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Will Delta Water Users Sue — Again — To Stop California’s Drought Rules?

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Drought-plagued California is poised to bar thousands of farmers, landowners and others from pumping water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, a move that irrigation districts said exceeds the water board’s authority.

The emergency rules would be the first time state regulators have taken such wide-reaching action during a drought to prevent diversions from the massive Delta watershed stretching from Fresno to the Oregon border.

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Opinion: Yes, We Need a ‘Grand Bargain’ Over Delta Water – and Everyone’s Best Ideas

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt calls for “a ‘Grand Bargain’ in which all the parties achieve a consensus, confirmed in legislation, to apportion Delta water between exports and an adequate ecological flow to San Francisco Bay.”  We agree. Let’s start with a statewide water audit. Leadership now asks, “How much was promised?” That question ignores the reality of how much water actually exists and leads to endless litigation, as Babbitt explained.

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