Bay Delta Blog

Since the package of water legislation passed in 2009, there has been a flurry of administrative activity to complete documents called for in the legislation. At least three high-profile plans concerning the Delta — the Delta Plan, BDCP, and what will be the first major update to the Bay-Delta water quality control plan (WQCP) in … Continue reading →

In 2002, one year before the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) and related agreements were executed, the State Water Resources Control Board issued a key approval facilitating a long-term water transfer. The transfer, which carries a 45-year term and an option to renew for 30 additional years, involves Imperial Irrigation District conserving water and transferring the … Continue reading →

This post is a continuation of the previous post. Given that there is a salinity range physiologically tolerable to delta smelt — and a subset salinity range that is not just tolerable, but actually suitable, for which there is a higher probability of finding fish in practice — salinity is an important factor when determining … Continue reading →

The 2008 biological opinion prepared by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommends a set of actions that should be taken to protect delta smelt while operating the federal and state projects.  USFWS will prepare yet another version of this BiOp by an order of Judge Wanger, or else be relieved of the need to do … Continue reading →