Wednesday September 30, 2026
PPIC—
The State Water Resources Control Board is updating the Bay–Delta Water Quality Control Plan, which is set for adoption in late October 2026. Protecting water quality in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and its major tributaries—the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers—is one of the State Water Board’s key responsibilities. The Bay–Delta Plan sets water quality and flow standards for the multiple, occasionally conflicting, uses of these rivers.
While board members and stakeholders will debate the merits of the plan over the next month, it contains several innovations worth exploring regardless of the ultimate outcome.
Bay–Delta Plan innovations
Dual pathways. The plan proposes dual pathways for achieving the required water quality standards. Water right holders are given the choice of participating in a negotiated voluntary agreement—named the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program (HRL)—or a default regulatory path known as the “unimpaired flow standard.” Both approaches are unique and have their merits as well as challenges.
Those parties who choose to participate in HRL would agree to dedicate a portion of their water right to support instream flows, principally for salmon. In addition, they would commit to significant investments in physical habitat restoration over the next 15 years. The HRL program includes a surcharge on water use to fund a science program, a portion of restoration investments, and purchases of water to be used to meet environmental flows.
There is an important regulatory backstop for the plan. If a watershed or water users choose not to participate in HRL, or negotiated agreements fail to meet the water quality objectives, unimpaired flow standard becomes applicable. In the draft Bay–Delta Plan, this standard requires water right holders to leave instream or release from reservoirs a percentage of the flow of water that would be in the river without dams or diversions.”
The percentage varies depending upon the water year type (higher in wet years and lower during dry years). There also are provisions for adjusting how these flows are allocated to improve their environmental benefits.