The California Department of Water Resources has awarded a $12.3
million contract to launch a carbon-capture experiment in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta.
Announced today, the project aims to discover whether greenhouse gases
can be stored in marsh plants and soils while also restoring Delta islands.
This could have the additional benefit of strengthening levees.
Grant recipients are UC Davis and the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS
proved, through a 14-acre pilot project on Twitchell
Island, that growing native tules in carefully
controlled conditions increased soil depth as much as 10 inches from 1997 to
2005.
Delta islands consist mostly of organic peat soils, which evaporate
when exposed to the atmosphere via farming and development. As a result, many
islands have become bowls, with interiors more than 20 feet below sea level.
This increases hydraulic pressure on surrounding levees.
The new project will expand the USGS test to 400 acres on
"It could provide sustainable farming opportunities for Delta
farmers and an economic incentive to sustain the existing Delta levee
system," said Dave Mraz, chief of DWR's Delta-Suisun Marsh Office.
Construction of the new project is scheduled for next spring.