State and federal officials announced Friday they have finalized a long-term operations plan overseeing the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. More than three years in the making, the plan has come under fire by farm interests and local water districts for further restricting water allocations.
Karl Stock, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regional director for the California-Great Basin Region, said the new rules will provide a path forward for incorporating a pending update of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan into the long-term operations with Endangered Species Act requirements.
Officials focused on the species protection benefits of the plan, namely for winter-run Chinook Salmon. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham said aligning two of the world’s largest water operation systems is a “net gain for people everywhere.”
He added that management of these water systems has been repeatedly dragged into courts, further splitting how the SWP and CVP are operated. Officials acknowledged litigation is likely to come.
Paul Souza, regional director of the Pacific Southwest Region at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said orienting the plan around adaptive management gives the state space to push water allocations where they are needed most, especially as the state deals with greater climate whiplash.
The revised plan supports implementation of the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program, previously known as the voluntary agreements. It would allow more Delta outflow and habitat restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta.
“There will be times where that adaptive management will allow us to provide water to support communities and farmland and the wildlife that uses that farmland,” Souza said.
In response to a question of how Trump 2.0 could change state and federal water priorities, Bonham said that, though the days ahead are uncertain, he believes the plan unveiled today is balanced and stable for future water management.
“That predictability is essential for businesses, farmers, employers, employees, commercial fishing,” he said. “And I believe when we have a chance to talk about it in a thoughtful way, it's going to stand the test of time, and that's what will be ahead of us, I think in the next chapters, in 2025.”
