Free Republic

Washington -- Dan Lungren, a Republican member of Congress from Sacramento County, wants to give the world "a second Yosemite Valley." The valley already exists, in Yosemite National Park - buried under 300 feet of water in the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which provides San Franciscans and 1.7 million other Bay Area residents with pristine water straight from the Sierra. All that would be needed would be to blow up the dam, which Yosemite godfather John Muir fought to his dying breath in 1914. The Schwarzenegger administration in 2006 estimated the cost at $3 billion to $10 billion. Lungren said Yosemite...

SAN DIEGO -- A landmark accord that ended decades of acrimony over how Southern California gets its water is in jeopardy. A California appeals court is considering whether to overturn a 2003 pact that created the nation's largest farm-to-city water transfer and set new rules for dividing the state's share of the Colorado River. If a lower court ruling stands, consequences could ripple to six other Western states and Mexico, which also rely on the 1,450-mile river that flows from the Rocky Mountains to the Sea of Cortez. ... In January 2010, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Roland Candee gutted the...

WASHINGTON — Federal protections for California's delta smelt will remain intact, but Western water controversies will keep on boiling, with a Supreme Court decision Monday not to hear farmers' ambitious challenge to a key environmental law. The court's decision, issued without comment, effectively upholds the conclusion by a Fresno, Calif.-based trial judge and a lower appellate court that the Endangered Species Act can protect even those plants and animals that don't cross state borders.

With a House Republican loading political ammunition in a national fight over government science, Interior Department officials said Friday they would stand by the work of two scientists whose integrity was attacked recently by a federal judge overseeing the Delta water wars. U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, in a lengthy and strongly worded assault Sept. 16, said the two scientists deliberately misled him when they urged him not to weaken new rules meant to help imperiled Delta smelt in wet years like this one. He called one scientist, Jennifer Norris of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a "zealot" who...

For the second time in a year, a federal judge has tossed out a key permit governing Delta water deliveries. The permit was meant to prevent salmon runs and other fish from going extinct. . . . "Some of (the National Marine Fisheries Service's) analyses rely upon equivocal or bad science to impose (restrictions) without clearly explaining or otherwise demonstrating why the specific measures imposed are essential" to protect salmon, steelhead and green sturgeon,

Delta water users have sued to block a temporary decrease in pumping meant to save thousands of salmon, a move that seems destined to raise the stakes in an escalating water war. After a drought-busting winter that was good news for fishers and farmers, tens of thousands of salmon have been caught or killed at the powerful Delta pumps in the past few months. In addition, more than 6 million Sacramento splittail, a large minnow that environmentalists say should be protected by endangered species laws, were also collected or killed at the pumps. Government biologists contend that the large number...

Those who really believe California has a water shortage should spend five minutes standing in Old Sacramento, watching the Sacramento River. Operators of the three major dams on the Sacramento and its tributaries – Shasta, Oroville and Folsom – have opened their gates widely, sending boiling torrents of water downstream. They must draw down reservoirs behind the dams to control anticipated runoff from one of the heaviest mountain snowpacks on record. A week ago, Sacramento River flows hit 90,000 cubic feet per second, even with diversions into bypass channels. But on Friday, the flow was about 75,000 cfs, which meant...

A new report released Wednesday on California's well-recognized water management problems might be most noteworthy for what it does not include. The report by the Public Policy Institute of California, "Managing California's Water," does not suggest deep water conservation on farms. It also does not presume that all of the state's native fishes can be saved. Or that all its aquatic habitats should be restored to some pre-settlement ideal. Rather, the report's theme is "reconciliation," which the authors define as managing California's water resources to benefit the environment and the economy of today. "We have to keep in mind, we...

Just for grins, let's assume that Jerry Brown beats the long political odds and persuades the Legislature and voters to enact his tough-love plan to close the state budget gap. What's next for the septuagenarian retread? Walking on water? Yes, in a manner of speaking. If Brown can put the budget crisis behind him, at least for a few years, California's other long- festering political sore will almost certainly move to the top of his agenda. Predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger supposedly settled California's water wars before leaving office. In fact, he didn't. He merely put in place a complex mechanism to...

Is California's drought over? Judging by the recent barrage of soaking storms and house-high snowdrifts in the Sierra Nevada, it is. The respected National Drought Mitigation Center in Nebraska agrees. But as with all things related to water in California, it's not that simple. Despite record-setting precipitation in December and surging reservoir levels, state officials aren't expected to revoke the drought designation anytime soon. Blame uncertainties surrounding the current La Niña - the periodic weather phenomenon that often delivers less-than-normal levels of rain but hasn't so far this year - and, not surprisingly, California's complicated and overtaxed water system. "Most...

WASHINGTON – Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, could start making waves in California water. As new chairman of the House water and power subcommittee, McClintock can promote his pet projects while he squeezes environmentalists. Politically, this means renewed talk of an Auburn dam, stricter scrutiny of San Joaquin River restoration and more support for hydropower. "We need to change the central objective of our federal water and power policy to one of abundance," McClintock said in an interview. "That means building more water projects." In theory, McClintock's position strengthens the staunch conservative's ability to pursue his agenda. The House panel...

Reason TV gives a report on the problems plaguing California’s Central Valley, once a breadbasket to the world, and now a government-created basket case of dust, unemployment, poverty, and now starvation. The short documentary focuses on two federal policies that heavily impact the farming region, the first water policy and environmentalism, and the second immigration: The crisis in the Central Valley comes directly from the application of the Endangered Species Act to the Delta smelt, one of a number of bait fish species indigenous to the area. The order by a federal judge relying on that law cut off irrigation...

The same federal judge who helped set in motion protests in California's farm country when he ruled three years ago that Delta pumping limits were too lax to prevent fish from going extinct determined Tuesday the new regulations go too far the other way. In a sharply worded, 255-page decision, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, of Fresno, concluded: "The public cannot afford sloppy science and uni-directional prescriptions that ignore California's water needs." He ordered regulators to rewrite significant portions of a permit for massive Delta pumps that deliver water to the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. The...

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., is expected to explore legislation next year that would allow Aurora to use the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project to move water out of the Arkansas Valley. The information was included in a report by attorneys for Aurora and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District filed late Friday in the Denver U.S. District Court. The report says Udall has agreed to circulate draft legislation along the lines of past attempts to change federal law to allow Aurora to use Fry-Ark storage and exchange contracts to move water from farms dried up in Lake, Crowley and Otero counties into...

In a stunning reversal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday he would attempt to pull an $11.1 billion water bond off the November ballot and instead ask voters to approve it two years from now. The governor said the delay was needed to focus on the budget, but the economic climate and persistent criticism of the bond's cost was making the measure a tough sell.

California Democrats have officially opened fire in their civil war on water, with the Red Army in the Valley versus the Blue Army on the Bay. This blistering missive today from Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, quoting liberally from a Chronicle article Friday. Costa pits the Bay Area's liberal Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, against (shudder) Latinos, and calls Mr. Environment a poster boy for (horrors) toxic polluters: "We have stood up to the bully tactics of extreme environmentalists whose agenda ignores our families and our futures. We've made progress. More water will flow to our Valley and George Miller doesn't like...

China will ramp up construction of dams, reservoirs and wells in response to a severe drought in the country’s south-west, but the move is likely to raise tensions with downstream countries, which have already blamed reduced river flows on Beijing. Most of south-west China has been affected by the drought, which began in November and has left more than 24m people without adequate access to drinking water. Downstream in Thailand, cargo boats have been stranded along the banks of the Mekong, which is at its lowest level in half a century, while fishermen complain of empty nets. Beijing has launched...

Which costs more, a dollar's worth of sugar or a dollar's worth of paint? That's not a trick question-the sugar costs more, if you count the liters of water that go into making it, according to a new study. Uncovering the water behind the dollars in sectors including cotton farming and movie making could help industries use water more wisely, the study's authors say. Researchers know little about how much and where water is used. The United States Census Bureau stopped monitoring companies' water consumption in the 1980s, so the most detailed information available is the U. S. Geological Survey's...

State officials have increased their projected water delivery forecast for the year from 15 to 20 percent of normal, the result of a statewide snowpack that has grown towards the end of winter. Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water Resources, said the allocation could grow to 40 percent next month as runoff measurements firm up. But even that would merely equal last year's allocation. This means the drought effectively enters a fourth year

Ken Salazar: Nothing is easy. I mean, the votes you saw yesterday on healthcare show how difficult it is to get things done in Washington these days. So we don't underestimate the kind of challenge that we have, but the president has been very clear from the first day -- which I have been a part of his team helping pull this together -- is we need to address energy and climate change and do it in a comprehensive manner.

Controversial cuts in water deliveries to farms in California's San Joaquin Valley appear to be "scientifically justified" but still in need of further study, elite scientists have concluded in a report to be issued Friday. In a politically sensitive study, the National Research Council determined two federal agencies had a "sound conceptual basis" for their actions protecting Chinook salmon, delta smelt and other endangered fish. The conclusion undercuts a common farmer criticism. But the 65-page report may give some ammunition, as well, to those skeptical of water delivery restrictions imposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries...

The state's biggest water players are asking a judge today to ease new Delta pumping limits that are allowing the recent storm waters to escape out to sea instead of being stored inland for use this summer. "Under the federal rules, the more it rains, the more water we lose," said Thomas Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, the nation's largest irrigation district. Predictably, the hearing in Fresno today will pit water users against environmentalists, but it will also see the state and federal governments on different sides, with state lawyers supporting water users and federal lawyers on...

California Republicans are seeing political gold in California's water problems, hoping to steal the issue from Democrats and win support from one of that party's key constituencies - Latinos. GOP leaders have put water atop their agenda for next year's statewide campaigns. They are expanding voter-registration efforts in the drought-stricken Central Valley, where unemployment is high and food banks are busy, and encouraging candidates to reach out to Latino voters hit hard by the recession. The strategy was distilled on a 5-foot-high banner at the Republican voter registration table in front of a Walmart store in Dinuba (Tulare County) in...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers failed to reach final agreement on ways to solve the state's water problems Sunday, but the governor nevertheless released scores of bills after concluding some progress had been made. Schwarzenegger's action reversed a threat last week in which he vowed to kill "a lot" of the 704 bills on his desk unless he and legislators reached an agreement. The governor said progress in closed-door talks was enough so that he is calling a special session on water, and discussions could continue. It was not announced when the session will start. "While we still have a...

A political earthquake is rumbling in the Central Valley over water, and it could cause a real tsunami for the Democrats in the 2010 elections if they don't handle it well.That's the message I'm getting from my Blue Dog Democrat friends in farm country.Rep. Jim Costa, D-Hanford (Kings County), told me unemployment in his district is running at 35 to 45 percent. The once-fruitful federal farm subsides are drying up and so is the water, with people blaming the Democrats on both counts.The perception is that folks like Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, and environmental activists are orchestrating a policy out...

The federal government must compensate two regional water authorities for water diverted to preserve the environment, a federal appeals court ruled this week in a landmark decision that could open the floodgates for agencies who contend the government is taking water from them for fish. After a 16-year legal battle, the 2-1 decision came down as California is coping with a drought and new environmental rules that are cutting into the water supplies of farmers and cities across the state. The ruling appears to create an opening for San Joaquin Valley farm districts that are lashing out at environmental regulations...

Delta smelts: Preferred over humans. Environmentalism: Sen. Dianne Feinstein votes to deny water to California's drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. Farmers, families and food are being held hostage to an endangered fish called the delta smelt.There was a time when the San Joaquin Valley was the most productive agricultural region in the world. It was a large part of what made the Golden State golden.Now it's a place where farmers no longer farm, but instead line up at food banks to feed the families of those who once fed the rest of the country and a good chunk of the...

Last week, FNC’s Sean Hannity traveled to the San Joaquin Valley to report on the man-made drought that’s wreaking havoc on farmers in the name of saving the Delta smelt: {video}...Earlier tonight, GOP South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint tried to turn the water back on. The Senate voted down his amendment, 61-36. Here’s the roll call vote.

If you plan to attend the protest with Sean Hannity tomorrow and don't know what to wear, print this reversed on a t-shirt iron-on.

Excerpt from Wall Street Journal Letters to the Editor: Your editorial "California's Man-Made Drought" (Sept. 2) about the severe drought and water crisis in California argues that California's water problems could be wished away if our nation were only willing to sacrifice an endangered three-inch fish, turn on a few pumps to move water from Northern California to the Central Valley, and wave a magic wand. The trouble is: The fish are a sliver of the problem, the pumps are already on, and pointed fingers can't make it rain. California's water crisis is far more troubling than your editorial suggests....

The unions are gearing up for a fight – again – with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A coalition of national unions that includes grocery clerks, hotel workers, farmworkers, Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union dumped $1 million Tuesday into a campaign fund to fight a proposed water bond

A Republican running for a Fresno-area Assembly seat next year is offering a Delta delicacy of sorts at an upcoming fundraiser. An invitation from Brandon Shoemaker, at right, for an Oct. 3 feed promises Delta smelt appetizers with a robust meal featuring barbecued beef.

On August 28, 2009 Taxpayers will go back to the Capitol to Demand our Representatives stop taxing us and start representing us! In California's vast and fertile central valley, the federal government has shut off the water to farmers. Fields lie fallow, and once thriving orchards are dry and dead. After generations on the land, families are losing their farms. In some areas unemployment exceeds 40%. All this to protect a "minnow." The government is putting fish before families. This insanity must end. In the mountains, family owned timber operations, working and managing our forests for generations, are being forced...

• Salmon, sturgeon being killed by pumping, says new report • ‘Chips away at our ability to provide a reliable water supply for California’ The National Marine Fisheries Service has ruled that the operation of both the federal and state water projects in California are contributing to the possible extinction of salmon, sturgeon, southern resident killer whale, and steelhead. In a briefing for Congressional offices held earlier Thursday, NMFS announced exports from the Delta would be reduced 330,000 acre feet. The state has an even grimmer view. “The new opinion, which could reduce Delta export on average by about 300,000...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- The Klamath Tribes and farmers have agreed to drop their state water rights battle pending approval of a federal agreement leading to removal of dams on the Klamath River. The settlement filed Wednesday with the Oregon Department of Water Resources mirrors the water issues in the dam removal plan, known as the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. Greg Addington of the Klamath Water Users Association, which represents farmers, said it made no sense to spend time and money fighting out their claims in the long-running state adjudication process when they have reached a settlement that just hasn't...

In a decision that could force Silicon Valley's largest water provider to refund millions — or perhaps tens of millions — of dollars to its customers, a judge on Thursday ruled that one of the Santa Clara Valley Water District's primary fees is illegal. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy found that the district's "groundwater extraction fee" requires voter approval under Proposition 218, a state law passed in 1996.

Something like the purges of the Kulaks during the Russian Bolshevik Revolution is about to happen to many of California's Central Valley farmers. Only in a Capitalist society like ours the government just adjudicates the de facto taking of your property only without additionally hanging you like Lenin did the Kulaks. But why are California's coastal cities not joining with agricultural water districts to appeal the court order which has blocked 85% of water deliveries through the California Aqueduct to both farmers and Southern California? Don't they both have something to lose? For those who haven't been following what is...

With the budget passed, the water wars are back. Focus is returning to California's seemingly perennial struggle to find a solution to its water woes. On Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a formal drought proclamation, a move to raise awareness of the state's water shortage. Last Thursday, Sen. Dave Cogdill, a Modesto Republican, introduced a water bond bill (SB 371) after similar efforts stalled last year. Sen. Dean Florez, the No. 2 Democrat in the house, introduced a counter measure (SB 301). Even the federal government is getting involved. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack...

It's come to this. A drought approaching epic status in California may force the state to choose one imperiled species of fish over another. On Thursday, state and federal water agencies petitioned regulators to relax standards for flows of fresh water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, hub for most of California's water supply. This means holding fresh water in the state's severely depleted reservoirs. Water officials fear there won't be enough cold water behind those dams this fall to trigger and sustain the Central Valley's fall run of iconic chinook salmon. But the controversial move would leave less fresh water...

A panel of state leaders is calling for California to begin building a canal to divert water around the Delta by 2011, without approval from lawmakers or voters.The final report released late Friday by the Delta Vision Committee, made up of five state Cabinet secretaries, thrusts the controversial canal into the top tier of California political battles.The canal would divert a portion of the Sacramento River around the Delta in order to protect a freshwater supply serving 25 million Californians from earthquakes, floods and sea level rise. It is a modern-day version of the peripheral canal rejected by voters in...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top water policy advisers have recommended construction begin in 2011 on an aqueduct to carry water around the Delta, a version of the Peripheral Canal that California voters rejected in 1982. In a report released late Friday, the Delta Vision Committee largely embraced the broad outlines of a report from a task force in October. But the committee of mostly cabinet-level officials stopped short of embracing how the goals of protecting the environment and improving water reliability should be met. For example, the committee did not take a firm stance on the first concrete recommendation in the...

Reaching back to the laws of ancient Rome, environmentalists sued Monday to cut off Delta water operations and dramatically shake up the long-term balance between economic and environmental needs in the region. If it succeeds, the lawsuit would shift the focus from the worsening conflict between individual species of fish and the amount of water pumped out of the Delta to a comprehensive attempt to balance competing interests. "The only things that are already protected are already endangered," said Michael Jackson, a lawyer for the environmental groups. "But what's happening is the whole bottom is falling out of the ecosystem....

SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Water will be scarce next year for farms and cities that rely on the state for their supplies, a situation that is likely to prompt water rationing and less planting. The Department of Water Resources on Thursday announced it will deliver just 15 percent of the amount that local water agencies throughout California request every year. That marks the second lowest projection since the first State Water Project deliveries were made in 1962. It could force farmers in the Central Valley to fallow fields and cities from the San Francisco Bay area to San Diego to impose...

I am posting this important and breaking news ahead of Sacramento TV stations and The Sacramento Bee. The California Resources Agency this evening in Clarksburg, California held a meeting in which they presented their plans to "save" the vital agricultural heartland of California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. Option four of the presentation (which can be found here: http://baydeltaoffice.water.ca.gov/sdb/bdcp/bdcp_draft_scoping_meeting.pdf ) includes a PERIPHERAL CANAL starting south of Freeport in Scribner Bend and following the exact route of the proposed 1982 Peripheral Canal to the pumping stations of Clifton Court Forebay. But that's not all. Option four as presented this evening also...

Is this the beginning of water wars? 18:00 11 April 2008 NewScientist.com news service Catherine Brahic As Barcelona runs out of water, Spain has been forced to consider importing water from France by boat. It is the latest example of the growing struggle for water around the world – the "water wars". Barcelona and the surrounding region are suffering the worst drought in decades. There are several possible solutions, including diverting a river, and desalinating water. But the city looks like it will ship water from the French port of Marseilles. The water services authority in Marseille say that no...

NASHVILLE — Tennessee officials are denouncing a resolution passed by the Georgia Legislature that urges a reconsideration of the boundary between the two states. Georgia lawmakers, led by Republican state Sen. David Shafer, argue that the border was wrongly drawn in the 19th century, depriving drought-stricken Georgians of their rightful access to the plentiful water supply of the Tennessee River. Tennessee Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Chattanooga Republican, called the resolution “silliest thing I’ve ever seen any group of Republicans do.” “I’m embarrassed that they would embarrass the party like that,” he said. “They’re idiots.” Congress in 1796 designated that Tennessee’s...

OXFORD, Miss. -- A federal judge this afternoon dismissed Mississippi's $1 billion lawsuit against Memphis, ruling he did not have jurisdiction to hear the case in which the Magnolia State claims the city is stealing its water. U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson said the two need to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Mississippi's lead counsel, Don Barrett, said he would appeal the decision. After expressing “real serious questions” about jurisdiction of the case this morning, Davidson heard about 90 minutes of legal arguments from both sides. Mississippi Atty. Gen. Jim Hood filed suit against Memphis and...

SACRAMENTO - The order by a federal judge to reduce pumping by 30% in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta leaves water suppliers who rely on the California Aqueduct, including those in the Antelope Valley, in a bind. Just last week U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger issued his final word regarding the slowdown in pumping operations at the Harvey O. Banks, the starting point of the 444-mile California Aqueduct, core to the State Water Project that furnishes drinking and agricultural water to much of Southern California. Wanger mandated the pumping reduction in order to protect an endangered fish species, the...

Georgia Officials Threaten to Sue Corp of Engineers Over Draining Reservoirs

Could ruling to protect smelt drive foes to the table to agree on restoring the Delta? For years, anyone watching the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has known that a smack-down was looming over endangered smelt. These tiny fish, a bellwether for the ecosystem, have declined over the last decade while water exports from the Delta have been rising.The Endangered Species Act gives judges wide latitude in curtailing government operations that prompt the extinction of a species. And while the smelt and other Delta fish appear to face a variety of threats -- including invasive species, water pollution and loss of habitat...