'They are throwing us under the boat'

Mark Wilson of Wilson Farms in Clarksburg speaks to the Walnut Grove Rotary Club on Monday afternoon at Wimpy's Marina Restaurant. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

'They are throwing us under the boat'

Delta Rotarians warned about loss of livelihood through Delta water plans

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 6:23 AM PDT

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Delta farmers and other residents were warned Monday about the strong possibility that the state plans to destroy Delta farmland and remove local control in order to ship water to Southern California and the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Farmland is likely to become flooded for two reasons — to ship Delta water south and to appease environmentalists, according to Mark Wilson, a Clarksburg farmer and member of a 43-member subcommittee of the Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force.

"They are throwing us under the boat to give the environmentalists the water they want," Wilson told the Walnut Grove Rotary Club at its luncheon Monday at Wimpy's Marina.

"Your property values are going to fall," Wilson said. "Your communities are going to dry up."

There are also several proposals that would change who makes the decisions about Delta issues, and they all tend to be unelected appointees, Wilson said.

"I'd prefer today's chaos over any of the proposals," he said. "Government will get further and further away from us." Wilson discussed how several studies and documents are being prepared by different agencies appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The three primary agencies weighing in on the Delta's future are the Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force, the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan and the Public Policy Institute of California.

The Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force focuses more on philosophical issues, while the Bay-Delta plan delves more into how the recommendations will be carried out, Wilson said after the meeting. The Public Policy Institute consists of the staff for the Delta Blue Ribbon Task Force.

Workshops on Bay-Delta plan

The California Department of Water Resources will host the first of six community workshop next week in Galt to get public input on several studies that have been made regarding the future of the Delta. The plan focuses on the possible transport of Delta water to Southern California and habitat restoration.

Meetings will be held Aug. 12 at Littleton Community Center, 410 Civic Drive, Galt, Aug. 13 in Lathrop, Aug. 14 in Antioch, Aug. 19 in Walnut Grove, Aug. 20 in Rio Vista and Aug. 21 in Stockton. All meetings begin at 6 p.m.

The Stockton workshop will be in Stockton Civic Auditorium's main hall, 525 N. Center St.

Source: California Department of Water Resources

For more information

Delta Vision, www.deltavision.ca.gov.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan, www.resources.ca.gov/bdcp.

Public Policy Institute of California, www.ppic.org/main/home.asp.

North Delta Water Agency, www.norhdw.com.

— News-Sentinel staff

The water bureaucracy is so intense that the task force has two subgroups. The task force consists of eight people that Schwarzenegger appointed. It is chaired by former Assemblyman and Sacramento Mayor Phil Isenberg.

Then there is the five-member Delta Vision Committee and the 43-member Stakeholder Coordination Group, of which Wilson is a member.

Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli, whose district includes Galt and Walnut Grove, echoed Wilson's comments that there is a great effort to complete the Bay-Delta plan and the environmental impact report by the end of 2010.

"It's moving very, very quickly," Nottoli told the Rotary Club. "They left out the people who inhabit this part of the world."

Jay Lund, a professor at the University of California, Davis, and one of seven authors of the recently released report by the Public Policy Institute of California, said in a phone interview that the main problems the Delta faces are major earthquakes, the rise in sea level, the continued dropping of elevation of islands in the central and west Delta and climate change.

If a major earthquake strikes, you'll lose a whole bunch of islands that would be cost-prohibitive to restore, Lund said.

However, communities in the Highway 160 corridor like Rio Vista, Isleton, Walnut Grove and Clarksburg aren't as likely to be as affected by earthquakes to the west, he added.

Brown told Rotarians that most of the committees consist of people who don't live in the Delta nor do they use the Delta for their livelihood.

Alexandra Snyder, intergovernmental affairs for Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, told Rotarians she wants to learn more.

"Call our office, and we'll set up meetings," Snyder said. "I would like to bring the congressman here."

Douglas Hemly, a farmer in Courtland and a Walnut Grove Rotarian, said after the meeting that he's confused about the lack of public access to information.

"I don't know how they want to fix it, but they're going with a timeline without any substance to it," Hemly said. "This gives them the opportunity to deny everything."

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

gray cloud wrote on Aug 5, 2008 8:18 PM:

" You readers and bloggers are devoid of knowledge about water. Look what Los Angeles did to Owens Lake [dry wasteland] and Mono Lake [now a salty flat]. You simpletons should scream at this water terrorism as loudly as you whine at each other over stupid elementary school issues. Where are you pus heads when there is a real problem. Girard 74, at least you may be aware of this awful mess. Obviously the pimplehead bloggers are devoid of knowledge. "

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Mrs. S. wrote on Aug 5, 2008 4:46 PM:

" Back when the legislature was trying to push the Peripheral Canal through, I heard that L.A. had a large brewery that uses lots of water. I wonder if that's still true? SoCal doesn't use water efficiently. In fact, there are even fountains and other water decorations in Palm Springs and the deserts in the San Diego area. Add the fact that there are few, if any reservoirs there, and they'll dry the whole state up.

At one time, Mono Lake and the Owens Valley had water until L.A. got their hands on them. "

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WBBulldogs wrote on Aug 5, 2008 1:05 PM:

" We're already giving enough of our water to SoCal. Didn't Gray Davis have similar proposal to ship water to SoCal awhile ago. So now they want more? "

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Robb wrote on Aug 5, 2008 9:15 AM:

" I am in agreement, me MUST not allow ANYONE to remain in this country without citizenships.... "

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joesr wrote on Aug 5, 2008 8:17 AM:

" Giovanina,

I find your comments association to the story rather strange??? "

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Giovanina wrote on Aug 5, 2008 6:39 AM:

" Easy way to cut down demand of water in Southern California is to deport the illegal aliens. You know, all these supposed farm workers the farmers need that never make it North of the San Gabriel Mountains. Americans continue to have their rights invalidated because of illegal alien usage, just like the illegal alien voting. "

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