Collateral Damage: A citizen’s guide to fish kills and habitat degradation at the state and federal water project pumps in the Delta

Bay Institute | March 1st, 2012

Large-scale fish kills and habitat destruction aren’t an unusual occurrence at the giant federal and state pumps that export water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Large-scale fish kills and habitat destruction aren’t an unusual occurrence at the giant federal and state pumps that export water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to agribusinesses and cities in the southern half of the state. These events are business as usual. • Every day, between 870 and 61,000 fish – including from 200 to 42,000 native and endangered fishes – are “salvaged” at the pumps. Most die in the process. • On average, over 9 million fish – representing the twenty fish species considered in this report – are “salvaged” each year at the pumps. As many as 15 million fish of all species encountered are “salvaged” each year. • Up to 40% of the total population of the endangered delta smelt and 15% of the endangered winter-run population of Chinook salmon are killed at the pumps in some years. In the first half of 2011, over 8.6 million splittail were salvaged. • Salvage estimates drastically underestimate the problem. The numbers do not factor in the results of “indirect” mortality, as high levels of export pumping disrupt fish migration, shrink the amount of non-lethal habitat available to fish species, and remove vast amounts of biomass, including fish eggs and larvae too small to be screened at the pumps. • Export pumping causes the lower San Joaquin River to flow backwards most of the year and removes the equivalent of 170 railroad boxcars of water – and the accompanying fish, other organisms, and nutrients – from the Delta ecosystem every minute. • Large numbers of fish being entrained is a problem even for species that are not currently listed as “endangered.” Killing large numbers of fish year after year cuts off population growth in response to favorable conditions and can start the species on a downward path to extinction. As the species declines, the population impacts of entrainment become proportionately larger. • Entrainment is a real problem. But the same interests in the Delta export community who claim that it isn’t also back constructing expensive new conveyance facilities such as a peripheral canal or tunnel to solve the problem that they say doesn’t exist.

Confirmation of Initial Incidental Take for Adult Delta Smelt for the 2018 Water Year

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) | January 4th, 2018

Coordinated Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, Final Environmental Impact Statement

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | November 30th, 2015

Critical Assessment of the Delta Smelt Population in the San Francisco Estuary, California

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 1st, 2005

CVFPP Conservation Strategy Appendix G. Identification of Target Species and Focused Conservation Plans

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 14th, 2016

 The purpose of the Conservation Strategy of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP) is to provide direction for the California Department of Water Resources’

 The purpose of the Conservation Strategy of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP) is to provide direction for the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) environmental stewardship activities related to integrated flood management in the Central Valley, and to provide a framework and support for programmatic permitting of flood management activities.  One goal of the Conservation Strategy is to contribute to the recovery and stability of native species populations and overall biotic community diversity. A set of potential target species was identified to support measurable objectives for this goal. For those target species with the greatest need for recovery of their populations, focused conservation planning was conducted. This appendix documents the process used for selecting the target species of the Conservation Strategy, including 17 target species for which focused conservation planning was conducted. The results of this focused planning are also provided in this appendix, in the form of focused conservation plans. This document is scheduled to be updated every 5 years.   Because the conservation needs of species change, in the future, additional species may become suitable targets for the Conservation Strategy. Therefore, during preparation of the 5-year updates to the CVFPP, the preliminary list of species in this appendix will be reevaluated using the same criteria described below. Species meeting these criteria will be added, and focused conservation plans will be developed for them and included in subsequent updates of the Conservation Strategy. During the public comment period, new information regarding the status of the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) and its habitat use in the Systemwide Planning Area (SPA) was made available, and a recovery plan for the species is expected to be released in 2016; therefore, this species will be considered for inclusion in the 2022 CVFPP and Conservation Strategy. Other species that were considered during the initial screening could be reconsidered, and targeted conservation plans may be developed. These species include the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata), tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor), western red bat (Lasiurus blossevillii), and western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea). 

CVFPP Conservation Strategy Appendix H. Central Valley Chinook Salmon Rearing Habitat Required to Satisfy the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program Doubling Goal

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 14th, 2016

NewFields and Cramer Fish Sciences, in collaboration with the California Department of Water Resources FloodSAFE Environmental Stewardship and Statewide Resources

NewFields and Cramer Fish Sciences, in collaboration with the California Department of Water Resources FloodSAFE Environmental Stewardship and Statewide Resources Office Conservation Strategy team, applied best available tools and data to estimate the area of suitable juvenile salmonid rearing habitat required in each of the Conservation Planning Areas (CPAs) to achieve the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program (AFRP) “doubling goal” for Chinook salmon populations. The AFRP goal was used to align the Conservation Strategy objectives with existing,longstanding efforts by partner resource management agencies. Historical and existing suitable rearing habitat area for juvenile salmonids was estimated with the Estimated Annual Habitat approach that uses measured hydrology and modeled hydraulic relationships between river flow and inundation area to calculate areas of inundation with timing, duration, and frequency suitable for juvenile California Chinook salmon rearing. The rearing habitat required to support the doubling goal populations was estimated using the Emigrating Salmonid Habitat Estimation model. The details of the approach and the full range of calculated results are presented in the following sections and appendices.

Dealing with the Delta: Envisioning Futures, Finding Solutions (Research Brief)

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | February 15th, 2007

This research brief summarizes a report by Jay Lund, Ellen Hanak, William Fleenor, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, and Peter Moyle, Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento�

This research brief summarizes a report by Jay Lund, Ellen Hanak, William Fleenor, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, and Peter Moyle, Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta.

Delta Operations for Salmonids and Sturgeon (DOSS) Technical Working Group

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | November 1st, 2018

Delta smelt resiliency strategy

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 11th, 2016

The Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy (Strategy) is a science-based document that has been prepared by the State of California (State) to voluntarily address both immediate

The Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy (Strategy) is a science-based document that has been prepared by the State of California (State) to voluntarily address both immediate and near-term needs of Delta Smelt, to promote their resiliency to drought conditions as well as future variations in habitat conditions. The Strategy relies on the MAST Report and Conceptual Models (IEP 2015) to articulate a suite of actions that can be implemented in the next few years that are intended to benefit Delta Smelt. Although the feasibility and effectiveness of each action included in the Strategy requires further exploration and study, the Strategy is an aggressive approach to implementing any actions that can be implemented in the near term, can be implemented by the State with minimal involvement of other entities, and have the potential to benefit Delta Smelt. State agencies that could implement this Strategy include Department of Water Resources (DWR), Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), and Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW). Several of the actions identified in this Strategy could also benefit other species, and coordination across various resource management agencies as appropriate may allow for benefits beyond Delta Smelt. All of the actions will be in compliance with applicable laws, including the Federal Endangered Species Act, California Endangered Species Act, California Environmental Quality Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and the Federal Clean Water Act. The Collaborative Science and Adaptive Management Program (CSAMP) will be used to determine the appropriate research approach to designing and assessing the outcomes of these management actions individually and synergistically. Additionally, it is expected that the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) would participate in the implementation of this Strategy, including providing enhanced outflows in 2016.

Delta Smelt: Life History and Decline of a Once-Abundant Species in the San Francisco Estuary

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 1st, 2016

The delta smelt is endemic to the upper San Francisco Estuary. Much of its historic habitat is no longer available and remaining habitat is increasingly unable to sustain

The delta smelt is endemic to the upper San Francisco Estuary. Much of its historic habitat is no longer available and remaining habitat is increasingly unable to sustain the population. As a listed species living in the central node of California’s water supply system, delta smelt has been the focus of a large research effort to understand causes of decline and identify ways to recover the species. Since 2008, a remarkable record of innovative research on delta smelt has been achieved, which is summarized here. Unfortunately, research has not prevented the smelt’s continued decline, which is the result of multiple, interacting factors. A major driver of decline is change to the Delta ecosystem from water exports, resulting in reduced outflows and high levels of entrainment in the large pumps of the South Delta. Invasions of alien species, encouraged by environmental change, have also played a contributing role in the decline. Severe drought effects have pushed delta smelt to record low levels in 2014–2015 and diverse and substantial management actions are needed to preserve delta smelt.