New vision for the Delta: Two-year project aims for
long-term shoring of levees
By Alex Breitler
Stockton Record
November 28, 2006
SACRAMENTO - Odds are nearly two in three that a series of Delta levees will suffer a catastrophic collapse in the next 25 years, perhaps after a major earthquake, experts say.
There is little time to find a fix. And the solutions are far from simple.
Officials formally launched a two-year, $4million project Monday that could help shape the future look of the West Coast's largest estuary. The work could lead to broad changes in how the Delta's problems are managed, rather than the patchwork of "Band-Aids" applied by past government efforts, officials said.
The new Delta Vision Committee, formed under an executive order by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, must come up with a plan that would better balance the needs of those who use or rely on the Delta, such as farmers, fishers, San Joaquin County residents who live in the flood plain and residents of faraway cities that import Delta water.
At their first meeting Monday, committee members didn't offer many specific clues on what changes might occur. They are supposed to come up with a list of goals and objectives for a sustainable Delta.
The committee did lay out the nightmare scenario facing millions of Californians should the levees fail. Far more people are potentially affected by the Delta than one might imagine, committee members said:
» Two-thirds of California residents rely at least in part on water diverted from the Delta.
» A series of levee failures could swamp an estimated 3,000 homes and 85,000 acres of land, including farms that supply a large portion of the nation's fruits and vegetables.
» Such a disaster could cost the state $30billion to $40billion and disrupt California's water distribution system for more than a year.
» About 30,000 jobs might be lost.
» Important highways, railroads, electrical and gas lines could be disrupted. More than one-third of the state's natural gas, for example, is transported through the Delta.
Officials fear a domino effect in which one levee after another crumbles as pressure mounts from encroaching waters.
"It's a cascade. It's not a one-time event where everything stops and you're able to fix it," said Joe Grindstaff, director of the California Bay-Delta Authority, part of a coalition of agencies charged with balancing the state's water needs.
Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 levee break at Jones Tract spurred the governor's executive order, which says prior policy in the Delta has been too narrowly focused on just a few uses.
The complex system of Delta governance has been criticized because no single level of government is fully in charge, the order says.
A blue-ribbon task force to be formed in the coming weeks and a group of representatives who have interest in the Delta will help shape the new committee's recommendations.
Who is on these bodies is of concern, said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla of the newly established Restore the Delta campaign based in Stockton. Her group represents farmers, fishers, homeowners and other interest groups.
"We just want to ask ... that local citizens from the Delta are brought into the process," she said.
The public will have a chance to share its thoughts at any number of meetings and workshops, said Mike Chrisman, the state's natural resources secretary and the chairman of the new committee. A report must be delivered to the governor by the end of 2008.
"We're under no illusion: This is not going to be an easy project," Chrisman said.
Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com
To learn more
For more on the Delta Vision Committee and the threats
facing the Delta, visit www.deltavision.ca.gov
