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Updates for 2018 on Delta Water Wars and other news or go back to WaterWars 2017
May 2018
 Governor Brown, Karla Nemeth and the DWR flunkies of Metropolitian Water District are seriously treading on constitutional rights and are trying to validate building tunnels and continued diversion of Sacramento River watershed into other areas of the state.  In the meantime MWD and Department of Water Resources announced that the footprint of the proposed tunnels is changing...again.  Yet MWD and the http://www.californiawaterfix.com website show a schedule that indicates the contractors for design, acquisitions and Executive Director position/company have already gone through the RFQ process and the contract companies have already been designated.  But the project has not yet been approved by the Waterboard.  In the meantime we do see lots of construction activity going on in the Delta.  Such as changes to the tall power lines on some islands, new radio and TV tower appears to have been installed, and more.  Native salmon species are at the lowest levels since California started counting the Salmon, at least according to scientists who have been reporting the drastic decline in native salmon species since DWR-USBR increased diversions over the last 15+ years.  Water levels at low tide are the worst anyone has seen according to the owners of several marinas along the Sacramento River and also here on Steamboat Slough.  It appears DWR plans to release only about 7500 cfs of flow past Freeport into the Delta in July, August and September 2018, if temporary water rights petitions are to be believed.  Below are links to ongoing hearings:
    To see the hundreds of thousands of pages of reports and evidence, go to the links below.  Waterfix Hearing dates were cancelled as DWR and MWD revised some of the data and a revised EIR/EIS is supposed to be sent to all of us.  MWD and DWR in the meantime are already contracting to design and build-apparently they think it is a done deal with the Hearing board.  As we speak DWR and USBR are continuing to block flows into the Delta creating even lower tides than would be natural at this time of year.  These low flows are examples of what we might expect year round as DWR and MWD have claimed the right to the NorCal and Sacramento River watershed flows, in effect.  Yes, many lawsuits are already filed.  It is now a race to see if the courts can stop the excess diversion of Sacramento River watershed flows to other areas of the state before the native salmon species go extinct.  Smelt are gone.  Next it is the SALMON!  Look at the graphics to the left, which were provided by DWR to show how much flows will be left on each of the North Delta waterways with the tunnels operating.  EcoRestore will attempt to get the salmon to migrate through the seasonal flows of the Yolo Bypass area and/or Sacramento Ship channel, so that the salmon don't get trapped in the intakes on the Sacramento River. 
Screen print below shows the planned spending on the tunnels project...they already started spending before getting the Waterboard approval ...so all that noise from electrical work in the North Delta in February through early May?  Probably shifting electrical lines to provide the power needed for running a tunnel boring machine or the intake pumps?
April 2018 links to following hearings or other
actions and activities related to the ongoing attempt by MWD and its flunky DWR to continue to divert excessive flows from the Delta and SF Bay area counties, leaving very low flows on Steamboat Slough in a normally high flow months:
 https://video.calepa.ca.gov/
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/transcripts.shtml
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/change_petition_updates.shtml

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/exhibits/index.shtml
http://cms.capitoltechsolutions.com/ClientData/CaliforniaWaterFix/uploads/FIX_BA_TOC_Rev.pdf

 

Metropolitan Water District of SoCal has voted to fund the bulk of the cost of the tunnels ... meaning SoCal rates will go up drastically if the tunnels are ever built.  NorCal is finally speaking up and expressing how many ways taking that much water from the Sacramento River from the proposed locations would do unacceptable damage.  Just because some water managers want more control.  Like the movie Avitar but the target is the Delta water, minerals, farm lands and great places to vacation, as least for now!
February 2018

 We had hearings and more hearings.  In the meantime some of the Protestants discovered what appears to be collusion between at least Waterboard hearing staff and DWR/USBR attorneys.  Lawsuit has been filed against Waterboard regarding the claimed exparte communications but the hearings go on.  WaterFix proposes 3 huge intakes on the Sacramento River between Freeport and Walnut Grove and two huge tunnels to move the water to the SoCal pumps.   9000 cfs of water diversion off the Sacramento River would further eliminate native fish species and further degrade the fresh water and drinking water aquifers of the Delta and bay area and Sacramento Valley area.  Some short sighted "visionaries" of Santa Clara and San Jose are supporting the WaterFraud plans, to get water now for expansion.  However it would also limit Santa Clara and San Jose future development since no water would be available-it would be headed south to the highest bidders.

DWR is already advertizing for tunnel contractors and expects to name the contractors by April 1 2018.  Mr. Bernarski of MWD said that they could hire 6-7 tunnel contractors and they would build all sections of the planned tunnels all at once.  The 3 intakes could be built all at once too but why wait for other things like power needed to move the water?  Hence projects like what is going on right now on Grand Island where there is a major power upgrade going on gives an example of the noise levels one could expect in the areas of the intakes and tunnel pathway.

Note there is also discussion of building 2 intakes and 6,000 cfs of diversion.  Bottom line:  they have been taking too much water from the Sacramento River watershed and now the salmon are showing signs of serious decline in populations.  There are so many documents and schenagans going on, you need to go to this side page to review some of the info if you are interested.  Governor Brown and MWD of SoCal are trying to ram this plan through ... more in days to come. 
January 2018
 WaterFix hearings start up again on Jan 18.  North Delta Cares has been meeting with local land owners and has been collecting policy statements in protest of proposed diversion of more Sacramento River water to other areas of the state.  In the meantime, USBR proposes to maximize diversions from the Sacramento River, DWR and others propose more storage facilities like Sites Reservoir, MWD bought the 5 Delta Islands and is starting to use the islands for water storage and other uses.  MCCormack/Williamson Tract was partially flooded in Feb 2017 and will be "restored" with a deep body of water at the south end that looks much like the forebay created at Liberty Island.  And then there are the major construction projects to improve levees in select areas of the Delta.

In the meantime, Waterboard hearing officers and personell have been meeting on the side with the DWR computer modelers and attorneys to discuss changes to testimony and presentations, which is contrary to legal procedures according to all of the agencies and their attorneys who have filed protests about the ex parte communications against Waterboard and DWR.  It is important for the viewer to recognize that DWR-Dept of Water Resources works for and on behalf of Metropolitian Water District of SoCal, and other state water contractors.  DWR does not at all represent the interests of most humans living in the SF Bay area, the Delta or the Sacramento River watershed all the way up to the Oregon boarder. 
News articles about what is going on:
https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/bidding-in-secret-officials-quietly/content?oid=25554485

https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/why-save-the-delta-unknown/content?oid=24933875

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLmpVV3bq9M  


Made in 2009 and still just as relevant.  In 2009 DWR was proposing basically 15,000 cfs or most of the Sacramento River water to be diverted year round unless the flow was to low.  Now the tentative plan that could change any time is to take 9000 cfs from three 3000 cfs screened intakes, PLUS USBR would be taking their maximum allotment.  DWR documentation introducted in the phase 1 of Waterfix hearings indicates flows on the Sacramento river past the proposed intakes could be as low as 6000 cfs to be split between the 5 "Mainstem" waterways in the North Delta, basically suspending the Delta into a permanent worst-case drought flow. 

Lots of  past documents available at previous documents uploaded per links below, or more general and historical information can be viewed at http://www.deltaREvision.com