<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
font-weight:bold;}
h2
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
h3
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:windowtext;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading2Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 2 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading3Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
p.caption, li.caption, div.caption
{mso-style-name:caption;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.byline, li.byline, div.byline
{mso-style-name:byline;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.date, li.date, div.date
{mso-style-name:date;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.pipe1
{mso-style-name:pipe1;}
span.number1
{mso-style-name:number1;
color:black;
font-weight:bold;}
span.z-TopofFormChar
{mso-style-name:"z-Top of Form Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"z-Top of Form";
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
display:none;}
span.georgia3
{mso-style-name:georgia3;}
span.isdefault2
{mso-style-name:isdefault2;}
span.verdana3
{mso-style-name:verdana3;}
span.times3
{mso-style-name:times3;}
span.arial3
{mso-style-name:arial3;}
span.z-BottomofFormChar
{mso-style-name:"z-Bottom of Form Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"z-Bottom of Form";
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
display:none;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1240747431;
mso-list-template-ids:-1568390680;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<h1><span style='font-size:18.0pt;color:black'>Report finds delta among most
vulnerable rivers<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class=byline><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:black'><a
href="mailto:kzito@sfchronicle.com">Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=date><b><span style='color:black'>Wednesday, June 2, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<ul type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;display:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";display:none'><a
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/06/02/financial/f070020D30.DTL"><span
style='color:#015660;text-decoration:none'>Tax credits fuel 6 pct. rise in
April home sales</span></a> 06.02.10<o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>The river system that makes up the backbone of
the state's economy ranks as one of the most imperiled watersheds in the
nation, putting at risk drinking water for millions of Californians as well as
billions of dollars worth of crops and urban infrastructure, according to an
annual report on the country's most important waterways.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, whose
fingers extend from the slopes of Mount Shasta in the north to vast farm fields
near Fresno in the south, is "extremely vulnerable to catastrophic
failure" from over-pumping and declining ecosystems, according to American
Rivers, a Washington, D.C., conservation group.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>And increasingly, surging storm waters and
rising sea levels induced by global climate change threaten to ravage the
delicate network of levees and channels that route water through the confluence
of the two rivers and protect low-lying cities such as Sacramento, Lathrop and
Stockton.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>"The (levee) system is fragile, old and
degraded ... and the delta is the most important estuary in North
America," said Jeffrey Mount, a prominent UC Davis watershed scientist and
American Rivers board member. "And there's no money to fix it. That's why
there are hard choices to come."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<h3><span style='color:black'>Cracks in the system<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>Water supplies from the delta slake the thirst
of some 23 million Californians and hundreds of thousands of acres of the
nation's richest agricultural land. In recent years, however, cracks in the
system have turned into yawning gaps in the face of drought, rising oceans,
pollution, invasive species, and aging pipes and canals.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>Those myriad pressures placed the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta at No. 2 on the group's list of most
endangered rivers, behind the Upper Delaware River in Pennsylvania and New
York, and just ahead of the Gauley River in West Virginia. Both the Upper
Delaware and Gauley rivers are under threat from contamination tied to energy
operations - natural gas extraction along the Upper Delaware and mountaintop
mining along the Gauley.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<h3><span style='color:black'>Repair plans<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>California's water woes are familiar to anyone
who has followed the protracted political, legal and financial battles over
fixing the system. This year's American Rivers report, released today,
coincides with deadlines on several broad-based efforts to overhaul both the
management and infrastructure of the system.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>The Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is rushing to finish before his term ends in January,
aims to find a balance between a reliable water supply and ecosystem
restoration. Its centerpiece is a controversial, multibillion-dollar canal that
would funnel water around the delta to prevent further environmental damage and
ensure a consistent water supply.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>Under a separate project with the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the state is identifying the weakest parts of the Central
Valley's flood-control system. The Department of Water Resources must complete
that plan by Jan. 1, 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>American Rivers officials say both plans offer
opportunities to improve on the status quo. However, they worry that any steps
may simply open the spigot wider, diverting more water from the rivers with
little regard for ecological rehabilitation. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<h3><span style='color:black'>Learn from example<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>Instead, says American Rivers' John Cain, state
leaders should learn from the success of the Yolo Bypass, a kind of flood-safety
valve for the Sacramento River completed in the 1930s. In addition to its main
function, the bypass has emerged as an important rest stop for migratory birds.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>"It's an example of what works right in
the system," Cain said. "We need to create more room for rivers to
flood when the inevitable floods do come, instead of spending hundreds of
millions on emergency levee repairs."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>The Department of Water Resources says any
statewide water plan will address what it sees as the three key problems facing
the system: water reliability, water quality and ecosystem rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style='color:black'>"We absolutely agree that the
Sacramento-San Joaquin delta is in crisis. That's why we're continuing to
collaborate on a planning</span></b><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:black'>
process to fix this critical hub," said department spokesman Matt Notley.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3><span style='color:black'>Online resource <o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p><strong><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:black'>American Rivers:</span></strong><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;color:black'> Read the full report. <a
href="http://links.sfgate.com/ZJTO" target="_BLANK">links.sfgate.com/ZJTO</a><br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land/fax</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
mobile</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>