Delta
Delta pumping has unmeasured cost for endangered fish, environmentalists say
Story
From KQED - Monday, March 26, 2012
Coalition response...While this study acknowledges other factors that impact the fish populations, it continues to lay the primary blame on pumping operations in the Delta that send water to 25 million Californians and to farms that produce a healthy and safe food supply. It ignores reports that indicate that losses for salmon from predators are greater than those numbers salvaged at the Delta pumps. Salmon populations are well-documented to cycle up and down and have gone through three of these cycles since 1983. Interestingly, a four-year average of exports volumes leading up to high population versus low population shows that export volumes really don't matter. Exports were almost exactly the same over the years that population peaked as they were when populations were low ---4.85 maf for the high populations and 4.92 maf for the lows, or one and a half percent difference. Clearly, something else is affecting salmon beyond exports.
No one is denying that the numbers are startling to the casual observer. However, the study authors ignore the fact that Environmental Protection Agency officials denied endangered status to splittail, one of the fish species touted in the study, because of its high population. EPA biologists repeated their findings when discounting the high numbers salvaged at the pumps in 2011. In summary, the authors use numbers they select to support their position that the pumping of water from the Delta should be curtailed. This reasoning does not help to resolve the water issues we face today in California.
WATER SUPPLY
Despite rainfall, drought looms
Radio news
From KMJ/Fresno - Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Central Valley farmers deal with water woes
TV news
From KGET/17 - Monday, March 26, 2012
DELTA
Changed location for meeting to identify Delta projects that can be broadly supported
Announcement
From Aquafornia - Tuesday, March 27, 2012
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