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Chapter 8;
Water From the North
In 2008, a federal judge issued a ruling that
exacerbated the challenges of
water deliveries
from the Bay-Delta by invalidating biological
opinions that had guided operations of the
State Water Project and the Central Valley
Project for years. The judge’s decisions and
new biological opinions called for more protec-
tions of i
mperiled fish species. Subsequent
new biological opinions severely li
mited the
availability of
water that
may be exported from
the two projects. Later, the same judge
decreed that the new biological opinions did
not adequately explain the link between project
operations and the decline of fish species and,
further, failed to consider the i
mpacts of
water
export restrictions on human activity and the
economy. As a result, restrictions on project
water exports remain in place, but they are not
as stringent as the 2008 restrictions.
In 2009, the Legislature created the Delta
Reform Act of 2009 that established the co-
equal goals of providing a more reliable water
supply for California and protecting, restoring
and enhancing the Bay-Delta ecosystem.
Another outcome of the act was the establish-
ment of the Delta Stewardship Council, tasked
with developing and i
mplementing a compre-
hensive management plan known as the Delta
Plan. The Legislature also passed an
$11.1 billion bond measure to fund new water
projects around the state. The measure was
deferred twice and eventually planned for the
2014 ballot. Additionally, the Delta Reform Act
dictated that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan,
a joint state and federal effort focused on bal-
ancing water supply reliability and ecosystem
health, be integrated into the Delta Plan craft-
ed by the Delta Stewardship Council if it
meets the standards in state and federal envi-
ronmental restoration laws.
In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar outlined a framework
for the proposed BDCP, intended to achieve
the “co-equal goals.” Rather than proposing a
Peripheral
Canal, they proposed the construc-
tion of two large tunnels to carry water under
the Bay-Delta.
The Water Authority’s Board of
Directors sup-
ports securing a long-term fix for the Bay-
Delta, with the assurance that the project can
be paid for and maintained by all stakeholders.
Seeking to ensure a “business case” could be
made for the project, the Water Authority in
2013 joined a group of urban water agencies,
environmental organizations and business
groups seeking an alternative “portfolio”
approach be thoroughly evaluated in the
BDCP. The portfolio approach called for build-
ing a smaller, single tunnel and investing in an
A common goal statewide is to restore the
Bay-Delta as both a reliable water source and
a healthy habitat for fish and wildlife