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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Science
finds exports are harming delta<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>S.F.
Chronicle-8/18/10<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By
Cynthia Koehler<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Opinion<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>For decades, efforts to fix the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta were stymied by arguments over whether we need to allow more freshwater
to flow through the estuary to alleviate an ecological crisis. <span
style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The State Water Resources Control Board has now effectively
ended this debate. Recently, the board released a report concluding that the
amount of water being taken from the delta - about 50 percent of what would naturally
flow through it - isn't leaving enough for fish like Chinook salmon. The board
found substantially greater flows are needed to preserve the health of the
delta estuary - about 75 percent of natural or "unimpaired" flows for
about half of the year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>When the Legislature called for this report, it directed the
board to make flow determinations based on the best available science. The
report is a comprehensive review of the health and flow needs of the largest
and most important estuary on the West Coast. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The downward spiral of salmon fisheries and other resources
of the delta is well known, but until this report was released, the debate
about whether flows were partly responsible was unresolved. The water board has
performed a critical public service in moving the debate to the next level. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Other factors such as restoration of habitat, toxic
discharges and invasive species also affect the health of the estuary and must
be addressed. But one thing is now beyond question: The science confirms that
we have fallen out of balance in managing the delta, and future solutions can
no longer sidestep the key issue of freshwater flows. Restoring those flows is
not the only answer to the estuary's woes, but there is no answer at all
without them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The board's work, while important, is not the end of the
story. Any long-term solution must provide reliable water supplies for people
while protecting salmon and other native fish and the ecological health of the
delta. But any balancing of competing interests requires first knowing what
both interests need. Water users' demands have long been made clear. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The board has now provided the other bookend: the flow needs
of the ecosystem. Ahead of us lies the hard work of reconciling what the
science tells us about the estuary's needs with how we manage our water
supplies. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Critics will insist that the board's work can be dismissed
because the science is "uncertain." This is a red herring. Public
policy is regularly made based on science and information that is not 100 percent
certain. Science cannot say with complete certainty that tobacco smoke causes
cancer, but that hasn't stopped government authorities from taking action. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We now have overwhelming scientific evidence showing that
better water flows are essential to restoring the health of the bay-delta. We
know for certain that the estuary is dying, that salmon are near extinction and
that fishermen are in deep distress. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Fortunately, there are ways to balance the water needs of
fish, farms and families. Thanks to the water board, we now have the
information we need to start bringing balance back to the system.# <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i>Cynthia Koehler is a senior attorney and California water
legislative director of Environmental Defense Fund in San Francisco.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/18/ED651EURVR.DTL">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/18/ED651EURVR.DTL</a><o:p></o:p></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><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></i></b></a><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></i></b></a><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'> </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><a href="http://fotr.org/"><b><i><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></i></b></a><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'> </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>
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