A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 9, 2008
3. Watersheds –
Delta smelt judge turns attention to troubled salmon
The
Fight over fish could cut water: Protecting steelhead, salmon could further reduce Valley supply
The
Editorial
Cotton versus salmon
Eureka
Editorial
Another view: Delta ecology complexities need study
The Sacramento
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Delta smelt judge turns attention to troubled salmon
The
By
And while it could be weeks before he rules, Judge Oliver Wanger indicated he will consider the economic impact of withholding water from farms and cities already parched from
Endangered species are considered the first priority in conflicts such as these, under federal law.
"It's the law," Wanger said. "We can't just ignore the law because it's convenient or expedient."
But, he added, economic hardships "need to be on the table."
Wanger ruled in April that the federal government's guidelines protecting two species of salmon and steelhead were faulty and must be rewritten.
The new guidelines won't be finished until March. Wanger wants to know how imperiled the fish are and what if anything should be done this year to protect them.
That could mean even more changes in how much water is available for millions of Californians.
The salmon situation is considerably more complicated than the smelts'. Salmon are migratory, living most of their lives in the ocean and returning to inland rivers to spawn as adults.
Less water will be available this year for endangered winter-run chinook salmon, threatened spring-run salmon and threatened steelhead; what water the fish do have may be too warm for their eggs to survive.
Neither side of the legal dispute believes any of the three species are in danger of extinction prior to next spring.
But environmentalists argue the fish have been "beaten, exhausted and all but broken" by the state's vast plumbing system, which sends water from the
"The (water) projects chip away at the fish populations - 1 percent here, 2 percent there," said Michael Wall, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"These projects are slowly bleeding these species."
The fish in question are not to be confused with fall-run chinook, whose rapid decline triggered widespread publicity and fishing closures up and down the West Coast earlier this year. Fall-run salmon are not considered endangered.
The salmon and steelhead species do face similar risks, however: a lack of food in the ocean, water exports and water quality in the Delta, and predatory fish, among others.
The dangers are far worse in a drought year.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation has suggested strategies for the coming months, including conserving as much water as possible in Shasta for the sake of next year's salmon run while also adding 16,000 tons of gravel to rivers for salmon to spawn.
"My feeling is that those actions will be effective" in lessening the harm to fish, said Charles Hanson, a biologist testifying on behalf of water users.
They will not save all the fish, Hanson said. But he doesn't believe the species overall is at immediate risk of extinction, in part because salmon live more than one year, with some age classes in the ocean and safe from the inland dangers.
Environmentalists, however, will ask Wanger for stronger action, including additional cuts in the amount of water pumped out of the south Delta when juvenile fish are nearby.
They originally sued over the water operations in 2004, when the National Marine Fisheries Service ruled that the bureau's plans to increase water deliveries would not jeopardize salmon and steelhead.
Wanger ruled otherwise in April.
The salmon hearings are expected to resume Tuesday.#
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080607/A_NEWS/806070323
Fight over fish could cut water: Protecting steelhead, salmon could further reduce Valley supply
The
By John Ellis
Nearly two months ago, a
Now, the question is what -- if any -- action should be taken to correct the problem.
Attorneys representing environmentalists and the agencies that oversee and depend on the massive Central Valley Project for their water on Friday began what promises to be an extensive debate on that key question.
In a week that saw Gov. Schwarzenegger proclaim a statewide drought and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials announce water-allocation reductions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the ultimate answer could mean even more cutbacks for water users that depend on the Central Valley Project.
That will likely be decided late next week. If Wanger finds something must be done to protect the three fish species, the trial will then turn to that matter.
Environmentalists are seeking four primary measures to address the issue: Increase cold-water releases from
Maintain 1.9 million acre-feet of water in Shasta.
Keep a diversion dam on the
Maintain higher water flows in Clear Creek, a salmon-spawning waterway that flows into the
Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Kate Poole, who participated in Friday's hearing, said the three fish species are being pushed to the edge of extinction.
"It's not clear they will be able to survive these critically dry years," she said. "We need to make sure they get a fighting chance to weather this drought."
The government and its water agency allies think Wanger should do nothing.
Currently, they say, the National Marine Fisheries Service is rewriting a biological report on the Central Valley Project's effects on the steelhead and two salmon species that Wanger invalidated. That should be done by next spring and should address the environmentalists' concerns.
They're also baffled by the environmentalists request to release more water from Shasta, but also maintain 1.9 million acre-feet, said attorney Daniel O'Hanlon, who represents the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, which represents water districts -- including Westlands -- covering more than 2 million acres of farmland.
"We can't make sense of that," he said.
Many of the issues -- as well as the participants -- were similar to those in Wanger's courtroom last year in a case involving the tiny delta smelt.
Wanger threw out a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opinion on management of the delta smelt. Ultimately, his order resulted in less water being sent south from the delta pumps.
But government and water-agency attorneys on Friday argued that while many of the legal issues may mirror that of the delta smelt, there are different issues with the steelhead and salmon species.
One key issue is life span. The delta smelt lives one year, so a population crash could imperil the species. But salmon live four to five years, so while a generation could be wiped out, the long-term viability of the species could still remain intact.
Another issue is the
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/652990.html
Editorial
Cotton versus salmon
Eureka
By Aldaron Laird
The governor has declared that
Of all the usable water behind dams, urban water users consume 20 percent and agricultural users 80 percent. The governor would like to see a 20 percent reduction in urban water use; this would yield only a 4 percent savings in the amount of water now being consumed.
Much more water can be saved by achieving a similar 20 percent reduction in agriculture water use. That saving would be 16 percent!
It is now popular to consider the carbon footprint generated by the energy demands of our way of life and the goods we consume. We need to do the same for water by accounting for how much water is used when we live wherever we choose, and when we grow whatever and wherever we choose.
The water we Californians consume also requires lots of energy to pump, filter, clean and deliver. Depending on where and how we secure that energy, water use has a significant carbon footprint. For example, it takes much more water and energy to keep a 100-square-foot lawn green in
Where you grow plants matters. Hotter and drier areas evaporate more water from the soil, the irrigation system and the plant. Cotton, one our state's major crops, needs a lot of water to grow, yet one of the largest cotton-growing areas in California is located in the hot, dry, southern portion of the Central Valley, an area called Westlands.
The water imported to raise cotton in Westlands comes from the Trinity River, which is a major tributary of the
In this age of climate change, we have our priorities wrong. Perhaps the water in the Trinity should be used to recover and raise a bountiful crop of salmon on the
Raising cotton in a hot dry environment can waste as much as 41 percent of the irrigation water due to evaporation (www.waterfootprint.org). How many salmon could have been raised with that water?
Reassessing our water use priorities will be difficult, but the status quo cannot be maintained and with our climate changing right now, we have no choice. We have no time or water to waste, and
Aldaron Laird is on the board of directors for the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District. He lives in Arcata.#
http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_9527353
Editorial
Another view: Delta ecology complexities need study
The Sacramento
By Mary Snyder
Mary Snyder, district engineer for the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, is responding to the June 1 front-page article "Ecosystem decline tied to ammonia."
All residents of the
As we all search for answers to the decline, some – as reported in The Bee – are looking at ammonia from the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District's wastewater treatment plant discharge as the possible culprit. Yet there is no proven link to confirm this, and a more holistic and scientific examination of the Delta decline needs to continue.
The district is a highly responsible agency focused on environmental stewardship. Our commitment to the environment is demonstrated by our excellent regulatory compliance record and our collaborative efforts with regulators and stakeholders to ensure the long-term sustainability of the entire Sacramento River Watershed.
There is wide agreement that numerous factors affect the Delta ecosystem. The list is significant: invasive species, water diversions, food web disruption, habitat degradation, predation, disease, turbidity, salinity and pesticides may also have a role. For example, the invasion of the overbite clam alone – and its resulting disruption on the Delta smelt's food source – requires much more rigorous study.
To attach the Delta's problems to ammonia from the district's discharge is a tremendous oversimplification. Of more than 70 studies being conducted by the Interagency Ecological Program investigating this issue, only a few involve ammonia. To imply the "simple fix" is to construct and implement a treatment method to remove ammonia from wastewater – not knowing whether it will solve the ecosystem problems – would be bad public policy and a poor use of public funds.
The issues confronting the Delta are complicated and politically charged. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has created an independent "Blue Ribbon Task Force" to develop a Delta Vision and Strategic Plan to address the Delta crisis. However, any solutions developed for the Delta must incorporate sound science and consider all the various factors affecting the ecosystem.
We are encouraged that The Bee is interested in this important issue and suggest continuing investigation to provide readers with a more balanced perspective of all the factors that could be contributing to the decline of the Delta ecosystem.#
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/995475.html
No comments:
Post a Comment