Senator Dianne Feinstein recently sent a letter asking the President to instruct the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service to maximize pumping under the terms of the biological opinion that protects Delta Smelt.
The letter states that “this year’s El Nino has highlighted a fundamental problem with our water system: A dogmatic adherence to a rigid set of operating criteria that continues to handcuff our ability to rebuild our reserves… Just last week, flows in the Sacramento were as high as 76,000 cubic feet per second… Yet the Bureau of Reclamation and the Fish and Wildlife Service are now considering reducing pumping due to concerns about larval smelt.” The federal agencies have been considering whether to reduce pumping based on estimates that 10 percent of larval and juvenile smelt could be harmed.
Senator Feinstein’s letter highlights just one of several operational issues the Bureau of Reclamation is being asked to review in light of operational needs, including climate change.