California Water Managers to Relax Water Quality Standards…to Save Water!!! (SanFranciscoChronicle)

Feb.06, 2009 in Public Works

(Feb. 5, 2009, The Mercury News)

The drought took an ominous turn Thursday when state and federal water managers said they cannot meet a standard that protects Delta fish habitat without the risk of running out of cold water salmon must have in the months to come.

In effect, the managers can either release water from reservoirs to increase flow to improve Delta water quality and fish habitat or save that water to provide cold water to salmon in upstream rivers later in the year.

The water managers said they will ask state regulators to relax water quality standards to retain water for salmon and drought supplies.

“It’s disappointing that we’ve got to the point where we’ve got to choose between protecting salmon and protecting Delta fish,” said Spreck Rosekrans, an economic analyst at the Environmental Defense Fund.

“We’re left with very little in the bank and we’ve got to make these tough choices,” Rosekrans said.

Relaxing the water quality standard would worsen water at the Contra Costa Water District’s Delta intakes. That would force the agency to draw water from Los Vaqueros Reservoir at a time of year when it is normally filling.

The district’s 500,000 customers would see no immediate effect, but tap water could worsen if the reservoir gets too low later in the year.

“We’re looking at our options for how we’re going to manage around this drought through the summer,” said assistant general manager Greg Gartrell.

The problem is the state’s reservoirs are about one-third full and some are lower than they were in early February 1977, when a severe drought ravaged the state.Meanwhile, water managers are having difficulty meeting water quality rules that dictate how much water they must send through the Delta to prevent salinity from creeping too far in from the Bay. Those rules make accommodations for dry years, but they are much tougher in February than in January.

In the past week, state and federal water managers have reduced deliveries from massive pumps near Tracy to less than 20 percent of capacity.

Meeting the water quality standards through the month will require major releases from reservoirs.

That could imperil salmon because they rely on cold-water releases from reservoirs to survive.

Easing water quality standards could “preserve cold water needed for salmon habitat as well as water supplies needed for drought relief,” the letter said.

The letter was sent to the State Water Resources Control Board, which regulates water quality. It was signed by Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources, and Don Glaser, regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

State water officials could not be reached by phone Thursday.

Mike Taugher covers natural resources. Reach him at 925-943-8257 or mtaugher@bayareanewsgroup.com.

(Original Article Here)