Overview
- The State Water Resources Control Board voted 4-1 Thursday to adopt an eight-year Bay-Delta plan that creates the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes voluntary-agreements pathway as an alternative to strict pump-flow limits.
- Participating agencies and the state have pledged roughly $2.9 billion and plans to restore more than 27,000 acres of tidal and floodplain habitat tied to enforceable commitments and public monitoring.
- The board retained a traditional regulatory pathway as a backstop that regulators can impose if voluntary agreements do not meet required flow or restoration outcomes.
- Federal participation and hundreds of millions in potential funding are in doubt after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it will not join unless the plan is changed and Westlands Water District signaled it will withdraw.
- Environmental groups, fishing advocates and some tribal leaders oppose the plan, arguing it risks further declines in salmon and other native fish and that success will hinge on strict enforcement of flow and habitat promises.