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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:26.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:#083970">Delta water tunnel plan presents California with tough choices<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:#646464"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial">By <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/search_results/?sf_pubsys_story_byline=Matt%20Weiser&link_location=top"><span style="color:#083970;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Matt Weiser</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial"><a href="mailto:mweiser@sacbee.com"><span style="color:#083970;text-decoration:
none;text-underline:none">mweiser@sacbee.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Arial">Published: Monday, Dec. 9,
2013 - 10:38 pm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">A new future for the troubled <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Sacramento-San+Joaquin+Delta/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta</span></a> was laid out for public review Monday in 34,000
sprawling pages of analysis associated with two giant water-diversion tunnels
proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The question now for the public and policy
makers: Is this the future they want?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">The <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/California+Department+of+Water+Resources/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">California
Department of Water Resources</span></a> released the draft documents as part
of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a proposed $25 billion project to resolve
decades of conflict between water demand and <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/wildlife+habitat/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">wildlife habitat</span></a> in the
estuary at the heart of the state. The documents – a habitat-conservation plan
and environmental-impact study – launch a formal public review period that will
lead to a decision on the proposal by the end of 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Although the Delta plan has been in the works for
seven years and revealed in preliminary form on several occasions, the
documents released Monday are the first complete look at the official project
proposed for construction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">“We consider it a major milestone,” said DWR
director Mark Cowin. “We think we’ve made some very positive revisions in this
plan. We think it’s a complete proposal and a good plan at this point.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Although the documents released Monday are
enormous, many questions remain unanswered. Some long-term financing details
are left to future political actions, for example, and how much water the
tunnels ultimately divert depends on a scenario to be chosen later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Overall, the goal is to simultaneously improve <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/wildlife+habitat/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">wildlife habitat</span></a> and
stabilize <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/water+supplies/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">water
supplies</span></a> from the estuary, a source of water for 25 million people
and 3 million acres of farmland from <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/San+Jose/"><span style="color:#083970;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">San Jose</span></a> to <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/San+Diego/"><span style="color:#083970;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">San Diego.</span></a> <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Population+growth/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Population growth,</span></a>
imperiled fish species and <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/climate+change/"><span style="color:#083970;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">climate change</span></a>
have made that <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/water+supply/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">water supply</span></a>
increasingly vulnerable, and the project aims for a comprehensive fix.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">At the core of the project is a pair of water
tunnels, 35 miles long and 40 feet in diameter. They would divert a portion of
the Sacramento River’s flow at three new intakes, proposed in <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Sacramento+County/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Sacramento County</span></a> between
Freeport and Courtland. The tunnels alone are projected to cost $15 billion,
which would be funded by the water agencies that benefit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Another $10 billion would go into
habitat-restoration projects, funded largely by taxpayers, including 100,000 acres
of habitat restoration to benefit 57 imperiled species, including Delta smelt,
chinook salmon, sandhill cranes and Swainson’s hawks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Water agencies that stand to benefit from the
plan have already allocated $240 million to get the project to this point, most
of which has been spent. The Bee reported Saturday that another $1.2 billion
will be needed to complete the planning before construction can start. This
money has already been accounted for in the $15 billion cost of the tunnels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Altogether, it is the most ambitious and
expensive water-development and habitat project ever proposed in California.
And it’s clear from the documents released Monday that many details of how it
will work still have to be resolved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">For instance, one vital question – how much water
the new tunnels will divert – is being deferred for a much later decision. The
state proposes a “decision tree” process that postpones the decision to an
uncertain date before construction of the tunnels is complete, after additional
scientific analysis and regulatory review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Instead, it offers two options that illustrate
likely extremes: a high-outflow scenario and a low-outflow scenario. The former
assumes wildlife officials order more unrestricted flow through the Delta to
benefit wildlife, and allow less water to be diverted into the new tunnels. The
latter assumes less natural flow and more diversions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">At issue in that choice is the still-disputed
question of how much free water flow is needed to sustain endangered species
like Delta smelt and juvenile salmon, which evolved in a Delta very different
from today’s highly altered environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">State and federal wildlife agencies have
indicated they will approve only the plan with the high-outflow scenario. But
the plan calls for that decision to be reviewed before the tunnels become
operational – in 2027, at the earliest – if research demonstrates outflow can
be reduced without harming the estuary. To some extent, this outcome depends
upon whether the initial phases of habitat restoration are successful in
breeding more fish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Sizable diversions</span></b><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Environmental and fishing groups maintain more
natural outflow is necessary to sustain and improve the Delta’s fish species,
and they’ve been critical of the proposal to delay a decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">“I say twin 40-foot tunnels, big enough to dry up
the <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Sacramento+River/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Sacramento
River</span></a> at most times of the year, can’t be good for salmon no matter
what,” said John McManus, executive director of the Golden Gate Salmon
Association.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">The project does not propose diverting the entire
flow of the river. It will be capable of diverting water at 9,000 cubic feet
per second, a maximum capacity that would be reached only during wet seasons,
according to the plan. There are other conditions in which the project would
divert less but still a sizable share of the Sacramento River’s flow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Some of the most significant changes would occur
in sections of the river near <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Walnut+Grove/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Walnut Grove,</span></a>
an area downstream of the proposed tunnel intakes. Computer modeling
estimations buried deep in Appendix 5 of the draft plan show the effect. River
flows would be reduced at least 10 percent in nearly every month of the year
compared to flows that would occur without the tunnels in place. In summer
months, river flows would drop between 20 and 25 percent. The estimates are
made based upon assumptions for the year 2060.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">To water diverters, convincing regulators to set
aside the high-outflow scenario may be crucial to the project’s financial
success. At a recent meeting of the <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Westlands+Water+District/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Westlands
Water District,</span></a> a major Delta water consumer in the <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/San+Joaquin+Valley/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">San Joaquin Valley,</span></a>
officials were told there are slim benefits under the high-outflow option,
which commits more water to outflows for habitat purposes, and less for
diverters like Westlands. In short, the cost of the tunnels may not justify the
limited water benefits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">“Does it pencil out under high-outflow scenario?”
wondered Jason Peltier, chief deputy general manager at Westlands. “My gut is
that it simply wouldn’t work. My prayer is that the fishery regulators recognize
what the implications of that swing are for whether we have a viable project or
not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">The intent of the new tunnels is to reduce
reliance on the existing diversion works, which consist of separate state and
federal pumping systems near Tracy. These diversion works, about 50 years old,
have been blamed for reversing natural water flows in the Delta and altering
aquatic habitat. They do not have modern fish screens, and none are proposed
now: They are located at a “dead-end” corner of the estuary, where modern fish
screens are considered ineffective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">The three new intakes will be built with
contemporary fish screens – basically plates of stainless steel spaced a
quarter inch apart to exclude virtually all fish. These intakes are proposed to
be used about 50 percent of the time, with the balance of diversions occurring
at the existing pumps near Tracy, depending on conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">“Putting in place a modern system to create a
more reliable <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/water+supply/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">water supply</span></a>
is crucial,” said Terry Erlewine, executive director of the State Water
Contractors, which represents 29 agencies that buy Delta water from the state.
“Currently, we’re crippled by outdated infrastructure and a regulatory
environment that is hindering our ability to capture fresh water when it is
abundant.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Farmers object</span></b><span style="font-size:
15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Even with fish screens, federal wildlife
officials remain concerned about the proposal. For instance, unless there is
sufficient river flow past the new screens, fish could become trapped near them
by the diversion pumps drawing water through the screens, making the fish more
vulnerable to predators. This is a particular concern for young salmon
migrating to the ocean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">“Those are some of the potential adverse affects
we are concerned about and would be looking at closely,” said Maria Rea,
Sacramento-region supervisor of the <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/National+Marine+Fisheries+Service/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">National
Marine Fisheries Service,</span></a> which is charged with protecting salmon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Local officials north of the Delta have grave
concerns that the project will affect water storage in reservoirs and flows
that enhance recreation in area rivers. There is also the enormous potential
impact on local communities in the Delta, which is described in various ways in
the documents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">The decade-long <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/construction+process/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">construction process</span></a> is
projected to block traffic and depress economic activity, with potentially
permanent effects on scenery and tourism resulting from the construction of new
waterworks. Also, the estimated 100,000 acres of habitat restoration will
involve taking farmland out of production, with potentially harmful effects on
the economy. For the new waterworks infrastructure alone, an estimated 5,665
acres of farmland and open space will be permanently altered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">“We’re being asked to sacrifice <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/family+farms/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">family farms</span></a> that have
been in business for 150 years – not to help other <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/family+farms/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">family farms,</span></a> but to
continue shipping almonds and pistachios around the world,” said <a href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Bob+Wright/"><span style="color:windowtext;
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Bob Wright,</span></a> an attorney at
Friends of the River, in a reference to Westlands growers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">State officials have acknowledged the proposal
comes with a heavy burden for Delta communities. Early last year, they
significantly changed the tunnel route to reduce some of those harmful effects,
and say they are ready to consider other changes during the public comment
process, which begins Friday and runs through April 14.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">“Ultimately, I think this comes down to a
question for both California and the United States,” Cowin said. “Is this the
program we all should be investing in?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:7.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;
mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia">Call The Bee’s Matt Weiser at (916) 321-1264.
Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/matt_weiser"><span style="color:#083970;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">@matt_weiser</span></a>.</span></i><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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