A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 10, 2007
3. Watersheds
DELTA ISSUES:
Efforts to save Delta could impact county - Fairfield Daily Republic
More delta restrictions are possible - California Farm Bureau Federation
DELTA ISSUES:
Efforts to save Delta could impact county
By Barry Eberling, staff writer
They fear proposed habitat restoration projects could bring rare fish to the North Bay Aqueduct pumps, curtailing water deliveries to local cities. They fear creating more tidal wetlands would take farm land out of production and increase the flooding risk for the Rio Vista area. They fear proposals to change salinity levels would mean a saltier Suisun Marsh.
Supervisors want to air their concerns before the state starts making decisions on the Delta's future. The Blue Ribbon Delta Task Force appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is to issue its recommendations by Jan. 1.
"The train's got a full head of steam and it's coming right at us," Supervisor John Vasquez said Tuesday.
Supervisors agreed to send a letter listing their concerns to the Blue Ribbon Delta Task Force. They also want to hire a consultant or employee to keep track of Delta issues and be an advocate for the county.
"It is absolutely critical we take charge of our destiny - if it's even possible," Supervisor Barbara Kondylis said.
The 492,000-acre Delta is the hub of the state system to deliver water to about 25 million Californians. It contains islands, sloughs and rivers in five counties, including eastern
But the Delta is widely considered to be in crisis. Native fish populations are plunging. Century-old levees need repair to continue protecting land that has subsided as much as 15 feet. Should the levees break, the resulting flooding could draw in salty ocean water and devastate the state's water system.
A key concern for supervisors are proposals to create tidal wetlands for native fish in the Cache Slough area of
That area includes Barker Slough, where the North Bay Aqueduct pumps are located.
The fear is providing habitat for the rare Delta smelt near the pumps could lead to pumping restrictions under endangered species laws. In the spring, the state temporarily shut down the massive south Delta pumps that provide water to
The North Bay Aqueduct provides water for some 400,000 people in
"It's about half the water the cities use, so it's critical," Solano County Water Agency General Manager David Okita told the board.
Among other things, supervisors would like state money to help relocate the North Bay Aqueduct pumps about 22 miles away, from Barker Slough to the
Supervisors mentioned only in passing proposals for more dams or a new type of peripheral canal to take drinking water bound for
Supervisor John Silva understands why Central Valley megafarms need water, but he said
Supervisor Mike Reagan wants the county to get compensated for money lost from the tax rolls if farm land is flooded for habitat. Landowners should also be compensated, he said. #
http://local.dailyrepublic.net/story_localnews.php?a=news03.txt
More delta restrictions are possible
By Ching Lee, Assistant Editor
Litigation over pumps that send water to
The current case comes more than a month after a federal judge ordered drastic restrictions on water pumped out of the delta to protect the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish. The pumps help supply water to irrigate more than 750,000 acres of farmland and provide drinking water to some 25 million Californians.
U.S. District Count Judge Oliver Wanger, who ruled on the smelt case, heard arguments on Oct. 3 and is expected to issue a written ruling in a few weeks on whether the biological opinion supporting operation of the federal pumps is lawful and adequate to protect two species of salmon and steelhead.
"The Endangered Species Act says they've got to be protected," said Chris Scheuring, managing counsel for the California Farm Bureau Federation's national resources and environmental division, who was in court for the hearing. "The only real issue is whether we've got to shut down the pumps to protect them."
Challenging the biological opinion are several environmental groups. The Farm Bureau, along with a number of agricultural water interests, is defending against the challenge and has been granted intervenor status in the case.
If Wanger throws out the biological opinion to protect the fish, as he did in the smelt case earlier this year, parties to the case will likely go back to court to discuss remedies to the problem. The judge could then impose an interim operating plan until a new biological opinion that meets legal requirements can be developed to help guide future water pumping in the delta.
But development of that new biological opinion could take more than a year, Scheuring said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are already in the process of writing a new and revised report but it will likely not be ready until December 2008, he added.
Even if the judge upholds the current biological opinion, Scheuring said that further litigation over the water projects is likely to continue.
Depending on the outcome, Wanger's decision could further reduce water supplies to farmers who depend on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
"Our concern is that the water projects must continue to reliably deliver irrigation water to our members south of the delta," said Scheuring.
In late August, Wanger ordered delta water deliveries be cut by one-third next year to protect the smelt. That ruling could end up reducing water supplies for farms and homes by 2 million acre-feet. Farmers say such cutbacks will have a devastating effect on crop production and could potentially put thousands of people out of work and some farms out of business.
Unlike the smelt population, which many experts agree has reached a perilously low number, salmon numbers have bounced back in recent years, although the latest annual survey from the National Marine Fisheries Service shows stocks may have declined again.
"There is some hope with respect to the salmon," said Scheuring. "They're still protected by the Endangered Species Act, but they don't seem to be in as dire a set of circumstances as the delta smelt is. So that makes us kind of optimistic that if Judge Wanger were to find the biological opinion for these species inadequate, there will not be the need for drastic new measures to protect salmon, as Judge Wanger found necessary for the protection of smelt."
With the smelt, the court's concern was the problem of the finger-size fish being sucked into the export pumps near
However, some researchers say that while water project operations can affect fish, there are many other factors involved in the health of the delta ecosystem, such as invasive species, toxins, global warming and diversion by other delta water users.
"Our position has been that the science is not clear that the pumps are a direct cause of the decline of the various species," Scheuring said.
The issue with salmon is mainly about habitat and keeping the water cold enough during the spawning season for the species to survive. If more water is needed to elevate river temperatures, then less water will be available for
"The big question for our members in this case is once Judge Wanger rules on this biological opinion, is he then going to order some further restrictions on the operations of the water projects or not," Scheuring said. #
http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=908&ck=8B6DD7DB9AF49E67306FEB59A8BDC52C
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