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The media and many governmental
agencies talk about "restoring" the Delta, but what they really mean is
there are plans to REVISE the Delta into a different type of ecosystem than
it was in the past. According to historical maps and written
documents, the Delta was a fresh water marsh area with a few natural islands
occupied by Indian tribes. Soon after California became a state, the
Federal government gave the Delta area lands to the State to SELL to farmers
who wanted to reclaim the seasonally wet lands to use for farming, housing
and other needs of the growing state. The two main rivers of the
Sacramento and San Joaquin, and the many other sloughs and streams of the
Delta were modified over time as levees were built up and improved.
The government reserved the rights to the lands under the waterways, with
the promise to the future populations to keep specific rivers open to
navigation. In the 1930's to 1950's the Federal Government, at the
request of the state, created the first canal transporting water to Southern
California. As part of this project, certain levees of the Delta were
improved to be protected from flooding. Those levees are called
"project levees" and the levees are still under the jurisdiction of the US
Army Corps of Engineers, with local levee districts handling day to day
maintenance. The farmers pay extra taxes each year to maintain the
levees. In the 1960's the state decided to create its own canal system
as well, and entered into contracts with the farmers of the Delta to assure
the farmers the water quality would not diminish from the state taking to
much fresh water out of the Delta, thereby allowing salt water from the San
Francisco Bay to come into the Delta. However, the fish populations of
the Delta began to decline drastically, particularily when in the 1990s to
2000 the state started taking more water out of the Delta. Today, the
state wants to REvise the Delta into a salt or brackish water "Esturary" so
the fresh water of the Delta can be exported to other areas seeking water
for new housing developments in Oakland, Tejon and San Bernardino, and more
water for the west side of the Central Valley for farming and resale of
water to others.
or see All Planning Maps |
