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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Opinion: Preserving the imperiled <st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State> Delta; The fragile Northern California
ecosystem from which <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">L.A.</st1:City></st1:place>
gets much of its water can't wait very long for a plan to fix it<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><b><font size=4
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'>Los Angeles</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><b><font size=4
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>
Times – 5/26/07<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Bill Stall, contributing editor to the
Opinion page</span></font></b><b><font size=4 color=black><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=headline11><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>DELTA AND DAWN, the wayward humpback whales
stranded near Rio Vista, have taught thousands about the location of the
California Delta, where the <st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City> and San
Joaquin rivers meet and flow toward <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
It's about time: An estimated 23 million of us receive some or most of our
water from the delta.<br>
<br>
And the delta is in trouble. Has been for at least 30 years. But this year, the
juvenile population of the endangered delta smelt — an
"indicator" species — dropped by 93%, a plunge toward
extinction that could signal imminent disaster. Arresting that disaster could
require a cut in water delivered to you and me. <br>
<br>
The delta is a 700-square-mile maze of river channels, sloughs, marshes and
mostly artificial islands protected by a tenuous levee system. Two giant
water-delivery systems — the State Water Project and the federal Central
Valley Project — draw their water from the delta and send it southward in
canals to the farms of the San Joaquin Valley and homes and businesses in
Southern California.<br>
<br>
The problem is that extensive pumping over the last half a century has
disrupted the environment of the delta. Fish sometimes end up in the machinery,
and the pumping is so strong that it sometimes reverses the natural
river-to-delta-to-bay water flow. Temperature, depth and salinity are affected.
On top of that, increased irrigation using pumped delta water means increased
irrigation runoff, which has reduced the overall quality of delta water. <br>
<br>
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Delta Vision task force recognizes the problem,
and it is supposed to produce a comprehensive solution to a host of delta
problems by the end of 2008. Good luck. <br>
<br>
Efforts to address the situation go back to the 1960s and the original State
Water Project, which was supposed to deliver 4.2 million acre-feet of water a
year to <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Kern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>
farms and urban <st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place> (one
acre-foot meets the needs of two families for a year). But the project was only
half-built, and it delivers only half the water that was promised. The biggest
missing piece is the "peripheral canal," meant to bypass the delta
and deliver <st1:place w:st="on">Sacramento River</st1:place> water directly to
the pumps and the aqueduct, while still injecting enough fresh water downstream
to maintain the ecosystem.<br>
<br>
In 1982, however, <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State> voters voted down
the peripheral canal because northerners feared a <st1:place w:st="on">Southern
California</st1:place> water grab. So the delta struggled along for another 20
years as the demand for water increased.<br>
<br>
Next came Cal-Fed, a consortium of state and federal agencies and a score of
"stakeholders" (environmental groups, commercial fishermen, urban
water users, irrigators, etc.) that attempted to negotiate an end to the state
water wars. The process had a warm and fuzzy feel, and in 2001, we got a
multiyear, $13-billion plan for more infrastructure, to be paid for by state
and federal funds. <br>
<br>
Turns out, however, that consensus works best when it comes to "protecting
the environment" and "serving the needs of people." This one
fell apart over details like where to spend the money first and who would pay
which bill. Each stakeholder wanted to come out ahead, but there's not enough
water left in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
for "win-win" solutions. It didn't help that the federal government
never came up with its share of the cash.<br>
<br>
The delta doesn't have another 30 years for more warm and fuzzy negotiations.
The state — beginning with Schwarzenegger's task force — must make
tough decisions now. <br>
<br>
Once and for all, it has to build a canal or another conveyance to send <st1:place
w:st="on">Sacramento River</st1:place> water to the aqueduct without destroying
the delta. This time, the design must allay northern fears of a water grab.
And, like new reservoirs, dams and levees (which the system also needs), the
project should be paid for by those who will benefit from it. That means
irrigation districts and urban water districts must raise money and pass the
costs to their customers.<br>
<br>
The state should immediately buy up thousands of acres of irrigated farmland on
the west side of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and give it a
rest. That land is laden with poisonous selenium; the more it's irrigated (with
delta water), the more the tainted runoff pollutes the environment. <br>
<br>
And finally, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
needs a tough water czar — a real enforcer with the authority to
implement a broad plan and let the experts work out the details. The Times once
proposed Bruce Babbitt, who worked water wonders as governor of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Arizona</st1:State></st1:place> and secretary of
the Interior — and bent arms during the Cal-Fed negotiations — as
the ideal candidate. Assuming he's available, it's still a good idea. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place>, Chair</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>California Trout, Inc., Advisor</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 cell</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">http://www.fotr.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.caltrout.org">http://www.caltrout.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org"></a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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