[Roadsters] OT: California Water Management

[nmleeds at mindspring.com]

The question is why water is being flushed out to sea and what that has to do with saving fish.  I worked -- very briefly -- with some of these regulations and can explain a little bit.  The problem is water flows and tempurature.  Fast, deep water is cooler than slow shallow water (simple physics: more surface area and more time in the sun, and water heats up).  Many fish are very sensitive to these tempuratures.

Unfortunately,during hot times in year, the fish need good flows so they don't get cooked in the streamsl at the same time farmers want to take as much water out of the streams as they can to water their crops so they don't bake and dry in the sun.  Historically part of this problem could be solved through electricity generation -- when you run the dams, you release water.  But, there's not always enough water in the dams to cool the rivers and you reach an impass.

I would be careful about being too dismissive of the role that really small fish (the ones must likely to get cooked) play in the ecosystem.  There are a lot of really small animals that are really really important for the health of the entire enviroment -- and our economy. (Anyone in the central valley can appreciate the importance of bees, and the concerns about colony collapse.) Also, delta smelt tend to be a pretty good proxy of for the health of the delta as a whole.  When the delta is messed up, we don't get salmon in the ocean . . . 

So there's my two cents.  Difficult problem.  I'm pretty conservative when it comes to this stuff so I generally favor keeping the enviroment intact, but I can see the other view.  I understand that others aren't as conservative. 





-----Original Message-----
>From: Eric Hoffman <ericerichoffman at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Sep 23, 2009 7:53 AM
>To: datsun-roadsters at autox.team.net
>Subject: [Roadsters] california water
>
>I'm all for efficient sewage disposall, I am wondering why there is not more
>opinion among Californians that farmers and crops are more important than a
>two inch fish.  I'm trying to understand what is going through the minds of
>lawmakers.  Again, the water is not conserved it's being sent to the sea. 
>Anyone?
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