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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_08.22.08 - Index

12A | brentwoodpress.com commUnItY August 22, 2008
Conservation plan gets underway
A study to save the Delta’s ecosystem
while still providing water to 25 million Californians
and 3 million acres of farmland is
about to kick into high gear, a process that
could eventually lead to construction of a
peripheral canal.
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan
(BDCP) is the latest attempt to find the best
compromise between thirsty water agencies
seeking an abundant, quality water supply
and environmental groups and others seeking
to ensure the health of a fragile, troubled
Delta ecosystem.
The plan might call for the construction
of a peripheral canal that takes fresh water
from the Sacramento River in the north Delta
and conveys it south along the east side of
the Delta. That possibility worries local officials,
who fear it would lead to a worsening
of water quality, including an increase in
salinity.
The first step in putting together the
plan is the preparation of environmental
impact studies that will identify the most
environmentally friendly option or options.
Officials from the California Department of
Water Resources (DWR) traveled to Antioch
last week to meet with Delta landowners to
let them know that they might be seeking
permission to go onto their land to conduct
some of the studies beginning in early 2009.
DWR Deputy Director Richard Sanchez
kicked off the Aug. 14 meeting in the
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flower hall at the county fairgrounds, which
was as steamy as a greenhouse.
“We are here to work with you,” he
said. “We are very concerned with the Delta.
There’s various issues: whether it’s water supply
reliability, ecosystem restoration; fishery
counts are down; flood protection is an issue.
We are here to work with you on solutions.
“We have a lot of study areas we are
looking at. There’s also a lot of gaps. We
have to fill those gaps with additional information,
whether biological, engineering, surveying.
We want to minimize those impacts
(to your property) when we get that data. We
are open to your suggestions.”
DWR Deputy Director Jerry Johns
provided the context for the launching of
the conservation plan for the Delta, a body
of water that supports about $400 billion of
California’s $1 trillion economy.
“In 2005, the fish agencies said, ‘The
fish are not doing as well as we thought. We
are not happy.’ We said we are not happy as
well,” said Johns. “We need to do something
different related to the Endangered Species
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“ We are very concerned with the Delta. There’s various
issues: whether it’s water supply reliability, ecosystem
restoration; fishery counts are down; flood protection is
an issue. We are here to work with you on solutions.
”
DWR Deputy Director Richard sanchez
Act. It’s the trigger regulating activities in the
Delta one species at a time.”
“We need something that’s much more
realistic; look at the Delta, look at the ecosystem
and develop a holistic plan. We recommended
that we do a habitat conservation
plan … focusing on the aquatic ecosystem
and the things the fish need to support their
habitat.”
One of the biggest determinants in supporting
that habitat is figuring out the best
way to take water from the Delta. The current
system, to avoid sucking fish into pumps
south of Byron, results in a daily fish taxi service
from Byron to Sacramento.
“We do that several times a day – every
day,” said Johns. “Some of the fish like this
ride. Some aren’t crazy about the ride. Some
get eaten. And that’s a concern. The fisheries
were designed in the ’40s and ’50s. We have
better technology today.”
A new water conveyance system is needed
to better protect fish, he said. The Delta
Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force has recommended
a dual conveyance system with a peripheral
canal in order to ensure the quality
of the water heading to central and southern
California, even if there’s a levee failure in the
Delta.
“This is not anything that’s rocket science,”
said Johns. “It’s based on the risks. We
haven’t had a levee failure due to earthquake.
It is basically a flip of the coin when we will
have an earthquake where we will lose levees
in the next 20 to 30 years. We have got to do
something. And we can do something.”
And that something is the conservation
plan, which is expected to be completed in
mid-to-late 2010. So far, there is not a preferred
conveyance alternative, whether an
isolated peripheral canal, dual conveyance
from both the north and south Delta or continued
conveyance through the Delta but in
an improved system.
David Gutierrez, a DWR director for
the FloodSafe program, said nearly $750
million is planned to be spent on improving
Delta levees, many of which were built 100
years ago and with much cruder materials
than today’s levees.
“There is a potential for risk associated
with failure of those levees, and there always
will be,” said Gutierrez. “We want to understand
from the experts exactly how the levees
behave. Hopefully, that will lead to improving
the levees and figuring out the best way
to improve these levees.”
To deal with levee failures and other
emergencies, the DWR is leading the effort
to prepare the Delta Emergency Preparedness
Plan, which is scheduled for completion
in mid-2010.
For more information on the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan, go online to www.resources.ca.gov/bdcp.