A federal judge declared that California's water management system is jeopardizing the existence of the state's salmon and steelhead, which have to navigate the complicated network on their journeys out to the ocean and back to their riverine spawning grounds.
The judge's ruling established that the canals and pumps that deliver water to 23 million Californians are causing "irreparable harm" to two salmon species, as well as the threatened Central Valley steelhead [AP].
The judge stopped short of ordering immediate remedies
like storing more water behind Shasta Dam, which could be released later to help migrating fish. But
the judge's conclusions mean regulators will be forced to impose more protective conditions when they issue a new permit in March, lawyers said. "It's a clear signal that business as usual in the Delta is not going to be acceptable," said Kate Poole, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council [Contra ...
