Massive pumping of the Delta has driven the Chinook salmon and delta smelt to the brink of extinction. The Sacramento spittail may soon follow suit, and federal agencies are working to limit the amount of water the aqueduct can have. A joint state-federal working group has been formed to try to hammer out biological standards for the Delta ecosystem. Business leaders across the state have thrown in support for comprehensive, multi-species planning in the Delta and eastern San Francisco Bay. Kennedy said a new attempt to build a peripheral canal, which was soundly defeated by voters in a 1982 ballot measure election, is likely to emerge from the process.
Every option is on the table.
The peripheral canal is back on the table. Environmentalists argued in 1982 that a peripheral canal, which would divert water from the Sacramento River around the eastern edge of the Delta to pumping stations south, would destroy the Delta's ecosystem. State water officials believe it might now be the salvation of fish endangered by the direct pumping. Although no one at the Mission Valley water summit mentioned gutting the endangered species legislation that lies at the heart of the Delta battle, several local water agencies have taken up the charge. Five East County water districts formed a legislative committee in April to collaborate on lobbying efforts.