With Friends Like These…

An aerial view of the Oroville Dam, with a view of the the emergency spillway on the left, when the reservoir was at 27% total capacity. October 28, 2021. Credit: Andrew Innerarity, CA Dept. of Water Resources

Given the results of the November election and the certain rollbacks of federal protections for the environment, California’s role as a safety net is once again critical (see “Here We Go Again,” from our newsletter). So it was disappointing to see the state move forward with proposed long-term operations of the State Water Project that will continue to jeopardize the existence of numerous native fish species. That’s why Friends of the River and other organizations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Water Resources on November 27 over the highly flawed Final Environmental Impact Report for long-term SWP operations of the SWP for its failure to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

As detailed in extensive comments by FOR and others on the draft, the EIR:

• Fails to consider any alternatives that would reduce Delta exports or increase Bay inflow

• Uses flawed modeling and inaccurate modeling assumptions

• Fails to adequate consider operational impacts during droughts, including continued use of temporary waivers of flow requirements that have devastated salmon and other species

• Overlooks the best available scientific evidence about the status and needs of native fish and wildlife at risk of extinction

• Fails to analyze the effects of operations of the SWP and the federal Central Valley Project upstream of the Delta

Proposed project operations as described in the EIR incorporate the Newsom Administration’s proposed Voluntary Agreements (VAs) that would not simply perpetuate the current, unsustainable status quo, but would actually worsen conditions for many species by increasing entrainment at the SWP pumps and reducing river and estuary flows. See the Action Alert for more details and how you can speak out against the VAs.