Delta
From: Pat
Snelling, Vacaville Reporter
The Delta is
starving for water, so California officials set up a plan to take more water
out of the Delta. How does this make any sense?
California has had
a long history of water wars, with many battles and, once again, the state is
gearing up for another fight.
The latest
"new" Delta plan was released on May 16. Since then, seven lawsuits
were filed and probably more are to come.
The Delta
Stewardship Council says its plan meets the "co-equal" needs of those
depending on Delta water and provides "reliability" for water
contractors.
Coalition
response...Water in
California has generated differing viewpoints throughout our state's history,
all the way back to the Gold Rush. Today's discussion focuses on a proposal to
provide water to 25 million Californians and almost four thousand farms while
restoring the Delta ecosystem, including habitat that will benefit fish
species. Pivotal to this discussion are the facts that surround the proposal.
This piece does
little to provide factual information on how the Bay Delta Conservation Plan
will work for California. The following are some corrections the statements
made by Pat Snelling:
Fact #1---The
proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its two tunnels are prevented by
California law from negatively impacting existing water rights.
Fact #2---Since
2003 San Joaquin Valley farmers have spent more than $2.1 billion upgrading the
irrigation systems on more than 1.8 million acres to increase their water use
efficiency.
Fact #3---Westlands
Water District is a public water agency with a publicly elected board of directors,
not a privately owned business.
Fact #4---More than
50 percent of Westlands farmland grows fresh fruits and vegetables.
Fact #5---The
average farm size in Westlands Water District is actually less than 900 acres,
not 3,000 as the author claims.
Fact #6---Increased
water storage is essential to the future of California and also requires an
improved conveyance system through the Delta.
Each Californian
should seek the facts regarding water issues confronting our state and not rely
on emotion expressed by others.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Dennis
Wyatt, Manteca Bulletin
The Delta Twin
Tunnel plan could rob Manteca of water it has contractually tied up from the
Stanislaus River basin.
That's the fear
that the Manteca City Council has of the Delta water solution being pursued by
Southern California and Bay Area urban water interests as well as large
southern San Joaquin Valley farming concerns.
Mayor Willie
Weatherford noted construction of the $24.54 billion update of the 1980
Peripheral Canal proposal is being justified by three goals: Saving the Delta,
preserving wildlife, and sending more water south.
Coalition
response...The concern
expressed by Manteca city leaders regarding their water supply is similar to
questions raised by others. BDCP officials have repeatedly answered these
concerns by stating that the proposed Plan, including the two tunnels, are
prevented by California law from negatively impacting existing water rights.
Understanding that
the current proposal is not a remake of the 1982 Peripheral Canal is crucial.
The current plan offers improvements that did not exist in the canal plan such
as the BDCP tunnels will only move 9,000 cubic feet per second of water
compared to 21,800 cfs with the Peripheral Canal. Only two fish species, salmon
and striped bass, were identified for protection in the canal plan while BDCP
includes 214 biological goals and objectives for 57 fish and terrestrial
species, their habitat and the Delta ecosystem. Learn more at www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Mark
Truppner, Mother Lode
The State of
California and the Obama Administration agreed to a formal deadline of October
1, 2013 for the release of the draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and
accompanying environmental documents for public review and comment.
Governor Jerry
Brown was Tuesday's KVML "Newsmaker of the Day".
The BDCP will
enable the state to make significant progress toward achieving the co-equal
goals of securing California's water supply and restoring the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta ecosystem.
Blogs
From: Maven,
Maven's Blog
Welcome to
Tuesday's blog round-up! This week's round-up is action packed, so let's
get started.
So why did the
exporters sue over the Delta Plan? Alex Breitler says the topic has come
up: "The question came up at yesterday's local Advisory Water
Commission meeting: Why did water exporters sue over the Delta Plan? Delta-area
folks think they're clearly getting the short shrift; what can the folks down
south have to complain about? ... " Alex ponders the possible
reasons on his blog here: Why did the water exporters sue?
Yesterday, the
State Water Contractors issued their own fact sheet explaining why, giving
several reasons, including this: "While SWC supports how the
California Legislature directed the Delta Stewardship Council to create a
comprehensive management plan for the Delta, the legislation did not give the
Council power to influence or establish future water delivery quantities for
public water agencies. However, the Environmental Impact Report for the Delta
Plan assumes that its implementation will reduce export levels. Such
assumptions are beyond the DSC's legal jurisdiction. This over-reach of legal
authority threatens the delicate balance of Delta oversight. Establishing
export levels in relation to outflows is a highly-regulated process involving
three agencies with state and federal Endangered Species Act jurisdiction as
well as the State Water Resources Control Board." Read the full
fact sheet here: BDCP-Delta Plan Lawsuit SWC Fact Sheet.
Water Supply
From: KSEE-24 TV
Fresno Irrigation
District water deliveries for 2013 will begin coming to an end by the middle of
July for the Fancher and Dry Creek Systems as a result of this year's limited
water supply. At its June 18 meeting FID's Board of Directors voted to continue
deliveries of water through July 31 on the Herndon system.
From: Tim
Hearden, Capital Press
The manager of
Fresno County's largest farm group says even though the county remained tops in
the nation in terms of crop value last year, steeper declines may be on the
horizon.
Ryan Jacobsen, the
Fresno County Farm Bureau's executive director, said this summer's drought and
low water allocations south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta forced
more land in the valley to be fallowed this year.
From: Tim
Hearden, Capital Press
Like Westside melon
growers and other California growing operations, table grape producers are
feeling the pinch of cutbacks in water allocations.
It's not expected
to hurt volumes this year - another record crop is possible since vineyards
plan to make up the difference by pumping more groundwater.
But it's a
temporary fix.
Fisheries
From: Rebecca M.
Quiñones, California WaterBlog
The Klamath River
basin presents one of the best opportunities for the reform of hatchery
practices and the recovery of wild salmon and trout populations in California.
Much of the habitat
for the Klamath's Chinook, coho and steelhead fisheries is in relatively good
shape compared with conditions in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems.
Also, political and legal support for Klamath River restoration is growing.
Invasive
Species
From: Matt
Weiser, Sacramento Bee
From: Matt
Weiser, Modesto Bee
The State Lands
Commission voted Friday to postpone rules that require cargo ships to treat
their ballast water before discharging it within California's borders.
Meetings
From: Water
Association of Kern County
Jerry Meral, Deputy
Secretary - California Natural Resources Agency
Update on Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
July 23, 2013 11:30
a.m.
The Water
Association of Kern County Board of Directors and Membership Meeting at the
Petroleum Club of Bakersfield, 5060 California Ave., 12th Floor, Bakersfield,
CA
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