With additional rail service rolling along and passenger airlines taking off, some people may even look to the possibility of using the thousands of miles of waterways that link San Joaquin County to the Bay Area and Sacramento. But the travel crystal ball for the Delta is a little murky. It's a long trip from here to the Bay Area. One estimate holds that it is about 45 miles from Stockton to San Francisco, a trip that could take anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours, depending on speed. He did say that there have been some technological advances in water transportation in cities such as Seattle and San Francisco, but the problem with running high speed ferries through the Delta is attached to the wave action it would create.
Bigger waves mean quick erosion of the protective levees.
Chesley said he doesn't see any practical ideas on the horizon for a floating commute out of San Joaquin County.