Facts and Myths of California's Water

[Gene Buchholz]

Facts and Myths

The Truth About California’s Water, the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and the
Proposed Peripheral Canal


Background

The 1982 attempt to build a peripheral canal in California was decisively defeated as California voters overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to divert water from the Sacramento River around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) to Central and Southern California. The current and renewed attempt to construct a peripheral canal and thereby control up to two-thirds of California’s water, is not, however, being brought before the public and is being initiated irrespective of public opinion and input.

Through a 2006 Executive Order, Governor Schwarzenegger formed the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force (Task Force) to study the Delta issues and develop a plan to address the needs of the competing interests and recommend potential solutions for incorporating other proposals/agendas such as those of the Nature Conservancy, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and the Department of Water Resources among others, ostensibly resolving some of the Delta’s most pressing challenges. In 2007, the Task Force’s “Delta Visionâ€

[Guy Kelley]

Dose any one remember what it was like when we had the drought in the mid 70's.

I sure do. Salt water intrusion clear to Pittsburgh was a real problem and the water suppliers of Antioch and further up stream were having a devil of a time with it.

Our current problems are related to the State Water Suppliers over drafting the Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems for the last five years and not allowing for the Lakes to fill adequately as a result of poor planing and Agriculture lobbyist.

So can anybody tell me why we should put our reliance or trust in a system that has proven it self wrong at every step of the way.

Don't bother to get involved, allow your legislative body and State Biologist to do your thinking for you and as a result you will soon have a $25.00 to $50.00 annul use requirement stamp for Delta Fishing or Recreation. Two Delta Gates and a 100 mile Canal supplying cleaner water to Southern Agriculture than what is running through the Delta right now, along with the Salt and Selenium laced run off piped back to the Delta from the West Side and Fresno Counties back wash.

Oh by the way, Fresno and Bakersfield Counties and the Water/Ag-business will make Billions from selling water back to us that they stored in the underground water banks, that they bought from us at a cheaper price to store.

[RichThiel]

Bump

If this go's threw as stated in the post gentlemen,,,You can kiss off the Delta in the future (Near) as you know it today..

For being in the TOP 5 in the Continental States, it will become the last.

[MIKE TREMONT]

Until it was laid out to me with the locations of the gates (which they are building right now!) and how the purest cleanest water would be swept around the Delta to the pumps, I wasn't as concerned as I am now.
I will do what I can, please keep this issue in front of everyone, this is for real guys and it will destroy the Delta as we know it!

[Gene Buchholz]

bump

[hydro]

An unlined canal of this magnatude would be a a nightmare to maintain . losses due to evaporation and leakage would be so extensive I wouldn't be surprised if most of the water never made it to the intended delivery location(s) . A better solution would be to form a bucket line starting with the Governor, all his appointees, all of our elected officials in favor of the canal, and anyone else who really wants to divert this water out of the Delta southward . It would be more efficient in the long run and could begin operation immediately .

This State has turned into such a joke with it's supposed worry about "Green house" emissions and caring about the environment . For special interest money they are willing to destroy the most important ecosystem in the entire state of Ca.

[ash]

dont be mistaken this is in NO WAY about restoring an eco system or environmentalism it IS about big money Water is the new Gold Rush in california.

[5bass4cking]

On the bright side, we may be able to catch a shark or two right from our docks in Discovery Bay!

[Team Fugowee]

"An unlined canal of this magnitude would be a a nightmare to maintain."

Unlined, is just a law suit in waiting. Just one ground squirrel and it's over for those below. Of course in our perfect world that cant happen.

"If the current governance plans go through, control of this water will be in the hands of between one and five people appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger"

Just what we need another appointed body like "CARB" California Air Resources Board. Didn't they demand the use MBTE that tainted water sources.

[TDawg]

Hey all I thought I would chime in on this one since I am a Co Co County Planner.

I have been trying to follow this project through the California Department of Water Resources website, but they have not made it easy. From what I can gather on their website and I have a ton of further reading to do, is the following...

The project is to produce the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Once completed and certified by the State Assembly, this document will provide direction to policy makers as to how the California Delta is to be handled. What I mean is that once this document is certified by the State Assembly and ultimately the Governor, it will out-line and serve as a guide for all future projects on the California Delta.

What is presently being produced is a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Both of these two laws dictate how environmental impacts are to be handled and mitigated on municipal projects both in California and Nationally. This document will be hundreds of pages long and will include a full description of the proposed projects, complete with maps and charts showing exactly where any proposed improvements are to be made. It will also include a full biological assessment of the proposed project and any and all potential environmental impacts. In this case it will outline how the potential peripheral canal will impact the California Delta.

My suggestion to all my fellow bass fishermen is to continually check the California Department of Water Resources Bay Delta Conservation Plan website for updates as to when the DEIR will be available for review and comment. They are bound by state law to make the document available for public review and comment for a minimum of 30 days once it is released.

Please everyone once the DEIR comes out please, please, please review it and make comments. They are required again by CEQA to respond to each and every comment received in the Final EIR. The DEIR will include where to send comments to and whom to address them to. They are bound by state law to do this and cannot hide this information from the public. They also are required to make copies of the DEIR available to the public for review as well. My guess is that they will be available and the Department of Water Resources Office, Sacramento State College Library, Contra Costa County Public Libraries, and online.

I know this is long but I wanted to give everyone a little glimpse into the planning process and how it works. Also please visit the CEQAnet website to find the actual project descriptions and who the lead and reviewing agencies are. Just search for Contra Costa County as the lead agency. This is because most of the project is going to take place within Contra Costa County.

http://www.ceqanet.ca.gov/

Also make sure that you visit the California State Clearing House website as well to learn more about the CEQA process.

http://www.opr.ca.gov/index.php?a=sch/sch.html

I will try and find out more as to the actual project and application numbers once I am able to find them.

Also, please keep checking the above websites for future public meetings and scoping sessions as the project moves along. Many of the public meetings can be watched online and comments and questions emailed directly to the project planners.

I hope this helps.

Good fishing,

TDawg