Banta-Carbona Irrigation District, Broadview Water District, Byron Bethany Irrigation District (CVP), Central 

California Irrigation District, Centinella Water District, City of Tracy, Columbia Canal Company, Del Puerto Water 

District, Eagle Field Water District, Firebaugh Canal Water District, Fresno Slough Water District, Grasslands Water 

District, James Irrigation District, Laguna Water District, Mercey Springs Water District, Oro Loma Water District, 

Pacheco Water District, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, Panoche Irrigation District, Patterson Irrigation 

District, Pleasant Valley Water District, Reclamation District 1606, San Benito County Water District, San Luis Canal 

Company, San Luis Water District, Santa Clara County Water District, Tranquillity Irrigation District, Turner Island 

Water District, West Side Irrigation District, West Stanislaus Irrigation District, Westlands Water District, Widren 

Water District.

City of

Tracy

Kettleman

City

To San Francisco

Stockton

Jones Pumping Plant

Clifton Court Forebay

• Fresh water from the Delta 

supports:

– 25 million Californians;

– Regional ecologies;

– Agriculture and Industry.

• $400 billion of the State’s

economy

• Any loss impacts our economy 

and environment.

Why is the Delta so important?

The Delta
Endangered Species Act

and other Species of Concern

Chinook Salmon

1989 – Winter-Run: Endangered (CESA)

1990 – Winter-Run: Endangered (FESA)

1999 – Spring-Run: Threatened (CESA/FESA)

Green Sturgeon

2006 – Threatened (FESA)

No CESA listing

Steelhead

1998 – Threatened (FESA)

No CESA listing

Sacramento Splittail

1999 – Threatened (FESA)

2003 – FESA listing removed

No CESA listing

Longfin smelt

2007 – Petition under consideration

(FESA & CESA)

Longfin smelt

2007 – Petition under consideration

(FESA & CESA)

Delta smelt

1993 – Threatened (CESA/FESA)

8
Key Delta Risks

Seismic Risk

Bay Area Faults

Flooding Risk

Jones Tract (2004)

Fishery Declines

Delta smelt

9
0 . 1

1

1 0 2

1 0 3

0 . 1

1

1 0

100

1 0 2

1 0 3

1 0 4

1 0 5

1970 1980 1990 2000

0 . 1

1

1 0

1 0 2

1 0 3

1 0 4

1970 1980 1990 2000

1

1 0

1 0 3

1 0 4

A

b

u

n

d

a

n

c

e In

d

e

x

C

atc

h

p

er Tra

wl

Y e a r

D e l t a S m e l t Longf i n S m e l t

S t r i ped bas s T h r e adf i n s had

Source: Kimmerer and Nobriga (2005); Sommer et al. (In Press, Fisheries 32(6))

Exhibit D

The Pelagic Organism Decline

1970 1980 1990 2000 1970 1980 1990 2000

A

b

u

n

d

a

n

c

e In

d

e

x

Striped bass

Delta Smelt

Threadfin Shad

Longfin Smelt


Stockton

Near-Term Other Stressors

Toxics, Unscreened diversions, etc.

Near-Term Other Stressors

Toxics, Unscreened diversions, etc.

Other Stressors

 Toxic pollutants

 Upstream diversions

 In-Delta diversions

 Invasive species

 Predation

 Climate change

 Recreation/commercial activities

 Intentional take

 Ocean conditions

 Water quality

 Food supply

 Stock recruitment
Forums Considering Delta “Solutions”

• Bay Delta Conservation Plan

• CALFED

• Delta Vision

• Governor’s Office

• Public Policy Institute of California

• State Water Resources Control Board


Our Current Water Supply Pathway

(Peat Soil is 10-30 ft. deep)

- 20 ft.

- 30 ft.

- 30 feet Sea Level

SWP Pumps

CVP Pumps

- 5 ft.
- 20 ft.

- 30 ft.

- 30 feet Sea Level

SWP Pumps

CVP Pumps

- 5 ft.

Isolated Facility Pathway

(Peat Soil is 0-10 ft. deep)

Isolated Facility Pathway

(Peat Soil is 0-10 ft. deep)
DRAFT: Delta Outflow, Upstream Consumptive Use, In-Delta Consumptive Use, and Exports

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Million A

cre Feet

Delta Outflow

Banks Exports

Tracy Exports

Upstream Consumptive Use

In-Delta Consumptive Use
MWD

4.5 %
• Impacts of Water Supply to San Joaquin Valley Agriculture

•

•

• Water Loss since CVPIA 1992

• 1992 – Enactment of CVPIA

• Section 3406(d) – Reallocated water from south-of-Delta CVP Ag service contractors to Level 2 Refuge Supplies: 156,000 acre-feet

• 1994 – Bay-Delta Accord

• South-of-Delta CVP and SWP contractors agreed to dedicate, on a temporary basis, water to Delta fisheries restoration: 1,000,000

acre-feet from CVP and SWP contractors in a dry year. The Accord provided that management of CVP water under the Accord to be 

counted toward section 3406(b)(2) obligation. (Reduced south-of-Delta CVP and SWP contract reliability by approximately 25%)

• 1997 – Decision on Implementation of CVPIA section 3506(b)(2)

• November 1997 and subsequent decisions prescribed management of section 3406(b)(2): 183,000 – 275,000 acre-feet. (Reduced 

south-of- Delta CVP contract reliability by an additional 10 – 15%.)

• 2000 – Trinity River Record of Decision 

• Prescribed new flow criteria for Trinity River: 100,000 – 600,000 acre-feet depending on year type (Average supply reduction for

south-of-Delta CVP contractors approximate 5% (91,500 acre-feet).)

• 2007 – Wanger Decision

• Prescribed additional actions to protect Delta smelt: Water cost 650,000 acre-feet

• On Farm Job Loss 

• 2006 - 100% water supply 140,000 

acres not farmed

• 2007 - 50% water supply 25% full time decrease of on farm jobs 225,000 acres not farmed

• 2008 - 40% water supply 65% full time decrease of on farm jobs 235,000 acres not farmed

• 2009 - 0% water supply 60,000 Employment Loss **

• $1.4 Billion Income Loss **

• $1.2 Billion Farm Revenue Loss **

• ** The Economic Impacts on Agriculture of the Biological Opinion & Drought in 2009; Richard Howitt, Duncan MacEwan & Josue 

Medellin; UC Davis Dept of Agricultural & Resource Economics , & UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences
• California is facing a water supply crisis. 

– 2009 Central Valley Project allocation for SOD water service contractors – 10%

• UC Davis projections based on 0% allocation 60,000 – 80,000 jobs and $2.2 billion in lost income 

– 2009 State Water Project allocation for all contractors – 30% 

• Since 1992 water supplies for ag and urban water agencies that depend on the 

CVP and SWP have been reduced not by hydrology, but by regulations that have 

reallocated water to environmental uses and that prevent the movement of 

water from storage facilities to areas where the demand for water exists.

• The narrow-minded focus on the export pumps while ignoring OTHER FACTORS 

has, by all measures, not been of benefit to the ESA listed fish.

• Solutions 

– Bay-Delta Conservation Plan – A comprehensive program to address multiple factors that 

affect the abundance of species in the Delta

– New Delta conveyance facilities – An isolated conveyance facility would:

• Eliminate conflict between efforts to recover at-risk species and to supply water;

• Restore water supplies for ag and urban agencies that depend on CVP and SWP;

• Improve water quality; and,

• Eliminate risk to water supply resulting from seismic risk and sea level rise.

– Water Agencies that would benefit from facility willing to pay costs of design, environmental 

review, and construction.

– New Surface Storage – Five feasibility studies nearing completion.

– Federal agencies must play an active role. Implementation of these solutions will require 

participation of Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, and Army 

Corp of Engineers.