is a done deal? No. Are the involved agencies and others fully engaged to tackle and resolve these issues? Yes.” Concern about the BDCP’s possible impacts is most deeply held within the Delta, which supports a robust agricul- tural economy and through which the new conveyance would operate. That infrastructure would come at the expense of 100,000 acres of productive Delta farmland said Mike Machado, former executive director of the Delta Protec- tion Commission and longtime Delta legislator, at the ACWA conference. Noting that “a small bad project is just as bad as a big bad project,” Machado said a water management paradigm that includes less reliance on the Delta is not being evaluated. “We seem to be set on pursuing an agenda where often times the science to support that agenda is the product of the person paying the contract, not objective science, and unless we have objective science to be able to address the environmental issues, we haven’t really accomplished what we set out to do,” he said


The controversy surrounding the scope of the BDCP conveyance has generated calls for serious examination of the smaller, less costly alternative. A January letter to state and federal offi cials from a coalition of urban water agencies said “a solid business case has not yet been made” for a large capacity conveyance system. “We believe that it is critical to evaluate in detail a conveyance as small as 3,000 cfs, as it would provide considerable water supply benefi ts to the export community while better protecting broader interests in the Delta,” according to the letter, signed by the Alameda County Water District, Contra Costa Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Otay Water District, San Diego County Water Authority, City of San Diego and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commis- sion. “Such a facility would also realize signifi cant fi nancial savings in compari- son with a larger conveyance facility, face fewer legal and political challenges, and potentially be completed sooner.”


May/June 2013


In a joint announcement last


year, state and federal offi cials, includ- ing Gov. Brown, voiced support for a “preferred proposal” that includes water intake facilities with a total capacity of 9,000 cfs. Sixteen alternatives are analyzed in the draft environmental impact report, including no conveyance facility and facilities with capacities ranging from 3,000 to 15,000 cfs. The 1982 Peripheral Canal proposal that was rejected by voters had a capacity of 21,800 cfs.


While water contractors such as MWD believe optimal design of the conveyance should be 15,000 cfs, others say the size has to be matched to future storage options.


“In terms of water supplies, size appears to matter very little,” Gartrell said at the ACWA panel. “Operations matter a whole lot. Storage matters a whole lot.”


Restrictions on taking water from the Sacramento River mean a facility would only be able to convey 9,000 cfs 10 percent of the time, while wet periods would not bring extra water “because there’s just no place” to put it because farmers aren’t irrigating and the reservoirs are full, Gartrell said. Dry years would actually be worse for exporters under the BDCP, because its studies show restrictions due to largely sea level rise, he added.


Coalition to Support Delta Projects


While he tracks the BDCP, Gartrell is also part of the Coalition to Support Delta Projects, the diverse group of stakeholders that have joined together to promote non-controversial Delta improvement projects, such as levee strengthening and habitat restoration. The participants, many of them long- acquainted with the intricacies and nuances of California water policy, law and regulations, have identifi ed more than three dozen projects that should move through the regulatory review processes in a timely way.


“There were a lot of worthwhile projects out that have been out there that weren’t being discussed, weren’t


9


“There were a lot of worthwhile projects out that have been out there that weren’t being discussed, weren’t being focused on. There was really a void in the near-term projects and getting something done in the near term and maybe the collective will of all the


stakeholders could


push that through.” – Doug Brown,


Delta Counties Coalition


Listen to more of the interview with Doug Brown


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