennings. “Antidegradation requirements are fundamental to protecting the estuary and the Regional Board, under pressure from dischargers, has abdicated its responsibility to protect the people and environment of California,” he said.

Erin Ganahl, an attorney with ELF observed that, “at a time when Delta water quality is deteriorating and Delta smelt and other fish species are hovering on the brink of extinction, the Regional Board’s actions in allowing massive increases in the discharge of toxic pollutants in violation of state and federal statutes are simply unacceptable.”

The Regional Board issued the permit in May of 2007 and CSPA and ELF appealed it to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board). The State Board reviewed the appeals and, on 19 May 2009, remanded the permit back to the Regional Board to correct several deficiencies (i.e., final limits for salinity, ammonia, narrative toxicity and elimination of a dilution credit). However, the Board dismissed core claims that addressed Tracy’s degrading pollution and the antidegradation laws by suggesting that the Board was considering a revision to the antidegradation policy, apparently believing that voicing consideration of modifying a policy excuses compliance in the meantime.

Antidegradation provisions of the Clean Water Act and the state’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act were established to prevent degradation of waters beyond certain levels. In other words they establish a floor beyond which degradation is simply not allowed. For lesser degrees of degradation, the provisions explicitly mandate that permitting agencies must perform a detailed socioeconomic and alternatives analysis of potential degradation from the proposed action and make findings, supported by evidence, that any degradation is justified by important social or economic development. The Regional Board refused to conduct the required antidegradation socioeconomic and alternatives analyses for the Tracy permit even though it allowed major increases in pollutant loading.

Without benefit of an adequate antidegradation analysis, the Tracy permit allows the City to discharge 78% more aluminum, 62% more arsenic, 78% more barium, 54% more copper, 77% more fluoride, 78% more iron, 79% more lead, 14% more nickel, 114% more silver, 88% more thallium, 75% more zinc, 78% more MBAS, 78% more Nitrate (N), 77% more phosphorus, 78% more chloroform, 74% more dibromochloromethane, 77% more MTBE and 78% more 2,4-D. Additionally, there was no evaluation of increased toxicity caused by additive or synergistic interactions between metals.

The Delta is one of the most degraded and polluted waterbodies in the Central Valley. It is listed as an “impaired waterbody” and Toxic Hot Spot” under state and federal law and its aquatic ecosystem is collapsing. Toxicity from pollutants, along with water exports, have been identified by state and federal scientists as one of the principle causes for the catastrophic collapse of the Delta’s pelagic (i.e., Delta smelt, splittail, threadfin shad, longfin smelt, striped bass) and salmonid (steelhead, sturgeon and winter, spring and fall-run Chinook salmon) fisheries.

Michael Lozeau, an attorney representing CSPA stated that, “As the Delta’s water quality continues to decline, the Regional Board is opening the pollution spigots more rather than ensuring that the Delta’s cities and industries take steps to reduce their already dangerous levels of pollution. California’s water quality law is supposed to protect water quality, not shield polluters from its requirements.”

CSPA is a non-profit public benefit conservation and research organization established in 1983 for the purpose of conserving, restoring, and enhancing the state’s water quality and fishery resources and their aquatic ecosystems and associated riparian habitats. CSPA has actively promoted the protection of water quality and fisheries throughout California before state and federal agencies, the State Legislature and Congress and regularly participates in administrative and judicial proceedings on behalf of its members to protect, enhance, and restore California’s water quality and fisheries. CSPA’s website is: www.calsport.org.

ELF is a California non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce pollution in California’s waters and ensure public access to clean water for recreational, commercial, consumptive, scientific and wildlife purposes. ELF is dedicated to the protection of human health and the environment. ELF’s website is: www.envirolaw.org.

Brief coverage of this story from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

June 19, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Carquinez water flows in to revive Martinez tidal marsh

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 18, 2009 at 7:14 am

From the Times-Herald:

For the first time in about a century, water from Carquinez Strait began rushing Tuesday up a slough in the shadows of heavy industry on the Martinez shoreline. The tide gates were opened shortly after 10 a.m. and water flowed into a reach where it could convert up to 200 acres of seasonal wetlands into a permanent tidal marsh.

It was the second attempt to restore Peyton Slough just east of Interstate 680, before the Benicia Bridge. In 1997, a levee was breached and tidal gates were opened for about three hours before regulators shut the project down because of heavy copper and zinc contamination from a smelter that was at the site until the 1960s.

The polluted dirt was covered up, the slough rerouted, and on Tuesday they tried again, this time with the Bay Area’s top water quality regulator watching and smiling. “This is a big step, to be able to open this (tide gate) to let the water flow in a more natural situation,” said Bruce Wolfe, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control District.

Read more from the Times-Herald by clicking here.

June 18, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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State Water Board launches another assault on Delta water quality

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 10, 2009 at 12:30 pm

From Bill Jennings, of the CSPA, posted at IndyBay.org:

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) is yet again discarding long-existing regulations protecting water quality (and fisheries) in order to protect the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) from their continuing violations of the Public Trust and Bay-Delta water quality standards.

This despicable charade is another poster-child of why the Schwarzenegger administration’s “assurances,” “guarantees,” “promises,” and even “regulations” aren’t worth a warm bucket of spit. CSPA is prepared to go to the mat in opposing this blatant effort to immunize DWR and the Bureau from the law.

The State Board has issue a Notice of Public Hearing to determine whether to modify Order WR 2006-0006 that, in part, adopted a Cease and Desist Order (C&D) against the DWR and the Bureau. Notices of Intent to participate in the expedited evidentiary hearing are due by 19 June, testimony and evidence circulated to hearing participants by 22 June and the hearing will occur on 25 June. CSPA will participate fully in the hearing by direct testimony, evidence, cross-examination and rebuttal.

The State Board adopted delta salinity standards in 1978 and reaffirmed them in 1995 and 2006. The salt standards were set at levels protective of Delta agriculture; however, the standards also serve to protect the aquatic ecosystem. The DWR/Bureau, who operate the State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP), were assigned responsibility for meeting the standards because Delta salinity is controlled by SWP/CVP export pumping, salt loading via export pumping and releases of water from upstream project reservoirs. CSPA participated in those hearings.

The salinity standards have been routinely exceeded over the last 30 years. In 2006, the State Board finally issued a C&D against DWR and the Bureau over salinity violations. Despite repeated subsequent violations, the State Board has refused to enforce the 2006 Order. CSPA testified in the C&D hearing.

Read more of Bill Jennings commentary at IndyBay.org by clicking here.

June 10, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Wednesday’s top of the scroll: Army Corps orders thousands of trees chopped down on levees nationwide

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 10, 2009 at 8:00 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

The Army Corps of Engineers is on a mission to chop down every tree in the country that grows within 15 feet of a levee – including oaks and sycamores in Louisiana, willows in Oklahoma and cottonwoods in California. The corps is concerned that the trees’ roots could undermine barriers meant to protect low-lying communities from catastrophic floods like the ones caused by Hurricane Katrina.

An Associated Press survey of levee projects nationwide shows that the agency wants to eliminate all trees along more than 100,000 miles of levees. But environmentalists and some civil engineers insist the trees pose little or no risk and actually help stabilize levee soil.

Thousands of trees have been felled already, though corps officials did not have a precise number of how many will be cut.

The corps has “this body of decades of experience that says you shouldn’t have trees on your levees,” said Eric Halpin, the agency’s special assistant for dam and levee safety.

The saws are buzzing despite the outcry from people who say the trees are an essential part of fragile river and wetland ecosystems. “The literature on the presence of vegetation indicates that it may actually strengthen a levee,” said Andrew Levesque, senior engineer for King County, Wash., where the corps wants trees removed on the six rivers considered vital to salmon populations.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

June 10, 2009 · Filed Under Levees, Other Delta Issues

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Assembly passes Delta bill package

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 5, 2009 at 2:54 pm

From YubaNet.com:

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) announced today the California State Assembly has approved four bills to help resolve the current crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the heart of California’s water system and the most valuable estuary on the west coast of North and South America. These bills reflect recommendations from Governor Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force and Cabinet Committee.

“The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a critical respiratory system for California’s water supply and ecosystem,” Bass said. “These bills represent important steps in preventing the collapse of the Delta, which would have catastrophic effects on the health of our environment and economy.”

The bill authors include participants in the Speaker’s 60-day process to review the Delta Vision Strategic Plan and consider how best to fix the Delta.

Read more from YubaNet.com by clicking here.

June 5, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Water Legislation

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Delta debate rages five years later; Some say Jones Tract disaster played key role

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 3, 2009 at 8:17 am

From Stockton’s Record:

Engineer Tom Rosten drove the winding levee road three times that June afternoon. The next morning, Rosten, still wearing his bathrobe, answered the telephone. Thirty-five minutes later he stood at the edge of a 200-foot abyss where the road he had traveled hours earlier had crumbled away and torrents of water spewed onto farmland.

“When I got up there and saw what had happened, I said, ‘Oh, my God,’” Rosten said. “There’s just nothing we can do.”

Indeed, at that point it was a question only of how long it would take the water to spread across Upper and Lower Jones tracts, flooded five years ago today. More than 12,000 acres of farmland was swamped, dozens of farm workers were displaced, and only a mad rush saved Highway 4 and prevented floodwaters from spreading to the south.

Read more from The Record by clicking here.

June 3, 2009 · Filed Under Levees, Other Delta Issues

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Miracle: Delta export pumps were silent on May 31!, says Bill Jennings of the CSPA

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 2, 2009 at 3:57 pm

From Bill Jennings of the CSPA, posted at IndyBay.org:

May 31: The Day the Pumps Shut Down

I suggest that we set aside 31 May 2009 as an annual CSPA holiday in celebration of the Day the Pumps Shut Down. Perhaps, 31 May should be our annual fundraiser, as it symbolizes our holy grail. Attached is a pdf of May salvage and exports.

Admittedly, the stoppage only occurred because salvage of Delta smelt at the state and federal project pumps had reached 423 the previous day and the legal limit for “take” in May was 449. DWR and the Bureau would have been in violation of the take provisions of the federal Endangered Species Act had they salvaged 27 more Delta smelt the next day.

More from Bill Jennings by clicking here.

June 2, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Wednesday’s top of the scroll: Time for the governor to wade into the delta, says commentary: “Governance is the one issue everybody tries to ignore. Achieving it requires brave leadership and heavy lifting. It requires leadership by the governor.”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 27, 2009 at 7:54 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle, this commentary by William K. Reilly, member of the Governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force:

Clean, abundant water is something most people take for granted. Yet, with California in its third year of drought, that nonchalance is no longer justified. Across the state, there is a growing consensus that we cannot go on as before, and that we need serious change in the way in which we view and use water. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken on some of the fearsome challenges California faces on his watch. But he has yet to meet the water challenge.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is ground zero in the water debates currently taking place at the state Capitol. The delta provides water for more than 25 million Californians and 3 million acres of agriculture, supporting a $400 billion economy. But the delta’s ecosystem is crashing, portending a water crisis for the entire state.

Schwarzenegger has called for a 20 percent reduction in statewide water use, a notably bold recognition that excessive water use and population increase are doubly threatening to our water future. But he and legislative leaders have not acknowledged that the critical missing ingredient in water management in the delta is governance.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

May 27, 2009 · Filed Under Delta Vision Task Force, Other Delta Issues

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Worn-out ferry to make way for more reliable Real McCoy

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 27, 2009 at 6:11 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

A new Real McCoy, the venerable Delta ferry important to farmers, is on the way.

The Real McCoy is operating but worn out, said California Department of Transportation officials. Continuing to repair it would not be financially prudent, said Caltrans. The current vessel has been in service 63 years. The age of the ferry, deterioration of its hull and an outdated drive system convinced officials that a more reliable vessel was needed.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

May 27, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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Going with the flow: Sludge boat sailors keep tanks, Delta clean

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 25, 2009 at 8:12 am

From Stockton’s Record:

The phone won’t shut up. But that’s to be expected on a holiday weekend. Thornell Washington answers as his 24-foot boat plows through heavy wake along the Stockton Deep Water Channel.

“Yeah, we can be there in 12 minutes,” he tells the caller, and veers off toward Paradise Point Marina, where the Don’t Worry About It needs to relieve herself, septically speaking. On the way, Washington – who never thought he’d own a boat, much less service them – listens to the blues, toots the horn and waves at familiar faces.

Pumping sewage from houseboats may not be glamorous, but then again, Washington’s Septic Brothers office is a 700-square-mile playground, and his clientele are carefree folks who, well, aren’t worrying about it. And when Washington makes his rounds this Memorial Day weekend, he sees a world many city dwellers can’t even fathom.

It starts Sunday morning not with hoses or tanks but a stranded motorboat, which stalls and is pushed against the rocks near Village West Marina in north Stockton. Washington tows him to the dock. The man is not deterred. “It ain’t over yet,” said Mark Soran of Modesto. “I still got food and beer.”

Read more from The Record by clicking here.

May 25, 2009 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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