It’s 2022, and we have to get to work starting January 5, 2022 to save the Delta.
There will be a State Water Resources Control Board Workshop on a plan by the Department of Water Resources and the US Bureau of Reclamation to gut water quality standards for the Delta starting in February and to leave a “temporary” barrier in place – that was to be removed at the end of November – that can interrupt fish migration. Never mind that Delta smelt cannot be found naturally in the wild from sampling, or that iconic salmon runs are at risk.
Also, fresh water flows are needed to flush and nurture the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas – an estuary that has already been damaged for all beneficial water uses for people for decades– because of excess water exports and lack of incoming flows.
While the recent storms have not ended the drought, and careful water planning and management is required going forward by government agencies to protect water resources, we do not believe the answer to our long-term water management woes is simply to gut D-1641 water quality standards for the Delta each and every year that we experience drought – or what is truly the new water normal. (D-1641 is the order through which the State Water Board amended the Federal and State Projects’ water right license and permits to require meeting specified water quality objectives set forth in the Bay-Delta Plan.)
Protecting Delta water quality is about protecting the people of the Delta, fisheries, and the environment.
We need your help explaining to the State Water Resources Control Board that protecting Delta water quality matters and that this year protecting the Delta must become a priority. It’s time for change.
Here’s how to participate:
1. Fill in this form as soon as possible to speak via Zoom during the meeting. A password will be emailed to you before the meeting so you can enter the meeting via Zoom on January 5th.
2. Mark on the form that you want to speak on item #6. The time requested for your comment is 3 – (meaning 3 minutes). Prepare about 300 words for your comment to stay within the time limit.
3. Prepare your comment using the information we shared above, but prepared to modify it depending on what you hear during the workshop. Explain in your comment what protecting Delta water quality means to you.
4. Last, be informed, respectful of the Board, yet firm in your conviction. Our cause is morally just – it is time to save the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary for the people of California.
We appreciate your time and support of this effort. If we learn on the morning of January 5th of a specific time for public comments to begin on Item #6, we will shoot out an email so that you can log in at that time. We understand that everyone cannot give up full days to hear all the details at State Water Board meetings.
Yours in service,
Restore the Delta