The largest segment of the Delta — ground zero in California’s water wars — is within San Joaquin County.

And the Delta Protection Commission tasked with safeguarding and enhancing the Delta’s environment, economy, and rich cultural history will now have District 5 State Senator Jerry McNerney on it.

McNerney represents all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alameda County.

 “The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the largest and most important estuary on the West Coast.” McNerney said. “I’m determined to help safeguard this incredible natural habitat for the people and ecosystems that thrive here and depend on its good health.”

There are five primary counties that comprise the Delta — San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento-plus a small sliver of Alameda.

San Joaquin County has the most at stake with 43.2 percent of the Delta within the county’s boundaries

The following are statistics gleaned by the University of Pacific Business Forecasting Center for the San Joaquin Regional Council of Governments regarding the Delta:

• 43.2 percent or about two-fifths of 318,800 of the 734,400 acres in the Delta are within San Joaquin County.

• Just fewer than 30 percent of the state project levees and more than 70 percent of the non-project levees are in San Joaquin County.

• Almost 80 percent of the 170,000 residents within the Delta’s secondary zone are in San Joaquin County including Manteca and Lathrop.

• A third of the residents in the primary zone or 2,921 people live in San Joaquin County.

• More than half of the 423,727 acres farmed in the Delta are within San Joaquin County.

• Over a third of San Joaquin County’s total ag production of $3.2 billion takes place on farms in the Delta zones.

• Thirty percent of the contiguous waterways within the Delta are in San Joaquin County.

• Between 20 and 30 percent of various recreation endeavors in the Delta such as marinas, camping facilities, fuel docks, boat dealers, launch ramps, and boat slips are in San Joaquin County.

 “The Delta region produces billions in annual economic activity, supplies food for people around the globe, and provides water to two-thirds of the state,” McNerney said. “Protecting and enhancing the Delta is essential for California’s environment and economy.”

The Delta is where the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers converge in a series of waterways and sloughs that ultimately flow into San Francisco Bay. The Delta is also home to more than 500,000 residents and numerous historic and vibrant small communities.

 The Delta is also an extremely diverse yet fragile natural habitat that supports more than 55 fish species and over 750 plant and wildlife species.

 California’s Delta Protection Act of 1992 established the Delta Protection Commission.

 In 2019, Congress designated the Delta Protection Commission to coordinate the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area, the first and only NHA in California. 

That Congressional action was co-sponsored by then-Rep. Jerry McNerney.