Restoring the San Joaquin River
 The goal of the legislation is to transform the San Joaquin into a living river and maintain a stable water supply for the farmers of the region.
The San Joaquin is one of California’s great rivers. Historically, the River supported large salmon populations – until the late 1940’s when approximately 60 miles of the river were diverted to Friant Dam, causing the River to dry up in most years. And for 18 years, environmentalists and the Friant Water Users Authority were engaged in law suits to bring the River back to life.
In September 2006, a settlement to restore the San Joaquin River and reintroduce the California Central Valley Spring Run Chinook Salmon to the river was finally reached. But the Settlement requires federal implementing legislation to become fully effective. So, later that month, I brought together the interested parties for a series of negotiations to forge a consensus. And after two weeks of intense negotiations, a landmark agreement was reached.
The goal of the legislation is to transform the San Joaquin into a living river and maintain a stable water supply for the farmers of the region. It involves the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Reclamation, and effectively gives the Secretary of the Interior the additional authority to:
- Take the actions to restore the San Joaquin River.
- Reintroduce the California Central Valley Spring Run Chinook Salmon.
- Minimize water supply impacts on Friant water users.
- Avoid reductions in water supply for third-party water contractors.
The legislation gives all sides certainty on how the river will be restored and water will be used.
- The Natural Resources Defense Council will be able to see that the San Joaquin River is restored, without further litigation.
- The Friant Water Users Authority will know that its water supply will remain at manageable levels.
- Third party water contractors will be able to avoid all but the smallest water impacts as a result of the settlement, except on a voluntary basis.
- And the Department of the Interior and the State of California now have partners in efforts to restore the river, improve water supply, and protect the threatened species.
Those present at the negotiations were Senator Barbara Boxer, Representatives George Radanovich, Richard Pombo, Dennis Cardoza, Jim Costa, and Devin Nunes, representatives of the State of California and Federal Government, Friant Water Users Authority, the Natural Resources Defense Council, as well as numerous third party water contractors from the Central Valley.
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