Delta Regional Group

"Can the Delta Survive California's Great Thirst?"

Monday, September 17, 7:15 pm, Antioch Library, 501 West 18th Street, Antioch.

About 75% of California's yearly precipitation falls north of Sacramento, while more than 75% of the demand is to the south. The Delta is therefore the "switching yard" for sharing water from water-rich Northern California with the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. Two massive pumping stations, owned by the state and federal governments, comprise the nation's largest water-transfer system. These pumps divert trillions of gallons from the Delta yearly to 25 million residents, from the East Bay to Southern California, and to millions of acres of San Joaquin Valley farmland. About twice that amount of water is diverted and used before it ever gets to the Delta, largely on farmland, but also by urban areas, including Sacramento, San Francisco and its Peninsula customers, and the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The water that the farmers receive is often highly subsidized, on long-term contracts, and at guaranteed low rates; they thus have little incentive for conservation.

Demand for the Delta's water is the highest ever, and the Delta is in its most serious environmental crisis yet. The Delta hydrograph (the rate at which water arrives into and leaves the Delta) is highly altered. The salinity line, between incoming fresh water and salt water from the ocean, is on average more than five miles east of its natural location, and in spring it is often 20 miles east, dramatically changing the habitat and ecosystem. Once a freshwater marsh, the Delta was channelized and drained to create 500,000 acres of farmland. A recent study concludes that a healthy Delta ecosystem can not be sustained at current pumping operations levels. California needs to establish a sensible long-term water program that guarantees dependable supplies of fresh water, along with better environmental protection of the state's largest estuary.

A Peripheral Canal to divert water around the Delta, rejected by California voters in 1982, is again being proposed as a solution. Such a project might solve some water problems but create others. Would it turn the Delta into a salty, stagnant inland sea, ruin Delta fisheries and farms, and foul the water supply for the Contra Costa Water District?

Our speakers tonight have a long history in dealing with the Delta's never-ending water problems. Greg Gartrell, assistant general manager of the Contra Costa Water District, will bring us a PowerPoint overview of current state and Delta water issues. Greg will show recent work at CCWD that links the decline of Delta smelt to salinity increases in the Delta and to the take of adult smelt at the State Water Project pumps. Increased salinity pushes the delta-smelt habitat eastward to where the fish are vulnerable to the pumps, and provides habitat for the destructive overbite clam, an invasive species.

Our second speaker is Dave Nesmith, who for many years served as conservation representative for the Sierra Club Bay Chapter. Dave now works for the Environmental Water Caucus.

Please join us tonight to hear the latest developments in California's water debates.

Group program meetings are usually held on the third Tuesday or Wednesday in January, March, May, September, and November. A newsletter listing Delta Group programs, outings, and activities is available by $5 subscription. To receive it send a $5 check payable to "Sierra Club, Delta Group" to:

Tish Brown
51 Danridge Court
Antioch, CA 94509.

For information about Delta Group activities, call Janess Hanson at (925)458-0860. For information about Delta area environmental concerns, call Tim Donahue at (925)754-8801.

Upcoming hikes and activities

For details, see the "Events and Activities" calendar.
Sat., Sep. 15 - Contra Loma Reservoir, Antioch, shoreline clean-up.
Sun., Sep. 23 - Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline, Martinez, 1A hike.
Sat., Oct. 6 - Mount Tamalpais State Park, 1/2B hike.