The transition from Delta Vision, created in 2006 by Executive Order of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, to the current Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) has looked pretty seamless. It was the Delta Vision “Blue Ribbon” Task Force chaired by Phil Isenberg that pushed forward the idea of co-equal goals for the Delta, later enshrined in the 2009...Read More
The Delta Protection Commission and the Water Education Foundation are sponsoring a Delta Levee Standards Conference on May 2. The agenda has pairs of experts speaking on Delta levee standards and on the relationship of Delta levees to conveyance, habitat, and public safety. Each pair of speakers will be introduced by Dr. Jeff Mount and...Read More
Those are the words used by Dr. Chris Earle of ICF International to describe the project underlying the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). This month’s BDCP public meeting provided an update from ICF on Chapter 3, Conservation Strategy, and Chapter 8, Implementation Costs and Funding Sources. A little time was also devoted to an overview...Read More
The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee heard an update this week from State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) vice chair Frances Spivey-Weber on the strategy and schedule for establishing instream flow requirements for the Delta and Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. BDCP proponents have requested that the SWRCB delay flow determinations until after the...Read More
This month, the Bay Institute published a report called Collateral Damage examining effects of export pumping that are usually overlooked. The report says that estimates of fish kills based on salvage at the export pumps underestimate the problem because they don’t factor in disruptions to fish migration, reductions in the amount of non-lethal habitat available...Read More
Exporters complain about the amount of outflows fish require, calling that water “lost.” But for water that is really lost unnecessarily, we need to look at municipal waste water being discharged to the ocean after a single use: 3.5 million acre feet a year in LA, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, enough to...Read More
