Wednesday November 2, 2022
Manteca/Ripon Bulletin —
The San Joaquin River that passes Manteca and Lathrop just as it reaches the Delta is ground zero for yet another fight over water.
This time it’s to reduce the growing threat of toxic algal bloom in the Delta that pose a threat to humans and pets alike.
And if emergency petitions filed last month with the State Water Control Resources Board succeed, it will throw a major wrench into state efforts to deal with allocating dwindling water supplies as California enters its fourth year of drought.
It is the latest threat to regional water supplies intertwined with Delta issues that include:
*A push to increase fish flows on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced watershed.
*Salinity intrusion issues — both in surface water and groundwater below the Delta — that could occur if a diversion tunnel from the Sacramento River to the California Aqueduct pumping stations northwest of Tracy is built.
*Minimum fish flows and oxygen levels as measured at Vernalis at the confluence of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rives in order to protect fish in drought conditions.