Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program Could Be the Best Path Forward for California if Key Concerns Are Addressed
Public water agencies urge the State Water Board to resolve any remaining outstanding issues for continued statewide support.
Sacramento, CA — California’s water future depends on our ability to move beyond decades of conflict and instead pursue collaborative, science-based solutions that balance environmental stewardship, and reliable and affordable water supplies needed to sustain local communities and agricultural productivity. The State Water Board is on the verge of a collaborative and science-based Bay-Delta solution, but it needs to resolve any remaining issues for public water agencies throughout California to continue our unified support and prepare to implement the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program (HRL Program).
In 2022, a diverse interest group, including public water agencies (PWAs) throughout California, executed the Memorandum of Understanding Advancing a Term Sheet for the Voluntary Agreements to Update and Implement the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, and Other Related Actions. The HRL Program, as outlined in the 2022 MOU framework, represents Water Working for California—the best path forward for the Bay-Delta by acknowledging that balancing water supply reliability and lasting ecosystem improvements require both strategic flow management and meaningful habitat restoration.
The State Water Board’s release of documents today is an important step forward in the Bay-Delta Plan update process. The PWAs will thoroughly review the update and provide comments to ensure the updated Bay-Delta Plan remains consistent with the HRL Program as proposed, supports adaptive management in the Bay-Delta, and ensures reasonable protection for all beneficial uses.
“The HRL Program as proposed in the 2022 MOU was thoughtfully and collaboratively developed and offers the science-based approach California needs,” said Jennifer Pierre, General Manager of the State Water Contractors (SWC). “We are eager to review the details of the State Water Board’s revisions to the HRL Program to assess how these changes affect our original proposal and how environmental and water supply co-benefits can be achieved.”
“California has a rare opportunity to replace conflict with collaboration. The HRL Program represents a constructive path forward, but its success will ultimately depend on whether the final framework is grounded in sound science, operational flexibility, and a genuine commitment to protecting both California’s natural resources and our water supply reliability. We can achieve both—but only if we get the details right,” said Federico Barajas, Executive Director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority.
“For Californias water users, the original promise of the HRL Program has been a preferred approach for managing historically competing interests. It is a tough needle to thread,” said Johnny Amaral, CEO of the Friant Water Authority. “But details, especially those that are intended to result in the reliability that cities and farms need, matter. We remain at the table and ready to work through the outstanding issues but ultimately cannot agree to a plan that doesn’t represent the real needs of Californias cities and farms.”
“The Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program offers a new way forward for California to manage our water resources in concert with our landscape. We encourage the State Water Board to provide a clear path for future adaptive management in the Bay-Delta that provides certainty to water suppliers and the environment throughout the state. With our mutual commitment to more strategic flows, accelerated habitat restoration on our landscapes, and accountability, we can work together to meet the needs of our environment and local communities throughout California,” said David Guy, President of the Northern California Water Association.
The State Water Contractors is a statewide, non-profit association of 27 public agencies from Northern, Central and Southern California that purchase water under contract from the California State Water Project. Collectively the State Water Contractors deliver water to more than 27 million residents throughout the state and more than 750,000 acres of agricultural land. For more information on the State Water Contractors, please visit www.swc.org.
The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority was established in January of 1992 and consists of 27 member agencies within the western San Joaquin, San Benito, and Santa Clara Valleys, that provide water service to approximately 1,200,000 acres of irrigated agriculture, 2.5 million people, including many living in economically disadvantaged communities, and 135,000 acres of managed wetlands of importance to the Pacific Flyway.
The Friant Division of the Central Valley Project delivers water to over one million acres of irrigable farmland on the eastside of the southern San Joaquin Valley from approximately Chowchilla on the north to the Tehachapi Mountains on the south. Friant Water Authority represents the majority of Friant Division water users and maintains and operates the Friant-Kern Canal, which supplies San Joaquin River water stored at Millerton Lake to more than 30 irrigation districts and cities, and to 15,000 family farms.
Northern California Water Association (NCWA) represents the water suppliers and local governments across the Sacramento Valley. NCWA works with many partners to advance healthy rivers, landscapes and communities through collaborative, science-based water management that supports reliable water supplies, thriving ecosystems, local economies and California’s agricultural heritage.
