News

Where’s the Water?

August 14, 2013

By Bob Shaffer, Coordinator
Central Valley Joint Venture

Ensuring reliable and affordable water supplies for existing private, state and federal wetlands is the Central Valley Joint Venture’s greatest and most difficult challenge.  Over 90% of the historical wetlands within the Central Valley have been eliminated, so the habitat that remains must be intensively managed throughout the year to provide sufficient wintering and brood habitat, resting areas, and to promote hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities. Wetland managers need to know early in the year what the quantity and timing of deliveries to their properties will be, so they can plan accordingly to optimize the habitat they can provide.

The Joint Venture’s highest priority is to secure full water supplies to 19 State Wildlife Areas, Federal Refuges and private wetlands within the Grassland Resource Conservation District, as legislatively required by the enactment of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (Act).  Since the Act was passed, water supplies to various refuges and private lands have increased, resulting in well-documented benefits to waterfowl, shorebirds, waterbirds, and several threatened and endangered species.  However, the requirement of the Act to annually provide full water supplies to all the wetland areas by 2002 has yet to be fulfilled.  The ability to secure full water supplies to all wetlands identified in the Act has been exacerbated by rising water costs, lack of funding, and competing demands.

The Act statutorily obligates the Secretary of Interior to consult with the Joint Venture in matters involving wetland water acquisition and delivery.  Considering this responsibility, Joint Venture partners are diligently working with the Bureau of Reclamation, the agency responsible for securing full refuge water supplies, to identify projects or policy changes that can be implemented this year and in the near future to move us further toward our goal of assuring our wetlands remain wet.