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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>California
must preserve Delta's health<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>San Jose
Mercury News-7/26/10<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Editorial<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The first, second and
third priority for the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the
largest estuary on the West Coast, is preserving its health. Everything else,
including the needs of the powerful agriculture industry and municipal water
agencies, should move further back in line.</span></b><b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The massive water deal
passed by the Legislature in 2009 called on the state to conduct an
independent, comprehensive study to determine how to achieve a sustainable,
healthy delta. A draft released last week stated uncategorically that water
users are taking twice as much water as they should. That must stop, the report
said, or the sickly delta will eventually become unable to provide safe, clean
water for fish, farmers and city dwellers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The conclusion does not
surprise objective students of water policy. There have to be unhealthy
consequences of diverting more than 50 percent of the water from the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers before it circulates through the delta.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>But thirsty Central Valley
ag interests are howling. Fresno Democratic Rep. Jim Costa told reporters last
week that —... this kind of misinformation serves as fodder for extreme
environmentalists and critics of our Valley who aim to cut off our water.
"... We are winning this fight, and I will not let this one-sided document
limit our progress."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>There's a reason Costa and
farmers want to preserve the status quo: They stand to make out like bandits
under the current terms of the water deal. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The agreement demands that
urban water users reduce their consumption by 20 percent. How much does it ask
of the agriculture industry, which grabs 80 percent of the water used by
California? Zero.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The state wouldn't need
any additional storage, period, if farmers conserved just 10 percent of the
water they now use. But they continue to spray untold gallons through wasteful
irrigation sprinklers on sizzling summer days rather than invest in more
efficient drip systems.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The water deal calls on
all California taxpayers to pay for building more reservoirs and the like
through a bond measure. Instead, the users of the additional storage
facilities, primarily agriculture, should pay more of the cost to build them,
even if it means passing the cost on to customers. We should understand the
real cost of our food. But higher costs for water will also make conservation
more attractive.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>There's room for
compromise here. All Californians share a common interest in a healthy ag
industry, a huge part of our economy, as well as a healthy delta. The state
should be offering incentives for growers to conserve water, which has to be
the long-range goal.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>California has an
obligation to future generations to preserve a healthy water supply. That can't
happen if the state continues to overpromise what the delta can deliver and
remain healthy.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The delta provides more
than half of Silicon Valley's drinking water. It's crucial to the region's
economic health. The state has to find a way to keep the estuary healthy, or it
will ultimately fail to meet our water needs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></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>
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