A Fresno nonprofit linked to the largest agricultural water district in the country filed a federal lawsuit alleging San Francisco and other Bay Area communities are unfairly exempted from water cutbacks meant to protect endangered species.
The Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy and Reliability alleges that freshwater diversions from the Tuolumne River are jeopardizing endangered species of salmon, smelt and sturgeon by increasing the salinity of the San Joaquin River and Sacramento Delta, where the river water would naturally flow without upstream dams creating the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Hetch Hetchy is the primary source of drinking water for 2.6 million people in the Bay Area.
The center’s executive director, Craig Manson, is the general counsel for Westlands Water District and the lone named plaintiff in the case is Jean Sagouspe, a Central Valley farmer who is also on the board of the Fresno group and is the former board president of Westlands.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Farm-linked-group-sues-feds-over-San-Francisco-s-5699197.php