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

Tri-Valley letters: Twin tunnels water proposal would be disaster

Coalition response…The two tunnels will not divert 50% of the water that moves through the Delta as claimed by the letter writer. Export levels have only been about 20% and the amount of water to be sent through the tunnels will be based on available supply. When the water level in the Sacramento River is high more water will be available to move through the tunnels. Lower flows means less water will be exported. Learn more at www.farmwater.org/exportthrottle.pdf.

Water rights were issued long ago to public water agencies in central and southern California and the Bay area for the purpose of serving farms, homes and businesses. California law prevents the Bay Delta Conservation Plan from negatively impacting existing water rights holders. Claiming that BDCP will dry up an existing water supply is false.

New water storage is needed in our state and BDCP provides the opportunity to realize full benefits from new storage.

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: Gov. Brown’s tunnels project would destroy the Delta

Coalition response…Cindy Manduffie is concerned about the health of the Delta’s aquatic ecosystems and rightfully so. The Delta is broken. It doesn’t provide the habitat for native fish to thrive anymore. Poor water quality has fundamentally changed the chemistry of the Delta, reducing the food supply that starts at the base of the food chain. Baby salmon don’t stand a chance because of non-native predators that consume them by the millions as they try to make it to the ocean. Unnatural river flows take fish to a dead end at the south end of the Delta where predators lurk.

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is designed to reverse the trend that Ms. Manduffie has identified while continuing to meet the water supply needs of thousands of farmers and 25 million Californians. We can’t sit still and we can’t go back to 1850 before the Delta was drained. The right protections coupled with sound science and engineering can bring back the native fishery and continue to meet the water supply needs of a state that is the 9th largest economy in the world.

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

How does agriculture fit into Colorado River water talks?

Coalition response…California farmers who grow food using Colorado River water provide a significant portion of the nation’s fresh fruits and vegetables during certain times of the year. Selecting the right crop to grow depends on a number of factors, including whether or not there is a market for it. It’s pointless to plant a crop that uses less water if it can’t be sold. Some might consider that even more wasteful. 

Ongoing discussions regarding the supply of Colorado River water must include farmers and the public water agencies that deliver water to the farms. Reducing the amount of water used in California to grow food may ultimately have an impact on the amount of fresh, local food products at the grocery store.

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

Who Will Pay for Jerry Brown’s Father Complex?

Coalition response…A clarification is needed to this story—Judges have not “routinely shut down the pumps.” Instead, it has been biological opinions written by federal fish agencies that have caused the disruption in water deliveries without improvements to fish populations that they are designed to protect. These biological opinions ignore the most recent science that identifies a loss of habitat, water quality, predation and poor ocean conditions as causes for smelt and salmon declines.

A federal judge ruled in May 2010 that federal fish agencies must rewrite the biological opinions and this time include recognition of negative impacts to humans resulting from the opinions. We’re still waiting for that rewrite.

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: Dairy cows not a good use of California’s scarce water 

Coalition response…California’s dairy industry leads the nation because of one thing: efficiency. It is simply more efficient to raise cows in a mild climate than it is in a state where freezing temperatures dominate a significant part of the year. As a result, California’s dairy cattle out-produce Wisconsin by an average of 2,021 pounds per cow per year, nearly 10% more efficient yield. Dairy products are an important staple in the American diet. The fact that more water is required to produce a serving of cheese as opposed to a serving of tomatoes is irrelevant. Californians are rightly proud of our ability to efficiently produce a diverse food supply here in California.

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: Rethink tunnels project

Coalition response…California’s system of water rights allocates water supply to users throughout the state even though the majority of the supply is in Northern California. Water is a public resource intended to benefit the population as a whole. This protects both area-of-origin water users in Northern California and water rights holders elsewhere.

Water rights were issued long ago to public water agencies in central and southern California for the purpose of serving farms, homes and businesses. The Delta tunnels are simply a more efficient way to move that water while minimizing negative impacts on fish species and the Delta ecosystem. And to protect in-Delta water users export pumping will vary depending on the volume of available in the system. When the water level in the Sacramento River is high more water will be available to move through the tunnels. Lower flows means less water will be exported. Learn more at www.farmwater.org/exportthrottle.pdf.

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: Water wisdom for California 

Coalition response…The editorial writers do a good job in recognizing that everyone will lose if something is not done to fix the Delta and achieve a reliable water supply and restore the Delta ecosystem. Scientists and researchers have worked for seven years to develop the Bay Delta Conservation Plan as the best opportunity to achieve these goals. Now is the time for all interests in California to come together to resolve the problems that have plagued our state’s water for 150 years by moving forward with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

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: Water district’s pumping significant

Coalition response…The proposed water transfer from Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) required the district to conduct extensive research to guarantee the absence of negative impacts to the local community, including groundwater levels. This research is required by Reclamation before approval is granted. GCID used the best available science to model any effects from the transfer and committed to a monitoring program that assures a protection for the environment.

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: Brown’s Water Plan Faces New Geographic Fight

Coalition response…California’s water picture has changed since voters went to the polling booth in 1982. Many changes have occurred over the past 30 years, including regulatory restrictions based on evolving environmental policies.  These changes take water away from people and from the farms that grow our food. Years of scientific study and research have resulted in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) – an opportunity to improve water supply reliability, while improving the Delta ecosystem.

It is important to understand that BDCP is not the 1982 plan to build the Peripheral Canal. The canal was an isolated facility while BDCP’s tunnels provide operational flexibility to maintain in-Delta water quality. The canal had a capacity to divert 21,800 cubic feet per second of water and the tunnels’ capacity is only 9,000 cfs. Learn more at www.farmwater.org/p-canalcomparison.pdf.

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

Local members of Congress blast Delta tunnel proposal 

Coalition response…Seven years of scientific research has gone into the development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), which is the best opportunity to provide a reliable water supply and to restore the Delta ecosystem, both mandates from the California Legislature. Recent proposals to fix the Delta have surfaced from individuals and organizations but do not fulfill this legislative directive. Changes have been made to BDCP from its earlier drafts, including a change in the tunnel capacity to transport water, from 21,000 cubic feet per second to only 9,000 cfs. Also changed as been the number of tunnels from three to two.

BDCP is the best opportunity California has to reliably deliver water to 25 million Californians and thousands of farmers and to restore the Delta ecosystem in a way that protects fish.