Delta Flows: Restore the Delta Update

Delta Flows – Weekly Highlights from Restore the Delta
For the Week of June 4, 2007
 
“How slippery is man in spring when the small fish spawn.”
          American poet Lorine Niedecker
 
Restore the Delta staff recalled this quote from Lorine Niedecker’s  The Granite Pail while reviewing several reports this week regarding the current status of the Delta Smelt.  We were struck by its applicability to current management practices of water exports and the lack of protection for fish from the California Delta.
 
First off, there are serious questions regarding the real number of Delta Smelt actually lost during the month of May.  According to retired Department of Fish and Game employees and the staff at the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, only an estimated 5% of fish are actually diverted around the first set of fish screens (near the state pumps in Tracy), and only about 5%  (of the original 5%) are diverted around the second set of screens to the salvage buckets.  Salvage buckets are the means by which fish are spared from the pumps.
 
That means, about 99.5% of the fish that reach the state pumps are neither “salvaged” nor counted in the kill numbers.  They end up continuing down the Delta-Mendota Canal toward the Tehachapis and not westward as they should.   Of the Delta Smelt that are salvaged virtually none survive, and the salvage numbers don’t include the larval stage of smelt (less than 20 mm), which cannot be easily detected.  When you add in the large number of Delta Smelt killed by predators in Clifton Count Forebay before they get to the pump inlet, it becomes apparent that it is near impossible for the majority of Delta Smelt to survive as they are drawn down to the pumps.
 
While operations at the Federal Pumps are different and Delta Smelt don’t experience the same degree of predation as at the State Water Project, the number of Smelt taken during May for both pumping operations is much greater that what is being widely reported in the press. 
 
According to modeling developed by retired DFG employees, the Federal Pumps killed approximately 2,896 Delta Smelt during May, and the State Water Project pumps killed about 8,533 Delta Smelt for an approximate total of 11,429 fish.  Needless to say, this is a significantly larger number than reported; and our sources believe that the project pumps killed nearly 300 times the number of Delta Smelt found in trawl surveys conducted by the Department of Fish and Game throughout the Delta.
 
When one stops to consider that CalFed (the 1990’s rendition of the current Delta Vision Process) promised in its record of decision (ROD) state of the art fish screens that were not delivered because water contractors refused to pay for them, it becomes quite that gross mismanagement by water agencies have been the primary force bringing the California Delta to near ecological collapse.
 
That Is Why It’s Time for Delta Residents to Become Involved in the Healthy Delta Communities Plan

As promised at our May Restore the Delta event, we are ready to being involving Restore the Delta members in the creation of a Healthy Delta Communities plan.  We do have a core of members signed up to begin working next Thursday, June 14th.  We do, however, have a few seats left for those who want a hand in restoring the Delta and shaping a durable future for the region. 

If you are interested in participating in this process, or in other volunteer opportunities, please email Barbara [at] restorethedelta.org or call her at 209-479-2053 by Wednesday June 13th to reserve a spot.  Because this is a smaller working committee, she will confirm your seat for this work session and then give you directions for attendance.
 
While It May Feel Like a Small Affirmation for the Delta When One Considers the State that the Delta Is In…

Restore the Delta staff recommends eating and drinking the fruits (and veggies) of local Delta agriculture whenever possible.  Little votes daily from one’s pocketbook can help to bring about change.  In particular, staff members and their children have been feasting with relish on Victoria Island Blueberries for the last week.  With each mouthful, we’re reminded how heavenly the Delta can and should be.  Urban dwellers can find Victoria Island Blueberries at Costco.
 
 
 
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Campaign Director
Restore the Delta
Making the Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable by 2010!
Barbara [at] restorethedelta.org
http://www.restorethedelta.org
ph: 209-479-2053
PO Box 691088
Stockton, CA 95269