A proposal to keep a threatened fish species from getting caught in the pumps at the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta got mixed reviews during a public meeting Monday in Fresno.
Representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation gave an overview of the proposed "Two Gates" project to about 50 people, including farmers, agriculture leaders and concerned citizens.
A draft assessment of the project found no significant impact on the environment -- the first of what will be many steps in getting the project built.
Bureau officials will meet today at Discovery Bay near the delta and Wednesday in Stockton.
Several farmers, who were hoping that the project will provide some short-term relief to their water shortages, were frustrated at the plan's timetable and cost.
As proposed, the five-year experimental project involves mounting two movable gates on a barge that would sit in two large channels in the central part of the delta. The gates would prevent silted water from flowing south toward the pumps. The protected delta smelt tend to follow the turbid water.
With the gates closed, the pumps could continue sending water south to Valley farms without harming the fish.
Construction is estimated at $49 million, and the facility wouldn't be operational -- assuming it passes all the regulatory approvals -- until November 2010.
"For some of us, that may be too little, too late," said Bruce Allbright, a Fresno County farmer.
Farmers in west Fresno County have suffered from three dry years and environmental restrictions that have reduced water flows from the delta.
The delta's massive pumps that push water south have been shut down at times to protect the smelt from being trapped and killed.
Sarah Woolf, spokeswoman for Westlands Water District, an agency that has supported the project, asked bureau officials whether more water could flow out of the delta if the project is showing positive results.
Bureau officials said the project is experimental and those answers have yet to be determined, but there is hope.
"I am keeping my fingers crossed," said Michael Jackson, area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation. "We are hoping that is the outcome."
Michelle H. Denning, regional planning officer for the bureau, agreed that if the project is preventing the smelt from being harmed at the pumps, it could set the stage for changes in the operation of the pumps.
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