A coalition of cities, counties and other organizations worried about the perceived far-reaching political power of the Delta Stewardship Council are banding together to fight for preservation of home rule.

And they now have the South San Joaquin Irrigation District on board.

The SSJID board unanimously approved a resolution this week to join the Delta Initiative of Cities and Agencies of San Joaquin County to fight for the overall protection of both land use and water rights.

General Manager Jeff Shields, though, wanted to make sure that the interests of the district were adequately addressed before the board gave their final approval.

While portions of the resolution hinted at prohibiting a peripheral canal – which would divert water from the Sacramento River around the Delta and into the California Aqueduct, Shields wanted to make sure that SSJID’s senior water rights were adequately addressed.

SSJID’s historic water rights on the Stanislaus River have been eyed in recent years by agencies dealing with water quality and fish populations. Shields worked with Steve Emrick – the district’s general counsel – to come up with language that was inserted at the end of the resolution that would passed on.

Part of what that is making local agencies nervous is the drafting of the stewardship council’s governance document. Language excludes farming practices in the Delta and the secondary zone from their oversight. The question that is attracting all of the attention is whether the state agency will have oversight over other land uses within the secondary zone – which includes half of Stockton, Lathrop, parts of southwest Manteca and nearly half of San Joaquin County.

Determining whether the land uses in those zones will have an effect on the tributaries that feed the Delta is another factor at play.

Shields said that the agency could end up having oversight on everything from “Mt. Shasta to Bakersfield” – anything that falls into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta watershed.

And while maintaining “home rule” is a big part of how SSJID has operated in its 103-year history, going outside of the box and teaming up with other communities to prevent micromanaging is something the directors favored.

“It’s very apparent to everybody that if we don’t protect each other at this point it’ll become a moot point,” said director John Holbrook. “Water will go south, the Delta will be restored, and everything will change.”