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Coalition Sets High Bar for Analysis of Proposed Dam
CSPA and allies in the Foothills Water Network submitted 25 pages of comments today on the analysis Nevada Irrigation District (NID) must perform to inform decision making about a proposed new dam on the Bear River. NID’s proposes to build a new 110,000 acre-foot reservoir with a 275 foot-tall dam on the Bear River. “Centennial…
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CSPA Says “NO” to Privatizing the Public Trust
Oral Comments of Chris Shutes, CSPA Water Rights Advocate, to the State Water Resources Control Board, April 5, 2016. Item 9: 2016 Operation of New Melones Reservoir on the Stanislaus River [based on notes as read; exact delivery was slightly different] During the drought, Oakdale and South San Joaquin Irrigation Districts lived off Bureau’s [of…
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What Caused the Impending Extinction of Delta Smelt?
CSPA’s fisheries biologist Tom Cannon gave a presentation entitled “Contributing Cause of Smelt Decline: Water Exports” at a symposium on March 29, 2016 at UC Davis. The theme of the conference, sponsored by the Delta Stewardship Council, was: “Delta and Longfin Smelt: Is Extinction Inevitable?” In his presentation, Tom put forth the hypothesis that the…
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CSPA and Allies Defend Butte Creek Protections
Virtually everyone agrees that PG&E’s DeSabla – Centerville Hydroelectric Project on Butte Creek and the West Branch Feather River provides important benefits to salmon. Fortunately, the ten-year-long relicensing of this project is close to completion. In the most recent process milestone, the State Water Board issued the Water Quality Certification for the relicensing in April.…
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We Need to Get Salmon Upstream of Central Valley Rim Dams
Since 2006, one of CSPA’s primary areas of effort has been to reintroduce salmon to historic habitat upstream of major Central Valley dams. Today, Central Valley salmon are confined to the valley floor: 5-10% of their historic habitat. In the face of climate change and inadequate flows due to political pressure, regulatory timidity, and frequent…
