Most of what Democrats have told you about California is a deception. One of these deceptions is the Smelt Fish that has no commercial value except to deceive.
The main reason for the water flow from the Sacramento River to California's Central Valley was turned off was to make sure Salmon had plenty of water to swin upstream from the Pacific Ocean to Mr. Pelosi's Salmon farm that was restarted from its collapse many years ago. California's Central Valley used to supply the United Statestens with tens of millions of dollars of fresh produce and a provided California with a large amount of taxes. With the water shut off, the farmers didn't even have water to drink. Many farm workers left the Central Valley, went to cities, and applied for financial aid. I doubt the income from the salmon is anywhere near what the total produce from the Central Valley was.
In addition plenty of water in the Sacramento River provided Pelosi with plenty of water for her wine grapes and plenty of cheap water for her district. I remember those years when we in Southern California had to let our lawns and flowers die and pay much, much more for water. Reclaimed sewage water was [and is] used to water flower fields.
My Links:
Russ' Science Page
Russ' Main Web Page
This Web Site is at http://Opinion.FarTooMuch.Info/SmeltFish.html was designed by Russ.