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jmf 7/11/17 <br />RESOLUTION NO. 2017-053 <br />A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF <br />SANTA ANA IN SUPPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA <br />WATERFIX AND CALIFORNIA ECORESTORE PROJECTS <br />WHEREAS, the California Delta, formed by the confluence of the Sacramento <br />and San Joaquin Rivers as they come together and flow into San Francisco Bay, is a <br />major water hub for California's water supply system for the majority of the State, <br />including 30 percent of the supplies for Southern California, and therefore underpins the <br />overall economy of California; and <br />WHEREAS, the Delta historically was a complex and dynamic natural system <br />driven by tidal fluctuations and natural marsh flooding that has been highly altered over <br />the last 100 years, with many of the levees and islands reclaimed from former <br />marshlands for development or farming. The Delta was never intended to be a water <br />conveyance facility. The scientific consensus is that the Delta is not sustainable as it <br />exists today and that changes must be made to stabilize conditions; and <br />WHEREAS, voters approved the State Water Project (SWP) about 55 years ago, <br />yet it was never completed as envisioned to include an independent conveyance facility <br />that would allow increased capture and storage of water during periods of high flows <br />and would also minimize conflicts with fisheries; and <br />WHEREAS, as the result of federal court decisions, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service <br />and National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinions, as well as other regulatory <br />constraints to protect native species in the Delta, the SWP has not been able to collect, <br />store, and deliver an estimated volume of 3.6 million acre-feet of water since 2008; and <br />WHEREAS, Governor Brown's California WaterFix and California EcoRestore <br />proposal provides a framework of how best to approach managing the Delta's combined <br />water and land resources in a manner that will realistically achieve improvements in <br />both water supply reliability and ecosystem protection for the Delta as an evolving place <br />by balancing the many competing demands; and <br />WHEREAS, the California WaterFix and EcoRestore proposal will help with water <br />supply reliability by improving essential ecosystem functions so that populations of <br />endangered or threatened aquatic species will be strengthened; and <br />WHEREAS, the California EcoRestore will pursue more than 30,000 acres of <br />critical Delta restoration over the next five years, including the improvements of habitat <br />conditions for fisheries migration, restoring tidal and non -tidal wetland habitat for native <br />wildlife, and improving connectivity among existing grassland and other natural habitats; <br />and <br />Resolution No. 2017-053 <br />Page 1 of 4 <br />