L.A. water provider moves forward on Delta land purchase

Article from Stockton Record.

http://www.recordnet.com/article/20151110/NEWS/151119964

By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer

Posted Nov. 10, 2015 at 7:47 PM

The largest provider of treated drinking water in the U.S. may soon become a substantial landowner in the Delta, after the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California gave its general manager permission Tuesday to negotiate an option to buy four large islands.

If finalized, the deal could cost Metropolitan anywhere from $150 million to about $240 million. That’s based on other, smaller real estate transactions in the Delta, which have ranged from $7,500 to $12,000 per acre, said Metropolitan General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger.

The islands in question total about 20,000 acres, or about 31 square miles, 3 percent of the entire Delta and an area half the size of Stockton.

Metropolitan intends to first negotiate a one-year option, giving it time to fully evaluate the properties before deciding for certain whether to move forward with the purchase, Kightlinger said.
Northern California interests have fought Los Angeles over water exports from the Delta for decades. Some shiver at the notion of L.A.’s powerful water provider owning a chunk of the estuary for the first time, saying it reminds them of the surreptitious purchase of land and subsequent draining of the Owens Valley in the early 20th century.

“It’s like having Al Capone move into your neighborhood and promise that he’ll look out for your interests. They’re about as welcome as sin here,” said Bill Jennings, head of the Stockton-based environmental group California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.

Kightlinger said he understands the trepidation. But one of the primary drivers behind the potential land purchase is actually to help the Delta’s struggling environment, which in turn could boost water supplies, he said.

For 25 years, the current owners of the private islands — a company called Delta Wetlands, owned by Swiss investors — have been working on a plan to convert two of the bowl-like islands into reservoirs, and two more into wildlife habitat. During wet times, water from the new reservoirs could be pumped south and stored underground for dry times.

Metropolitan is interested in a similar plan, though the details have yet to be worked out.

“We’re more interested, frankly, by the environmental pieces of it than we are the water supply pieces,” Kightlinger said.

That’s because Metropolitan believes simply allowing more water to flow through the Delta to San Francisco Bay will not reverse the estuary’s collapse, he said.

“Our belief is you have to restore habitat,” Kightlinger said. “Ninety-eight percent of the Delta marsh has disappeared.”

How does that tie in with Metropolitan’s interests? The crashing Delta ecosystem has forced officials to cut back on the amount of Delta water that can be pumped south. Fixing the ecosystem could help Metropolitan obtain a more reliable supply of water.

The land acquisition could also facilitate construction of Gov. Jerry Brown’s twin tunnels, a project that Metropolitan supports. The tunnels would pass below two of the islands, Bouldin and Bacon.

“That would be valuable,” Kightlinger said.

Metropolitan ownership would facilitate drilling studies needed to evaluate the suitability of the soils before investing huge amounts of money in the $15 billion project. It could also prove useful for storing soil excavated while the tunnels are built.

And if state officials need to acquire land on those islands to build the tunnels, Metropolitan could sell it to them rather than the state having to go through the lengthy process of eminent domain.
Some challenges remain. Using the two islands as reservoirs will require the Southern California district to get water rights from the state, which the current owners are already trying to do. Jennings’ environmental group has formally protested that effort, arguing that the diversion of water and the flooding of the islands could harm water quality.

In the past, the owners of neighboring Delta islands have also expressed concern that flooding the two islands could increase flood risk on their own properties. A lawsuit focused on that issue was settled two years ago, with the Delta Wetlands company agreeing to take certain precautions to protect the other islands.
Kightlinger said Metropolitan attorneys will review that settlement to see if those requirements would stay in place if his district takes ownership.

Bruce Blodgett, director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation, said the islands haven’t been well-managed by their current out-of-area owners and suggested control by Metropolitan isn’t likely to help matters.
“The bottom line is what is best for this region?” Blodgett said. “We’re concerned that Metropolitan may not have in mind what’s best for our region.”

Kightlinger counters that the current Swiss owners aren’t exactly local family farmers. Their business, he said, is to sell water to people outside the Delta.

“I don’t understand how an insurance firm based out of Zurich is somehow a better investor than a California public agency trying to make things work for all of California,” Kightlinger said.

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