The California Dept. of Water Resources has revised again the state's proposed plan to convey water from the northern part of the state to the southern part. The proposed changes, released on Aug. 15, would shrink by 50% the total permanent footprint of the project and shift more than 400 acres of permanent and temporary construction impacts from private to public lands.
The $25-billion draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) for California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has gone through a number of changes over the past decade. The project's goal is to reduce reliance on the southern Delta's large pumps, which environmental advocates say are harmful to wildlife, particularly Chinook salmon and Delta smelt. The latest proposal is one of a group of alternatives that must go through a public comment period. Though it is unclear which proposal will be selected by state and federal officials, the current BDCP proposal is the preferred plan, says Nancy Vogel, a spokeswoman for the California Dept. of Public Resources.