Delta Flows: Flows, Flood, Conveyance, Industry, Future - Part 2
This is part two of a three part series of Delta Flows blogs. You can read the entire blog here.
by Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Drought, Water Quality:
While we are training our 2023 Climate Water Advocates to begin harmful algal bloom (HABs) monitoring starting in May, our efforts with the State Water Resources Control Board to adapt a protective standard for Delta communities for HABs as part of the Bay-Delta Plan continue. Our petitions with US EPA, a Title VI complaint for lack of inclusive response for incorporating the concerns of tribes and environmental justice groups in the timely completion of the Bay-Delta Plan, and a request for EPA to set Bay- Delta water quality standards, continue to advance throughout both bureaucracies. These petitions that we filed with our partners, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising, and Save California Salmon, have involved hundreds of hours of continued research and meetings independently and with US EPA and State Water Resources Control Board officials and staff. Part of this effort involved an on-the-ground tour with federal officials from Washington DC in early April this year.
We believe that some progress is being made to advance our concerns for the restoration of flows to the Delta to restore salmon runs and water quality for Delta communities as we oppose the secret water deals, known as the voluntary agreements, at each and every appropriate SWRCB meeting. However, other important standards, like identifying tribal beneficial uses of water and the above-mentioned HABs standard, are time-consuming processes that require patience and time that run counter to our assertion that the Bay-Delta Plan must be updated and implemented rapidly. The “hurry up and wait” dynamic of this effort is in some ways a maddening place to work from, yet our collective is sticking with the work.
From a Restore the Delta perspective, working on drought planning and the protection of flows, while dealing with flood emergencies and flood planning simultaneously, is a heavy load for our small, but competent team. The Delta is a region burdened by numerous environmental stresses, climate change, and planning processes that all seem to need attention right now.
Further complicating matters is that the California Natural Resources Agency, DWR, Governor Newsom’s office, and some (not all) officials at the State Water Resources Control Board, continue to posit the myth that floodplain restoration/wetlands restoration will save salmon. The science is unequivocal: adequate flows in our tributaries, rivers, and through the Delta to the San Francisco Bay, with cool clean water, will save and restore salmon runs. The food column for salmon exists in these open moving flows. Upstream of the Delta, floodplain restoration will protect people from flood, recharge groundwater, restore native plants, provide habitat for terrestrial and bird species, provide public recreation spaces and land back opportunities for tribes, and create cooling greenbelts to mitigate increasing temperatures for Central Valley communities. Wetlands in the Delta will help mitigate sea level rise and provide supportive shade habitat if flows are adequate for salmon migration, but wetlands without science-based flows will not save salmon. Period.
This is why we are calling on our supporters to turn out in large numbers for the Day of Action for Water Justice on July 5, 2023 at the Capitol on the West Steps at 11:30 a.m. (Note the date change from our original announcement.)
The theme for this event will be: Restore our Rivers for Tribes, Communities, and the Environment. Our petition partners, and dozens of other tribes, environmental organizations, and fishing groups are working together to sponsor this event which will include addressing the Water Board, the rally at the Capitol, and organized lobbying activities. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead to learn about ways to participate: from on-line petitions and letters to showing up to oppose the Delta tunnel. Yes, opposing the Delta tunnel is part of this effort because it is ludicrous that the Department of Water Resources is either issuing a final or revised EIR for the conveyance project without a completed Bay-Delta Plan.
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