August 22, 2013 — The decision of whether to release water from the Trinity River should be reached by around noon today, Judge Lawrence O'Neill announced after a full day of hearing testimonies on Wednesday from tribal officials, fishermen and federal scientists fighting to prevent a massive fish kill.
”The judge heard a very robust scientific defense on a very basic principle which is that fish need water,” Jan Hasselman, an Earthjustice attorney representing the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, said. “He wanted to know if water flows affect fish disease, and he got a pretty resounding 'yes' from a pretty solid consensus of scientists.”
The federal Bureau of Reclamation had authorized the flows to begin Aug. 13, finding the supplemental flows were needed to protect an estimated 272,000 returning Chinook salmon — making it the second largest return on record.
The Fresno-based Westlands Water District and the Los Banos-based San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority filed suit against the bureau, claiming the releases would decrease already low water allocations available to farmers for irrigation. San Joaquin Valley farmers also argue that the bureau did not have the authority to authorize the flows.
The same day the releases were slated to begin, O'Neill granted a temporary restraining order and set a hearing for tribal and government officials to show evidence on how the extra water would save fish.
Read the full story at the Eureka Times-Standard