Alarmed at the rising number of tiny Chinook salmon and delta smelt that were being sucked into the pumps and killed, the agencies ordered the pumping slowed under the Endangered Species Act.
In a lawsuit filed by the Kern County Water Agency and other users, claims court Judge John Wiese ruled in 2001 that the government was required to compensate the farmers for the water they lost.
In a final decision issued Dec. 31, he said they lost more than 300,000 acre-feet of water that was worth nearly $14 million at the time.
With interest, that has swollen to $25 million to $26 million today, said John Stovall, the Kern water agency's chief attorney.
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...the attorney who represented the valley water agencies, Roger Marzulla of Washington D.C., said the ruling has implications in other areas. He pointed to the Klamath River basin, where the federal government has imposed severe restrictions on water supplies to farmers in order to protect fish.
Valley water officials were elated with the ruling.
"It's a victory for farmers and urban water users," said Gary Bucher, water supply manager for the Kern County Water Agency. "Anyone who uses water from the Delta -- in California that's most of us -- should welcome this decision."
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link The Village News Jan.13.04
