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Below and on the following pages you will see many different maps or
"visions" for a revised Delta. The different agencies, and the
organizations conducting studies for the agencies, have all been
posting sometimes confusing maps. No one map is close to being
a "final" or fully approved. However, as of the end of
September, 2008 a plan called "dual conveyance" appears to be the
favored reconfiguration for the Delta of the Future. For the
near term, it appears the central canal is ready to be dredged, with
levee setbacks in some areas, and possibly a tunnel under the San
Joaquin River where it crosses Old River, and up to 5 barrier gates
to keep saltwater and fish out of this section of the central canal.
Very detailed maps showing online regarding levee setbacks and
intake facilities in the North Delta region, and possible barrier
gates in the south and central Delta regions give a pictorial
history of the planning process since 2000. If they build the
Central Canal or called the "preferred alternative" by CalFed in
2000, that canal by itself will drain enough fresh water away from
the Delta to cause at least the islands in the south and central
Delta to become unusable for crops that require fresh water.
EXCEPT that a few of the islands have been groomed to be In Delta
Storage, deepening the islands as much as possible to make ready to
use them as Delta damns. There are now so
many different planning maps out there, that we decided to begin
dividing the planning maps between "issues" as opposed to locations.
Maps for proposed GATES & BARRIERS,
CONVEYANCE,
RESTORATION and USE
are accessed through this page now or just go to the
All Planning Maps
page where we put all of the map thumbnails. Regarding
habitat restoration and Delta recreation, the DPC and BDCP maps
published online in December 2008 show areas of continued focus or
interest. If
nothing else, the first three maps below should be carefully reviewed.
Note that you can click (or double click if that is how your
computer is set up) on the map to see a larger view.
References to who or what agency created the map is provided with
links if available. It is assumed all maps are NOT
copyrighted, as all were generated by governmental agencies for the
purpose of discussions of the "Delta Vision".
Anyway, it is expect reduction of fresh water flow to the
Sacramento River below the planned intake sites, and also reduction
in flow for Steamboat and Sutter Sloughs would result in increase of
salt water certain times of the year, which could severely limit
farming and well operations for areas like Isleton, Rio Vista and
the nearby islands. What is somewhat interesting is that the
east side canal is not that much different than the plan they came
up with in 1965, and the canal plan voted down in 1982. Look at the
1965
canal planning map. Summary of plans
based on a few of the maps below, but you can also click on the
title to go to the pages with lots of planning maps by subject: |
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The map series from 2003-2009, found in various
planning documents produced by USBR, DWR, and other state/federal
agencies portrays a plan to use barrier
gates to stop fresh water from escaping from the "central canal"
area, and to keep fish from the western part of the San Joaquin from
being sucked into the central canal and therefore at risk for
suction into the water pumps. The
barrier gates would serve two important functions: keep fresh
water in, keep fish out. Planning maps show 2, 4 and more
gates. The other use for gates:
divert fresh water into Delta water storage islands, which has been
proposed since 1998 or earlier for specific privately-owned Delta
islands like Webb Track and Bacon, and for Nature Conservancy owned,
public money purchased Staten Island
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The map below seems to give a good
indication of the focus areas for "restoration" over time.
Note that the word restoration has been redefined to include
changing ecosystems from fresh water to brackish water to mitigate
other fresh water areas that will be destroyed by the New Delta
Plan. BDCP has near term and long term restoration plans.
Long term would most likely include management of the entire Delta,
with the Delta split north to south by the central conveyance canal.
Southwest of the central canal, below Ryer Island area would more
likely end up with more salty or brackish water. There might
also be east side restoration of lands already owned by the
governing agencies, and this area would be all fresh water.
Go to More Restoration
Planning Maps
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The governor and his backers are
quite adamant that in
the near term, they want to develop the "central canal" and in the
long term develop the east side canal. The central canal
would be possible in the near term (2010 to 2015) by enlarging some of the existing
waterways, like the Mulokolmne River, and diverting water from the
Sacramento River. They are already building water intake areas
off the Sacramento River, if one takes a ride along 160 to see the
building locations currently behind fences. Looking back to
studies and documents from 1998 to 2006, it appears the government
set the stage for building the Central Canal using several "building
blocks", and they already went through the EIR/EIS process for much
of it. The water intake at Hood, 4 gates projects in the South
Delta are examples of building blocks already approved and in
implementation process. In the meantime, northern California
Bay Area water districts have also been planning and building new or
improved water intake facilities, each time planning to take
additional water from the SACRAMENTO River. The increase in
water resources will allow for future building in Northern
California as well.
To to More Conveyance Planning Maps |
