April 2008

U.S. Water News Online

SACRAMENTO — Two environmental groups are threatening to sue the state water board if it doesn't act to stop the ecological decline of the San Francisco Bay-Delta.

The California Water Impact Network and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance filed the complaint against the State Water Resources Board.

The groups accuse the board of allowing the state and federal government to pump too much water from the delta to farms and water users in the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. They claim the exports have harmed fish and water quality.

William Rukeyser, a spokesman for the water board, said the state already has been taking steps to restore the waterway.

"Just as there are multiple historic causes for the problems of the Delta, restoring it will take multiple actions and we are already doing our part," he said.