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

Unanswered questions in water tunnels analysis

Coalition response…The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is an effort to obtain a 50-year conservation permit that will improve the Delta through habitat restoration and protection of species. This environmental permit should also improve water supply deliveries to about 4,000 farms and 25 million Californians. This author fails to recognize the importance of a dependable supply of water. For farmers, this means they will not be forced to abandon their fields following planting after learning their water supply will be reduced. It also means that the safe and healthy food supply farmers provide to consumers will continue.

Comparing the proposed tunnels to the Peripheral Canal of 1982 is an effort that is absent in facts. Capacity of the tunnels is only 9,000 cubic feet per second and the canal would have transported 21,800 cfs. Learn more about the differences at www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.

The $84 billion identified in the cost-benefit analysis is a statewide number, not one that will benefit only one region and not the next. The up and down fluctuations in California’s economy is felt throughout our state and an $84 billion boost will be felt by all.

 

United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill issued a temporary restraining order halting water releases from Trinity Reservoir by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation through Friday, August 16. According to the Order, the stated purpose of the planned releases is to “reduce the likelihood, and potentially reduce the severity, of any Ich epizootic event that could lead to associated fish die off in 2013” in the lower Klamath River.

Plaintiffs San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority and Westlands Water District stated in the application for a temporary restraining order that Reclamation lacked the legal authority to release CVP water in this manner.

The order stated that nothing in the record indicates that delaying the additional flows by several days to permit a more measured analysis of the issues would render ineffective the overall flow augmentation efforts.

The full order by Judge O’Neill is available here.

 

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

Column: Who shares benefit of water tunnels?

Coalition response…The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is an effort to obtain a 50-year conservation permit that will improve the Delta through habitat restoration and protection of species. This environmental permit should also improve water supply deliveries to about 4,000 farms and 25 million Californians. This author fails to recognize the importance of a dependable supply of water. For farmers, this means they will not be forced to abandon their fields following planting after learning their water supply will be reduced. It also means that the safe and healthy food supply farmers provide to consumers will continue.

Comparing the proposed tunnels to the Peripheral Canal of 1982 is an effort that is absent in facts. Capacity of the tunnels is only 9,000 cubic feet per second and the canal would have transported 21,800 cfs. Learn more about the differences at www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf .

The $84 billion identified in the cost-benefit analysis is a statewide number, not one that will benefit only one region and not the next. The up and down fluctuations in California’s economy is felt throughout our state and an $84 billion boost will be felt by all.

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

Editorial: Let’s not kill fish to water farms

Coalition response…In 1988, under nearly identical flow conditions, twice as many salmon successfully migrated up the Klamath River than in 2002 with no die-off. In every other year that no supplemental water was provided, no fish die-off occurred. In the three prior occasions when supplemental flows were provided, no monitoring or analysis was conducted to determine whether the additional water provided any demonstrable benefit. The fact is, no one knows what caused the die-off in 2002 or why that terrible incident has never been repeated despite wide ranging flow and fish abundance conditions. And it is impossible at this time to say for certain whether or not such a similar event will occur again this year. What is certain is the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation knew of the request for these supplemental flows early enough this year to provide for them from the significant supply of water set aside specifically for environmental purposes. They chose not to. Rather, they chose to take more water from people that only have a 20% supply, make them pay for the action that is causing them greater harm and do so in a flagrantly illegal manner. This conflict is not about fish versus farms, there was water set aside for both.

Entirely avoidable, completely tragic.

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

Editorial: If irrigators win, and salmon die, it will cost dearly

Coalition response…The lawsuit filed by the water users seeks the Bureau of Reclamation to follow already established procedures relating to the proposed release of water down the Trinity River. Water is set aside each year by the Trinity River Diversion Record of Decision that is specifically designated for fish and the environment. Reclamation knew earlier this year that a large number of returning salmon were likely to swim up the Klamath River and could have preserved the needed water. But that water was used for other purposes and now Reclamation seeks to take water from others whose supply has already been cut 80 percent.

In 1988, under nearly identical flow conditions, twice as many salmon successfully migrated up the Klamath River than in 2002 with no die-off. In every other year that no supplemental water was provided, no fish die-off occurred. In the three prior occasions when supplemental flows were provided, no monitoring or analysis was conducted to determine whether the additional water provided any demonstrable benefit. The fact is, no one knows what caused the die-off in 2002 or why that terrible incident has never been repeated despite wide ranging flow and fish abundance conditions. And it is impossible at this time to say for certain whether or not such a similar event will occur again this year.

This conflict is not about fish versus farms, there was water set aside for both.

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

Editorial: Delta tunnel study ignores the north

Coalition response…Fears that the Plan will take more and more and more water from the Sacramento Valley is unfounded. The recognition of existing water rights and protection of areas of origin are written into the Plan. California law also states that no new project may negatively impact an existing water right, thus providing more assurance for Sacramento Valley water users. Individuals should seek the facts regarding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and not rely on rhetoric.

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

Opinion: Delta tunnels bad news for salmon industry

Coalition response…Delivery of water that flows through the Delta has been interrupted in recent years by government regulations that require portions of the users’ water to remain in the Delta for environmental purposes. A recent example is the loss of more than 800,000 acre-feet (farmwater.org/watersupplycutshurtusall.pdf) from December to February of this year. This was at a time when heavy flows were present in rivers and reservoirs were storing water. Since that time rain and snow has dwindled and farmers along the San Joaquin Valley Westside who receive water from the federal Central Valley Project saw their deliveries cut by 80 percent. If the tunnels had been in place, that 800,000 acre-feet of water could have been sent south of the Delta and into storage for use later in the year.

These uncertainties of knowing how much water they will receive has caused farmers to delay planting their fields and eventually leave their fields fallow, which causes farm workers to lose their jobs. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan restores that certainty of water deliveries for farmers by delivering water that they have a right to and once received before the government regulations caused the interruptions. Unfortunately, the increased diversion of water has not resulted in any proven benefits to fish or the environment.

Those who benefit from the water passing through them will pay the cost of constructing the proposed tunnels.

The author compares California’s statewide salmon industry economic activity at $1.4 billion to Westlands Water District’s produce sales of $1.6 billion, which misleads and grossly understates comparative economic values. Water delivered through the Delta serves almost 4,000 farms in dozens of irrigation and water districts from Patterson to Bakersfield, which is much greater in value than measuring part of the production in just one district.

A closer look at the recent economic analysis of benefits resulting from the Plan reveals that California will receive an overall benefit of $84 billion. Part of that total is the more than a million jobs that will be created during the 50-year span of the Plan and the $11 billion in wages that will be paid, which should be a welcome addition to California’s economy.

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

Farmers sue on Klamath water releases for salmon

West-valley farmers sue feds over salmon protection plan

Coalition response…The purpose of the lawsuit is to hold the Bureau of Reclamation accountable for the water they are charged with managing.  Reclamation’s proposed action would take up to 100,000 acre-feet of water that is designated for farms, homes and businesses and redirect it down the Trinity River and on to the Klamath River to protect non-endangered salmon from a disease already established in the Klamath. Reclamation had water available earlier this year that could have been used specifically for this purpose but it was squandered and now the agency is illegally taking water from CVP users for use outside of the CVP service area.

In 1988 the number of returning salmon was almost double to numbers that were present in 2002 and the flows in the rivers were identical. No supplemental water was released by Reclamation in 1988 and no salmon die-off occurred.

Federal agencies are as responsible for following the law as the rest of us. It is unfortunate that it is taking a lawsuit to accomplish that.

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

Editorial: Analysis of Delta tunnel plan fails to count all the costs

Coalition response…This editorial is long on rhetoric and short on facts. A fact that will govern how much water will be moved through the proposed tunnels is the required adherence to Delta water quality standards established by the State Water Resources Control Board. Fears that the tunnels will take too much water from the Sacramento River are baseless.

More than a million jobs will be created during the 50-year lifespan of the Plan and many of those individuals will reside in San Joaquin County. The payroll for this workforce is expected to be over $11 billion, which means more money flowing through the county’s economy.

It is important that individuals seek the facts when considering the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The overall economic benefits to California total $84 billion, an amount that should be welcomed during these economic times.

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

Letter: Piping Sacramento River water under the Delta won’t add to California supply

Coalition response…The goal of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and its proposed twin tunnels is not to increase California’s water supply but rather to restore water that was once delivered to thousands of farms and 25 million Californians. At the same time the Plan is designed to restore the Delta ecosystem. Government regulations have interrupted the water supply by taking water away from users, including those in Santa Clara County and the Eastbay, and keeping it in the Delta for environmental purposes. Unfortunately, federal agencies have been unable to prove any benefits to the environment from this action.

Water that should be delivered to farms is used to grow the food that consumers find around the corner at their local grocery stores and around the world. If water once delivered to farms is not restored on a reliable basis, then consumers should expect to find more imported food items on their grocery shelves.