Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
AN ESTUARINE STANDARD
California's novel estuarine salinity standard was the brainchild of 30 scien-
tists and policymakers, convened by the San Francisco Estuary Project in the
early 1990s. Rather than being pegged to a certain volume of freshwater
flows, the standard is based on the salinity near the bottom of Suisun Bay.
When the “near-bed” salinity is two parts per thousand (2 ppt) in this location,
aquatic organisms are particularly abundant. The resulting state standard,
commonly called “X2,” is still in effect today.
In practice, however, this allocation has helped more lawyers—arguing
about it in court—than fish. Critics say the allocation is now more often
used to meet the state salinity standard described above than as an addi-
tional dollop of water for salmon.
The third landmark allocation of water for fish was more unusual, and
involved the creation of an environmental water “account.” For the first
time in California, fish had money to buy and bargain for their own water.
“Part of this was motivated out of the structure of water rights in Califor-
nia, and the fact that nonhumans don't have water rights,” says David
Freyberg, who helped review the performance of the new account. Part of
this was also motivated by visionary environmental leaders like Tom Graff
of the Environmental Defense Fund, who argued that market forces must
be brought to bear on resource conflicts.
As a result of this new accounting system, water projects reduced
pumping at key times during the biological and migratory cycles of several
species of fish. The account then bought water on the statewide market to
cover the shortfalls. State and federal fish biologists teamed with water-
supply engineers to decide where to send the water, and adapted their de-
cisions to the ongoing uncertainties of a naturally variable system and
changing fish behavior. Having engineers and biologists team up together,
Freyburg says, was novel for government restoration initiatives.
The account gave the “environment” some crucial buying power. But
neither the account, nor the CVP's 800,000 acre-feet, nor the estuarine
salinity standard really improved conditions for fish. Instead, these tools
simply guaranteed flows at a level designed to prevent extinction. Some
think these tools actually paved the way for more diversions.
“Since then, the ecosystem has gone into the tank,” says Tina Swan-
son. “We've got multiple species of fishes with populations at record
low levels, more species being listed as endangered, commercial and
recreational salmon fisheries closed several years in a row, and recogni-
tion that these species are in really big trouble. Clearly the steps we took
weren't enough.”
