LOS ANGELES—As drought concerns prompt state and city leaders to implement water conservation efforts, a small fish has made its way back to center stage in California’s water wars, with many farmers questioning why millions of acre-feet of fresh water are being sent to the ocean to try to save it.
It’s a multi-decade-long battle that has resurfaced as the state limits many residents’ water use by 20-35 percent and restricts outdoor watering to once a week.
The Delta smelt fish—a small fish that lives in the San Francisco Estuary and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta—was placed on the threatened list under the federal Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) in 1993. By 2009, CESA changed its status to endangered.
…