Shake Up at DWR - New Director Named

[OceanSunfish]

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article194001014.html

Same old........

[tcorfey]

Okay so wait a minute...

Karla Nemeth, deputy secretary and senior adviser for water policy at the Natural Resources Agency since 2014, was named the new DWR director by Gov. Jerry Brown. Nemeth has played a significant role in Brown’s controversial proposal to overhaul the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta’s plumbing with a pair of water tunnels. She has worked for Natural Resources since 2009 and is married to Tom Philp the executive strategist for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – the largest member agency of DWR’s State Water Project. He is also a board member at the Water Education Foundation.

So the DWR Director is married to the executive water strategist employed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California?

Here is a link to some of Tom's articles... (including "with-smelt-its-groundhog-day-in-the-delta")

https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/contributor/tom-philp

I guess being impartial is not part of the state DWR Director's job description?

Regards,

Tim C



So much for impartial decisions.

[Darian]

Kinda looks like the Governor is stacking the deck to make a final push for his pet project/legacy....

[tascaso]

What MWD wants they get. The LA Basin should have been put on a growth moratorium ages ago and/or build desalination plants. The spirit of Mulholland lives on and they now look to destroy the Delta just because of their greed for more growth.

[Darian]

According to Restore The Delta, the project is being scaled down to a single tunnel option. They didn't report anything about going back thru an evaluation process. If that proves to be the case and Trump prevails in increasing the volume allowed to be pumped thru the CVP, the result could approach the volume in the capacity of the two tunnels in the original project.

I guess the question is whether the downscaled project requires its own evaluation??? :confused:

[Darian]

Seems to me that the Delta Smelt has too often been thrust into the spot light as the sole reason for opposing Waterfix but, as bad as extinction of the Smelt or any organism is, it's hardly the center of opposition as witnessed by the positions of several conservation organizations and discussed in a some 40,000 page document that comprises the EIR/EIC.

Even UC Davis recognized the potential demise of the Delta Smelt years ago and started capturing some to protect in their breeding/survival programs. Even the growers/water contractors gave on fighting about the Smelt and started targeting invasive/predator species (like the Striped Bass) to protect Salmon; a commercially exploited species.

I know most of us on this Forum don't have the time or energy to read even parts of the EIR/EIC for Waterfix but, I assure you that unless we become informed/advocate positions about this and other related issues that we'll be fly fishing for saltwater species off the docks in "Old Sac".

[winxp_man]

Seems to me that the Delta Smelt has too often been thrust into the spot light as the sole reason for opposing Waterfix but, as bad as extinction of the Smelt or any organism is, it's hardly the center of opposition as witnessed by the positions of several conservation organizations and discussed in a some 40,000 page document that comprises the EIR/EIC.

Even UC Davis recognized the potential demise of the Delta Smelt years ago and started capturing some to protect in their breeding/survival programs. Even the growers/water contractors gave on fighting about the Smelt and started targeting invasive/predator species (like the Striped Bass) to protect Salmon; a commercially exploited species.

I know most of us on this Forum don't have the time or energy to read even parts of the EIR/EIC for Waterfix but, I assure you that unless we become informed/advocate positions about this and other related issues that we'll be fly fishing for saltwater species off the docks in "Old Sac".

If this point has not been brought up...... can it be argued? That if the delta is gone fish species that are no good for the delta will be coming? What about sharks showing up? What about no rearing habnitat for salmon smolts? What I’m trying to say over all damage to habitat and thus the decline of not just salmon but also other native species. And yes like you said Darian the Delta Smelt is what I read most of the time.

[OceanSunfish]

"They" always put the onus on the Delta Smelt......... as in, "little fish" (insignificant)....... Including McClintock, et. al. In fact, spotlight is also on Striped Bass as a PREDATOR, not another species affected by the demise of the habitat. All of this steers the attention away from where public attention needs to be focused........ the health of the entire delta ecosystem. If the "house" is broken, nothing lives in it.......

[Darian]

The latest note I received from Restore The Delta reports that the new director worked for several years at DWR while her state salary was reimbursed by Metropolitan Water District (MWD). Probably nothing illegal involved but may reflect a conflict and does indicate the commitment/effort that MWD provides to Waterfix.

[OceanSunfish]

The latest note I received from Restore The Delta reports that the new director worked for several years at DWR while her state salary was reimbursed by Metropolitan Water District (MWD). Probably nothing illegal involved but may reflect a conflict and does indicate the commitment/effort that MWD provides to Waterfix.

Beauty....... No surprise..... It's not a job...... it's politics