A Peripheral Canal has been proposed to divert water from the Sacramento River, through (or around the periphery of) the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. It would transfer water into the California Aqueduct, North Bay Aqueduct, South Bay Aqueduct, and San Luis Canal via the Jones and Banks pumping stations, then be pumped to Central and Southern California (including San Francisco Bay Area water providers, like Santa Clara Valley Water District). Construction costs are estimated at between $3 and $17 billion, depending on the source. A 2006 report prepared by Washington Group International for the State Water Contractors (e.g. Metropolitan Water District) estimates the cost of a canal along the eastern side of the Delta to be between $3.3 and $3.7 Billion.
Freshwater flowing into the Delta displaces salt water entering from the bay. The freshwater/saltwater gradient has moved inland due to approximately 7 million acre-feet of water being exported to the Central Valley and Southern California. A peripheral canal would reduce the overall freshwater flow into the Delta and move the freshwater / saltwater interface further inland. Currently, that water is being pulled through the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. This has created unnatural north to south flows in the Delta, confusing native species such as the Delta Smelt and disturbing the ecosystem. This problem could be eliminated by stopping the freshwater exports outside of the region.
Voters defeated a ballot initiative to build the Canal in 1982. Ever since then, the words "Peripheral Canal" have been called the "third rail" in water politics.
In recent years, however, after Judge Oliver Winston Wanger shut off pumping stations in the South Delta because of their environmental impact, the idea of a Peripheral Canal has had a revival. Among others, Tom Birmingham, the head of the Westlands Water District; Tim Quinn, the director of the Association of California Water Agencies; and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Blue Ribbon Delta Vision Panel have fallen in line with the idea, although the Delta Vision Panel did not rate it as its primary goal.
Famous quotes containing the words peripheral and/or canal:
“If we are to change our world view, images have to change. The artist now has a very important job to do. He’s not a little peripheral figure entertaining rich people, he’s really needed.”
—David Hockney (b. 1937)
“My impression about the Panama Canal is that the great revolution it is going to introduce in the trade of the world is in the trade between the east and the west coast of the United States.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)