With the State Water Board hosting a workshop next week on the Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers and Landscapes, we have joined with the State Water Contractors to help describe the Agreements and the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program. We encourage you to watch the new whiteboard video to learn more. The Agreements are a transformational approach to managing California’s water, which is important to address our new climate reality by implementing innovative approaches and forging partnerships to navigate the complexities of our shifting water landscape and safeguard the future of our state’s natural resources.
Please read more below.
Click Image to Watch Whiteboard Video about California’s Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes
The Agreements offer:
- Substantial water dedicated to the environment and significantly reduced environmental effects compared to the traditional regulatory flows-only approach.
- A comprehensive portfolio of actions in rivers to reactivate habitat conditions that support robust, resilient populations of salmon (and other fish, birds and wildlife).
- Actions throughout California to restore ecosystem function while helping secure water supplies for communities, farms, fish and wildlife, recreation and hydropower.
- A collaborative science program that relies on the latest, best available knowledge and an inclusive governance structure that will address changing climate conditions, support research to improve management actions for native fish, and welcomes the participation of Tribes and environmental organizations.
- A commitment of over $2.9 billion to fund a vigorous science program, construction of new habitat, water purchases, crop idling, and other actions.
- A program that brings people from different backgrounds and disciplines together to make California a better place.
California’s ever-changing hydrology and increasingly extreme climate shifts underscore how crucial it is to update our water management strategies. The Agreements are California’s best opportunity to move beyond the status quo and toward flexible, collaborative, real-time water management rooted in the best available science. By embracing innovative approaches and forging partnerships, we can work together to navigate the complexities of our shifting water landscape and safeguard the future of our state’s natural resources.
