Report says canal would fix California water woes
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—An influential public policy group on Thursday said California should no longer rely on the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to supply water to most of the state, and should instead build a canal around the delta.
A study by the Public Policy Institute of California recommends that cities in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay area stop drawing water from the delta, saying it's an increasingly unstable source.
Instead, institute officials believe a canal that would draw fresh water from the Sacramento River would deliver better quality water to more than 25 million Californians and farmers in the Central Valley because it would bypass the salty mixture found in the delta.
"Building a peripheral canal is not without controversy, but it appears to be the best way to maintain a reliable water supply," said Ellen Hanak, the institute's associate director.
A canal also could help native fish that are now being killed when they are sucked into the delta's massive water pumps.
The debate over such a canal goes back decades and has long been contentious. State voters soundly rejected plans to build a so-called peripheral canal in 1982, largely on the strength of Northern California voters who feared the proposal was nothing more than a water grab by Southern California agencies.
The Public Policy Institute says much has changed since then, with the delta's health declining rapidly and global climate change causing concern about California's long-term water supply.
The study says continuing to channel water through the delta's maze of fragile levees and sinking islands is a risky and costly path.
Projected sea level rise, increased runoff from early spring snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada and the potential failure of multiple levees during a major earthquake eventually could cost Californians much more than building and operating a canal, the study says.
Separately, a panel created by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to examine delta solutions is considering several possible routes for a canal. The options are projected to cost between $4 billion and $17 billion.
