<h1 id="articleTitle" class="articleTitle">Water forum gets update on state plans</h1><div id="articleByline" class="articleByline"><a href="http://www.chicoer.com/rss/ci_16634485?source=rss">http://www.chicoer.com/rss/ci_16634485?source=rss</a><br>
<br>By HEATHER HACKING-Staff Writer</div><div id="articleDate" class="articleDate">Posted: 11/17/2010 12:08:58 AM PST</div><br>
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CHICO — A push for a new water conveyance system
around the Delta, habitat restoration, endangered fish and other
wildlife, a growing population, and a lot of politics surround plans for
what to do in California about water.
<p>Other big unknowns include climate change, earthquake risk and the question of who will pay for what.
</p><p>With all that on the table, the Northern Sacramento Valley Water
Forum gathered some heavy hitters in the state water world to talk about
the Delta and the idea of "more water flowing north to south" at Sierra
Nevada Brewing Co. Tuesday with an audience of about 80.
</p><p>The push for the state is to recognize "co-equal goals" that
include restoring the ecosystem while improving water reliability for
the entire
state.
</p><p>Within this broad plan are several pieces, which panelists addressed during the forum.
</p><div id="articleBody" class="articleBody"><li><br></li> Joe Grindstaff is executive director of the Delta Stewardship Council, which is working on a plan that focuses on the Delta.
<p>He noted recent studies have shown that since 1998, the state has been using groundwater at an enormous rate.
</p><p>Issues are especially precarious in the Delta, which has 1,300
miles of levees, most of them privately owned, that could falter in a
large earthquake.
</p><p>Also, even a rise in sea level of three feet could flood much of the area.
</p><p>The Delta Plan currently calls for habitat restoration on 100,000
acres of the 700,000 acres in the area, which Grindstaff said is "a
massive undertaking."
</p><p>He said
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it is "highly likely" the Delta Steering Committee
will recommend building either a canal or tunnel that would take water
around the Delta.
<p>Another part of the plan talks about preserving the Delta as a
special place, where generations of people have lived, farmed and
enjoyed the outdoors.
</p><li><br></li> The second part of the plan calls for folding the
Delta blueprint into the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, currently in the
works and led by the Department of Water Resources.
<p>Russ Stein heads
the office of Environmental Compliance for DWR, which
has been working with federal and state agencies and many other
water-related groups on the plan since 2006.
</p><p>The draft plan calls for restoration of 65,000 acres of
freshwater and brackish tidal habitat, 5,000 acres of riparian forest,
20-40 miles of riverbank improvement, 10,000 acres of seasonal
floodplain and using Yolo Bypass for fish habitat.
</p><p>Other targets would include control of non-native species and illegal harvest, reducing predators and improving water quality.
</p><p>Stein said all this would need to be done while existing systems
such as water delivery and power generation continue. Predictions are
that climate change will significantly reduce the amount of water
available
in the state.
</p><p>Models predict that by 2015 there will be 6.2 million acre-feet
of water available for diversion each year, Stein said. By 2025, sea
level rise is predicted to drop this amount to 5.9 million acre feet,
and a dip to 5.4 million acre feet of water by 2060.
</p><p>One acre-foot of water is 325,851 gallons, enough water to flood one acre of land with one foot of water.
</p><p>Then there are uncertainties such as earthquakes or levee failures.
</p><p>For these reasons, the plan is purposely crafted to be as adaptable as possible, he said.
</p><li><br></li> Two speakers also addressed recent reports on a
process to quantify how much water would be needed for protected land
and water species, as well as species of concern.
<p>Les Grober of the
State Water Resources Control Board, is the primary
author of the "Instream Flow Criteria," that, if taken verbatim, would
dictate enormous cutbacks to diversions along the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers.
</p><p>Grober spent several minutes explaining this document.
</p><p>Chad Dibble, a staff environmental scientist for California Fish
and Game, has been working on a a companion report which maps out the
water needs of different species, including 26 terrestrial and 20
aquatic species.
</p><p>Some of the management concerns include the need for low salinity water in the Suisun Bay, as well as water in the Yolo bypass.
</p><p>The report is at: <a href="http://www.dfg.ca.gov/">http://www.dfg.ca.gov/</a> water/water_rights_docs.html.<br style="clear: both;">
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