[env-trinity] Chronicle Editorial- Wading into the Water War

Wed Jun 22 08:12:50 PDT 2011

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Wading into the water war

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/19/EDH01JTNGS.DTL 

Sunday, June 19, 2011
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Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Alpaugh
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The serene landscape of California's delta belies the brutal battles over its most precious export - water. In the early days, leaders simply saw the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers' confluence as a giant plumbing system. Today, we know it is the center of the web of life that sustains California.

Proposed federal legislation takes direct aim at that ecosystem and the life it supports, upending a century of work to balance the water needs of California farms, cities, fish and landscapes that reflect the vagaries of our Mediterranean climate. If it becomes law, it will benefit a small fraction of California farmers in the Westlands and Kern water districts, but cost all other Californians - and the land itself.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Alpaugh (Tulare County), authored HR1837 "to take a global look at California's water problems," said his spokesman, Andrew House.

To Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, who has worked on water for decades, Nunes' bill is "an IED."

At the very least, it is an attempt to return water rules to the early 20th century, when those who got the water first, got it all. It does not reflect that now there are 25 million more Californians and that our water supplies are seriously oversubscribed.

Observers say Nunes has the votes to push the bill through the House. Senate passage is dicey, though.

As proposed, the law would:

-- Give water contractors an entitlement that supersedes that of any other call on state water, including flows to restore fisheries and maintain water quality. Nunes points out that the delta is in worse shape since the decision to dedicate water to the environment. "We've come to the conclusion that a 20-year experiment, which is making no progress, is one that should be changed," said his aide, House.

-- Strip water rights from their owners, who are mostly in Northern California. "This says 'the federal government is going to take your water, and you don't have a say,' " said Miller.

-- Eliminate protections for wild fish by precluding distinctions between farmed and wild salmon.

-- Exempt the two major water projects from federal and state endangered species protections.

-- Require the federal government to construct new facilities to make up for any water delivery reductions for Central Valley Project contractors.

-- Convert 25-year federal water contracts to permanent entitlements.

-- Repeal tiered pricing put in place to encourage efficient water use and conservation.

Instead of asking Californians to share the responsibilities and benefits of our limited water, this bill would concentrate the most precious commodity on the planet in the hands of a privileged few.

California water - a chronology

California water politics is convoluted, controversial and arguably the state's most significant issue. About 75 percent of the water supply comes from north of Sacramento while 80 percent of the demand comes from the southern part of the state. Urban users consume about 10 percent of the supply. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta serves as plumbing for two of the six major water projects. Those two projects serve 22 million people and 3.6 million acres of agricultural land.

1940 California population 6.9 million

1937 Federal government authorizes the Central Valley Project to address flooding and irrigate farmland.

1960 State Water Project begun. Combined delta exports from the CVP and SWP are less than 3 million acre feet a year.

1982 Reclamation Act reform limited amount of federally subsidized water. Irrigators had to pay the full water cost for any excess.

1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act dedicates 800,000 acre-feet of annual runoff to the environment, limits water contracts to 25 years, instead of previous 40-year terms.

1994 Federal and state governments begin developing a plan to meet federal Environmental Species and Clean Water acts. Delta exports are now more than 6 million acre feet a year.

2000 California and federal governments approve CalFed Bay-Delta plan to reduce water conflicts, a 30-year program with an $8.7 billion cost.

2006 CalFed morphs into Bay Delta Conservation Plan.

2007 Federal court orders less water pumped from the delta to protect fish during drought.

2008-09 Federal agencies restrict water exports to protect the Delta smelt and Chinook salmon.

2009 Legislature passes a package of bills to address delta and state water planning.

2010 U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger rules that newest federal pumping restrictions need to be rewritten.

2010 California population 37.3 million

This article appeared on page F - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/17/EDH01JTNGS.DTL#ixzz1Q1B7pTjZ
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