You haven't seen anything about this in the newspapers or on TV yet.
The Federal Bureau of Reclamation released a biological assessment today showing Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) pumping is linked to the Pelagic Organism Decline (decline of all Delta species that swim in the water) and specifically to the decline in Delta Smelt populations.
http://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=22181
“While some of the likely causes of the POD, such as the gradual accumulation of ecologically disruptive exotic species in the Delta, may have developed independently or partially independently of water project operations, other likely contributing causes are clearly related to water project operations. The degree of project effects on delta smelt varies considerably among years and may also vary substantially from month to month, depending on changing distribution of fish, delta hydrology, and other factors. The POD analysis proposes that changes in water project operational regimes have contributed to the recent decline both directly (via entrainment) and indirectly (via habitat alteration). During some of the recent POD years, increased water project exports during winter resulted in higher losses of adult smelt (Chapter 7), particularly early spawning fish (and their offspring) that may be proportionally more important to the population. By contrast, reduced exports during spring may have increased survival of later spawned larvae in recent years. Reduced spring exports from the Delta have been partially the result of the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP), a program designed to improve survival of outmigrating juvenile Chinook salmon. VAMP has been operating since 2000."
You can find the quotation above from the chapter relating to Delta Smelt here:
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/OCAP/docs/OCAP_BA_013.pdf
The full Federal Bureau of Reclamation Biological Assessment is here:
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/ocapBA_051608.html
The Federal Bureau of Reclamation released a biological assessment today showing Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) pumping is linked to the Pelagic Organism Decline (decline of all Delta species that swim in the water) and specifically to the decline in Delta Smelt populations.
http://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=22181
“While some of the likely causes of the POD, such as the gradual accumulation of ecologically disruptive exotic species in the Delta, may have developed independently or partially independently of water project operations, other likely contributing causes are clearly related to water project operations. The degree of project effects on delta smelt varies considerably among years and may also vary substantially from month to month, depending on changing distribution of fish, delta hydrology, and other factors. The POD analysis proposes that changes in water project operational regimes have contributed to the recent decline both directly (via entrainment) and indirectly (via habitat alteration). During some of the recent POD years, increased water project exports during winter resulted in higher losses of adult smelt (Chapter 7), particularly early spawning fish (and their offspring) that may be proportionally more important to the population. By contrast, reduced exports during spring may have increased survival of later spawned larvae in recent years. Reduced spring exports from the Delta have been partially the result of the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP), a program designed to improve survival of outmigrating juvenile Chinook salmon. VAMP has been operating since 2000."
You can find the quotation above from the chapter relating to Delta Smelt here:
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/OCAP/docs/OCAP_BA_013.pdf
The full Federal Bureau of Reclamation Biological Assessment is here:
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/ocapBA_051608.html