[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Item for 6/15/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

June 15, 2007

 

1.  Top Items -

 

Governor endorses canal

Delta-circumventing project was rejected by state's voters in 1982. -

Sacramento Bee

 

Governor backs canal to pipe water around fragile delta -

San Francisco Chronicle

 

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Governor endorses canal

Delta-circumventing project was rejected by state's voters in 1982.

Sacramento Bee - 6/15/07

By Kevin Yamamura - Bee Capitol Bureau

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called Thursday for a canal to transfer water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, marking the first time he has expressed support for the historically controversial project.

 

The Republican governor, speaking at a town-hall forum in Bakersfield, told farmers he would fight to ensure they have enough water for the next two to three decades.

 

"We need more water," he said, according to a recording. "We need to build more storage, and we have to build conveyance, the canal, and all of those kinds of things."

 

The governor's reference to a canal apparently referred to a project that could move water around the Delta from Northern California to Southern California, his aides confirmed.

 

Politicians have been averse to such a system ever since voters rejected the Peripheral Canal in 1982. The project involved a 44-mile channel that would have circumvented the Delta to deliver water to the California Aqueduct.

 

The plan initially was envisioned as a way to preserve the Delta estuary but became political anathema when it was seen as a water grab by Southern California. Schwarzenegger acknowledged Thursday that water storage and a canal are "politically risky."

 

"But it's one of those big, big issues that have been swept under the rug for decades," he said, adding later: "Now we are lifting up the rug, and we are pulling up all this stuff and saying, 'Here's the problem.' "

 

State Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, said the governor's call for a canal was premature. He noted that the governor himself had appointed a Delta Vision task force to study whether a canal is necessary.

 

"Its very role is to make recommendations to the governor about conveyance, so it's premature to focus on or to land on the exact solution at this point," Steinberg said. "There are a number of potential conveyance options."

 

Steinberg said the task force is scheduled to report back to the Legislature in October, and Senate Democrats want to use those findings to determine the Delta's future next year.

 

But Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor wants more legislative action this year. The Senate rejected the governor's water plan in April.

"The Delta is broken now and needs to be fixed," McLear said. "We have been and will continue to aggressively pursue a comprehensive water solution for California's future."

 

Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, said he was glad the governor expressed support for a canal.

 

"I like it," Ackerman said. "I think everybody knows that if you have additional storage in the state, you have to move it, you have to get it some way around the Delta."

 

Schwarzenegger closed his visit with Bakersfield residents by explaining how he met with environmentalists Wednesday in his Capitol office to discuss water issues.

"I know the environmentalists don't like to create or talk even about conveyance," Schwarzenegger said. "They don't like that. And they don't like to build more water storage."

 

"They want to do another five-year study," he added. "There is no more studying -- we have studied this subject to death."

That prompted laughs and applause from the crowd, which had been selected by the local chamber of commerce, AARP and PTA. Schwarzenegger then urged attendees to pressure their lawmakers to support his water plan.#

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/223870.html

 

 

Governor backs canal to pipe water around fragile delta

San Francisco Chronicle – 6/14/07

By SAMANTHA YOUNG, Associated Press Writer

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waded into politically risky waters Thursday when he said he supported building a canal to pipe water around the environmentally fragile delta because the state is running low on supplies.

 

The governor made the comments before a gathering of business leaders and farmers in Bakersfield, who this year have had their water allocations cut because of drought conditions and shutdowns of the state's main water pumps.

 

"We need more water. We need to build more storage and we have to build conveyance, the canal, all of those kinds of things, even though it's politically risky again," Schwarzenegger said.

 

It's the first time Schwarzenegger has publicly called for a canal. The statements evoked the bitter debate over the so-called Peripheral Canal that consumed California a generation ago.

 

Politicians have avoided the topic since voters overwhelmingly rejected such a canal in 1982. At the time, Northern California voters characterized the proposal as a Southern California water grab.

 

On Thursday, Schwarzenegger said California's water infrastructure has not kept pace with the state's growing population, which is expected to hit 55 million by 2050.

"Do you know that for 20 years, well actually since the late '70s, they've not built a dam?" he said in remarks that were taped. "Since the 1980s, they've not done any conveyance, built any conveyance that delivers the water."

 

Supporters say building a canal along the eastern edge of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta would provide a more stable way to transport water from Northern California's rivers to about 25 million people in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay area. The water also irrigates about 750,000 acres of farmland.

But it remains contentious among environmentalists and those who live in the delta's small towns. They fear a canal would siphon out too much fresh water.

The governor last September issued an executive order launching a comprehensive review of the delta and its many problems. At the time, he said it was not sustainable for the state to base its water-delivery system around the estuary because of high risks from flooding and earthquakes.

The situation has become increasingly bleak in recent weeks.

 

The state Department of Water Resources last month temporarily shut down its pumps over concerns about a massive decline in delta smelt populations. Cities around the state have asked residents to conserve water.

 

"The delta is broken, and we need to move ahead and look at improvements to our conveyance system to be viable for the future," Jennifer Persike, spokesman for the Association of California Water Agencies, said in response to Schwarzenegger's remarks.

 

Tom Graff, California director of Environmental Defense, said Schwarzenegger was "jumping the gun" on his own delta task force, which is expected to release a draft report later this year.

 

"The environmental concerns have been shortchanged over the years, which is ultimately how we got into the mess with delta smelt," Graff said.

Schwarzenegger, who met with environmental representatives Wednesday in his office, said the state had "studied the issue to death."

 

"I know the environmentalists don't like to create and talk even about conveyance. They don't like that, and they don't like to build more water storage," Schwarzenegger said. "They want to do another five-year study, there is no more study. We have studied this subject to death. It's time for action."#

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/14/state/n175418D96.DTL&type=politics