California's water wars reach 'new level of crazy' this year

Good piece by Mark Grossi in the Fresno Bee about this year's version of the "crazy" California Water Wars, which will only escalate as we exit the (not very) rainy season. A lot of these same issues are covered in the Delta Blues documentary - they just keep rolling through every few years. This year's historic drought is likely to make everything worse for fish and farmers, and the impact will be felt for years.

California officials forecast ‘zero’ water deliveries

From the Sac Bee's Matt Weiser:

"State officials announced Friday that 29 water agencies serving 25 million people across California can expect “zero” water deliveries from the State Water Project this summer because of the worsening drought.

Although that delivery projection could change, it is the first time a “zero allocation” forecast has been made in the 54-year history of the State Water Project, which is operated by theCalifornia Department of Water Resources and typically delivers Sierra snowmelt to cities and farms throughout the state."

This will have a huge impact on farms and fish in the Delta and the entire state of California for years to come. Unless it rains, starting now.  

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/31/6119042/california-officials-forecast.html#storylink=cpy

KQED Forum Program on the Delta

Delta Blues DVD

Here's the link for today's program on KQED, which focused on the release of the Brown Administration's environmental plan for the Delta:

It's hard to believe, but I started this blog six years ago, at the beginning of the production of Delta Blues. The documentary was completed and went out on the film festival circuit in 2011, but I've always regretted not staying with it longer and making it a more complete film.

Time and money ran out,  but this story, as today's Forum broadcast shows, is far from over.

New tunnel plan reduces footprint and cost, but may impact sandhill cranes

From the LA Times:

"The redesign shifts the northern portion of the tunnel system a few miles to the east, away from the towns of Hood and Courtland and closer to Interstate 5. It also shortens the tunnel's length by five miles, to 30 miles, and slashes the size of a water storage area near the diversion point from 750 acres to 40 acres.

The redesign cuts the footprint of permanent facilities by about half, to 1,851 acres, and moves some land uses from private to state-owned lands."

State says delta tunnel benefits exceed costs by billions

From the LA Times. The economic analysis says that the $25 billion tunnel project will actually come out ahead by $5 billion in a cost/benefit analysis.

And there's this:

"The report also concluded the tunnel project would generate $83.5 billion in statewide business activity over its 50-year life by averting further water delivery cuts and creating construction and maintenance jobs."

Opponents of the tunnel project are more than a little skeptical. 

Westlands Water District Files Lawsuit Against Delta Plan

Classic opening quote from the story:

Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, began his presentation in the public comment period of the Delta Stewardship Council meeting on May 16 by stating, "Good morning, welcome to the resumption of California's water wars."

Seems not many happy with the latest "comprehensive management plan" for the Delta.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/05/28/18737482.php

Tunneling under California's Bay Delta water wars

High Country News looks at the latest on the Delta with Jerry Brown's "I want to get shit done" press conference in July where he announced that he wanted not just one, but two tunnels under the Delta to transfer water downstate. Will it solve the problem of delivering enough water to farms and cities south of the Delta without destroying the fish population? It remains to be seen, and expect many more years of debate, lawsuits and rancor in California's most persistent water war.

Socal Water War

Not the Delta  (although the Delta should be mentioned as part of the overall California water scheme), but an interesting piece in the New York Times on the fight over water in Southern California, particularly in San Diego. 

Little Knowledge of the Delta in New Study

Statewide survey finds 78 percent clueless about Delta

I always thought ignorance about the Delta was high (it's one of the reasons I made the documentary), but this is stunning.

Here's the article in The Record.

DVD Available

After a film festival run and educational sales window, Delta Blues is available for purchase here for $14.95.

Judge Assails Delta Smelt Scientists

Article from the New York Times about increasing criticism of scientists in the Interior Department, particularly two scientists involved with the Delta Smelt Biological Opinion.  Judge Oliver Wanger, who's  issued most of the crucial judicial opinions regarding the Delta and who is scheduled to retire next month, went after  two scientists in particular for their work on the Delta Smelt, reportedly calling them deceitful zealots.

Worth a read.

Pacific Institute Report on the Recent CA Drought

The report, Impacts of the California Drought from 2007 to 2009:Surprising Outcomes for California's Agriculture, Energy, and Environment,  , analyzes the impact of the drought on the farming community, the environment and hydroelectric power. A quick read indicates that the impact on Central Valley Farming was less than expected, the impact on the environment (including the Delta region), was as bad or worse than most observers thought, and that Californians paid more for power because of the drought. 


Many of these issues are covered in Delta Blues (which is scheduled for release on DVD this summer), and Peter Gleick, the President of the Pacific Institute, is one of the primary characters in the documentary. 


Click on the link above for a copy of the full report or an executive summary.  

PBS Documentary on Salmon

Salmon: Running the Gauntlet, aired on PBS's Nature series a couple of weeks ago. It's a look at salmon troubles in the Columbia River Basin and the efforts to stop their steep decline. Nicely shot, with some terrific underwater footage, it touches on some of the politics of salmon, but not in great depth.

While many of the issues are similar to the ongoing problems in the Delta, there are also many key differences. In the Columbia Basin, it's more of a fight over dams impeding the salmon's journey upriver to their spawning grounds, while in the Delta it's a fight over adequate water flows, and not just for salmon.

You can watch the whole episode here.

BDCP Plan Blasted By Fed Panel

The Bay-Delta Conservation Plan was always a tough task - putting together environmentalists, government agencies and water users to come up with a comprehensive plan for the immense amount of water flowing through the Delta and utilized for agriculture and SoCal water supplies, not to mention the health of the Bay-Delta ecosystem.

The National Research Council slammed the effort yesterday, especially the BDCP's advocacy of a new "conveyance system," which means a peripheral canal or tunnel. California had close to record snowfall this past winter and some of the urgency has seeped out of efforts to fix the Delta, but this is a problem that won't go away and the longer the delay, the more it's going to cost and the more damage to all of the state's water users, human and otherwise.

Read more here from the SF Chron.

Interested in the BDCP?

This landed in my inbox. Note the live webcast link:

Natural Resources Secretary, John Laird, and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, David J. Hayes, will gather with stakeholders and the public to discuss the challenges and process for meeting the BDCP's dual goals of ecosystem restoration and water supply reliability, and their commitment to completing a habitat conservation plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that achieves these goals.

Natural Resources Deputy Secretary, Dr. Jerry Meral, will provide an update on the BDCP since the November 18, 2010 Working Draft of the BDCP, the process for resolution of key features of the draft plan, and important environmental analysis needed before a final BDCP may be approved.

   

PLEASE JOIN US for a PUBLIC MEETING 

Monday, April 25, 2011

 Tsakopoulos Library Galleria

828 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

1:00 - 5:00pm

 Click here to view the agenda.

A live webcast of the meeting will be available at http://cawater.rmxpres.com/webcast/data/dwr04252011/msh.htm 

SFGate: Delta fish may be too far gone to save, plan hints

A grim assessment.

Earlier : SFGate: First Delta Draft Out Today

From the article: "The preliminary plan is one of seven to be released this year by the Delta Stewardship Council, which has until Jan. 1 to finalize a comprehensive, 50-year plan for the estuary. The overarching goals are two-fold: revitalizing the delta's ecosystem while ensuring water for millions of Californians and some of the most fertile agricultural land in the world - a balance that has eluded policymakers for decades."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/13/MNM21HKUVI.DTL#ixzz1DxaTtlCd

Delta Blues at San Francisco Green Film Festival in March

Check back for screening dates and times.

Two NYT articles on the Delta

The first covers the recent decision by Judge Wanger that criticizes the science work of the Fish and Wildlife Service. He calls for continued protection for the Delta Smelt but says the Biological Opinion is "arbitrary, capricious and unlawful." More court action and confusion sure to come.

The second tries to give the overall Delta situation a thorough analysis and turns out to be mostly confusing. It's a tough subject to cover in the typical newspaper length, especially because it is never ending.

Bay Area coalition calls delta plan a water grab

Good overview in the SF Chronicle about the progress of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the ongoing issues with the Delta. 

Stealth State Plan Would End Salmon Fishing in California

Zeke Grader, the Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, has a blog entry on sfgate.com that's causing a stir about the future of the Delta and salmon fishing in California. Worth a read.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/zgrader/detail?entry_id=73372#ixzz10wfo4MFr