Independent research and analysis of California's developed water systems
Jonas Minton, the Senior Water Policy Advisor for Planning and Conservation League, passed away on June 22, 2022. He was 73. I had the privilege of serving on an expert panel with Jonas on April 2, 2018. We testified in the WaterFix Water Right Change Petition hearing for attorneys Bob Wright and Kyle Jones, representing … Continue reading Tales from the Water Wars — Jonas Minton’s testimony on true collaboration
By Deirdre Des Jardins The State Water Resources Control Board's WaterFix Water Right Change Petition Hearing took place from July of 2016 to September of 2018. It was the largest water rights hearing in 50 years, involving over 110 parties and over 85 attorneys. I participated in the entire hearing. In addition to testifying on … Continue reading Tales from the Water Wars – The Passing Game
The Department of Water Resources will be holding a webinar on consideration of climate change for the Delta tunnel project on August 25, 2021. The following discussion is from my testimony in 2016 for Part 1A of the WaterFix Water Right Change Petition hearing. It explains some key problems with the consideration of shifts in … Continue reading Consideration of climate change in the Delta tunnel project
Remarks by Deirdre Des Jardins at the April 16, 2021 Delta Independent Science Board meeting. One of the most valuable contributions of the Delta Independent Science Board is when they speak inconvenient truths. One example of this is the BDCP / WaterFix project, which is a “hard” adaptation to climate change. The locations for the … Continue reading On the Delta Independent Science Board and Inconvenient Truths
Banks Pumping Plant, State Water Project In 2018, the California Department of Water Resources delegated the design and construction of the WaterFix project to the Delta Conveyance Design and Construction Authority (DCA), a Joint Powers Authority created by the State Water Contractors. The October 26, 2018 Amended and Restated Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement states … Continue reading Joint Powers Authority continuing Delta tunnel project engineering design
The Senior Planning Manager of the WaterFix project has been the president of an obscure company in Idaho called 5RMK.... This kind of risk management is a common arrangement for construction of oil and gas pipelines.
Whether there is one Delta tunnel or two, the construction of a large diameter tunnel in Delta soils consisting of sedimentary layers of peat, sand, silt, and clay is a significant engineering challenge. The Highway 99 tunnel in Seattle, bored by “Big Bertha,” was constructed in glacial deposits with layers of sand, silt, and clay … Continue reading WaterFix: Tunneling risks and tunnel construction contracts
because of inadequate geotechnical borings, the design and construction of the 31 miles of Delta main tunnels/tunnel is likely to be subject to significant changes and cost escalation
California WaterFix: Will the California Department of Water Resources withdraw or amend the August 2015 Water Right Change Petition?
Ron Stork, Senior Policy Advocate for Friends of the River, testified for Friends of the River and the Sierra Club in Part 2 of the WaterFix Water Right Change Petition Hearing in 2018. This is the section of his written testimony on why pursuing a permit for a two tunnel project, when DWR was only … Continue reading Written Testimony of Ron Stork on Diligence and the WaterFix Water Right Change Petition Application