CalFed Science Synthesis: Science Issues Related to Delta Conveyance Options for California Water Supply

CALFED | March 1st, 2008

On August 22 and September 11, 2007, the CALFED Science Program convened workshops to identify and discuss key scientific and technical issues pertaining to conveyance of

On August 22 and September 11, 2007, the CALFED Science Program convened workshops to identify and discuss key scientific and technical issues pertaining to conveyance of Sacramento River water through or around the California Delta to the state and federal water project export pumps in the south Delta. The first workshop focused on “isolated” conveyance facilities (such as a peripheral canal or pipeline) while the second workshop focused on through-Delta conveyance facilities (such as existing or proposed through-Delta natural or man-made channels, canals, or sloughs) to convey water. During the series of presentations and discussions by subject-matter experts, several important broad conclusions emerged and are discussed below. The two workshop summaries are attached to this synthesis of key points.

CALFED Staff Report: Summary Review of Prior Delta Conveyance Reports

CALFED | April 24th, 2008

Over the past 40 years, state, federal, and local agencies, as well as academics have conducted numerous studies about the best way to move water through or around the De

Over the past 40 years, state, federal, and local agencies, as well as academics have conducted numerous studies about the best way to move water through or around the Delta. For this summary report, CALFED staff reviewed more than 100 reports — 30 of which specifically focused on various conveyance options—that dealt with Delta water conveyance and potential effects on water quality and ecosystem health and resilience. Based on a review of these reports, it appears that most focus on the amount of water than can be moved and for what cost, but little work has been done to evaluate the effects on the Delta environment or the impacts of climate change and sea level rise. We note, however, that several studies now underway are addressing these issues. General conclusions based on this review suggest: 1. The operational criteria of a conveyance system is critical to determining if it will meet the environmental, water quality, and water supply reliability needs of the state. 2. Based on the reports we reviewed, none of the conveyance options stand out as a clear choice capable of fully meeting all the performance standards laid out by the Task Force. Some conveyance options do well in some areas, but not in others; some conveyance options do moderately well across all areas. 3. Few of the existing reports include operational criteria or specifically integrate much of the new and relevant scientific data about the Delta ecosystem. 4. Cost estimates developed were for the conceptual designs for particular studies. Most of the reports did not include cost estimates for operation, maintenance and mitigation. Cost estimates presented here are not current and are not comparable among reports.

CalFed: Still Imperiled, Still Important

Little Hoover Commission | November 17th, 2005

The Little Hoover Commission on Thursday recommended overhauling how state and federal agencies are managing the massive, multibillion-dollar effort to restore the Bay-De

The Little Hoover Commission on Thursday recommended overhauling how state and federal agencies are managing the massive, multibillion-dollar effort to restore the Bay-Delta estuary. The Commission’s review affirmed the importance of the CALFED Bay-Delta program and the need to fundamentally change how the multi-agency effort is governed. The Commission recommended dissolving the Bay-Delta Authority, which was created in 2003, and creating a stronger management structure that could be held accountable for achieving the program’s four objectives: improving water supply reliability, levee stability, water quality and the ecosystem of the vast, yet fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Delta supplies water to 22 million Californians, irrigates 5 million acres of farmland and is home to 750 wildlife species. Through CALFED, 24 state and federal agencies were committed to working cooperatively and relying on science and public involvement to improve conditions in the Bay-Delta. But after five years and $3 billion, the Governor and the Legislature have questioned the progress and the ability of the Bay-Delta Authority to lead the effort. The Commission’s review was requested by Governor Schwarzenegger as part of an effort to revitalize CALFED. The Commission concluded that the current structure diffuses authority and fragments responsibility and lacks the focused leadership needed to get adversarial stakeholders and reluctant government agencies to cooperate. “Because of a faulty design, the Bay-Delta Authority cannot effectively coordinate activities, push agencies to perform, or provide rigorous oversight. It is unable to control or cajole,” said Michael E. Alpert, chairman of the Little Hoover Commission. The Commission found that growing disagreements about CALFED’s mission and the role of the Bay-Delta Authority are jeopardizing the critical water supply and restoration effort. The Commission recommended recreating a policy group of public officials, co-chaired by the U.S. Secretary of Interior and the California Secretary of Resources. It recommended deploying performance management techniques to improve progress toward specific goals. And it recommended refinements to the program’s use of a lead scientist and an independent science board to improve decision-making. “The most important factor in CALFED’s success will be leadership,” Alpert said. “One lesson of the last five years is that CALFED will require an amount of political capital and leadership that can only flow from the institution of the Governor.” The Commission’s report includes recommendations for reforming the governance structure of the CALFED program.

Calibration of the Multivariate AZTI Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI) for Potential Inclusion into California Sediment Quality Objective Assessments in San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 30th, 2019

Benthic infauna are the most common faunal assemblage used to assess habitat quality across the globe as they demonstrate relatively predictable community-scale changes i

Benthic infauna are the most common faunal assemblage used to assess habitat quality across the globe as they demonstrate relatively predictable community-scale changes in both structure and function when exposed to stress. Due to these characteristics, benthic infauna are used as one of three lines of evidence in California’s Sediment Quality Objectives (CASQO) to assess the impact of toxic chemicals to biotic resources in the State’s enclosed bays and estuaries. The changes in benthic community composition related to disturbance are quantified using benthic assessment indices. 

California Adds 'Delta Tunnel' to List of Possible Water Supply Solutions

New York Times | August 7th, 2009

California officials are studying whether a 35-mile tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta might help solve some of the state's water supply problems. Teresa

California officials are studying whether a 35-mile tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta might help solve some of the state's water supply problems. Teresa Engstrom, chief of the delta engineering branch at the California Department of Water Resources, confirmed that the agency is conducting feasibility studies on an "all tunnel" option that would route water under the Bay Delta from rivers and reservoirs to the north of Sacramento to farms in the south.

California Endangered Species Act Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2023-054-00

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | November 4th, 2024

California Fish and Game, Volume 2

California Fish and Game Commission | January 31st, 1916

California Hydraulic Mining under the Caminetti Act

Scientific American | July 21st, 1900

The gold deposits of California are, for a large part, contained in gravel beds once the channel of rivers which formed the drainage of the west slope of th

The gold deposits of California are, for a large part, contained in gravel beds once the channel of rivers which formed the drainage of the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In the course of ages new rivers were formed, leaving the ancient gravel beds elevated often hundreds of feet above the river beds of the present. The depth of the gravel in the old channels is often several hundred feet and the width across them frequently one-half mile, while their courses may be traced for thirty or forty miles in length in detached sections, which are the remnants of once continuous beds. Denudation and the cutting down of the present streams has removed parts of the ancient channels and they often disappear below the surface for several miles underneath coverings of lava which have been spread over them ...  Hydraulic mining became an immense industry. At the time when it had reached its greatest development it was estimated that more than one hundred millions of dollars had been invested in the construction of water supplies, mining plant, tunnels, and flumes, and more than two million dollars have been spent in the equipment of a single mine. Everything was upon an immense scale, and the amounts of gravel removed were in proportion. So large, in fact, that the material washed into the streams caused blockages over spreading agricultural lands in the Sacramento Valley, obstructing and raising the beds of the navigable rivers which enter San Francisco Bay, causing inundations at times of flood, and generally making its influence noticeable 200 miles from the seat of mining. In 1880 it was estimated that in the bed of the Yuba River alone there were stored more than one hundred and forty million cubic yards of accumulations, and the bed of the river had spread over a width of two and one-half miles between the side levees built to confine the spread of the deposits.

California State Water Project: Past, Present, Future

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 1st, 2006

California Water Plan 2013: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Regional Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 30th, 2014

Some areas of the state with common water issues or interests cross the boundaries from one hydrologic region to another. To acknowledge this, the California Department o

Some areas of the state with common water issues or interests cross the boundaries from one hydrologic region to another. To acknowledge this, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) developed the concept of “overlay areas” and first described overlay areas in California Water Plan Update 2005. The purpose of the overlay areas is to collect and provide information that will better enable planners and decision-makers to address issues in areas of special interest where both of the following criteria apply: (1) the area is of statewide significance — meaning that water management strategies and actions taken in one area affect much of the remainder of the state — and (2) common water management conditions exist in the area — meaning that issues and integrated planning opportunities span more than one of the 10 hydrologic regions. The two overlay areas of special interest are the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and Mountain Counties.  For Update 2005, the Delta and Suisun Marsh were included as an overlay area because of its common characteristics, environmental significance, and the important role it has in the State’s water systems. The Delta and Suisun Marsh encompasses about 840,000 acres of tidal influenced land near the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers; and occupies portions of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and San Francisco hydrologic regions. The geographic extent of the Delta overlay coincides with the statutory Delta boundary that defines the Legal Delta (California Water Code [CWC] Section 12220) and the Suisun Marsh as defined in California Public Resources Code Section 29101.