Meeting Speaker Recap for Sept. 9, 2013
We were honored last Monday to hear from Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of the Stockton-based grassroots environmental group "Restore the Delta" (RTD) with her interesting views on the proposed "Bay Delta Conservation Plan" (BDCP). As proposed by Gov. Brown, the BDCP includes construction of two parallel 33-feet-wide tunnels that would run for 37 miles from the Sacramento River, under the Delta, to the federal and state owned pumps south of Tracy. From there, water would flow into the existing State Water Project and Central Valley Project canals designed to deliver water to Central and Southern California.
The plan's overall cost is estimated at $25 billion, with most of that paid by one or more public bonds, and increased service charges for water recipients. The stated reasons for the Project are that more water is needed for some 3 million acres of farmland in the Central Valley region, as well as for 25 million Californians from the South Bay to San Diego. Assuming all approvals go through, construction could begin by 2016, with operation starting in 2026. Ms. Barrigan-Parrilla's group is opposed to the BDCP for several compelling reasons.
According to our guest, no one to date has completed any true "cost benefit" study of the Plan. According to the RTD's analysis, using the State's own projections, the Plan will actually cost about $2.50 for every $1 in possible economic benefits. With these dismal results using the State's own projections, it is no surprise to the RTD that the state has been refusing to conduct further cost-benefit analysis of the alternatives.
The only report provided to date, a recently released 20,000 page preliminary draft of an environmental impact report, indicates that the Plan offers "a lot of uncertainties." One of the biggest questions is the impact the Peripheral Tunnels will have on the Delta's water flow. The plan, as proposed, would allow up to 9,000 cubic feet per second of flow from the Sacramento River, and at peak demand times, July to September, up to 60 percent of the river's flow could be diverted. Hence, a potential unintended "side effect" may be the continued decline over the next few decades of the volume of water in the Sacramento Delta region, which would likely impact various wildlife species and potentially river oriented businesses.
Water quality is another issue. To make up for the loss of the Sacramento River flows, more water will need to be drawn from the San Joaquin River for local water needs. That river's water is considered of poorer quality, containing greater salt content and a greater percentage of pesticides. And then there's the Project's estimated costs -- $25 billion. When is the last time any public project of this size ever got done on budget? Ms. Barrigan-Perriera's group estimates the likely costs are more in the range of $54 billion, and possibly more. In addition, Ms. Barrigan-Perriera also fears the damage that many Stockton area farming operations may encounter during the projected 10 years of construction.
Given all this risk and concern, our guest suggested we all consider the alternatives. She believes existing and projected problems with the Delta could be addressed by providing more habitats in areas with reinforced levees, adjusting existing pump operations to better protect fish and other wildlife, and encouraging southern California water agencies to develop their own local supplies. Although the overall BDCP is not up for any kind of public vote, the public will be asked to approve a $14.5 billion public bond initiative in 2014. Without that approval, the Tunnel Project may never get off (or under) the ground. We thank our esteemed guest for taking the time to provide us all with "food for thought" on this important issue.