ICYMI: 9/28/18
Contact:
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org
In Case You Missed It:
Dr. Jeff Michael: “New WaterFix Economic Analysis Is Even Worse” Than Originally Thought
In his ValleyEcon Blog, Dr. Jeff Michael, Executive Director of the Center for Business and Policy Research at the University of the Pacific, explains that that the sea-level rise benefit touted in the recent economic analysis for California WaterFix by the California Department of Water Resources is based on inaccurate assumptions that contradict DWR’s work in other arenas.
He writes “I am receiving feedback that the sea-level rise analysis that the Department of Water Resources’ touts as ‘innovative’ assumes WaterFix is operated in ways that harm fish would violate state and federal laws, and contradicts the commitments that DWR is making about WaterFix to the State Water Resources Control Board and other regulatory bodies.”
To read Dr. Michael’s blog, click here.
Restore the Delta’s Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla commented on Dr. Michael’s findings:
“It is not surprising that as in prior versions of their economic analyses for WaterFix, Dr. Sunding misrepresents benefits and fails to account for environmental costs to fish and wildlife, and economic impacts on Delta communities. The State has yet to complete an accounting of the social-economic value of fresh water to the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary. And I doubt that DWR ever will complete such an analysis because it would show that the damage that would be done to the Bay-Delta watershed and its communities from construction and operation of the Delta tunnels would greatly outweigh any benefit to water exporters. DWR has no interest in following the law as it relates to the co-equal goals of protecting the Delta and meeting water supply reliability needs for others in the state. The Delta continues to be California’s unwanted step-child in terms of water management.”
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