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Feds request new review of Delta pumps Contra Costa Times - July 07, 2006 By Mike Taugher Federal officials have asked to re-evaluate massive Delta water delivery projects out of concern they could be contributing to the population collapse of a tiny fish. The request, received by regulators Friday, could have major implications for water deliveries to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. "We're not sure to what degree project operations might (affect Delta smelt). It may be something very subtle that needs to be done, or it could be something very radical," said Ronald Milligan, Central Valley operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Milligan said he requested the new review because the Delta's environmental crisis is continuing and research into its cause has yet to eliminate the operation of Northern California dams and Delta pumps. "Project operations haven't been totally ruled out, so we want to see if there are other things we should be doing there," Milligan said. The numbers of Delta smelt, young-of-the-year striped bass, longfin smelt and threadfin shad crashed several years ago and remain at very low levels. The Delta's woes have not abated. This week, state biologists posted the latest survey data for Delta smelt, showing that the index used to measure their population went from an extremely low 0.3 last year to 0.4 this year. "It's a minor increase, but we're nowhere near where we want to be," said Chuck Armor, operations manager of the state Department of Fish and Game's Central Valley/Bay-Delta branch. "The good news is it wasn't worse than last year." The status of Delta smelt is particularly important because it is considered an indicator of the Delta's overall health and because the fish is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The request to reopen endangered species permits could affect state and federal water projects that deliver water to 23 million Californians, including 500,000 Contra Costa residents, and 7 million acres of farmland. The permit is intended to protect Delta smelt. A second permit meant to protect anadromous fish such as green sturgeon, steelhead and chinook salmon similarly was reopened last month to protect those fish from water operations. The permits, called biological opinions, contain limits on how many endangered fish can be killed or otherwise harmed as part of the delivery of water and also can impose conditions to ensure the survival of species is not jeopardized. Barry Nelson, a water policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, welcomed the reclamation bureau's willingness to reopen its permits but said the decision does not ensure quick action to address what he sees as an emergency. "They need a wholesale re-evaluation of the effects of the projects in the Delta," said Nelson, whose organization sued last year over what it said was an inadequate permit for Delta smelt. "Given the current state of the Delta's fisheries, it's entirely possible that the Delta smelt won't be around by the time they change project operations if they don't do it promptly," he added. "We've reached a tipping point in the Delta and it's time to take less water out." Scientists last year said the Delta's problems were probably a result of a combination of water operations, toxic substances and/or invasive species. All of those remain possible causes and many support the notion that the crisis is caused by a combination of factors. Some of the research done in the past year suggests water operations could be killing unusually high numbers of fish in the winter. But another lead, potentially the most promising yet, was developed by the Contra Costa Water District. It suggests that a decision made a decade ago to protect migrating salmon by pumping less water in the spring and more in the late summer and fall could be a key. That shift led to higher salinity levels in the fall and that appears to have improved conditions for an invasive clam, the overbite clam, that could be depriving the fish of food. Milligan said that theory, which is backed by strong statistical correlations, could mean that water operations are contributing indirectly to the Delta's demise. Some of the scientists leading the research into the fish declines remain unconvinced that the Contra Costa Water District's work can fully explain the crisis, but they mostly agree that the work is promising and points in the same direction as some of their investigations. Greg Gartrell, an assistant general manager at the water district, said the slight increase in Delta smelt this summer fits with predictions from his staff. He added that a healthier smelt index this fall could lead to a larger rebound next year because of the likelihood of low salinity levels this year, which has been wet. Armor, the state fish and game biologist, said the smelt survey numbers in the fall will be important because the fish that survive into the fall can reproduce. He also said that the summer survey this year may have slightly undercounted the number of Delta smelt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mike Taugher covers natural resources. Reach him at 925-943-8257 or mtaugher@cctimes.com.
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