US District Court Judge Oliver Wanger ruled yesterday that the US Bureau of Reclamation and the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to consider climate change when developing a biological opinion governing the operation of delta pumping facilities.  This ruling comes on the heels of additional water supply cutbacks intended to protect salmon and the Delta smelt. 

The crisis is worsening for the people who rely on the Delta to convey water from northern California rivers to users in the southern half of the state.  Does the environment need protecting?  Absolutely.  Can we do that and still meet the state's growing water supply needs?  It doesn't seem likely and the future appears worse than the past.

Its time to give serious consideration to an alternate way of moving water through the Delta that protects the regions farms, communities and ecosystems while making sure farms and Southern California communities don't dry up.