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Delta Water Plan Likely to Go on Nov. Ballot07-29-15 | News

Delta Water Plan Likely to Go on Nov. Ballot

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown, Californians for Water Security, state building trades, Kern County Water Agency, Westlands Water District, and the Metropolitan Water District (which imports water from the Bay Delta and sells to cities in southern California), among others, are supporting a plan to build two underground 35-mile long and 40'-wide tunnels to divert water from the Sacramento River to existing pumping facilities for the San Joaquin Valley and points south via existing aquaducts. The river accounts for about 80 percent of the freshwater flow into the San Francisco Bay Delta. The plan also incorporates restoring about 100,000 of Delta habitat. A canal plan was rejected by a statewide referendum in 1982. Over 66 percent of all water exported from the Delta currently goes to agricultural uses. Map: Calif. Dept. of Water Resources, modified by the U.S. Geological

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown has long had plans to divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the southern part of the state. Such a canal plan was defeated in a 1982 referendum during his second term. Brown believes such a project is a must for California's water needs, and to restore the Delta's ecosystem. Gov. Schwarzenegger also advocated for diverting Delta water in 2008.

Water currently is diverted from the south Delta to two pumping stations outside of Tracy, and from there pumped to southern California.

Now in his record fourth term as governor of California, Brown's plan is to build two massive subterranean tunnels to divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the south. The governor sought a 50-year permit for the project from federal agencies, anticipated that state and federal officials would sign off on his $14 billion plan. However, the long-term permit was rejected. Brown is now seeking a shorter permit period, and reducing the amount of habitat restoration originally proposed.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Bee reports Dean Cortopassi, a Stockton-area farmer and food processor, has spent $3 million in a grassroots campaign to put a measure on the Nov. 2016 ballot that would require voter approval before the state could issue revenue bonds for any project costing more than $2 billion. The ballot measure does not specifically name the Delta plan, but is aimed at letting the voters decide about the tunnel project.

It's reported that tunnel advocates, which include state building trades, Californians for Water Security and downstream water agencies, have already spent some $235 million to get the tunnels proposal this far along.

Cortopassi, who advocates for Delta eco-restoration, calls his measure the "No Blank Checks Initiative," meaning that if the state wants to incur sizable debt, its residents should have a say. California already requires voter approval before issuing "general obligation bonds." The voters approved such bonds in 2008 for the California's high-speed rail project. The Cortopassi's measure aims at requiring voter approval for "large revenue bonds," bonds typically repaid from revenue from the projects they finance.

Californians for a Fair Water Policy (CFWP) www.stopthetunnels.org believes the governor's $14 billion figure is only taking into account the construction of the tunnels. The group estimates the construction, financing, operation and environmental mitigation costs of the tunnels are over $50 billion. The group also estimates that water ratepayers in southern California would be responsible for paying 25 to 75 percent of the construction and operation costs of the tunnels. Note: CFWP says L.A. uses less water today than it did 30 years ago, and that water use has dropped 10 to 15 percent in the last few years alone.