2014 Technical Memorandum Regarding the Accounting of San Joaquin River Spring-run Chinook Salmon at the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Fish Collection Facilities

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  Workshop on Delta Outflows and Related Stressors Panel Summary Report

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  Workshop on Delta Outflows and Related Stressors Panel Summary Report

  Delta Science Progam | May 15, 2014...

  Summary

  This report was prepared as part of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (“Board”) process of developing and implementing updates to the Bay-Delta...

  This report was prepared as part of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (“Board”) process of developing and implementing updates to the Bay-Delta Plan and flow objectives to protect beneficial uses in the Bay-Delta Watershed. The focus of this report is Delta outflows and related stressors. The report is based upon reading extensive background materials selected by the Delta Science Program as well as materials identified by individual Panel members to be relevant, a two-day public meeting that included a number of presentations and during which public comments were received by the Panel, review of some of the materials provided during and after the meeting, and the Panel’s internal discussion and deliberations.

  The Board conducted a review of the current 2006 Bay-Delta Plan in 2009 and determined that Delta outflows and other requirements for the protection of fish and wildlife beneficial uses should be considered for revision. “Delta Outflows and Related Stressors” was further identified by the Delta Science Program as one of four topics emerging from a series of Board workshops in 2012 for which additional workshops should be conducted to provide input on the best available scientific information.
  Delta outflows and their management have been the subject of extensive scientific and management discussion for decades.

  A benchmark in this discourse is the report from a series of technical workshops facilitated by Dr. Jerry Schubel (Schubel et al. 1993). Schubel notes in the preface to that report that estuarine standards are required to protect the estuarine ecosystem from “further degradation” until “debate and disagreement over the relative importance of the benefits of low salinity habitat and therefore of flow, on the one hand, and of the liabilities of the physical diversion of a portion of that flow and the associated processes of entrainment of organisms, on the other,” can be resolved with a degree of scientific certainty acceptable to the Board.

  To some extent, this Panel has been asked to revisit whether standards for Delta outflow are still required, and to identify the degree of scientific certainty regarding the importance of Delta outflow to the ecosystem relative to other stressors.

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  Flows and Fishes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

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  Flows and Fishes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

  Delta Independent Science Board | August 1, 2015...

  Summary

  Record-low counts of Delta smelt at a time of persistent drought underscore the importance and challenges of managing freshwater flows for the benefit...

  Record-low counts of Delta smelt at a time of persistent drought underscore the importance and challenges of managing freshwater flows for the benefit of fishes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while also meeting human demands for water. Understanding the effects of water flows on fishes is central to understanding how the Delta ecosystem functions and is key to achieving the state’s coequal goals of “providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem … in a manner that protects and enhances … the values of Delta as an evolving place”. The economic, ecological, and social costs of scientific uncertainty in water management controversies are significant - and to some degree unavoidable.

  Scientific findings that relate fishes and flows increasingly guide decisions on how to manage flows for the well-being of threatened or endangered species in the Delta. Many studies – and management decisions – rely on correlations between water flows and fish populations. But the decisions warrant fuller understanding of precisely how the flows affect the fishes. Knowledge of these underlying mechanisms is likely to facilitate adaptive management by clarifying uncertainty and risk, by creating specific expectations for outcomes and by strengthening testable hypotheses. This report therefore recommends, first and foremost (there are other recommendations as well), redoubling effects to identify causes and
  effects concerning fishes and flows in the Delta.

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  Cal-EPA: An Umbrella for the Environment

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  Cal-EPA: An Umbrella for the Environment

  Little Hoover Commission | June 1, 1991...

  Summary

  Cal-EPA was created to consolidate environmental programs and concentrate on vigorous enforcement of environmental regulations. The report discusses risk assessment activities, uniform permit...

  Cal-EPA was created to consolidate environmental programs and concentrate on vigorous enforcement of environmental regulations. The report discusses risk assessment activities, uniform permit processes, public involvement, and the advantages and consequences of bringing all environmental entities into Cal-EPA. In addition, the Commission addresses the short- and long-term costs and savings. The Cal-EPA report has seven findings and seven recommendations.

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  USGS Science at Work in the Delta Estuary

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  USGS Science at Work in the Delta Estuary

  USGS | November 19, 2013...

  Summary

  The San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta form one of the largest estuaries in the United States. The “Bay-Delta” system provides water...

  The San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta form one of the largest estuaries in the United States. The “Bay-Delta” system provides water to more than 25 million California residents and vast farmlands, as well as key habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife. To help ensure the health of this crucial estuary, the U.S. Geological Survey, in close cooperation with partner agencies and organizations, is providing science essential to addressing societal issues associated with water quantity and quality, sediment transportation, environmental contamination, animal health and status, habitat restoration, hazards, ground subsidence, and climate change.

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