Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Capt. Steve Miller,
Sacramento Bee
Re "A parched valley"
(Page A1, Jan. 5): The Sacramento Bee produced a great article on the decline
of the Owens River Valley. It spotlighted the impact of greed and politics on
choosing one community over another. Residents of California should keep in
mind that ignoring history results in a repeat. Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to
divert water from the north, under the guise of environmental concerns, is a
thinly veiled effort to get more water to Southern California. The water
commission, which devised this farce, excluded any mountain water districts,
where our water comes from. It avoids input from these districts, in an effort
to reduce water available to the north in favor of providing for the south
state. Sound familiar? This is a revamped effort to re-institute Brown's failed
peripheral canal plan of the 1970s. The plan stank then, and this new odor is
twice as bad.
Coalition response... This letter follows a wave of others that seek to mischaracterize the
Bay Delta Conservation Plan as an effort to seize water in northern California
for use by the southern part of the state, and are not anchored in fact. The
BDCP is designed to improve the reliable delivery of water that 25 million
consumers and almost 4,000 family farmers already have a legal right to use,
while improving the delta ecosystem. Comparing the BDCP to the 1980s
Peripheral Canal is way off course. For a comparison of the two projects,
go to www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.
Water Supply
From: Matt Weiser, Sacramento
Bee
By the end of this week, water
flows in the American River will be lower than anyone has seen in a generation.
And soon, many residents of suburban Sacramento could be banned from watering
their lawns.
Unusual winter drought conditions
are driving Sacramento-area water agencies to make difficult choices. Starting
today, the effects will be visible to anyone who walks, fishes or boats along
the American River, one of the largest in California.
Coalition response... Jennings continues to abusively misrepresent California water rights
law. Water rights in the state include a time-of-use component, meaning that
the same volume of water may be repeatedly taken and returned to the system.
While Jenning does no favors to the public understanding of water rights with
his creative narratives that describes the system as over-allocated, he does
raise the question of what levels of industrialized commercial fishing are
sustainable for both endangered and frequently threatened fish species - and
how much water is needed for those commercial fisheries.
Bay Delta
Conservation Plan
From: Mike Mielke, San Jose
Mercury News
The driest year on record
underscores the need for Gov. Jerry Brown's water plan. Contrary to the Mercury
News editorial, "Massive Delta Tunnels Could Destroy Fragile Estuary"
(Jan. 5), the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) will help restore the health
of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which supplies 23 million
Californians with water and helps irrigate millions of acres of farmland.
The plan is of great importance
to Silicon Valley as the Delta is the source of much of the water we use.
Farming
From: Rudy Ruitenberg,
San Jose Mercury News
Californian grape vines are being
ripped up as drought forces farmers to switch to higher yielding crops such as
almonds and other nut and tree fruits, wine broker Ciatti Co. said.
About 15,000 to 20,000 acres of
vines are expected to be pulled out of the ground, the San Rafael-based company
wrote in an emailed report. The state has an estimated wine grape acreage of
546,000 acres, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Water Supply
From: Staff, Riverside
Press-Enterprise
A record dry year offers a grim
reminder to California about the perpetual peril of drought - and the need for
preparedness. The state cannot escape the weather patterns that threaten water
shortages, but can protect against that menace. Residents will need to boost
conservation efforts, but legislators should also take steps to ensure a
reliable supply of water for the state.
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