There are numerous articles posted here and all over the web about 'Water' use/users here in California. It is a growing concern and one that is not going to be easily settled.
This is just my local papers articles relating to the Delta...of course it is strongly in support of the 'canal' that attempts at stealing Northern California's precious water supply and pumping it south for BIG AG in the Central Valley and 'users' in Southern California...
Even now the Federal government is getting involved...
http://www.sacbee.com/1268/story/2105156.html
"The federal government is saying it's ready to be a team player again to solve water and environmental problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the hub of California's water system. But the ballpark may have become a battlefield.
That was one of the impressions left in the wake of a Sacramento visit Wednesday by Deputy Interior Secretary David J. Hayes, named by the Obama administration to help California solve its water woes."
The biggest concern is with the Delta here in the Central Valley. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the LARGEST estuary on the West Coast... It has been utterly battered. And greatly needs a lot of attention...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento-San_Joaquin_River_Delta
"The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is facing serious problems headed into the second decade of the 21st century. After Hurricane Katrina, concerns emerged about the security of its levees. The 2004 Jones Tract Levee Break, which flooded 12,000 acres, did little to assuage those worries. Gradual developments of sea level rise, land subsidence and regional climate change add still more pressure to the levees.
Further, the Delta's fish population is in question. The Delta is home to approximately 22 species of fish[3] including the Delta smelt, a key indicator species for the health of the Delta's ecosystem, was found in 2004 to be on the edge of extinction.
The administration of the region is also in flux. CALFED, a federal-state program in charge of the Delta, is on the verge of financial insolvency."
To that end GAS (Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) has stated numerous times that he is in support of a 'canal' (two concrete canals at 1,000 feet wide each) that will pump water from just south of us here in Sacramento, go around the Delta, and ship it south...My thinking is that if you have two 1,000 foot wide canals taking our water from our not even 300 foot wide river, how long will it be before that river is 'dry'?...
"USA: The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has said that he would be willing to circumvent public voting processes in order to push the building of two large canals that would expedite the flow of water from the Sacramento River to export pumps in California."
"...he would be willing to circumvent public voting processes "...is that a dictator in action here?
There are other people taking action against this blatant stealing of our water...
"Million Boat Float will arrive before Delta bill hearing
Posted by Dan Bacher
sacramentofordemocracy.org
On the day before the California Legislature holds an informational hearing on a package of water bills that provide a road map to the construction of the peripheral canal, boaters from throughout the Delta will converge on Sacramento in the first-ever Million Boat Float.
The massive two-day flotilla today and Monday is being organized to show that boaters and their allies are united in the defense of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta against plans by the governor and legislators to build the peripheral canal and destroy the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas. …
The event will start with a float up the Sacramento River from Antioch at 8 a.m. today. Yachts and small boats will join the fleet from different staging points as it moves up the river. …
Once in Sacramento, a riverside rally is planned at the Delta King in Old Sacramento at 7 p.m. today, according to Bruce Connelley, the organizer of the event. …
The activities will continue Monday with an around-the-Capitol parade of trailer boats starting at 9 a.m. A rally with legislative and organizational speakers will top off the events at 11 a.m. on the west steps of the state Capitol. …
"Restore the Delta is supporting the float because it is a wonderful opportunity to show how out of sync the Legislature is with the needs of the Delta fishing and boating communities," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, campaign director of Restore the Delta.
"The Million Boat Float is delivering a critical message in light of what corporation interests are doing to our state's natural resources, including the destruction of the imperiled fisheries of the California Delta and Central Valley," said John Beuttler, conservation director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
"The sportfishing public is finally getting the message that unless they stand up and oppose corporate greed, they will lose their fisheries and the state's public trust resources."
"The Legislators and the governor aren't including the Delta stakeholders in the process," stated Bruce Connelley. "If they don't include the Delta stakeholders and continue down the road they are going now, they will surely destroy the Delta." …"
I wish them luck...This is not going to be easy...
