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Obama administration wades into state water crisis
December 22nd, 2009, 4:47 pm · 26 Comments · posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor
California’s water crisis is so severe, U.S. water officials say, that it merits federal intervention. That intervention has arrived. 
The Obama administration released a blueprint Tuesday it says will help solve California’s water crisis — the nettlesome feud over the California Bay Delta, and how to protect both the fish and farmers who depend on it.
The action plan, agreed on by six federal agencies, seeks to coordinate federal efforts to ensure adequate water supplies, boost conservation and protect the Bay-Delta ecosystem.
“This is definitely an interim action, a working, living, breathing document, subject to change if things change out there,” said Department of Interior spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff.
The plan says the Bay Delta — where the San Joaquin River delta and San Francisco Bay estuary converge — is the “hub of the nation’s largest water delivery system,” serving 25 million people, and is “among the most important estuary ecosystems in the nation.”
That ecosystem, it says, is worth about $400 billion a year in economic activity, including a $28 billion agricultural industry.
Water from the delta flows to Southern California, and forms a part of Orange County’s imported water supply.
But three years of drought, along with court-ordered pumping restrictions meant to protect the threatened delta smelt, have pushed the Bay-Delta into full-blown crisis, resulting in parched agricultural fields and salmon-fishery closure that, this year alone, cost nearly 2,700 jobs and $279 million, the action plan says.
The ecosystem “has reached a point of collapse,” it says, and is threatened by climate change, sea-level rise, invasive species, pollution and pesticides.
The action plan is based on a memorandum of understanding signed in September by the six agencies: the departments of the Interior, Commerce, Agriculture and the Army, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Highlights of the goals outlined in the action plan include strengthening federal cooperation with state agencies, helping with water-supply project construction and water transfers, tightening ecosystem science in the delta, such as research on the habitat needs of the smelt, drought relief, and flood control.
The plan aims to show “on-the-ground impacts” in 2010.
In terms of national importance, the delta, the plan says, is on par with the Everglades, Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes — also examples of large, multi-agency restoration efforts, Barkoff said.
The plan is a “comprehensive federal approach to the crisis,” Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles — the region’s water wholesaler — said in a prepared statement.
“Ultiimately, the real litmus test of this plan will be the specific actions that federal agencies take in the future and whether they result in more reliable supplies and improvements in the ecosystem,” the statement said.
(Photo of withered orchard near Coalinga, Ca., courtesy UC Davis.)
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as if the state wasn’t bad enough, the feds want their toe in everything. it’s completely out of control.
i bet you 10 bucks inept obama does nothing. there is no more money to doanything. obama and his liberal whackjobs are bankrupting us. then it will be war.
I have a bad feeling about this. Federal intervention usually results with calamities like Katrina in New Orleans.
The Obama admin has made every situation they get involved in much worse than it was before they touched it. I hope they keep the heck out of CA – they’ve already done enough damage.
Muzzle all Tree Huggers, and Fish Kissers. Build DeSal Plants at San Onofre. Sell the water to other western states. Deficit gone. End of Story.
Drive the I-5 in the central valley and see what our great state and federal officials have wrought. No common sense, just caving in to special interest groups.
I guess the greatest agricultural area of the country doesn’t mean much. Thanks Sierra Club.
It’s pretty pathetic how the Sierra Club and a collection of leftist green gnomes can disturb the livelihood of the central valley. Why don’t we turn the spigots off in Sonoma and Napa and force Pelosi and her pinheads to suffer. Talj about special interest! That witch has the State wrapped around her crooked finger and it’s time the Wicked Witch has a house fall on her
What has always puzzled me is this. The world is 2/3 water. We can send people to the moon. Create a nuclear weapon. Have the whole world connected to each other via internet.
And yet, there are states, and in some instances, whole countries that are in a drought.
Now, now, I know some will say, “yes, but the majority of the water you refer to is not fit for human consumption.”
Currently, probably so, but…desalinization and other methods should be able to be utilized and/or discovered. C’mon now.
Desalination is easy but takes an awful amount of energy, and there’s no way to avoid that. That’s all there is to it. Simple physics.
It is incredible what the media does to real facts. They didnt tell us at first it involved the chinook salmon which is a huge deal because of the obvious business it produces sorry to say to all you farmers but its way larger than your business and further more employs more than you as well. So research a little harder before you say such media influenced comments that by the way it is driven by the corporate giants.You must be watching fox propaganda news.
How about a federal plan that figures out how to control the booming population that uses the water
In other words, one person needs “x” amount of water for daily survival needs.. multiply that by “y” population and x times y = the water we don’t have enough of. control population growth.
Yay. Bring up baby limits and forced sterilization. Death panels too?
Sorry, that’s not how it works.
What would work, easily, would be realistic water prices for household and agricultural consumers. But you’d have to overcome quite a few lobbies to get there.
ocbear: Didn’t the Dems in the Senate just vote for a national health plan that would spend federal tax money to abort the unborn babies of uninsured people? When you ask for the Feds to do something to ‘control population growth’ is that what you have in mind to solve California’s water problems?
The scariest words ever spoken,… “We’re from the federal government and we’re here to help you”. Usually followed by “God help us now!”
Are they going to help us like they helped the economy? Like they helped the unemployment problem? Like they’re helping health care? Afghanistan? Iran? Iraq? Illegal immigration? The border fence?
Once more, with feeling,.. GOD HELP US ALL!
just get rid of boxer and feinstein . done deal !
Good Lord…doesn’t this administration have other things to do?
You’d think Obama didn’t have a “day job”
corruption at the state level,federal, all bowing to enviromentalists who r nothing more than terrorists period.
I know, ocbear. Let’s have a national health plan that spends federal tax money to kill unborn babies of poor people.
Las Vagas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Orange County are cities that shouldn’t have been built. There’s not enough water for them all our children or children’s children will learn know of that, the hard way.
And if the Climate is actually changing, then there will be far less water for them in the future.
There is enough water. It’s just too cheap so it gets wasted. I can see the runoff from lawn sprinklers every day.
This has nothing to do with the farce of global warming. This has to do with fear and control, not to mention the real problem that must be removed from office. Arnold. This state has gone to crap since he took office. Now that the feds are involved we’re screwed, and Arnold just has to say ‘okay’, as his job is done for him.
What has happened to our Sunshine State?
Standby for the Federal water tax……
Yet another power and $ grab by the Dems.
Anytime you see “comprehensive federal approach” you can be certain that things will get worse.
Oboob won’t be satisfied until he’s dictator. At the rate he’s going, that will be early next year.
oh yay lets call the Federal Government to come save us!! Yay because they have all the answers!!! Are water is poisoned.
as Woody always used to say.
“Someones poisoned the water hole”
damn was he right.