In this Issue...


We take a look at the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the Coalition to Support Delta


Projects, issues that are aimed at improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying California’s long-term water supply reliability.


Aerial view of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta


On the Cover Credits


Editors


Rita Schmidt Sudman Sue McClurg


Writer Gary Pitzer


Editorial Assistance Robin Douglas Diana Farmer


Design & Layout Graphic Communications Photos


Association of California Water Agencies


California Department of Water Resources California Farm Bureau Federation


Rita Schmidt Sudman


Editor’s Desk


This issue of Western Water discusses the latest on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and how it is related to the Delta Plan that was recently adopted by the Delta Stewardship Council. Writer Gary Pitzer describes the process of the BDCP, which has been in development for seven


years. The BDCP is a plan to improve Delta habitat mainly for fi sh in order to get the permits to continue pumping a reliable amount of water through the state and federal water projects at the south end of the Delta. You may remember that before the BDCP plan, many stakeholders were engaged in a process called CALFED, a joint state and federal process to develop projects to help the water environment and economy get better together. That process mainly funded some environmental projects but ran out of money and steam about a decade ago. Before CALFED there were other stakeholder processes that emerged in the last 30 years since the defeat of the legislation authorizing the Peripheral Canal. In the meantime, the problems in the Delta related to water delivery have not been solved. So you’ll want to read this issue of Western Water for the latest on how the BDCP fi ts into today’s other ongoing processes. I’ve been thinking of the many years of meetings and studies that brought us to


Find bios of our board members, www.watereducation.org


The Water Education Foundation thanks all the sources and experts who reviewed this magazine for balance and accuracy.


The mission of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial, nonprofi t organization, is to create a better understanding of water resources and foster public understanding and resolution of water resource issues through facilitation, education and outreach.


Western Water is published by the Water Education Foundation, 717 K Street, Suite 317, Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 444-6240, fax (916) 448-7699. An annual subscription to this bi-monthly magazine is $65. The balance of the Foundation’s information program may be supported by larger amounts, which are tax deductible. Printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink.


E-mail: feedback@watereducation.org Web page: www.watereducation.org ISSN: 0735-5424


President: William R. Mills


Executive Director: Rita Schmidt Sudman © 2013 Water Education Foundation


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today’s decision points. Through those years, the Foundation staff has been on the frontlines of covering those debates. Currently, I’ve just fi nished updating a chart we produced last year called “Delta Planning Relationships.” You can fi nd the chart on Aquafornia.com under the All About the Delta section at www.aquafornia.com/ delta. It’s a poster-sized depiction of brief explanations of 25 separate Delta plan- ning efforts – from fl ood management to Delta fl ow criteria to land use plans – and how they relate to the Delta Plan. Remember, the BDCP is planned to be folded into the Delta Plan. The exercise of updating this chart has made me realize how many people and agencies are involved in fi nding solutions related to Delta issues including fl ood management and environmental restoration. The Delta Plan, as adopted by the Delta Stewardship Council in May, focuses on implementing the co-equal goals of water reliability and environmental restora- tion by recommending a portfolio of actions. However, in the public debate, much of the focus on the Delta relates back to the BDCP and the pro and con arguments for the twin tunnels proposals. The BDCP’s formal public comment phase probably will begin this fall, and the Water Education Foundation will continue to seek the latest factual information and analyze the comments. Just as the 1960 passage by voters of the State Water Project and the voter referendum defeat in 1982 of the legislation that included the Peripheral Canal were decisions made by other generations, the decisions made on the BDCP and related processes will be important for this generation of Californians. ❖


Place the resources at your fi ngertips – purchase an e-subscription to Western Water. See page 15, visit www.watereducation.org, or call 916-444-6240 for more information.


Western Water


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