Water agencies hoard water without plan

Thank you for your excellent editorial, “Recommendation will help preserve Delta’s health” (July 10).

The Tuolumne River Trust recently commissioned a public opinion survey of Bay Area voters that found strong support for the opinions expressed by the Mercury News. Ninetyseven percent supported restoration of San Francisco Bay, which is on the brink of ecological collapse due to insufficient freshwater inflow.

The survey also found that environmental protection is a very strong motivator for people to conserve water. Unfortunately, most of the water we conserved during the recent drought did not benefit aquatic ecosystems. Instead, it was impounded behind dams, only to be dumped during last year’s near-record storms.

This is why the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan is so important. Without a requirement to improve instream flows, water agencies will continue to just hoard water behind their dams. I encourage your readers to check out our survey at www.Tuolumne.org. — Peter Drekmeier, Palo Alto