California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is working to remove a drought barrier in the Delta that was installed under emergency circumstances. DWR installed the barrier in June as a means of protecting the Delta from salt water. The idea was to protect the integrity and quality of the Delta’s water to make sure it remained safe to drink.
“The water users in the interior of the Delta, including many farmers and residents there, would have experienced much higher salinity without it [barrier],” said Paul Marshall, Chief of DWR’s Bay-Delta Office. “The barrier has achieved what we intended, and having it go in by early June helped us to counter high tides experienced later that month.”
The temporary barrier was installed on the West False River between Jersey and Bradford Islands.
DWR began removing the barrier on September 8 and should be completed by mid-November. According to DWR officials, water should be able to flow over the remainder of the barrier in the next few days.
If the California drought continues into spring, DWR may reinstall the barrier.
