State Water Board Plans Adoption on October 28, 29, and (if needed) 30
On September 18, 2026, CSPA joined a coalition of environmental organizations, fishing organizations, and Tribal advocates in comments on the August “Final” Draft Bay-Delta Plan. The State Water Board issued the draft on August 19, 2026.
At the center of the proposed August Final Draft Plan are “Voluntary Agreements.” This alternative framework substitutes small amounts of flow, and physical changes in and around rivers, for new flow requirements based on a percent of unimpaired flow into San Francisco Bay.
The Voluntary Agreements will not work. The comments state: “The VAs will preserve the status quo under a new name, maintaining anemic and inadequate flows at an exorbitant cost that is highly unlikely to attain instream water quality objectives.”
The overall conclusion of the comments is:
“In short, three decades after the last major change to the Bay-Delta Plan, and seventeen years after announcing its intent to update the plan for the benefit of fish and wildlife, the Water Board is poised to maintain a status quo that violates California law, relying on an exclusionary, inequitable, and insufficient process that is inconsistent with informed decision-making. The Water Board’s stated intent to adopt the Final Draft Plan in October 2026 is both bad policy and unlawful.”
The State Water Board has scheduled hearing days for the Plan on October 28, 29, and if needed, 30. CSPA will be presenting to the Board.
CSPA encourages members of the public to speak to the Board in opposition to adoption of the Bay-Delta Plan as currently proposed. The Bay-Delta Flows Coalition and Save California Salmon are hosting a speaker training on October 21 from 7-8 pm. You can register for this training at this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/AhASthLDT6m9UX1u8ZqTxQ#/registration