Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
December 1, 2008
1. Top Item -
Who will be Delta's keeper?
Who will be Delta's keeper?
By
It's a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen.
More than 200 agencies have some say on what happens in the vast Delta, and the product of their labors doesn't seem to satisfy anyone, as fish die and the water supply shrinks.
Among all other impending Delta decisions, such as whether to build a peripheral canal, a key question yet to be answered is how the Delta will be governed in the future. Who will be in charge?
During a series of recent meetings with California Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman and his staff,
Chrisman chairs a five-member Cabinet committee that will submit a strategic Delta plan, already approved by a blue-ribbon task force, to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by Dec. 31. The committee may expand on the task force's recommendations; a meeting to gather public comments is scheduled for Friday in
There are signs that at least some local representation will be part of the new governance structure, said Terry Dermody, former San Joaquin County counsel now acting as a water attorney for the county.
Dermody said Chrisman's staff revealed in meetings that it may restructure the Delta Protection Commission to consist of elected officials from five Delta counties, three cities including Stockton, and representatives of three major water agencies for Delta farmers.
The commission - charged with improving farming, wildlife habitat and recreation, as well as governing land use - would work with a higher-level Delta council consisting of five to seven members appointed by the governor.
"Together these groups would develop a plan," Dermody said. "What that all means, we can't be sure."
But he recently said that the state appears to want San Joaquin County to accept some aspects of Delta governance while purposely keeping county leaders uninformed and uninvolved in the region's overarching authority.
The idea of a higher, governor-appointed council, in particular, has concerned some Delta advocates. Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, head of the Stockton-based Restore the Delta advocacy group, recently said that the new structure appears to be top-heavy.
"There's some new ornaments on the Christmas tree, but essentially it's the status quo,"
John Herrick, an attorney for South Delta Water Agency, also drew a CALFED comparison in comments submitted last month.
"If we learned anything from (that) debacle," he wrote, "it should be that putting the regulators in with the regulated, and encouraging them to reach consensus, is the worst possible approach."
Keith Coolidge, a spokesman for Delta Vision, said it wasn't yet clear what the exact structure of the Delta Protection Commission and the governor-appointed Delta council would be.
But he said any proposal would include cooperation and collaboration.
"I think we have an increasing appreciation for the need to work with local governments," he said.#
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081130/A_NEWS/811300313
The California Department of Fish and Game has been casting nets in the Delta for the last couple of weeks. It is not so much about what they catch, as what they don't.
Since 1967, biologists have searched the murky waters of the Delta looking for what is left of the once thriving fish populations. They take detailed notes on everything, from what they catch, where they catch it, to the temperature of the water.
"We sample from
But again, the number of fish the department catches is extremely small.
"What we started noticing were downward trends particularly at the start of 2000, 2001," said Contreas.
It is a phenomenon known as pelagic organism decline -- a sudden and dramatic change in a population. In fact, several species continue to be at record lows.
"We've seen drastic abundance changes in Delta smelt -- end of the year striped bass, longfin smelt, and threadfin shad," said Contreas.
The longfin smelt numbers have been so low they could be put on the endangered species list.
But it is the Delta smelt that gets all the attention. It is only found in the Sacramento Delta. It is a tiny little fish with enormous importance. Scientists and environmentalists believe it is the best indicator of the Delta's overall health. It was listed as a threatened species in 1993 and is currently being considered as a candidate for the endangered species list.
"In the seventies, according to catch data, they used to catch hundreds of smelt in a spot, in one station. It's amazing what they used to catch," said Contreas.
No one really knows what is causing the decline, but scientists suspect everything from pollution, to pesticides, to invasive species, to the millions of gallons of water diverted to the Central Valley and
Earlier this year, a judge ordered a nearly 30 percent reduction in the amount of water being released to
In a worst case scenario, restrictions to protect both Delta smelt and longfin smelt in 2009 could amount to nearly a 50 percent slash in water deliveries from the state's primary water delivery systems.
Researchers are desperately trying to keep the Delta smelt from going extinct.
"On-site we have probably have, maybe about 50,000 fish," said Joan Lindberg, director of the UC Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Lab in Byron.
Lindberg suspects her lab may have nearly as many fish in captivity as are in the wild. Her goal is to preserve the genetic diversity of the species in case it does become extinct. They will soon begin rearing longfin smelt.
The smelt raised there are primarily for research, but may someday provide a back-up plan should the little fish disappear from the wild.
"There is a possibility if the population really looks like it's going to go extinct, that biologists will consider restocking some of these fish," said Lindberg.
But putting the fish into the water now will not necessarily increase the numbers. Lindberg says there will have to be significant improvement in the health of the Delta in order for that to happen.
According to the Department of Fish and Game, there is little sign of that happening. It will wrap up this season's count next month, but does not expect the numbers to change much. With each pull, there is less hope that the haul will show signs that the Delta smelt population is recovering.
"I think you might have to see 10 times as many fish coming in the hauls to say that it looks like it might be coming back," said Lindberg.
And by Lindberg's assessment, that is a very long way off.
"I think that humans have to work hard to repair some of the damages that they've caused in the past and that will take years and years I think." #
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=6527014
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DWR’s California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the SWR Public Affairs Office. For reader’s services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news . DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of California
No comments:
Post a Comment