The California Department of Water Resources has answered Kesterson whistleblower Felix Smith's petition to the State Water Board alleging that irrigation of high selenium soils constitutes an unreasonable use of water under state law. Judge the merits of the petition for yourself. CLICK HERE. Compare DWR's response with the earlier response from the Bureau of Reclamation also posted on this site.

Felix Smith, the whistleblower on the bird deformities at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge back in the 1980s, has filed a complaint with the State Water Board over the continued irrigation of high selenium soils in the Western San Joaquin Valley. He wants the water board to declare irrigation of these tainted soils an unreasonable use of water under California law. He is joined in his complaint by the California Salmon and Steelhead Assocation. The Water Board has asked the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which supplies Northern California to federal irrigation districts farming the high selenium soils, to explain what is being done to solve the selenium crisis, now in its third decade. The Bureau of Reclamation recently replied to the Water Board's inquiry. See if you can spot the flaws in the Bureau of Reclamation's arguments that the problem is being solved. Here is the Bureau's response: CLICK HERE  READ MORE »

Lloyd will be speaking to the Oakhurst Democratic Club on Saturday, April 5, at the Ol' Kettle Restaurant in Oakhurst at 9:30 a.m. If you're heading north on Highway 41 from Fresno, it's on the left-hand side in front of the Shilo Inn. The street address is 40530 Highway 41. Any questions call Ellie Schermerhorn at (559) 656-2342. For more information on Lloyd's Speaking Engagements, visit this page.

How we treat our rivers is how we treat ourselves.[img_assist|nid=57|title=|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=304|height=450]

Revive the San Joaquin just posted a new newsletter at their site. It details several pressing water issues in the Central Valley and talks about the progress that Revive has made.

Thanks,
Lloyd

http://www.revivethesanjoaquin.org

San Joaquin River restoration costs

Want to know how much the partial restoration of the San Joaquin River will cost? Last year the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated it would cost about half a billion dollars, less than half what critics of the river restoration process say it would cost. It's worth noting the CBO estimate says the river would be "fully restored" when in fact only about 20 percent, or less, of the river's annual flows would be returned to the dry riverbed in normal years. Agriculture on the east side of the San Joaquin will continue to get over 80 percent of the river's flow, at prices FAR below the true market value of the water. In some cases, East Side irrigation districts are getting the cheap, subsidized publicly-owned water that was intended for farming and turning around and selling it at fat profits to developers. See the CBO report for yourself: CLICK HERE.

Thousand Island Lake, headwaters of the San Joaquin River in the Minarets region of the High Sierra.

A group of California members of the House of Representatives have come out AGAINST The California Chamber of Commerce's water bond proposal for the November 2008 election. In a letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger, the congressmen complain there is TOO MUCH in the water bond proposal for the environment and NOT ENOUGH for new dams and a Peripheral Canal around the Delta. This may prove to be the death knell for the $11.7 billion bond proposal that was also pushed by the California Farm Bureau Federation. Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature's leaders announced weeks ago that because of the budget deficit, they would not be proposing a new water bond on the fall election ballot. See the letter for yourself:
CLICK HERE

Bakersfield Californian columnist Lois Henry writes about a 16-year-old boy's efforts to help revive the Kern River in Bakersfield. Read for yourself.

BY LOIS HENRY, Californian columnist | Saturday, Feb 16 2008 9:20 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Feb 17 2008 11:59 AM

Remember this name: Conor O'Sullivan.

Photos:

Photo by John Harte / The Californian

Conor O'Sullivan has printed up postcards seeking signatures to get water to run down the Kern River channel.  READ MORE »

Lloyd Carter, veteran journalist and observer of California water politics, offers his monthly assessment of the current hot issues in California's Water World.
Listen to "Down in the Valley" live on the second friday of every month at 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Radio KFCF 88.1 FM, Fresno, California.

CLICK HERE  READ MORE »