USBR Construction of pump station at Delta-Mendota Canal
Take action now to stop the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The $67 billion infrastructure project proposes to construct two massive tunnels that would funnel water from Northern to Southern California. The Plan calls itself a comprehensive conservation strategy aimed at protecting dozens of species of fish and wildlife, but in reality the 40,000 page document fails to disclose major irreversible impacts to fish, rivers and the economic stability of the state of California. River systems throughout California have been experiencing extreme drought conditions, and historic water rights have not been honored due to the lack of water in our rivers and reservoirs. Building two giant tunnels to transport water from the San Joaquin Delta is not going to carry out either of the Plan’s two main goals: to reliably transport more water to San Joaquin farms and Southern California cities, or to restore the fisheries and ecology of the delta.
The Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement (DEIR/S) uses models based on over-allocated water rights to analyze the Plan’s environmental impacts, which would result in severe environmental consequences. Building more irrigation infrastructure, as the Plan proposes, is not going to fix drought problems in California. Instead, these projects will exacerbate drought conditions, resulting in greater impacts to endangered fish by reducing flows to impaired watersheds, draining estuaries that are essential to healthy river ecosystems, and allowing the continued operation of pumps that will kill fish that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The “conservation plan” should instead reduce exports that take water out of rivers, prioritize delta recovery, and improve water conservation measures.
EPIC is part of the Environmental Water Caucus (EWC), which is a collective of environmental and water rights organizations that have joined forces to deal with water issues throughout the state of California. The comments we have developed are abbreviated and adapted from the EWC’s collective comments on the massive DEIR/S that has stirred controversy over the state’s scarce water resources. Help us stop this damaging project before irreversible harm is done to our rivers, fish and the state’s economic stability. Please click here to submit your public comment.