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. The major policies advocated by the EWC are described in the "Strategic Goals and Recommended Actions" of the EWC California Water Solutions Now report and in the Actions described in the Responsible Exports Plan.

EWC comments on the Inadequate State Water Board San Joaquin Flows Report

The Water Board's Substitute Environmental Document recommends flows for the San Joaquin River that are inadequate to protect the Public Trust. The document also leaves out the major contribution of the San Joaquin River flows from above the Merced River (Friant Dam), and the recommended flows degrade water quality in the South Delta.
Read our comments, and the attachment

Coming Your Way: A Biased BDCP Benefit-Cost Analysis

Stacking the deck in favor of the tunnels seems to be the order of the day with this analysis. We warily advocated for a Benefit-Cost Analysis to be accomplished, but we didn't expect it to be this bad. See the EWC's critical comments sent on February 6, 2013 to the BDCP and their consultant.

Delta Plan and the Status Quo

The EWC has responded to the Final Delta Plan with critical comments which make the case that the Delta Plan maintains the status quo of a steadily and continually declining Delta, and that the Delta Plan does nothing for the recovery of ecosystems or fish populations. Where is a Cost-Benefit Analysis, a Water Availability Analysis, or a Public Trust Analysis? You won't find them in the Delta Plan.

EWC and EJCW Combine to Oppose Shasta Dam Raise

The EWC and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water combined to create a sign on letter, supported by 35 organizations, opposing the latest Bureau of Reclamation proposal to raise Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet.

EWC Organizations Oppose Legislation Which Will Undermine the Phase Out of Once Through Cooling (OTC)

See the opposition letter.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP)--An Enormous Mistake

Read the San Francisco Chronicle January 2013 Editorial by the EWC.

The EWC Alternative to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan

The Environmental Water Caucus has assembled the various recommendations we have made during the past year for the Delta Plan and combined them into a single alternative plan that we now refer to as the "Responsible Exports Plan". This Plan will continue to evolve as we learn more, and it will be the main thrust of our Delta Estuary actions for the future.

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.

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.