Interior Secretary Salazar hears water plea

Published online on Monday, Jun. 29, 2009

At a hastily organized summit on the San Joaquin Valley's water crisis, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Sunday he has assigned two of his top lieutenants to work with state officials to find solutions.

Speaking to about 800 people at California State University, Fresno, Salazar said the Valley's drought and its toll on the regional economy have the attention of President Barack Obama.

"I am here because [Obama] asked me to come," Salazar said at what was billed as a town hall meeting on California's water shortage. "He cares."

But after two hours of empathy from federal officials, outrage from local congressmen and pleas from struggling Valley residents, it was far from clear whether any level of government has a solution that satisfies everyone.

Wearing a white cowboy hat and emphasizing his own deep farming roots in his native Colorado, Salazar listed a handful of actions he is taking or plans to take. They include:

-- Assigning Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor to work with state officials on short- and long-term water supply plans.

-- Increasing federal involvement in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The plan is an effort aimed at developing a new water conveyance system around the delta to secure water supplies while restoring habitat for the delta's ailing fisheries.

-- Continuing efforts to distribute $220 million in federal Recovery Act funds for water and environmental projects in California, including $160 million to the federal Central Valley Project. An additional $40 million in drought relief funds will be announced within the month, most going to the Central Valley.

-- Processing more than 70 water transfers totaling about 245,000 acre-feet for the San Joaquin Valley.

-- Approving rescheduling requests by Westside and Friant Division Central Valley Project contractors to allow them to preserve and use prior year allocations of about 250,000 acre feet in San Luis Reservoir and 57,000 acre feet in Millerton Lake.

-- Approving contracts to convey 170,000 acre-feet of non-Central Valley Project water through CVP facilities for irrigation in various areas affected by the drought.

Salazar also said pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta should be turned on by Wednesday, which will send more water to the Valley's west side.

But the decision had nothing to do with political pressure from west-side farmers, who fought to get the pumps sooner.

At a news conference after the meeting, Salazar said legal opinions already authorized resumption of pumping on July 1.

Salazar acknowledged that farmers, farmworkers, businesses and local governments face a serious economic and human challenge.

The focus of much of Sunday's meeting was on problems on the Valley's west side. Large west-side farms have seen a dramatic reduction in water deliveries from the north. Environmental concerns, the law and judicial decisions all have played a role.

The region also is in a three-year drought.

But local congressmen told the audience that much of the problem is human-made.

Calling the water crisis a "regulatory drought," Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, called on Salazar "to start protecting the people instead of the fish."

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said federal and state officials must stop taking the Valley's share of water to solve problems elsewhere. "We're tired of giving," he said.

Many government officials on Sunday emphasized the need for calm and sincere collaboration in finding a solution to the state's water woes. Yet, the meeting itself revealed how complex and contentious the issue is.