Federal judge's restraining order clears pumping of Delta water to south
By: Alex Breitler

FRESNO - A federal judge on Friday issued a restraining order that will allow more water to be pumped south from the Delta - at least for the next couple of weeks, but perhaps longer.

Despite a series of wet storms since mid-January, the state and federal governments have been unable to pump as much as they normally could. That's because of new rules to protect endangered salmon and steelhead, rules which have brought national attention to the San Joaquin Valley.

District Court Judge Oliver Wanger's order says that since the storms began, perhaps 190,000 acre-feet of water have drained to the ocean instead of being diverted from the state pumps near Tracy to cities as far south as San Diego. One acre-foot is enough to serve an average family for one year.

Federal pumps that irrigate farmland in the south San Joaquin Valley also have been crimped.

The Westlands Water District sought the restraining order. Until January, cuts in water deliveries to Westlands have been largely because of drought, not protections for Delta fish. Nevertheless, Wanger said any water that is not pumped south "will continue to ... exacerbate the currently catastrophic situation" faced by farms and cities.

The judge decided that there weren't enough fish in danger to keep the restrictions in place. A total of 1,154 juvenile winter-run Chinook salmon were salvaged at the pumps in January, out of an estimated 1.1 million throughout the Central Valley, his order says.

"Every acre-foot of pumping that is foregone during this time of year is an acre-foot that does not reach the San Luis Reservoir (for storage)," Wanger wrote.

The restraining order lasts 14 days but can be renewed if the fish are not in jeopardy.

Environmentalists said they were disappointed.

"We're very concerned that this may be the last nail in the coffin of these species that are on the brink of extinction already," said Erin Tobin, an attorney with Earthjustice.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, a Democrat who represents parts of San Joaquin County but also large areas south of the Delta, said in a prepared statement that "finally we are seeing some sanity" after years of mismanagement of the state's water system.