The California Bay-Delta is just a tiny part of California, but a huge part of the conversation/argument about California water. Find out what it is and why it is so important in this picture-rich slideshow.

1. What is this place
called the Delta?
By Chris Austin
www.MavensManor.com

2. Photo by Chris Austin
In the world of California water, much of the conversation –
nay, argument, really, centers around this place called the Delta. Northern
Californians think Southern Californians want to drain it dry. Southern
Californians, for the most part, don’t even know where the Delta is, much less
why it would be important to them. I’m just guessing, but I would be willing to bet
that most Californians who don’t live near the Delta don’t know where it is or why
it is important, either.

3. Photo by Chris Austin
So in this slideshow, using pictures of my own and borrowing a few pictures from
others, I will try and answer the question, what is the Delta and why is it important?

4. First of all, let’s take a look at
where the Delta is. The Delta
encompasses 738,000
acres, stretching inland from
Antioch to Stockton, and
includes portions of
Sacramento and West
Sacramento at its northern
point down to Tracy at its
southern point.

5. (source: USGS)
Five rivers flow into the Delta, accounting for nearly half of the snowmelt and
runoff of the entire state. Because the Delta is connected to San Francisco
Bay, and thus to the ocean, it is affected by tidal action and has two high tides
and two low tides every day. Although the water in the Delta remains
fresh, this tidal action affects the depth of the waterways.

6. (Source: WikiMedia)
Once a vast marsh, unsuccessful miners turned to farming and began draining and
reclaiming the land in the mid 1800s, encouraged by federal swampland
reclamation laws and the Delta’s rich, fertile peat soil. Levees were built, creating
islands of productive farms. The reclamation of the marshy Delta progressed
steadily for many decades, and was pretty much complete by the 1930s.

7. Photo by Chris Austin
Today, this is what the Delta looks
like from above. It is a maze of
over 1100 miles of waterways that
traverse prime farmland and
natural habitat areas, with levees
surrounding numerous islands.

8. Photo by DWR
Some islands are only accessible by boat,

9. some are only accessible by ferry,
Photo by Chris Austin

10. while others are connected by drawbridges and bridges.
Photo by Chris Austin

11. There are a lot of bridges in the Delta,
Photo by Chris Austin

12. bridges of many different types and colors.
Photo by Chris Austin

13. Photo by DWR
The Delta is an estuary, which is the body of water that is formed when freshwater
from rivers and streams meets the ocean and mixes with the salty sea
water, creating a vibrant and unique ecosystem.

14. San Pablo Suisun Bay Delta
Bay
San
Francisco
Bay
The California Delta, in conjunction with the
San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun
(Source: USGS via WikiMedia)
Bays, is the largest estuary on the Pacific

15. The Delta is home to a wide diversity of wildlife and birds;
over 750 different plant and animal species live here.
Photo by DWR

16. Photo by Peter Baer, flickr
Millions of migratory birds and ducks on the Pacific Flyway stop over at the
Delta, one of the last remaining wetland areas on the California coast.

17. Photo by USFWS, flickr
The Delta supports a vibrant fishery for both recreation and commercial purposes.
Eighty percent of the state’s commercial fishery species either live in or migrate through
the Delta, including four Chinook salmon runs, sturgeon, stripers, and bass.

18. Photo by Chris Austin
There are numerous opportunities for recreation in the Delta.
The labyrinth of the sloughs and waterways of the Delta make it
a prime place for boating and waterskiing.

19. Photo by DWR
There are over 100 marinas and waterside resorts, RV
Parks, campgrounds, grocery stores and dock-side restaurants located

20. The Delta's frequent sea breezes make for ideal sailing
and windsurfing conditions.
Photo by Chris Austin

21. Fishing is popular here, too.
Photo by Chris Austin

22. Photo by DWR
The Delta’s islands are, for the most part, sparsely populated.

23. Photo by Chris Austin
You can seemingly drive for miles on winding
levee roads and not encounter another soul.

24. It is an amazingly peaceful place.
Photo by Chris Austin

25. Inside the Delta, there are small villages and towns;
Photo by DWR

26. many of them have been here
since the beginning.
Photo by DWR

27. Photo by DWR
However, increasingly, modern urbanization is occurring inside the Delta.

28. Photo by DWR
But the main land use by far in the Delta is and always has been agriculture.

29. Most of the islands in the Delta are used for
farming, many of which have been held in
the family for generations. Photo by Chris Austin

30. The Delta’s rich, fertile soil supports one of the most productive
agricultural regions in the world. Photo by Chris Austin

31. Over 90 different agricultural products are grown in the Delta,
Photo by Chris Austin

32. which includes crops such as corn, grain, alfalfa, rice, tree fruits, nuts,
Photo by Chris Austin

33. grapes, strawberries, blueberries, olives, tomatoes, asparagus, and more.
Photo by Chris Austin

34. Since the Delta occupies the space
between the Bay Area and the rest
of the state, a lot of critical
infrastructure must cross the Delta.
Two major highways, I-5 & SR-
99, cross the Delta on its
periphery, and state highways 4 and
12 connect the Central Valley to the
Bay Area.
Photo by DWR

35. Three major railway lines run
through the Delta,
Photo by Chris Austin

36. Photo by DWR
and ships access the inland ports at Sacramento and Stockton through
the deep water ship channels, traveling nearly 80 nautical miles
inland from the Golden Gate Bridge.

37. Photo by Chris Austin
The Delta is a vital link in the state’s utility infrastructure as well. Natural gas was
discovered in the Delta in 1935, and today, the Delta serves as an important
source of natural gas and as an important underground gas storage area.

38. Photo by Chris Austin
Electrical transmission lines cross the Delta, some
bringing power to the Bay Area, and others
carrying power southward to the cities and farm
of Central and Southern California.

39. Photo by DWR
There are many wind turbines in the Delta, positioned to take advantage of
the frequent and reliable winds.

40. The Harvey Banks Pumping Plant
State Water Project
Photo by DWR
But perhaps the most critical infrastructure function of the Delta is acting as the hub
for the state’s water system, channeling the freshwater from the mountains to
reach the pumps of the state and federal water projects.

41. Bill Jones Pumping Plant Photo by Chris Austin
Central Valley Project
Tracy, California
The pumps draw water and send it south to irrigate the
farmlands of the San Joaquin Valley, as well as to feed
the faucets of the Silicon Valley and Southern California.

42. Barker Slough Pumping Plant
State Water Project
Photo by DWR
Smaller pumps in the western Delta draw water for Contra Costa County and
the State Water Project’s North Bay Aqueduct, which supplies water to
Solano and Napa Counties..

43. Photo by Chris Austin
The cities and farmers living
within the Delta draw their water
directly from the Delta.

44. And the Mokelumne Aqueduct and the Hetch Hetchy system carry water
that would otherwise flow into the Delta across it to quench the thirst of the
Bay Area communities.
Photo by Chris Austin

45. All in all, about two-thirds of the
state's population and millions of
acres of farmland are dependent
upon the Delta, at least in part, for
their water. Many more affect the
Delta by drawing water
upstream, taking water that would
have otherwise flowed into the Photo by Chris Austin
Delta.

46. And while the Delta is a beautiful and peaceful
place, it's delicate ecosystem is in trouble.
Photo by Chris Austin

47. Photo by Chris Austin
Freshwater flows are needed to keep the saltwater from intruding into the
Delta, and to flush drainage and pollutants out. One of the biggest arguments
is over how much water can be drawn the from the Delta and still have a
healthy ecosystem. Nobody can really agree on how much can be drawn or
who should be forced to take less.

48. The Delta looks nothing like it used to look like before it was remade to suit the white
man’s purposes, and so, not surprisingly, native species have struggled to adapt.
Some native species have already gone extinct, and several more are
endangered, including the spring-run and winter-run Chinook salmon, and the Delta
smelt

49. Photo by Chris Austin
Operations at the water projects have been subjected to limits and shutdowns
imposed by the court in order to protect endangered species.

50. While certainly the existing water-supply operations have had profound impacts on the
Delta, changing the natural flow patterns and even reversing the direction of the rivers at
times, there are many other potential factors involved in the Delta's ecosystem collapse.

51. Photo by DWR
The Delta estuary has been named as one of the most invaded estuaries, with
over 250 non-native plants and species now flourishing, much to the detriment
of the native ones (photo by DWR).

52. Water quality within the Delta is a big issue. An
extensive network of drainage ditches keeps the
Delta islands from flooding. Many farms are
allowed to discharge this drainage directly into the
Delta, flushing pesticides and fertilizers into the
waterways.
Photo by Chris Austin

53. Photo by Chris Austin
And there are municipalities that discharge their stormwater and treated
wastewater into the Delta.

54. No one can agree on just what is causing the collapse of the ecosystem:
excessive water diversions? invasive plants or species? ag drainage &
pollutants? or something else? These many problems need to be solved if
water exports are going to continue.
Photo by Chris Austin

55. The state of California mandated in
2009 legislation that the goals of
Delta ecosystem restoration and
water supply reliability must be
treated equally (co-equal
goals), not one favored over the
other. The courts have already
intervened in the water supply
operations; it is increasingly
apparent that if the state cannot
solve the problems in the Delta, it
will only lead to more court
intervention in the future.
FROM THE WATER CODE: "'Coequal
goals' means the two goals of providing a
more reliable water supply for California
and protecting, restoring, and enhancing
the Delta ecosystem. The coequal goals
shall be achieved in a manner that
protects and enhances the unique
cultural, recreational, natural
resource, and agricultural values of the
Delta as an evolving place." (CA Water
Code 85054)
Photo by Chris Austin

56. Photo by Chris Austin
Another major concern are the condition of the levees.
In the Delta, the levees have the dual purpose of
providing flood control and acting as channels for
conveying water to the pumps in the Southern
Delta for export to the San Joaquin Valley and
Southern California.

57. Many of the levees still in use today
were built in the Gold Rush days; they
are not built up to modern engineering
standards and must be periodically
Photo by DWR
raised and strengthened.

58. Levee failures are rather common; since the Delta has been reclaimed, each of the
islands and tracts has flooded at least once, several of them more than once.
There have been about 100 levee failures since the early 1890s).
Photo by DWR

59. Damage to the flooded islands can be extensive and expensive; these events will
surely get costlier as development continues inside the Delta.
Photo by DWR

60. Photo by DWR
Fixing the levee requires first rebuilding the broken portion of the levee,

61. Photo by DWR
and then pumping the island dry. It's an expensive process for the property owners;
several of the flooded islands have been simply been abandoned.

62. Most of the Delta islands are sinking at a rate of 1 to 3 inches per year, with many
islands already between 10 to 25 feet below sea level. The dominant cause of this
subsidence is the decomposition of organic material in the rich peat soil. This
subsidence increases the pressure on the aging levees.

63. Photo by DWR
In this picture of Twitchell Island, you can see how much lower the land is
compared to the level of water in the channel.

64. Source: DWR’s Delta Risk Management Study
Several earthquake faults run under the Delta, and seismic risk to the levees is a
major concern. A massive earthquake could cause multiple levee failures
simultaneously, flooding numerous islands and drawing salty water from San
Francisco Bay deep into the Delta; this could jeopardize the fresh water flows
that much of California's population and agriculture depends on. It would cost
billions and take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to repair.

65. Photo by DWR
Add in the effects of climate change - rising sea levels and more extreme
events, and it seems quite likely the Delta of the future won't look like the Delta of

66. Photo by Chris Austin
People have been fighting over the Delta for years: farmers (both inside and
outside the Delta), fishermen, environmentalists, state and federal
agencies, water agencies and Delta residents.

67. Photo by DWR
Many attempts at problem solving have met with
dismal failure. Everyone pretty much agrees
there are serious problems, but no one can
really agree on the extent of those problems or
what exactly should be done about them.

68. Photo by DWR
So there you have it, the Delta in a nutshell, although the story is quite complex
and there’s a lot more to it than can be covered in this simple slideshow.

69. Photo by DWR
For further reading on the Delta:
• Why the Delta matters to every Californian, from Aquafornia’s information desk
• Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: The sinking heart of the state, by the USGS
• Comparing Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, by the PPIC:
Jay Lund, Ellen Hanak, William Fleenor, William Bennett, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, and Peter
Moyle; July 2008

70. Photo by Chris Austin
Find out more about the planning processes currently underway:
The Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan
The Bay-Delta Conservation Plan

71. Photo by DWR
Learn more about the Delta’s ecosystem at
The Bay Institute’s Rivers and Delta website.

72. When in the Delta, stop by the Delta Farmer’s
Market, where you can buy fresh Delta produce
and wines and learn more about the Delta and
it’s resources. Find out more:
Discover the Delta Foundation.
Photos on this page by Robin Douglas

73. Photo by DWR
Visit this unique and special part of California!
Start planning your Delta vacation at the
California Delta Chambers and Visitor’s Bureau.

74. Presentation by
Chris Austin
Maven’s Manor Productions
www.mavensmanor.com
Learn more about California water
and get the latest water news at
aquafornia.com

75. Also available online
Follow the path California’s first water How is electricity generated and delivered to our
project, learn a bit of it’s history and find out homes? Click here to find out!
how the Los Angeles Aqueduct works by
clicking here.
Follow the path of water as it flows from the Colorado Hottest, driest, lowest. Death Valley is all of
River through the fertile fields of the Imperial Valley these. Check out the wonders of Death Valley by
and on to the Salton Sea by clicking here. clicking here.

76. Thank you for looking!
Photo by DWR