Take the time to learn more about Delta plan

California is a thirsty state. The 20th- century water delivery infrastructure is inadequate, deteriorating and unreliable.

We now recognize that historical water delivery and management strategies have caused serious harm to the fragile Sacramento- San Joaquin Bay Delta ecosystem, the source of much of California’s water supply, including Santa Clara County’s.

Delta flood protection levees are failing, threatening communities and agricultural lands. Land is subsiding. Fragile habitat continues to disappear, endangering native species such as the coho salmon. The threat of salt water intrusion into the fresh waters of the Delta is increasing.

Add population growth, drought and climate change to the mix and the problem seems overwhelming and insolvable.

A consortium of state and federal agencies recently released the draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan and companion environmental documents for public review and comment. The 30,000- plus pages outline 22 complex conservation measures to “restore fish and wildlife species and to improve the reliability of water supplies, while minimizing impacts on Delta communities and farmlands.”

So far there has been little public interest in the plan beyond a core group of stakeholders. However, if you are a Californian who drinks water, eats food, values natural resources, enjoys recreation and pays taxes, you are also a stakeholder. That is why we believe it is important to shine a bright light on the BDCP and understand the implications to Santa Clara County and the rest of California.

The wide- ranging proposals call for restoring approximately 153,000 acres of habitat, replumbing the water delivery system by moving the main intake of Delta waters to minimize saltwater intrusion and rebuilding the water system’s infrastructure to improve reliability.

Also included are the “twin tunnels” that have gotten the most attention in the media.

As far as we can tell, the BDCP does not increase the supply of water; rather it serves to stabilize the delivery of existing supplies. By any account it is a bold, comprehensive and expensive endeavor with an initial price tag of $ 25 billion ( in undiscounted 2012 dollars) and a 50- year implementation horizon.

It is easy to dismiss the plan as yet another chapter in the long history of water wars that divide Northern and Southern California, environmentalists and Delta farmers, urban areas and rural communities.

While stakeholders debate how to solve the Delta’s problems, virtually all agree the current conditions of the Delta and state water system are unsustainable. The proposed plan is the most aggressive approach to address the problem in decades.

While it is a challenge to the layperson to know if the science and engineering behind the BDCP are correct, as informed Californians we need to know: Are there reasonable alternatives? How will the plan be financed? Who will oversee implementation? Is there the political will to see it through?

And, are current allocations to water users mindful of long- term projections of water scarcity? Is it a valid assumption to stabilize the delivery of existing supplies to current users?

To help the public understand the Bay- Delta conundrum and provide various perspectives on the plan, the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County are sponsoring a free, public forum March 1 from 1- 3: 30 p. m. at the Martin Luther King Library in downtown San Jose. Check this website — www. sclaraco. ca. lwvnet. org — for details, and take advantage of this opportunity to learn about a proposal that would affect every Californian.