Sacramento County’s Policies and Response To The Delta Vision and Bay-Delta Conservation Plan
Agenda • What is Delta Vision and BDCP? • Background, Setting, and Problem Summary • Delta History for Context • Delta Vision • Delta Vision Strategic Plan • Bay Delta Conservation Plan • County Policies and Response
Beginnings of Delta Vision • Established by Governor’s Executive Order on September 17, 2006 • Charged with developing a durable vision for sustainable management of the Delta over the long term • Restore and maintain identified functions and values important to the Delta’s environmental quality and economic and social well-being of the state • Seven members appointed to serve by the Governor
Bay-Delta Conservation Plan • Multi-species habitat conservation plan for the Delta • Proposed by the water exporters and the state and federal water contractors • Involves converting Delta agricultural lands to wetlands • Little or no participation by affected land owners or local government
Delta Facts • Confluence of Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers • Delta islands provide habitat for many animal and plant species • Source of irrigation water for seven million acres of agricultural land • Municipal and industrial water supply for two-thirds of California residents • Delta is a key conveyance point for the states two largest water projects that transport water to Central and Southern CA – Central Valley Project – State Water Project
Delta Watershed Boundary
Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
Delta Problems • For decades the Delta has been in decline – Delta quality is getting worse – Islands are subsiding – Numerous species are threatened – Levees are deteriorating • Conflicts among those within the Delta, those who use water exported from the Delta, and the watershed (upstream)
Delta 1860’s
Land Surface Below Sea Level
Reclamation Districts Map
Modern Delta • 700 mile maze of sloughs, canals, waterways and islands • Home to more than 500,000 people, Contains 500,000 acres of agriculture • Provides habitat for 700 native plant and animal species • Provides water for more than 25 million Californians, 3 million acres of agriculture Water conveyed through the Delta sustains $400 billion of CA’s statewide economy
Federal Central Valley Project (CVP) • Authorized in 1937 • Consists of 20 dams, canals, 11 million acre feet of storage (includes Shasta, Folsom) • Delivers 7 million acre feet contract water annually • Contracts – 85% Agriculture, 15% Urban Area of Origin Protections
State Water Project • State Electorate approved Bonds in 1960 • Facilities include Oroville Dam, canals • Water contracts for 4.2 million acre feet to 29 public water agencies • Deliveries limited to 2.3 million by SWRCB D-1485 in 1978
State and Federal Water Project Facilities
Historic Diversion from Within the Delta
Delta Protections • Delta Protection Act (1959) • Delta Protection Commission (1992) – Purpose is to ensure that “development” as defined by the Delta Protection Act and associated General Plans is consistent with the Resource Management Plan developed by the Commission – 24 member Commission comprised of local elected and State appointed members
Delta Protection Commission
Reverse Flow
State’s Effort to Solve Water Supply Problems (CalFed) 1994 – Formation of CalFed, 18 state and federal agencies came together to address Delta conditions – June 1994: Framework Agreement – December 2004: Bay-Delta Accord CalFed Principles 1. Ecosystem Quality 2. Water Supply 3. Water Quality 4. Vulnerability of Delta Functions
Beginnings of Delta Vision • Established by Governor’s Executive Order on September 17, 2006 • Charged with developing a durable vision for sustainable management of the Delta over the long term • Restore and maintain identified functions and values important to the Delta’s environmental quality and economic and social well-being of the state • Seven members appointed to serve by the Governor
How the Delta Vision Was Developed • Task Force held 14 days of public meetings • A 43-member Stakeholder Coordination Group met publicly for 15 days, and provided input to the Task Force • Task Force recommendations were informed by Delta Science Advisors, other state and federal agencies and public testimony • Three drafts and a final version of Our Vision for the California Delta were published as a result of this process
The Delta Vision • An independent approach to the crisis in the Delta resulted in 12 recommendations and 7 near-term actions • Recommendations are integrated and linked together – they are not designed to be “cherry picked”
Delta Vision Recommendations 1) “Delta ecosystem and reliable water supply are the primary, co-equal goals for sustainable management of the Delta .”
Delta Vision Recommendations 2) “The California Delta is a unique and valued area, warranting recognition and special legal status…” 3) “The Delta ecosystem must function as part of a healthy estuary.” 4) “California’s water supply is limited and must be managed with significantly more efficiency to be adequate for its future population, growing economy, and vital environment.”
Delta Vision Recommendations 5) “The foundation for policymaking about California water resources must be the longstanding principles of ‘reasonable use’ and ‘public trust’; these principles are particularly important and applicable to the Delta.”
Public Trust Doctrine Embodies the principle that the State as sovereign owns “all of its navigable water ways and the lands lying beneath them ‘as trustee of a public trust for the benefit of the people’”
Delta Vision Recommendations 6) “The goals of conservation, efficiency, and sustainable use must drive California water policies.” 7) “A revitalized Delta ecosystem will require reduced diversions, or changes in patterns and timing of those diversions, upstream, within the Delta and exported from the Delta at critical times.” 8) ”New facilities for conveyance and storage, and better linkage between the two, are needed to better manage California’s water resources, the estuary and exports.”
C O D N E V L E T Y A A N C E
Delta Vision Recommendations 9) “Major investments in the California Delta and the statewide water management system must be consistent with, and integrate specific policies in this vision. In particular, these strategic investments must strengthen selected levees, improve floodplain management, and improve water circulation and quality.” 10) “It is essential to have an independent body with authority to achieve the co-equal goals … while also recognizing the importance of the Delta as a unique and valued area.”
Delta Vision Recommendations 11) “Discouraging inappropriate urbanization of the Delta is critical both to preserve the Delta’s unique character and to ensure adequate public safety.” 12) “Institutions and policies for the Delta should be designed for resiliency and adaptation.”
The Delta Vision Strategic Plan Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force Public Meetings August 18-28, 2008
Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation 1. Water Supply Reliability Strategies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 2. Ecosystem Strategies 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 3. The Delta as a Place Strategy 11 4. Governance and Finance Strategies 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation Water Supply Reliability Strategy 1 Vastly Improve the Efficient Use of Water Strategy 2 Optimize Regional Self Sufficiency by Increasing the Diversity of Local and Regional Water Supplies Strategy 3 Integrate Central Valley Flood Management with Water Supply Planning Strategy 4 Improve Reliability and Predictability of Water Diverted from the Delta Watershed to Support Co-Equal Values Strategy 5 Improve Water Quality for Drinking Water, Agriculture, and the Ecosystem
Strategies for Water Supply
Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation Ecosystem Improvements Strategy 6 Restore Extensive Interconnected Habitats Strategy 7 Restore Delta Flows and Channels to Reflect California Climate Patterns and Support a Healthy Delta Estuary Strategy 8 Reduce Ecosystem Stressors Strategy 9 Establish an Effective Adaptive Management Framework to Support Ecosystem Revitalization Strategy 10 Establish Multi-Purpose Migratory Corridors Along Selected Delta River Channels
Delta Vision Task Force Strategic Plan Implementation The Delta as a Place Strategy 11 Design the Delta as a Unique and Valued Place
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