Tim Quinn's blog

In a scenario played out far too often in recent years, water supplies are being curtailed once again to protect Delta smelt.

As state officials announced Feb. 12, pumping curtailments to protect smelt have reduced water deliveries to water districts in the Central Valley, Southern California and San Francisco Bay Area by more than 700,000 acre-feet since mid-December. That’s water that could have irrigated more than 200,000 acres of farmland this year or met the needs of 1.4 million households.

As state and federal agencies gear up to release a public draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan later this year, one message bears repeating: A long-term Delta fix is not an option; it’s an essential part of a comprehensive plan to address the state’s water supply needs.

Call me an optimist, but it looks like the policy debate over Delta flows may be moving in the right direction.

That’s my take on a recent letter by the Delta Stewardship Council to the State Water Resources Control Board regarding the role of flows in addressing a suite of problems affecting the Delta ecosystem and key species such as smelt and salmon.

The State Board has launched a process to evaluate potential changes to Delta outflow and inflow requirements and other measures as part of its review of water quality objectives for the Bay-Delta.

With the next staff draft of the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan due to be released soon, the coming weeks will be pivotal for ACWA members and others working to move the council in a direction that can truly meet the coequal goals of improved ecosystem health and water supply reliability.

ACWA has been holding a series of forums around the state to update its local water agency members on plans and activities for the year.

All eyes will be on the Delta Stewardship Council tomorrow as it issues a long-awaited draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Delta Plan.

The document is reportedly 2,000 pages in length. Based on recent comments by council staff, however, it is unclear whether the content of those pages will get us any closer to achieving to co-equal goals of improved water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration.

There can be little doubt that California’s water system is in need of a major upgrade. Large-scale investments are needed in everything from water storage capacity to water recycling facilities to levees. Substantial investments in ecosystem restoration and habitat improvements also are needed if we are to meet the co-equal goals of improved water supply reliability and ecosystem health.

The California Water Commission convened a workshop today on one of the most important topics facing this generation of water managers: the future of water storage in California.

Students of history know that water storage and delivery systems built by previous generations of Californians fueled the rise of everything from the high-tech enclaves of Silicon Valley to the fertile farmland of the Central Valley to the vibrant cities and industries of Southern California.

Kern County Water Agency’s Jim Beck has it right in a recent opinion piece in the Capitol Weekly. We can protect the Delta ecosystem while also providing water to meet the needs of Californians. Solutions are possible when we have leadership and a willingness to work through the complexities.

The complete opinion piece, "Brown Stands Tall for Historic Water Solution," can be read here.

After months of hard work, it was nice to see some signs of positive movement at last Friday’s meeting of the Delta Stewardship Council.

Council members were engaged and asked the kinds of questions we’ve hoped they would ask for some time. The announcement of several upcoming workshops on important policy topics also is a good sign.