Common Ground Must Be Found Around Delta's Banks

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Modesto Bee & Fresno Bee

There is much at stake as the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta continues to deteriorate. It's an issue that impacts most of the state because 25 million Californians have their water tied to the Delta in one form or another.

Unfortunately, we've had too much planning and litigation and not enough action. That's because the solutions are costly and have been tied up for decades in the complicated politics of California's water wars.During a visit to Fresno last week, Gov. Jerry Brown said his administration is working on a plan to move water around the Delta and into the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

Brown told The Fresno Bee's editorial board it would be "some kind of conveyance" around the Delta, which would be similar to the Peripheral Canal. That idea has been around for many years, and ended up being rejected by voters in 1982. So instead of calling it a Peripheral Canal, it's now a conveyance system, which doesn't carry that same political baggage of the rejected plan.No matter what you call it, there must be a system to move water around the Delta, and south to Valley farmers and thirsty residents in Southern California.

The Delta contains threatened species, has crumbling levees and the water is increasingly contaminated. It would be an economic and environmental disaster if it is severely damaged by an earthquake or flood. Brown wants to find a solution that brings environmentalists, farmers and other interests together. While a balanced approach makes sense, too many in the long-running Delta fight would rather pick apart a solution than find common ground. An agreement would be an investment in California's future. Continued litigation would not be good for a state that has seen too many opportunities slip away because of its divisive politics.