{"id":205,"date":"2017-05-03T23:14:52","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T23:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/?p=205"},"modified":"2017-05-03T23:14:52","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T23:14:52","slug":"lois-henry-how-rep-kevin-mccarthys-2016-delta-legislation-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/03\/lois-henry-how-rep-kevin-mccarthys-2016-delta-legislation-works\/","title":{"rendered":"LOIS HENRY: How Rep. Kevin McCarthy&#8217;s 2016 delta legislation works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LINK to original article: http:\/\/www.bakersfield.com\/columnists\/lois-henry-water-water-everywhere-but-can-we-keep-it\/article_d1cd4c96-6115-582c-9707-11e07a06ae46.html<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"main-content col-lg-8 col-md-7\">\n<div class=\"main-content-wrap\">\n<div id=\"asset-photo-carousel\">\n<div id=\"carousel-d1cd4c96-6115-582c-9707-11e07a06ae46\" class=\"card photo-carousel p402_hide subscriber-hide\">\n<div class=\"photo-carousel-control-container\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"gallery-items-d1cd4c96-6115-582c-9707-11e07a06ae46\" class=\"carousel-inner owl-carousel owl-theme owl-loaded\">\n<div class=\"owl-stage-outer owl-height\">\n<div class=\"owl-stage\">\n<div class=\"owl-item active\">\n<div class=\"item photo-28235472-a529-5e67-983f-0d6fd6162472\">\n<div class=\"item-container\">\n<div class=\"photo-container layout-vertical\" data-track-object=\"{&quot;title&quot;:&quot;LOIS HENRY: Water, water everywhere, but can we keep it?&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;\/columnists\/lois-henry-water-water-everywhere-but-can-we-keep-it\/article_d1cd4c96-6115-582c-9707-11e07a06ae46.html&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;d1cd4c96-6115-582c-9707-11e07a06ae46&quot;,&quot;app&quot;:&quot;editorial&quot;,&quot;metric&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-count=\"1\">\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive owl-first-image owl-lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com\/bakersfield.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/2\/82\/28235472-a529-5e67-983f-0d6fd6162472\/58796be44253f.image.jpg\" alt=\"Delta flow infographic\" width=\"1033\" height=\"1200\" data-src=\"http:\/\/bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com\/bakersfield.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/2\/82\/28235472-a529-5e67-983f-0d6fd6162472\/58796be44253f.image.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<div class=\"caption-inner-d1cd4c96-6115-582c-9707-11e07a06ae46 collapse in\">\n<div class=\"actions pull-right\">\n<header class=\"asset-header\">\n<div class=\"meta\">\n<ul class=\"list-inline\">\n<li>By LOIS HENRY lhenry@bakersfield.com<\/li>\n<li><time class=\"asset-date text-muted\" datetime=\"2017-01-14T18:00:00-08:00\">Jan 14, 2017<\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"asset-content  p402_premium subscriber-premium\">\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p>Will we get the water?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p class=\"\">That\u2019s the question everyone\u2019s been asking. (And by everyone, I mean the other five or six people I know who are as weirdly interested in water as I am.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Storms are dumping, rivers are rising and lakes are filling \u2014 finally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Will we be able to squirrel that water away for the next dry spell?<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Or will California flush it out to sea?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Yes and yes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">The state Department of Water Resources (DWR) and federal Bureau of Reclamation are planning to move as much water as possible into storage, said Kern County Water Agency General Manager Curtis Creel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">There are concerns about the endangered delta smelt fish that must also be addressed, so DWR and the Bureau are coordinating with their counterparts in the U.S. and state\u00a0departments of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">But there\u2019s so much water pouring into the state right now, with more coming, that Creel wasn\u2019t too worried about the smelt\u2019s share.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">\u201cAt some point, even with the ESA (Endangered Species Act) in place, there will be more water in the system than we can physically take,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Locally, water folks are already sucking up as much as they can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Some of that is \u201cextra\u201d water from this season\u2019s storms, some of it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">For instance, local water agencies are getting a big slug of water out of Millerton Lake east of Fresno, which has been dumping water for the past week and a half for flood control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">That water comes down the Friant-Kern Canal (that\u2019s the one behind Lowe&#8217;s on Rosedale Highway) and goes to Central Valley Project (CVP) contractors in Kern.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">When the CVP (which is federal) is in flood control mode, that means contractors take as much water as they can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Which is exactly what they\u2019re doing through a network of banking and recharge agreements with other entities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Which is why you now see a \u201criver\u201d in the Kern River bed from Coffee Road to a bit west of the Stockdale Highway bridge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">That\u2019s not Kern River water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">It\u2019s actually San Joaquin River water coming out of Millerton headed to groundwater recharge ponds on behalf of a number of local water agencies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Meanwhile, the California Aqueduct on the west side of the valley (part of the State Water Project) is bringing what\u2019s known as \u201ccarryover\u201d water out of San Luis Reservoir that local districts are socking away in the Kern Water Bank and Semitropic Water Storage District water bank.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Carryover water is water that districts bought the previous year and are allowed to store in San Luis until needed the next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">With water being pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fast and furious, no local agencies want to lose their carryover water if San Luis gets too full.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWe are scrambling to recharge all the water we can,\u201d said Jonathan Parker, general manager of the Kern Water Bank Authority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Generally speaking, the Kern Water Bank can recharge up to 60,000 acre feet a month. That pace slows as the bank fills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Which is why water folks are watching weather conditions closely, ready to throttle back if needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Because everyone also has eyes on the Kern River and Isabella Lake.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tncms-region-article_instory_middle\" class=\"tncms-region hidden-print\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">\u201cIf the Kern has mandatory releases, I would expect all our (groundwater banking) participants would take any of that water offered,\u201d Parker said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Under a mandatory release situation, when the Army Corps of Engineers dumps water out of Isabella for flood control and dam safety, it becomes a kind of free-for-all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">There\u2019s no cost for the water or moving it, since it\u2019s all gravity-fed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">That\u2019s like manna water \u2014 everybody wants some.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">So, you don\u2019t want to fill up on delta water if Kern River water is in play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">But that\u2019s tricky to predict.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Right now, Isabella is at 170,000 acre feet, according to Kern River Watermaster Dana Munn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Starting Feb.1, the Corps could let the level rise to 245,000 acre feet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">But it depends on how big the snowpack is and is expected to get.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">A recent model shows the snowpack at 120 percent of normal, which would allow river interests (several ag water districts and the City of Bakersfield) to store up to 245,000 acre feet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">With more storms on the horizon, though, the Corps could get antsy about holding on to that water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Or, as Munn noted, it could be like 1997.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Back then, we had a huge December and January, then it all came to a screeching halt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p class=\"\">Mother Nature is fickle like that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"asset-tagline text-muted\">\n<p><em>Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry. Her column runs Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bakersfield.com\/\">http:\/\/www.bakersfield.com<\/a>, call her at 395-7373 or email <a href=\"mailto:lhenry@bakersfield.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lhenry@bakersfield.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>LOIS HENRY ONLINE<\/p>\n<p>Read archived columns by Lois Henry at \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bakersfield.com\/columnists\/lois-henry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bakersfield.com\/columnists\/lois-henry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"asset-fact\">\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4>A water bill that pays dividends<\/h4>\n<p>You may have heard that a landmark California water bill was passed in late 2016.<\/p>\n<p>OK, maybe you hadn\u2019t heard.<\/p>\n<p>But you\u2019re gonna now.<\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of moving parts to the legislation, which was pushed by an odd alliance of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and faithful GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield (dissect the politics on your own time).<\/p>\n<p>Anyhow, right now a couple of pieces of that bill are kicking in and water managers expect they will result in greater flexibility, meaning more water and, most importantly, greater certainty to water users.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s all about flow.<\/p>\n<p>In average years, there usually isn\u2019t enough water coming into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from the San Joaquin River to push water north through the delta as the massive pumps that feed both the state and federal water projects pull water south near the town of Tracy.<\/p>\n<p>That creates a \u201creverse flow\u201d in what\u2019s known as the Old and Middle River channels and is considered bad for endangered fish species.<\/p>\n<p>So fishery agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, set a standard reverse flow amount they felt the fish could tolerate.<\/p>\n<p>No more than 5,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) can flow toward the pumps in the Old and Middle River channels.<\/p>\n<p>The fishery agencies could be more restrictive than 5,000 CFS, but rarely allowed any greater flow unless storms fattened the San Joaquin River to the point that it pushed water north harder than the pumps could suck it south.<\/p>\n<p>You may think this is all esoteric but it has a real, direct local impact.<\/p>\n<p>When flows were ratcheted down it meant pumping had to slow or even stop, which has meant a lot less water for farms and cities in our neck of the woods.<\/p>\n<p>And it was all based on fishery agencies\u2019 concerns, not data.<\/p>\n<p>The McCarthy-Feinstein legislation changed that.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if agencies want to curtail flows toward the pumps below 5,000 CFS, they must provide scientific evidence that doing so is needed to protect the fish.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation also allows the Department of Water Resources and Bureau of Reclamation to seek higher flows as long as they, likewise, provide evidence that increased flows won\u2019t harm the fish.<\/p>\n<p>What that\u2019s meant this year is that flows toward the pumps haven\u2019t been cut below 5,000 CFS, allowing a lot more water to move south.<\/p>\n<p>The other part of the legislation that will kick in this year involves stormwater payback.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, in heavy water years like this one, fishery agencies could allow flows toward the pumps to increase.<\/p>\n<p>But previously, those agencies would then require the water be paid back, explained Kern County Water Agency General Manager Curtis Creel.<\/p>\n<p>How the agencies got the water back was somewhat arbitrary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt some point in the future, let&#8217;s say three months after the storm event, the fisheries might say it would be OK to stay at 5,000 CFS but we\u2019re going to drop you down to 4,000,\u201d in order to repay the \u201cextra\u201d water that was captured earlier, Creel said. \u201cThey would artificially limit you because there might be some benefit to the smelt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That kind of management created a lot of uncertainty for water managers south of the delta.<\/p>\n<p>The McCarthy-Feinstein legislation did away with the payback requirement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s real change and it\u2019s very positive,\u201d Creel said of the legislation. \u201cIt did not change the Endangered Species Act in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It simply puts both fishery and water agencies on notice that the congressional preference is for delta operations to lean toward the upper allowable limits unless there is evidence that justifies either cutting back or going above.<\/p>\n<p>It may be nuanced, but, as I said, it\u2019s landmark.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"asset-fact\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LINK to original article: http:\/\/www.bakersfield.com\/columnists\/lois-henry-water-water-everywhere-but-can-we-keep-it\/article_d1cd4c96-6115-582c-9707-11e07a06ae46.html By LOIS HENRY lhenry@bakersfield.com Jan 14, 2017 Will we get the water? That\u2019s the question everyone\u2019s been asking. (And by everyone, I mean the other five or six people I know who are as weirdly interested in water as I am.) Storms are dumping, rivers are rising and lakes are &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/03\/lois-henry-how-rep-kevin-mccarthys-2016-delta-legislation-works\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">LOIS HENRY: How Rep. Kevin McCarthy&#8217;s 2016 delta legislation works<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206,"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loishenry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}