Editorial: New roadmap to a healthy future for the Delta

The multiple perils that threaten the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta look much like those that endanger the Everglades, the Chesapeake Bay and other estuaries around the world.

Fisheries are declining. Urban encroachment is adding to the historic loss of wetlands. Exotic species are forcing out native ones. Polluted runoff is contributing to the meltdown of fragile ecosystems.

Yet California's Delta faces some stresses that set it apart from other estuaries. Unlike its counterparts in Maryland or Florida, the Delta is a direct source of drinking water for 25 million people. Farms in the San Joaquin Valley also are highly dependent on this water. Those demands add to the challenge – and the urgency – of restoring the Delta, which many scientists say is on the verge of collapse.

Is California ready to grant the Delta the recognition and protection it deserves? It might be, especially if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders heed the final report of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force.

Released this month, this report seeks to elevate the status of the Delta as a "unique and valued" place, one where ecosystem restoration and a reliable water supply should be "primary, co-equal goals."

This hasn't always been the case. For decades, the state has allowed powerful interests to treat the Delta as a plumbing valve and a real estate venture instead of a sensitive estuary. Although millions have been spent on supposed restoration, much of it has been frittered away. All the while, the volume of water pumped from the Delta has gone up steadily.

The Delta Vision task force, appointed by the governor and chaired by former Sacramento mayor and legislator Phil Isenberg, urges a new course. In 12 recommendations – see http://deltavision.ca.gov/ – the task force notes that a revitalized Delta "will require reduced diversions, or changes in patterns and timing of those diversions … at critical times."

It also concludes that new facilities for storage and conveyance will be needed "to better manage California water resources."

Not surprisingly, interests on both sides of the water divide moved quickly to quash those proposals.

Environmentalists questioned the need for more storage. Meanwhile the State Water Contractors and Westlands Water District took aim at the suggestion that reduced diversions are needed. The latter claimed the public won't support spending billions on the Delta "to get less water."

Last week saw the death of former State Water Resources Director David Kennedy, who was widely respected for his knowledge and ability to bridge gaps. More than ever, the state needs a modern-day David Kennedy who can break through the impasses and pursue "co-equal" protections for both the environment and water reliability.

Schwarzenegger could serve this role. Yet to date, he has been far too aligned with the water siphoners of the Delta to forge broad consensus. If the governor embraces the recommendations of his task force – all of them – it will show where he stands. But if the Delta Vision report ends up collecting dust, or getting picked apart, it will mean business as usual in the water world: deadlock, an outcome the state can't afford.