Peripheral Canal

Jeff Hart is a scientist who knows the history of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta better than most. He explains its emergence from the Ice Age, traces it through the arrival of the Spanish, recalls the figures of the California Gold Rush and points out the reeds that give shelter today to its wild fowl and fish. Last week, as we skimmed across the breezy waters of Steamboat Slough, a rivulet of the delta just south of Sacramento, he reflected on all that and argued for a "water ethic" that would re-envision humanity's relationship to its most basic substance.

For Gov. Jerry Brown, his updated California water plan - the peripheral pipes - is not just bold policy, it's deeply personal. It's not merely about his legacy, it's about his family's. What his dad - the legendary builder Gov. Pat Brown - began more than half a century ago, the son now is adamantly committed to finishing. The septuagenarian governor referred to his family's role in California water development when a reporter asked him last week whether he was biting off too much heading into the November election.

Former Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown deserves great credit for presenting the facts (Letters, Feb. 7) on the need for building a Peripheral Canal in order to meet California's water needs. He also deserves the thanks of millions of Californians for providing the leadership that was essential in order to secure statewide voter approval in 1960 of the $1.75-billion bond issue to finance the State Water Project. As he said, he was regarded as a "traitor" by some Northern Californians for leading the parade for the project.

Jeff Hart is a scientist who knows the history of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta better than most. He explains its emergence from the Ice Age, traces it through the arrival of the Spanish, recalls the figures of the California Gold Rush and points out the reeds that give shelter today to its wild fowl and fish. Last week, as we skimmed across the breezy waters of Steamboat Slough, a rivulet of the delta just south of Sacramento, he reflected on all that and argued for a "water ethic" that would re-envision humanity's relationship to its most basic substance.

"PERIPHERAL CANAL" just might be the most fearsome phrase in California politics: two words that reignite decades-old water wars, pitting environmentalists and Northern Californians against farmers and Southern Californians, and destroying political careers in the process. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is brave to bring up the idea anew, as he did this week. Californians should hear him out.

Once again, as whenever there's a change of administrations in Sacramento, the die-hard supporters of a Peripheral Canal for California are rising to snuff the political winds for signs of change, asking one another, "Is it time yet?"

Canal: A March 3 editorial stated that an initiative campaign for a peripheral canal in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta was defeated in 1982. It was a referendum.

Re "Everyone's delta," editorial, March 3 I'm one of those "old-time Northern Californians" with a "reflexive opposition" to a peripheral canal. I live in L.A. now, but I believe that any lawn that needs a sprinkler deserves to die. I remember the droughts of the late 1970s. While Northern Californians flushed toilets only when conditions became dire, Southern Californians continued to sprinkle their lawns. Does Southern California need delta water? About as much as a Hummer needs oil drilled in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The proposal by MWD to cut agricultural water supplies by 90% makes planning much easier for us farmers. With the 10% we have left we will be able to grow enough food for ourselves and the few friends we seem to have. The rest of you chaps, including those who fought the Auburn Dam and voted against the Peripheral Canal, can begin to queue up for Care packages from Russia and/or the European Common Market. GEORGE A. BROOMELL, Tustin

The agribusiness giant J.G. Boswell Co. is asking for a new trial in Bakersfield after it was ordered to pay $13.5 million in damages to three Kern County farmers. A jury ordered Boswell to pay the actual and punitive damages after hearing the case of Jack and Jeff Thomson and Ken Wegis. The three charged Boswell with filing a false and malicious libel suit against them to suppress their support for the Peripheral Canal campaign in 1982.

When Gov. Jerry Brown wrapped up his tenure last time through, he left a huge unresolved question for California: In the wake of a failed 1982 initiative to fund the so-called peripheral canal, how would the state distribute and safeguard its water supply? How to maximize the water supply and allocate it fairly has been debated often in the years since without producing a solution. But it now looks as if Brown intends to finish up this piece of unresolved business. Earlier this month, state water officials presented him with the basics of a plan that would have profound implications for the future of California, as well as the legacy of its governor.

Thomas J. Graff Lawyer shaped state water policy Thomas J. Graff, 65, a lawyer and environmentalist who helped influence California water policy as regional director of the Environmental Defense Fund for 37 years, died Thursday at an Oakland hospital of complications from thyroid cancer. Graff, of Oakland, opened the California office of the Environmental Defense Fund in 1971 and helped it become one of the most powerful voices on environmental issues such as climate change, oceans and water policy.

The California Legislature did something right, it would seem. So did Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Something huge and historic. The wiggle word "seem" is needed because the exact future of the sweeping water legislation passed at dawn Wednesday is far from certain. For starters, success will hinge on whether voters next November approve an $11.1-billion water bond issue. Last-minute sweeteners that fattened the bond size left ample opportunity for opponents to cry "too much pork."

Negotiators are on the brink of achieving the most comprehensive California water legislation in half a century. They're also in danger of an embarrassing belly flop. Both sides -- whether talking about Democrats vs. Republicans, environmentalists vs. farmers, cities vs. burgs -- have attained their top priorities, realizing gains that seemed almost impossible just 18 months ago. GOP lawmakers and San Joaquin Valley growers have secured a pathway leading to probable construction of a long-controversial canal to carry fresh Sacramento River water around the fragile, brackish delta and directly into an aqueduct heading south.

Re "Everyone's delta," editorial, March 3 I'm one of those "old-time Northern Californians" with a "reflexive opposition" to a peripheral canal. I live in L.A. now, but I believe that any lawn that needs a sprinkler deserves to die. I remember the droughts of the late 1970s. While Northern Californians flushed toilets only when conditions became dire, Southern Californians continued to sprinkle their lawns. Does Southern California need delta water? About as much as a Hummer needs oil drilled in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Canal: A March 3 editorial stated that an initiative campaign for a peripheral canal in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta was defeated in 1982. It was a referendum.

It is with great interest that I read the letters (Jan. 27) by Thomas Graff of Berkeley and Carl Boronkay, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District. For a period of 8 years (1950-1958) as attorney general, I was personally involved in every major state and federal water case. I worked with both Gov. Earl Warren and Gov. Goodwin Knight and their Department of Water Resources. As attorney general, I was a member of the Water Project Authority. When I became governor in 1959 I knew that the problem of water conservation and delivery had to be solved.

"Plan Designed to Bring Delta Foes Together Inflames Debate Instead" (Sept. 16) misstates the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's position regarding the controversial peripheral canal while obscuring the agency's real focus on drinking-water quality. Improved drinking-water quality has been a lost component of the Calfed process and Metropolitan has taken the position that it is a paramount priority. Every 100 milligrams of added salt per liter in our water supplies from the Bay-Delta and other sources add $100 million in associated costs to Southern Californians.

Early last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's water plans looked to be headed down the path of universal healthcare. A Feb. 21 meeting with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) raised hopes that a bipartisan water bond might surface in Sacramento. But then rumors that the governor would begin work on a peripheral canal in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta sent Northern Californians into fits. Radio ads warned ominously of a "water giveaway" to "a few wealthy Southern California corporations."

It's the dawn of a crucial era in California water politics. For decades, officials have known that the vast system of pumps and pipelines that pushes 60% of the state's water supply through the environmentally sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is not sustainable, but they've lacked the will and the political muscle to effect change. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to overcome the inertia before he leaves office in 2009.