Note from Restore the Delta: Our hearts are with the people of Los Angeles as they face the challenges of the ongoing wildfires. We’re praying for the safety of all affected and for the strength of the first responders working tirelessly to protect lives and property. If you’re able, please join us insupporting relief efforts by donating to organizations providing much-needed aid to families and communities in need. The California Fire Foundation works with local fire agencies and community based organizations to provide support to impacted residents as details of the damage emerge. World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team is in Southern California is providing meals to first responders and families impacted by wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
New year, same challenges troubling the Delta – both DWP mismanagement and the invasive rodent-like nutria threatening our waterways. ICYMI, an op-ed in Maven’s Notebook by Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, Restore the Delta’s Executive Director and Eric Buescher, Managing Attorney at San Francisco Baykeeper, rebuts claims made by State Water Project (SWP) Contractors. Meanwhile, a recent article in Stocktonia outlines the Delta’s ecological threat from the nutria, a large invasive rodent from South America.
Tunneling through trouble: Missteps, mismanagement, and the costly pursuit of the Delta Conveyance Project – Maven’s Notebook, 1/7/25
Barbara Barrigan-Parilla and Eric Buescher raise financial, environmental and managerial concerns of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), criticizing the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for pushing the project forward at the expense of Delta communities. This is in response to claims that delays to the DCP are harmful to California from Jennifer Pierre, General Manager of the State Water Contractors.
Barbara and Eric write that DWR and SWP Contractors are “cynically accusing Delta public agencies, Tribes, and environmental, business, and taxpayer organizations of delay tactics. Their ire is misdirected — these groups simply ask that DWR play by the same rules applicable to all other public agencies and private developers. To date, every court has ruled against DWR, including invalidating DWR’s most recent tunnel financing scheme and enjoining its attempts to implement the DCP without first complying with the Delta Reform Act.”
Rising costs, a lack of water rights, and a lack of transparency and accountability continue to mire the DCP, echoing issues seen in previous iterations of the same project. You can read more commentary from Barbara and Eric here.
Worst. Invasive. Species. Ever. – Stocktonia, 1/1/25
This Stocktonia article sheds light on the threat of the nutria that is wreaking havoc on the Delta. The large semi-aquatic rodent has been present in the Delta since 2017, reproducing rapidly and spreading across the region. The existence of the nutria is further exacerbating the already fragile Delta ecosystem. And if that isn’t enough, they “bite humans, poop in the water, spread parasites to humans, and spread diseases such as rabies.”
The CA Department of Fish and Wildlife has launched a program to track, trap and eradicate the nutria but it hasn’t been enough. Barbara says, “the reason why they’re not doing enough is the same reason we have levee failures this year: anything that involves restoring, fixing and maintaining the Delta is grossly underfunded.”
The article highlights Restore the Delta’s view that the Delta region is treated as just a place to grab water in which real issues never get adequately addressed. As Barbara puts it, “everything is related to the tunnel…real efforts to fix problems are underfunded.” You can read more about the nutria in the Delta here.
The health of the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and Delta communities remains our top priority for 2025.
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