A drone view of Twitchell Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Photo via the California Department of Water Resources
For two days last week, river advocates packed into a Sacramento hearing room and lined up on screens across California. Fishing families. Tribal leaders. Scientists. Students. Neighbors who simply love these rivers. Together, 178 of us showed up to ask the State Water Resources Control Board for one thing: leave enough water in our rivers for them to live.
On Thursday night, the Board voted 4-1 to adopt a new plan for the Bay-Delta that falls short of that promise.
It's a hard outcome. But it isn't the end of the story — and the next chapter starts this Wednesday.
What the Board decided
The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta sits at the heart of California's water system. It supplies water to nearly 30 million people and millions of acres of farmland. It's also where salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and smelt make their way between our rivers and the sea.
For decades, the state has set minimum flow levels that water agencies must leave in the rivers and estuary. The newly adopted plan changes that approach. Instead of firm limits for everyone, water agencies can now sign negotiated deals — often called "voluntary agreements" — that pair promised river flows with funding for habitat projects.
State officials and large water suppliers call this a more collaborative path. Many of the people who testified saw it differently. Fishing groups, scientists, conservation organizations, and Native leaders warned that the deals allows far too much water to be diverted from rivers and the Delta while native fish slide closer to extinction. One Bay Area scientist called it "an extinction plan." Others raised concerns that Tribes were left out of closed-door negotiations.
A large majority of speakers opposed the plan. Board member Nichole Morgan, who grew up fishing in the Delta, cast the lone "no" vote. We're grateful she stood with the rivers.
It's important to know what this vote covered. It was Phase 2 of the Bay-Delta Plan: the Sacramento River and its tributaries, the eastside Delta tributaries, and the flows into and out of the Delta. Phase 1 — which covers the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced — will come before the Board later. (Want to be part of that fight? Email Peter, our Policy Director, at peter.drekmeier@yosemiterivers.org to get involved.)
A drone view of Fall-run Chinook salmon migrate and spawn in the Feather River. Photo via the California Department of Water Resources
Showing up still counted
When a vote goes the wrong way, it's tempting to wonder if speaking up made any difference. It did.
Our collective pressure pushed the conversation and kept the Board's attention on fish, Tribes, and river health. Without that turnout, the outcome would almost certainly have been worse. The plan also includes annual scientific reviews, and regulators can still return water agencies to traditional rules if they fail to meet their commitments. We'll be watching closely — and holding them to it.
The battle is far from over. Legal challenges are widely expected, and we'll keep you updated as they unfold.
Next up: Sites Reservoir on Wednesday, Nov. 4
There's no time to rest. This Wednesday, the State Water Board will consider whether to grant a water right for Sites Reservoir — a massive new reservoir proposed in the Sacramento Valley that would divert even more water from the Sacramento River system before it reaches the Delta.
This is another really big deal for California's rivers and the fish that depend on them. And once again, the Board needs to hear from the people who care about these waters.
We're joining our partners at Friends of the River to turn out in force. The process will feel familiar if you joined last week.
How to speak up for our rivers
Fill out a virtual speaker card with the State Water Board. Under "7. Agenda Item," select 03-Sites. Speaker card form
Sign up with Friends of the River to get talking points, an example comment, a speaker guide, and a text when you're added to the speaker queue. Register here
Watch the speaker training if you missed it. Training recording
Mark your calendar for Wednesday, Nov. 4, and review the meeting agenda.
Bring a friend. Two voices carry farther than one.
You don't need to be an expert. A few honest minutes about why these rivers matter to you — your family's drinking water, the salmon you hope your kids will see, the river you grew up swimming in — is exactly what the Board needs to hear.
We keep going
For more than 45 years, we've learned that rivers aren't protected in a single vote. They're protected by people who keep showing up. Season after season, hearing after hearing.
Our rivers and the Bay-Delta need us more today than they did yesterday. We won't give up, and we hope you'll stand with us on Wednesday.
Fill out your speaker card and help keep Yosemite flowing.
Want to watch last week's Bay-Delta hearing? The full recording is on YouTube. Board discussion begins at 9:47:40, and the vote begins at 11:52:40.
