You are now in California and the U.S. category.

I just read the well written article by Opinions Page Editor Mike Dunbar regarding the State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed increase of out-flows of the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers. One factor not discussed is the offset this water increase would have to the reduced Sacramento River flow through the San Joaquin Delta Area that would result from implementation of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed twin tunnel water project, his so-called California WaterFix.

Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels proposal is a muddled mess, or so write Jeffrey Michael of the University of The Pacific and John Kirlin of McGeorge School of Law. Greater clarity and transparency regarding what is proposed, its effects and responsibility for future decisions are needed. As currently proposed, the tunnels are a high-stakes gamble, Michael and Kirlin write. True enough, the tunnels are costly and disruptive. But a decision needs to be made one way or another.

 

In the coming days and weeks, some of the implications of climate change and the need to improve California’s aging water delivery system will become more evident to all parts of the state, none too soon. Old lines in California’s unending water wars could start to shift, as Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration makes clear that the holders of senior water rights, which date to the turn of the last century and before, are not immune to the demands of the environment and the realities of diminishing supplies of what they claim as their water.