The Environmental Water Caucus:

The Mission of the Environmental Water Caucus is to achieve comprehensive, sustainable water management solutions for all Californians. EWC and its members employ political, legal and economic strategies to restore ecological health, improve water quality and protect public trust values throughout the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta estuary and the Central Valley/Sierra Nevada watersheds.

The EWC was formed in 1991. Active members include most groups advocating for equitable and sustainable California water resource use.

A Better Delta "Fix" Cost Estimate

The EWC has estimated the costs of proposed "improvements" to the Delta water delivery and eco-systems envisioned by the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (which includes transporting Sacramento River water around the Delta for export through a canal or tunnel capable of carrying 15,000 cubic feet/second) at 60 billion dollars. This figure is more than 3 times the current Bay Delta Conservation Plan's cost estimate for "fixing the Delta". The assumptions behind the EWC estimate are described here.

Water Use Efficiency and Jobs

A recent report by the Los Angeles Economic Roundtable found that public investments in water use efficiency projects stimulate economic activity that is twice as great as the initial investment. One person-year of employment is created for each $72,400 that is invested.

AN EGREGIOUS AGREEMENT

An unprecedented coalition of 242 environmentally-oriented organizations blasted a recent federal and state Memorandum of Agreement on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan between the Federal and State water agencies and south-of-Delta water exporters. The opposition to the agencies' Memorandum of Agreement extends from Northern California border organizations to South Coast groups, to environmental and environmental justice organizations, commercial and recreational fishing organizations, Indian tribes, and even includes numerous Delta boat captains. The agreement, negotiated behind closed doors, is clearly a "stacked deck," that would facilitate increased water exports from the Delta and its connected rivers, despite the documented negative impacts those exports have had on endangered fish species, Delta habitats, water quality and public trust values. See the coalition's letter to the federal and state agencies and the press release.

EWC COMMENTS ON FIFTH DELTA PLAN

The Delta Stewardship Council was created by the California legislature in 2009 to develop a plan to provide a more reliable water supply for California, and to protect, restore, and enhance the Delta ecosystem. The EWC has been reviewing and commenting on successive drafts of the Delta Plan. Our efforts have paid off with the inclusion of our preferred alternative as one of the alternatives to be evaluated in the Council's upcoming Environmental Impact Report. The EWC alternative, based on our recently published California Water Solutions Now report, advocates the following actions:

  • Restore adequate flows for the Delta and fisheries, including reductions in diversions;
  • Analyze a full range of conveyance facilities including our alternative which excludes new conveyance or major dams;
  • Reduce reliance on the Delta with an aggressive urban and agricultural water conservation and efficiency program;
  • Restore and protect Delta habitats;
  • Enforce existing water pollution control laws;
  • Ground the Delta Plan in biological objectives and Best Available Science; and
  • Achieve environmental justice for underserved communities.

See our original scoping comments and our comments on the current Delta Plan. EWC organizations are NOT satisfied with the directions of the current Plan, as explained in our Press Release and are gearing up to respond to the upcoming Draft Environmental Impact Report to be released by the Delta Stewardship Council.

CALIFORNIA WATER SOLUTIONS NOW

CALIFORNIA WATER SOLUTIONS NOW, Third Edition, is a game-changing report published by a broad coalition of 27 fishing, public health, conservation, environmental justice, and tribal organizations. It includes comments related to the state water policy legislation that was passed in November 2009 as well as further discussions of water supply options.

The groups have released this report to inform the ongoing debate about the methods for supplying water to the state, particularly in light of the $11 billion water bond that is scheduled to appear on the 2012 state ballot. The report, in fact, proposes water delivery and ecosystem recovery actions that can be achieved in a more fiscally responsible and environmentally protective manner than the proposed bond measure.

CALIFORNIA WATER SOLUTIONS NOW shows that, with real reforms, California can have a sustainable water future.

Download a copy of the complete report, or a powerpoint presentation of the report.

Para descargar una version en espanol del informe que trata los problemas y soluciones del agua en la comunidad Latina, pulse aqui.

Current EWC Campaigns: