In this edition of Delta Flows, our Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla reflects on what it truly means to build a sustainable and equitable climate economy, including Restore the Delta and partners’contribution in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) Regarding the Reinitiation of Consultation on Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley and State Water Projects and the...Read More
By: Barbara Barrigan-ParrillaOver the last eighteen years, Restore the Delta has critiqued and lamented over exclusionary government water planning processes that have left out Delta communities and tribes, making them unable to advocate for their personal and environmental health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, the water politics of division and exclusion have only gotten worse. The upcoming voluntary...Read More
Our friends and neighbors in the North Delta have had an extended season of personal loss with the passing of several community members over the last six months. We offer our sincerest condolences to the Hemly Family, the Go-Arnold Family, and the McClain Family. We noted in a prior post that Cathy Hemly passed away...Read More
By: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla RECAP: Where The Future Flows – Next Generation Visioning On October 13th and 14th, Restore the Delta held its two-day symposium featuring next generation Delta leaders. Panels addressed: Climate Change Harmful Algal Blooms Sustainable Agriculture Delta Environmental Justice Needs Tribal and Historical Inclusion Salinity, Water Quality, and Fisheries Delta Recreation and Public Access We...Read More
By: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla Tunnel Trauma: Despite knowing for some time that the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) was advancing, when the Department of Water Resources (DWR) dropped the environmental impact report (EIR) for the project at the end of July, we, at Restore the Delta, felt like we were suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. The remnants...Read More
By: Barbara Barrigan-ParrillaDrought Barriers, an evil necessity?Yesterday, Restore the Delta sent the following scoping comment letter to the Army Corps of Engineers in response to a “Dredge and Fill (404) Application from California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to construct North Delta Drought Salinity Barriers Project.” DWR proposes in its application to add two more temporary rock...Read More
Restore the Delta staff and interns have begun public work again, in-person following the pandemic, with a bright and hopeful focus on problem solving and community building activities.Meanwhile, a new, and deeply problematic, Temporary Urgency Change Petition has been conditionally approved to suspend Delta water quality standards the next 90 days. In addition, the Department...Read More
by Barbara Barrigan-ParrillaIn December, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) announced that the Voluntary Agreement (VA) process had ended for the San Joaquin River watershed; that rule making and implementation planning would begin for the Bay-Delta Plan (Phase 1) for the San Joaquin River watershed (with physical implementation in 2023); and that the process...Read More
Mysterious Term Sheet A recent letter from Friant Water Authority to Secretary Crowfoot and Secretary Blumenfeld, responding to the State’s request to provide “red flag” comments on the October 18, 2021 Draft Memorandum of Understanding Advancing a Term Sheet for the Voluntary Agreements to Update and Implement the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan, and Other Related Actions...Read More
We didn’t think it could be possible – that the change from twin tunnels to a single tunnel could net a Delta Conveyance Project that is even worse for the Delta than California WaterFix. But alas, the Newsom Administration’s rogue agency, the Department of Water Resources, has managed to take a bad idea and make it...Read More
