By: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 2023 – the year that Restore the Delta has had to assertively and swiftly advocate for flood protection and flows simultaneously. Perhaps this is why we feel like we have completed an entire year’s worth of work in four months. We have not been afforded a great deal of time for reflection or for articulating where we see the realization of a healthy and restored Delta presently or in the future. Of course, the Delta Conveyance Project lingers on like the zombie that it is, poised to rise from the Delta peat soils and gobble up opportunities for future restoration of the estuary. So, let’s take a moment to catch everyone up. Flood: Localized flooding in the [...]

For Immediate Release: 5/12/23Contact:Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209-479-2053, [email protected]  As reported by CalMatters’ Alastair Bland in ,“Newsom restores floodplain funds, adds $290 million to flood control budget,” earlier this year, Governor Gavin Newsom “yanked $40 million in funding to restore San Joaquin Valley floodplains from his proposed budget, angering legislators from both parties and conservationists. Today, he gave all of the money back as part of a $290-million package to increase flood protection funding statewide.” “Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, an environmental justice group in Stockton, also applauded the governor’s action. Scientists say the San Joaquin Valley could experience cataclysmic flooding in the near future. “The governor listened to the multitude of voices that have called for the restoration and expansion of flood [...]

Report urges Metropolitan Water District to abandon Newsom’s $16-billion delta tunnel plan – LA Times 5/10/23In a report released this week, the California Water Impact Network said the Delta tunnel (Delta Conveyance Project) may seem like a viable alternative but has three major flaws: “an exorbitant price tag, environmental restrictions on operations and the impacts of climate change on deliveries.”  Max Gomberg, a former employee of the State Water Resources Control Board resigned last year, now works as a consultant for the California Water Impact Network. Gomberg says that the Delta tunnel project’s reliability is uncertain in regards to climate change and pumping restrictions from environmental regulations. Gomberg also provides alternatives for the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) instead of continuing with investing into the Delta tunnel [...]

Save the Date!Join us on Thursday June 22, 2023 for dinner, wine, and the Delta Advocate Award ceremony at Bare Ranch by Michael David Winery in Lodi, CA. We are so excited to celebrate in person this year. We will be honoring individuals for their hard work and dedication to the Delta. Award recipients will be announced soon! Tickets are $125 each. This includes a paella dinner from the local Addy’s Paella, passed appetizers, poured Michael David Wine and Beer, and dessert.  You can purchase them here. Thank you to Thomas Zuckerman and family, local farmers and Delta landowners for their generous Sacramento River Sponsorship! Sponsorships are available! Sacramento River Sponsor $10,000 & up:Includes full table (10 tickets), two exclusive bottles from Michael [...]

 TODAY “River’s End” 4:00 pm KVIE2 SacramentoRiver’s End explores the global water crisis, using California as a microcosm. It shows how water politics that led to the draining of the Owens Valley by Los Angeles, made famous by the film Chinatown, continue to this day in ongoing efforts to take ever more water from Northern California’s San Francisco Bay estuary. Except this time, the water grab is at the hands of industrial agriculture.April 2023 ENSO update: El Niño Watch – NOAA 4/13/23That’s where we are… but where are we going?? There’s a 62% chance that El Niño will develop during the May–July period, and more than 80% chance of El Niño by the fall.Inside Calif.’s Klamath River dam removal project, the largest in [...]

For Immediate Release:  4/11/23Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, 209-479-2053, [email protected] Stockton, CA – Today Reps. Calvert and Valadao are holding a media event in Tulare to launch two federal bills designed for a salmon extinction with the stated intent of opening water spigots for Big Ag forever.H.R. 872 (Calvert) Strips the National Marine Fisheries Service of its authority to protect salmon and other anadromous species under the ESA. H.R. 215 (Valadao):  Authorizes and directs the enlargement of Shasta Dam, which would destroy Native American sacred sites, harm fish and wildlife, and violate State law.Prohibits the United States from reinitiating consultation on Central Valley Project and State Water Project operations for 7 years in an effort to lock in place the Trump [...]

The Current SituationSierra Nevada Storage – UCSD/Scripps Institute 3/27/23The following figure shows the most recent summary of reservoir water storage and reservoir-plus-snowpack water storage for the westward draining Southern Sierra Nevada, based on daily California Department of Water Resources’ reports of storage in 28 reservoirsand of state-averaged snow-water content. SHERRIF’S OFFICE: San Joaquin River Closed to Recreational Boat Traffic – 3/30/23The San Joaquin River is closed to recreational boat traffic from the Deepwater Channel to the Stanislaus County line. The releases of water upriver, combined with heavy rains have caused the rivers & sloughs in the south Delta to reach extremely high levels on surrounding levees. Wakes from boats at high tides, could pose a risk to levee stability in some areas. [...]

by Spencer Fern, Delta Science Coordinator, Restore the Delta Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a nuisance species of algae that form in conditions of high nutrient loads (Nitrogen and Phosphorous), stagnant waters (low-flow conditions), sunlight exposure, water clarity, high water temperatures (generally > 75° F), as well as salinity (however HABs are becoming increasingly salt tolerant). In the San Francisco Bay-Delta the species of HABs we know to be the most harmful are: MicrocystisActive toxin: microcystinsAnabaena AKA Dolichospermum Active toxin: anatoxins AphanizomenonPossible active toxins: microcystins, anatoxins, cytotoxins These are specifically freshwater HABs (FHABs) which thrive off the stagnant fresh water in the dead-end sloughs around the Delta in areas like Stockton, Discovery Bay, Antioch, Rio Vista, and Franks Tract. This proliferation raises concerns about health [...]

 Region 9 of US EPA comments on the Delta Tunnel (DEIS) – 3/16/23From the comments:“… the Delta is already experiencing degraded conditions due to insufficient inflow, increased surface water temperatures, invasive animal and plant species, harmful algal blooms, and sea level rise. As described in the Draft EIS and Draft EIR, the proposed project will not ameliorate any of these stressors and is likely to exacerbate many of them.” “The operation of the Proposed Project has potential to increase the extent of ecological impacts already impacting the Delta and Sacramento River, including salinity, temperature, nutrients, and chemical contaminants.”“Given that the status of many Delta fish species is threatened, endangered, or other description of imperilment, further diversion of Sacramento River water under the [...]