Enough Water to Serve 4.8 Million Californians Diverted to Help Protect Fish

Statewide Water Supply Cut by More Than Half A Million Acre-Feet (So Far)

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban water users and farmers are already feeling the pinch from restrictions imposed by an unprecedented federal court ruling that has slashed California's water supply by 600,000 acre-feet of water in the first quarter of 2008. The amount of water lost so far this year is enough to serve more than 4.8 million people for one year.

Public water agencies are only receiving 35% of their annual allocation of water from the State Water Project (SWP) -- a paltry level water agencies have not been restricted to since the severe 1991 drought. Notwithstanding recent optimistic snowpack reports, precipitation is very low this year for the second year in a row. Compounding the problem is the regulatory restriction, which makes it harder to move the water when it is available.

"We are experiencing a dry year shortage that is being exacerbated by regulatory restrictions," said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors. "Our water system is being strangled, and there is no end in sight unless we change how we move water across the state and fix the broken Delta."

"This untenable situation puts all Californians at risk. We are digging into our drought reserves to protect fish," added Moon.

Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger ordered a massive reduction in water supplies from the state's two largest water delivery systems, the SWP and the Central Valley Project, to help protect an endangered fish species, the Delta smelt -- the largest court-ordered water supply reduction in California history. The two projects move water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) to urban and agricultural water users in Northern, Central and Southern California.

Of the 600,000 acre-feet of water that have been cut, 465,000 acre-feet have come directly from the SWP, which serves 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of prime agricultural land.

Other potential causes for the decline in Delta smelt currently being explored by scientists include invasive species, toxics, power plant operations and local diversions by farmers. A definitive factor for the fish decline has not yet been identified.

In response to the situation, some water agencies have already called for even greater levels of water conservation, or imposed rationing and rate hikes on their customers this year. These measures will quickly become even more widespread and severe in the next few years if our broken water delivery system is not fixed.

According to the Association of California Water Agencies, one acre-foot of water is enough to meet the needs of two typical families for a year. In quantifying this water supply reduction, 600,000 acre-feet of water is enough to serve the residents of:

-- City of San Jose, with a population of 974,000 people, for nearly five
years; or
-- City of Fresno, with a population of 428,000, for more than eleven
years; or
-- City of Los Angeles, with a population of 3.8 million, for more than
one year.

These court-ordered pumping restrictions will be in effect until a revised biological opinion for Delta smelt is prepared that will ensure the projects' compliance with the Endangered Species Act. However, until we find a better way of conveying water to Northern, Central and Southern California, the state will likely face similar regulatory restrictions.

The Delta's failing condition has made it an increasingly unreliable pathway for delivering water to 25 million Californians, businesses and farms throughout the state. Aged and deteriorating levees, climate change, mounting regulatory uncertainties such as this most recent event and a struggling eco-system plague the Delta more so today than ever before. These unprecedented challenges need to be addressed responsibly and in a timely manner in order to avoid immeasurable damages to California's water supply, environment, public health, statewide economy and water supply infrastructure system.

State leaders and scientists agree that a long-term solution is needed to restore the Delta and protect California's water supply. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a collaborative effort between water agencies, environmental organizations, and state and federal agencies, is now mapping out a comprehensive conservation plan for the Delta, including identifying ways of improving the design and operation of California's two primary water delivery systems.

"Given the increasingly vulnerable state of the Delta, we must develop a comprehensive solution for the estuary and our water delivery system," Moon said. "What we need are not short-term actions of the courts, but long-term conveyance and habitat restoration measures such as those that will be proposed in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan."

Public agencies are concerned that Californians don't realize the dire situation in our statewide water supply. Given their obligation and mandate to educate the public and protect our water supplies, this first three-month assessment of impacts from the Wanger ruling will be updated on a monthly basis.

The State Water Contractors is a statewide, non-profit association of 27 public agencies from Northern, Central and Southern California that purchase water under contract from the California State Water Project. Collectively the State Water Contractors deliver water to more than 25 million residents throughout the state and more than 750,000 acres of agricultural lands. For more information on the State Water Contractors, please visit http://www.swc.org/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: The State Water Contractors

CONTACT: Fiona Hutton, or Ann Newton, +1-818-760-2121, for The State
Water Contractors

Web site: http://www.swc.org/

2008-04-07 17:34:07 0330058 PRNEWSWIRE