Sacramento/Delta Update to the Bay-Delta Plan: Frequently Asked Questions

The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, or Bay-Delta — the river systems of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the winding, interconnected network of channels, islands, and wetlands formed by their convergence — is California’s largest and most important watershed. It provides:

• drinking and municipal water to nearly 30 million people.
• irrigation water for 4 million acres of farmland.
• habitat for more than 750 animal and plant species, including several fish species that are critically important to Native American Tribes.

The State Water Resources Control Board is the state agency entrusted with protecting California’s water resources and drinking water through:

• allocating rights for the use of surface waters (water rights administration).
• protecting water quality by establishing statewide policy and water quality standards, and issuing permits to ensure those standards are achieved.
• regulating drinking water systems.
• ensuring the highest reasonable quality for waters of the state through the administration of the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and portions of the Clean Water Act.

The State Water Board was formed in 1967 when the State Water Rights Board and the State Water Quality Control Board were merged by the Legislature, which recognized that water rights and water quality affect one another and should be regulated by one entity.

Protecting the Bay-Delta by safeguarding its water quality is a key responsibility and top priority for the State Water Board.

Water quality is a measure of the suitability of water for a particular use based on selected physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Diversions of water — or the redirection of the natural flow of water from its original path to another location for human use, storage or management — are strictly defined, limited and governed by the terms of a legal water right. Diversions in the Bay-Delta can impact water quality.

As a result, much of the implementation for the Bay-Delta Plan relies upon the exercise of combined water rights and water quality authorities of the board. Balancing freshwater diversions in the watershed with public trust resources (navigable waterways, wildlife, ecosystems) for the benefit of all is the board’s duty and one of California’s most complex water management challenges.

The Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan is a key regulatory tool the State Water Board uses to protect the Bay Delta. Among other requirements, the plan sets targets for the quality of water in the Delta (water quality objectives), inlcuding flow-dependent water quality objectives and implementation (flow requirements).

The plan’s goal is to protect the Bay-Delta’s natural ecosystems and beneficial uses of its water, which include water for:

• Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN)
• Industrial Service Supply (IND)
• Industrial Process Supply (PRO)
• Agricultural Supply (AGR)
• Ground Water Recharge (GWR)
• Navigation (NAV)
• Water Contact Recreation (REC-1)
• Non-Contact Water Recreation (REC-2)
• Shellfish Harvesting (SHELL)
• Commercial and Sport Fishing (COMM)
• Migration of Aquatic Organisms (MIGR)
• Spawning, Reproduction, and/or Early Development (SPWN)
• Estuarine Habitat (EST)
• Wildlife Habitat (WILD)
• Rare, Threatened, or Endangered Species (RARE)
• Tribal Tradition and Culture (CUL)

The plan protects these uses through establishing water quality objectives and describing a set of actions (program of implementation) to achieve these objectives. To reasonably protect fish and wildlife beneficial uses, the plan also includes flow-related water quality requirements to ensure that enough water remains instream.

Federal and state law requires that the Bay-Delta Plan, like other water quality control plans, be reviewed periodically and updated as necessary to provide for the reasonable protection of beneficial uses.

It is widely recognized that the Bay-Delta ecosystem is in a state of ecological decline. Changes in land use due to agricultural practices, urbanization, discharges of contaminants, flood control, and climate change – combined with substantial and widespread development and infrastructure projects – have been accompanied by population declines in an array of species, including native salmon, that depend on the ecosystem.

Key indicators of the decline include reductions in native fish populations, habitat loss, degraded water quality and the increasing presence of invasive species and harmful algal blooms. Climate change is expected to significantly accelerate these impacts.

Two vast and distinct river systems join to form the Bay-Delta — the Sacramento River in the north and the San Joaquin River in the south. Each of these systems is fed by rain and snowmelt from different geographic regions that vary significantly in terms of hydrology, topography, precipitation patterns, and native fish and wildlife.

For this reason, the plan is being updated for the reasonable protection of fish and wildlife beneficial uses through two separate processes. The plan was updated for the Lower San Joaquin River portion of the watershed in 2018; the plan is now being updated for the Sacramento River watershed, Delta eastside tributaries (including the Calaveras, Cosumnes, and Mokelumne Rivers) and Delta (referred to as the Sacramento/Delta).

The updates combine strong standards, new partnerships, major habitat investments, and rigorous accountability to protect the Bay-Delta, water supply, and wildlife. Using the best available science, the framework can protect the watershed and adapt as conditions change.

The plan:

• Establishes enforceable protections to ensure that water right holders meet a clear environmental standard, either through an approved VA pathway or regulatory pathway.
• Supports California’s Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future by increasing river flows at the right times to support salmon migration, accelerating habitat restoration, and improving water quality.
• Harnesses flexibility and collaboration to allow water users, farmers, landowners, conservation organizations, and government agencies to develop and implement projects that deliver environmental benefits.
• Uses science to measure results, with annual reporting, triennial Board review, and a dedicated science program to determine whether restoration efforts are improving ecological conditions.
• Designates “Tribal Tradition and Culture” as a protected beneficial use of water, reflecting the deep cultural connections between tribes, rivers, and native fish such as salmon.

The Bay-Delta is significant to the culture, religion, sustenance, and way of life of numerous California Native American Tribes.

The Bay-Delta Plan formally designates the use of water for Tribal Tradition and Culture (CUL) as a beneficial use to be protected. This designation in the watershed is legal recognition that its waters support tribal tradition and culture due to the cultural and spiritual importance of native fish and wildlife, particularly salmon, to California Native American Tribes.

The designation ensures that this beneficial use is fully considered in the Water Boards’ planning, permitting, and water quality decisions so that impacts to the exercise of this use are avoided, minimized or mitigated to the extent possible.

However, the designation of a water quality beneficial use is not a water right and does not allocate a specific amount of water for such use.

In addition to the Tribal Tradition and Culture designation, the proposed amendments to the Bay-Delta Plan would incorporate:

• Definitions for two additional Tribal Beneficial Uses ‒Tribal Subsistence Fishing (T-SUB) and Subsistence Fishing (SUB).
• Provisions for developing a Tribal Engagement Plan and convening a Bay-Delta Tribal Advisory Group to facilitate tribal participation and feedback on the Bay- Delta Plan’s planning and implementation processes.

The updated Bay Delta Plan provides two ways for water rights holders who divert water from the Bay-Delta or its tributaries to meet water quality requirements — a Voluntary Agreement pathway for specified water rights, and a Regulatory Pathway for other water rights.

The regulatory pathway requires that a minimum amount of unimpaired flow be maintained year-round, which can be reduced (or increased) depending on water year conditions.

“Unimpaired flow” is the volume of water and rate of flow (measured in cubic feet per second) that would remain in a river absent any dams, storage, or water diversions.

The regulatory pathway allows flexibility in the amount of unimpaired flow it requires to remain instream. This flexibility includes variations to the flow requirements that set higher percentages of flow during wetter periods and lower percentages of flow during drier periods (water supply adjustments). Additional flexibility allows adjustments to the time of year the flow is provided, or to the total amount of required flows.

The Voluntary Agreement (VA) pathway is an alternative to the regulatory pathway. At the center of the VA pathway is a new model for environmental protection that pairs commitments under the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes 2022 Memorandum of Understanding (HRL proposal) with a strong regulatory backstop to ensure commitments are met. Water rights included in the HRL proposal (as identified in Appendix B.1 to the Plan) are eligible to use the VA pathway in lieu of the implementation provisions required by the regulatory pathway.

Under the VA pathway, HRL participants satisfy plan implementation requirements through providing a combination of flow and habitat. Through collaboration and funding, HRL participants support watershed-scale, multi-benefit projects – especially those that restore ecosystem function, improve flows, and restore and reconnect floodplains— while being allowed more latitude in when and how much water they divert, within certain parameters.

Under the VA pathway, HRL participants commit to delivering a mix of flow and non-flow commitments (HRL commitments), specifically to:

• dedicate a portion of their water right(s) to instream flows (“flow commitments”).
• create habitat (“habitat commitments”) over an 8-year period.
• provide funding to purchase water to support environmental flows, support restoration projects, and fund a science program to monitor and adaptively implement the program.

By incorporating the HRL proposal as the VA pathway, the plan combines innovation and flexibility with accountability to provide ecosystem benefits with fewer water supply impacts than the regulatory pathway.

The voluntary pathway has regulatory effect and is enforceable through several accountability mechanisms included in the plan, listed below. It is also subject to ongoing monitoring and review. The VA pathway requires HRL participants to:

• Provide increased flow every year and verify flow contributions through public accounting (Appendix B.1).
• Create new habitat and verify habitat contributions through public accounting (Appendix B.2).
• Meet construction milestones for habitat restoration. Participate in annual public meetings before the State Water Board to discuss implementation progress.
• Identify clear, measurable ecological and hydrologic outcomes — for example, improvements in fish habitat or flow — and provide progress reports toward these outcomes to the board.

Individual HRL participants may also be removed from the VA pathway for non- compliance or upon their request, and those water rights would need to comply through the regulatory pathway. The VA pathway and the success of HRL commitments in implementing the Bay-Delta Plan will undergo a formal evaluation and review after eight years. After this review, the State Water Board may choose to extend, modify, or terminate the VA pathway.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are caused by microorganisms called cyanobacteria that can rapidly multiply (“bloom”) under the right conditions and produce harmful toxins. Often found in warming, stagnant, nutrient-rich waters, HABs can pose a health threat if ingested, especially by dogs or children.

Delta communities and others have expressed significant concerns about harmful algal blooms (HABs). In response, the board incorporated expanded monitoring requirements of HABs across the Delta into the plan, including six “hotspot” locations where they regularly form.

The board is also investigating ways to reduce the duration and severity of HABs and to improve its understanding of the environmental conditions such as flow, nutrients, and water temperature that contribute to algal bloom formation. Staff are working with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and other state and federal agencies to coordinate monitoring and leverage the latest science and mitigation measures.