The volume of water pumped out of the San Joaquin Delta and into
cities and farms all over California could be reduced by up to 30
percent due to new federal rules.
Morgan Hill
The volume of water pumped out of the San Joaquin Delta and into cities and farms all over California could be reduced by up to 30 percent due to new federal rules. The rules, announced Monday and set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are part of an effort to protect the tiny, endangered delta smelt fish which inhabits the waters.
Such a significant restriction could complicate operations and service for water districts all over the state, including the Santa Clara Valley Water District which serves about two million people. About half the district’s water supply comes from the delta, according to SCVWD spokeswoman Susan Siravo, who noted that the current drought combined with the cutoff of supply by the federal agency make for “a much more difficult situation than we’ve been in, in a long time.”
Siravo said although local water supplies are “still in pretty good shape,” if Santa Clara County doesn’t see at least average rainfall for the rest of the winter, the district may recommend imposing mandatory conservation guidelines on its customers by March 2009.
About a year ago, a federal court in Fresno initially ordered the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project, the two entities that operate the transfer of water out of the delta, to turn their pumps down. Monday’s decision is a reaffirmation of that order.
The SCVWD has contracts with both the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project for water pumping and transport services.
About 23 million people and millions of acres of crops in California depend on delta water.
The federal ruling comes on the heels of a proposal by the California Fish and Game Commission last week to shut off the delta’s pumps, also to protect the smelt fish. The State Water Contractors, an organization of 27 public water agencies including the SCVWD, has filed a lawsuit to halt that proposal.
