By now, it’s hard to ignore the science: The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is in crisis. Study after study shows that the delta is dying from pollution and neglect. This PPIC report is particularly useful for framing just how bad it is.
So why should Californians care? Well, 23 million of us rely on the delta for water. Yet the delta ecosystem is collapsing, threatening California’s environmental and economic quality of life. The fact is California can’t remain prosperous without a reliable water supply. There is no choice but to act.
This morning the Senate-Assembly conference committee on water met for the first time. The goal – as outlined below by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (disclosure: my boss) – is to finalize legislation before the end of session to “share, store and save water more effectively.”
The Senate and Assembly leaders are pushing for a comprehensive solution that: Ensures more efficient water management for our cities, the environment, farmers and fisherman; greater protection for unique ecosystem of the Delta; reliable water supply for economic growth.
See the Senate Natural Resources and Water website for draft conference reports. Should be an interesting week.
If it weren’t for per diem, couldn’t we just skip the posturing and move directly to the cave?
I mean, those dams aren’t going to build themselves.
Aren’t the bills now pending just a way to build the hated peripheral canal? Why are Democrats supporting this mess?
Respectfully, the bills don’t build a canal. The bills call for more water conservation, set up a conservancy for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and establish an independent Stewardship Council to be charge of planning, financing, building and operating new facilities needed to accomplish both a reliable water supply and ecosystem protection in the Delta. It creates a council that has a Delta representative and that meets in public and that bases its decisions on science instead of politics. I link to a PPIC study above called “Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.” I strongly suggest anyone who is interested in learning more about the problem and possible solutions to read this report. — Jim Evans, Communications Director, Darrell Steinberg