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| Court ruling worries farm interests |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Friday, 07 September 2007 | |
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“It’s sad that our laws give more weight to fish than to people.” — Doug Mosebar California Farm Bureau president  Pi Photo File The temporary cutbacks, which would slash water deliveries through the state’s two largest water systems, aim to preserve the Delta smelt, a tiny fish listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Farmers and water agency officials say they fear the repercussions of Judge Oliver Wanger’s Aug. 31 order could devastate agriculture and the economy. “The ruling will have a potentially disastrous effect on next year’s water supplies,” said Bill Harrison, manager of the Patterson-based Del Puerto Water District, which serves an area stretching from Santa Nella to Vernalis. “And the truly sad and frustrating part is that there is no guarantee that even this extraordinary action will do anything significant to save the Delta smelt, given all of the other threats to its existence.” Wanger asked attorneys last week to translate his verbal order into a written order, which he will review Oct. 22. The judge previously rejected a federal wildlife “biological opinion” in May that said sending more water allocations to federal contractors south of the Delta wouldn’t harm the smelt. That decision came after six environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming the biological opinion did not conform to the federal Endangered Species Act. The temporary plan Wanger approved last week aims to protect the smelt while state and federal agencies develop a new long-term plan, expected to be finished in about a year. Wanger’s court order combines elements of proposals last month by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the state Department of Water Resources. Specifically, it has provisions that would control flows in the Old River and Middle River near Tracy, preventing them from flowing backward at more than 5,000 cubic feet per second between December and June, when smelt are near state and federal irrigation pumps. The river typically flows backward at a rate of 8,000 cfs to 10,000 cfs when nearby state and federal pumping plants are both going at full speed. The court order also calls for increased monitoring near intake pumps and more sampling of juvenile smelt. Better hopes for survival Scientists working on behalf of farm water agencies said invasive clams and pesticide runoff may be hurting smelt populations more than irrigation pumps. However, Wanger said there is no doubt state and federal water pumps are a contributing factor. The Delta smelt are an “indicator species,” meaning that if they are in trouble, the quality of the entire Delta is in trouble. In 2005, the smelt’s numbers were at 2.4 percent of those counted in 1993, when the species was listed under the state and federal endangered species acts. The recent decline of the Delta smelt coincides with major increases in freshwater exports out of the Delta by state and federally operated water projects, environmental groups say. Kate Poole, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a prepared statement that Wanger’s ruling seems likely to improve the smelt’s chance of survival, though it remains to be seen whether it is enough to protect it from extinction. “The key is to use water wisely,” Poole said. “Through conservation, wastewater recycling and better use of groundwater, we can keep enough fresh water in the Delta to ensure clean water and healthy fisheries.” Poole stressed the importance of having a clean water supply. “Millions of Californians depend on the Delta to supply clean drinking water, irrigate crops and support salmon and other fishing jobs,” she said. NRDC spokesman Craig Noble also said reduced pumping would lead to increased water levels in the Delta. In turn, that would improve the quality of irrigation water going to San Joaquin Valley farmers. Farming fears Water contractors and farmers said they already are using conservation measures, and the new ruling may force growers to leave their land fallow. “There isn’t any better (group of) irrigators in the world than you’re going to find on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley,” said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis-Delta Mendota Water Authority.  Pi Photo File Under the interim plan, analysts say, farmers can expect to get 25 percent to 45 percent of their normal water allocations during a normal water year, and as low as 5 percent during critically dry years, Nelson said. Harrison sent an e-mail this week that indicated water allocations could range from 5 percent to 55 percent under the temporary deal, depending on rainfall and snow conditions this next year. He and Nelson agreed that a proposal that environmental groups presented to Wanger would have cut off all allocations for farmers during a dry year. Wanger’s ruling comes at a time when farmers already have been hit hard, Harrison said, after state and federal agencies were directed to shut down their pumping plants for some time this spring because of fears that they kill the Delta smelt. As a result, Patterson farmer Steve Prevostini said any tighter water conditions could be devastating. “You don’t have water, you don’t have a farmer,” he said. California Farm Bureau President Doug Mosebar said the ruling would not only hurt farmers and farmworkers, but also others with jobs tied to the ag economy, such as small-business owners, truck drivers and packinghouse workers. “It’s sad that many honest, hard-working people will suffer because our water system is broken,” Mosebar said. “It’s sad that our laws give more weight to fish than to people. It’s troubling that we have reached this point.” Legal alternatives There might be ways to prevent a human catastrophe. Wanger noted that the federal Endangered Species Act has provisions for health and human safety. That means not only ensuring adequate water for fire stations, schools and hospitals, but also ensuring land is not left fallow, which could harm air quality, he said. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who expressed concern about the ruling last week, has advocated for more water storage and greater conservation efforts, and touted a $5.9 billion water plan he introduced in January. A task force is looking into Delta-related problems, and should have a strategic plan completed in October 2008. The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the Delta smelt’s fate is still impossible to know. “It could become extinct within a year,” Wanger said, “and it could become extinct if everything that anybody’s asked for here was implemented. It could still become extinct if we put all these measures into effect.” To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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