Sac Bee Editorial: If BDCP were science-based, Delta flows would be a priority

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The Sacramento Bee

Editorial: If BDCP were science-based, Delta flows would be a priority

By the Editorial Board

Originally Published Sunday, May. 12, 2013

For more than a decade, the big farm and urban districts that have grown dependent on water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have tried to discredit scientific findings that greater Delta flows are needed to recover endangered species.

Asked which stressors were most important in the degradation of the Delta ecosystem, 78 percent of scientists included flows in their top-two list, with 77 percent including habitat restoration. By contrast, water exporters ranked flows the least important, putting a high value on improving habitat and reducing discharges and invasive species, according to the report “Scientist and Stakeholder Views on the Delta Ecosystem.”

This editorial board has called on Gov. Jerry Brown not to approve any tunnel or other “conveyance” project for the Delta until there is a clear understanding among all parties on how much water would be available for the ecosystem, and how much is leftover for water exports. He and his aides want to study that question while the tunnels are built. That is unacceptable. It doesn’t mesh with sound science. It won’t pass legal muster, and if it is put to a statewide vote, there is a good chance Californians will reject it.
To read the full editorial, click here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/12/5411951/if-bdcp-were-science-based-delta.html#storylink=cpy

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