<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><head><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266229" dir="ltr">Big news for CA Water!</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266229" dir="ltr"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266229" dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267002" class="">https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html</a><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266664"><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Serif', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.3; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 15px; font-size: 45px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266665">Jolting California officials, Trump administration looks to rewrite rules for Delta water</h3></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; margin-left: 80px; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266666"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; border: none; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans Cond', 'Roboto Condensed Medium', HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold, sans-serif; padding: 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266667"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3; text-transform: uppercase;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266668"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266669">BY DALE KASLER</span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(158, 156, 161);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266670"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; text-transform: none; font-style: italic;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266671"><a href="mailto:dkasler@sacbee.com" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266672">dkasler@sacbee.com</a></span></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; width: 33px; float: left; top: 0px; ; z-index: 1; margin-left: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266673"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans Cond', 'Roboto Condensed Medium', HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold, sans-serif;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266674"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 33px; min-height: 33px; display: inline-block; margin-right: 22px; position: relative; margin-bottom: 5px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266675"><a title="Share on Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: 33px; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266676"></a><div style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; background-color: rgb(59, 89, 152); border-top-left-radius: 50%; border-top-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-left-radius: 50%; ; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266677"></div></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 33px; min-height: 33px; display: inline-block; margin-right: 22px; position: relative; margin-bottom: 5px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266678"><a title="Share on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Jolting+California+officials,+Trump+administration+looks+to+rewrite+rules+for+Delta+water&url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: 33px; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266679"></a><div style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; background-color: rgb(85, 172, 238); border-top-left-radius: 50%; border-top-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-left-radius: 50%; ; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266680"></div></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 33px; min-height: 33px; display: inline-block; margin-right: 22px; position: relative; margin-bottom: 5px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266681"><a title="Share by Email" href="mailto:?subject=Jolting%20California%20officials,%20Trump%20administration%20looks%20to%20rewrite%20rules%20for%20Delta%20water&body=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: 33px; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266682"></a><div style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; background-color: rgb(192, 189, 189); border-top-left-radius: 50%; border-top-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-left-radius: 50%; ; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266683"></div></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 33px; min-height: 33px; display: inline-block; margin-right: 0px; position: relative; margin-bottom: 5px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266684"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; left: -9999px; ; top: 33px; width: 125px; min-height: 215px; z-index: 10; box-shadow: rgb(221, 221, 221) 3px 5px 7px 0px; text-align: center;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266685"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left; text-transform: uppercase;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266686"><a title="Share on LinkedIn" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html&title=Jolting%20California%20officials,%20Trump%20administration%20looks%20to%20rewrite%20rules%20for%20Delta%20water" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: auto; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; line-height: 33px; background-position: 0px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266687"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; float: left; margin-right: 10px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266688"></span>LINKEDIN</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left; text-transform: uppercase;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266689"><a title="Share on Google Plus" href="https://plus.google.com/share?url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: auto; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; line-height: 33px; background-position: 0px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266690"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; float: left; margin-right: 10px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266691"></span>GOOGLE+</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left; text-transform: uppercase;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266692"><a title="Share on Pinterest" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html&description=Jolting%20California%20officials,%20Trump%20administration%20looks%20to%20rewrite%20rules%20for%20Delta%20water&media=https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/5502557042001/9a1f8fdf-8c56-47f4-95b2-38fcf7289d55/31d5d5d6-5f10-4bb5-a6b7-d426adbd9555/1280x720/match/image.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: auto; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; line-height: 33px; background-position: 0px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266693"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; float: left; margin-right: 10px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266694"></span>PINTEREST</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left; text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266695"><a title="Share on Reddit" href="https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: auto; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; line-height: 33px; background-position: 0px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266696"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; float: left; margin-right: 10px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266697"></span>REDDIT</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left; text-transform: uppercase;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266698"><a title="Print" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: auto; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; line-height: 33px; background-position: 0px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266699" href=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 18px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; float: left; margin-right: 10px; top: 0px; left: 6px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266700"></span>PRINT</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left; text-transform: uppercase;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266701"><a title="Reprints" href="https://www.mcclatchyreprints.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); text-decoration: none; display: block; width: auto; min-height: 33px; position: relative; z-index: 1; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; padding-top: 5px; background-position: 0px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266702">ORDER REPRINT OF THIS STORY</a></li></ul><div style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; line-height: 33px; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: 20px; text-rendering: auto; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); min-height: 33px; text-align: center; width: 33px; background-color: rgb(192, 189, 189); border-top-left-radius: 50%; border-top-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-left-radius: 50%; ; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266703"></div></li></ul></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266704"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; color: rgb(117, 117, 117);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266705"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266706">August 23, 2018 12:17 PM</span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; color: rgb(117, 117, 117);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266707"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266708">Updated 1 hour 7 minutes ago </span></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266709"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266710"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266711"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266712">The Trump administration is trying a bold new tactic to bring more water to Central Valley farmers — one that could come at the expense of millions of urban Southern Californians.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266713">In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation served notice to California officials Aug. 17, stating it wants to renegotiate a landmark 1986 agreement governing the big federal and state water projects and how they pump water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to their member agencies in southern half of the state. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266714">Reclamation’s efforts could significantly alter the balance of power between the state and federal governments as they share control of the water that flows through the Delta. The estuary is the hub of California’s complex north-to-south water delivery system.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266715">The complicated 1986 deal requires both sides to surrender water at times from their reservoirs, to serve<a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article212342719.html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266716"> Delta environmental needs </a>and other purposes. Now the feds want to keep more of their water on hand, for delivery to Valley farm-irrigation districts and other customers of the federal government’s Central Valley Project, leaving less for the State Water Project. Experts say hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water could be at stake.</div><form method="POST" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 5px 0px 20px; padding: 20px 0px 15px; text-align: center; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266717"><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1; font-size: 18px; display: inline-block;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266718">Breaking News</h1><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; margin-top: 10px !important;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266719">Be the first to know when big news breaks</div><input name="s_email_address" value="" placeholder="Enter Email Address" type="email" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 5px auto; font-size: 14px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: none; display: block; padding: 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; max-width: 400px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266720"><div data-sitekey="6LcCJGUUAAAAADAmkD2iQN_k8a6FCpgo2VBei6su" data-callback="callbackCaptcha" data-size="invisible" data-badge="inline" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266721"><div data-style="inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; transform: scale(0.4); transform-origin: 0px 0px; position: relative; left: 50%; margin-left: 0; box-shadow: gray 0px 0px 5px; min-height: 60px; width: 256px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266722"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266723"><iframe src="https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api2/anchor?ar=1&k=6LcCJGUUAAAAADAmkD2iQN_k8a6FCpgo2VBei6su&co=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2FjYmVlLmNvbTo0NDM.&hl=en&v=v1534806847586&size=invisible&badge=inline&cb=rnnmivcdyx5m" width="256" height="60" role="presentation" name="a-bpt2yw9u4ncc" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px !important; clear: left; padding: 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266724"></iframe></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266725"></div></div></div><button type="submit" disabled="" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: uppercase; cursor: not-allowed; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-weight: 600; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); white-space: nowrap; padding: 8px 30px 6px; border-top-left-radius: 1px; border-top-right-radius: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 1px; border-bottom-left-radius: 1px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); pointer-events: none; opacity: 0.3; box-shadow: none; min-width: 150px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266726">SIGN UP</button></form><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266727">The two sides have been discussing possible revisions to the agreement for a while, and there’s considerable uncertainty whether the feds can successfully wrest more water away from the state. But Reclamation’s move is clearly ratcheting up tensions between state and federal officials over how to divide and deliver the state’s precious water supply.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266728">State officials “were hoping this day would not come,” said Greg Gartrell, a Bay Area water policy expert with 30 years of experience in Delta issues.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266729">The feds recently threatened to sue the state over a proposal to reallocate the flows on the San Joaquin River, <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article216729210.html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266730">giving more water to fish</a> and less to Valley farmers. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who oversees Reclamation, then ordered aides to <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article217013095.html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266731">develop an action plan </a>aimed at “maximizing water deliveries” to agriculture and other Central Valley Project customers.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266732"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266733"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266734">During the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump told a <a href="https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/election/article80491942.html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266735">rally in Fresno</a> he would deliver more water to Valley farmers, who have struggled for years with reduced supplies.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266736">Meanwhile, Central Valley Project and State Water Project members are in conflict over Gov. Jerry Brown’s plans to build the Delta tunnels, which are supposed to ease the estuary’s environmental troubles and enable both projects to pump water more reliably. So far the big farm-irrigation districts in the CVP have refused to help pay for the tunnels, increasing the burden on State Water Project agencies.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266737">Now comes the attempt by Reclamation to rewrite the rules on Delta pumping. Although the two sides informally have been discussing revisions for two years, Reclamation’s formal “notice of negotiation” landed the same day as Zinke’s bluntly worded memo on water deliveries and sent a jolt through the halls of state government.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266738"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266739"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266740">If the feds get their way in the Delta, there would be less water for the State Water Project and its most important customer: the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 19 million residents of Los Angeles and surrounding areas. That leaves state officials anxious, experts say.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266741">“You have 19 million people who are caught up in the State Water Project,” said Sacramento water lawyer Stuart Somach, who helped negotiate the 1986 agreement while serving in the federal government. “If you have leverage over 19 million Californians ... you’ve got quite a bit of leverage.”</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266742"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266743"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans'; background-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); padding: 15px 20px 20px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266744"><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans Cond'; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin: 0px auto 15px; font-size: 20px; padding: 6px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center !important;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266745">WHERE'S YOUR WATER GOING?</h3><h5 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.4; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 14px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266746">We follow every drop. Reporters at The Sacramento Bee scrutinize the crazy, convoluted world of California water.</h5><h5 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.4; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 14px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266747">We watch it during drought, we watch it during floods. We hold elected officials and bureaucrats accountable as they move Northern California’s river water around the state, reshape the plumbing of the Delta region on Sacramento’s doorstep and re-divide the state’s supplies to rescue failing fish populations.</h5><h5 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.4; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 14px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266748">Stay informed. Take advantage of a 99-cents offer for your first month of access to The Sacramento Bee.</h5><a href="https://account.sacbee.com/subscribe/create?param=fHpDCUY=&cid=CTA_water" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266749"><button style="margin: 16px auto 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; display: block; color: white; background-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); border-top-left-radius: 1px; border-top-right-radius: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 1px; border-bottom-left-radius: 1px; font-weight: 600; vertical-align: middle; padding: 8px 30px 6px; border: 1px solid transparent;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266750">CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE</button></a></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266751"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 40px; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px; clear: both; border-left-width: 2px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(0, 147, 208); margin-top: 40px; width: 700px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266752"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans Cond', 'Roboto Condensed Medium', HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold, sans-serif; line-height: 1; color: rgb(0, 147, 208); margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14px; text-transform: uppercase; top: -2px; position: relative; display: inline-block; border-bottom-style: none; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; min-width: 0px; background-position: 0px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266753">RELATED STORIES FROM SACRAMENTO BEE</h2><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266754"><article style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); width: 683px; padding: 0px; clear: left;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266755"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-style: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266756"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article217013095.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266757"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; float: left; width: 136.59375px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266758"><picture style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266759"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/2l38xg/picture216966985/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/DB%20River%20Flows%2006%20(1)" media="(min-width: 992px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266760"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/2l38xg/picture216966985/alternates/LANDSCAPE_960/DB%20River%20Flows%2006%20(1)" media="(min-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266761"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/2l38xg/picture216966985/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/DB%20River%20Flows%2006%20(1)" media="(min-width: 601px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266762"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/2l38xg/picture216966985/alternates/LANDSCAPE_640/DB%20River%20Flows%2006%20(1)" media="(min-width: 441px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266763"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/2l38xg/picture216966985/alternates/LANDSCAPE_480/DB%20River%20Flows%2006%20(1)" media="(min-width: 320px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266764"><img srcset="https://www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/2l38xg/picture216966985/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/DB%20River%20Flows%2006%20(1)" alt="‘Time for action is now.’ Interior chief demands plan to pump more California water south" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 136.59375px; min-height: auto;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266765" data-id="5a58b4c7-d8da-fd64-7895-119179d84d0d"></picture></div></a><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.25; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 15px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266766"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article217013095.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266767">‘Time for action is now.’ Interior chief demands plan to pump more California water south</a></h4></div></article><article style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); width: 683px; padding: 0px; clear: left;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266768"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-style: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266769"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article216813145.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266770"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; float: left; width: 136.59375px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266771"><picture style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266772"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/state-issues/3tb9cg/picture216383260/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_EAC6CIHS_L336502194" media="(min-width: 992px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266773"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/state-issues/3tb9cg/picture216383260/alternates/LANDSCAPE_960/IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_EAC6CIHS_L336502194" media="(min-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266774"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/state-issues/3tb9cg/picture216383260/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_EAC6CIHS_L336502194" media="(min-width: 601px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266775"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/state-issues/3tb9cg/picture216383260/alternates/LANDSCAPE_640/IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_EAC6CIHS_L336502194" media="(min-width: 441px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266776"><source srcset="//www.modbee.com/opinion/state-issues/3tb9cg/picture216383260/alternates/LANDSCAPE_480/IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_EAC6CIHS_L336502194" media="(min-width: 320px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266777"><img srcset="https://www.modbee.com/opinion/state-issues/3tb9cg/picture216383260/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_EAC6CIHS_L336502194" alt="Delta tunnels cost soars to nearly $20 billion when accounting for inflation" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 136.59375px; min-height: auto;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266778" data-id="e0053f03-7848-7700-4a18-ceac76e1741c"></picture></div></a><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.25; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 15px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266779"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article216813145.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266780">Delta tunnels cost soars to nearly $20 billion when accounting for inflation</a></h4></div></article><article style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); width: 683px; padding: 0px; clear: left;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266781"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-style: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266782"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article216729210.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266783"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; float: left; width: 136.59375px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266784"><picture style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266785"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/h1m3t0/picture216863810/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/Lede_RB_Water_2.JPG" media="(min-width: 992px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266786"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/h1m3t0/picture216863810/alternates/LANDSCAPE_960/Lede_RB_Water_2.JPG" media="(min-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266787"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/h1m3t0/picture216863810/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Lede_RB_Water_2.JPG" media="(min-width: 601px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266788"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/h1m3t0/picture216863810/alternates/LANDSCAPE_640/Lede_RB_Water_2.JPG" media="(min-width: 441px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266789"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/h1m3t0/picture216863810/alternates/LANDSCAPE_480/Lede_RB_Water_2.JPG" media="(min-width: 320px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266790"><img srcset="https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/h1m3t0/picture216863810/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/Lede_RB_Water_2.JPG" alt="Why San Francisco is joining Valley farmers in a fight over precious California water" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 136.59375px; min-height: auto;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266791" data-id="18165ce7-65c6-b9bf-4a5c-a904f1fc86a2"></picture></div></a><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.25; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 15px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266792"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article216729210.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266793">Why San Francisco is joining Valley farmers in a fight over precious California water</a></h4></div></article><article style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); width: 683px; padding: 0px; clear: left;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266794"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-style: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266795"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article215421995.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266796"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; float: left; width: 136.59375px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266797"><picture style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266798"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/64jmk1/picture201357499/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/IMG_5207.JPG" media="(min-width: 992px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266799"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/64jmk1/picture201357499/alternates/LANDSCAPE_960/IMG_5207.JPG" media="(min-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266800"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/64jmk1/picture201357499/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/IMG_5207.JPG" media="(min-width: 601px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266801"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/64jmk1/picture201357499/alternates/LANDSCAPE_640/IMG_5207.JPG" media="(min-width: 441px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266802"><source srcset="//www.sacbee.com/latest-news/64jmk1/picture201357499/alternates/LANDSCAPE_480/IMG_5207.JPG" media="(min-width: 320px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266803"><img srcset="https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/64jmk1/picture201357499/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/IMG_5207.JPG" alt="California’s largest reservoir project in decades gets an $800 million boost. But is it feasible?" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 136.59375px; min-height: auto;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266804" data-id="4d36c658-a1e0-060f-5dab-b9a32541ae9a"></picture></div></a><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.25; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 15px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266805"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article215421995.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266806">California’s largest reservoir project in decades gets an $800 million boost. But is it feasible?</a></h4></div></article><article style="box-sizing: border-box; display: table; border-bottom-style: none; width: 683px; padding: 0px; clear: left;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266807"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border-bottom-style: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266808"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article215046475.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266809"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; float: left; width: 136.59375px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266810"><picture style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266811"><source srcset="//www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/editorials/nxktcb/picture211167154/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/Copy_IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_2_1_O2CE8F2G_L343377348" media="(min-width: 992px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266812"><source srcset="//www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/editorials/nxktcb/picture211167154/alternates/LANDSCAPE_960/Copy_IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_2_1_O2CE8F2G_L343377348" media="(min-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266813"><source srcset="//www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/editorials/nxktcb/picture211167154/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Copy_IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_2_1_O2CE8F2G_L343377348" media="(min-width: 601px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266814"><source srcset="//www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/editorials/nxktcb/picture211167154/alternates/LANDSCAPE_640/Copy_IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_2_1_O2CE8F2G_L343377348" media="(min-width: 441px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266815"><source srcset="//www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/editorials/nxktcb/picture211167154/alternates/LANDSCAPE_480/Copy_IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_2_1_O2CE8F2G_L343377348" media="(min-width: 320px)" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266816"><img srcset="https://www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/editorials/nxktcb/picture211167154/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1140/Copy_IMG_tunnels_sign_9_1_2_1_O2CE8F2G_L343377348" alt="Delta tunnels get ‘real’ as backers seek $1.6B loan from Trump administration" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 136.59375px; min-height: auto;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266817" data-id="b23d790b-a22e-b65f-5a4a-15fde8b50d0c"></picture></div></a><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.25; color: inherit; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 15px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266818"><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article215046475.html#storylink=related_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266819">Delta tunnels get ‘real’ as backers seek $1.6B loan from Trump administration</a></h4></div></article></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266820">Gartrell, a retired assistant general manager at the Contra Costa Water District — which gets water from the CVP — said the federal government “probably has the upper hand” in part because of water rights. Both projects operate under legal water rights granted by the state, and the Central Valley Project, which was built about 20 years before the State Water Project, enjoys more senior legal status, experts say.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266821"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266822"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266823">“My gut feeling is that the risk is greater for” the State Water Project, Gartrell added.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266824">Spokeswoman Erin Mellon of the state Department of Water Resources said DWR officials met this week with federal officials about the Delta agreement. “We have a joint interest in ensuring our water system meets the needs of California communities and ecosystems and will maintain an open dialogue,” she said. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266825">Metropolitan officials had no comment; nor did officials with the mostly agricultural Kern County Water Agency, another big member of the State Water Project. Jennifer Pierre of the State Water Contractors, an organization that represents State Water Project member agencies, said of the negotiations: “The outcome and its implications are not known. Regardless, we’ve had a decades-long partnership with the CVP and we expect that to continue in the decades ahead.”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266826"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266827"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266828">The state can’t simply ignore Reclamation’s attempt to renegotiate the rules. If a new deal on the Delta isn’t made within two years, the federal government could simply dissolve the 1986 agreement, experts say. That could create a free-for-all for the water in the Delta, something state officials are eager to avoid. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266829">Without an agreement on the Delta, “you really have quite a chaotic situation,” Somach said.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266830">The two sides have shared governance of the Delta since the late 1960s, when <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article150278687.html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266831">Oroville Dam was completed</a> and the State Water Project effectively opened for business. A formal deal, known as a coordinated operation agreement, was hammered out in the 1980s. It was approved by Congress and signed into law in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. Although Washington and Sacramento frequently have argued over the movement of water through the Delta, this is the first time either side officially has demanded a new deal.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266832">Reclamation spokeswoman Erin Curtis said it was a coincidence that Zinke sent his memo demanding more water for farmers the same day that Reclamation notified DWR it wants to renegotiate the Delta agreement.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266833"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266834"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266835">She said her agency has been speaking with state officials informally for two years about the revising the agreement. While those talks have been productive, she said, “we’re at a place where we haven’t been able to come to an agreement” and Reclamation decided it was time to institute formal negotiations.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266836">She acknowledged, however, that Reclamation is motivated by a desire to redivide the water that pours through the Delta.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266837"><a href="https://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/OCAP/OCAP_6_30_04.pdf" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(66, 139, 202); text-decoration: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial initial;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266838">The 1986 agreement</a> calls for each side — the State Water Project and the federal CVP — to release water from their reservoirs to satisfy state standards on Delta water quality and other so-called “in-basin uses.” Much of that water then rolls completely through the Delta and out to the ocean, and isn’t available for either project to pump to their customers in the south state.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266839">The amount of water that’s surrendered can be considerable — several million acre-feet in most years, according to Gartrell. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons. Under the 1986 rules, the Central Valley Project is the one surrendering the bulk of the water: 75 percent of it in dry years; 55 percent in wetter years.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266840">Now the feds want a better deal.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266841">“We want to find a more balanced solution to those requirements,” Curtis said. She added that “we want to do it in mutual agreement with the state.”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266842"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266843"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266844">Why did the U.S. government agree in 1986 to furnish the bulk of this water in the first place?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266845"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266846"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266847">When the deal was being negotiated in the early 1980s, Somach said the federal CVP had lots of extra water at its disposal — considerably more than it needed at the time. Reclamation owns and operates most of California’s largest reservoirs, including Shasta Lake.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266848">What the feds lacked was an efficient way of moving it through the Delta. The federal government’s Delta pumping plant, built in the early 1950s, has about half the pumping capacity as the state’s plant, completed in the late 1960s. The plants sit 2 miles from each other northwest of Tracy, at the south end of the Delta.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266849">So a deal was struck. The feds agreed to surrender more of their water to satisfy the environment and other needs. In exchange, the state agreed to use its pumps to help the Central Valley Project deliver water to its customers — mainly Valley farmers south of the Delta.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266850">Since then, however, conditions in the Delta have changed dramatically, prompting Reclamation’s desire for a new arrangement.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266851">The winter-run Chinook salmon and Delta smelt have been given protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Central Valley Project Improvement Act, signed into law by the first President George Bush, designated more of the CVP’s water for environmental purposes.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266852"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266853"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266854">The end result has been a lot less water available for pumping to the south state. That’s hurt customers of both projects, although Valley farmers say they have suffered more than anyone. During the worst years of the recent drought, farmers on the west side of the Valley got no water deliveries at all from the Central Valley Project. Last year’s record rains brought them a 100 percent allocation, but this year, after a relatively dry winter, they got just 50 percent of their expected allotment.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266855">Experts said it’s far from certain, however, that Reclamation can secure more water for agriculture.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266856">“It’s so complicated, you can’t really guess how it’s going to turn out,” Gartrell said.</div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266857"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266858"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 28px; visibility: visible;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266859"><div data-uniqueid="215239220" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266860"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; -webkit-user-select: none; overflow: hidden;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266861"><div aria-live="polite" tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266862"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); left: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; zoom: 1; opacity: 1; width: 700px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266863"><div data-slick-index="0" aria-hidden="false" style="box-sizing: border-box; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); float: left; min-height: 481px; min-height: 1px; position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 700px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266864"><span data-src="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_160/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" data-width-160="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266865"></span><span data-src="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_320/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" data-width-320="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266866"></span><span data-src="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_480/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" data-width-480="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266867"></span><span data-src="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_640/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" data-width-640="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266868"></span><span data-src="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_768/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" data-width-768="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266869"></span><span data-src="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_960/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" data-width-960="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266870"></span><span data-src="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_1140/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" data-width-1140="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266871"></span><img alt="The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, near Clarksburg. The federal government wants a new agreement on how water pumping through the Delta is governed." title="The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, near Clarksburg. The federal government wants a new agreement on how water pumping through the Delta is governed." data-preload="//www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_768/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" src="https://www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mike-dunbar/oi29k6/picture215239220/alternates/FREE_768/IMG_Lede_RB_Delta_Tunnel_2_1_FMCE0R5I_L343168979" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); display: block; ; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-height: 481px; max-width: 700px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266872" class="" data-id="66aef95e-d3b3-4c83-b7fe-2cd3ab79eebe"></div></div></div></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266873"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 9px 0px 12px; min-height: 40px; transform: scale3d(1, 1, 1); clear: both; margin-bottom: -20px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266874"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266875">The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, near Clarksburg. The federal government wants a new agreement on how water pumping through the Delta is governed. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266876">Randall Benton</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266877">rbenton@sacbee.com<div style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 1px; min-height: 1px; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-family: sans-serif; overflow: hidden;" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266878"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266879">Read more here: <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html#storylink=cpy" class="enhancr2_6449256b-622d-242f-b52e-c70395089822" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266882">Jolting California officials, Trump administration looks to rewrite rules for Delta water</a></div><div><br></div><div id="enhancr2_6449256b-622d-242f-b52e-c70395089822" class="yahoo-link-enhancr-card ymail-preserve-class ymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" contenteditable="false" data-url="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html#storylink=cpy" data-type="yenhancr" data-category="article" data-embed-url="" data-size="medium" dir="ltr"> <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article217160295.html#storylink=cpy" style="text-decoration:none !important; color: #000 !important;" class="yahoo-enhancr-cardlink" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267133"> <table class="card-wrapper yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="max-width:400px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267132"> <tbody id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267131"><tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267130"> <td width="400" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267129"> <table class="card yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267128"> <tbody id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267127"><tr> <td class="card-primary-image-cell" style="background:#000 url('https://s.yimg.com/vv//api/res/1.2/bEexFeG1pqgS4EkRE2Blbw--~A/YXBwaWQ9bWFpbDtmaT1maWxsO2g9MjAwO3c9NDAw/https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/5502557042001/9a1f8fdf-8c56-47f4-95b2-38fcf7289d55/31d5d5d6-5f10-4bb5-a6b7-d426adbd9555/1280x720/match/image.jpg.cf.jpg') no-repeat center center;background-size:cover;height:200px;position:relative;" background="https://s.yimg.com/vv//api/res/1.2/bEexFeG1pqgS4EkRE2Blbw--~A/YXBwaWQ9bWFpbDtmaT1maWxsO2g9MjAwO3c9NDAw/https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/5502557042001/9a1f8fdf-8c56-47f4-95b2-38fcf7289d55/31d5d5d6-5f10-4bb5-a6b7-d426adbd9555/1280x720/match/image.jpg.cf.jpg" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:400px;height:218px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/vv//api/res/1.2/bEexFeG1pqgS4EkRE2Blbw--~A/YXBwaWQ9bWFpbDtmaT1maWxsO2g9MjAwO3c9NDAw/https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/5502557042001/9a1f8fdf-8c56-47f4-95b2-38fcf7289d55/31d5d5d6-5f10-4bb5-a6b7-d426adbd9555/1280x720/match/image.jpg.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--> <table class="yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" valign="top" style="width:100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="background:transparent url('https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/12/overlay-tile.png') repeat left top;height:200px;" background="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/12/overlay-tile.png" bgcolor="transparent" valign="top"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:400px;height:218px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/12/overlay-tile.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--> <table class="yahoo-ignore-table" height="185" style="width:100%;height:185px;min-height:185px;"> <tbody><tr> <td class="card-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top;"> </td> <td class="card-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top;"> <div class="card-share-container"></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267126"> <td id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267125"> <table class="card-info yahoo-ignore-table" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:2;width:95%;max-width:380px;border:1px solid #e0e4e9;border-bottom:3px solid #000000;margin-top:-40px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267124"> <tbody><tr> <td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;"> </td> <td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:16px 12px;width:99%;"> <h2 class="card-title" style="font-size: 16px; line-height:19px; margin:0 0 4px 0;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;word-break:break-word;">Jolting California officials, Trump administration looks to rewrite rules f...</h2> <div class="card-description" style="font-size:11px;line-height:15px;color:#999;word-break:break-word;">The Bureau of Reclamation told California officials it wants to renegotiate the rules on water pumping in the Sa...</div> </td> <td style="text-align:right;padding:16px 12px 16px 0;"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </a></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_267123"><br></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="signature" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266237"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1534968917229_266239"><br></div></div></div></body></html>