8009

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8009
• Author: Natural Resources Law Center.
• Title: Restoring the Waters.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder, CO.
• Copyright Material: YES

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The accord guarantees:
^ More reliable supplies both for the
environment and for cities and
farms for a period of three years
^ Increased fresh water flows
through the Delta - an additional
400,000 acre-feet in normal years
and an additional 1.1 million acre-
feet incritically dry years
^ Any additional water needed, due
to new ESA listings, to be
purchased with federal funds from
willing sellers
^ Greater state control over water
allocation policies through a
return to state primacy in water
quality decisions; EPA withdrew
its water quality standards as soon
as California adopted its own
Bay-Delta Accord, California
The Bay-Delta is the West Coast's largest
estuary lying at the confluence of the San
Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. Water
that reaches the confluence flows into a
series of bays, including San Francisco Bay,
that are bordered by the urban areas of
San Francisco, Oakland and Marin
County. This area is a highly altered,
exquisitely complex hydrologic and
biologic system.
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The Bay-Delta is the hub of California's
water collection and distribution system. It
captures almost 50% of the state's runoff
and supports the largest wetland habitat in
the western United States. The area's tidal
marsh communities sustain 120 species of
fish.
^ Fresh water flows in from the Sacra-
mento River in the north, from the San
Joaquin River in the south, and from a
few additional streams in the east.
^ Saline water flows in from the west with
the tides.
The Problem and Years of Conflict
Massive diversions reduced natural
freshwater inflow to the Bay-Delta and
diverted directly from it. These diversions
provide for:
^ 40% of the state's drinking water -
serving over 20 million people; and
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^ Irrigation water for 200 crops, includ-
ing 45% of the nation's fruits and
vegetables.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, indigenous
fish populations experienced dramatic
declines due to:
^ Diversion of fresh water;
^ "Reverse flows" created by the large
pumping plants;
^ Extended drought; and
^ Increases in non-native fish species.
By spring 1993, two area fish had been
listed under the Endangered Species Act
(ESA), and petitions to list others had been
filed.
During this period, California's state
agency charged with adopting appropriate
water quality standards under the Clean
Water Act (CWA) repeatedly proposed, but
failed to adopt, a water quality control
plan that would stem the decline of fish
populations. The Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA), charged with adopting
protective water quality standards when a
state fails to do so, likewise did not take
action. In addition, northern and southern
California fought over "water wheeling"
-the artificial movement of northern
water through or around the Bay-Delta for
use by southern cities and farms.
By the spring of 1992, Governor Pete
Wilson had announced allay-Delta water
policy initiative to provide reliable water
supplies for urban, industrial, agricultural
and environmental uses including develop-
ment of adequate water quality standards
for the Bay-Delta. But by April 1993, the
governor, bowing to pressure from the
agricultural sector, had withdrawn the
water quality initiative. Federal officials,
after being sued by environmental groups,
initiated steps to create federal water
quality standards and other protective
measures to comply with the CWA and