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De:�vieulljpr lIng, <br />ADe.�� Vffj�u��r� e, Gary PR.. <br />he Delta has been in the <br />spotlight recently, with a <br />cascade of tumultuous <br />events that have spotlighted <br />the importance and fragility <br />of a unique resource that is mostly out <br />of sight and out of mind to most <br />Californians. Issues of sustainability, <br />governance, water quality, ecosystem <br />health and levee stability have <br />reached the forefront in recent <br />months, punctuated by congressional <br />inquiries and even discussion of <br />revisiting the proposed peripheral <br />canal that was trumped at the polls <br />more than 20 years ago. <br />"When you take a look at this, no <br />matter where you look the solution for <br />California's water starts in the Delta," <br />said Sen. Mike Machado, D- Linden. <br />"Without the Delta, where would <br />California be ?" <br />Indeed, the Delta is a major <br />component of the state's plumbing <br />system, providing a portion of the <br />water supply for more than 22 million <br />people and 7 million acres of farmland <br />Home to massive state and federal <br />pumping operations that redistribute <br />water from wetter areas to farms and <br />cities, the Delta is also the gateway for <br />migrating salmon as well as home to <br />hundreds of species of plants, wildlife <br />and fish, some of which have been <br />declared threatened or endangered. <br />The sense of urgency revolving <br />around the Delta has many dimen- <br />sions, most of which defy easy solu- <br />tion. By nature, the Delta is a compli- <br />cated place, with narrow, twisting <br />waterways, a continual mingling of <br />freshwater and tides from San Fran- <br />cisco Bay, and a soft, spongy soil mass <br />that makes the place anything but a <br />bastion of stability. Reshaped from its <br />marshy origin, the Delta today retains <br />much of its agricultural heritage while <br />slowly yielding to the development <br />pressure that shows no sign of ebbing <br />as the 21s` century unfolds. <br />Longtime observers say building <br />houses near the Delta's edge sets a <br />dangerous precedent because of the <br />flood risk that exists from levee failure. <br />As a result, the idea of drafting some <br />kind of general plan for Delta develop- <br />ment has been broached as a way of <br />managing development. However, any <br />WESTERN WATER <br />