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Recent News
Water articles and links
California's Westside to U.S. Court: Save Our Water
"The more it rains, the more water we lose"
Under federal limits on pumping and storage
For Immediate Release
January 29, 2010
Contact: Sarah Woolf 559-341-0174
Runoff from the recent winter storms is delivering a surplus of water into the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. But unless a federal court intervenes, restrictions on water deliveries will prevent California from storing those desperately needed supplies and instead, tens of thousands of acre feet of fresh water will simply flow into the ocean.
The Westlands Water District today joined with other public water agencies serving the communities on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley in asking the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to issue temporary restraining orders on the operation of the federal rules intended to benefit delta smelt and salmon fisheries.
"Under the federal rules, the more it rains, the more water we lose," said Thomas Birmingham, Westlands' general manager. "It's particularly tragic because there's no evidence the fish are actually benefiting from these restrictions. On the contrary, the abundance of these fish species is continuing to decline and the federal fish agencies told the National Academy of Sciences this week that these rules were never intended to help the fisheries recover."
One set of restrictions has already taken effect and is costing California 10,000 acre feet of water a day. Westlands and the other water districts served by the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority are worried that a second set of restrictions is about to cut off efforts to save an additional 8,000 acre feet of water a day.
"The relief we are seeking doesn't threaten the delta smelt at this time of year," said Birmingham. "The fish agencies' own surveys show that the vast majority of the smelt are currently residing in northern and western parts of the delta, far away from the pumps."
At the request of Congress and the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Academy of Sciences has formed a special panel of biologists and fisheries experts to review the science underlying the federal rules and determine whether there is any basis for the massive reductions they have caused in California water supplies. The panelists were at the University of California, Davis, this week taking testimony from spokesmen for the federal fish agencies as well as from public water districts from all over California that have challenged the restrictions in court.
"The burden of these restrictions has been falling directly on the communities of the Westside. The results have been catastrophic for our families and our economy," Sarah Woolf, a spokesperson for Westlands said.
The federal rules reduced California's water supplies by nearly one-third in 2009 and now a new set of additional limitations is just beginning to take effect.
"We must have some relief. The Westside cannot survive another year of devastating cutbacks in our water deliveries. People are losing their homes, their businesses, and their life savings. The harm these restrictions are doing is irreparable," said Birmingham.
Link to article about farmers filing suit over delta smelt
From: Rep Nunes [mailto:
] Sent: Friday, January 22, 2010 12:45 PM To:
Subject: Water Town Hall Update
Dear Friends,
The ineptness of Secretary Salazar and the Department of Interior continues unchecked. They refuse to turn on the pumps, they refuse to build the two gates project, and now they refuse to attend a water town hall in Fresno on Monday – a town hall in which they would hear directly from the citizens.
Read for yourself – this is the statement they sent…
“Because of other commitments, particularly the NAS panel meeting happening the same day in Davis, the Department of the Interior will be unable to send a representative to the event. We are aware of the severe economic and social impacts on Central Valley communities of the water supply situation. Representatives of the Department, including the Secretary and Deputy Secretary, have traveled to the Central Valley and learned first-hand of the conditions caused by the current drought. The department wants the residents of the Central Valley to know of our continuing attention to and concern over this situation, and that we remain committed to taking short and long-term actions that can address the situation.”
They have said the same thing for a year! When will they actually do something?
I urge you to attend this town hall at the Fresno City Council Chambers, 2600 Fresno Street, 2nd floor, Fresno, California on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 8:30am. Diverse witnesses will be invited to testify and members of the public will have the opportunity to speak.
