Wednesday May 25, 2022
CapRadio —
Years of drought and pollution have taken their toll on the San Francisco Bay and San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. The watershed — a key resource for Californians throughout the state — has seen declining numbers of salmon and an uptick in harmful algal blooms in recent years.
On Tuesday, tribes and environmental groups gathered outside the state water board’s headquarters in Sacramento to demand better management of the Bay-Delta. Speakers at the gathering said that current management of the watershed has taken a toll on the communities surrounding it.
Caleen Sisk, chief of the Winnemem Wintu tribe, says that her tribe’s history and cultural traditions are intertwined with the Bay-Delta. She says that the state’s decisions prioritize corporate agricultural interests over that of communities impacted by the worsening conditions of the watershed.
“We’re the ones who are left with the water deficiency and the water pollution so that a handful of people can get rich off of that water,” Sisk said.