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Tunnel Vision Nine Things You Need to Know About the Bay Delta Conservation Plan By Alan Naditz | Feature Writer
for 37 miles from the Sacramento River, under the Delta and to federal and state pumps south Call it “Water Wars, Part II.” of Tracy. From there, water would flow into existThe first official chapter in the battle over ing State Water Project and Central Valley Project Northern California’s water came more than canals designed to deliver water to Central and 30 years ago, when then-Governor Jerry Southern California. The plan’s overall cost is esBrown proposed the Peripheral Canal, an open timated at $24.5 billion, with most of that paid by waterway designed to move water from the one or more public bonds, and increased service Sacramento Delta to farms in the Central Valley rates for water recipients. Provisions are made for and homeowners in Southern California. Voters some Delta habitat restoration. Assuming all apgunned down the proposal in a veto referenprovals go through, construction could begin by dum in 1982. 2016, with operation starting in 2026. “Yes, this is Fast-forward to 2013. Once again, Gov. big,” Brown said during his announcement in July Brown – yes, the same one – has proposed a 2012. “But so is the problem.” way to transport water from the Delta down to WHO IS AFFECTED: Five Delta counCentral and Southern California. This proposal, ties would be affected most by the project’s the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), or construction: Sacramento, San Joaquin, Contra “Peripheral Tunnels” as some are calling it, has Costa, Solano and Yolo. The biggest impacts a long way to go, but already the battle lines would be water usage and environmental are being drawn between North and change. But there would be secondary effects So what is the BDCP, and why should you as well, such as a potential 150-plus landowncare? Here’s a rundown of things you should ers who could lose all or part of their properties know about the project, including its impact to eminent domain, or traffic issues involving locally and what you can expect in coming possible highway reroutes around the tunnels’ months: intake points. On the other side, at least eight WHAT IT IS: As proposed by Gov. Brown, Southern California counties would gain from the BDCP includes construction of two parallel, the additional water availability, although resi33-feet-wide underground tunnels that would run dents’ water rates could go up by an average of $9 per month per household. WHY WE NEED IT: According to now-former U.S. Department of the Interior “Governor Brown is forcing this plan Secretary Ken Salazar, who co-announced the plan forward without any regard for the with Gov. Brown, water is farmers, families or small business needed for some 3 million acres of farmland in the owners who rely upon a healthy Delta Central Valley, as well as 25 Californians from the for their livelihoods, or for the incredible million Bay Area to San Diego. A environmental damage that will result.” single day’s pumping would be enough to serve the an– U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney, Ninth District nual water needs of 38,000 households, Salazar said. There’s also an ecologi-
cal need: Current water-drawing and pumping methods are killing thousands of fish annually, endangering species such as the Chinook Salmon and Delta Smelt. The proposed project, with its reduced water flow speeds and new flow path, would result in fewer fish kills, as well as reduced area flooding and pressure on aging levees. The plan also calls for Delta habitat restoration, as well as creation of more than 120,000 acres of new habitat, over a 50-year period. One-third of the new habitat would be developed within the next 15 years. This is designed to save more than two dozen wildlife species that have been negatively impacted by present water-drawing activity, Brown notes. WHY IT’S A “DISASTER”: A recently released, 20,000-page consultant-prepared preliminary draft of an environmental impact report on the BDCP indicates that on a statewide level, the plan offers “a lot of uncertainties.” One of the biggest questions is the impact the Peripheral Tunnels will have on the Delta’s water flow. The plan, as proposed, would allow up to 9,000 cubic feet per second of flow from the Sacramento River – about 40 percent less than originally proposed. But at peak times of year – July to September – up to 60 percent of the river’s flow could be diverted, critics note. Proponents say there’s no proof that such a high flow diversion will occur, and that the usual rate will be more like 15 percent to 25 percent. Either way, a potential side effect would be the continued decline over the next 50 years of some of the wildlife species the plan is designed to protect, critics note. Water quality is another issue. To make up for the loss of the Sacramento River, more water will need to be drawn from the San Joaquin River for local water needs. The San Joaquin’s water is considered poorer quality, containing a greater salt content, and greater percentages of pesticides and naturally occurring selenium. For San Joaquin County, the project could mean loss of nearly one-fourth of its $2.2 billion annual crop production, largely due to increased – and toxic – salinity in farmland. The increased salt content in the water would also endanger more fish, which county supervisors note would lead to environmental lawsuits. The only way to solve the problem, they say, would be to use even more river water to flush the salt out of the Delta, which would require taking even more water away from area farming communities, especially in southern San Joaquin County. The preliminary draft EIR does not offer a bona fide solution should salt
In April, Stockton-based grassroots environmental group Restore the Delta sent a special coffin on the “Death of the Delta” on a statewide tour. The coffin includes Delta landmarks, industries and species that will become extinct if the current form of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan goes through. At the tour’s conclusion, it will be presented to Gov. Jerry Brown. 4 | JULY 2013 | spanos park monthly magazine