More than 300 Contra Costa County residents packed the Lone Tree Golf Course Events Center in Antioch Thursday March 6 to learn more about the Delta Twin Tunnels Project and how they can help stop Governor Jerry Brown’s latest water grab.
The forum focused on the Bay Delta Conversation Plan (BDCP) impacts on lower Delta water quality which was organized by Mark Dimercurio and Restore the Delta, a grassroots organization which opposes the Twin Tunnel Project and the BDCP. The event was aimed to further educate residents on not only the environmental impacts, but also the costs that would incur under the plan.
They hoped to arm attendees with information in order to comment on the Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and associated Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) which is available for Public Review. Public Comment period is open until June 13, 2014.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, explained how the drought has impacted the Delta with water quality and unless things change with the rain that Delta farmers may be irrigating with salt water this summer.
Barrigan-Parrilla explained that the project is $60 billion estimated cost, however, the public is being told it will only cost $25 billion where she highlighted the independent economics Dr. Jeff Michael from the University of the Pacific.
“We can be hit three ways in California,” says Barrigan-Parrilla. “We can have higher water rates which I would be very concerned with in Contra Costa County. It would have an impact on your water systems work. We will be paying for it through general obligation debt and federal taxpayer dollars. And remember, no additional water.”
She further highlighted several problems with what was wrong with the BDCP starting with a lack of a cost benefit analysis which shows that there is a $2.50 cost for every dollar spent which highlights it’s a project that is upside down. She also noted that there will be a $200 a year increased for ratepayers for the next 40 years for urban ratepayers in Los Angeles.
“Urban users will be subsidizing these large agricultural districts and the worst part is it will promote increased dependence on the Delta,” explained Barrigan-Parrilla.
She also accused the Governor of not meeting with Delta leaders while not giving those in the Delta a voice in the process which started with then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
She shared how the State has not done a good job in conserving water in high rain years and how the state has mismanaged its water usage. She highlighted how the state had over 8 million acre feet of water in storage in 2012 and with the draw down at the beginning of 2014 left the state at dangerous levels with just 3 million acre feet in storage.
“It’s raining a little bit now, it’s not raining enough,” said Barrigan-Parrilla.
She highlighted how the state told water districts they would not receive as much water as they wanted, however, Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Water Resources allowed a drawdown of more than 800,000 acre feet of water than they told the exporters they were to receive.
“Why would they conserve when they think rain would come?” asked Barrigan-Parrilla. “Had DWR and Reclamation exercised prudence almost 1.3 million acre feet of water would have remained in storage for this dry year. I think that is an important takeaway for people that it’s as much mismanagement as it is Mother Nature.”
She highlighted that in Kern County, they have more than 415,000 acres in permanent crops in a desert stating that it takes twice as much applied irrigation to grow an acre of almonds in Kern County as it does up at our end of the state.
Finally, Barrigan-Parrilla stated that those at the BDCP have failed to protect the Delta in the process and encouraged folks to speak up and comment on the BDCP plan.
“The next year or two is going to be crucial in fighting for the Delta and there are lots of ways to get involved. Please take signs, sign a petition and submit a public comment on the BDCP plan,” pleaded Barrigan-Parrilla. “We are making a real plea for help from Contra Costa to become engaged.”
Melinda Terry, North Delta Water Agency, highlighted some of the unavoidable issues with the plan include 10 years’ worth of construction. Have to build six barges to bring equipment in because the equipment is so large it won’t be allowed on Highway 5—this cuts off some of the waterways in the delta due to the size.
“Transportation impacts are a big one,” said Terry. “Imagine on the river roads where all these dump trucks have 8-trips per day with hundreds of them. If there is an emergency, they are going to pull over. Anyone see a problem with that on river road. Clearly whoever drew out these plans has never driven on this road.”
Terry highlighted how this part of the plan hasn’t had any due diligence because there is nowhere to pull over or they will be in people’s irrigation ditches.
Assemblyman Jim Frazier highlighted the old argument that whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.
As a lifelong delta boater, hunter, fisherman and resident, I absolutely oppose the twin tunnel project and the BDCP plan,” stated Frazier.
Touting his business experience, Frazier highlighted that the BDCP doesn’t make sense calling it a fix for what they started with the State Water Project many years ago. He ultimately called the BDCP a “mitigation project”.
“I called a capital hearing two weeks ago which I had to fight to have the hearing. I asked to be on a select committee to have an honest voice for the Delta—I was denied. I was overlooked to be on the Water Working Group for the water bond because of my stand to protect our Delta,” explained Frazier. “So I held this hearing to raise the risk of the BDCP Plan for us, the ratepayers and the taxpayers.
According to Frazier, some of the highlights of the hearing include:
- $4 billion dollars within the funding mechanism may not be there—a letter was sent by Congresswoman Doris Matsui highlighting the federal money was not guaranteed. It was signed by 5-other northern California Congressmen.
- Congressman John Garamendi mentioned to Frazier that if the Federal Government was to fund this project at $4 billion, they would not do another water project for 10-years.
- State and Federal Funding is a risk—if that falls through, it would not only fall on the rate payers, but the state taxpayers could be on the hook.
- Touted the estimated cost is only from 8% design, not the full design of the project—compared it to how the Bay Bridge went 500% over estimated cost.
Frazier wanted to know what is the tipping point where they BDCP and the Governor finally come to the realization they cannot afford the project.
Jane Wagner-Tyack, Restore the Delta, spoke about how every part of California needs to in a position where they are conserving, recycling, reusing water, and capturing water. She also highlighted that due to climate change, the central valley will be dryer while the coastal areas will have more water.
“We can all do more to make irrigation in this state self-sustainable,” says Wagner-Tyack.
Supervisor Mary Piepho explained that tourism in the Delta would be impacted under the Governor’s plan “Delta Protection Commission January 2012 Economic Sustainability Report” that tourism would be impacted generating $250 million alone in visitor spending. She shared that boating and fishing represent 80% of that spending.
“What does boats and fish need?” asked Piepho. “Water!” she answered.
Piepho explained that tourism costs are just one of many impacts the BDCP plan would have. She shared it’s the same Governor with the same bad plan.
“We need to say hell no, we need something better,” stated Piepho. “It’s a job killer, it’s a cancer causer. It’s bad news.”
She explained it’s up to the public to raise their voices and write together
“It’s up to us to write comment letters on the BDCP, there is no excuse not to write letters. It’s up to us to write and submit letters in op eds in local newspapers, central valley newspapers and southern California newspapers and for you to talk to family, friends in the central valley and southern California, let them know what is coming to them. It’s not a lot of water, but a gigantic bill that they don’t want any more than we want to lose our water in the Delta.
To learn more about Restore the Delta and why they opposed the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, visit www.restorethedelta.org . To learn more about the BDCP, visit www.baydeltaconservationplan.com.
9 comments
I watched the lakes drain twice as fast last summer then the summer prior. If I were in charge I would open a criminal investigation.
I have a hunch the person behind it is an environmental fanatic.
Most are controlled by the Army Corp of Engineers. Good luck with your criminal prosecution.
This is great information. Thank you for the detailed information.
Envirornmental terrorism in the name of environmental protection.
Pictures of empty lakes sure are good for the cause.
This has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with the fact that 4 in 5 almonds and a lot of cotton grown here are grown in a desert (Kern County) consumimg nearly half of all the water available in a wet year only to be sold overseas. Even if you add what we send to LowCal via the ‘duct, all of us normal peoples combined account for about 20% use of total available water in California annually.
Drawing water from south Delta to supply the pumps the put the water into the aquaduct IS bad for the Delta, and in theory, the tunnels would even out the draw, and improve the watery environment and help the fishy’s. Currently, there are times during the year when the San Joaquin flows backwards due to the pump suction inflow. This is VERY bad for the Delta.
The fix is to stop providing corporate farms with water infrastructure to their desert so they can send their product out of state., reduce the draw on the Delta , and allow the natural flows to be restored. Oh, and those large corporate faming endeavors account for a miniscule amount of jobs and a fraction of California’s GDP.
No tunnels, reduce ‘duct draw, fix the Delta, screw Blue Diamond.
“Nothing to do with the environment”. LOL.
You should be worshiping the ground that blue diamond walks on for the single fact they import dollars back to the U.S.
But whatever, screw the farming industry here in California we have South America to pick up any slack.
Ag is 3% of the State’s economy but swallows up 80% of the water that is pumped into the canals. That is an inequity that must be addressed.
Worshiping the ground Blue Diamond walks on? Are you serious? It’s a co-op is it not? Doesn’t that mean it enriches a few to the detriment of the many with its resource grab? If you were talking a local use crop you could probably get more sympathy than with this largely exported crop which does next to nothing for the Calif economy.
Destroying the largest freshwater estuary on the west coast of North America for the sake of a small number of farmers isn’t a rational tradeoff no matter how you slice it.
Buy A Clue summarizes nicely. Thank you.
Did you even read what I wrote Urban Sprawl, or did you just not understand?
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