Ag gets no help in Central California
Once again, the State Water Resource Control Board failed to turn on the pumps in the Delta even after the flows exceeded the requirements for all environmental needs.
This includes the amount needed for salt intrusion. The requirement needs the minimum flows of 8,000 cubic feet per second. The past week, in a 24-hour period, the flows were as much as 12,000 CFS. Last year at this time the flows were as much as 30,000 CFS, and the pumps were not turned on either.
In the past, when the pumps were on, they were monitored closely and were turned off when the count reached 306 smelt that entered the pumps. If the University of California, Davis reports that there are no smelt fish left in the Delta, why aren’t the pumps turned on until the count reaches 306 like before?
Ag gets no help in Central California. Yet we can’t water our lawns! crazy!
Steve Malanca, Fresno
This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Ag gets no help in Central California."