More water — or less — could be sent cascading down the San Joaquin River through Stockton as a result of a State Water Resources Control Board meeting starting Wednesday.
The board is considering revisions to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan, the document that sets goals for the amount and quality of what flows through major rivers surrounding the Delta.
It’s the latest update to a plan that started in 1978 and has seen updates three times since. Because it involves California’s most precious commodity — water — any changes are sure to bring disagreements. The latest issue pits farmers, Native American tribes, water districts, environmentalists and others trying to get sufficient water to meet their divergent needs.
At issue is just how much water should course through Northern California rivers to ensure that badly depleted fish stocks can be replenished. The tiny Delta smelt became the center of a political firestorm earlier in the Trump administration. Now, a key goal is to bring back once-plentiful salmon to the Delta and other inland waterways.
The major thrust of the new plan involves the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, tributaries and the heart of the Delta.
The concept involves giving those who use water a choice between two paths, according to an analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California.
One option would be to participate in the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program. That would require water users to give up part of their allocation when a river isn’t meeting its goal for adequate water flow, the analysis shows.
Healthy Rivers also comes with financial implications. Water rights holders might have to pay for habitat restoration, mostly to revive the salmon stock. There also could be a surcharge to fund scientific research. And users might be called on to purchase more water to ensure adequate flows, according to the analysis.
The other choice would be to opt out of the Healthy Rivers program, which is voluntary. That would require water rights holders to use less river water or order releases from reservoirs, if they are available.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is a fan of the Healthy Rivers approach.
“I am proud to see the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program represented in this plan update,” Newsom, who will be termed out of office in a couple of months, said in a statement in July. “It’s a testament to California’s commitment to a collaborative, science-driven approach to managing our water for the benefit of our communities, economy, and fish and wildlife.”
But some groups have voiced opposition to that plan.
The Sierra Club believes the water board never implemented any of its earlier mandates to fix the rivers and instead is now turning to what the organization views as a weaker plan, Healthy Rivers.
It charges that the Healthy Rivers option amounts to “greenwashing,” the term for making a misleading claim about an ecological benefit. It says Healthy Rivers would result in less flow than reports show is needed to protect the remaining fish in the Delta.
“The Newsom administration and water users across the state have banded together to weaken the robust regulatory updates adopted in 2018,” the Sierra Club says.