farmers. Once aquifers are recharged, a system of conjunctive use can be employed that could eventually lead to groundwater banking. Management of such a bank “needs to be worked out,” Dean said.


Watch a clip from PPIC’s “Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta: An Overview”


Another multimillion dollar project involves improvements to the 47-mile Contra Costa Canal, the fi rst four miles of which is unlined and tidal and subject to drainage and ground- water seepage from adjacent proper- ties. The drainage “affects the quality of water our customers get and also the water quality standards that affect the operations of the state and federal projects,” Gartrell said.


The lands adjacent to the canal are not protected by fl ood control levees and by putting that section of the canal in large diameter pipe, “we eliminate


The Delta Doctor Is In


The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) has been a regular contributor to the dialogue about the Delta, weighing in with periodic reports that describe the region and the ways in which decisions can be made to better facilitate its manage- ment.


In its latest publication, Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta Ecosystem, PPIC authors Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, John Durand, William Fleenor, Brian Gray, Josué Medellin-Azuara, Jeff Mount, Peter Moyle, Caitrin Phillips and Buzz Thompson introduce different concepts, including “reconcilia- tion ecology,” which acknowledges the Delta as a unique and valuable ecosystem and a place heavily relied upon by people. To that end, the report says providing for more favorable fl ows and habitat can be done while also using infrastructure and technology – such as better management of fi sh hatcheries - to help preserve native fi sh. While reconciliation ecology “needs to be guided by science and broadly supported by Californians,”


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PPIC did fi nd divergent views on the best manner to achieve results. “Scientists favor reconciliation strategies: strong majorities emphasized fl ow and habitat actions in and up- stream of the Delta that would restore more natural processes,” the report says. “Stakeholders and policymakers gener- ally agree with scientists on high-pri- ority solutions. However, stakeholders were more likely to prioritize actions in areas unrelated to their own uses of the Delta and shy away from actions that would be costly for them.” PPIC surveyed scientifi c experts and federal and state policymakers and Delta stakeholders, including water contractors, Delta advocates, environ- mentalists, fi shing interests, and up- stream diverters and found that people agreed on the stressors affecting native fi sh, with scientists calling for improved water fl ows and habitat in the Delta and upstream. Among scientists, the survey found “a lack of consensus on the con- struction of a canal or tunnel, refl ecting uncertainty about the size of the project and how it might be operated.” Delta oversight has often been characterized as dozens of agencies with


no one in charge. The authors tackle this by calling for “a modest but powerful set of changes” to shepherd planning efforts. Among the sug- gestions is “regulatory coverage of more stressors” and creation of a joint powers authority for Delta science in- cluding regulatory agencies, regulated parties, and other stakeholders “that would foster shared understanding, build knowledge and inform adaptive management efforts.”


The report notes that discharge of pollutants, fi sh management, fl ow regime changes, invasive species and physical habitat alteration have con- tributed to the decline of the Delta’s native fi sh populations and that the means to address those factors could be improved. “To date, regulation of Delta stressors has mainly concerned export water users, upstream waste- water dischargers and the fi shing industry,” said Hanak. “We are suggesting the need for additional coverage of other water users, other dischargers, those involved in in- troducing invasive species into the system, etc.”


Western Water


the levees, eliminate the seepage, eliminate the burden on the state and federal projects, so that whole project becomes a fl ood control, water quality and water supply project with benefi ts in each of those areas,” he said.


War or Peace?


Whatever direction the BDCP takes, it will represent a major milestone in the history of California water. It is clear that with so many interested parties, the ultimate scope and scale of the project cannot easily be prog- nosticated. While the size of the project is not the overriding factor, it is inescapable that it is of great concern from an economic and environmental perspective.


As such, the degree to which the BDCP veers from its twin-tunnel, 9,000


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