Monday October 12, 2026
Los Angeles Times —
In the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where California’s biggest rivers meet, the state’s massive pumps send water flowing into canals to about 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland.
A major new lawsuit argues the state is taking far too much water out of the Delta, harming native fish and the ecosystem, causing toxic algae blooms, and threatening local farms and communities.
“The goal that we are aiming for is to save the Delta,” said Carolee Krieger, executive director of the environmental group California Water Impact Network. “We want them to cut back the water they take out of the Delta by half.”
Her group filed the lawsuit Friday together with the Central Delta Water Agency, which represents hundreds of local farmers concerned that heavy pumping can draw seawater farther into the estuary, making their irrigation water salty, damaging their crops.
Dave Owen, a professor at UC Law San Francisco, said the suit is “a frontal assault on the State Water Project.”