On February 22, 2024, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) submitted a water rights petition for change in point of diversion to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) for the Delta Conveyance Project also known as the Delta tunnel.
DWR submitted this petition despite broad opposition to the project from environmental advocacy groups, environmental justice groups, Native American tribes, and Delta cities and counties. CSPA opposes the Delta Conveyance Project primarily because it would divert more water away from the Bay-Delta, and thus have a detrimental effect on Delta water quality, the Bay-Delta ecosystem generally, and Delta fisheries in particular. CSPA opposed previous incarnations of the Delta Conveyance Project for the same reason.
In the petition, DWR proposes new points of diversion that include two intakes on the Sacramento River between its confluence with Sutter Slough and Freeport. These intakes would each have a maximum capacity of 3000 cubic feet of water per second (cfs).
Fisheries at Risk
Fish in the Delta need increased flows to survive and thrive. For six consecutive years, the Department of Fish and Wildlife found zero Delta smelt in its surveys of the Delta. Longfin smelt have also declined by 99.96%, American shad by 67.9%, splittail by 100%, and threadfin shad by 95%.
Last year, due to historically low Chinook salmon populations, the California Fish and Game Commission closed recreational salmon fishing in the ocean off California and Central Valley rivers. CSPA has also petitioned the federal and state government to list California’s white sturgeon as “threatened” under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts.
These species are in decline because too much water is being diverted from the Delta’s tributaries for urban and agricultural use, primarily in southern parts of the state.
In the face of this ecological crisis, DWR and the Newsom Administration continue to pursue the Delta Conveyance Project, which would divert more water away from the Delta.
Background of CSPA’s Opposition to the Delta Conveyance Project
In 2020, CSPA and others opposed a “validation” action by DWR to fund the Delta Conveyance Project. In January 2024, a superior court judge ruled against DWR in this matter. This means that DWR has no way to fund its project for the moment. It is likely that the Newsom Administration will try to pass a new law that voids the court’s ruling.
On December 8, 2023, DWR published a Final Environmental Impact Report for the Delta Conveyance Project and later approved the project by filing a Notice of Determination.
In January, CSPA joined a lawsuit against DWR. CSPA and its allies sued DWR on the grounds that the Final Environmental Impact Report does not adequately consider the project’s potential negative impact on water quality, fish, and wildlife. It does not say how the project and upstream reservoirs would operate and does not propose flows for the Delta as required by law.
The Choice Between Fisheries and the Delta Conveyance Project
In its recently released “Salmon Strategy,” the Newsom Administration stated its goals are to “recover salmon in this state across their range … while also reducing the risk of extinction”. Reaching these goals “will require abundant, healthy populations of salmon that return to California’s rivers each year.”
The Newsom Administration cannot have it both ways. Chinook salmon and other species of native fish in the Bay-Delta need increased flows to survive. The Delta tunnel will reduce inflow and outflow in the Bay-Delta.
The State Board has a legal mandate under California’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act to protect beneficial uses of water within the Bay-Delta. If the State Board acts in accordance with its legal mandates, it will deny DWR’s petition for change in point of diversion.
CSPA will continue its campaign to stop the Delta tunnel by presenting testimony and through legal participation in the State Board’s water rights hearing for the petition, which will likely start near the end of 2024.
You can help CSPA defeat the Delta tunnel by donating to our No Delta Tunnel campaign today.