Recent California Water News
November 2008
"Most state native game fish face extinctionMost of California's native salmon, steelhead and trout species face extinction by the end of the century unless the state acts quickly to provide adequate freshwater and habitat, according to a study released Wednesday by the state's leading salmon expert."
San Francisco Chronicle November 20,2008
" Auburn Dam may really be dead this time
Reporting from Sacramento -- Use it or lose it is the rule of California water rights, and after 43 years, the would-be Auburn Dam -- subject of one of the state's bitterest water feuds -- is about to lose it."
Los Angeles Times November 16, 2008
" Delta study uses transmitter-equipped salmon
State and federal researchers Friday released hundreds of tiny, transmitter-equipped salmon into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta as part of California's largest effort to track movements of the pink fish through an estuary that has grown increasingly hostile to salmon and other species."
San Francisco Chronicle November 15, 2008
"Step taken toward removing Klamath River dams
The most powerful opponents of efforts to remove four dams that have blocked salmon migration on the Klamath River for the past century did an about-face Thursday and agreed in principle to a dam-removal plan along the California and Oregon border."
San Francisco Chronicle November 14,2008
"Water restrictions ordered to help California fish
California officials ordered on Friday an additional 17 percent cut in the amount of water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect a fish in the most populous U.S. state's fresh water hub."
Reuters November 14, 2008
October 2008
" Protections for state's steelhead trout upheldA federal judge upheld on Monday protections for wild steelhead trout in California rivers, rejecting an argument by forestry groups that argued the success of hatchery-raised steelhead has made the population sufficiently robust."
San Francisco Chronicle, October 28, 2008
" Change certain for the delta, report says
With or without human intervention, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta will change radically in the future, the result of climate change, invasive species and earthquakes, according to a new scientific report."
San Francisco Chronicle, October 23, 2008
" Judge: Delta salmon 'unquestionably in jeopardy'
A federal judge has ruled that California's canal water systems are placing wild salmon "unquestionably in jeopardy," but stopped short of issuing court-order limits on pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta."
Mercury News, October 22, 2008
" New vision for California Delta
California will have to build more dams and a controversial canal and still it will not be able to deliver all of the Delta water that has been promised to cities and farmers, an independent panel says."
Contra Costa Times, October 16, 2008
"My View: Delta Vision: Facing facts about California water By Phil Isenberg
The water supply in California is static; it is not growing. Individual use of water has moderated slightly in California in recent years, but more people, businesses and farms means more water is required. We do not appear to be taking conservation seriously."
Sacramento Bee, October 16, 2008
September 2008
"Editorial: A key bill to help in Delta disasterGOVERNOR SHOULD SIGN MEASURE TO MAKE BOND FUNDS AVAILABLE NOW"
Sacramento Bee, September 25, 2008
"Bill tries to exempt Delta pumps from Endangered Species Act
Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, wants to suspend one of the nation's premier environmental laws in order to increase water pumping out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta."
Sacramento Bee, September 18, 2008
"Farmers must monitor, reduce water use"
Editorial
San Francisco Chronicle, September 14, 2008
"Smelt again at center of water conflict.Environmentalists want 3 dozen contracts canceled or reworked.
Environmentalists want the federal government to cancel or renegotiate more than three dozen long-term water contracts in the Central Valley because they say they were drawn up using flawed data."
Fresno Bee, September 11, 2008
"Study finds California can cut farm water use.
By growing less thirsty crops and investing in more efficient irrigation technology, California farmers could save billions of gallons of water each year - the equivalent of three dams to 20 dams, according to a controversial new report by an influential water policy think tank."
San Francisco Chronicle, September 8, 2008
"California "water bank" in works amid drought.
California's state government is forming a "water bank" to buy water for local water agencies at risk of shortages next year should a current drought persist, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Thursday."
Reuters, September 4, 2008
August 2008
"Harvest of cash: Kern County agency buys public water low, sells high.Delta fish suffered a crippling decline while taxpayers paid nearly $100 million to a Kern County water wholesaler for an environmental protection program that was largely ineffective, a Contra Costa Times investigation has found."
Contra Costa Times, August 9, 2008
July 2008
"State plans land surveys for possible Delta canal routesState water officials today are sending letters to about 1,000 property owners in the Delta -- a heads up that surveyors may need to access private land to begin planning a canal to ferry fresh water to Southern California."
Sacramento Bee, July 25, 2008
"Judge orders interim plan for salmon drawn up
A federal judge in Fresno ordered state and federal water regulators Wednesday to come up with an interim plan by the end of August for protecting migrating salmon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 2008
"Delta diversion threat to salmon, judge rules
A federal judge in Fresno affirmed Friday that water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have jeopardized the existence of California's beleaguered salmon."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 19, 2008
"Open Forum: Divisions and diversions
The reliability of the water supply depends upon the reliability of the environment; water supply for agriculture can only become more reliable when the water needs for salmon and the bay-delta ecosystem are reliably met."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 18, 2008
"Report says canal would fix California water woes
A quarter century ago, Californians overwhelmingly rejected the state's ambitious plan to pipe water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to provide clean, plentiful supplies to a booming Southern California. A report released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California argues that much has changed since then. Californians should give the idea another look if they want to keep water flowing to some 25 million people and save the delta's fragile ecosystem, the report says."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 17, 2008
"Huge bond plan to revamp state water system.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Dianne Feinstein unveiled a sweeping $9.3 billion bond proposal on Thursday to overhaul California's ailing water infrastructure by expanding water storage, protecting the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and promoting conservation projects across the state."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 11, 2008
"U.S. proposes to put smelt on endangered list.
The delta smelt, a tiny but important fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, could officially become "endangered" under a proposal announced Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 10, 2008
June 2008
"Capital gushes wasted water.Metropolitan region's per-capita use tops U.S. daily average as conservation pledges go unmet."
Sacramento Bee, June 19, 2008
"Water plan can proceed, high court rules
The state and federal governments can form a long-range plan for managing water shipments through the bay and delta region without examining the option of reducing exports to Central and Southern California, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday."
San Francisco Chronicle, June 6, 2008
"Schwarzenegger proclaims that California is in a drought."
Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2008
May 2008
"Longfin smelt under consideration for endangered status."Sacramento Bee, May 7, 2008
"All salmon fishing banned on West Coast."
San Francisco Chronicle, May 2, 2008
"Cost to Funnel Water Around Delta Has Soared. The price tag for addressing the declining health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while providing a reliable water supply to California cities and farmers keeps getting higher."
Sacramento Union, May 1, 2008
April 2008
"Judge: Feds failed to study how delta pumping affects salmon.A federal judge ruled that water regulators failed to consider the effects of global warming and other environmental issues related to the decline of California salmon populations when they approved increased pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta."
San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2008
State Water Policy Debate "California Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow and Mindy McIntyre of the Planning and Conservation League debate state water policy."
Los Angeles Times, April 7-11, 2008
March 2008
"Conflict seen in smelt rules. Water users who benefit most from tapping the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have been given an unprecedented role in drafting new rules to manage water diversions."Sacramento Bee, March 3, 2008