| 1998:
David and Lucille Packard Foundation sponsors a study by the
National Heritage Institute to promote the
CALFED "central canal" option as the environmentally
optimal preferred conveyance
alternative. 1999: Behind closed
doors meetings are conducted and plans are made to determine the
approach to take to create a central conveyance canal without the
nuisance of asking the California voter if he/she is willing to pay
the eventual price and if he/she is willing to allow the
historically freshwater Delta to be destroyed or replaced with a
saltwater inland estuary.
2000:
CalFED issues its
"preferred alternative" central conveyance plan or Record
of Decision. 2000 Census is used to redistrict California Assembly and State
jurisdictions. Population totals for the "Primary Delta
Region", which excludes the major cities located within the true
legal Delta boundaries, is compiled. Rounded estimates of
"Primary Delta Region" residents is about 500,000 while if the
actual
legal Delta region is totaled including the residents of West
Sacramento, Antioch, Stockton, DiscoBay and similar towns, the total
residents would be much higher.
Assembly representation of such little towns as Walnut Grove, Rio
Vista and Clarksburg/Courtland are split between two different
representative offices, perhaps further defining the land owners of
the "primary" vs the "secondary" Delta region.
January 2001:
Agencies studying ways to "restore the southern area of the Delta"
are told to revise their focus to cover the WHOLE Delta region,
as reflected in meeting minutes of government agencies with focus on
the Delta.
Funding for fish studies, modeling water flows, and analysis of
Delta islands is acquired from various general budgets. EIR/EIS
processes for individual components or the "building blocks" of the
central conveyance plan are started. NDIP stands for North
Delta Improvement Plan but also north "big dip". SDIP stands
for South Delta Improvement Plan.
2002: Several nonprofit organizations
fund studies related to the Delta which will be used to support the
2000 CalFed preferred alternative. Yes, there were fish
studies. But also genetic rice testing, carbon sequestration
investigations, island flood modeling using new computer technology,
and more. Nonprofits funding studies include the David &
Lucille Packard Foundation, Wood Foundation, Bill & Linda Gates
Foundation, Ducks Unlimited. PPIC, National Heritage
Institute, Natural Heritage Institute, Bay Delta Estuary project, UC
Berkeley, UC Davis, Stanford University, Cal State Chico and
Sacramento will receive funding for various studies over the next
several years.
2003: Gray Davis reelected governor but
soon thereafter looses his post to an actor hired to play the role
of a governor, with the goal of building the new canal during his
tenure as governor. Several newspaper articles of 2003 recount
that Washington DC political activists initiated the recall of Gray
Davis and promoted our current governor. Someone has a sense
of humor! Arnold is best known for the phrase "I'll be back"
and his stated goal has been to bring back the canal issues of the
late 1970's and early 1980's of California political and water
history.
By the end of 2003, the
new "Governator" and several SoCal water district representatives
discuss at a water district meeting
the idea of trying once again for a Delta canal. The perhaps
private discussions were later summarized in other water board
meetings. The assumption was made that the current California
Governor was popular enough to make it happen.
Even before the governor was sworn in, he was
sending letters to
Senators Feinstein and Boxer, encouraging funding of the CALFed
project, the program overseeing many of the studies, with the new
focus to restore the whole delta while assuring reliable water
supply. But planning and timing were needed. Plus good
PR. A group of megafarmers, developers and water districts
from outside the Delta region meet to plan how to take additional
water out of the Delta by expansion of existing facilities, with the
expansion plans all cloaked as fish & environment preservation or
restoration efforts. One writer from a group called Public
Citizen called the meeting the "Napa Proposition" because the
agreement and meetings were held in Napa. See article "Water
Heist" or do a search of Yahoo. The ownership of
California newsprint media begins a huge transition.
By 2004, the "stakeholders" or
those outside the Delta that want to take more Sacramento River
water and validate the taking by leaving just enough for ecological
revision of the Delta have come to an agreement and the following
"call to action" slideshow by the Metropolitan Water District seems
to sum up the plans for a central canal. The last slideshow
lists the coordinators of the plan, including the PR firm. (
see 2004 MWD
slideshow) In the meantime, the Delta
Protection Commission has published a report showing
how much of the Delta
lands the government and conservancy agencies have purchased so
far in the Delta region, moving towards the plan for re-engineered
use of the
Delta
Cross Channel, Yolo-Bypass, in-Delta storage islands and habitat
restoration. DWR funds several studies assessing likelihood of
Delta islands
flooding using criteria not used before. DWR also funds
studies to emphasize
earthquake risk
to levees.
wptf20040408_deltapack.pdf
It was also recognized
that a good portion of the private lands of the Delta would need to
be purchased or put under conservation easements to discourage uses
that hindered export of fresh water. The 2004 MWD slideshow
quotes over 200,000 acres of Delta land will need to be acquired or
changed into restoration uses. Land values were rising
dramatically in the area as all over California there was more
demand for recreational opportunities, especially water-focused
ones. Some SoCal water districts began quietly purchasing
sensitive farm lands. The Nature Conservancy, with funding
support from many different Government Agencies, effects the
purchase of Statten
Island for use as an "IDS" or in-delta water storage area during flood years and to aid
in increased water conveyance to the South Delta pumps. And
Lower and Upper Jones Tract flooded at a very convenient time, to
encourage the Federal funding of studies to validate REvisions to
the Delta levee system. Planning and funding for many different
studies and reports is secured, so that the studies and land
purchases can go forward. Delta properties in select areas are
quietly being purchased. The Jones Tract "accidental"
flood provides a convenient media opportunity to push for some
federal funding and to create an impression of the Delta as
"unsustainable".
The CalFed central canal plan is divided
into different "building blocks" to be completed by different
"stakeholders" or private water companies that want more water.
Some public agencies and and counties also jump on the band wagon to
get more water for future uses. Examples: Dredging of
the Mokelumne River to assist in Sacramento River conveyance is
renamed as a "flood protection" project or the "North
Delta Improvement Project". EBMUD takes on the building of
new water pump and fish screen on the Sacramento River at Hood.
EBMUD will get a portion of the water and the extra capacity of the
new pump will be parceled out to other water agencies.
2005 is the year
the volume of studies, reports and personnel
are dedicated to the New Delta Plan. By this time, studies of
the value of each island, based only on the agricultural value,
ignoring the recreation values, commercial uses, home values, etc.
Island value
is use to determine which islands should be "saved", which should be
repaired if flooded, and which ones to use for in-Delta storage.
The SoCal water districts come up with a plan for "Eco-Crescent
Central Canal Conveyance", which is part of the "dual
conveyance" plan we all hear about. The governor fires
the entire reclamation board and puts in new people who are not
familiar with levee maintenance and history of the Delta, according
to news sources. UC Berkeley gets a grant to host the Delta
Charterette and later "Reinvisioning the Delta". Google gets
involved in mapping Delta islands, and confuses the locations of the
the islands...Grand Island, Tyler Island, Ryer Island, Sutter
Island, Andrus Island are all confused on Google maps but not on
Google Earth, for some odd reason.
In 2006, the Governor
uses his "emergency powers" to declare the state is in a drought and
at risk from earthquakes in the Delta. He uses some of the
emergency funding to help pay for studies to support the New Delta
Plan. Funding also goes for upgrades to levees from islands
deemed worth saving. Some California legislators express
concern that the planning process ongoing does not appear to include
the people most affected by the new plan-Delta land owners!
The governor sends a letter to the legislators in response.
All the while, many studies and resulting reports had already been
funded and were ongoing. 2006
studies
The Governor, as guided by the astute PR
firm hired to handle the "New Delta Plan", utilized the events of our times as
logical reasons to reintroduce the concept of a canal around the
Delta: fear of Katrina-like flooding, court-limited water
flow, and updated seismic reports have been cited and used at the
perfect time and advantage. Even the unforeseen decline
in the economy is being used as an excuse to revise the
Delta...hence the "infrastructure projects" proposed for California
to stimulate the economy include major projects for the Delta region
which were already in planning stages anyway.
By 2007 most of the major newspapers in California have been
sold, and just three companies control the majority of newspaper
print in California, and therefore also the online content that
California voters and their representatives read. It is
interesting to note that the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation was
listed as the lender for the McClatchy purchase of the Knight-Rider
owned California newspapers. The McClatchy news media has been
THE primary outlet for state dissemination of false and misleading
information regarding the Delta, its history and its sustainability.
California Media summary at:
http://snugharbor.net/images2010/media2010-players.JPG A
major report called DRMS Phase 1 is issued by the California
Department of Water Resources. It contains incorrect and false
historical information about the Delta. DWR acknowledges the
incorrect information but fails to issue an updated report with
correct Delta island histories.
There was a tremendous push
by the Governors and his team of legislators in 2009 to pass a set
of 5 bills that combined would create the groundwork for building
the new canal. The bills were not ready to be voted on by the
end of the 2009 legislative session, but as this is being written it
is rumored the governor will call a special session to try to get
the water bills passed. Since the biggest hindrance to the New
Delta Plan is how to pay for it, the writer would not be surprised
to see either Senator Feinstein or President Obama come in the "save
the Day" and pledge infrastructure monies so Californians will be
happy because they perceive they are getting the benefit of more
water down South, paid for by Federal tax dollars (ignoring the fact
its all our own tax dollars anyway). We've seen this type of
Federal/State cooperation-that's where the "Project Levees" came
from in the 1930's! 2008.
The more visible attack on the Delta begins with meetings reviewing
findings of the Delta Vision group. People who work, live and
play in the Delta receive notice of Delta Vision meetings right
during the busiest time of year in the Delta. Local farmers
are to busy to get involved, and the ones who do become aware of the
latest plans to revise the Delta don't believe it will happen
because the state "has no money". Drafts of the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan also start surfacing, found online by those who
are curious about planning for the Delta. In the meantime
there are even more changes to media ownership in California.
2009. Yikes! What a year! More than 1/3 of
the newspapers in California are in bankruptcy, the media news group
that started in 2005, borrowed the $$ to buy up all the major
newspapers is in "reorganization" which will result in the lenders
owning the papers including the online media news sources, and all
this explains WHY all the media sings the same song simplifying the
Delta water wars into a "fish vs. farmer" ballad. California's
Department of Water Resources, including Delta Vision and the DRMS
or Delta Risk Management Strategy (Study) publish false and
incorrect maps and data about the Delta. The governor and his
band of watermen push through water legislation towards the end of
the year that authorizes a new commission called the "Delta
Stewardship Council" which hands over the decisions on Delta
revisions to a group of appointed persons. This group of seven
are given the authority to approve an "interim" plan while a long
term plan is developed. The huge water legislation package
authorizes many other important actions, including moving forward
with the BDCP process. The legislation calls for a bond to
fund restoration projects to coincide with building of two canals or
"dual conveyance" as its called. No one thinks a bond would be
passed by California voters because the economy is so bad.
Note the very basic change in approach to Delta water use: The
question that used to be asked was "How much water can the state
take out of the Delta and still preserve the historical freshwater
ecological environment?" Now the question is "How much water
has to be left to flow through the Delta to create or "restore"
ecological "function", and that function can be a saltwater estuary
instead of a fresh water inland Delta. In
the meantime, as the whole country is struggling with a major
rescission, it is interesting to note that Stockton and Elk Grove
and Sacramento are three of the areas most affected by the
loan/mortgage fraud and bankruptsy statistics. A company call
Countrywide, which originated out of the state of Washington,
greatly contributed to the mortgage industry meltdown, which furter
devalues the Delta-related cities.
2010. The Delta Stewardship Council is made up of
appointees from around the state who collectively have very limited
knowledge of the complexities of the Delta and its history.
The DSC has monthly two day meetings at a minimum. After just
a few months, the Delta "interim plan" draft is proposed and the
first draft is approved, and the DSC agrees to a very short time
frame to come up with a final interim plan. The interim plan
is to basically do the dredging projects that would create the
central canal per the 1998 and 2000 documents referenced above.
With just the interim plan, most of the Delta's fresh water flowing
down the Sacramento River will be diverted into the Mokelumne River
system to transport the water into the central Delta area, so the
water can be exported to other areas of the state. No other
canal will be needed, so the "Interim Plan" IS the plan. A
second canal will not be needed because the water will already all
be diverted. The second canal is supposed to provide
flexibility in case of a huge disaster, but no one really believes
California voters will be willing to pay for that very expensive
second canal or tunnel once the water is already being diverted via
the "interim plan" to be approved by the DSC.
See the Central
Conveyance Interim Plan. In
the meantime, the media in California and in the US in general,
appears to be controlled by just a few individuals by 2010.
See summary of the monumental change in
California media compiled by a Delta business owner.
Clearly the men who own the media are planning to control November
elections and make lots of $$ with political adds along the way!
So its not just about the water in California. But
water is the top target, no doubt. Without more water diverted
to the San Francisco Bay area, the higher density housing proposed
for the area around UC Berkeley and for the waterfront Oakland
housing, per that county's general plan update, will not be able to
more forward. The future housing developments in the Irvine
and San Bernardino areas, per those updated general plans, will not
be able to more forward without finding reliable new water
resources. The expansion of industrial use of Central Valley
lands, where more water will be needed, would not be able to move
forward. And then there's the 2003 "hydrogen highway" plans of
the governor which does not seem to be mentioned in the media but
would require water. Other needs of the water: expansion
of California's rice growing region, which would be a convenient use
of the extra water planned to be annually diverted into the Yolo
Bypass. And then the Delta would be left with to much salt
water intrusion from the Bay to allow traditional farming of many of
the Delta islands, so those islands will convert to "tule" farms,
which is purported to be good for the atmosphere, according to the
"carbon sequestering" projects as supported by yet another internet
giant ((Google)) to reduce their "carbon footprint". |
