Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA)

If you haven’t already sent in your comments on the Delta Conveyance Project Draft EIR (the Single Tunnel), you’ve got three weeks left.

Most of the problems we commented on last time remain – especially the main issues:

Location of the Intakes on top of Hood, California.

The “alternative” intakes analyzed are all destructive to Hood and all in the area we’d strongly objected to before. Evaluating which way destroys the legacy community of Hood worse when they are all bad and destroy wetlands are not true alternatives.

No Alternatives to a Tunnel

Just like the prior EIR, there are various “alternatives” – two primary routes and minor alternatives whether to end up at a new Forebay near Clifton Court Forebay or go all the way to the Bethany Reservoir. The two primary routes, Central and East, both go through prime Delta wetlands and farms and include ground water impacts and leave tunnel muck everywhere. Both routes go through soft Delta alluvial soil. The worst, the Central, riskily drills under the railroad trestle. The East is not far enough East by I-5, out of the Delta wetlands and farmlands. Construction should not go through the Delta!

The other “Alternative” is “No Action.” That’s just silly. Why aren’t they evaluating real alternatives, like Congressman Garamendi and Governor Newsom proposed including a portfolio: Desalination, conservation, levee repair, infrastructure repair (i.e., leaking pipes throughout L.A.), covering the aqueduct to prevent evaporation, … Many improvements have been recommended. The best make new water for L.A. and long-term could reduce the huge electrical costs of pumping over the Tehachapis while saving more water for farmers.

Long-Term Issues

In general, taking the fresh water out of the Delta before it can flow through the estuary is a bad, bad idea – impacting the environment, Delta communities, Delta farms. More salt water and farm runoff in the Delta. More blue-green toxic algae and weeds.

Send in Comments

• Email: deltaconveyancecomments@water.ca.gov
• Mail:
  • Department of Water Resources
  • Attention: Delta Conveyance Office
  • P.O. Box 942836
  • Sacramento, CA 94236-0001