From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Fish kills trigger water delivery slowdown; local agencies prepared

Coalition response…The pumping restrictions began Dec. 7 and for the following two months more than 727,000 acre feet of water, or 237 billion gallons went to the ocean rather than to farms, families and businesses that depend on a share of the water that flows through the Delta. This water supports California jobs and the economy ( farmwater.org/watersupplycutshurtusall.pdf).

A portion of those pumping restrictions have been restored and that is good news. But the bad news is that nothing fundamental has changed, meaning this same scenario can be expected to happen again in the future.

DWR Director Mark Cowin was blunt about the prospects for water supply improvements when he spoke at a press conference on Tuesday saying, “We have no reason to expect that next year will be any different or the year after that will be any different. And this conflict will continue to play out year after year, until we make fundamental changes in the way we manage the Delta.”

It’s time we take a sensible look at how we provide for the ecosystem while supporting our farms and jobs and people – and our nation’s food supply.