Federal judge grants preliminary injunction over water Stimulus would provide water funding for low income

At least based on a ruling issued on Tuesday, the San Joaquin Valley could have to do with less water.

A federal judge in Sacramento late Monday sided with Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration to grant a preliminary injunction when it comes to how water from the San Joaquin Delta River is distributed.

In February, President Trump signed an order that based water delivery to the Valley on updated biological opinions that would have provided more water for the Valley. But the state sued and State Attorney General Xavier Becerra then filed a motion for a preliminary injunction for water deliveries to be based on previous biological opinions.

The preliminary injunction was granted by U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd. It only runs through May 31 unless its suspended. But the legal roadblocks over whether more water should be used to protect species such as the Delta Smelt and salmon or should be delivered to the Valley continues.

In siding with the Newsom administration, Drozd said pumping more water to the Valley from the Delta would do too much harm to fish species such as the smelt and salmon.

And the ruling will cause an immediate impact on water supplies for the Valley. Farm irrigation districts in the Valley have already had to deal with a cut back in water due to a dry winter. Farmers have estimated they will lose 52,000 acre-feet of water this spring based on Drozd’s ruling.

Federal and state water agencies use water from the Delta. The water serves 25 million residents as far south as San Diego and 3 million acres of farmland.

State officials and environmentalists contend decades of pumping water to the Valley has damaged the Delta and caused considerable harm to endangered salmon, smelt and steelhead trout.

The President’s order based on new biological opinions eased environmental restrictions that have been in place since 2009. The administration claims the President’s order allows more water to be pumped without harming species such as the trout, salmon and smelt.

But Drozd ruled heaving pumping in the springtime would cause river flows to be altered and for migrating fish to be directed toward giant pumps themselves.

Drozd said the problem becomes worse in a dry year like this year. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, a major source of California’s water, is at just 37 percent of normal. ACWA Letter

The first step to providing funding for water needs has been taken in a stimulus package proposed by Democrats on Tuesday.

Water agencies and

WATER, Page 2A

advocates have been calling for any further stimulus packages to include funding for water infrastructure and water needs for the low income. Previous stimulus packages haven’t included any funding for water.

The Association of California Water Agencies has sent a letter to Congressional leaders saying that needs to change and the proposed Democratic stimulus package would address at least one of the organization’s concerns.

The letter was sent to Speaker of the House

Nancy Pelosi, House of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin Mccarthy and U.S. Senators from California Diane Feinstein and Kamala Harris.

The ACWA represents more than 450 California water agencies and multiple other water stakeholders.

The letter calls for $4 billion to go to the EPA for grants for a low income households drinking water and wastewater assistance/affordability program to help struggling households pay for essential water and wastewater service.

The Democrats $3 trillion package introduced on Tuesday does include $1.5 billion for

that purpose.

In addition the letter calls for provisions to ensure every American has access to water and the package introduced by Democrats on Tuesday does call for that.

But still left out of any stimulus package funding, including Tuesday’s proposal, is major funding for water infrastructure projects.

ACWA’S letter calls for $100 billion in funding over five years for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving funds, with at least 20 percent, or at least $20 billion, going to disadvantaged

communities. The letter also calls for money to be distributed to disadvantaged communities as grants rather than loans.