A Letter from Chair Isenberg

In 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger established the Delta Vision Task Force and told us to develop a vision for sustainable management of the Delta, and a strategic plan to implement that vision. He told us we were an independent body, and he wished to receive our independent recommendations. We spent nearly two years holding hearings, reading, thinking and debating ways to meet the Governor's challenge.

Now, the members of that Task Force have decided to continue our work, and to present policy makers with our comprehensive and linked recommendations for a durable, integrated solution for the future of the Delta ecosystem, and our co-equal goal to ensure a reliable water supply for California. We will not take a position on legislation, but will assert our view that the extensive recommendations we made should be fairly evaluated.

We reached our conclusions unanimously, which surprised all of us. In some ways the context in which California finds itself made that result almost inevitable. Here are the basic elements of how we approached the problems of California and the Delta:

The water supply in California is static; it is not growing.

Individual use of water has moderated slightly in California in recent years, but more people, businesses and farms means more water is required. We do not appear to be taking conservation seriously.

The Delta ecosystem is in serious decline, as is the complex water delivery system that runs through the Delta.

Improving the Delta ecosystem is a legally required condition of improving the water delivery system in California.

Increasing pressures of urbanization are threatening both the Delta ecosystem and the existing water supply system.

The current system of governing water in California--letting more than 200 government agencies, federal, state and local, independently operate in the Delta--just does not work. We need to make a big change.

The threats to the Delta ecosystem and our water supply system are great. We cannot afford to fail. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the source for at least some of the drinking water to two-thirds of the state's residents. The Delta is also an internationally recognized ecosystem of great importance, covering more than 1,300 square miles, and is home to 750 species of plants and wildlife and 55 species of fish. In addition, it is home to people, businesses and agriculture, which makes the area unique.

Will improving the ecosystem and providing a more reliable supply of water be easy? Of course it will not be easy. We have over 150 years of entrenched habits, customs and laws that have led to the current situation. We have the normal human reaction to any crisis: make sure I am protected from any and all change.

Unfortunately, the habit of asserting regional or economic interests cannot solve our statewide problems. Delta Vision is based on the premise that California can progress when we act boldly and recognize that all of us live in one state, with a common future.