California’s ‘unrecognizable’ water plan may go down the drain

Four years ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a deal with the most powerful water suppliers in the state to overhaul how cities and farms take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which is in “the throes of collapse,” Rachel Becker writes for Cal Matters. After years of regulatory processes, the State Water Resources Control Board has approved Newsom’s plan — but some water agencies are balking, saying the plan has become “unrecognizable.” Now, state water regulators must contend with how to move forward with the plan without the support of these major water users. 

Cal Matters reports:

“We heard yesterday a lot of groups, including tribal governments, that continue to believe that this is not sufficient, and this is the wrong approach,” [California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot] said. “We have water agencies that aren’t comfortable with the way that their proposal — our proposal — has materialized … That’s natural. This is a paradigm shift.”

The federal government is also reporting serious concerns with the near-final draft of the plan, saying it reflects executive and regulatory overreach. The Trump administration is threatening to pull out entirely, and take $740 million in federal funding with it, which is meant to pay for habitat restoration and water purchases.