Check out Table 2 on page 14 of the most recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) (“Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta Ecosystem”). It shows the results of a survey of scientists and stakeholders on options to improve the Delta ecosystem.
Options with the highest scientific consensus and the highest potential impact:
- Expand seasonal floodplains
- Improve upstream habitat
- Restore tidal marsh
- Remove selected dams
- Introduce more variable flows
- Reduce exports
And at the other extreme, the option with low scientific consensus, low potential [positive] impact, and high cost:
- Divert exports via tunnel
UOP economist Dr. Jeff Michael notes, not for the first time, that the Endangered Species Act does not require the Peripheral Tunnels and that the State should be developing strong no-tunnel options for the BDCP.
(But of course, tunnels is what the BDCP is really about.)