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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=danielbacher@fishsniffer.com
href="mailto:danielbacher@fishsniffer.com">Dan Bacher</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, October 31, 2008 4:08 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> State Uses Announcement of Proposed Water Cuts to Push
Canal and Dams</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><FONT
class=Apple-style-span size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">State Uses Announcement of Proposed Water Cuts to Push
Canal and Dams</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><FONT class=Apple-style-span size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">By Dan
Bacher</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Thursday used a news conference
announcing proposed drastic cuts of State Water Project (SWP) deliveries to
agribusiness and cities as yet another opportunity to push for a peripheral
canal and more dams.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">DWR
Director Lester Snow, conjuring up fears of a prolonged statewide “drought”
doomsday scenario, announced an initial allocation of 15 percent for water
delivery to the SWP contractors in 2009. This would be the second lowest in the
history of the State Water Project.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“This
further dramatizes the urgent need for additional investments in water storage
and conveyance infrastructure to assure an adequate and reliable water supply,”
said Snow, in support of a controversial $9.3 billion water bond proposal by
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein to build more dams
and a peripheral canal around the California Delta.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“The
uncertainly of precipitation patterns due to global warming and deteriorating
conditions in the Delta, California’s main water hub, demand immediate action to
enhance our ecosystem and keep our economy productive in the 21st century. The
Governor has sounded the wakeup call, and the clock is ticking,” Snow
claimed.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">A broad
coalition of recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, Delta farmers and
conservationists is opposing the Governor’s water bond because they believe it
will result in increased water exports from the Delta and exacerbate the
unprecedented collapse of Central Valley chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin
smelt, striped bass, threadfin shad and other fish poulations. Although massive
opposition to the proposal prevented the Governor and Assemblyman Dave Cogdill
from getting legislative approval for the water bond, political insiders expect
the pro-canal forces to try to put the bond on the June
ballot.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Snow said
the 15 percent allocation figure reflects “the low carryover storage levels in
the state’s major reservoirs, ongoing drought conditions and court ordered
restrictions on water deliveries from the Delta.”</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
lowest initial allocation figure was 10 percent of SWP Contractors’ requests in
1993, but that number was increased to 100 percent during the water year as
conditions developed. Last year, the initial figure was 25 percent and it was
increased to 35 percent, according to Snow.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">The Real Reasons Behind the
"Droug</SPAN></FONT>ht"</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Unfortunately, Snow failed to mention that the
reason for the low carryover storage was because Shasta, Oroville, Folsom and
other northern California reservoirs have been drained to alarmingly low water
levels by the state and federal governments to send subsidized water to drainage
impaired land in the Westlands Water District and to fill the Kern Water Bank,
the Semi-Tropic Water Bank and reservoirs in Southern
California.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana>Today’s articles in the S.F. Chronicle, Sacramento Bee and other
newspapers about Snow’s announcement failed to mention the real reasons behind
the alleged “drought." Fortunately, Tom Stienstra, S.F. Chronicle outdoor
columnist and author, wrote a superb piece, "</FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
color=#000000><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana>Drought, or water
heist?,"</FONT></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana> in the
Chronicle on October 26, exposing this fraud by the Schwarzenegger
administration. “This isn't a drought. This is a created shortage,” Stienstra
emphasized.</FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana> </FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Stienstra
cites Department of Water Resources data stating that the past two years are
only the ninth driest two-year period in the past 88 years, and that California
routinely experiences such periods once every 10 years.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“What
happened last year is that water managers were betting on a wet spring,” said
Stienstra. “When it didn't happen, many lakes were drained down to nothing in
order to send water to L.A. and farmers.”</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“True
droughts are measured by soil moisture, and in some cases, water levels at
wilderness lakes. In a true drought, soil moisture is so low that plants go into
artificial hibernation to protect themselves, as in 1992, and that has not
happened. Up in the high country, most wilderness lakes - outside the reach of
water-grabbers - are full,” he said.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Stienstra
contrasts the condition of northern California reservoirs with those of a
southern California reservoir that receives its water from the State Water
Project.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“Even
more telling is that along Interstate 5 near L.A., Pyramid Lake, which gets
water from Northern California, is 97 percent full right now. Yet while all this
is going on, ocean conditions are setting up right now for decent chance of a
very wet fall,” he concluded.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana size=3><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-SIZE: 13px">Low
Carryover a Result of Poor Water Management</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
size=3><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Mindy
McIntyre, the Water Program Manager for the Planning and Conservation League,
agrees with Stienstra that the “drought” is a largely an artificially created
phenomenon spurred by bad water management. In two below normal but nowhere near
critically dry years, the state pumps delivered massive amounts of water south
to the Kern Water Bank, Diamond Valley Reservoir and the Semi-Tropic Groundwater
Bank in southern California with apparent disregard for the fact that reservoirs
would be drawn down to dangerously low levels.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“The DWR
didn’t call for water conservation this year – so the dry year situation wasn’t
taken seriously,” said McIntyre. “This year we’re going into a potentially dry
year without a buffer in the reservoirs, so the state and federal governments
have managed themselves into a manmade drought.”</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The state
and federal governments in recent years have pumped record amounts of water out
of the California Delta. Some of the largest annual water export levels in
history occurred in 2003 (6.3 million acre-feet), 2004 (6.1 MAF), 2005 (6.5 MAF)
and 2006 (6.3 MAF). Exports averaged 4.6 MAF annually between 1990 and 1999 and
increased to an average of 6 MAF between 2000 and 2007, a rise of almost 30
percent, according to the California Sportfishing Protection
Alliance.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
problem with California water supply won’t be addressed by building a peripheral
canal or more dams, but by practicing better water management and increased
water conservation, McIntyre contends. </SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“This is more a failure of water policy and
management than it is of infrastructure,” she said. “We will have a water crisis
every year unless we find a way to decrease demand.”</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">While
Schwarzenegger and Lester Snow continue to push "improved conveyance" and new
reservoirs as the "solution" to California's water problems, a number of
recently published reports question the need for new dams and canals. A report
published by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LACEDC)
compared the price of water produced by conservation, recycling, desalinization,
and new dams. "The LACEDC found water from new dams to be the most costly
option, which prompted the business group to characterize new dams as a
'non-starter' due to economic and environmental concerns," according to Steve
Evans, conservation director of Friends of the River.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">In
addition, a recently published report by the Pacific Institute found that
improving agricultural water use efficiency through careful planning, adopting
existing cost efficient technologies and management practices, and implementing
feasible policy changes can maintain a strong agricultural economy while
reducing the need for Delta exports - and new dams and a canal to supply
increased exports. These measures could save 3.4 million acre feet or more of
water.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
report also noted that recent court decisions from lawsuits filed by Friends of
the River, Earthjustice, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Natural Resources
Defense Council and other organizations, scientific assessments, and the
Governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force all recognize that Delta exports
must be reduced.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">Why Was
Announcement Made a Month Early?</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
timing of Snow’s “drought” announcement was curious, since it occurred just days
before one of the most contested November elections in California and U.S.
history. DWR has historically made this announcement at the end of November to
comply with the long-term water supply contracts requiring a December 1
announcement.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“Today’s
announcement comes slightly earlier to help local water agencies better prepare
for 2009, which is expected to be another dry year,” claimed Snow. "The
announcement is part of the department’s effort to implement Gov.
Schwarzenegger’s Drought Executive Order (S-06-08) directing DWR to help local
water districts and agencies proactively address these
conditions."</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Maybe so,
but could it be that the announcement was actually made earlier than normal to
buttress support for candidates supporting Schwarzenegger's $9.3 water bond that
includes “improved conveyance” – a peripheral canal – and more
dams?</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">Water
Delivery Facts:</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">SWP
contractors deliver water to more than 25 million California residents and more
than 750,000 acres of farmland. This year, SWP contractors requested 4,166,376
million acre-feet of water for the 2009 calendar year, the maximum contractual
amount allowed. Actual delivery amounts can increase from the initial allocation
depending on the year’s hydrologic and water supply
conditions.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"In
preparing the initial allocation, DWR considered a conservative projection of
hydrology; SWP operational constraints including additional 2009 Delta export
restrictions per the federal district court’s remedy order to protect Delta
Smelt; and 2009 contractor demands, including carryover water from 2008,"
according to DWR.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN>
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