Comments on: California Plan Wants Peripheral Canal, but Removes Guarantees/Protections for Delta http://troutunderground.com/2009/01/03/california-plan-wants-peripheral-canal-but-removes-guaranteesprotections-for-delta/ Fly Fishing the Upper Sacramento River : Tom Chandler's Fly Fishing Life : Fly Rods are the Measure of Life Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:36:59 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Tom Chandler http://troutunderground.com/2009/01/03/california-plan-wants-peripheral-canal-but-removes-guaranteesprotections-for-delta/comment-page-1/#comment-52151 Tom Chandler Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:01:19 +0000 http://troutunderground.com/2009/01/03/california-plan-wants-peripheral-canal-but-removes-guaranteesprotections-for-delta/#comment-52151 Mike: Agreed - the Delta's wasting away, and the collapse has been accelerated by the record amount of pumping done the last five years. From the "even more frightening" department is this: in spite of the Delta's failing health, the water project folks wanted to pump even more than they had been - creating a "biological opinion" that would have supported the extraction of more water. Fortunately, the judge saw through that, but when people start talking about the peripheral canal being somehow "good" for the Delta - when too much water's already being removed - I tend to break out in a rash. Without some kind of iron-clad guarantees (and we saw what those were worth in the case of the Trinity River), then the Peripheral canal is just going to be one more way to turn the Delta into a salt marsh. Mike: Agreed – the Delta’s wasting away, and the collapse has been accelerated by the record amount of pumping done the last five years. From the “even more frightening” department is this: in spite of the Delta’s failing health, the water project folks wanted to pump even more than they had been – creating a “biological opinion” that would have supported the extraction of more water.

Fortunately, the judge saw through that, but when people start talking about the peripheral canal being somehow “good” for the Delta – when too much water’s already being removed – I tend to break out in a rash. Without some kind of iron-clad guarantees (and we saw what those were worth in the case of the Trinity River), then the Peripheral canal is just going to be one more way to turn the Delta into a salt marsh.

]]> By: Mike Spies http://troutunderground.com/2009/01/03/california-plan-wants-peripheral-canal-but-removes-guaranteesprotections-for-delta/comment-page-1/#comment-52149 Mike Spies Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:38:05 +0000 http://troutunderground.com/2009/01/03/california-plan-wants-peripheral-canal-but-removes-guaranteesprotections-for-delta/#comment-52149 After 160 years of California water wars, the latest in sanity. Fact is, the real protection for the Delta is to not de-water it. Only so much water enters the Delta in a given year, and no matter how you run the numbers the fact is that most years there is not enough to supply demand AND protect the health of the Delta. Most informed people would say that the Delta ecosystem is already crashing. After 160 years of California water wars, the latest in sanity.

Fact is, the real protection for the Delta is to not de-water it. Only so much water enters the Delta in a given year, and no matter how you run the numbers the fact is that most years there is not enough to supply demand AND protect the health of the Delta.

Most informed people would say that the Delta ecosystem is already crashing.

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