Lawsuit Accuses Feds Of Delta Pumping Is Harming Anadromous Fish

Last week, a new lawsuit filed accuses the federal government of excess pumping in Delta waters could be harmful to anadromous fish.

From Maven’s Notebook:

The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the River and baykeeper claim that pumping excessive amounts of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta hurts fish like the Central Valley steelhead, North American green sturgeon and Chinook salmon.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s operation of the Central Valley Project affects factors like water temperature and salinity. Those factors, along with the volume and direction of the water, cause fish to swim into harmful environments, the conservation groups say in their suit.

The Central Valley Project is a large system that moves water from the delta to the Central Valley, mostly for agricultural use. In addition to changing water temperature, it also blocks access to fish breeding areas, the groups say.

The Golden State Salmon Association chimed in with this Facebook post:

A coalition of conservation groups has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that excessive water pumping in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is harming salmon and other protected fish species.

The case centers on whether federal water managers have exceeded limits meant to protect endangered fish under the Endangered Species Act.

It will be interesting to see how the court responds to this lawsuit, blowing the whistle on excessive Delta diversions by the federal government.

For California salmon, river flows and Delta conditions matter. When too much water is exported, it can disrupt migration routes, worsen water quality, and increase mortality for young salmon trying to reach the ocean.

We’ll be watching this case closely.