Sacramento Bee

No clear answers in Delta research
Officials hunt for a smoking gun to understand why several fish populations are plummeting.

By Matt Weiser -- Bee Staff Writer
Sunday, November 13, 2005

State and federal researchers on Monday present the results of their six-month effort to understand why a whole category of creatures in the California Delta is suffering a population crash.

Key among those creatures is the threatened Delta smelt. The finger-length fish is considered a bellwether of environmental conditions in the Delta, a 700,000-acre maze of islands and canals where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers meet.

The smelt's crash received broad attention after a routine trawlnet survey in fall 2004 indicated a historic population low. Every survey since then has set new record lows.

Also declining are the striped bass, threadfin shad, longfin smelt and a species of zooplankton that is a key food for all those fish.

An unprecedented $2 million research effort was launched last spring. But as the researchers cautioned all along, the results may disappoint anyone eager for clear answers.

"I think we got some very fruitful direction to go in, but no smoking gun," said Chuck Armor, the state Department of Fish and Game regional manager who has overseen the research.

Instead, the findings to be announced Monday will guide a more focused research effort that will continue into next year.

The research so far has targeted three broad areas: water exports, invasive species and water contamination.

The Delta is a water source for 22 million Californians and 5 million acres of farmland. Huge state and federal pumps near Tracy export water to Southern California and kill thousands of fish annually. But until last year, it was hoped that operational changes at the pumps were improving conditions for smelt.

Last Thursday, state officials released an environmental impact report for the South Delta Improvement Program. The $110 million plan proposes to increase water exports from the Delta by up to 5 percent and install movable water barriers at four key locations.

Because of the declining fish numbers, the Department of Water Resources has opted to delay the export increase and move forward only with the barriers
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Deputy Director Jerry Johns called the barriers a "no regrets" step because they are meant to improve water quality and keep fish from straying near the pumps. Approval is planned for next summer, with construction to be finished by early 2009.

Only then will the pumping increase be considered, he said, and only after more environmental review and more answers about the threats to fish.

Environmental groups oppose the project, saying both the pumping increase and the barriers pose risks to fish and water quality.

"We're going to be driven by the science," said Johns. "What's happening now in the Delta is unprecedented. It's way outside our experience."

Monday's meeting runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the second-floor auditorium of the CalEPA Building, 1001 I St., Sacramento.

Then Tuesday at 2 p.m., the CalFed Bay-Delta Authority presents an independent review of the research results. This will be in the Moss Federal Building, fifth-floor Bay-Delta Room, 650 Capitol Mall.

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