Local News RSS Feed
Print Story
E-mail StoryAgencies' pump proposal irks Kern water officials
| Wednesday, Jul 11 2007 9:45 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jul 11 2007 9:51 PM
The ongoing battle over delta smelt and the State Water Project took another turn, and local water officials aren't happy about it.
Our readers recommend:
Loading Stories
State and federal agencies made a proposal for how to manage the pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta over the next 18 months while a long-term plan is worked out.
The state plan could cut the amount of water brought to Kern County by the state by 30 percent, increasing the cost of water for local users, Jim Beck, general manager of the Kern County Water Agency, said Wednesday.
"This could impact as much as half the water supply for our local community," Beck said.
The State Water Project provides about 25 percent of Kern County's water in a normal year. When the Kern River suffers a dry year, the state water project can provide up to 50 percent of the area's water, he said.
The plan was filed in federal court.
Opponents have until the end of the month to file responses, Beck said, before the judge hears arguments in August.
Beck said the state and federal plan puts the blame for the decline of the delta smelt on the pumps, but doesn't consider other factors such as invasive species and other pumps in the delta.
"We continue to be frustrated by the unfair targeting of export pumpers as the sole cause of the decline," Beck said.
Pumping of water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was shut off for 10 days last month because of concern the pumping was killing smelt. That led Kern County officials to declare a water emergency.
The state water supply provides water to area farmers as well as drinking water for parts of the Bakersfield area, Taft and Tehachapi, Beck said.