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.

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.

Nature Conservancy Endorses Peripheral Canal

The endorsement shows the complexity of the arguments for and against the canal and is another indication that the upcoming political fight over water in California will include some untraditional alliances.

Here's the key quote from the Nature Conservancy: “If we don’t take steps to repair some of the Delta’s natural ecological functions, we have no hope of saving the species that depend on this delicate ecosystem,” said Mike Sweeney, executive director for The Nature Conservancy's California Program. “The Nature Conservancy’s analysis led us to the conclusion that, short of ending water exports from the Delta, a peripheral canal is an essential component to restoring the conditions that Delta species need to survive.”


Also, here's the argument against shutting down the pumps to protect the endangered Delta Smelt.

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.

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.