Governor Newsom and the California Department of Water Resources announced a series of actions that will “ensure accountability and transparency” for potentially impacted communities during construction of the Delta Conveyance Project, a critical piece of the state’s water and climate adaptation strategy.
Lies, lies, and more lies.
They are saying they are doing what Delta communities want because they listen to us. But the truth is, everything they are doing to reduce impacts (e.g., elimination of barges which STCDA fought for to keep the Delta open for boating) is because they were told they were going to lose to us (the Delta communities, like Discovery Bay) and the project would never be approved if they didn’t give up fighting us and do what we demanded in our STCDA lawsuit. They fought everything tooth and nail until they were forced to give in; and will continue to fight against anything for Delta communities until they are forced to give up again.
But Delta Communities don’t want a “buy-out.” We want them to not pump out the fresh water from the Sacramento River around the Delta that would cause more water pollution, kill the water fowl, and finally cause the salmon and other fish species to go extinct.
We want them to not dig up the town of Hope and destroy it. Their $200 million will not give an entire community their homes and businesses back. We want them to not destroy sacred Native American lands, not to destroy important wildlife wetlands.
We want them to kill this decades-old pipe dream that is now antiquated and will destroy the Delta ecosystem. A project that creates no new water!!!
We want them to instead invest in projects to protect and restore the Delta like levee maintenance and projects to reduce water needs across the state like recycling, conservation, and desalination. Projects that would actually increase the amount of available water in the state..
In a timely article in CalMatters by Devon Provo, https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/08/delta-water-tunnel-project-california/, she writes about the Eaton Fire and long-standing human errors in handling water in the state. There it began with the LA Aqueduct and the draining of Owens Valley, creating an environmental disaster. “Instead of investing in local solutions like stormwater capture, recycled water and fire stewardship, Los Angeles prioritized importing water, urban sprawl, and fire suppression practices throughout the 20th century, leaving it increasingly vulnerable to disaster.”
She writes, “This legacy didn’t spark the Eaton Fire, but it seeded conditions that allowed it to spread and devastate. Eventually the truth catches up to us. The land remembers what we try to forget.
“Meanwhile, policymakers rely on public amnesia. The governor’s latest push to secure legislative approval for the Delta Conveyance before the session ends in September risks repeating history. The success of this water diversion megaproject hinges on the same myth of control, the illusion that humans stand apart from the very ecosystems that sustain us, that futile attempts at domination can shield us from the fragile, uncomfortable reality of our interdependence with nature.
“A tragedy like the Eaton Fire reminds us that true leadership begins with humility, with the courage to take a hard look at ourselves and admit that we’re in a relationship with living systems, not in charge.”
Paying off Delta communities will not save the Delta.
Write to your California Legislators today. Tell them to oppose Gov. Newsom’s Delta Conveyance Project!
Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA) 