Judge: Calif. water diversions harm fish

FRESNO, Calif., July 19 (UPI) -- A federal judge has ruled that California's struggling salmon population has been harmed by water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno, Calif., stops short of halting water diversions, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

The ruling is the latest court decision ordering state and federal authorities to overhaul a water system that courts have said ignores fisheries and the environment.

Wanger's 118-page ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and several other environmental organizations, accusing the government of endangering salmon and steelhead.

Plaintiffs had asked the court to curtail water diversions immediately. The judge rejected that request after the officials began efforts to protect salmon and steelhead.

"We are frustrated that the court denied our requests," said Doug Obegi, a lawyer for the council. "We want to assure that the water projects are operated to sustain fisheries and farming. The court's decision shows that management has not achieved that balance. The system is really out of balance, and the court's opinion recognizes that what's happening right now puts salmon and steelhead in danger of extinction."