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

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

Delta Blues Now Available Online

The documentary Delta Blues is now available here for streaming online and to all mobile devices for $4.99:

http://vimeo.com/ondemand/deltablue/.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

Delta Blues at San Francisco Green Film Festival in March

Check back for screening dates and times.

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

Interesting Water Deal

From the Fresno Bee - "Drawn together by water losses due to drought and endangered species protections, two fierce competitors for California's water are trying to cut a rare deal."

Westlands willing to trade away 1/3 of this year's water supply to the Metropolitan Water District (SoCal) in return for a guaranteed amount next year. A wet year makes for strange bedfellows.

Salmon Summit in San Francisco

Here's an article about the summit in the SF Chronicle.

Study backs efforts to save delta fish

From the SF Chron:

A study by the National Academy of Sciences declared Friday that the efforts to save endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by restricting water delivery are "scientifically justified."

Not Enough Jobs and Not Enough Water

Good, balanced radio story about water and jobs in the Central Valley.

Fall Salmon Run Down Again

The Fall Chinook Salmon run looks to be about the same (meaning very bad) or worse than 2008, according to this piece by Matt Weiser in the Bee. Also, it appears that the run is increasingly becoming a hatchery based one, with almost 90% of returning salmon coming from hatcheries - which raises other concerns.

And with three straight years of dismal fall salmon returns, there's a good chance the run could be listed on the Endangered Species Act, at a time when the ESA is facing increasing scrutiny, especially from Central Valley water interests. Depressing news all the way around.

From the Jet Propulsion Lab

NASA Data Reveal Major Groundwater Loss in California

December 14, 2009

PASADENA, Calif. – "New space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California's primary agricultural region -- the Central Valley -- and its major mountain water source -- the Sierra Nevadas -- have lost nearly enough water combined to fill Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir."

More

More evidence that the amount of water used for agriculture in California - from groundwater pumping in the Central Valley to diversions from the Delta - is unsustainable for the long term.

Where the $ for the water bill are going

The $11 billion water bill is a lot of money, but to understand how much it really is and where the money is slotted to go, read this article in the Bee. Stunning amounts and something for virtually every player in the California water power game.

And here's a cool Google map from KQEDhealth.

Major Water Bill Passes, Huge Fight Ahead

An $11 billion bond initiative will go to the voters next November. Expect an epic California political battle: north vs. south, coastal vs. inland, enviros vs. farmers, water districts vs. water districts. The total package may top $40 billion.

Schwarzenegger wants this as his legacy project and will fight very hard for it as he goes out the door next year. He's also pledged to build the peripheral canal, a huge battle within the battle. And this water package is sure to be a big issue in both the Governor and Senate races.

I'll post some of the analysis as it becomes available. Here's coverage from the NYT and LA Times on passage of the package.

Delta Blues will cover many of these issues. Look for it in early 2010.

Op-Ed in Sacramento BEE

My View: Farm, fishing industries can't remain foes in water debate

The author, Larry Collins, is in Delta Blues. Here's an excerpt:

"...California farmers and fishermen are in the same boat, but the two groups are being pitted against each other in rhetoric used by politicians, activists and the media."