Water officials say they violated Delta flow standard to aid salmon
Matt Weiser
Sacramento Bee
02/20/2009
California water officials admitted this week they have already violated a key water flow standard in the Delta intended to protect imperiled fish.
The admission came in hearings Tuesday and Wednesday before the state Water Resources Control Board. The hearings were held to consider a petition from the state Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to win exemptions from the standard because of drought.
Board members and Delta advocates were surprised to learn the flow standard had already been violated while the petition was pending.
"There probably were some days where we were not meeting the outflow standards," said Jerry Johns, deputy director of the California Department of Water Resources. "At least we had the petition in before any of these things took place."
The agencies sought the exemption because they believe they need to retain cold water in the state's depleted reservoirs to ensure healthy salmon runs this fall.
But in doing so, they risked violating a minimum-outflow standard in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. That standard is designed to protect other fish, including the Delta smelt and longfin smelt. It requires meeting flow targets over a certain number of days in a month, usually by releasing water from upstream dams.
The drought, in other words, posed a tough choice between fish species.
The agencies acted after consulting with wildlife officials, he said, who agreed that saving water for salmon runs was a prudent step.
Johns said they couldn't wait for the water board's lengthy review process. As a result, he said, they retained about 100,000 acre-feet of water in state and federal reservoirs.
"Technically, we did not actually meet the number of days in February that's called for by the board," Johns said. "We took what actions we thought were the best overall mix to better protect fish."
Subsequent rains created enough natural flow to avoid continued violations, though the drought is far from over.
Bill Rukeyser, spokesman for the state water board, said no penalties will be assessed if the board approves the petition. It would become a retroactive endorsement of violations that have already occurred, a fact that does not sit well with critics.
If the petition is rejected, fines or other penalties may be assessed, Rukeyser said. A decision could come next week...
