Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
March 18, 2008
1. Top Items
Environmental review to study impact of peripheral canal on Delta - Stockton Record
Agency to analyze options for Delta; State panel's study will look at effects of building a canal, other methods of moving water to East Bay - Contra Costa Times
State starts meetings on future of Delta - Central Valley Business Times
Comments about water plan welcomed - Sacramento Bee
Environmental review to study impact of peripheral canal on Delta
By Alex Breitler, staff writer
The environmental review will examine building a canal to carry
"It's a very long, deliberative process, and we want to get started on it now," said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources.
The study would be a step toward completing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a document that will set forth fish habitat conservation strategies for water users. By changing how water is sent through or around the Delta, "we can much better protect fish than what we're doing today," said Jerry Johns, deputy director for Water Resources.
Some fish populations in the Delta have crashed at least in part due to the large export pumps near
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called in late February for the conservation plan to be completed quickly. On the canal question, he presented four options: building a canal, not building a canal, "armoring" Delta islands to make them suitable for transporting water or some combination.
Opponents of a canal say it would divert most of the fresh water that normally would flow into the Delta, turning the estuary into a stagnant swamp. It also would reduce incentives to strengthen levees, they say, making floods of low-lying Delta islands more likely.
The canal is the most controversial issue but not the only one surrounding
State officials also announced a series of meetings on flood protection and emergency response in the Delta. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/A_NEWS/803180309/-1/A_NEWS
Agency to analyze options for Delta; State panel's study will look at effects of building a canal, other methods of moving water to East Bay
Contra Costa Times – 3/18/08
By Mike Taugher, staff writer
Plans to build a peripheral canal to divert water around the Delta took a key step forward Monday when the Department of Water Resources launched a 30-month study on how to stabilize unreliable water supplies.
The environmental analysis will examine the effects of building a canal along with other methods of getting water from the Sacramento River to the
The study comes as state officials search with increasing urgency for a fix to the Delta's myriad problems, which include collapsing fish populations, increasingly unreliable water supplies and aging levees that could fail and cause flooding while also jeopardizing water deliveries.
Since 2006, water agencies, regulators and some environmentalists have been meeting to craft a "Bay-Delta Conservation Plan," which would relieve water agencies of onerous endangered species requirements in exchange for a long-term commitment to help recover dwindling fish populations.
In a sign of the urgency with which state officials view the Delta's problems, the analysis of the plan is being launched even though the plan is not complete and its participants have not agreed on a solution.
Lester Snow, the state's top water official, said the two efforts will be closely coordinated and that starting the analysis now rather than waiting for the planning effort to be finished will speed a solution.
"We need to get started on the official processes," said Snow, the Department of Water Resources director.
Water agencies were supportive of the move to start the study, but some environmentalists say it might be premature.
"The worst thing that could happen would be to take the analysis of conveyance options out of a public stakeholder forum and put it solely in the hands of DWR," said Ann Hayden, a water policy analyst at Environmental Defense and a participant in the conservation plan negotiations.
Other environmentalists contend that not only is the study too early but that the conservation plan is a bad idea.
"The process itself is an effort to circumvent the Endangered Species Act," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
For decades, state water officials have grappled with how to balance the state's thirst, which in large part depends on water delivered from the Delta, and the health of the West Coast's largest estuary.
So far, those efforts have been marked by failure. For several years now, several Delta fish populations have been plummeting, and one species, Delta smelt, is hovering near extinction.
Meanwhile, Delta water deliveries, which have reached record levels in recent years, were cut last year by a federal judge to protect the smelt.
Water agencies fear that the court-imposed cuts might never be restored, meaning the limit on Delta water supplies might have already been reached and even exceeded.
Snow said it is more important now to get reliable, predictable water supplies from the Delta than any particular amount.
A canal would reduce the freshwater flow into the Delta and could increase pollution. But state officials contend it might be the best way to protect fish because it would reduce the number of fish killed at the Delta pumps near
For openers, the analysis will look at four methods of getting water from the Sacramento River to south of the Delta: a peripheral canal; a "dual conveyance" option that combines a canal and existing pumps; fortifying the levees along Delta channels to move water through the Delta; and continuing the status quo. #
State starts meetings on future of Delta
The future of
To address the possible economic disaster, the Department of Water Resources on Monday announced a series of meetings that is says will shape the future of the Delta.
The DWR says the meetings will start the public process to study the environmental impacts of a Delta conservation plan, implement new statewide water conservation initiatives, and strengthen emergency response plans for the Delta.
“The Delta is a great natural treasure and a vital link in the state’s water system, but it is teetering on the edge of collapse,” says DWR Director Lester Snow. “To avert an ecological disaster and ensure reliable water supplies for Californians now and in the future, we must act now.”
DWR says it will prepare a joint Environmental Impact Report/Statement (EIR/EIS) for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan in cooperation with federal agencies.
DWR will hold a public informational workshop on Monday, March 24, to discuss the scope and timeline of the environmental review process, the collaborative efforts involving other agencies and stakeholders, and opportunities for public participation and involvement. Mr. Snow and other project team members will be present.
The meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Resources Building Auditorium,
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is a collaborative effort by state and federal agencies and other groups to develop a conservation plan for the Delta aimed at addressing the current conflict between the protection of at-risk fish species and water supply, the DWR says.
While the plan will focus on the fish/water supply issues in the context of broad ecosystem protection principles, it will also address habitat restoration and management, other ecological problems including invasive species and toxic pollutants, and improve the way state and federal water systems operate, the department says.
“Increasing water conservation is an essential element of fixing the Delta,” the DWR says.
The California Water Plan Advisory Committee will discuss Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan for a comprehensive Delta solution including strategies for increasing urban water conservation during the second day of its March 20-21 meeting.
It is scheduled for Friday, March 21, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel,
The Department of Water Resources also says a comprehensive emergency response plan is critical to the sustainability of the Delta. It claims that a natural disaster could cripple water deliveries to 25 million Californians, millions of acres of farmland, threaten lives and property, destroy vital infrastructure and result in serious economic consequences.
DWR in cooperation with the Delta Protection Commission is scheduling a public workshop in the Delta to discuss options and receive public input on Delta emergency response actions.
It is scheduled for Thursday, April 10 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Courtland Auditorium,
In addition, numberous “scoping” meetings on the Delkta Conservation Plan have been scheduled:
• April 28 –
10 a.m. at the
• April 29 –
6 p.m. at the
• April 30 –
6 p.m. at the
• May 5 –
6 p.m. at the San Joaquin Farm Bureau,
• May 6 –
6 p.m. at the Santa Clara Valley Water District office, 5700 Almaden Expressway.
• May 7 – Los Banos
6 p.m. at the Los Banos Public Services Department, Senior Center-Miller & Lux Building, 830 6th Street.
• May 8 –
1 p.m. at the Junipero Serra State Building, 320 West Fourth, Carmel Room 225.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=8144
Comments about water plan welcomed
By Matt Weiser, staff writer
The conservation goal was set partly in response to deteriorating environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which provides a portion of the drinking water enjoyed by 25 million Californians. Court-ordered Delta pumping cutbacks have reduced those water deliveries this year.
The California Water Plan Advisory Committee, which reports to the Department of Water Resources, will discuss the conservation target at its meeting Friday in
DWR Deputy Director Mark Cowin said the state's primary tool to achieve the conservation target will be grants and incentives to local urban water agencies. But it will also consider new legislation that would allow DWR to impose regulations to meet the goal.
For more information, visit www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/ or call (916) 653-7101. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/793374.html
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