The San Joaquin River, flowing northward from the lower right, runs dry in upper right while an irrigation ditch carries its water to farms. | Photo: Google Maps
A major river in California has so much water taken from it by agribusiness that it runs dry for miles. Now, the state agency responsible for the health of California waterways wants to leave some water in the river and its tributaries for fish and downstream farms. But it's not going to happen without a fight.
That's the take-away from the last week of reaction to a proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board to leave more water in three tributaries of the lower San Joaquin River. The proposal comes as part of a draft update to the Board's decade-old Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan. The Board says the change is needed because people continue to take too much water out of the San Joaquin River system. That threatens both the ecological health of the Delta and the livelihoods of Delta farmers, because with less fresh water flowing in from the south, the Delta's channels become too saline.
In addition, keeping more water in the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced rivers between February and June would give a much-needed boost to the San Joaquin's beleaguered Chinook salmon run.
But the San Joaquin Valley agricultural interests that benefit from water diversions are already gearing up for battle, with local legislators delivering citizen petitions to the Board in an attempt to delay the decision. They're demanding extended public comment time and additional public hearings, saying that limiting water diversions would harm a farming economy already battered by five years of drought.
--
--
American society has changed few river systems as thoroughly as it has the San Joaquin. Rising from a number of tributaries in the highest part of the High Sierra, the San Joaquin system nourished an amazing abundance of both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, along with the people that depended on that wildlife. Seasonal floods fed a chain of wetlands reaching to the Delta from around the present-day location of Corcoran 200 miles north to the Delta; in exceptionally wet years, those floods likely also fed Tulare Lake to the south, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.
Almost as soon as white settlers reached California, they set about re-engineering its rivers. First through hydraulic mining, then through aqueduct diversions, and finally through massive dams, the Central Valley's rivers were altered one by one mainly for the benefit of industry.
The San Joaquin Rivers watershed | Map: Wikimedia Commons
The San Joaquin's current woes really started in 1930, when construction began on the huge Friant Dam northeast of Fresno. By the time the dam was completed in 1942, the river's fate was sealed. Tulare Lake showed the future of the San Joaquin: due to diversions from the Kings, Kern, and Kaweah, Tulare had been mostly bone-dry for half a century by the time Friant was finished.
Within a short time after the dam was finished, so were the upper San Joaquin's salmon. Water from the river, impounded in Millerton Lake, was diverted to San Joaquin Valley irrigators. The river often went dry in summer for stretches of 60 miles or more. Chinook once swam into the San Joaquin in spring and fall runs, spawning as far upstream as 16 miles past Friant Dam. After the 1940s, they couldn't make it much past the river's confluence with the Merced at Hills Ferry.
Even downstream from the spot where the Merced joined the San Joaquin, conditions have been none too good for salmon. Agricultural drainage canals add dissolved salts to the river, as well as runoff pollution from both agricultural and residential sources.
Since 1978, the State Water Resources Control Board has issued Water Quality Control Plans to set standards for water quality in the Bay and Delta. The most recent update of that plan was published in 2006. Among many other things, it mandated ongoing measurement of both river flows and salinity at a spot on the San Joaquin River near Vernalis, just a few miles from the point where the Delta begins.
The Board now says that one monitoring station isn't enough, as it doesn't provide information on the health of each of the major tributaries flowing into the San Joaquin upstream from Vernalis.
The board also says that what information it does have about flows in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced rivers indicates that from 1984 through 2009, the average amount of water diverted from each of those rivers during the critical spring salmon migration was 60, 79, and 74 percent, respectively. Those percentages are historical medians, which means that half the time even more water would be taken from each of those rivers.
That's a problem. Not only do low flows mean the water is likely too warm - or too nonexistent - for salmon spawning, but salmon are thought to home in on their rivers of birth by reading the different smells of each river's water. Lower flows means less reliable GPS for the Chinook to use in getting to their home streams. And the Spring run of Chinook in these waters, part of the Central Valley Spring Run, is legally considered a Threatened species, so the state is obligated to take steps to preserve them.
That's why the Board is proposing new water quality standards that would require average flows of between 30 and 50 percent of the three rivers' total supply be left in the rivers for the salmon.
In a summary of the proposed changes to the Plan for the San Joaquin watershed, the State Water Resources Control Board said that expanding knowledge of the Delta ecosystem is driving the adjustments in water quality standards:
The refined salinity requirements reflect updated scientific information about salt levels that reasonably prote
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
The San Joaquin River, flowing northward from the lower right, runs dry in upper right while an irrigation ditch carries its water to farms. | Photo: Google Maps 
