The Delta has been embroiled in controversy about how to restore
a faltering ecosystem while maintaining its role as the hub of
the state’s water supply.
Issues include improving water system management, estuary health,
conservation efforts to protect the endangered Delta smelt, levee
fragility and the proposed twin tunnels, which will be put on a
statewide ballot in the future.
The Mississippi silverside (Menidia audens[1]) is one of the
most abundant fishes in the San Francisco Estuary and in the
fresh waters of California in general. As the name indicates,
it is not native to the state but was introduced into Clear
Lake, Lake County, in 1967, from which it quickly spread
widely, via the California aqueduct system and through angler
introductions as a bait and forage fish (Moyle 2002). It is a
small fish, 7-12 cm (3-4 inches) adult length but typically
occurs in large schools. Its impact on native fishes is poorly
understood but is most likely negative. This blog tells the
story of how it came to be introduced, as a classic example of
the Frankenstein Effect, where a well-intentioned,
science-based introduction created an out-of-control monster.
Despite having a comprehensive system of natural reserves and
human ingenuity, conservationists estimated that nearly 95% of
the received rainfall in California was diverted to the Pacific
Ocean. The wanton runoff ignited bipartisan outrage …
Although the runoff can be interpreted as an egregious failure
of bureaucracy, water pumping restrictions are informed by
environmental regulations that preserve the Delta’s ecological
integrity. … In effect, the Delta Smelt’s ecological
significance impedes the amount of water that can be pulled
from the Delta for millions of Californians as well as for the
state’s agricultural complex. And herein lies the crux of
California’s water conservation: the increasing gap between a
substantiating ecological collapse and booming economic
infrastructure. -Written by Jun Park is a candidate for a master of
social work at the University of Southern California.
Last summer Governor Newsom released California’s Water Supply
Strategy–which calls for the modernization of our water
management system. We know that the Sacramento Valley continues
to modernize everything we do, from our farms, communities and
businesses, to the way we approach water. These improvements
include adopting improved water efficiency, irrigation systems,
and tools to measure water use. We are planting new varieties
that are more productive and produce more crop per drop. We are
investing millions to improve water delivery systems for the
environment as well as for farms, cities, and disadvantaged
communities.
Solano County supervisors are scheduled Tuesday to receive an
update on the latest Delta tunnel project. “The Delta
Conveyance Project is the latest iteration of an isolated
conveyance by the state Department of Water Resources to remove
freshwater flows from the Delta for use in central and Southern
California,” the staff report to the board states. “The (Delta
Conveyance Project) includes constructing a 45-mile long,
39-foot diameter tunnel under the Delta with new diversions in
the North Delta that have a capacity to divert up to 6,000
cubic feet (of water) per second and operating new conveyance
facilities that would add to the existing State Water Project
infrastructure.”
Federal officials have proposed closing commercial chinook
salmon fishing off the coast of California over concerns for
expected low numbers of fall-run chinook salmon returning to
the Sacramento River this year. The Pacific Fishery Management
Council announced its three alternatives for recreational and
commercial fishing Friday. Ocean recreational fishing from the
Oregon-California border to the U.S.-Mexico border will be
closed in all three proposals, “given the low abundance
forecasts for both Klamath and Sacramento River fall chinook.”
the council said in a news release issued Friday. Commercial
salmon fishing off the coast of California also will be closed,
the council said. Ocean fishing restrictions were also
announced for Oregon and Washington.
As storms swell California’s reservoirs, state water officials
have rescinded a controversial order that allowed more water
storage in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while putting
salmon and other endangered fish at risk. Ten environmental
groups had petitioned the board to rescind its order, calling
it “arbitrary and capricious, contrary to law, and…not
supported by substantial evidence.” The reason for the
state’s reversal, according to the State Water Resources
Control Board, is that conditions in the Delta have changed as
storms boost the snowpack and runoff used to supply water to
cities and farms.
The Biden administration’s move to throw out the Trump-era
biological opinions that govern California’s water flow is
nothing more than a political move to Rep. David Valadao
(R–Hanford). In an upcoming interview on Sunrise FM,
Valadao discussed the history of the biological opinions and
the Congressional investigation into the Biden administration’s
decision. The backstory: The latest biological opinions
which govern the State Water Project and the Central Valley
Project were signed by President Donald Trump in 2019, capping
the process of formulating the new opinions that started under
President Barack Obama. When President Joe Biden took
office two years ago, his administration quickly began the
process of removing the 2019 biological opinions to revert back
to the previous opinions issued in 2008 and 2009.
California’s severely depleted groundwater basins could get a
boost this spring, after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive
order waiving permits to recharge them. State water leaders
hope to encourage local agencies and agricultural districts to
capture water from newly engorged rivers and spread it onto
fields, letting it seep into aquifers after decades of heavy
agricultural pumping. … To pull water from the state’s
network of rivers and canals for groundwater recharge, state
law requires a permit from the State Water Resources Control
Board and Department of Fish and Wildlife. Many local agencies
lacked the permitting during January storms, but this month’s
atmospheric rivers and near record snowpack promises new
opportunities to put water underground.
It’s a familiar scenario: Rising rivers are pinched off from
the flood plains that could have spread, slowed and stored the
sudden abundance of water. Floodwaters break through levees and
leave destruction and heartbreaking loss in their wake. Renewed
frustration and fury enter the public dialogue about “wasted”
water. … River managers use the term “environmental
flows” to describe the water that’s allowed to stay in rivers
to nurture the ecosystem, as opposed to water diverted or
stored for farms, cities or hydropower. While I worked at the
UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, we dove in deep on
environmental flows, calculating an environmental flow
management strategy for every major tributary to the San
Joaquin River, which nourishes the valley that bears its
name. -Written by Ann Willis, California Regional Director
for American Rivers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
restoring and protecting rivers across the country.
Over the past 10 years, California has seen two of the most
severe droughts in a millennium separated by two of the wettest
years on record. This erratic weather, volatile even by
California standards, shattered heat records, killed millions
of trees, fueled explosive wildfires and caused significant
flooding. As California’s changing climate pushes us deeper
into uncharted climate waters, past records are becoming a less
reliable tool for predicting current and future weather
patterns. That’s why Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent decision to
delay the release of 700,000 acre-feet of water, enough to
supply nearly 7 million people for a year, from state
reservoirs into the Sacramento-San Joaquin-River Delta was the
right call. Snowpack from early storms can be lost to dry, hot
weather later this spring. -Written by Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of
the Bay Area Council.
In its evolving effort to meet Congress’s directive that
determinations under the federal Endangered Species Act should
be informed by the “best available scientific and commercial
data” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses Species
Status Assessments “to deliver foundational science” to support
its decisions. While this process does not typically
garner much attention beyond that of the agency, the recent
proposal to list longfin smelt as endangered has highlighted
the SSA’s importance and brought to light some assessment
elements that can be improved. By way of background, the
Service intends the Assessments to provide “focused,
repeatable, and rigorous scientific assessment” that results in
“improved and more transparent and defensible decision making,
and clearer and more concise documents.”
The State Water Resources Control Board named Jay Ziegler,
former external affairs and policy director for the California
Office of The Nature Conservancy, as the new Delta Watermaster.
He succeeds Michael George, who held the position for two
four-year terms. The Watermaster administers water rights
within the legal boundaries of the Sacramento/San Joaquin River
Delta and Suisun Marsh and advises the State Water Board and
the Delta Stewardship Council on related water rights, water
quality and water operations involving the watershed.
… A resident of Davis, Ziegler brings a wealth of
experience to the position. During his 12 years at the
conservancy, he led the agency’s policy engagements on water,
climate and resilience strategies, biodiversity and
environmental and funding initiatives. Previously, he served in
multiple roles at state and federal natural resource
agencies…
California commercial and sports fishers are bracing for the
possibility of no salmon season this year after the fish
population along the Pacific Coast dropped to its lowest point
in 15 years. On Wednesday, wildlife officials announced a low
forecast for the number of the wild adult Chinook (or “king”)
salmon that will be in the ocean during the fishing season that
typically starts in May. The final plan for the commercial and
recreational salmon season will be announced in April.
…Salmon are highly dependent on how much water is available
in their native rivers and streams, especially when they are
very young. Even though the state has gotten a lot of rain and
snow this winter, the population that is now in the ocean was
born in 2020, in the beginning of the state’s current
record-breaking drought. … This year, there will be
about 170,000 adult salmon in the ocean from the Sacramento
River fall run Chinook population, the main group that is
fished commercially in the state and the lowest number since
2008.
California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW)
announced today its plans for this year’s Aquatic Invasive
Plant Control Program in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
its southern tributaries. Starting tomorrow, March 1, DBW will
begin herbicide treatments to control water hyacinth, South
American spongeplant, Uruguay water primrose, Alligator weed,
Brazilian waterweed, curlyleaf pondweed, Eurasian watermilfoil,
hornwort (aka coontail), and fanwort. These aquatic invasive
plants have no known natural controls in the west coast’s
largest estuary, the Delta. They negatively affect the Delta’s
ecosystem as they displace native plants. Continued warm
temperatures help the plants proliferate at high rates.
Clean water is California’s most vital need. Our lives and the
lives of future generations depend on it. Yet when it comes to
protecting the state’s supply, Gov. Gavin Newsom is failing
California. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta provides
drinking water to 27 million Californians, or roughly 70% of
the state’s residents. On Feb. 15, the governor signed an
executive order allowing the State Water Resources Control
Board to ignore the state requirement of how much water needs
to flow through the Delta to protect its health. It’s an
outrageous move right out of Donald Trump’s playbook. Big Ag
and its wealthy landowners, including some of Newsom’s
political financial backers, will reap the benefits while the
Delta suffers.
As drought-weary Californians watched trillions of gallons of
runoff wash into the Pacific Ocean during recent storms, it
underscored a nagging question: Why can’t we save more of that
water for not-so-rainy days to come? But even the rare
opportunity to stock up on the precious resource isn’t proving
enough to unite a state divided on a contentious idea to siphon
water from the north and tunnel it southward, an attempt to
combat the Southwest’s worst drought in more than a millennium.
The California Department of Water Resources said such a tunnel
could have captured a year’s supply of water for more than 2
million people. The proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
administration — one that would cost $16 billion to help 27
million water customers in central and southern California — is
spurring fresh outrage from communities that have fended off
similar plans over four decades, including suggestions to build
other tunnels or a massive canal.
A judge has extended a temporary settlement of a long-running
dispute over California water rights and how the Central Valley
Project and State Water Project manage the Sacramento River
flows. … The opinions address how the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and California Department of Water Resources’ plan
for operating the Central Valley and State Water Projects
affects fish species. The opinions make it possible to send
more water to 20 million farms, businesses and homes in
Southern and Central California via the massive federal and
state water diversion projects, and eliminate requirements such
as mandating extra flows to keep water temperatures from rising
high enough to damage salmon eggs. … A federal
judge approved plans to allow the biological opinions
to remain in effect over the next three years with added
safeguards.
Gov. Gavin Newsom bills himself as a protector of wildlife, so
you wouldn’t think he’d take water from baby salmon and give it
to almonds. Or to pistachios, or cotton or alfalfa. Especially
when California was just drenched with the wettest three-week
series of storms on record and was headed into another powerful
soaking of snow and rain. But Newsom and his water officials
still contend we’re suffering a drought — apparently it’s a
never-ending drought. So, they used that as a reason last week
to drastically cut river flows needed by migrating little
salmon in case the water is needed to irrigate San Joaquin
Valley crops in summer. -Written by columnist George Skelton.
After the first flush of the year saw as much as 95 percent of
daily incoming water to the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta sent
into the San Francisco Bay, a new decision by the state’s water
board this week will reverse course and allow for more water to
be stored throughout the state’s reservoirs. The State
Water Resources Control Board has temporarily waived rules that
required a certain amount of water to be flushed out to the
bay, a decision that comes after the heavy rains California
experienced to start the year. The backstory: On Feb. 13
the California Department of Water Resources and the Bureau of
Reclamation jointly filed a Temporary Urgency Change Petition.
Facing an onslaught of criticism that water was “wasted” during
January storms, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday suspended
environmental laws to give the go-ahead to state officials to
hold more water in reservoirs. The governor’s executive order
authorized the State Water Resources Control Board to “consider
modifying” state requirements that dictate how much water in
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is allowed to flow into San
Francisco Bay. In January, after floodwaters surged into
the bay, farm groups, Central Valley legislators and urban
water providers complained that people and farms were being
short-changed to protect fish. … Environmental activists say
Newsom’s order is another sign that California is shifting
priorities in how it manages water supply for humans and
ecosystems.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order on
Monday to safeguard his state’s water supplies from the effects
of extreme weather. The order will help expand
California’s capacity to capture storm runoff during
wet years by accelerating groundwater recharge projects,
according to the governor’s office. While a string of
storms earlier this winter resulted in California’s wettest
three weeks on record, the Golden State is already experiencing
an unseasonably dry February, according to Newsom’s
order…. In addition, the order directs state agencies to
provide recommendations on California’s drought response by the
end of April — including provisions that may no longer be
necessary.
Representative Josh Harder (CA-9) on Thursday, Feb. 9
reintroduced his Stop the Delta Tunnel Act which prohibits the
Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a federal permit necessary
for the State of California to build the Delta Conveyance
Project, commonly known as the Delta Tunnel. The Delta Tunnel
would ship water from the Central Valley south and would cost
taxpayers $16 billion. The project was first proposed more than
60 years ago. Rep. Harder is a longtime opponent of the Delta
Tunnel project, first voicing his opposition in 2018. The bill
is cosponsored by Reps. Garamendi, DeSaulnier, and Thompson.
A wet month or two triggers something in California under our
current political landscape, a landscape that has been mostly
unchanged for four decades. What is triggered is the reset to
ensure California remains in a drought. Coupled with some of
the greatest water infrastructure in history built to capture
water in order to supply our population and feed it, comes
water managers, political leaders, and laws who manage its
flow. Only in California can you have the ability to save
several years’ worth of water demand, be fortunate enough to
have it met by Mother Nature, and have your fellow man waste it
all. The releasing of water last month brought a bit more of an
outcry from the public than we are used to hearing. -Written by columnist Wayne Western Jr.
The Water Education Foundation has
unveiled an
interactive online tour of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta that offers viewers and readers a broad overview of
the heart of California water – its history and development, its
importance as an ecological resource and water hub and the array
of challenges it faces.
Titled “Exploring the Heart of California Water,” the online
tour, built as a story map, guides readers and viewers through
different facets of the Delta. It includes the Delta’s history
and the people – including the Native American tribes – who have
lived there, the fish and wildlife that depend on its waters and
its role as a crossroads for federal, state and local water
projects.
This beautifully illustrated 24×36-inch poster, suitable for
framing and display in any office or classroom, highlights the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, its place as a center of
farming, its importance as an ecological resource and its
vital role in California’s water supply system.
The text, photos and graphics explain issues related to land
subsidence, levees and flooding, urbanization, farming, fish and
wildlife protection. An inset map illustrates the tidal action
that increases the salinity of the Delta’s waterways.
Our Water 101 Workshop, one of our most popular events, offered attendees the opportunity to deepen their understanding of California’s water history, laws, geography and politics.
Taught by some of the leading policy and legal experts in the state, the workshop was held as an engaging online event on the afternoons of Thursday, April 22 and Friday, April 23.
Deep, throaty cadenced calls —
sounding like an off-key bassoon — echo over the grasslands,
farmers’ fields and wetlands starting in late September of each
year. They mark the annual return of sandhill cranes to the
Cosumnes River Preserve,
46,000 acres located 20 miles south of Sacramento on the edge of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The Water Education Foundation’s Water 101 Workshop, one of our most popular events, offered attendees the opportunity to deepen their understanding of California’s water history, laws, geography and politics.
Taught by some of the leading policy and legal experts in the state, the one-day workshop held on Feb. 20, 2020 covered the latest on the most compelling issues in California water.
McGeorge School of Law
3327 5th Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95817
Registration opens today for the
Water Education Foundation’s 36th annual Water
Summit, set for Oct. 30 in Sacramento. This year’s
theme, Water Year 2020: A Year of Reckoning,
reflects fast-approaching deadlines for the State Groundwater
Management Act as well as the pressing need for new approaches to
water management as California and the West weather intensified
flooding, fire and drought. To register for this can’t-miss
event, visit our Water Summit
event page.
Registration includes a full day of discussions by leading
stakeholders and policymakers on key issues, as well as coffee,
materials, gourmet lunch and an outdoor reception by the
Sacramento River that will offer the opportunity to network with
speakers and other attendees. The summit also features a silent
auction to benefit our Water Leaders program featuring
items up for bid such as kayaking trips, hotel stays and lunches
with key people in the water world.
Our 36th annual
Water Summit,
happening Oct. 30 in Sacramento, will feature the theme “Water
Year 2020: A Year of Reckoning,” reflecting upcoming regulatory
deadlines and efforts to improve water management and policy in
the face of natural disasters.
The Summit will feature top policymakers and leading stakeholders
providing the latest information and a variety of viewpoints on
issues affecting water across California and the West.
One of California Gov. Gavin
Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade
Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within
weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that
Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.
That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach”
on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded
floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.
Bruce Babbitt, the former Arizona
governor and secretary of the Interior, has been a thoughtful,
provocative and sometimes forceful voice in some of the most
high-profile water conflicts over the last 40 years, including
groundwater management in Arizona and the reduction of
California’s take of the Colorado River. In 2016, former
California Gov. Jerry Brown named Babbitt as a special adviser to
work on matters relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
the Delta tunnels plan.
In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago as a young economist with the Rand Corporation, then later as deputy general manager with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and finally as executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. In December, the 66-year-old will retire from ACWA.
One of our most popular events, our annual Water 101 Workshop
details the history, geography, legal and political facets
of water in California as well as hot topics currently facing the
state.
Taught by some of the leading policy and legal experts in the
state, the one-day workshop on Feb. 7 gave attendees a
deeper understanding of the state’s most precious natural
resources.
Optional Groundwater Tour
On Feb. 8, we jumped aboard a bus to explore groundwater, a key
resource in California. Led by Foundation staff and groundwater
experts Thomas
Harter and Carl Hauge, retired DWR chief hydrogeologist, the
tour visited cities and farms using groundwater, examined a
subsidence measuring station and provided the latest updates
on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
McGeorge School of Law
3327 5th Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95817
There’s going to be a new governor
in California next year – and a host of challenges both old and
new involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water.
So what should be the next governor’s water priorities?
That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants
during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education
Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.
The Colorado River Basin is more
than likely headed to unprecedented shortage in 2020 that could
force supply cuts to some states, but work is “furiously”
underway to reduce the risk and avert a crisis, Bureau of
Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman told an audience of
California water industry people.
During a keynote address at the Water Education Foundation’s
Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento, Burman said there is
opportunity for Colorado River Basin states to control their
destiny, but acknowledged that in water, there are no guarantees
that agreement can be reached.
Farmers in the Central Valley are broiling about California’s plan to increase flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems to help struggling salmon runs avoid extinction. But in one corner of the fertile breadbasket, River Garden Farms is taking part in some extraordinary efforts to provide the embattled fish with refuge from predators and enough food to eat.
And while there is no direct benefit to one farm’s voluntary actions, the belief is what’s good for the fish is good for the farmers.
Our annual Water Summit, being held Sept. 20, will
feature critical conversations about water in California and
the West revolving around the theme: Facing
Reality from the Headwaters to the
Delta.
As debate continues to swirl around longer-term remedies for
California’s water challenges, the theme reflects the need for
straightforward dialogue about more immediate, on-the-ground
solutions.
Brenda Burman, commissioner of the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, will give the keynote lunch address
at our 35th annual conference, the Water
Summit, to be held Sept. 20 in Sacramento.
The daylong event will feature critical conversations about water
in California and the West revolving around the
theme: Facing Reality from the Headwaters to the
Delta.
For more than 100 years, invasive
species have made the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta their home,
disrupting the ecosystem and costing millions of dollars annually
in remediation.
The latest invader is the nutria, a large rodent native to South
America that causes concern because of its propensity to devour
every bit of vegetation in sight and destabilize levees by
burrowing into them. Wildlife officials are trapping the animal
and trying to learn the extent of its infestation.
Deep, throaty cadenced calls —
sounding like an off-key bassoon — echo over the grasslands,
farmers’ fields and wetlands starting in late September of each
year. They mark the annual return of sandhill cranes to the
Cosumnes River Preserve,
46,000 acres located 20 miles south of Sacramento on the edge of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
One of our most popular events, Water 101 details the history,
geography, legal and political facets of water in California
as well as hot topics currently facing the state.
Taught by some of the leading policy and legal experts in the
state, the one-day workshop gives attendees a deeper
understanding of the state’s most precious natural resource.
McGeorge School of Law
3285 5th Ave, Classroom C
Sacramento, CA 95817
Does California need to revamp the way in which water is dedicated to the environment to better protect fish and the ecosystem at large? In the hypersensitive world of California water, where differences over who gets what can result in epic legislative and legal battles, the idea sparks a combination of fear, uncertainty and promise.
Saying that the way California manages water for the environment “isn’t working for anyone,” the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shook things up late last year by proposing a redesigned regulatory system featuring what they described as water ecosystem plans and water budgets with allocations set aside for the environment.
Deepen your knowledge of California water issues at our popular
Water
101 Workshop and jump aboard the bus the next day to
visit the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a 720,000-acre
network of islands and canals that supports the state’s water
system and is California’s most crucial water and ecological
resource.
This issue of Western Water discusses the CALFED Bay-Delta
Program and what the future holds as it enters a crucial period.
From its continued political viability to the advancement of best
available science and the challenges of fulfilling the ROD, the
near future will feature a lively discussion that will play a
significant role in the program’s future.
This issue of Western Water examines the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta as it stands today and the efforts by government
agencies, policy experts, elected officials and the public at
large to craft a vision for a sustainable future.
There are multiple Delta Vision processes underway and a decision
on the future of the Delta will be made in the next two years.
Unlike past planning efforts that focused primarily on water
resource issues and the ecosystem, these current efforts are
expanding to include land use planning, recreation, flood
management, and energy, rail and transportation infrastructure.
How – or if – all these competing demands can be accommodated is
the question being considered.
This printed copy of Western Water examines the Delta through the
many ongoing activities focusing on it, most notably the Delta
Vision process. Many hours of testimony, research, legal
proceedings, public hearings and discussion have occurred and
will continue as the state seeks the ultimate solution to the
problems tied to the Delta.
This printed issue of Western Water provides an overview of the
idea of a dual conveyance facility, including questions
surrounding its cost, operation and governance
This printed issue of Western Water looks at some of
the pieces of the 2009 water legislation, including the Delta
Stewardship Council, the new requirements for groundwater
monitoring and the proposed water bond.
This printed issue of Western Water examines science –
the answers it can provide to help guide management decisions in
the Delta and the inherent uncertainty it holds that can make
moving forward such a tenuous task.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues
associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the
water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of
whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they
might be provided.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the
Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at
improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying
California’s long-term water supply reliability.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
explores the history and development of the federal Central
Valley Project (CVP), California’s largest surface water delivery
system. In addition to the project’s history, the guide describes
the various CVP facilities, CVP operations, the benefits the CVP
brought to the state and the CVP Improvement Act (CVPIA).
The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem
needs freshwater to survive. How much water and where it comes
from is a longstanding debate that is flaring up as the state
embarks on an updated water quality plan for the Bay-Delta.
The Delta Plan is a comprehensive management plan for the
Sacramento San
Joaquin Delta intended to help the state meet the coequal
goals of water reliability and ecosystem restoration.
The Delta
Stewardship Council, which oversees the Delta Plan, adopted a
final version in May 2013 after three years of study and public
meetings. Once completed, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan could
be incorporated into the Delta Plan.
15-minute DVD that graphically portrays the potential disaster
should a major earthquake hit the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
“Delta Warning” depicts what would happen in the event of an
earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale: 30 levee breaks,
16 flooded islands and a 300 billion gallon intrusion of salt
water from the Bay – the “big gulp” – which would shut down the
State Water Project and Central Valley Project pumping plants.
30-minute DVD that traces the history of the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation and its role in the development of the West. Includes
extensive historic footage of farming and the construction of
dams and other water projects, and discusses historic and modern
day issues.
Water truly has shaped California into the great state it is
today. And if it is water that made California great, it’s the
fight over – and with – water that also makes it so critically
important. In efforts to remap California’s circulatory system,
there have been some critical events that had a profound impact
on California’s water history. These turning points not only
forced a re-evaluation of water, but continue to impact the lives
of every Californian. This 2005 PBS documentary offers a
historical and current look at the major water issues that shaped
the state we know today. Includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with
background information, historic timeline and a teacher’s lesson.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how
non-native invasive animals can alter the natural ecosystem,
leading to the demise of native animals. “Unwelcome Visitors”
features photos and information on four such species – including
the zerbra mussel – and explains the environmental and economic
threats posed by these species.
This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how
non-native invasive plants can alter the natural ecosystem,
leading to the demise of native plants and animals. “Space
Invaders” features photos and information on six non-native
plants that have caused widespread problems in the Bay-Delta
Estuary and elsewhere.
The importance of the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta to all Californians from Redding to San Diego is the theme
of this 60-minute program hosted by actor Timothy Busfield of
“thirtysomething.” Produced in 1998 and updated in 1999, the
program is designed to teach the public about where and what the
Delta is, its importance to farms, cities and the environment,
the history of its development and the options now being
discussed by CALFED – the joint state-federal government effort
to solve water supply and environmental issues.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
Overseen by the California Department of Water Resources,
California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the Delta Risk Management Strategy evaluated
the sustainability of the
Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and assessed major risks from floods, seepage,
subsidence and earthquakes, sea level rise and climate change.
The critical condition of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has
prompted the question of how it can continue to serve as a source
of water for 25 million people while remaining a viable
ecosystem, agricultural community and growing residential center.
Developing a “dual conveyance” system of continuing to use Delta
waterways to convey water to the export pumps but also building a
new pipeline or canal to move some water supplies around the
Delta is an issue of great scrutiny.
Consider the array of problems facing the Sacramento- San Joaquin
Delta for too long and the effect can be nearly overwhelming.
Permanently altered more than a century ago, the estuary -
arguably the only one of its kind – is an enigma to those outside
its realm, a region embroiled in difficulties that resist simple,
ready-made solutions.
