Governor Brown Wades In Supporting Delta Fix

By Richard Atwater
SCWC Executive Director
August 23, 2011

Those of us in the statewide water and natural resources community have been anxiously waiting for Governor Jerry Brown to address water issues, specially his vision for restoring the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta and improving our statewide water delivery system. He waded in, no pun intended, last week with a strong visit to the Fresno Bee’s editorial board and we’re very pleased to see him supporting a comprehensive Delta fix, including new conveyance.

The Governor’s visit triggered a number of solid editorials throughout the state on the issue:  

The Riverside Press-Enterprise opined ” The delta surely should be a top priority for the governor and Legislature...The most promising solution would be a way to route water exports around the delta, instead of sending those supplies through the troubled estuary.”

The Modesto Bee  said “There is much at stake as the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta continues to deteriorate. It's an issue that impacts most of the state because 25 million Californians have their water tied to the Delta in one form or another...No matter what you call it, there must be a system to move water around the Delta, and south to Valley farmers and thirsty residents in Southern California.”

The Fresno Bee  chimed in with “State must achieve a Delta water solution.”

And, just today, one of our Board members, Jeff Kightlinger, GM at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, published an opinion editorial in the Los Angeles Daily News calling on stakeholders to press forward. “California's most challenging water problem is approaching a historic solution ... an opportunity for critically important and essential improvements to the state's water system. The key in the coming months is to maintain the fresh momentum that is behind the state and federal planning process.”

Fixing the Delta and implementing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan is our organization’s top priority. We all know California’s water delivery system in the Delta is vulnerable to a catastrophic failure. So, we’ll be there...rolling up our sleeves, helping educate regional and stakeholders to aid the Governor as we collectively work towards a Delta solution. We simply can’t afford to wait until disaster strikes to secure our water supply. Let’s keep up the momentum. We need to solve this critical water problem now!