Ag Council staff spoke in support of the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) program during a State Water Resources Control Board (state water board) public workshop on December 12 regarding draft updates to the Bay-Delta Plan.
“HRL is a collaborative effort between state, federal, and local governments, as well as multiple stakeholders, to build upon the knowledge state water leaders have gained over the years regarding how to best manage California water and accelerate habitat restoration,” Tricia Geringer, vice president of government affairs said during public comments at the workshop.
Under HRL (also known as the “voluntary agreements”), water agencies along with the state and federal governments would provide water, in addition to funding for water, habitat and science. A group of nearly 30 water and irrigation districts and state and federal agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding in a commitment to advance the HRL program.
The state water board is required to update the Bay-Delta Plan to protect beneficial uses of water and water quality. The board does this through flow objectives and a program that includes monitoring and reporting requirements. The previous update took place in 2006.
Separate from HRL, state water board staff proposes an “unimpaired flows” approach to achieve these goals. Ag Council opposes unimpaired flows because it only focuses on flows and will lead to a loss of approximately two million acre-feet of water for cities and farms.
Among its consequences, the unimpaired flows proposal would severely limit groundwater recharge efforts during wet years and threaten the ability to comply with the State Groundwater Management Act and provide safe drinking water, as well as lead to lost jobs. Further, the unimpaired flows proposal does not include habitat restoration and could be mired in the adjudication process for 10-20 years.
Alternatively, HRL sets forth an eight-year path to improve habitat using modern science while incorporating accountability through a governance structure. Though flows are required under HRL, the proposal creates a collaborative, science-driven process with stakeholders and takes into consideration cities and farms, which is crucial to ensuring we can continue to produce California grown food and ag products.
The state water board is expected to decide between unimpaired flows and HRL in mid-2025.
In the meantime, Ag Council is joining with other organizations to provide a comment letter to the state water board outlining why the board should adopt HRL.
To learn more about the HRL program, click HERE.