Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Stephen Green,
Sacramento Bee
Re "Delta tunnels won't hurt Sacramento"
(Another view, Jan. 4): Jerry Meral, formerly in charge of the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan, contends that building massive tunnels under the Delta to
divert water southward won't impact water supplying the Sacramento region. He
states that "layers of institutional guarantees" ensure that
Sacramento's water can never be diverted in that manner.
Coalition response... No one argues that the Delta is in rough shape. When discussing
negative impacts it's important to remember that the predators that eat
threatened and endangered fish have doubled as a percentage of the overall fish
population. At the same time native fish have declined from 18 percent to a
meager 4 percent of the population. Sacramento's semi-treated wastewater has
also been the cause of thousands of tons of ammonium being dumped in the Delta
annually. That has changed the basic chemistry of Delta water and killed off
the microorganisms at the base of the food chain that once fed small the fish
that have all but disappeared.
Water Bond
From: Paul Rogers, San Jose
Mercury News
Despite record dry weather, it's
looking increasingly unlikely that a multibillion-dollar water bond to pay for
dams, conservation and parts of Gov. Jerry Brown's $25 billion plan to build
two huge tunnels through the Delta will be placed on the November ballot.
Water agencies around the state
have assumed that some kind of measure would go to voters to provide a new
river of cash for water projects. But Sacramento political leaders and insiders
say Brown, widely expected to seek re-election this year, hasn't committed and
has worries it could hurt him politically, particularly as polls have shown
shaky support for it.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Susan Rohan, Sacramento
Bee
Roseville recognizes that the Bay
Delta Conservation Plan's goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem
restoration are important to the state's future. We know that without a healthy
Delta, the water supply for two-thirds of the state will be in jeopardy, but we
need to make sure the other one-third of the state isn't left out of the mix.
As the city examines the 34,000-page Delta water study, we're looking to see if
the state answers our most pressing question: Is there an operations plan for
the BDCP? We're hoping that the state has identified how it will manage export
and environmental water needs while ensuring our region's water supplies remain
reliable. Answering this question in a meaningful, unequivocal answer way will
alleviate some concerns from our region and help create a truly statewide plan.
Water Supply
From: J.N. Sbranti, Modesto
Bee
Two environmental lawyers are
demanding Stanislaus County officials immediately stop issuing new water well
drilling permits without first reviewing what impacts they could have on the
environment.
They also want the county to
revoke 61 large irrigation wells approved during the past five months. If
Stanislaus officials refuse, the lawyers warn they will file a lawsuit within
two weeks, claiming the county has violated provisions of the California
Environmental Quality Act.
The lawyers, Jerry Cadagan of
Sonora and Thomas N. Lippe of San Francisco, say they are representing
Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources, a group Cadagan recently
founded.
From: Staff, CDFA
The California State Board of
Food and Agriculture met on Tuesday, January 7 to discuss ongoing water worries
in the state. Some of the TV coverage of the meeting follows.
Colorado River
From: Michael Wines, New York
Times
The sinuous Colorado River and
its slew of man-made reservoirs from the Rockies to southern Arizona are being
sapped by 14 years of drought nearly unrivaled in 1,250 years.
The once broad and blue river has
in many places dwindled to a murky brown trickle. Reservoirs have shrunk to
less than half their capacities, the canyon walls around them ringed with white
mineral deposits where water once lapped. Seeking to stretch their allotments
of the river, regional water agencies are recycling sewage effluent, offering
rebates to tear up grass lawns and subsidizing less thirsty appliances from
dishwashers to shower heads.
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