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Pumps bring water, but for how long?
Efforts to protect Delta smelt cut water by 660,000 acre feet
last year
Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press
Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press
July 2, 2009
FRESNO - Federal government pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta started moving much-needed irrigation water to farms Wednesday, July 1, but questions remain about how long those pumps will continue running.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the audience of a town hall meeting in Fresno Sunday, June 28, that the Central Valley Project pumps would run through the end of the year, facilitating 70 approved water transfers totaling 245,000 acre feet. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor, who also spoke at the town hall meeting, said the agency is working to make the most of this year's water supplies.
However, there was some skepticism.
West side farmer Bob Diedrich said growers already knew the pumps would resume moving water south on July 1, but questioned how long they would remain on considering the latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency biological opinion on salmon recovery.
That biological opinion has focused all fish recovery efforts on reducing the amount of pumping from the Delta.
It is unknown how much the opinion would affect pumping, said Sarah Woolf of Westlands Water District. The Bureau of Reclamation told the district they would phase in the restrictions, Woolf said, but there is no guarantee the pumps will remain on.
Efforts to protect the Delta smelt resulted in water delivery cutbacks of 660,000 acre feet in 2008, and another 480,000 acre feet so far this year. It is feared the federal plan to protect salmon could take another 500,000 acre feet.
Water deliveries from the Delta are normally increased starting July 1 because there is less concern with effects on Delta smelt from July through December, said Paul Fujitani, chief of water operations for the Bureau of Reclamation.
Pumping can continue through the end of the year unless water volume is affected by smaller releases from Shasta and Folsom reservoirs, he explained. Those upstream operations have to manage water temperatures for migrating salmon and if not enough water is flowing into the Delta that could affect exports.
Fujitani said the exported water would go directly to agriculture users. In August some would be diverted to the San Luis Reservoir.
Two short-term actions are expediting a project that would construct gates in front of the Delta pumps to keep the protected Delta smelt from being sucked in and a canal inter-tie project to facilitate water movement.
The "two gates" project is gaining momentum, but still lacks federal funding for its estimated $25 million cost. There is no estimate how much more water would flow to water users south of the Delta with the gates in place.
It is possible, Salazar said at the town hall meeting, that environmental restrictions could curtail Delta water deliveries again next year.
"That's why we need to speed up these projects," he said.
Salazar said such projects, would keep farms and communities viable until longer-term Delta solutions can be achieved.
Still, Salazar's visit to the valley was a positive note for agriculture, Woolf said. "It was critical that he was there and understands the problem."
Salazar didn't deliver on a request from Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, and Pacific Legal Foundation that he invoke a federal "god squad' with authority to ease federal environmental restrictions. Taking that route, Salazar said, would be an "easy political solution and it would be admitting failure."
Instead, he promised that significant progress would be made on the most contentious water supply and environmental issues by the end of 2009.
Radanovich drew cheers from the crowd when he told Salazar "the time for talk is over. We need action now."
"He didn't really say anything we didn't already know," said Woolf of Salazar's announcements at the town hall meeting on the Fresno State campus. The district was also disappointed there was no announcement of the amount of additional water it would expect later in the season. Woolf said they were told it would be August before the announcement.
"That is a setback for us in our planning effort," she said.
The latest biological opinion released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency recently laid more blame on state and federal pumps for declines in salmon and steelhead. An average annual cutback of 330,000 acre feet of was ordered.
Farm interests were incensed that pumps were blamed for declines in fish populations and let Salazar know.
Tom Nassif, president of Western Growers, told Salazar that confidence in the federal agencies and their species protection rules could not be restored without a science-based and fact based review of the biological opinions.
Tom Birmingham, general manager for Westlands Water District claimed that neither biological opinion used to restrict water deliveries is in full compliance with the Endangered Species Act. Westlands joined recently with 29 other public water agencies in arguing that the National Marine Fisheries Service should have prepared an environmental impact report before adopting a salmon recovery plan that would send thousands of acre feet of Delta water out to the ocean.
Birmingham asked Salazar that the Obama administration fully enforce the ESA noting, "science doesn't always mean the environmental side wins."
Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com.
FRESNO - Federal government pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta started moving much-needed irrigation water to farms Wednesday, July 1, but questions remain about how long those pumps will continue running.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the audience of a town hall meeting in Fresno Sunday, June 28, that the Central Valley Project pumps would run through the end of the year, facilitating 70 approved water transfers totaling 245,000 acre feet. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor, who also spoke at the town hall meeting, said the agency is working to make the most of this year's water supplies.
However, there was some skepticism.
West side farmer Bob Diedrich said growers already knew the pumps would resume moving water south on July 1, but questioned how long they would remain on considering the latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency biological opinion on salmon recovery.
That biological opinion has focused all fish recovery efforts on reducing the amount of pumping from the Delta.
It is unknown how much the opinion would affect pumping, said Sarah Woolf of Westlands Water District. The Bureau of Reclamation told the district they would phase in the restrictions, Woolf said, but there is no guarantee the pumps will remain on.
Efforts to protect the Delta smelt resulted in water delivery cutbacks of 660,000 acre feet in 2008, and another 480,000 acre feet so far this year. It is feared the federal plan to protect salmon could take another 500,000 acre feet.
Water deliveries from the Delta are normally increased starting July 1 because there is less concern with effects on Delta smelt from July through December, said Paul Fujitani, chief of water operations for the Bureau of Reclamation.
Pumping can continue through the end of the year unless water volume is affected by smaller releases from Shasta and Folsom reservoirs, he explained. Those upstream operations have to manage water temperatures for migrating salmon and if not enough water is flowing into the Delta that could affect exports.
Fujitani said the exported water would go directly to agriculture users. In August some would be diverted to the San Luis Reservoir.
Two short-term actions are expediting a project that would construct gates in front of the Delta pumps to keep the protected Delta smelt from being sucked in and a canal inter-tie project to facilitate water movement.
The "two gates" project is gaining momentum, but still lacks federal funding for its estimated $25 million cost. There is no estimate how much more water would flow to water users south of the Delta with the gates in place.
It is possible, Salazar said at the town hall meeting, that environmental restrictions could curtail Delta water deliveries again next year.
"That's why we need to speed up these projects," he said.
Salazar said such projects, would keep farms and communities viable until longer-term Delta solutions can be achieved.
Still, Salazar's visit to the valley was a positive note for agriculture, Woolf said. "It was critical that he was there and understands the problem."
Salazar didn't deliver on a request from Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, and Pacific Legal Foundation that he invoke a federal "god squad' with authority to ease federal environmental restrictions. Taking that route, Salazar said, would be an "easy political solution and it would be admitting failure."
Instead, he promised that significant progress would be made on the most contentious water supply and environmental issues by the end of 2009.
Radanovich drew cheers from the crowd when he told Salazar "the time for talk is over. We need action now."
"He didn't really say anything we didn't already know," said Woolf of Salazar's announcements at the town hall meeting on the Fresno State campus. The district was also disappointed there was no announcement of the amount of additional water it would expect later in the season. Woolf said they were told it would be August before the announcement.
"That is a setback for us in our planning effort," she said.
The latest biological opinion released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency recently laid more blame on state and federal pumps for declines in salmon and steelhead. An average annual cutback of 330,000 acre feet of was ordered.
Farm interests were incensed that pumps were blamed for declines in fish populations and let Salazar know.
Tom Nassif, president of Western Growers, told Salazar that confidence in the federal agencies and their species protection rules could not be restored without a science-based and fact based review of the biological opinions.
Tom Birmingham, general manager for Westlands Water District claimed that neither biological opinion used to restrict water deliveries is in full compliance with the Endangered Species Act. Westlands joined recently with 29 other public water agencies in arguing that the National Marine Fisheries Service should have prepared an environmental impact report before adopting a salmon recovery plan that would send thousands of acre feet of Delta water out to the ocean.
Birmingham asked Salazar that the Obama administration fully enforce the ESA noting, "science doesn't always mean the environmental side wins."
Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml