The Delta in Crisis

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The Delta in Crisis

• and what do we do about it.

Riverside County Water Symposium June 21, 2007
John Woodling CA Department of Water Resources
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The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Sacramento
Sacramento River
Stockton
San Joaquin River
San Francisco
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Water Flow to State and Federal Pumps
Sacramento River
San Joaquin River
Middle River
Old River
SWP Pumps
CVP Pumps
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Some Delta Background

• Home to more than 500,000 people
• Over 500,000 acres of agriculture
• Habitat for 700 native plant and animal species
• Water for more than 25 million Californians
• Water for 3 million acres of agriculture
• Two deep water ports, rail and road corridors
• Pipeline and communications rights-of-way
• 12 million recreational visitor days
• Vital to California economy

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Delta Levees

• Reclamation began late 1850s, completed by 1930s
• Over 1100 miles of levees
• 1/3 state-federal project levees
• 2/3 locally maintained levees
• 57 reclaimed islands

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Risks to the Delta
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Subsidence

• Non-engineered levees composed of dredge spoils
• Subsidence of levee foundations
• Subsidence of peat
• soils on islands

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Historic Levee Failure

• Over 160 levee failures over last century leading
  to island inundation
• Jones Tract (2004)
• Six months to repair and pump-out island
• Costs exceeded 90 million

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Seismic Vulnerability
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6.5 Magnitude Earthquake
30 levee breaches Inundation of 16
islands 30-60 billion economic costs 300
billion gallons of saltwater over several days
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Climate Change
Changes in precipitation
Changes in runoff
Sea level rise
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Sea Level Rise
2 ft.
Projections
1 ft.
Source IPCC, 2001
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Sea Level Rise
Source Roos 2003
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Changes in Peak Flows
American River Annual One-Day Maximum Unimpaired
Flows at Fair Oaks
Folsom Dam completed
From Roos, 2003
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Twitchell Island 2006
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The Environment

• Toxicity
• Exotic species
• Delta Operations

Pelagic Organism Decline
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Delta Imperatives

• Cant recover Delta environment and maintain
  reliable water exports
• Cant upgrade all the levees to withstand
  earthquakes and sea level rise
• Cant maintain Delta agriculture as land subsides
• Cant divert Delta water and avoid Delta fish

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Responding to Delta Risks
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Curtailed Pumping

• Cessation of Pumping at Banks Pumping Plant in
  early June 2007
• Minimization of pumping at Tracy (CVP) pumps
• Protection of Delta Smelt in vicinity of pumps

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Delta Vision

• Build on CALFED to address all the resources,
  uses, and challenges in the Delta
• Recognition that the Delta is not sustainable
  environmentally or economically
• Executive Order
• Blue Ribbon Task Force
• Phase 1 Recommendations - January 2008
• Phase 2 Strategic Plan December 2008

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Delta Risk Management Strategy DRMS

• Evaluate current and future risk
• Identify consequences
• Identify risk reduction measures
• Evaluate alternatives

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DRMS

• Preliminary Findings
• 160-260 levee failures over next 100 years
• 12-15 simultaneous failures in major flood event
• 28 chance of 30 islands failing in seismic
  event in next 25 years

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Levee Repairs

• Governor declares State of Emergency February
  2006
• 33 critical sites repaired by following winter
• 71 new repair sites identified
• Propositions 1E and 84 will continue short and
  long term flood control system improvements
• Minimum 775 million for Delta levees

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Alternative Conveyance

• PPIC Report identified 9 alternatives
• CALFED end of Phase 1 evaluate effectiveness of
  through Delta conveyance

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"We need to build more storage, and we have to
build conveyance, the canal, and all of those
kinds of things."
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Storage

• Strategic Growth Plan
• SB 59 (2007)
• 2 billion for surface storage
• 500 million for GW storage
• Sites Reservoir
• Temperance Flat Reservoir

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Whats Next
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Conclusions

• We have an unprecedented opportunity for a
  genuine Delta fix
• Funding
• Public awareness
• Legislative and administration attention
• We are beginning to construct a sustainable flood
  control system
• Construction
• Public policy
• We can provide water for the States future needs
• Statewide systems
• Regional and local investment
• Business as usual is not an option