Bay-Delta Experts Available to Comment on New PPIC Study

(California - February 7, 2007) – Environmental Defense, a group that has worked to protect and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the San Francisco Bay for more than thirty years, is available to comment on a new Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report on managing the Bay-Delta released on February 7th at 10:30 a.m.

“The PPIC report highlights that the problems of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are severe and should command everyone’s attention. We at Environmental Defense agree with that assessment,” said Tom Graff, California regional director of Environmental Defense. “However we want to make sure there is not a rush to judgment about sending more fresh water to the south without clear environmental and regulatory safeguards being met.”

In 2005 Environmental Defense undertook an analysis of water operations data in the Bay-Delta and concluded that the estuary ecosystem has been short-changed by approximately 420,000–460,000 acre-feet annually during the years of 2002 through 2005, the same period in which fish species like the Delta smelt were in dramatic decline. The new PPIC report chalks the fishery declines up to a more “complex set of factors” and did not outline a clear plan for how vital fresh water flows would be managed in the system. The Environmental Defense analysis, “Finding the Water: New Water Supply Opportunities to Revive the San Francisco Bay-Delta Ecosystem,” is available for download at: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/go/findingthewater.

The following Environmental Defense water experts are available to give comment on the Public Policy Institute of California report by calling 510.658.8008:

Tom Graff: played a central role in Congress’ passage of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992, in the signing of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Accord of 1994 and in the formation of the federal Bay-Delta Act of 1996.

Spreck Rosekrans: specializes in hydrologic modeling and operations analysis to improve the timing and volume of flows to ecosystems in California like the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the San Francisco Bay watershed.

Ann Hayden: researches water operations and policies throughout the state and works to ensure the adequate protection of aquatic resources and habitats. Ann is involved in the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan that seeks to recover imperiled wildlife while considering the future of Delta water operations.