This Landsat image shows the joining of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers west of Stockton just north of the city of Antioch (bottom left). Near their confluence, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers fan out and drop their sediment in the Central Valley before rejoining and flowing out toward the Pacific Ocean. This inland sediment-delivery system is one reason why the soils are so fertile and why farming is so productive in the valley. Pumping stations and river-sized canals deliver Sacramento Delta water to farms and cities across the Central Valley. The lush green agricultural land dominates the eastern side of the image. Between the two of them, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers drain most of the state of California, collecting and concentrating rainfall and snowmelt form the Sierra Nevada and funneling it toward San Francisco Bay. On the western side of the great Central Valley in northern California, the two rivers flow together into an inverted delta before heading westward into the bay.
Sacramento, California – In a long-anticipated move, California officials on Thursday unveiled a major proposed update to the state’s Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan—one aimed at rebalancing the demands of a growing state with the urgent needs of fragile ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The proposal, released by the State Water Resources Control Board, would represent the first meaningful update to the Delta’s water quality framework since 1995. The plan introduces a new science-based approach that blends regulatory oversight with voluntary agreements from major water users. If adopted, it could mark a shift in how the state manages one of the most contested and politically sensitive natural resources in the West.
At the center of the proposal is the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) Program, developed by the Newsom administration in collaboration with local, state, and federal agencies. Unlike prior top-down mandates, the HRL program relies on voluntary commitments from municipalities, agricultural interests, and other water rights holders. These agreements promise to deliver both water and habitat improvements while offering more flexibility than traditional regulatory models.
The plan includes two tracks for participation: a comprehensive HRL pathway that pairs flow commitments with tens of thousands of acres of habitat restoration, and a more limited flow-only approach for those opting out of the voluntary program. More than 45,000 acres of aquatic habitat could be restored under the HRL track, alongside significant water contributions earmarked for environmental use.
While the plan emphasizes collaboration, it also underscores the need for urgency. The current Delta water plan predates a period of immense change: rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and a surging population have transformed California’s water landscape. Without modern tools, environmental degradation has accelerated and tensions over water allocation have only deepened.
To expedite implementation, the Governor has proposed a legislative trailer bill that would exempt water quality control plans from parts of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)—a move intended to speed up approvals and bypass what the administration views as duplicative delays. If successful, this legal maneuver could significantly cut the time needed to enact changes that have been years in the making.
Supporters of the proposal argue that the blend of science, cooperation, and streamlined regulation offers a blueprint for navigating California’s increasingly complex water challenges. With $2.9 billion in funding commitments already secured for HRL implementation over the next eight years, the state appears poised to act on what has often been a paralyzed policy front.
The plan now enters a public comment period before facing final consideration by the State Water Board. Its fate could help determine not only the health of California’s rivers and fish populations, but also the future of its farms, cities, and water systems in a hotter, drier era.
