ACTION ALERT: Last Chance to Speak Out Against the Voluntary Agreements
Urge the State Water Board to Set Strong New Flow Standards for Rivers and the Bay-Delta
Later this month, the public will get what is probably its last major chance to weigh in on new flow requirements for the endangered San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and the rivers that feed it—and to oppose the Newsom Administration’s attempt to gut the new protections. The key regulator, the State Water Resources Control Board, will have three days of hearings on January 28-30. (Written comments are accepted until February 2). A final decision is expected later this year.
What’s Being Proposed: The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements
According to the new draft of the regulations (known as the Bay-Delta Plan), released in December, the State Water Board is proposing to adopt the so-called “Voluntary Agreements” (VAs). The Voluntary Agreements would give water agencies—some of the largest water users in the state—a free pass from having to comply with pending new flow and water quality regulations that are needed to prevent the collapse of the Bay-Delta and Central Valley river ecosystems.
The current regulations, last updated in 1995, have failed to prevent:
the dramatic decline of numerous native fish and wildlife species that depend on adequate flows,
the increasing occurrence of toxic algae (which are a result of low flows),
the historic multi-year closure of the commercial salmon fishery, and
the loss of tribal and cultural uses that require healthy, flowing rivers.
Science Says: We Need Much Higher Flows
On average, only about half the runoff (water that flows/drains) in the Central Valley watershed reaches the Bay each year. Overwhelming scientific evidence confirms a strong relationship between flow and ecosystem health, and that evidence supports requiring up to 75% of runoff to make it all the way through the system.
But the update of the Bay-Delta Plan has been delayed for over a decade to accommodate Voluntary Agreement negotiations between state agencies and water users. (The Board adopted a 40% flow requirement for San Joaquin River Basin runoff to the Delta in 2018 but has not implemented it yet. The current draft update covers Sacramento River Basin flow into the Delta, and outflows to the Bay).
In previous drafts of the Bay-Delta Plan, the Board had proposed a 55% flow requirement (within an adaptive management range of 45-65%). The new draft retreats from even this compromised standard in two ways.
#1 Voluntary Agreements Would Gut Real Protections
First, the VAs would be the “preferred alternative” – that is, VA participants would not have to comply with new regulations for at least eight years but instead implement their own set of actions. The VAs would provide little or no additional flows above the status quo; instead, they would pursue habitat and other “non-flow” projects that don’t address the root causes of the Bay-Delta crisis (plus, aquatic habitats need need sufficient flow to be effective anyway) and the VAs would also rely on major taxpayer subsidies to help foot the bill.
Understandably, most water users are signing up for this giveaway—essentially, a pass to regulate themselves. Not coincidentally, the Newsom Administration and water users are also pushing the VAs because stronger regulations would make it much harder to justify construction and operation of new water mega-projects like the Delta Tunnel and Sites Reservoir that only make sense if water use is allowed to increase.
#2 “Water Supply Adjustments” Would Undermine Flow Goals
Second, the State Water Board is proposing “water supply adjustments” to the 55% requirement, which would effectively gut it in most years. It would automatically cap flows at 55% in the wettest third of years, 45% in the middle third (when natural flows are most altered), and 35% in the driest third (when species and water quality are most at risk).
What Friends of the River Is Doing & How Your Voice Can Help
Friends of the River’s scientists and policy experts are preparing extensive written comments and to testify at the upcoming hearings. We need your voice to urge the State water Board to protect rivers.
Tell the State Water Board to:
Adopt strong new science-based protections that require increased flows (no less than 55-65% of runoff) for Central Valley rivers and the Bay-Delta estuary in most years.
Reject the proposed Voluntary Agreements because they will maintain the unacceptable status quo — where massive diversions and exports are driving species to extinction, causing toxic pollution, destroying the fishing industry and impacting tribal and cultural uses of water.
Reject proposed “water supply adjustments” to the runoff standard that would prevent increased flows most of the time.
Take Action: Make Public Comment
Public comment is one of the most powerful ways to influence this decision. The State Water Board needs to hear directly from individual citizens like you.
How to participate:
Decide whether you will give public comment in writing, in-person or virtual
In-person or Virtual Comment:
Register to speak HERE by completing a speaker card by January 27th
Choose one day to comment: January 28, 29, or 30
Speakers are limited to 3 minutes and may only speak on one day
The Clerk to the Board will email you participation details one day before your chosen hearing
REPLY to this email and let Friends of the River know you are registered
Give Public Comment in Writing:
You can still make an impact by submitting written public comment through February 2nd, 2026. Comments should be submitted via email to SacDeltaComments@waterboards.ca.gov
with the subject line “Comment Letter – Revised Draft Sacramento/Delta BayDelta
Plan Updates & Ch. 13 of Draft Staff Report.”
Learn more: Attend a Training
Want help crafting your comment or understanding the issues more deeply? Join one of these trainings:
Watch online NOW >>> Learn about the Bay Delta Plan, Voluntary Agreements and how your public comment is critical to protecting California's rivers - from FOR's January River Activist Network Meeting.
January 21 – Bay-Delta & Voluntary Agreements Training with Friends of the River and Our Coalition Partners. Register HERE for Jan 21st Training
January 26 – Bay-Delta & Voluntary Agreements Training with Save California Salmon. Register HERE for Jan 26th Training
Show Up in Solidarity: Bay-Delta Rally
Stand with river advocates, Tribes, fishers, and community members calling for real protections for the Bay-Delta. Join us in standing up against Newsom's Voluntary Agreements Rally and make your voice heard.
Event: Sacramento Rally for the Delta
Day: January 30, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: CalEPA Building, I & 10th St, Sacramento, CA
Register to Join: Register for the Rally
