New Bay-Delta Standards May Yield Truce

A decades-long conflict over the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary, perhaps the most persistent and vexing of California's famed "water wars," is approaching a critical turning point that could result in an important "truce." New water quality standards to be issued separately by the state and federal governments will it is hoped result in a single set of standards that balance the environmental needs of fish and wildlife with economic demands of Central Valley farmers and urban dwellers in the Bay Area and Southern California for a dependable water supply, even in critical dry spells.

Managing the network of waterways, which irrigate more than three-fourths of the state's farmland and supply two-thirds of the state's population with drinking water, is an immensely difficult task, further complicated by federal man dates to protect fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The significance of the ecologically complex, economically indispensable Bay-Delta estuary cannot be overstated.

Secretary for Resources Douglas P. Wheeler says, "The role of the Bay-Delta estuary is immensely important to all of California because it helps to sustain the environmental and economic health of the entire state."

California's 'Liquid Gold'
California, though basically semi-arid, is the nation's biggest crop-producer and home to 32 million people. Meeting these needs and supporting healthy fish and wildlife populations requires enormous quantities of water.
Conflict Centerpiece - Decades of conflict over water in the Sacramento -San Joaquin Delta may be nearing an end. Project operators and users alike hope new water quality standards will provide a dependable supply, even in dry spells.
Most of California's water supply begins as snow in the Sierra Nevada that melts into mountain streams, which feed the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers that flow into the Bay -Delta estuary.

The water moves through a network of dams, waterways, pumps, and canals that supply the federal and state water systems. Some flows into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, delivering to the estuary fresh water essential to fish and wildlife.

The Bay-Delta estuary ecosystem is rich in biodiversity, inhabited by more than 400 species of fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds, including nearly half the shorebirds and waterfowl that migrate on the Pacific Flyway. Two -thirds of California's salmon swim through the Bay-Delta each year, including the endangered winter-run salmon, and it is home to the tiny threatened Delta smelt.

Water Wars
Federal and state efforts to produce water quality standards for the Bay-Delta estuary that everyone can live with have been so contentious that Gov. Pete Wilson has described the imbroglio as "the centerpiece of California's most intractable water problem." The most recent round of tussles has persisted for nearly a decade.

In 1986, Judge John Racanelli of the state Court of Appeal directed the state to balance and protect beneficial uses of the Bay-Delta. The next year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the state's water quality standards inadequate to protect the Bay-Delta. The state drafted a new water quality plan in 1988, but withdrew it because of controversy, and began to work on a new plan in two parts water quality standards and the water rights allocations to implement them.

In 1991, the state adopted a water quality plan for salinity, which the EPA approved for urban and agricultural uses, but rejected for fish and wildlife, a need the state had planned to address in water rights allocation, rather than water quality standards. The EPA did not agree, and the plan has yet to be implemented.

Governor Wilson, desiring an end to the state's relentless water battles, made "fixing" the Delta a priority of his new water policy. In 1992, he directed that solutions be found that ensure adequate water quality, allow efficient and reliable water exports, fulfill the needs of fish and wildlife, and protect the integrity of the Delta's maze of channels and levees.

To help guide this undertaking, the Governor created a Water Policy Council chaired by Secretary Wheeler and composed of state agencies that deal with water, natural resources, agriculture, and business. The Governor also directed the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to adopt interim standards to protect all uses as soon as possible. Finally, Wilson created the Bay-Delta Over sight Council, a panel of citizens representing water users and environmental groups that would help to design a long-term solution.

Early in 1993, while the state was working on interim standards, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued requirements under the ESA to protect the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Delta smelt as a threatened species. The end result of these actions was likely to be large diversions of water from the federal and state projects.

The Governor, citing the futility of producing interim standards vulnerable to separate actions by federal agencies, directed state water officials to stop work on the short-term standards and focus instead on developing permanent long-term standards. Legal impediments had won the day.

The Framework Agreement
In September 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and EPA formed the Federal Ecosystem Directorate, called "Club FED," to coordinate federal resource protection and management of the Bay-Delta estuary. The Governor had requested this step of President Clinton, citing the frustration of federal constraints of California water policy.

Breaking the gridlock would require innovation and a new degree of commitment from both the federal and state governments. The creation of Club FED, in turn, made possible new cooperation between the two sides.

In June 1994, less than six months from a federal court-imposed deadline for EPA issuance of final water quality standards for the Bay-Delta, an unprecedented Framework Agreement was signed. Twelve federal and state agencies with responsibility for managing and protecting water quality, fish, and wildlife in the Bay-Delta signed the pact, acknowledging that their interests are inextricably intertwined and that neither can accomplish its goals without the other. They agreed to:

  • formulate water quality standards
  • coordinate federal and state water project operations with regulatory requirements
  • pursue long-term Bay-Delta solutions

    "The Framework Agreement sent the message that it's not productive to argue over who has greater responsibility in the Bay-Delta," said John Amodio, executive director of the Bay-Delta Oversight Council (BDOC), a party to the pact.

    In this new spirit of cooperation, the two sides moved toward achieving mutually desirable goals for long-term environmental protection, regulatory stability, and a predictable water supply for all users, even in the driest years.

    Club FED and the Governor's Water Policy Council agreed to work together on their shared concerns, including California's two major water storage and de livery systems: the State Water Project (SWP) and the Central Valley Project (CVP), which supply water to more than half of California's irrigated farmland. The agencies that operate the projects want new standards with a "shelf life" that establish dependability.

    Director David Kennedy of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) said the state needs a reliable water supply that won't be interrupted or curtailed by unanticipated regulatory actions.

    "The water projects are a vital part of the economy, and protecting their integrity is a major concern," Kennedy said.

    Signatories to the Framework Agreement consented to link their solution-finding process to other Bay-Delta pro grams, including the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), which dedicates 800,000 acre-feet of the CVP annually to fish and wildlife restoration.

    "This partnership we have struck will go a long way to help us meet many of the goals of the CVPIA and to restore some certainty to the operation of the CVP," said Roger Patterson, the bureau's regional director.

    An Ecosystem Approach
    Water users, as major stakeholders in the Bay-Delta, want an end to the uncertainty of fragmented, piecemeal management.

    "Until we have a comprehensive approach to the Delta that looks at the entire habitat, we're not going to be able to either address resource issues or meet reasonable water demands," said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, which represents 40 water agencies.

    Like policymakers and the heads of the water projects, the water users are calling for new policies that will help to avoid the drastic consequences of conflicts with the ESA.

    "We're trying to put forth recommendations that are broad enough to be accepted in lieu of species-by-species, knee-jerk actions that raise hell with operation of water systems," said Lyle Hoag, executive director of the California Urban Water Agencies, which represents the state's largest municipal water suppliers and water districts.

    To improve the environmental health of the Bay-Delta estuary, the public-private San Francisco Estuary Project, sponsored by the EPA and state of California, prepared a blueprint for conservation and restoration, the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP).

    Governor Wilson, a supporter of anticipatory, multi-species habitat conservation that integrates environmental and economic objectives, accepted the CCMP, with some conditions, and committed significant amounts of state money to it. However, the Governor called for the addition of provisions to prohibit any in crease of federal authority over

    Home to Wildlife - Rich in biodiversity, the Delta is home to hundreds of species of fish, small animals, and birds, such as this crane, which thrive in its fresh and brackish waters.
    California's water resources, to retain sole state authority over allocation of water rights, and to minimize the impact on other legal and protected beneficial uses of water in the estuary.

    Setting Standards
    New water quality standards for the Bay-Delta that meet CleanWater Act requirements are to be issued separately by the EPA and State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in December 1994. They may be melded later into a single version representing a consensus of federal, state, and water user interests.

    Differences among the stakeholders are narrower than they have ever been, bolstering hopes for resolution. A major issue to be decided is the maximum reduction of water diversions from all Delta sources for human use in cities and on farms in order to accommodate fish and wildlife in critical dry spells. Proposals for dry-year reductions have ranged from just under 1 million acre-feet to 1.5 million acre-feet, an amount of water equivalent to 25 to 40 percent of the average export capability of the SWP and the CVP during dry years. (An acre-foot of water will supply an average family for a year.) Key issues include provisions for meeting ESA requirements, establishing regulatory certainty for a defined period of time, determining acceptable levels of salinity, and imposing maximum restrictions of water deliveries during periods when fish are spawning or migrating.

    "There shouldn't be any surprises about what we're doing," said Harry Seraydarian, director of the water management division of the EPA, Region 9. "We've been working with the stakeholders on technical and peer review of these standards. We're making them more flexible to get the equivalent environmental protection with less water costs."

    It is up to the SWRCB, not the EPA, to implement the new standards. The state expects to adopt a final plan in March after a period of public comment, but cannot implement it until after the impacts upon the state's water rights holders have been allocated. The board must allocate responsibility among all users for compliance with the standards.