Farm Water News: March 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013

News articles and links from March 28, 2013

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Latest piece of Delta tunnel plan looks at environmental effects

Story

From Contra Costa Times - Thursday, March 28, 2013

Coalition response...Significant changes have taken place in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan process since a year ago, among them the number of intakes in the north Delta from five to three. The amount of water to be moved through the tunnels has also been reduced from 15,000 cubic feet per second to only 9,000 cubic feet per second.

Locating the intakes in the north Delta also benefits the smelt, which does not reside in that area. During most years, the smelt are expected to increase in numbers with increased food supplies produced in the more than 100,000 acres of new habitat. Biologists have indicated that added habitat could result in higher productivity for the salmonid fish by giving them more area in which to grow instead of being flushed immediately out of the Delta.

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Bay Delta Conservation Plan documents reveal details, stir concerns

Story

From Fresno Bee - Thursday, March 28, 2013

From Sacramento Bee - Thursday, March 28, 2013

Calif. releases next part of plan to restore delta

Story

From Fresno Bee - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

From Modesto Bee - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

From News 10 - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

From SLO Tribune - Thursday, March 28, 2013

From Stockton Record - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Next piece of Delta tunnels plan looks at ecosystem

Story

From Sacramento Business Journal - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Brown administration releases additional chapters of draft BDCP

Story

From ACWA - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

More details of Bay Delta Conservation Plan released

Radio news

From Capital Public Radio - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

WATER SUPPLY

Farmers face further cuts in water supply

Story

From Patterson Irrigator - Thursday, March 28, 2013

California anxious for fourth snow survey

Story

From Western Farm Press - Thursday, March 28, 2013

Sierra snowpack half of seasonal average

TV news

From KCRA 3 - Thursday, March 28, 2013

Water woes continue for Central Valley

TV news

From KSEE 24 - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

(The following story previously appeared in the Fresno Bee.)

Snow survey finds dismal water prospects

Story

From Merced Sun-Star - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

RIVERS

Thanks for sharing water stories

Letter

From Modesto Bee - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

News articles and links from March 27, 2013

ALLOCATIONS

Dry weather forces cuts in federal, State water supply allocations in California

Story

From Bloomberg - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Fresno County farmer talks water cuts and what it means for the valley

TV news

From KSEE 24 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Lack of rainfall is hurting Valley growers

TV news

From KFSN 30 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Local farmers react to more bad water news

TV news

From KGPE 47 - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Water tunnels would aid Delta

Letter

From Sacramento Bee - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Brown administration releases additional chapters of preliminary draft of Bay Delta Conservation Plan

Press release

From California Natural Resources Agency - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Stick to Delta plan for now

Editorial

From Vacaville Reporter - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

All agree that we need better water delivery in California

Opinion

By Randy Record and John Coleman

From LA Daily News - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

California water math

Editorial

From SF Chronicle - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Key State report to show how water tunnels will impact endangered fish

Story

From KQED- Tuesday, March 26, 2013

WATER SUPPLY

Sierra snowpack falls short

Story

From Fresno Bee - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Next mountain snowpack measurement isn't likely to bring good news

Story

From Visalia Times-Delta - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

GROUNDWATER

Stanislaus County irrigation leaders fear for supply of groundwater

Story

From Modesto Bee - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

RIVERS

River-flow plan threatens farms, opponents say

Story

From Ag Alert - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

News articles and links from March 26, 2013

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Tunnels would aid Southern California's unlimited thirst

Letter

By John Kerhlikear

From Sacramento Bee - Sunday, March 24, 2013

Coalition response...The Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) is more than a water supply proposal; it also includes benefits for species and habitat as a result of being a habitat conservation plan. BDCP has been developed under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act and the California Natural Community Conservation Planning program. These two directives require BDCP to have a plan that covers all the species that are affected in the planning area by the project.

The proposed habitat areas in the south Delta are designed to create favorable conditions for increased survival of salmon, steelhead and other species. Biologists have indicated that added habitat could result in higher productivity for the salmonid fish by giving them more area in which to grow instead of being flushed immediately out of the Delta.

Think the downtown arena is bad? Get a load of the tunnel

Letter

Alice Hendrix

From Sacramento Bee - Sunday, March 24, 2013

Coalition response...In 2009 the California legislature approved legislation to establish a reliable water supply and to restore the Delta ecosystem. The proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan is in response to that legislative mandate and represents years of study by scientists and researchers. Those afraid of the amount of diversions from the water flowing through the Delta should understand that limits exist to safeguard the estuary. The amount of water that the project could move is based on what river conditions would allow; sometimes more and sometimes less. Visit www.farmwater.org/exportthrottle.pdf to learn more about exports.

Delta tunnels would be a disaster

Letter

By Dan Bacher

From Sacramento Bee - Sunday, March 24, 2013

Coalition response...Comparing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan's two tunnels to the Peripheral Canal of years past is a false comparison. The two tunnels have a capacity to move 9,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) while the Peripheral Canal's capacity was 21,800 cfs. The tunnels include three, advanced technology screens to protect multiple species of fish; the Peripheral Canal had only one screen designed to protect salmon and striped bass. Visit http://www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf and learn more.

Benefiting from the Bay Delta Conservation Plan would be 25 million Californians who rely on the Delta for a portion of their water supply, plus three million acres of farmland that grows the fresh fruits and vegetables that consumers seek in their grocery stores.

RIVERS

Merced River should remain protected

Letter

By Ralph Mendershausen

From Modesto Bee - Monday, March 25, 2013

Coalition response...HR 934 does not remove the Merced River from Wild and Scenic Rivers Act designation. The legislation would raise the spillway at New Exchequer Dam, not the dam, by 10 feet. This action would inundate the last 1,800 feet of the 122-mile stretch of the Merced River, far from Yosemite, for two to eight weeks every few years. That's 1/350 of the protected stretch of the river.

Individuals should realize that construction of New Exchequer Dam was completed in 1967. Twenty years later in 1987 the Wild and Scenic River Act encroached on the hydroelectric project boundary on the Merced River. HR 934 creates an increased reliability of available water for farmers to grow food for consumers.

WATER SUPPLY

Federal water cutback called 'crippling blow'

Blog

By Mark Grossi

From fresnobeehive - Monday, March 25, 2013

Human water needs take priority over salmon

Letter

From Modesto Bee - Monday, March 25, 2013

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Jerry Meral faces a tough crowd at the first of three Bay Delta Conservation Plan public meetings

Blog

By Chris "Maven" Austin

From Maven's Notebook - Monday, March 25, 2013

Meral on the griddle: Delta policy gets the once-over

Story

From Capitol Press - Monday, March 25, 2013

Tunnel proposal would benefit entire state

Letter

From Sacramento Bee - Monday, March 25, 2013

Tunnel proposal is terrible

Letter

From Sacramento Bee - Sunday, March 24, 2013

RIVERS

Members of Congress voice concerns with State Board process

Story

From ACWA - Friday, March 22, 2013

DELTA

Whiskey is for drinking; agriculture water is for fighting

Blog

By Cary Blake

From Western Farm Press - Monday, March 25, 2013

Monday, March 25, 2013

News articles and links from March 25, 2013

BAY DELTA CONSERVATION PLAN

Delta tunnel project truly can drain north state

Viewpoint

by Jane Wagner-Tyack

From Sacramento Bee - Sunday, March 24, 2013

Coalition response...Attempting to characterize the Bay Delta Conservation Plan as a means of draining the north state is utterly baseless. The misguided claim that BDCP will drain the Sacramento Valley and the Delta ignores the operational guidelines that protect these regions. The amount of water that the project could move is based on what river conditions would allow; sometimes more and sometimes less. Visit www.farmwater.org/exportthrottle.pdf to learn more about exports.

The author also claims that existing pumping restrictions are insufficient to protect endangered fish but she never mentions the lack of habitat in the Delta or the poor conditions in the ocean, which the National Marine Fisheries Service has identified as the leading cause for the dwindling salmon numbers. Add the high numbers of juvenile salmon taken by predators and a more complete picture is presented on factors affecting salmon. The predator problem is significant, especially when one realizes that a recent study (www.farmwater.org/93percentsalmon6-5.pdf) revealed that 93% of the juvenile smolts in the Tuolumne River, that make their way to the Delta via the San Joaquin River, are eaten by predatory fish. That's not healthy for any species regardless of the circumstances.

RIVERS

California's water belongs to everyone

Letter

By David Guzzetta

From Merced Sun-Star - Friday, March 22, 2013

Coalition response...Individuals and groups concerned with the proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board to designate higher flows in the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers for fish are waiting for the scientific reasoning for the decision. Water board staffers have publicly stated that it is unknown whether the flow decision will benefit salmon.

Science must play an important part in the decisions that regulate our water resources. A recent study as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's relicensing of Don Pedro Dam on the Tuolumne River found that 93% of juvenile salmon in the river were consumed by predator fish. Adding more water to the river will not solve the predator problem and restore the salmon population.

ALLOCATIONS

Reclamation announces update to the 2013 Central Valley Project water supply allocation

Press release

From US Bureau of Reclamation - Friday, March 22, 2013

California's water future going from bad to worse

Press release

From California Farm Water Coalition - Friday, March 22, 2013

Federal regulations shatter water delivery system

Press release

From San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority - Friday, March 22, 2013

Federal water allocation decrease will harm farming, communities

Press release