David Valadao: “One of the most interesting things we always hear is water is a finite resource and we shouldn't waste it. It always…”

“One of the most interesting things we always hear is water is a finite resource and we shouldn't waste it. It always blows my mind because this simple graph right here is a very strong example of what happened from one year to the next. Right here is what came into the delta in 2015, and right here is what happened in 2016--the amount of water that came in and the amount of water that was exported to the south of the delta--and this is the amount of water going through the delta this year. So the amount of water that went through the delta and out into the ocean and completely wasted, right here in this graph, and this is how much we are able to capture. That is a huge difference and a huge waste of water. Communities in my district have been suffering because of a lack of action in this House. This is not a State issue. This is policy that was implemented years ago; and as we watch and see the delta continue to go and continue to decline and the species continue to disappear, doing this has actually not helped the species, has done nothing. There is language in this bill that actually helps protect the species, the predator species. We have the ability in this bill to start a program that could actually help eliminate the striped bass. We have seen studies. As much as 60 to 90 percent of delta smelt are consumed by striped bass. Why don't we allow that language to move forward?…”