by Gary Pitzer F


or years, California has struggled with how to provide water to its citizens from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in a way


that allows for a reliable supply while attending to the needs of the environ- ment and the Delta community. A complex, controversial and expensive process called the Bay Delta Conserva- tion Plan (BDCP) is in the spotlight as the lead federal and state agencies move toward choosing an option that will have a lasting impact.


In the works for seven years, the BDCP is heavily touted by Gov. Jerry Brown as a way to break the years of gridlock associated with the Delta environment and water conveyance. Brown, whose father Pat was the steward of the State Water Project while governor, wants to leave a similar legacy for the state.


“We are going to have a reliable


water supply,” the governor told the audience May 8 at the Association of California Water Agencies’ (ACWA) Spring Conference in Sacramento. “We are going to build a big project. We are going to get it done. I’ll be here to get it done with your help.”


The BDCP simultaneously takes on improving water supply reliability and ushering in widespread habitat creation and enhancement. Under its charge, more than 100,000 acres worth of habitat projects would be created or protected at a cost of about $4 bil- lion, to be paid for largely with public money. The goal of the BDCP is to be a key part of the Delta Plan, the lengthy document adopted May 16 by the Delta Stewardship Council that charts the comprehensive management plan that contains a mix of regulatory actions, nonbinding recommendations and an


emphasis on interagency coordination to shape the Delta’s future.


“For the first time in the continu- ation of a lot of previous work that has gone before, we are ready to step forward to create the beginnings of a solution for restoring the largest estuary in the western hemisphere; for providing a reliable supply of water for Californians and also for protecting the Delta as an evolving place,” said Chris Knopp, executive director of the Delta Stewardship Council, at the May 16 Council hearing to adopt the Delta Plan.


But it is the BDCP’s plan to con- struct a new Delta conveyance system that has drawn the most attention. A $25 billion proposal calls for twin underground tunnels that would carry Sacramento River water drawn from three intakes under the Delta to the state and federal pumping facilities in


Twitchell Island


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Western Water


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