Rod Fujita is Senior Scientist and Director, Ocean Innovations, for EDF.

Salmon and steelhead are in jeopardy. That is no surprise to many of us, especially fishermen and coastal communities who have suffered through the closure of the salmon fishery. But thanks to NRDC’s successful lawsuit, it's official. The lawsuit forced NMFS to take another look at the effects of the state and federal water projects on salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon, resulting in a new Biological Opinion. This new Biological Opinion (B.O.), released two weeks ago, confirms our fears that the water projects have been and are likely to continue to jeopardize the continued existence of winter run, spring run, steelhead, and green sturgeon if nothing additional is done to protect these iconic and valuable species. The recommended actions in the B.O. are also consistent with the research and conclusions of many others: these fish need more water, cooler temperatures, better passage past dams, and improved habitat.

To save these fish, the B.O. goes beyond short-term band-aids toward a holistic health model. When salmon populations are this low, it is time to pull out all possible stops to save them which means supporting the survival of ALL life stages comprehensively, which is what the B.O. attempts to do. It acknowledges that just altering project operations is not sufficient; rather, the full range of Reclamation and DWR authorities (especially those provided by CVPIA) to reduce stressors and compensate for them must be brought to bear if these species and the fisheries and ecosystem values that depend on them are to survive, never mind recover. Read more »

Cynthia Koehler is Senior Consulting Attorney for EDF.

June began auspiciously with the Delta Vision Task Force having reconstituted itself as the Delta Vision Foundation—indicating that it intends to remain an active advocate for the recommendations contained in its report.

Sunne McPeake initiated one of the meeting’s most interesting exchanges when she asked a panel of stakeholders each in turn whether they support the Delta Vision's recommendations. Water agency representatives and Delta interests on the panel provided a range of negative responses from an emphatic ‘no’ to not-ready-to-sign-on-but-still-open-minded, while environmental reps responded affirmatively with qualifications.

However things play out, it's clear that the new Delta Vision Foundation is going to be a force in the discussion. The Foundation is showing real leadership in highlighting key areas where all the parties still need to come together.

Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

Anybody reading newspapers or watching television news over the last two months has heard frightening stories of water shortages that threaten the viability of agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley. But information compiled by the California Department of Water Resources reveals that in 2009 water supply in most parts of the valley will be in excess of 80% of average.

Central Valley Project deliveries to Westlands Water District, for example, were forecast to be zero as recently as March. Westlands now projects they expect to use 86% of average annual supplies this year. Their total supply is a combination of deliveries from the Delta, water banked last year, groundwater pumping and purchases.

The data, compiled last month by the Department of Water Resources and based on a series of interviews with staff from each of the districts, was attached to a letter from DWR Director Lester Snow to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein on May 15 . As the table notes, the information is subject to change.

The information paints a very different picture for agriculture this year than we have seen reported this spring. The water shortages are much lower than previously reported. This year's supplies do, of course, rely on levels of groundwater pumping that would not be possible every year. Still, one can only conclude that the water supply situation is not as dire as previously reported and that San Joaquin Valley farms will still be able to grow food for our kitchen tables this year.

 Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

As we hear cries of water wasting to the sea from the Bay-Delta, it is perhaps appropriate to remember that the Bay-Delta is a living estuary that needs water. Along these lines, we just received a blast from the past (courtesy of Jonas Minton) in the form of a 1980 letter (pdf) to then Governor Jerry Brown from Ph. D.’s lrwin Haydock (Marine Ecology) and Michael Rozengurt (Oceanography, Hydrology) that asserts it is an “inescapable conclusion that no more than 25-30 % of the natural flow can be diverted without disastrous consequences”.

Diversions have risen well beyond Haydock and Rozengurt’s threshold, to an average of 48% to date in the 21st century. It is important to remember Read more »

Ann Hayden is a Senior Water Resource Analyst at EDF.

Yesterday was a big day for California. After eight years of minimal federal engagement in California’s critical resource issues, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar toured the Bay-Delta focusing on California’s water crisis and the need for federal engagement on solving the Bay-Delta's problems (read more here and here). We couldn’t agree more with the Secretary’s statement that "it's time to modernize. It's time to make hard choices. And it's time for the federal government to re-engage in full partnership ... with the state of California."

During his visit, Sec Salazar announced that California will receive $260 million in federal economic stimulus funds to fix dams, restore fisheries and habitat and help the state cope with drought conditions. We are particularly encouraged by funding set aside for Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration which will help restore fisheries that support thousands of jobs in Northern California; as well as funding to build new pumps and screens for the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, critical to protecting salmon, steelhead and sturgeon.

These projects are a step in the right direction. We are pleased to know that the Secretary is seeking a comprehensive solution to the state's water problems—without loosening environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, a recent proposal, which he saw as a "quick-fix, run-over-everything kind of approach."

Laura Harnish is the California Regional Director.

California’s drought, now in its third year, is getting plenty of attention – both in-state and beyond its borders. This attention is deserved because in 2009, reduced water supplies are affecting our cities, farms and natural environment.

Comments made at a recent congressional hearing may have outshone the fundamental facts but certainly conveyed the drama building around this issue. Our current water policy is broken—right now, we cannot adapt to the most predictable of droughts nor operate with the flexibility needed to respond to the needs of our ecosystem. We believe there is an alternative—we can create a robust, resilient water system that provides reliability in drought and water for fish. Before we get there, let's take a closer look at where we are now: Read more »

Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

As California is experiencing a third consecutive dry year, in 2009 less water will be available for our cities, farms and natural environment. Due to our “first in time, first in right” water laws, however, some areas of the state will have plentiful supplies while others will suffer severe shortages.

The latest water supply update from the Bureau of Reclamation illustrates the wide range of reliability in water supply that exists in California. The Bureau’s Central Valley Project expects to deliver 100% of contractual supply to its "water rights" contractors along the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, 85% to its Friant Division contractors, but zero to its south-of-Delta “Contract Agriculture” customers, including Westlands Water District.

For more than three decades, Environmental Defense Fund has advocated for the use of transfers Read more »

Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

More than 2 centuries ago, Ben Franklin told us that we will learn the worth of water when the well runs dry. As reported yesterday, by The Voice of San Diego, the Irvine Ranch Water District has taken Franklin’s words to heart by soaking “wasteful” households with hefty rate increases. The Voice is impressed, noting that per capita water use in Irvine is only 90 gallons per day, far less than the 162 gallons per day consumed in San Diego.

Irvine’s innovative approach is well known to California’s urban water wonks. Each homeowner receives an allocation that is based on Read more »

Ann Hayden is a Senior Water Resource Analyst at EDF.

It’s been a long time coming for the San Joaquin River, but yesterday marked the beginning of the return of both the river and the salmon runs that it once supported.

Congress overwhelmingly approved the project as part of a landmark wilderness bill (sponsored by Senators Feinstein and Boxer) that will require river flows along the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam, re-watering a 63-mile stretch of the river that has been mostly dry for decades. In addition to mandated river flows, the legislation includes provisions to restore riparian habitat as well as measures to help valley farmers. This deal is in no small part due to the tireless efforts of fishing and environmental interests, led by NRDC, who first took the matter to court in 1988, showing that sometimes persistence and hard work does indeed pay off.

Additional flows on the San Joaquin will surely help the imperiled Delta ecosystem as well and will be factored into efforts to create a Bay-Delta Conservation Plan as well as Delta-related activities within the California legislature.

Victories like this are few and far between—giant kudos to our colleagues who worked so hard for so many years.

Ashley Rood is a Research & Outreach Associate with EDF.

The Voice of San Diego brings up an important question: how can you begin to conserve water if you don't know how much you use? San Diegans who live in single family homes pay for each unit of water they use but those in apartments and condominiums typically don't.

The article reports that water cuts (and penalties) due to drought are expected in San Diego as of this summer, "and because the city has only one meter on most multi-family complexes, it's impossible to separate water hogs from conservation-minded residents.” This means every resident in a particular complex, whether deserving or not, could face financial penalties if the overall complex exceeds its water allocation."

Submetering, measuring how much water all individual residences use, becomes more important as supplies tighten. With a submeter, you could discover a leaky pipe faster and see the automatic benefits of installing a low-flow shower head—saving money and resources. Our energy grid is ahead of the curve, with smart meters going into homes throughout the country—providing real time access to energy usage.

Of course, even single family homes in some Central Valley cities such as Sacramento, Fresno and Modesto do not yet have meters (though we are assured they are coming soon). And we still do not measure groundwater use in most of California.

If we're going to get serious about using water efficiently, we need to know how much we are using.