Letters on Dueling Proposals

The following are copies of the two letters sent by Restore the Delta to State Sen. Don Perata and Governor Schwarzenegger. Use the content frame your own letters, not only to Perata and Schwarzenegger, but also to your own Assembly Member and State Senator.

Letter to Don Perata:

September 26, 2007

The Honorable Don Perata
President pro Tempore of the Senate
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Regarding SB 1002 and SB 2xx

Dear President pro Tempore Perata:

On behalf of the Restore the Delta Campaign, we are writing to express our support for SB 1002 and SB 2x, as part of a comprehensive water package that will help to restore the California Delta, while producing the most water for our neighbors throughout California for the least cost.

First and foremost, supporters of the Restore the Delta Campaign are happy that funds for Delta restoration in the aforementioned are not tied to an alternative conveyance system for moving water around the Delta. The reemergence of the peripheral canal or pipe is a shift back to a dated paradigm – one that is being dressed up as the answer to environmental sustainability and restoration for the Delta. In truth, by diverting the last major fresh water source around the California Delta, the construction and operation of the peripheral canal would destroy the region’s ecosystem, economy, and communities.

Senator Cogdill, Senator Ackerman, and Assemblymember Villines recently introduced a $9.1 billion bond proposal (SB 3xx). Their proposal would allocate over $1.9 billion for support of water agencies working toward the construction of such an alternative conveyance system. We are 100% opposed to (and will encourage voters across California to reject) any water bond, such as SB 3xx, that promotes this type of alternative conveyance, even if it promises other funding for supposed ecosystem restoration of the California Delta. To put it plainly, the Delta cannot be restored if the Sacramento River is diverted from the Delta. And the promise of ecosystem restoration in trade for new conveyance exemplifies a disingenuous concern for the fate of the Pacific Coast’s most important estuary.

In addition, the Restore the Delta campaign is distressed to learn that the language in SB 3xx moves to revoke the area of origin for the Bay/Delta estuary and all water users within it. We believe that it is an attempt to repeal the Robie decision in D-1641, and would be devastating for the California Delta’s economic and environmental future.

In the twenty-first century, voters expect the state to invest resources to address ecosystem health in addition to water supply reliability in the most cost effective manner possible. The residents of California expect real value for bond and tax dollar given to their government.

We urge you to continue leading the legislature toward embracing twenty-first century water management practices in California – practices based on water recycling, ground water desalinization, and conservation. We believe that SB 1002 and SB 2xx will help to ensure the future of California’s water needs, while sustaining and restoring the California Delta.

Sincerely,

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Campaign Director
Restore the Delta

President pro Tempore of the Senate
The Honorable Don Perata
Senator.Perata@sen.ca.gov

Fax: (916) 327-1997

Letter to Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: SB 2xx and SB 1002 (Perata) – Request for Signature

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

On behalf of the Restore the Delta Campaign, we are writing to request your signature on SB 1002 and SB 2xx by Senate President Perata. SB 1002 would allocate bond funds from voter-passed Propositions 84, 1E, and 50 to protect the California Delta’s ecosystem and to improve the state’s water supply reliability. SB 2xx would help to promote water self-sufficiency within each region of California.

The idea of a peripheral canal or alternative conveyance system around the California Delta was first proposed in the 1960’s and was rejected by voters for the very good reason that it would do more harm than good to the California Delta. Canal proponents are ignoring the current plight of the most important estuary and flyway region on the Pacific Coast, as they cling to the last century’s science and engineering concepts as the answer for current water needs. The reemergence of the peripheral canal is a shift back to a dated paradigm – one that is being dressed up as the answer to environmental sustainability and restoration for the Delta. In truth, by diverting the last major fresh water source around the California Delta, the peripheral canal will destroy the region’s ecosystem, economy, and communities.

In the twenty-first century, voters expect the state to invest resources to address ecosystem health in addition to water supply reliability in the most cost effective manner possible. The residents of California expect real value for bond and tax dollar given to their government.

SB 1002 provides $611 million to improve Delta habitat and infrastructure, including much needed repairs for levees that protect Delta residents, and the drinking water supply for our neighbors in other parts of the state. SB 1002 takes an immediate approach to managing California’s water crisis. The bill will direct funds to improve emergency response in the event of a catastrophic earthquake or flood in the Delta. SB 1002 offers real and immediate value for the dollar.

In addition, numerous studies have shown that increases in water use efficiency can more than make up for court imposed cutbacks that may be imposed to restore the Delta’s fisheries. The Pacific Institute calculates that by 2030, total water use in the state could decline by 20 percent through sound conservation practices, even as the population and the economy continue to grow.

SB 1002 will allocate funds to implement “no regrets” ecosystem restoration actions to improve conditions for the Delta smelt and other species. Nearly $60 million will also be appropriated for groundwater clean-up to improve local and regional drinking water supply in areas of water need. Developing regional drinking water supplies is an essential step to lessening state-wide dependence on the Delta.

We urge you to lead by promoting twenty-first century water management practices in California – practices based on water recycling, ground water desalinization, and conservation. We urge you to sign SB 1002 and SB 2xx to ensure the future of California’s water needs, while sustaining and restoring the California Delta.

Thank you for considering our views.

Respectfully yours,

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Campaign Director
Restore the Delta

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

E-Mail: Go to www.gov.mail.ca.gov

Fax: 916-445-4633 -- Capitol Office: 916-445-2841

Greenwashing and the Governor

I have ALMOST dropped out of site. But, the following arrived in my email this afternoon and it is just too important not to pass along, especially since we have a Red state governor trying to take on the image of our party's name.

It is about the time that the GPCA started to do something to directly challenge the governator's propaganda campaign. The following comes in two parts. The first from Dan Bacher, ed. of The Fish Sniffer, the leading West Coast magazine dedicated to fishing.

Good Afternoon

Here is Restore the Delta's press release regarding Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's ramping up of his campaign to destroy the California Delta by building the peripheral canal. Following the press release is Restore the Delta's "Delta Flows" newsletter that includes an urgent action alert.

I urge everybody to RIGHT NOW call the Governor’s office at 916-445-2841 and ask for the date and time for the Governor’s press conference to be held this week in the Delta. If you actually acquire an answer, please share it with Barbara@restorethedelta.org and c.c. the answer to me at danielbacher@fishsniffer.com.

The Governor's campaign to build the peripheral canal at a time when he is nationally touting his "environmental" credentials by posing on the covers of national magazines is "greenwashing" of the worst sort. We must expose the Governor for his hypocrisy - and stop him in his efforts to build a canal that would undoubtedly destroy the Delta and result in the destruction of Delta smelt, salmon, steelhead, striped bass, sturgeon and other species.

The Delta smelt, an indicator species, is on the brink of extinction and spring run chinook, winter run chinook and other fish will follow the smelt into oblivion if it becomes extinct. What we need is a restored Delta, not increased water exports from Delta through a peripheral canal as the Governor is pushing for.

Please forward this to everybody who cares about the future of the Delta!

Thanks

Dan

The other is from Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Campaign Director of the non-profit Community Organization, Restore the Delta.

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2007

Restore the Delta Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

PO Box 691088 Phone: 209-479-2053

Stockton, CA 95269 Email: Barbara@Restorethedelta.org

www.restorethedelta.org

Governor Schwarzenegger Ramps Up Publicity Effort to Push For a Peripheral Canal

Stockton, Ca – Restore the Delta, a local broad-based coalition including Delta farmers, environmentalists, everyday citizens, fishermen, and business leaders, announces its opposition to Governor Schwarzenegger’s water plan for California.

While local Delta stakeholders are making presentations regarding the future of the Delta to the Delta Vision Stakeholders Panel, Governor Schwarzenegger held a press conference at the San Luis Reservoir announcing his water plan for the state. The Governor called once again for the building of additional water conveyance from the Delta (a.k.a. peripheral canal). However, in explaining his five-point plan, he did not utter a word about a long term strategy for maintaining and improving Delta levees.

Restore the Delta Campaign Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla noted that the Governor held his first press conference in the heart of the Westlands Water District – the primary area in California where land irrigated with Delta water does not drain properly resulting in polluted local groundwater tables – rather than embracing what local Delta stakeholders have to say as they participate in the public process that he mandated.

“Clearly, by going on tour to call for the building of the peripheral canal, the Governor has chosen to cast his lot with large corporate water interests, rather than with Delta family farmers, citizens, fishermen, wake boarders, water skiers, yachting enthusiasts, local business owners, rowers, duck hunters, agricultural workers, nature lovers, and soccer moms who simply care about what kind of environment their children will inherit," said Barrigan-Parrilla.

Restore the Delta President Bill Loyko added that the Governor will be holding a similar press conference in the Delta some time this week, but his office will not release the time and location of the event.

“After a week of courting the national press on his environmental leadership record, Governor Schwarzenegger does not have the courage to admit publicly to local Delta stakeholders that his water plan is centered on providing more Delta water to special water interests and corporate agriculture in the southern part of the state," said Loyko.

Without a doubt, the Governor is embracing a policy that would be the final death blow for Delta fisheries and, thus, has lost the right to claim the title of environmental governor. He has bought into and is selling the notion that the peripheral canal is the environmentally superior method for water conveyance from the Delta.

Of the numerous reasons that Restore the Delta opposes the Peripheral Canal, Ms. Barrigan-Parrilla points out that state and federal water agencies have proven time and time again that they do not “operate water projects in a way that protects the Delta’s ecosystem or the needs of local Delta communities. Why should we trust these same institutions to operate a new water conveyance system in a way that will be compatible with Delta values?”

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

Campaign Director

Restore the Delta

Making the Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable by 2010!

Barbara@restorethedelta.org

www.restorethedelta.org

ph: 209-479-2053

PO Box 691088

Stockton, CA 95269

Action Alert:

Delta Flows – Weekly Highlights from Restore the Delta for the Week of July 16, 2007

“So much has been destroyed I have cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.”

Adrienne Rich

Governor Schwarzenegger Ramps Up Publicity Effort to Push For a Peripheral Canal

Today, Monday, July 16, 2007, while local Delta stakeholders are making presentations regarding the future of the Delta to the Delta Vision Stakeholders Panel, Governor Schwarzenegger held a press conference at the San Luis Reservoir announcing his water plan for the state. The Governor called once again for the building of additional water conveyance from the Delta (a.k.a. peripheral canal) and the building of additional dams. However, in explaining his five-point plan, he did not utter a word about a long term strategy for maintaining and improving Delta levees so as to deal with the state’s identified threats to the Delta including seismic activity and sea level rise.

Restore the Delta staff is incensed that the Governor held his first press conference in the heart of the Westlands Water District – the primary area in California where land irrigated with Delta water does not drain properly resulting in polluted local groundwater tables – rather than embracing what local Delta stakeholders have to say as they participate in the public process that he mandated. Clearly, by going on tour to call for the building of the peripheral canal, the Governor has chosen to cast his lot with large corporate water interests, rather than with Delta family farmers, citizens, fishermen, wake boarders, water skiers, yachting enthusiasts, local business owners, rowers, duck hunters, agricultural workers, nature lovers, and soccer moms who simply care about what kind of environment their children will inherit.

What is even more disturbing for Restore the Delta staff is that the Governor will be holding a similar press conference in the Delta some time this week, but his office will not release the time and location of the event. After a week of courting the national press on his environmental leadership record, Governor Schwarzenegger does not have the courage to admit publicly to local Delta stakeholders that his water plan is centered on providing more Delta water to special water interests and corporate agriculture in the southern part of the state. Without a doubt, the Governor is embracing a policy that would be the final death blow for Delta fisheries and, thus, has lost the right to claim the title of environmental governor. He has bought into and is selling the notion that the peripheral canal is the environmentally superior method for water conveyance from the Delta.

Restore the Delta Opposes the Peripheral Canal Because…

1) Water quality will deteriorate even further leading to the death of the Delta’s ecosystem – the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of both North and South America.

2) The local water supply will become so saline that Delta agriculture can no longer be sustained, thereby undoing our region’s economy, culture, history, and way of life.

3) Delta water quality will never meet Clean Water Act standards.

4) The Delta recreation industry will cease to exist as we know it. Sports fishing will be a thing of the past, and other water sporting activities will be cease to be pleasurable in such polluted waters.

5) There will be no incentive to fix Delta levees or to create a flood management plan that will protect Delta people, Delta property, and Delta infrastructure, such as railways and gas lines. In the event of a natural disaster, the Delta will be written off in the same way that New Orleans was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina.

6) State and Federal water agencies have proven time and time again over the last thirty years that they do not operate water projects in a way that protects the Delta’s ecosystem or the needs of local Delta communities. Why should we trust these same institutions to operate a new water conveyance system in a way that will be compatible with Delta values?

Instead, Restore the Delta Maintains…

1) Freshwater is essential for the health and vitality of the Delta community, economy and ecosystem. Both immediate actions and long-term solutions must be founded on protecting the Delta as a public trust resource. Therefore:

· Exports of water from the Delta must immediately be reduced to a level compatible with protecting Delta values.

· All proposals for long-term Delta management must be based on a firm understanding of Delta freshwater needs and must include strong protection for sufficient flows of water necessary for healthy Delta communities, including Delta agriculture. Strong assurances must be made for such protections, with appropriate and sustainable water export reductions before any proposals for alternative export conveyance or diversion methods are considered.

2) A comprehensive flood plan and an emergency readiness plan must be immediately prepared to protect the people, property, and infrastructure and provide for a healthy ecosystem of the Delta. A comprehensive plan to improve essential project and non-project levees must be immediately prepared and fully funded in consultation with local Delta experts.

3) To restore the health of the California Delta while maintaining a reliable water supply for our neighbors throughout California, state and regional water agencies must aggressively implement regional water self-sufficiency measures, such as water conservation, reclamation, and water recycling.

4) All Delta planning must be designed to minimize the regional impacts of climate change. Specifically, plans must address increased flood risks, sea level rise, and peak river inflows that are likely to result from climate change. These plans must also allow for incremental responses to ecosystem changes resulting from climate change.

5) All land use decisions, including potential island reconfiguration must be guided by local Delta expertise. Delta landowners and residents must have an active role in development and implementation of all plans affecting their community.

6) To help preserve the unique cultural and environmental resources of the

California Delta, the state should immediately establish a California Delta Conservancy, as well as assist with obtaining a federal and/or state level protected status for the Delta region (i.e. park, monument, or recreational area). Such programs should be developed in consultation with local Delta landowners and stakeholders, and should help to protect Delta agricultural interests.

Here’s What Restore the Delta Supporters Can Do to Help…

Call the Governor’s office at 916-445-2841 and ask for the date and time for the Governor’s press conference to be held this week in the Delta. If you actually acquire an answer, please share it with Barbara@restorethedelta.org. In addition, keep checking your email this week for an update from Restore the Delta regarding the Governor’s Delta press conference. We will let you know the details as soon as we hear more information so that all of you can attend this historical event.

On the efficacy of public action…

A number of Restore the Delta supporter attended the July 2nd House of Representatives Resources Subcommittee hearing "Extinction is not a Sustainable Water Policy: The Bay-Delta crisis and the implications for California water management.” Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), indicated that this hearing (in which a number of Delta water agency officials were questioned with vigor on water operations decisions harming the Delta) would not be the end of inquiry or action.

Restore the Delta staff would like to thank Congressman George Miller for his advocacy on behalf of the Delta during this hearing. Restore the Delta staff would also like to extend a special thanks to Restore the Delta supporters Betsy Reifsnider, Larry Nelson, Joshua Stark, Ron Forbes, and James Rexroth. Your fine work displaying banners, signs, and pamphlets created Restore the Delta’s positive image at the hearing.

Cal Water Crisis Action

I just received an update from Restore the Delta regarding the current Cal Water Crisis and the Dueling Proposals. It is not yet online at their site, (I would guess that it soon will be) so I am copying all of it here.

Delta Flows – Weekly Highlights from Restore the Delta for the Week of September 24, 2007

“The robb’d that smiles steals something from the thief.”

--from Othello by William Shakespeare

Robbing the Delta of Fresh Water and Delta Water Users of their Rights to Delta Water

Restore the Delta staff has been working with other groups and statewide organizations to decipher what is happening with legislative proposals regarding water bonds and legislation during this season’s special legislative session.

To date, we have learned that SB 3xx (referred to as the Governor’s water bond, but actually sponsored by Senator Cogdill, Senator Ackerman, and Assemblymember Villines) allocates over $1.9 billion for support of water agencies working toward the construction of such an alternative conveyance system.

Restore the Delta is 100% opposed to (and will encourage voters across California to reject) any water bond, such as SB 3xx, that promotes this type of alternative conveyance, even if it promises other funding for supposed ecosystem restoration of the California Delta. To put it plainly, the Delta cannot be restored if the Sacramento River is diverted from the Delta. And the promise of ecosystem restoration in trade for new conveyance exemplifies a disingenuous concern for the fate of the Pacific Coast’s most important estuary.

In addition, the Restore the Delta campaign is distressed to learn that the language in SB 3xx moves to revoke the area of origin for the Bay/Delta estuary and all water users within it. We believe that it is an attempt to repeal the Robie decision in D-1641, and would be devastating for the California Delta’s economic and environmental future. In other words, the bill would strip Delta farmers and landowners of their right to Delta water and, thereby, of water quality protections associated with these rights.

Without a doubt, this bill is not only a water grab that would destroy the ecosystem, but it is also a full attack on the people, history, and culture of the five-county California Delta region.

In contrast, we are in support of SB 1002, Senator Perata’s bill to provide $611 million to improve Delta habitat and infrastructure, including much needed repairs for levees that protect Delta residents, and the drinking water supply for our neighbors in other parts of the state. Likewise, SB 2xx, Senator’s Perata’s water bond, seeks to promote greater regional water self-sufficiency and Delta restoration without providing the means for a conveyance system that will deal the final deathblow to the California Delta.

Here’s What Restore the Delta Supporters Can Do to Help Get the Word Out…

1. Share this newsletter with your friends, family, and colleagues throughout the state.
2. Look at the following letters sent this morning by Restore the Delta staff to Governor Schwarzenegger and President pro Tempore of the Senate Don Perata. Use them as a template to fax or email your own letter to them and to your local representatives. Contact information can be found at the bottom of each letter. [letters will be linked separately].
   
3. Correct media accounts of the bond issue when they need correcting through letters to your local newspaper’s editor.
4. Keep October 4^th open on your calendar. If you can only take off a few hours one day this year from your life to advocate for the Delta, October 4^th will be the day to do so. Restore the Delta will be sending out details so that you can attend the legislative hearings that will be held on these water bills at the State Capitol. Stay tuned into your email [and this site] for more specifics in the days to come.

Water is not important until you are thirsty.

It's been a long time since I posted much about water issues, so this is a reminder that the problems are real, that Mark Twain was right and that we are all being sold a bill of goods starting with Senator Feinstein, flowing through the Delta and ending up in the San Diego like Delta Water.

Click Read more! to get the meat of this.


Some disjointed bits of information which I hope to bring together by the end of this piece.

Fresh Water: Where does it come from?
The availability of fresh water is one of the most important needs of all humans. Much of the fresh water in the world is tied up in ice, either at the North and South Poles, in the Greenland ice sheet or in glaciers. Six of the largest rivers flowing through the most populous countries on earth are fed by glaciers in the Himalayas. These are the Indus, Ghanges (India), Brahmaputra (Banghladesh), Mekong (Cambodia, Vietnam), Yellow and Yangtze (China). Hundreds of millions of people are dependent on these rivers and, during summer, on the glaciers that feed them.

The problem is that these glaciers are melting. In fact, the rate is fast enough that the changes can be observed from space. The dust layers that marked the US and Soviet atomic tests from the 1950's and 1960's are gone.

The potential dislocation of so many people due to a lack of water is a crisis that Obama did not even mention today. For India, the events in Mumbai, as horrific as they were, pale in comparison. Things that happen on climatic time scales do not make good news.

California's Delta is about more than fish.
In California, we are also facing a crisis due to local weather and the potential of a worse crisis due to global warming. I have written a lot about the problems of the California Delta. One reason that I don't cover this more is that the AquaMaven does such a great job at Aquafornia. In fact, I have this as an RSS feed so that I get so see it every day. The reason I said that we are being sold a bill of goods can be seen in this recent post on the status of the Delta. It is from the Stockton Record.

It’s a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen. More than 200 agencies have some say on what happens in the vast Delta, and the product of their labors doesn’t seem to satisfy anyone, as fish die and the water supply shrinks.

So, what can an individual do other than shower with a friend or let the lawn turn brown. I pay attention to the weather reports. I live where I can see the area's largest reservoir from my family room window. It is below normal levels for this time of year. The Sacramento Bee reported today that we would have normal rainfall this year. Even that may not be enough to restore the reservoir from it's current condition.

While Governor Schwarzenegger has made a lot out of his Delta Vision Task Force, all of those involved knew that the only solution he would accept was a new "conveyance" through or "canal" around the Delta so that more water was made available for Central Valley Agriculture and Southern California suburban lawns.

One organization has managed to pull agricultural interests, some regional developer interests, environmentalist and sportsmen into a coalition for common sense. That is Restore the Delta. Today, they published a set of principles and a platform for 2009. I fully support this approach and reproduce the platform here as it is not yet online at their web site.

Restore the Delta's 2009 Platform

Over the last six months, Restore the Delta staff, board members, and advisors have worked to create a campaign platform that expresses our vision for restoration of the Delta. Below are the principles of this work. The campaign platform will be used as a tool to make our vision known to legislators and for organizing volunteers throughout the year.
To create in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta a world-class region in which productive agriculture and habitat protection are successfully interwoven, Restore the Delta advocates the following principles:

Restore the flow of fresh water by immediately reducing exports to a level compatible with protecting Delta communities. All proposals for long-term Delta management must be based on a firm understanding of Delta freshwater needs and must include strong protection of sufficient flows of water necessary for public health, agriculture, and habitat for native and desirable species. We advocate restoring enough Delta outflow pattern to return the mixing zone of salt water and fresh water to the western part of the Delta near Suisun Bay. We also advocate restoring freshwater flows to the San Joaquin River by retiring drainage-impaired lands loaded with selenium and salt in the Central Valley. Appropriate and sustainable water export reductions must be made before any proposals for alternative export conveyance or diversion are considered.

Protect the Delta from unrealistic water planning strategies and uses. The Delta is a common resource that should provide the same quality freshwater supply to all Delta users. The State Water Project will never develop all the water supplies outside the Delta on which the export program was based. We call on the State to recognize natural limitations on water supply and to enforce Water Code provisions that restrict exports to water not needed in the Delta itself.

Restore proper governance of the Delta. The State Water Resources Control Board must be empowered to enforce existing water codes regarding water quality and quantity. A fully-funded SWRCB enforcement staff must operate independently of board members charged with creating regulations and water rights decisions.

Adopt flexible strategies for managing water and habitat. All Delta planning must address increased flood risks, sea level rises, and peak river inflows that are likely to result from climate change as well as address possible seismic events. These plans must allow for incremental responses to ecosystem changes. Any isolated facility for moving water through the Delta is inherently inflexible, and we reject it. We advocate managing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a primarily freshwater estuary. Proposals for facilities such as fish protection diverters, set-back levees, gates, and barriers should be evaluated with a view to the core principles of protecting the flow of fresh water and fisheries while maintaining flexibility of the whole system.

Respect the experience and expertise of Delta landowners. We advocate creation of a conservancy that will ensure local control of the Delta, prevent forced access to private land, protect the continuity of the Delta, mediate purchases of agricultural land, identify restoration projects and enhance existing public access, and provide funding for levee maintenance. We urge support for Delta landowners who maintain levees for the benefit of the Delta, adjacent communities, and regional infrastructure.

Encourage regional self-sufficiency. We encourage statewide conservation, recycling, reuse, and regional self-sufficiency to generate up to 7 million acre feet annually in areas of need outside the Delta, using as a model measures instituted by the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California urban agencies such as the Metropolitan Water District. We advocate replacing reduced exports and addressing potential flooding with flood plain recapture, ground water replenishment, and demand management initiatives, and we advocate use of recycled urban and agricultural water, ground water desalination, water use efficiency, and urban run-off management.

Ensure emergency readiness to protect the people, property, and infrastructure of the Delta and to provide for a healthy ecosystem. In consultation with Delta experts, the State must immediately prepare and fully fund a comprehensive flood plan and emergency readiness plan.

The attitude of the San Diego Tribune stands in sharp contrast to the practical goals of Restore the Delta. It is much more of a gimme what want cause I gotta grow approach and places the growth over any ecological concern. Their November 26th editorial is headlined Give 'em the hook and they are not talking about fish. It goes on the verbal attack immediately.

Environmental activists continue to deny Californians more water in the name of saving fish.

How dare they deny us our right to use as much water as we want? Such a difference from Restore the Delta. Their timing was impeccable as another lawsuit was filed Monday, Dec. 1.

Calling it “the biggest lawsuit about the biggest ecological and legal catastrophe in California today,” the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) filed suit in Sacramento Superior Court Friday, November 28, 2008, to protect Delta public trust resources—including endangered migratory fisheries of salmon and open water fish species—and to end wasteful and unreasonable diversions of water from the Delta by big state and federal water projects.

The suit also asks the court to halt irrigation of several hundred thousand acres of selenium contaminated lands on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, the drainage from which pollutes
wetlands, the San Joaquin River, and the Delta.

Lastly, there are two conferences on Water taking place in San Francisco this week. In one, Corporate Users will learn how to manage towards sustainability. In the other, concerned groups will talk about the privatization of water and how that could deny water rights to individuals in the name of corporate earnings. If you think about the melting glaciers, it is not unusual that one of the organizations protesting privatization has connections to India.

We have already seen examples of failed water privatization in California, especially in Stockton where the city tried to outsource its water department to a private firm.

PPIC Report on the delta appear biased.

I had planned to write a post today about the real need to protect biodiversity. However events changed my plans. You are already seeing the spin machine going to work to sell the peripheral canal concept. The most recent action is the release of a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California, a supposedly non-partisan (but not necessarily non-biased) think tank that does what someone will pay them to do.


This PPIC report, especially with the current drought in question, is getting a lot of play on the television news. Most of it comes without any commentary from those with opposing view, of which there are many.

Restore the Delta had published their own position just prior to the PPIC report's publication. It was an update commenting on the work that had been going on in Sacrament. However, things changed rapidly. Almost as soon as the PPIC report was available, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla issued a rejoinder that has yet to receive proper media attention.
I cite this press release in it's entirety as it is not yet up on their web site.

Press Release from Restore the Delta

Stockton, California
July 17th, 2008

Restore the Delta
PO Box 691088
Stockton, CA 95269
RestoretheDelta.org

Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Phone: 209-479-2053

BAD ASSUMPTIONS LEAD TO FAULTY ANSWERS FOR THE DELTA: RESTORE THE DELTA QUESTIONS PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE REPORT CALLING FOR A PERIPHERAL CANAL


Stockton, California -- Restore the Delta, a Delta-based coalition including Delta farmers, environmentalists, everyday citizens, fishermen, business leaders, the faith community, and recreation enthusiasts, is calling into questions many of the findings in the Public Policy Institute's Navigating the Delta, a report calling for a peripheral canal.

First, longtime Delta advocate, Tom Zukerman, notes that the report's conclusion that Delta islands with highways were worth saving, while others are not worth maintaining, is an unrealistic conclusion. "How can one maintain any semblance of land form, so as to protect highway structures, with an ocean essentially in the middle of a few islands? For that matter, without the semblance of land forms in the Delta, how would water and gas lines, the railroad, and shipping channels remain protected?"

Central Delta Water Agency's Dante Nomellini further explains that the inter-relationship between Delta islands extends to seepage, wind-wave generation, and fishery and wildlife habitat. "One cannot simply flood islands without adversely affecting the ecosystem and infrastructure on the surrounding islands," says Nomellini.

Second, Restore the Delta Board Press President Bill Loyko questions how constructing a peripheral canal could possibly solve water needs throughout the state. "A peripheral canal, first and foremost will not make more water. The present problem with California's water system is that it is short 5 million acre-feet of water annually to meet current state needs. Rerouting water will not solve that problem." Loyko also asserts that the report's call for building a peripheral without limits in size is merely the means by which to take away the Delta's last major fresh water source, and thereby would worsen Delta water quality.

Third, Restore the Delta's Campaign Director, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, adds that the report's analysis of water quality is also faulty. "Their analysis assumes that water flowing into and out of the Delta remains unchanged when the point of diversion is changed. But everyone who lives, works, and recreates in the Delta knows that with less fresh water flowing through the Delta, more salt water will intrude into local waterways."

In fact, the report makes a highly inaccurate assumption that water quality would improve for farmers near the San Joaquin River. Barrigan-Parrilla says that the report's authors have not engaged in any conversations with local Delta experts, South Delta farmers - some of whom have lived on the land for ninety years.

Barrigan-Parrilla also adds that such changes in water quality to the Delta will result in economic chaos for the region. "Neither the PPIC Report authors nor officials with the State have done a full-scale economic analysis of how a change in water quality with the operation of a peripheral canal would impact farming, recreation, or fisheries. It is estimated that Delta farming alone contributes $2 billion per year to our local economy, and recreation like boating and fishing another $750 million. If the Delta is made into a salty inland sea the economic impacts will be devastating to those living in the surrounding five counties of the Delta."

Last, Restore the Delta Board Member, Betsy Reifsnider, notes problems with the report's conclusions regarding governance for the Delta and how these conclusions mirror problems with the Delta Vision Strategic Draft Plan. Reifsnider explains, "The PPIC Report concludes that consensus regarding Delta management cannot be reached. While that statement may be true on the surface, it unfortunately is a polite way of saying that local Delta experts should be left out of governance decisions." Reifsnider also adds that the Delta Vision process is calling for a governance council for the Delta comprised solely of governor appointees. "Where do Delta locals have the opportunity to assist with governing the Delta?" asks Reifsnider. "After all, who knows the Delta best?"

All contributors are available for interviews.

About Restore the Delta

Restore the Delta is a grassroots campaign committed to making the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable to benefit all of California. Restore the Delta - a coalition of Delta residents, business leaders, civic organizations, community groups, faith-based communities, union locals, farmers, fishermen, and environmentalists - seeks to strengthen the health of the estuary and the well-being of Delta communities. Restore the Delta works to improve water quality so that fisheries and farming can thrive together again in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Website: http://www.restorethedelta.org

Restore the Delta
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
email: barbara@restorethedelta.org
phone: 209-479-2053

Barbara raises the substantive issues. We also have to look at the possible bias of the team that put this together. One of the "funders" of the study was Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. Bechtel, along with his son Riley, is Co-Owner of Bechtel Corporation. The history of Bechtel Corporation in dealing with water is one of aggressive privatization, back room deals to support no-bid contracts (just like in Iraq). They even had the audacity to start charging farmers in Ecuador and Bolivia for the water that fell on the farm because that was water that Bechtel claimed was their's by contract and which was to be resold to cities. Bechtel sued the government of Bolivia when they voided the contract.

Bechtel lost the suit. But this illustrates that manner in which they would be expected to deal with the Delta. The PPIC report un-surprisingly came to the conclusion that a peripheral canal was required and who would be in a better position to build, own and operate such a facility?

Something smells like dead fish.

This is a time when I hope that Greens all over this state will lose no time in contacting their local media and demanding that they note the potential bias in the PPIC report and that they allow Restore the Delta to offer the counter arguments.

Come to think of it, I did write a post about biodiversity. If Bechtel and the PPIC "experts" carry the day, the delta will become a very different place and we will have all lost.

Just where is the Delta?

It was amazing to me that a high number of the citizens of Stockton do not know where the Delta is. According to a survey reported today by the Stockton Record, that is the case. Even in Stockton, a large number of people only have a vague idea of what is really included when you say "the delta."

So, maybe I should lay off any castigation of those in Los Angeles or Eureka who don't think, like I do, that this is the second most important ecological issue in the State right now. It is unique to California and should be right up there with Global Warming as a issue that demands action. However, I will continue to try to educate everyone as to why they should be concerned and what they should be doing.

You can not separate the issues of California Water from those of Global Warming. If we fail to find a solution for global warming, the result will be a worsening of conditions for water storage and use in the Southwestern United States.

For the first time, IPCC scientists also looked at regional climate shifts in detail, concluding that precipitation in the American Southwest will decline as summer temperatures rise, just as precipitation in the Northeast will increase.

What that does not tell you is that more of the precipitation will fall as winter rain and less as snow, contributing to an increased likelihood of flooding. Our current system is designed to store most of the water in the Sierra snow pack to be release throughout the summer as it melts.

There are some in Stockton who get it, not the least of which is Mike Fitzgerald, columnist for the Stockton Record whose May 18 column urged his readers to "Forget the Whales, Save Delta."

If you want to show nature some love, how about embracing the idea that a river ought to run freshly from its watershed, through the Delta and to the sea?

That does not seem to be the prevailing thought up the San Joaquin River. Farmers and southern water users bitterly fought resurrecting the river for 16 years.

These guys, some of whom probably took their kids to see "Free Willy," actually do not believe a river should be natural. Or benefit all. Certainly not fish.

Drying the river killed its salmon. Species such as threadfin shad and striped bass are at their lowest numbers since the state started counting them a half-century ago.

Delta smelt? Scientists estimate only 35,000 survive, down from 800,000 just a few years ago. That is not the natural flux of species; that is a plunge toward extinction.

Yet the Department of Water Resources says it allows the giant water export pumps near Tracy to kill 5,000 smelt a year. Kill the solids, take the liquids. But save the whales.

Fitzgerald his it right, but then whales get all of the attention of Paris Hilton at a red carpet event.

I understand that a number of my readers have followed my advice to endorse the Sustainability Principles from the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN). Thank you for doing that. It does show that there is an increased public awareness, even if it is still minimal.

For those who wondered about just want C-WIN was doing, please read the following C-WIN press release and letter to the Lester Snow, the Director of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Press Contacts: Carolee Krieger, President, California Water Impact Network: (805) 969-0824
Lloyd Carter, Director, California Water Impact Network: (559) 304-5412



C-WIN Demands Reduced Delta Pumping as answer to Delta Eco-Crash

California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) is mismanaging our precious Bay Delta and misrepresenting the amount of water that can be safely sucked from the Delta for delivery to farmers and developers. The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN), an organization dedicated to promoting sensible and sustainable water use throughout California, has asked DWR to dramatically and permanently lower the total amount of water it pledges to deliver under the State Water Project (SWP) delivery contracts from the current level of 4.1 million acre feet per year to a level that ensures average deliveries will not exceed 1.2 million acre feet per year. This reduction will help save the Delta and will give farmers and urban planners across the State a realistic picture of how much water will be available for use.

Currently, the SWP contracts pledge to deliver 4.1 million acre feet per year to water users south of the Delta, the same volume of water promised when the SWP was first approved in 1960. But, a lot has changed since 1960. “We now have a better appreciation of the importance of the health of the Delta and other aquatic ecosystems, an appreciation that is reflected in both state and federal environmental laws.” says C-WIN’s president, Carolee Krieger. As a result, Krieger notes, “between 1990 and 2004, the SWP was, on average, able to deliver only 2.0 million acre feet of water per year, slightly less than half the promised allocation.”

To deliver water to central and southern California, DWR must pump it out of the Delta into storage and transport facilities. But, pumping kills fish and disturbs Delta ecosystems. Even though deliveries have been far lower than the proposed 4.1 million acre feet for many years, the Delta is still dying. Recent fish surveys have revealed that the Delta smelt, considered an indicator of the health of the Delta, has plummeted to record low numbers and is on the verge of extinction.

Many SWP Water Contractors are selling their water rights to urban areas in Southern California. What usually changes hands in such transfers is the full amount of water promised to the seller. But, because DWR has historically been unable to deliver a substantial portion of the promised amount, this leaves the purchaser, often a municipal water district, holding a large amount of what is known as “paper water.” Paper water only exists on paper -- in the contracts -- and cannot be delivered. “The really dangerous thing about paper water is that it is being used to justify new construction throughout Southern California, even though it may never materialize,” says C-WIN’s Secretary, Dorothy Green, a well-known Southern California Water Activist.

According to language in each SWP Water Contract, DWR is required to reduce the amount of water it promises to deliver to reflect what it actually can deliver on a long-range basis. Doing so would get rid of the paper water. But, DWR has failed to obey the requirements of its own contracts.

C-WIN is asking DWR to permanently reduce the amount it promises in its contracts to reflect the real, biologically safe, capacity of the SWP to deliver the water. “If it fails to do so, new homeowners in Southern California may have nothing more than paper and hot air flowing from their taps,” according to Carolee Krieger. “It is absolutely critical for the people of California to understand what it happening with paper water,” says Dorothy Green. “Water policy in California is so complicated that the public is often left out of the decision making process,” Green says, “but the use of paper water to fuel development in Southern California threatens to further erode our quality of life. It must be stopped.”

C-Win Letter to Lester Snow

Drought vs. Species

While the drought in California definitely puts stress on some native species, some of our Congressional Delegation wants to finish the job. Click on Read more! to see the latest alert from Restore the Delta.

In particular, I would like residents of the 23rd, 38th and 43rd Congressional Districts to make sure the call their Representatives and make sure this bill never gets out of committee. Contact info is below. (McClintock - CA 4th CD is such a right wing ideologue that calling him will make no difference... other than to remind him that his election was tenuous.)

Anyone from Arizona (Grijvala), Washington (Hastings, Inslee) or Oregon (DeFazio) who reads this on Green Change... please contact these Water and Power SubCommittee members as well. This is a very bad bill that set a very bad precedent.

Water Exporters Want to End the Endangered Species Act

Restore the Delta is asking you to take special action on behalf of
protecting the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Dear Restore the Delta Supporters,

As reported in The Stockton Record on February 10, 2009, Congressman George Radanovich (R-Mariposa) has introduced a bill to bypass the endangered species law so exports of Delta water to corporate agri-business in the Central Valley can be increased during this period of drought.

Alex Breitler of The Stockton Record reports that Radanovich said that "pumping restrictions to protect Delta smelt and other species at the expense of farmers amounts to 'economic eco-terrorism'".

Of course Congressman Radanovich has forgotten the economic eco-terrorism that has been inflicted on commercial fisheries, the Delta sportsfishing economy, and Delta agriculture as a result of years of excessive water exports to support Central Valley agri- business.

Even more disturbing is that Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced), one of the bill's co-sponsors, has forgotten that he represents people who live in the secondary zone of the Delta and that the people he represents in central Stockton are alarmed over the condition of Delta fisheries and what water exports have done to our local Delta economy.

So, here's how you can help. First, call the eight sponsors of H.R. 856 to express your outrage at their disregard for the economic eco-interests of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Tell them that the business as usual regarding California water policy must end. Direct them to the Restore the Delta website and tell them that Regional Water Self- Sufficiency, rather
than moving water from Northern California to Southern California, is the best way to meet California's water needs. Tell them that they need to focus on breaking dependence on the Delta to meet the state's water needs. It is the cost effective way, in these difficult economic times, to address our water problems.

In addition, contact the following members of the House Natural Resources Committee to express your opposition to H.R. 856. Let them know that increased Delta exports in a time of drought will deal the final deathblow to Delta fisheries. Let them know that the Delta's $2.5 billion economy is dependent on water flowing into the Delta for fisheries and Delta agriculture. Let them know that Delta farms are mainly family farmers also deserving of economic protection.

Thank you for your participation and support of this vitally important effort.

Yours in service,

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta

Congressional Sponsors of H.R. 856

Representative George Radonovich (R-CA-District 19) - 202-225-4540;
Representative Ken Calvert (R- CA-District 44) - 202-225-1986;
Representative Jim Costa (D-CA-20) - 202-225-3341;
Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-22) -- 202-225-2915;
Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA-21) - 202-225- 2523;
Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA-18) - 202-225-6131;
Representative David Dreier (R-CA- 26) - 202-225-2305;
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5)-202-225-2006;
Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46) - 202-225-2415


Key Members of the House Natural Resource Committee

Representative Rick J. Rahall, II, Chair, (D-WV-3)- 202-225-3452;
Representative Grace F. Napolitano (D- CA-38) 202-225-5256;
Representative Lois Capps (D- CA-23) - 202-225-3601;
Representative Joe Baca (D- CA-43) - 202-225-6161;
Representative Elton Gallegly (R-CA-24) - 202-225-5811;
Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA-4) - 202-225-2511



About Restore the Delta

Restore the Delta is a grassroots campaign committed to making the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable to benefit all of California. Restore the Delta - a coalition of Delta residents, business leaders, civic organizations, community groups, faith-based communities, union locals, farmers, fishermen, and environmentalists - seeks to strengthen the health of the estuary and the well-being of Delta communities. Restore the Delta works to improve water quality so that fisheries and farming can thrive together again in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.