Water, Water Everywhere – but Not for Farmers
Story
From The Bay Citizen – Friday, March 25, 2011
California is awash with water and its mountains are coated with thick layers of snow. That will mean good news this summer for households, businesses and other water users who have endured years of drought.
Coalition response...The comment by Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Pete Lucero omitted any discussion about new science pointing to causes other than the pumps that are the root of the problem in the Delta. Invasive species, predators, upstream-polluted water and poor habitat conditions in the Delta have all been shown to cause a bigger impact than the pumps. The problem is that the pumps are the only thing bureaucrats have been able to regulate so that has been their primary focus. That’s too bad. Real results could be achieved for both fish and water supply interests if regulators turned their attention to activities that actually worked.
WATER SUPPLY
IID communications upgrades keep tighter tap on water
Story
From IV Press – Saturday, March 26, 2011
Food grows where water flows and Valley farmers depend on Imperial Irrigation District to deliver vital resources in precise quantities and a timely manner.
Feinstein on water allocation: ‘Worst I’ve seen in years’
Statement
From Aquafornia – Saturday, March 26, 2011
The disconnect in federal water allocations is the worst I’ve seen in years. South-of-Delta farmers are getting only 55 percent of contractual amounts, a shocking number when the state snowpack is as high as 165 percent. That is simply unacceptable.
Sacramento River flows increasing; Feather, American rivers scaled back
Story
From Chico Enterprise-Record – Saturday, March 26, 2011
To manage the tremendous amount of water moving from the mountains to the ocean, releases from reservoirs in the state are being managed for flood control.
Daily Reservoir Storage Summary
Report
From DWR – March 27, 2011
For selected reservoirs in Northern and Southern California.
DELTA
Court Tentative Holds that DWR’s Proposed Geological Activities on Delta Properties Would Result in an Unconstitutional Taking of Private Property
Analysis
From Somach Simmons & Dunn – Friday, March 25, 2011
For nearly two years, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has been seeking access to tens of thousands of acres of privately owned land throughout the Delta region. DWR seeks entry via the precondemnation statutes found at Code of Civil Procedure sections 1245.010 through 1245.060.
Water Crisis: the Delta, the Smelt and Us
Commentary
From City Watch – Friday, March 25, 2011
Living, working, and playing here in Venice gives us environmentalists more in common with the California Delta than it is comfortable to think about. I am no exception.
FISHERIES
Endangered Coho Return to Russian River
Blog
By Dan Bacher
From IndyBay Media – Saturday, March 26, 2011
Fishery biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) are reporting the largest number of coho returning to spawn in Sonoma County tributaries of the Russian River in over a decade.
GROUNDWATER
Reisner Redux: Rethinking ‘Cadillac Desert’
Blog
By Michael E. Campana
From WaterWired – Sunday, March 27, 2011
The more I ruminate on Western USA water issues, the more I find myself returning to Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water.
ENVIRONMENT
Farmers and the EPA
Letter
From Fresno Bee – Sunday, March 27, 2011
The March 24 article, "EPA official tours farms," discussed a visit to the Valley by our government's highest ranking EPA administrator. Lisa Jackson, a Cabinet-level member of the Obama administration, got a glimpse at how farmers in the Valley are doing their part to reduce air emissions and conserve precious water.
COURTS
Water hearing ends without decision
Story
From Fresno Bee – Friday, March 25, 2011
A three-day federal court hearing on a request by urban and agricultural water users to halt the April 1 implementation of a plan to protect endangered salmon migrating through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ended Friday without a decision.
Federal court affirms delta smelt protection
Story
From Fresno Bee - Friday, March 25, 2011
From Modesto Bee – Friday, March 25, 2011
From SF Chronicle – Friday, March 25, 2011
A federal appeals court has ruled that protections for a tiny threatened fish that has cut water deliveries to California farms are constitutional.
SF court rules protection Delta smelt not unconstitutional
Story
From Sacramento Bee – Friday, March 25, 2011
A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled this morning that protection of the endangered Delta smelt is not unconstitutional.
Court ruling favors U.S. Fish & Wildlife; smelt still protected
Story
From The Record – Saturday, March 26, 2011
Federal protection of the tiny Delta smelt, a three-inch-long fish living in the Delta, will continue.
Revisiting limits (or the lack thereof) to the federal government’s Commerce Clause authority in light of the Ninth Circuit’s delta smelt decision
Blog
By Brandon Middleton
From Pacific Legal Foundation – Sunday, March 27, 2011
A couple of thoughts on this analysis. First, although the Supreme Court in Raich did not use the precise terms "comprehensive economic regulatory scheme," case law demonstrates that the comprehensive regulatory scheme rationale for Commerce Clause regulation requires that the regulatory scheme be economic in nature.
WATER QUALITY
Point/Counterpoint: Ag water runoff debated
Story
From Salinas Californian – Friday, March 25, 2011
On March 17, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board of the Central Coast met but was unable to reach a decision on a staff proposal to regulate the quality of water leaving farms.
CONGRESS
Fixing our water problems just takes common sense
Column
By Rep. Jim Costa
From Bakersfield Californian – Saturday, March 26, 2011
If my time in Congress has taught me one thing, it is that common sense is often overlooked in Washington. Nothing illustrates this better than last week's announcement that in a time of abundant rainfall, above average snowpack in the Sierra, and flooding in our cities, some farmers in the San Joaquin Valley may only receive just a little more than half their share of California's water this year.
Rep. Nunes continues push for more water
Story
From Porterville Recorder – Friday, March 25, 2011
The plentiful rain and snow the state is getting this year is allowing Congressman Devin Nunes, R-21st District, to point out the absurdity of federal water policy and push legislation that will make more water available for Central Valley farmers.
SALTON SEA
Entities move forward in restoring sea
Story
From IV Press – Saturday, March 26, 2011
A nudge to the state to produce a Salton Sea restoration plan is gathering steam from another entity that supports the Imperial Irrigation District’s position for action now.
