The Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, the center of California's water wars

Last week, the National Academy of Sciences released their long-awaited report on the Delta. The results were received by stakeholders on both sides of the Delta debate as a sort of victory, according to a New York Times report.

On the one hand, the findings validate environmental actions taken by the federal agencies to protect fish populations like the delta smelt and salmon that migrate through the delta. These restrictions compounded water shortages already in place due to California’s three-year drought.

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View of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a key water source for Californians, as well as a point of contention.

The Golden State takes the national spotlight this Sunday, December 27, as Lesley Stahl reports on California’s water crisis on 60 Minutes. She’s interviewed Governor Schwarzenegger, farmers, and various water agencies throughout the state, according to KMJ News Talk Radio, and the message is that our drought has the potential to affect all Americans– in the form of higher prices at the grocery store and fewer choices in what we buy.

The timing of this feature is appropriate given that the Obama administration released an Interim Federal Action Plan this week to manage the Delta. Since the Delta is the hub of the state’s water supply system that provides water to 25 million Californians– it’s the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas—and since the federal government oversees two of California’s largest reservoirs, greater federal action is certainly warranted. Read the rest of this entry »

After an all-night legislative session last week, the much-anticipated Delta Bill package emerged Wednesday. Governor Schwarzenegger promised to sign the five bills into law, praising the package that finally overhauls California’s antiquated water system.

What’s inside the package: the legislation creates greater oversight of the Delta, supporting its restoration; requires water users to measure groundwater levels and report their usage; and puts forth an $11.14 billion general obligation bond on the ballot next November. Significantly, the package includes important means for increasing water conservation that includes imposing a mandate for cities to lower their water usage 20% by 2020.

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News from Sacramento continues to report some progress on a water agreement, with some anticipation of votes in the Legislature next week, according to an update from Capitol Weekly.

Compromise is close with issues that include areas of origin, which refers to the transportation of water from northern to southern California, along with legal definitions of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. A Mercury News report charts many of the remaining policy disagreements.

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Governor Schwarzenegger and legislators have been meeting behind closed doors for the last several weeks to reconcile economic and policy differences over the Delta, but this week, more information is being made public.

The Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee will convene Wednesday at 10 a.m. for an informational hearing; additionally, Senators and Members are expected to receive updated bill language as soon as possible. If all goes as planned, Senate hearings will also begin this week. The details of the Delta Bill Package are highly anticipated. As of last week, several issues were delaying bipartisan consensus, according to a report by the Sacramento Bee.

Big 5

After special sessions in Sacramento this week, bill language for the Delta Bill Package is still being fine-tuned as legislators and the Governor struggle to come to bipartisan consensus. Neither the Senate nor the Assembly will convene next week, but Caucus meetings will tentatively be held by the week of October 26.

Lawmakers are working from SB 68 (Steinberg), which includes legislation on Delta governance, habitat restoration, water rights, groundwater storage, and conservation. The proposed fiscal impact of these policies is a $9.4 billion General Obligation bond, the details of which have not been released.

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