“Whiskey’s for drinking, water is for fighting” (Mark Twain).  Resolving California’s long-standing water wars is the focus of several ongoing planning efforts focused on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta  (The Delta).  The Essex Partnership has been working with water users, environmental groups, and state and federal regulators to evaluate various proposals designed to restore the ecological health of the Delta while providing for consumptive water demands in and outside the Delta. 

The Partnership has played a critical role in facilitating the development of ecosystem and species conceptual models that can be used as tools to aid decision making.  The Partnership has also facilitated several recent independent science panels designed to help inform decisions regarding the Delta, including the ongoing Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).  The Partnership was recently awarded a contract from USGS to help with the publication of the ecosystem and species conceptual models.