Inventory and data gathering is the first crucial step needed to remove and dispose of the numerous abandoned and derelict vessels present in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that often present hazards for the public, including impeding navigation, endangering public health, and causing environmental harm.
The California State Lands Commission (CSLC) provides critical stewardship of the State’s sovereign Public Trust lands, including tidal and submerged lands and the beds of navigable waterways in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). In support of the CSLC’s exercise of its public trust responsibilities, ESA and the CSLC currently are working together to prepare an inventory of commercial abandoned and derelict vessels.
ESA is completing a multi-year survey of the Delta to provide a complete inventory of abandoned and derelict commercial vessels. ESA is collecting data characterizing all boat details and information informing the environmental and navigational hazards that each boat presents.
In addition to data collection and management, ESA developed a data viewer that allows CSLC staff to interact with the collected data using an intuitive, spatially-explicit user interface. As new vessel target data is collected, the application is updated to give CSLC staff up-to-date knowledge of abandoned vessels in the Delta. ESA will deliver to the CSLC a repeatable, programmatic approach to inventorying these vessels in the future.
Kathleen Berridge and ESA’s Fish and Aquatic Science Team collecting data on an abandoned vessel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
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