Congressman Josh Harder — frustrated that the federal government refuses to conduct in-person public meetings on arguably the most controversial water project this century in California — is taking matters into his own hands.

Harder is staging an in-person town hall on what he calls “the Delta Tunnel water grab” on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m. It takes place in the San Joaquin Health Plan’s community room, 7751 S. Manthey Road, in French Camp.

The town hall will feature Harder as well as water experts from across San Joaquin County.

After opening remarks, members of the community will have the opportunity to make their voices heard as it relates to the Delta Tunnel project. Harder’s office will then pass that feedback on directly to the Army Corps of Engineers.

“Washington and Sacramento have ignored our community for decades and their refusal to hear our community’s voice on the Delta Tunnel water grab is yet another reminder of that fact,” Harder said. “I’m hosting this town hall to ensure everyone in our community has the opportunity to stand up and speak out on this disastrous project. If the bureaucrats won’t host a town hall to hear from our community on this disastrous proposal, I will.”

The environmental document for the project released earlier this month notes it will have negative impacts not only on the Delta’s ecological system but also the economic of San Joaquin County and adjoining jurisdiction.

The 9th Congressional District — which includes all of San Joaquin County expect for Lathrop and rural area south of Manteca and east of Tracy — will bear the brunt of the negative impacts.

San Joaquin County has the largest area within the Delta out of six counties involved.

It has a wealth of productive agricultural land in the Delta.

At the same time, proposed state plans that would make up for the loss of fresh water needed to sustain court-ordered fish flows involve using water already being used by cities and farmers in the region from the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced river watersheds.

The Stanislaus River provides water for 220,000 residents in Manteca, Tracy and Lathrop plus provides irrigation water for 50,000 acres of farmland in the Manteca, Ripon, and Escalon areas.

Harder resides in Tracy — less than 10 miles where the proposed tunnel would dump water diverted from the Sacramento River and dump it into the Clifton Court Forebay at the head of the California Aqueduct. From there, it starts its journey to Southern California water faucets and large corporate farms on the southwest area of the San Joaquin Valley.

By bypassing the Delta, the Metropolitan Water District — the largest water purveyor in the south state — would have “cleaner” and more “secure” water.

That’s because Sacramento River water wouldn’t flow through the Delta. That means salinity levels are likely to rise in the Delta given there would be less fresh water to push back on water from the San Francisco Bay.

Such an occurrence has the potential to be disastrous for the Delta ecological system and could pose serious issues for endangered species such as the Chinook salmon and Delta smelt.

Protecting the fish is why the state would ultimately be forced to replace the water. That’s because even though vast amounts of water have been diverted south since the California Aqueduct was built more than 60 years ago, the water before it headed south continued to flow through — and benefit — the Delta ecological system.

Los Angeles water interests argue their water supply would be more secure in the event of an earthquake collapsing levees in the Delta.

At the same time, however, it would mean a mechanism would be in place where water earmarked for Los Angeles could bypass the Delta in times of drought creating domino impacts on farming, fish, the environment, and even recreation.

The Army Corps of Engineers has declined to hold any in-person hearings for feedback on the study whose comment period ends Feb. 14, 2023.

“Six weeks of public comment on a project that will impact us for hundreds of years is unacceptable and another demonstration of Sacramento putting itself first and the Valley last,” Harder said earlier this month when he started pressing the federal agency to hold in-person meetings.

Harder along with fellow Congress members Jerry McNerney (who has since left office) and John Garamendi in July introduced an amendment to prohibit the Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a Clean Water Act permit for the California Delta Conveyance Project

You can RSVP for the town hall at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/josh-harder-town-hall-on-water-tickets-513121218377

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

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