Delta water diversion a threat to fish, judge rules

[XemaSab]

A federal judge in Fresno affirmed Friday that water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have jeopardized the existence of California's beleaguered salmon.

It was the latest in a string of rulings ordering state and federal regulators to fix a water system that supplies millions of Californians with water but is all but dysfunctional when it comes to protecting fisheries and the environment.

U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger told the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources to come up with ways to protect salmon and steelhead trout, but declined to order any immediate remedies.

Wanger's 118-page ruling was issued as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and several other environmental organizations accusing the government of endangering salmon and steelhead. The plaintiffs had asked the judge to immediately curtail water diversions.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/18/BAM411S08J.DTL

[mike_c]

1. bummer-- twenty years from now they'll still be "working on it..."

...and salmon runs will be gone forever. Without immediate relief, it's doubtful that anything will actually change.

[XemaSab]

2. I have a fast solution for restoring the San Joaquin

but the people of Friant aren't going to like it. :P