The California State Water Resources Control Board has unveiled a revised draft of its Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, sparking strong reactions from stakeholders across the spectrum of water management, environmental conservation, and Tribal advocacy. The plan, which governs water quality and ecosystem protections for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, offers two potential regulatory frameworks: the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) Program or a flow-only approach for those not participating in the HRL Program.
A Divided Response to the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program
Public water agencies across California have expressed strong support for the HRL Program, emphasizing its balance between environmental conservation and water management. Advocates of the program praise its integration of flows with habitat restoration projects, stating it provides a collaborative, multi-benefit approach to managing water resources.
"Advancing the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program means investing in a combination of flows integrated with on-the-ground habitat projects, creating multi-benefit water management strategies and state-wide policies that unite cities, communities, agriculture, and conservationists", stated representatives from the coalition backing the HRL Program. They emphasized the program’s ability to improve conditions for fish and wildlife while benefiting cities, farms, and communities throughout California.
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Concerns from Tribes and Environmental Advocates
In contrast, Tribal leaders, environmental advocates, and fishing industry representatives have raised significant concerns about the revised plan. Critics argue that the proposed Voluntary Agreements (VAs) included in the plan fail to provide adequate protections for the Bay-Delta ecosystem and disproportionately favor powerful water districts. These privately negotiated agreements, which have been a controversial component of the state’s water management strategy for nearly a decade, are described by opponents as unequal and scientifically unsound.
"The Board is supposed to be a science-based agency committed to racial equity and tribal reparations. If that were true, however, the Board would reject the Voluntary Agreements, which are not based on the best available science and would harm tribes and environmental justice communities", said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
Gary Mulcahy, Government Liaison with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, criticized the exclusion of Tribal and environmental justice communities from the VA planning process, stating, "The VAs have been in process now for over 9 years, and have failed to include EJ Communities, Disadvantaged Communities, and California Tribes in their planning and implementation processes. A clear violation of the civil rights of those groups who will be significantly affected by their actions."
Environmental and Economic Risks Highlighted
Advocates for the Bay-Delta estuary warn that the revised plan could lead to further ecosystem decline by enabling increased water diversions and failing to enforce binding habitat restoration measures. Concerns have also been raised about the impact on endangered species, toxic algal blooms, and the state’s struggling salmon populations.
"The federal government is pumping more water to their rich farmer friends and now the state is proposing a plan that allows the feds to continue sucking the rivers and Delta dry at the expense of salmon, communities, and the fishing industry", said Vance Staplin, Executive Director of the Golden State Salmon Association. He added, "The feds are running roughshod over the water rules at the expense of the billion-dollar salmon industry."
Gary Bobker, Program Director of Friends of the River, characterized the new draft as a retreat from meaningful action: "Two decades after acknowledging that native fish and wildlife populations, the food web, water quality, and commercial fisheries were declining dramatically and at risk of collapsing in the Bay-Delta estuary, the State Water Board is releasing a draft plan that essentially gives up the fight and hands the keys to the water districts whose excessive diversions have been driving the ecosystem collapse in the first place."
Calls for Change
Tribal representatives and environmental organizations are urging the State Water Board to adopt stronger regulations and reject the reliance on Voluntary Agreements. Advocates argue that the current plan fails to address the systemic disparities it perpetuates and neglects the urgent need for enforceable protections.
"We are disappointed that the concerns and needs of Tribes and Delta communities continue to be ignored by the Board in Bay-Delta Planning", said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. "With the ongoing collapse of Federal water standards, protecting communities and Tribes from disparate impacts should be the top priority of the Board – and that includes salmon protection."
Eric Buescher, Managing Attorney for San Francisco Baykeeper, echoed this sentiment, stating, "The most recent draft Bay-Delta plan continues the Board’s decades-long and continuing failure to ensure that the state’s foundational flow and water quality requirements for the Bay-Delta are sufficient to protect fisheries, endangered species, communities, and the Bay’s ecosystem."
Looking Ahead
As the State Water Board moves forward with its proposed revisions, tensions are expected to remain high among stakeholders. While the HRL Program has garnered significant backing from water agencies, critics argue the plan lacks the scientific rigor and enforceable standards needed to protect the Bay-Delta’s fragile ecosystem and the communities that depend on it. Whether the Board will address these concerns in its final decision remains to be seen.
Chris Shutes, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, summed up the stakes: "It took Water Board documents 15 years to dilute large flow increases to almost none at all. Less water means less fish. Most fishing outside of reservoirs will move out of state, except for boutique fisheries available to the wealthy few."