Re: “Trump takes steps to overhaul CA water delivery,” Free Lance, Jan. 24
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” To get this message, drive over Pacheco Pass anytime.
At the top is that beautiful San Luis Reservoir that used to exist as a vast valley of dry scrub. Pressing the accelerator more brings to your attention a very large flow of water coursing south inside a canal.
As progress continues a person gasps as another canal loaded with fast moving water presents itself. These water transport systems display signs that identify them as the Delta-Mendota and the California Canals.
Pacheco Pass provides a singular view of California. For more similar views visit Shasta Dam or any California dam of which there exist many.
My favorite dam changed a timber harvesting operation in the Sierra Mountains into a recreational lake known officially as Strawberry Lake but lovingly called Pinecrest Lake as the forestry location for campers was known. Water fed by Sierra snowfall was held in place by a PG&E constructed dam purposely to generate hydroelectricity to be sold then to flow the Merced River to water farms downstream.
This is ordinary water delivery in California. Trump’s memo concerning overhauling California water delivery refers to Southern Californians who “desperately need a reliable water supply.” This message has been refuted because water supply is over abundant from canals, dams and rivers; only holding areas were temporarily drained because of never before high demand.
Trump’s other mantra, “Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism,” can be debunked; fish means not only smelt but also salmon, Chinook, steelhead, trout and all the rest. The larger picture of “Water wasting while flowing to the ocean,” is a Trump mantra.
Before reaching the ocean, fresh water flows around islands and through bays and is known as an estuary which is a mixture of fresh and salt water. Certain fish, animals, birds and plants inhabit estuaries.
This all means that an estuary is a different environment for living. Needless to say, we humans ultimately depend on healthy environments for all life and for our own lives.
Mary Zanger
Hollister
