A Current Issue in Californias Water Future

1. Introduction

The Sacramento San Joaquin Bay-Delta, located just east of Californias San

Francisco Bay is a hub for environmental, agricultural, and recreational activity. As

an estuary it is considered one of the most productive ecosystems in the world.

Although it is considered very productive, it is also incredibly fragile. The general

issue is that through the last century the Delta has been allowed to continue to

degrade. Recently the federal government has placed restrictions on the amount of

water allowed to leave the Delta in hopes to combat some of the problems that

weve seen specifically with the Delta smelt, an indicator species of the Delta. One of

the specific issues, however, is the aging and inefficient infrastructure delivering

water throughout the entire state of California

a. Background

The Delta itself has always been an important aspect of California; it wasnt until

very recently that the health of the Delta became an important issue on the forefront

of people, including the governments mind. When discussing how the effects of the

Delta there are three main groups; environmental, urban, and agricultural. Each of

them with their own intersts and rarely see eye to eye. The urban sector needs

water for their day to day activities, while the agricultural sector are concerned with

irrigating their crops which in turn provides them income, and lastly is the

environmental sector which lobbies for the safety of the delicate ecosystem that is

the Delta. As well as these basic groups a few government agencies have evolved
over time. These include the State Water Project, the Central Valley Project, and

CALFED to name a few. Over the years the Bay Delta Conservation Plan has been

formed and has been changing and becoming better since its conception in 2009 as

the Delta Reform Act.

b. History of Issue

Going all the way back to its origins the Delta was formed approximately 18,000

years ago when glaciers carved and filled the San Francisco Bay. This created

marshland ecosystem. In the mid 1800s California enacted reclamation laws that

set in motion the construction of small levees to contain the water thus creating

productive farmland as opposed to the unusable marsh that preceded it. Local, State,

and Federal governments realized how beneficial the Delta could be to all of

California and the role of the Delta grew and became a critical system in water

delivery to both urban and agricultural communities. The CALFED Bay-Delta

program describes the Delta as having to reconcile three main issues; seasonal

snow and rain fall in the winter while water demand is higher in the summer; snow

and rainfall in the North while demand for water is greater in the South; and

climatic patterns that led to periods of flooding and prolonged drought. Along with

this governments have to deal with the clashing of different sectors, environmental,

agricultural, and urban, of California. From the period of 1987-1992 there was a 6

six drought that threatened to destroy much of the deltas environment. The Delta

Smelt, an indictor species of the health of the Delta, as we all the Chinook salmon

were endangered to the point of extinction. This paired with a 44% decline in runoff
to the Sacramento River and a 53% decline in runoff to the San Joaquin River for the

governments to take action in the preservation of the Delta. The degradation of the

Delta is important to every single citizen in California. This is because the Delta

provides 2/3rds of the states fresh water. If we were to lose this ecosystem we would

not only loose our largest water supply the negative effects on the economy and the

people of California would be astronomical.

2. Current Issue

Today the Bay-Delta provides water to 2/3rds of the state. Currently the

government is presented with the question of what to do to preserve the quality of

this important ecosystem. The original marshland of the Delta is altered by the

manmade structures in place creating productive farmland, providing protection

from floods, and allowing for urban development. The natural balance of saltwater

versus freshwater threatens to be thrown off creating catastrophic events for not

only the animals that live in the delta but the people that get their water from it as

well. The poor quality of the environment as well as the levees themselves has

become concerning. While these structures were considered an amazing

engineering feat one hundred years ago, little has been done since then to

compensate for the rapid growth of our population and the natural aging they have

been subject to. The levees are under stress as see levels have risen and are

predicted to rise another 4 feet by 2100, the raise in temperature will also cause

problems as we will see more runoff from the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The
aging levees are not equipped to handle future storms and seepage, slumping, and

naturally occurring corrosive processes are a huge concern.

a. The Players

Many groups have been formed all with different ideas on the best way to address

the situation. The key players associated with this issue are CALFED, many different

water districts all over California, farmers, environmentalists, and government run

organizations that have created plans like the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and

Waterfix. CALFED was created in response to the problems seen in the Delta. They

created four key objectives that they planned to meet. These are to improve water

quality, improvement of 1,100 miles of levees, an increased water supply and a

more efficient use of resources, and finally implementing agencies to restore the

damaged ecosystem. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan was created by the

government and is supported by many different water districts all over California.

The BDCP plans to address the problem by align water operations to better reflect

natural season, to reconnect floodplains, to restore and develop new tidal habitat, to

return riverbanks to a more natural state, and to control invasive species. Their plan

is to construct a delivery system underground that is not subject to the raise in

salinity and the danger from the aging levees. Their plan takes into account all

aspects of the ecosystem, creating things like gates for safe passage of fish all while

delivering the water that was originally promised. Another solution brought forth

by California Natural Resource community is California Water Fix this solution is

founded on four ideas; that we are using water inefficiently, that the levees are out
of date and we are at risk, that the environment is suffering, and finally doing

nothing will not only hurt our economy but also our standard of living. Their

solution is to create two forty-foot tunnels one hundred and fifty feet below ground

and install three new intakes with a capacity of 3,000 cfs.

b. The Impacts of the Issue

This problem impacts many aspects environmentally, agriculturally, recreationally,

and water delivery to the urban sector. Environmentally some of the main issues

include; a lack of floodplain habitat, barren channel margins, contaminants,

predation by and competition with invasive species, 98% loss of tidal marsh, and

altered flow and entrainment. These environmental issues have created an

inhospitable environment for the natural animals that have always called the Delta

their home. Like previously mention the Delta Smelt are at extremely low levels and

to protect them certain groups have taken a big hit. Agriculture being one of those

groups, a certain amount of water is promised to agriculture although that promise

hasnt been met in a long time. This is because the amount of water that is being

pumped out of the Delta is being very limited. The WaterFix plan is opposed by

many living around the Delta. They fear that the tunnels will negatively affect water

quality as well as negatively affect the farms around the Delta.

3. Personal Evaluation

This to me is a very tough issue. The fact that there are so many groups involved and

that the Delta delivers water to 25 million people makes it impossible to make

everyone happy. This problem is incredibly far reaching and that makes it even

more complicated. I see that there are so many people to make happy, there is a

thousand miles of dilapidated levees, and there are thousands of acres in the delta

that need to be rehabilitated. Every plan that has been presented is incredibly

complex and thought through and I really think that there is a lot of good ideas

brought to the table. I think it is super important to take care of the environment

and that if we dont then we will completely destroy everything, on the other hand I

see that farmers need this water to not only provide for themselves and for their

families but also to provide food for a population and boost Californias economy.

a. Recommended Policy and Probable Outcome

There have been years and years of researched and time poured into these plans

and scientists, engineers, and government officials have meticulously planned them

out. So based on the fact that my research in this matter has only been a matter of

weeks I do not feel comfortable coming up with my own solution. However, based

on the policies that I have researched my recommended policy is the Bay Delta

Conservation Plan. A likely outcome of this policy would hopefully be the objectives

that it strives to meet. It would benefit the species living in the Delta as well as the

farmers and others involved not having to worry if they were going to be able to get

the water that they need. This project aims to reduce the impact that the
construction will have on the environment by doing things like using reusable

tunnel material, using gravity to help in water delivery, and reducing the impact that

the construction will have on the farms, homes, and towns in general. With this plan

there is a lot of talk about what would be good for the environment and there is

research done on what would happen to surrounding communities but I would

really like to see more

b. Probable Contribution to the Future of Californias Water

My recommended policy will reduce the risk of levee failure, and if it does happen

make the effects less catastrophic, it would protect the wetlands from sea level

rising due to climate change, it would also protect local fish and other animals and

create more variety in the ecosystem. The plan also would more efficiently and

naturally manage water. The cost of this plan would be incredibly expensive an

estimated $24.75 Billion over 50 years. However when you take into account that 25

million people get their water from the Delta it is an obvious choice on who should

be paying for it. To avoid backlash from the public on why they are footing this bill

there should be a push to educate on the need for this type of plan.

c. Conclusion

In conclusion it is my opinion that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan should go into

effect. It is incredibly well thought out and strives to be transparent in how it is

going ot deal with all the issues taking into account the opinions of thse living

around the Delta. The public that is getting the water from this Delta should be the
ones paying for it based on the act that they are the ones using it and have a hand in

causing the damage that we have been seeing in the Delta.

4. References

State Water Contractors. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

http://www.swc.org/

U. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

http://baydeltaconservationplan.com/EnvironmentalReview/EnvironmentalRe
view/2013-2014PublicReview/2013PublicReviewDraftBDCP.aspx

(2007, January 01). Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

http://www.water.ca.gov/swp/cvp.cfm

CALIFORNIA'S WATER SYSTEM. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

https://www.californiawaterfix.com/#solution

Reclamation, M. R. (n.d.). Mid-Pacific Region. Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

https://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvp/about-cvp.html

State of California, CALFED Bay-Delta Program. (n.d.). About CALFED. Retrieved

May 29, 2017, from http://www.calwater.ca.gov/calfed/about/

US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

(2004, December 19). Estuaries. Retrieved May 29, 2017, from
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/estuaries01_whatis.htm
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