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.

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

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.

Selenium in the Delta and Bay

Good article (with useful charts) by Mike Taugher in the Contra Costa about the problem of selenium in the Delta and San Francisco Bay.

Give the Delta a Voice! Rally

A rally on the Capitol steps in Sacramento on July 7th.

Delta gates proposal builds support, but environmental impact remains murky

From Matt Weiser at the Bee:

"A plan to build gates across two Delta channels has strong support from state and federal leaders, though little is known about how the project would affect the environment.

The so-called "two gates" project would build moveable gates across Old River and Connection Slough in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta."

Big backer is the Metro Water District of Southern California. More...

Peripheral Canal Is Best Strategy To Save Delta Ecosystem, Ensure Reliable Water Supply - PPIC

The Public Policy Institute of California releases a new report suggesting a peripheral anal is the best solution to help save the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. The PPIC is perceived as one of the few actors in the Delta battle that is truly independent and their voice carries considerable weight.

Needless to say, this issue will loom large in the upcoming documentary.

Here's the press release. The report can also be downloaded there.

The San Francisco Chronicle coverage is here.

Here's Dan Walters take on the report.

Huge bond plan to revamp state water system

This piece in the SF Chronicle rolls out the effort by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Dianne Feinstein for a bipartisan plan to solve the state's water woes. It seems to have a taste for everyone on all sides of the storage, irrigation and environmental issues, but at $9 billion is it realistic?

Trucking Salmon Around the Delta

California Fish and Game is trucking salmon smolt from Northern California fish hatcheries around the Delta - and the dams, predators, and massive pumps that impede their journey to the sea. The smolt are acclimated in net fish pens and then set free in San Francisco Bay.

Here's a short video of the process, with more in the upcoming documentary:

Salmon fishing off California, Oregon banned

A sad day for commercial salmon fishermen and all the coastal people and businesses that depend on them. While some blame "ocean conditions," the experts I've talked to say that is but one of many things gone wrong for the salmon population. Troubles in the Delta are also at the top of the list and we'll investigate them for the documentary.

Here's the article in the SF Chronicle.

California begins study of canal's effect on delta

The study is designed to see whether a "peripheral canal," an engineered waterway that would go around the most environmentally sensitive area of the delta, is a viable solution to some of the delta's troubles.

Back in 1982, there was an epic political fight over the question of a similar canal that was eventually rejected by California voters. The study is supposed to take 30 months, which seems like a long time for a region in crisis.

More on the DWR website.

California's water war heating up

Excellent column in the Sacramento Bee by political reporter Dan Walters. Lays out the political template of the story with some amusing anecdotes from past water wars thrown in.