From the Golden Gate Salmon Association
Later this week, the State Water Resources Control Board is likely to adopt a final update to the Bay-Delta Plan. This plan is the state’s key document to protect the natural resources in the vast Bay-Delta estuary, as well as its Central Valley tributary rivers. This is the largest freshwater ecosystem in California and the largest estuary on the West Coast. Sacramento Valley salmon runs are the backbone of salmon fishing in California and coastal Oregon. The Board’s decision is particularly important to the salmon fishing community after a dramatic crash in naturally producing salmon and a three-year fishing shutdown. The need for stronger protections is also highlighted by another juvenile salmon kill below Shasta Dam this year, caused by lethal water temperatures. The Water Board is the only state or federal agency with the legal authority to require adequate flows and temperatures to protect Sacramento River fall run Chinook salmon. The Water Board’s current Bay-Delta Plan was adopted in 1995. Despite the dramatic failure of the 1995 plan, this will be the first update to the plan in 30 years. In short, this will be one of the most important decisions the Board has made in decades.
The Unimpaired Flow Approach: A decade ago, working closely with the scientific community, the Board developed the unimpaired flow (UIF) approach to Bay-Delta protection, in which a specified percentage of natural flows would be required to be left in the river by water diverters. The science-based UIF approach recognizes ecosystem flow needs at different times of year. It also allows lower environmental flows in dry years, and more in wet.
In December of 2018, at the end of Governor Brown’s term, the Board adopted an UIF requirement for the San Joaquin River in Phase 1 of the Bay-Delta Plan update. However, Governor Newsom directed the Board not to implement this requirement and removed Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. The Board got the message.
Fatally Flawed Voluntary Agreements: The Board plans to adopt a Bay-Delta Plan update focused on a scheme written by water users called the Voluntary Agreements (also called Healthy Rivers and Landscapes or HRL.) The goal of the VAs is to prevent the Board from adopting a science-based regulatory approach. The VAs offer small, and in some cases no, increases in environmental flows and instead propose to modestly accelerate efforts to restore floodplains and other habitat types. The VAs are a confusing scheme with many fatal flaws, including the following. It’s a long list.
- Essential Stakeholders Excluded from Negotiations. It’s no surprise that the VAs are a dramatic failure, given that the fishing, environmental, environmental justice and tribal communities were all locked out of negotiations by the Newsom Administration. Some environmental NGOs were active participants in VA talks until the Newsom Administration excluded all advocates for salmon, the environment, affected communities and tribes. Not surprisingly, with no one to ask tough questions or advocate for an effective program, the water users wrote their dream plan – which the Board is preparing to rubber stamp. The Newsom Administration approach to the VAs would be like settling a labor strike by excluding labor representatives and allowing management to write an “agreement”.
- Inadequate Environmental Water. The VAs offer to change river flows by approximately one percent on average. That’s not enough to move the needle. The science is clear that inadequate flows, along with lethal water temperatures, are the cause of the salmon crash, the salmon shutdown and the fact that a growing list of species are in danger of extinction.
- No Scientific Foundation: The VA promise modest increases in floodplain habitat restoration instead of improved river flows. However, there is no scientific evidence that this approach will work. Indeed, in a peer review, scientists concluded that it will not. Decades of habitat restoration without flow improvements have led to the current decline. Continuing this failed approach will not work.
- No New Temperature Protections: The VAs have no requirements to improve lethal temperature conditions on key salmon rivers.
- No Strategy for the Worst Years: Extended droughts are when salmon and the ecosystem are hit the hardest by irresponsible water However, on key Central Valley rivers, the Board’s draft plan would require no improved flows, no improved temperature conditions and no new habitat benefits. (The draft Plan does not require the new floodplain habitat promised by water users to be flooded during dry years.)
- No Requirement to Block Federal Rollbacks to Current Salmon Protections. The State Water Board agreed with GSSA that the recent “Action 5” decision by the Bureau of Reclamation illegally undermined existing ESA protections for salmon and other species. Federal agencies plan even more ambitious efforts to slash salmon protections in the future. However, the Board’s draft Plan has no effective response to federal rollbacks. Instead, it merely calls for the preparation of a plan and convening a Adding a small amount of “new” environmental water to a shrinking baseline of environmental protections is like pouring water into a leaking bucket. This flaw could mean that the Bay-Delta Plan would allow future conditions for salmon to be worse than they are today.
- Assumes Federal Support – Despite Federal Opposition. The Trump Administration has never supported the VAs. And recently, the Bureau of Reclamation stated that they will abandon the VAs if the Board approves the current draft. Nevertheless, the plan the Board will likely approve assumes significant environmental water contributions by the federal government, as well as $740 million in new federal funding. None of these commitments are likely to be met. Further, the Board’s “backstop” approach if VA participants drop out will not work. It would leave the two massive Delta water projects – the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project – with two very different regulatory requirements. This approach would be like having two steering wheels, two drivers and two different destinations in a single car. That’s a formula for a crash. The CVP and the SWP are inextricably linked. The Bay-Delta Plan cannot succeed if the CVP and SWP operate to different standards – particularly given President Trump’s mandate to maximize water diversions at the expense of the environment.
- Water Users Allowed to Cook the Books to Avoid Providing Real Environmental Water. The VA plan includes loopholes that allows water users to manipulate water “accounting” to avoid providing real new environmental water to meet even the modest targets in the VAs. Imagine if the DMV were to repeal speed limits and instead require drivers to file a report stating that they drove 10 MPH slower in the past month than they had This sounds absurd, but this is the self-reporting approach the Board plans to adopt for “accounting” for environmental water. Past experience, including the failed Environmental Water Account (EWA), revealed the flaw in this approach. But the Board plans to make the same mistake at a scale far larger than the EWA.
- Allows Increased Water Diversions and Worse Environmental Conditions in the Future. The Plan includes loopholes that would allow massive new water projects, such as Sites Reservoir and the Delta tunnel, to divert far more water in the future. These projects are proposed by the same water users who wrote the VAs. Together, these diversions could overwhelm the “new” VA environmental Thus, the VAs are a scheme to allow conditions for salmon in the future to be even worse than they are today.
- Seeks Billions of Taxpayer Dollars for a Designed-to-Fail Plan, Most of Which Would Go to the Authors of the VAs. Because the Trump Administration has threatened to defund the VAs, state taxpayers would be asked to pay billions for this failed Most of the public funding would go to the very water users who wrote the VAs.
- New DWR Project Suggests that the Cost to State Taxpayers Could be Far Higher than The VAs call for more than $1 billion in state taxpayer funds. However, the first large Department of Water Resources project to buy VA environmental water – called Fair Ranch – suggests that the ultimate cost to state taxpayers could be far higher. This $180 million project – a sweetheart deal with Reclamation District 108 – commits to only 5,000 acre-feet of water savings per year for the environment. (RD 108 is one of the authors of the VA scheme.) At this cost, the VA program to buy environmental water could cost billions more than the VA budget assumes.
GSSA urges the Board to abandon the VAs and adopt the science-based UIF approach to protecting the Bay-Delta and salmon.
For more information: Barry Nelson, Barry@westernwaterstrategies.com, 510 340 1685
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Maven’s Notebook.
More coverage of the Voluntary Agreements on Maven’s Notebook …
Posted: November 3, 2026
By Dan Walters, Cal Matters This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gray Davis became governor in 1999 and one of his first acts was to decree that there would be no major changes in water policy for eight years, which he assumed would be his two terms in office. Davis, a veteran politician who had climbed the political ladder one rung at a time, was well aware of the decades-long stalemate on the fundamental […]
Posted: October 30, 2026
Framework combines new flows, habitat restoration, science and enforceable rules to protect the Sacramento River and Delta From the State Water Board: In a landmark development driving large-scale ecosystem restoration and creating greater security for the heart of California’s water system, the State Water Resources Control Board today adopted modernized water quality protections for the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay-Delta. The updated Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed (Bay-Delta Plan) strengthens protections for […]
Posted: October 30, 2026
California approved Newsom’s Delta water rules, but Trump threatens to pull out and $740M with it. Water agencies that once backed the deal call it too strict; environmentalists say it’s too weak. By Rachel Becker, Cal Matters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California water regulators have approved a new plan overhauling how farms and cities take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and rivers that feed it, setting up the next fight over Gov. […]
Posted: October 30, 2026
Under the changes, water agencies can commit to voluntary agreements governing water usage that some environmentalists and tribes argue undermine the health of the Bay-Delta system. By Alan Riquelmy, Courthouse News Service California’s water board late Thursday approved major changes to a massive water plan that drew strong emotions, and at times sharp rebukes, from hundreds of stakeholders including water agencies, conservationists and tribes. The plan sets water quality goals for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a massive watershed […]
Posted: October 30, 2026
Groups condemn the Newsom administration’s voluntary agreement framework, pledging to fight for water rights, environmental protections, and due process From Restore the Delta: In anticipation of the State Water Resources Control Board’s vote to adopt the updated Bay-Delta Plan, tribal leaders, environmental advocates, and Delta residents gathered at a press conference to condemn the decision and pledge further action to defend California’s water rights, protect critical ecosystems, and ensure meaningful public participation in decisions affecting the state’s water future. Representatives […]
Posted: October 29, 2026
The Bay-Delta is a watershed that provides drinking and municipal water to some 30 million people, along with irrigation water for 4 million acres. From the Courthouse News Service People and agencies facing the effects of proposed changes to a major California water plan spoke in waves Wednesday, making their cases to the state’s water board. The State Water Resources Control Board is proposing amendments to the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water quality control plan. The plan sets water […]
Posted: October 28, 2026
By Alex Rabidoux, Assistant General Manager, Solano County Water Agency For decades, California has debated how much water should flow through its rivers to help recover struggling salmon populations. But an equally important question deserves attention: What happens to that water once it enters the river and how much ecological benefit does it actually provide? Salmon evolved in rivers connected to expansive floodplains, wetlands and side channels. Seasonal flows created shallow, food-rich habitats where juvenile fish could feed, grow and […]
Posted: October 28, 2026
By the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition, consisting of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising, and Restore the Delta. California has formally apologized to tribes for state-sanctioned atrocities and committed to improving relationships between the state and tribal governments. Our elected leaders have also passed numerous laws intended to advance environmental justice outcomes. Yet, when it comes to decisions for the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed, the Newsom administration has thrown tribes and environmental justice communities […]
Posted: October 28, 2026
From the Golden Gate Salmon Association Later this week, the State Water Resources Control Board is likely to adopt a final update to the Bay-Delta Plan. This plan is the state’s key document to protect the natural resources in the vast Bay-Delta estuary, as well as its Central Valley tributary rivers. This is the largest freshwater ecosystem in California and the largest estuary on the West Coast. Sacramento Valley salmon runs are the backbone of salmon fishing in California and […]
Posted: October 27, 2026
Healthy Rivers and Landscapes provides critical habitat for salmon while also ensuring our farms, cities and rural communities remain vibrant By Nicole Montna Van Vleck, President and CEO, Montna Farms Think about the last time you enjoyed a piece of sushi or took a bite of pizza. The rice wrapped around your favorite sushi roll, the tomato sauce, the cheese, perhaps a few peppers or olives sprinkled on top of that perfect slice. Chances are, you weren’t thinking about the […]
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GUEST COMMENTARY: Fatal flaws in the State Water Board’s Draft Bay-Delta Plan Update
From the Golden Gate Salmon Association
The Unimpaired Flow Approach: A decade ago, working closely with the scientific community, the Board developed the unimpaired flow (UIF) approach to Bay-Delta protection, in which a specified percentage of natural flows would be required to be left in the river by water diverters. The science-based UIF approach recognizes ecosystem flow needs at different times of year. It also allows lower environmental flows in dry years, and more in wet.
In December of 2018, at the end of Governor Brown’s term, the Board adopted an UIF requirement for the San Joaquin River in Phase 1 of the Bay-Delta Plan update. However, Governor Newsom directed the Board not to implement this requirement and removed Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. The Board got the message.
Fatally Flawed Voluntary Agreements: The Board plans to adopt a Bay-Delta Plan update focused on a scheme written by water users called the Voluntary Agreements (also called Healthy Rivers and Landscapes or HRL.) The goal of the VAs is to prevent the Board from adopting a science-based regulatory approach. The VAs offer small, and in some cases no, increases in environmental flows and instead propose to modestly accelerate efforts to restore floodplains and other habitat types. The VAs are a confusing scheme with many fatal flaws, including the following. It’s a long list.
GSSA urges the Board to abandon the VAs and adopt the science-based UIF approach to protecting the Bay-Delta and salmon.
For more information: Barry Nelson, Barry@westernwaterstrategies.com, 510 340 1685
More coverage of the Voluntary Agreements on Maven’s Notebook …
DAN WALTERS: California adopted a new water plan. It’s unlikely to end the state’s water wars
By Dan Walters, Cal Matters This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gray Davis became governor in 1999 and one of his first acts was to decree that there would be no major changes in water policy for eight years, which he assumed would be his two terms in office. Davis, a veteran politician who had climbed the political ladder one rung at a time, was well aware of the decades-long stalemate on the fundamental […]
PRESS RELEASE: State Water Board adopts innovative new model to protect California’s Bay-Delta, water and wildlife
Framework combines new flows, habitat restoration, science and enforceable rules to protect the Sacramento River and Delta From the State Water Board: In a landmark development driving large-scale ecosystem restoration and creating greater security for the heart of California’s water system, the State Water Resources Control Board today adopted modernized water quality protections for the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay-Delta. The updated Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed (Bay-Delta Plan) strengthens protections for […]
CAL MATTERS: Has the Trump administration doomed Newsom’s water plan?
California approved Newsom’s Delta water rules, but Trump threatens to pull out and $740M with it. Water agencies that once backed the deal call it too strict; environmentalists say it’s too weak. By Rachel Becker, Cal Matters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California water regulators have approved a new plan overhauling how farms and cities take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and rivers that feed it, setting up the next fight over Gov. […]
COURTHOUSE NEWS: California water board passes major water plan after marathon session
Under the changes, water agencies can commit to voluntary agreements governing water usage that some environmentalists and tribes argue undermine the health of the Bay-Delta system. By Alan Riquelmy, Courthouse News Service California’s water board late Thursday approved major changes to a massive water plan that drew strong emotions, and at times sharp rebukes, from hundreds of stakeholders including water agencies, conservationists and tribes. The plan sets water quality goals for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a massive watershed […]
RESTORE THE DELTA: Tribes and environmental groups slam State Water Board’s anticipated adoption of updated Bay-Delta Plan, vow further action
Groups condemn the Newsom administration’s voluntary agreement framework, pledging to fight for water rights, environmental protections, and due process From Restore the Delta: In anticipation of the State Water Resources Control Board’s vote to adopt the updated Bay-Delta Plan, tribal leaders, environmental advocates, and Delta residents gathered at a press conference to condemn the decision and pledge further action to defend California’s water rights, protect critical ecosystems, and ensure meaningful public participation in decisions affecting the state’s water future. Representatives […]
COURTHOUSE NEWS: California water board hears competing views on major water plan update
The Bay-Delta is a watershed that provides drinking and municipal water to some 30 million people, along with irrigation water for 4 million acres. From the Courthouse News Service People and agencies facing the effects of proposed changes to a major California water plan spoke in waves Wednesday, making their cases to the state’s water board. The State Water Resources Control Board is proposing amendments to the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water quality control plan. The plan sets water […]
COMMENTARY: The science is clear: Restoring California’s salmon populations requires more than just water
By Alex Rabidoux, Assistant General Manager, Solano County Water Agency For decades, California has debated how much water should flow through its rivers to help recover struggling salmon populations. But an equally important question deserves attention: What happens to that water once it enters the river and how much ecological benefit does it actually provide? Salmon evolved in rivers connected to expansive floodplains, wetlands and side channels. Seasonal flows created shallow, food-rich habitats where juvenile fish could feed, grow and […]
COMMENTARY: Reject the discriminatory, illegitimate, and harmful Voluntary Agreements
By the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition, consisting of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising, and Restore the Delta. California has formally apologized to tribes for state-sanctioned atrocities and committed to improving relationships between the state and tribal governments. Our elected leaders have also passed numerous laws intended to advance environmental justice outcomes. Yet, when it comes to decisions for the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed, the Newsom administration has thrown tribes and environmental justice communities […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Fatal flaws in the State Water Board’s Draft Bay-Delta Plan Update
From the Golden Gate Salmon Association Later this week, the State Water Resources Control Board is likely to adopt a final update to the Bay-Delta Plan. This plan is the state’s key document to protect the natural resources in the vast Bay-Delta estuary, as well as its Central Valley tributary rivers. This is the largest freshwater ecosystem in California and the largest estuary on the West Coast. Sacramento Valley salmon runs are the backbone of salmon fishing in California and […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Healthy Rivers and Landscapes: A healthier future for all of California
Healthy Rivers and Landscapes provides critical habitat for salmon while also ensuring our farms, cities and rural communities remain vibrant By Nicole Montna Van Vleck, President and CEO, Montna Farms Think about the last time you enjoyed a piece of sushi or took a bite of pizza. The rice wrapped around your favorite sushi roll, the tomato sauce, the cheese, perhaps a few peppers or olives sprinkled on top of that perfect slice. Chances are, you weren’t thinking about the […]
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