Federal Judge Rules Against Costly, Scientifically Unfounded Restrictions on State Water Project Supplies

August 31, 2011

Federal District Court Judge Oliver Wanger yesterday passed down a ruling preventing federal agencies from implementing Fall X2 Action as they proposed, which would result in significant and costly water losses for the State Water Project (SWP), and would “wreak havoc on California’s water supply,” according to the ruling.

X2 is a scientific term that defines the naturally fluctuating intersection of the fresh water from the Delta and the saline water from the San Francisco Bay. The federal agencies involved in this case aimed to push that intersection farther to the west (Fall X2 Action) by releasing more fresh water from our reservoirs and significantly reducing SWP supplies. This proposal was based on an unproven hypothesis that such action would improve the population of Delta smelt, a threatened fish species native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.  In the ruling, Judge Wanger denied the federal agencies the authority to impose these measures on the basis that they lack sufficient scientific backing, and that they would cripple California’s water supply.

Southern California Water Committee (SCWC) Executive Director Richard Atwater issued the following statement in response:

“Our organization is very pleased with this ruling. The action that these federal agencies were proposing here was nothing short of irresponsible. The proposal was essentially a large and expensive experiment based on an unfounded theory, that would have triggered significant water losses for the State Water Project.

There is no doubt that declining fish populations in the Delta need to be addressed, but we must make sure that any action taken is based on sound science, and properly weighs the co-equal goals of protecting the Delta environment and ensuring the reliability of our water supply.”


Richard Atwater
Executive Director
Southern California Water Committee

Download the Statement