Will the State Water Board Tear Up Paper Water? Unprecedented Demand on Senior Water Rights Holders Ignores State has Overpromised Water 5.5 Times Over; Westlands & Kern Mega-Growers Continue Overpumping Stockton, CA – Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of Gov. Brown’s rush to build Twin Tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom salmon and other Pacific fisheries, today responded to the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) draft order issued Wednesday night demanding water diversion data from every riparian and pre-1914 water right holder in the Delta’s Central Valley watershed, starting March 1st until, well, whenever. “This is an unprecedented move by the Board’s Division of Water Rights,” said Restore the Delta Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla. “The Board has [...]

Dr. Jeff Michael Tears Apart Blue Sky Tunnels Report: Not Convincing, Not Very Reassuring, Misrepresented by Tunnels Backers, Fails to Count “Rate Stabilization Fund” Costs Farmers Do Not Have Capacity To Pay For Tunnels & Make a Profit; Conclusion: “Tunnels are not a doable deal”   Stockton, CA – Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of Gov. Brown’s rush to build massive Tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom salmon and other Pacific fisheries, today noted Dr. Jeff Michael, of the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center, has torn apart a State-sponsored Report on Affordability and Financing for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). “The Brown Administration plans to stick families and businesses with the bill for water to [...]

For Immediate Release: Friday, January 23, 2015 Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546; [email protected]; Twitter: @shopcraft; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 [email protected]; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta Restore the Delta Calls on California Water Commission To Heed Stanford Study’s Findings: Ground Storage 6 Times more Effective than Surface Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of Gov. Brown’s plan to build Peripheral Tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom salmon and other Pacific fisheries has called upon the California Water Commission (the Commission) to use science-based guidelines in setting priorities for spending Prop. 1 funds. In particular, RTD cited a recent Stanford University study showing that the benefits of groundwater storage far outweigh those of surface storage. “Any long term solution to the predictable droughts that impact California [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546; [email protected]; Twitter: @shopcraft; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 [email protected]; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta In case you missed it… Contra Costa Times editorial: Supreme Court’s smelt decision was not surprise Contra Costa Times editorial © 2015 Bay Area News Group POSTED: 01/19/2015 12:48:49 PM PST “It took all of, oh, a couple of minutes for big water districts in the Central Valley to criticize last week’s U.S. Supreme Court for choosing fish over people. If only it were that easy. “Farmers and cities in the Central Valley and Southern California like to dumb down the argument to just that — the Delta smelt vs. the thirsty masses. “But it’s not just about the 3-inch [...]

“Not every dream grows on every land, so you got to watch out!” — Israelmore Ayivor Articles • What do we want? Water! When do we want it? Now! • California still overachieving at water consumption and underachieving at water conservation • Drought of ideas What do we want? Water! When do we want it? Now! Recently we got an inside peek at a rural Kern County water district’s decision whether to participate in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District was asked by Kern County Water Agency, the State Water Project’s second largest water service contractor, whether the District would participate in the Tunnels project or not. In addition to its role as a state water [...]

Restore the Delta Responds to Westlands Water District Secret Settlement; Trawl Survey Shows Delta Smelt Population At All Time Low           Taxpayers Should Not Have to Shoulder Westlands’ Water District’s Debt Or Give Up More Water While System Is At Risk Sacramento, CA – Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of Gov. Brown’s rush to build Peripheral Tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom sustainable farms, salmon and other Pacific fisheries, today responded to the prospect of a secret settlement of the debt Westlands Water District owes to US taxpayers and the near extinction presently of Delta smelt. Statement by Restore the Delta Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla:            “The idea that the Westlands Water [...]

Update: 7.22.16 Here’s more evidence showing that the earthquake risk to the Delta is exaggerated and just another scare tactic used by pro-Delta Tunnel proponents. This recent study by USGS, presented at the Delta Independence Science Board, show that the earthquake threat to Delta levees is significantly less than originally thought.   The California Water Fix tunnels don’t eliminate earthquake threats to water supply. Earthquake risk mythmaking serves water exporters’ interests. Water exporters misrepresent the risk of earthquakes to generate support for the Delta Tunnels.   Fattening the levees is a more effective solution to the California Water Fix. • Californians should work together to build a more seismically resistant Delta that will protect water exports, other critical infrastructure, and [...]

Drought talk around Thanksgiving table: Farmers versus urbanites By Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune POSTED: 11/29/14, 3:00 PM PST Would your Thanksgiving table be ruined if the stuffing or side dishes did not contain almonds? No, of course not, notwithstanding Martha Stewart’s recipe for chorizo-almond stuffing or your sister-in-law’s infamous green beans amandine. Then why are our water policymakers treating the almond farmers like they were producing a life-sustaining staple? In a severe drought, urban users like you and I are asked to cut back on water use, but farmers, who get close to three-quarters of the water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, don’t have to change their ways. That sums up the main argument from Barbara [...]

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” ― Benjamin Franklin Articles A less than tasty appetizer for 2015 A mixed up salad: Learning Delta Water Management The Meat and Potatoes of the Tunnels Project Remembering our friends And Christmas Cookies A less than tasty appetizer for 2015 Federal drought legislation failed to pass in the Senate this year and failed to move forward on the budget despite a Rule Committee waiver to legislate on an appropriations bill. We are grateful to our colleagues in numerous other environmental organizations and our participatory members for making your opposition to this legislation loud and clear to our elected representatives. But, we are not [...]