Restore The San Francisco Bay Area Delta

For Immediate Release:

June 5, 2026

Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org

STOCKTON, CA — In response to a recent press release from Governor Gavin Newsom, Restore the Delta’s Executive Director, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla released the following statement:

“Further proof that Governor Newsom holds the same values regarding California water management as the Trump Administration. The Governor is influencing every regulatory process for his corporate agenda hoping the next Governor will continue with these special interest, big water projects like the Delta Conveyance Project.

Left, right, and center, the majority of Californians do not support the Delta tunnel or the water grab. They do support plans like the Water Renaissance Plan. If the top two gubernatorial candidates line up with Governor Newsom on water, they will lose a great deal of public support from voters.”

Restore the Delta further reiterates that Governor Newsom’s approach to water resources management fails the tests of morality, fairness, affordability, and protection for everyday Californians. Under this administration, the Delta has not only been neglected, it has been placed at even greater risk by policies that continue to endanger the region, its communities, and its future. 
 

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For Immediate Release:

June 4, 2026

Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org

SACRAMENTO – Tribes, environmental justice organizations, fishing groups, and environmental advocates joined forces yesterday in a Day of Advocacy for the Delta, engaging with legislators on water policy issues impacting Delta communities, environment and economy. The Day of Advocacy, organized by the Bay-Delta coalition, focused on:

• Support for the California Water Renaissance Plan which proposes a shift towards a sustainable local water supply and away from expensive, unreliable water imports
• Support for AB 2218 which would establish a statewide policy directive to remedy historical water inequities with California Tribes
• Support for SB 872 which invests proactively in Delta levees and subsided state conveyance infrastructure to ensure long term protection for communities and water supply 
• Opposition to AB 2026 which deepens water system inequities, minimal protections for the Delta and extends unpermitted diversions
• Opposition to AB 2215 which fast tracks permitting of the controversial Delta Conveyance Project and bypasses review for environmental impacts

The Advocacy Day brought together 45 volunteers, who organized into 11 teams and held more than 60 meetings with legislative offices. Participants had productive conversations with decisionmakers, voicing broad community support for common sense water solutions desperately needed in the state. 

STATEMENTS FROM COALITION MEMBERS:

Gary Bobker, Program Director, Friends of the River:

“CA Bay-Delta Flows Advocacy Day is a chance for citizen activists to provide a counter-narrative to the official state ‘party line ‘ that in order to address the impacts of climate change, California must divert and dam every drop of water and build incredibly expensive and inefficient projects to move and store that water. Instead, people from diverse communities and regions come together to talk to legislators about how the biggest new source of water for our cities is from reusing and recycling water and capturing storm runoff; how recharging our depleted groundwater aquifers can be done without robbing our rivers and lakes of the water they need to survive, provide clean water and support healthy ecosystems; and how expensive and unnecessary boondoggles like the Delta Tunnel can only be made to seem feasible when the rules are relaxed to ignore legal, environmental and financial realities – steps that the legislature cannot and should not sanction. These citizen voices are vital to helping lawmakers make the right decisions that promote a sustainable water future for all Californians.”

Bruce Reznik, Executive Director, Los Angeles Waterkeeper:

“Agencies throughout the Los Angeles region have established aggressive local water supply goals, aiming to move from 40% local water to 80% countywide by 2045, and they are already moving ahead on major wastewater recycling, stormwater capture and groundwater remediation projects. These efforts will not only make the region more water secure in the face of increasingly less reliable sources of imported water due to our changing climate; they will also help reduce water pollution as well as our carbon footprint, create greener and healthier communities, and provide a tremendous number of local jobs and economic activity for the region. We now need the LA delegation to the state legislature to get behind this agenda if we are going to successfully bring all these critical projects to fruition.”

Cintia Cortez, Policy Manager, Restore the Delta:

“California faces a critical choice in its water planning: legislators can either invest in a resilient and affordable water future for all Californians, or waste billions on the destructive Delta Tunnel, a project that would fail to deliver reliable water supplies for future generations. Over 40 volunteers joined the Delta Flows Coalition to advocate for the Water Renaissance Plan, which would protect the Delta’s annual $7 billion economy, enhance the Delta ecosystem so local communities can reconnect with their waterways, and support local investments in Southern California.”

Christie Ralson, Associate Attorney, San Francisco Baykeeper:

“The San Francisco Bay Estuary ecosystem is in crisis. Through conversations with over 60 legislative offices, San Francisco Baykeeper and our colleagues educated decision makers on the direct threats to the continued survival of this unique ecosystem and the communities that rely on it and shared our vision for the future of water in California.”

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For Immediate Release:

May 29, 2026

Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org

STOCKTON, CA — Today, Restore the Delta released a new report detailing one of the many local solutions outlined in the recently unveiled Water Renaissance Plan: expanding rice farming in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a strategy to combat land subsidence and support a more sustainable regional economy.

Supported by BEAM Circular, which sponsored the critical research for the region, the report documents that Delta rice acreage has increased fivefold over the past eight years and lays out the environmental and economic benefits of rice cultivation as a strategic defense against subsidence.

“Without major levee investment in the next 25 years, over $10 billion in infrastructure faces severe flood risk,” said Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs for Restore the Delta. “Flooded rice cultivation restores the anaerobic conditions that slow and may stop peat oxidation that has already caused some Delta islands to sink as much as 25 feet. Pairing Delta levee investment with rice farming and wetland restoration benefits ecosystem health, as well as driving new economic opportunities for the region.”

The report maps current residue management practices and emerging bioproduct pathways, while identifying a major economic gap in which nearly all milling value from Delta-grown rice currently leaves the region for Sacramento County. To address this, the report’s central recommendation calls for the development of a regional grain mill that would:

• Consolidate agricultural residue streams
• Reduce transportation emissions
• Support local bioproduct innovation
• Create new jobs tied to the local agricultural economy

Rice hulls already contribute to electricity generation in the Sacramento Valley, and the report argues that a local processing economy could make rice farming more financially viable for Delta landowners.

The report arrives shortly after the release of the Water Renaissance Plan, a statewide framework that shifts California away from expensive and unreliable imported water systems toward local, sustainable solutions that provide long-term water reliability at an affordable cost.

This latest research builds directly on that vision. By documenting the Delta’s expanding rice industry, available feedstock supply, infrastructure gaps, and emerging bioproduct opportunities, the report strengthens the economic case for the Water Renaissance Plan’s broader approach to water and land management, one that depends on maintaining healthy peat soils, protecting levees, and supporting resilient local agriculture. 

“This is about more than rice,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “It’s about creating a durable economic model that helps protect California’s water infrastructure, supports local communities, and keeps the Delta landscape functioning for generations to come.” 

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Coverage of the coalition of environmental, Tribal, and fishing organizations calling for a Water Renaissance in California continues to grow. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the plan, which prioritizes local water supplies such as stormwater capture, water recycling, and groundwater cleanup, would reliably yield more and cost far less than the proposed Delta Tunnel project. 

As UCLA scientist Benjamin Bass said, “Traditional sources for imported water are less reliable than they used to be. The most reliable source of water in the future is local water.”

“We have got to do a better job in the next 100 years than we did in the last 100 years, if we truly want to create a place of abundance once again,” said Frankie Myers, a member of the Yurok Tribe in Northern California. “This idea that we can steal … and divert water however we want with no consequences has got to end.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, also told the Los Angeles Times: “Metropolitan Water District really does have a significant choice on it, that not just impacts their ratepayers but impacts every single person in the state. Are we going to spend $20, $60, maybe upward to $100 billion on a tunnel? Or are we going to invest significant money in local solutions that provide water resiliency and sustainability for everyone in California? That is what is at stake right now.”

The Water Renaissance Plan has been endorsed by about 20 additional organizations, reflecting growing momentum behind a more sustainable, affordable, and scientifically-backed approach to California water management.

Read more coverage below:

• Southern California could get 85% of its water locally and avoid Delta tunnel, groups say. The Los Angeles Times.
• California proposal would change how millions get their water. Newsweek. 
• California coalition unveils water plan to rival Delta Tunnel at a fraction of the cost. Smart Water Magazine. 
• New CA water coalition releases ‘Renaissance’ water plan that rules out the Delta Tunnel. Indybay.  

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On Wednesday, a coalition of Tribal leaders and environmental organizations, including Restore the Delta, released the Water Renaissance Plan, a new roadmap to shift California away from expensive, unreliable water imports toward local, sustainable solutions that deliver affordable, reliable water supplies.

For decades, California has relied on moving water long distances across the state, harming ecosystems and leaving communities dependent on costly and increasingly unreliable supplies.

Barry Nelson of the Golden State Salmon Association told Northern California Public Media, “The Sacramento River has experienced in the last 20 years a 95 percent decline in wild spawning salmon, the salmon that are actually the backbone of salmon fishing. It’s the most important salmon river in California. That crash is because of excessive water diversions.”

The new plan lays out an alternative path focused on reducing reliance on imported water and costly boondoggles like the Delta Tunnel, while investing in resilient local supplies that protect both communities and ecosystems. 

“It’s past time to focus our limited dollars on water infrastructure investments that are sustainable for both urban and rural farming communities, respect Tribal water and land uses, and will allow keystone species like salmon to recover,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director at Restore the Delta. “We can create improved water supplies and restore the largest estuary on the West Coast.”

As Politico reported, speakers at the press conference unveiling the Renaissance Plan were united in opposition to both the Delta tunnel and Sites Reservoir, describing them as expensive, outdated strategies. Instead, advocates pointed to wastewater recycling, stormwater capture, and conservation as more sustainable alternatives, while emphasizing that restoring the Delta is essential to protecting ecosystems and ensuring long term water reliability.

Learn more about the Water Renaissance Plan here.

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For Immediate Release

May 20, 2026

Contact

Nina Erlich-Williams, nina@publicgoodpr.com

O: 510-336-9566, C: 415-577-1153

Plan identifies specific strategies for developing drought-proof water supplies in SoCal by 2045 that will generate significantly higher yields than projections for the Delta Conveyance Project

Bay-Delta Region and Los Angeles, Calif. – In an online press conference today, leaders from conservation groups and Tribes announced the release of a Water Renaissance Plan for California. The plan lays out a vision, including specific goals and metrics, for prioritizing local water resilience in California’s urban areas – especially in Southern California – to support a pivot away from the state’s overreliance on unreliable imported water. 

Among other findings, the plan identifies the opportunity to secure 1.8-2 million acre-feet of drought-proof water supplies in Southern California by 2045 through sustainable technologies like stormwater capture, wastewater recycling, conservation, and groundwater cleanup. The total cost for such investments would be approximately $44 billion. In comparison, the proposed Delta Conveyance Project is only projected to yield 0.4 million acre-feet of water annually at a likely cost upwards of $60 billion.

“Southern California water agencies are already turning toward projects that can provide reliable local water,” said Bruce Reznik, executive director of LA Waterkeeper. “These types of investments make our region more resilient. We should direct ratepayer and taxpayer dollars to securing water supplies that are available year in and year out, rain or shine.”

As shown in this fact sheet, the amount of water available for export from two of Southern California’s main sources of fresh water – the Bay-Delta and the Colorado River – is projected to drop by 23% and 29% respectively in the coming years, compared to available water in recent decades. The report argues that continuing to over-invest in infrastructure designed to pipe water over hundreds of miles is a risky strategy, especially as snowpack and rainfall patterns become less predictable due to climate change.

Water exporting regions are also feeling the strain of changing weather patterns. As has been widely reported, the Colorado River is at an all-time low since water exports began in the early 1900s. The Bay-Delta is on the verge of ecosystem collapse due to extensive water exports that support both Central Valley agriculture and urban uses in Southern California and Silicon Valley. In the Eastern Sierras, Mono Lake and Owens Lake are similarly struggling due to excessive exports to Los Angeles.

“Proposed projects like the Delta Tunnel would decimate ecosystems and communities throughout California,” added Restore the Delta executive director Barbara Barrigan-Parilla. “It’s past time to focus our limited dollars on water infrastructure investments that are sustainable for both urban and rural farming communities, respect Tribal water and land uses, and will allow keystone species like salmon to recover. We can create improved water supplies and restore the largest estuary on the West Coast.”

The Water Renaissance Plan includes eight priority recommendations:

·         Direct state agencies to end planning and advocacy for the Delta Tunnel and instead adopt and enforce science-based instream flow protections for the Bay-Delta and its Tributaries.

·         Consider pursuing an ambitious general obligation water bond that focuses on modern local water supplies and does not include wasteful or environmentally damaging spending.

·         Develop best management practices and regulatory standards to address harmful algal blooms.

·         Require the adoption of tribal beneficial uses so that tribal uses are recognized and protected in permitting decisions.

·         Direct state officials to ensure Colorado River diversions are appropriately reduced as part of a basin-wide plan to ensure long-term sustainability and protect the environment, tribes, and urban water users.

·         Create a framework for local businesses to fund green infrastructure for stormwater capture.

·         Remove the cap on large water recycling projects for receiving loans from the State Revolving Fund and allocate sufficient funds to the SRF to meaningfully support large-scale projects.

·         Reform Proposition 218 to allow for local water rate assistance programs and ensure aggressive conservation rates can be implemented.

The Plan also includes analysis and sources to support its vision. It was drafted jointly by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the River,Golden State Salmon Association, LA Waterkeeper, Resource Renewal Institute, Restore the Delta, San Francisco Baykeeper, Sierra Club California, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, andYosemite Rivers Alliance. As of May 19, 2026, 18 additional groups have endorsed the plan. For a full list of endorsers and additional information about the Water Renaissance Plan, see www.cawaterrenaissance.org.

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For Immediate Release:

May 14, 2026

Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org

SACRAMENTO, CA — In a major blow to an already declining Delta along with California Tribes, Delta farmers, and the environmental justice communities across the Bay-Delta region, Governor Newsom’s May Revise budget proposal allocates $25 million to the misleadingly named “Healthy Rivers and Landscapes” program, which would send even more water to corporate agribusiness interests, while dedicating zero funding to critical Delta levee protections. 

Investments in Delta levees are essential to protecting the region’s four million residents from worsening flood risks driven by climate change and safeguarding the Delta’s $7 billion annual economy.

Restore the Delta has consistently advocated for Proposition 4 funding designated for levee improvement in the Sacramento San-Joaquin Delta. Yet instead of prioritizing these urgent infrastructure upgrades, the Governor’s proposed budget directs $125 million in Proposition 4 funds to the Bay Area for the development of a park.

A budget is a moral document, and Governor Newsom’s approach to water resources management fails the tests of morality, fairness, affordability, and protection for everyday Californians. Under this administration, the Delta has not only been neglected, it has been placed at even greater risk by policies that continue to endanger the region, its communities, and its future.

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The California Senate Rules Committee voted unanimously to advance Dorene D’Adamo’s reappointment to the State Water Resources Control Board despite vocal opposition from Tribal, environmental, and fishing groups.

Critics accused D’Adamo of favoring powerful agricultural and water interests, arguing during the hearing that those groups have had outsized influence over the Bay-Delta Plan process, while Tribal and environmental voices have been sidelined and ignored.

The reappointment hearing comes ahead of an expected September vote on the updated Bay-Delta Plan, which relies on negotiated “voluntary agreements,” also known as the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program, that would allow major water users to avoid enforceable regulatory standards intended to restore river flows and protect the Delta ecosystem.

“The State Water Board has consistently tipped the scales on behalf of agriculture and urban water interests, and as a result, we have multiple species headed towards extinction,” Max Gomberg, Senior Policy Advisor to the California Water Impact Network told the committee members. “This committee should not condone the ongoing environmental catastrophe in our Delta via regulatory capture of this board.”

Gary Bobker, Program Director for Friends of the River, stated, “I do want board members who are outraged about this crisis in the Bay Delta and the way it affects many communities, and who push timely and effective action to address the root causes.”

Read more from the Sacramento Bee here. 

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Dear Friends

The Department of Water Resources has announced it will be conducting long-overdue outreach on its Community Benefits Package for the impacts caused by the Delta Conveyance Project in the form of five (5) listening sessions. We encourage community members to engage in these listening sessions, however, we also want to ensure you know your value as a resident of the Delta and the value of the Delta as a place. 

Restore the Delta and Little Manila Rising will be hosting a Community Information Session on May 21 from 5-6 pm, ahead of the first virtual listening session scheduled for May 27. Additional materials prepared by Restore the Delta and Little Manila Rising will be shared closer to the event. 

During this Information Session We Will Share:

• Updates on the design and planning of Delta Conveyance Project
• Anticipated impacts to the Delta and our communities
• And what we know about the community benefits plan. 

Our goal is to arm you with the knowledge needed to hold DWR accountable, and advocate for your community in the upcoming listening sessions. 

The Delta and Community Value: A Virtual Community Information Session with Little Manila Rising:
 

• Date: May 21, 2026
• Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00PM
• Zoom Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/f90_xMxWQMm_v4srkSixhQ

California Department of Water Resources Listening Sessions:

• Dates:
  • May 27 (virtual) at 5:30 – 7:30pm 
  • June 12 (in-person) in Stockton (location not listed)
  • June 13 (in-person) in Sacramento (location not listed)
  • July 29 (virtual) at 5:30 – 7:30pm 
  • August 12 (virtual) at 5:30 – 7:30pm 
• Registration Link: https://forms.gle/jMHEQFWZuyZGzKmg6

Restore the Delta will hold an additional Q&A session on June 9, 2026 to answer any questions leading up to the in-person listening sessions on June 12 and 13. Please stay tuned for more information to be provided.

By: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

Our team has been working tirelessly to defend the Delta and our communities against the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). 

While we have secured victories in the courts regarding bond financing, the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) has unfortunately approved the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Certification of Consistency for the proposed the DCP, even though the project fails to meet the co-equal goals of protecting the Delta and reducing water reliance on the Delta.

Last week, Restore the Delta along with Tribes, expert witnesses and multiple coalition partners also filed rebuttal testimony with the Administrative Hearing Office for the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). In our testimony, we disputed numerous claims made by DWR regarding the “merits” and planning for the DCP. 

A revelatory point in our case elucidates how hundreds of thousands of impacted water users, both local residents and Tribes, were written out of the footprint of the project as a way for DWR to bypass investigating any harm and having to provide the appropriate level of mitigation. Our argument is that DWR must prove that with the Change in Point of Diversion they are proposing – allowing for two new intakes along the Sacramento River in the North Delta – would not negatively impact water users in the Delta watershed.

But importantly, the effort doesn’t end there if we are to prevent the tunnel from being frontloaded in continuing business for the next Governor, whoever that may be. 

We have two important items that you can help take action on by calling your State Senators and Assemblymembers.

Supporting a DWR financial audit

Assembly Member Rhodesia Ransom has been the primary legislative proponent of an audit of DWR for its spending on the DCP. To date, DWR “has spent over $700 million on planning and public engagement related to the Delta Conveyance Project and past iterations of the project. Despite this substantial expenditure, critical public information remains inaccessible, and significant questions remain unanswered—particularly regarding whether DWR has done its due diligence to ensure the fiscal integrity of the project, and whether hundreds of millions of dollars are being appropriately allocated,” alleviating financial pressure and impact on ratepayers, and any risks that could be attributed to California ratepayers and property taxpayers. 

The next Joint Legislative Audit Committee is scheduled to meet June 1.  Although the hearing time and agenda have not yet been made public yet, we are asking our supporters to call their State Senator and Assembly Members to express their support of the audit, even if they are not part of the Audit Committee since elected officials should ALL be advocating for financial accountability of DWR.  

If you don’t know who your representatives are, you can find them here. Next, call their office to voice your support for the DWR Audit. Here’s a script that you can opt to use: 

“I expect Senator/Assembly Member [Official’s Name] to support the audit of the Department of Water Resources and their spending on the Delta Conveyance Project. Please urge your colleagues on the Audit Committee to support this important audit. The Delta Conveyance Project is set to financially mirror the out of control spending on High Speed Rail, and without benefit for increased water delivery.”

It is our duty to keep the legislature accountable, and we must make sure they hear us and our concerns about the impact of failed water planning. A bad project like the DCP should not be left on the books for our next governor.

We are also hoping that our supporters can take the time on June 1 to join us to voice support with the committee. Although these hearings can be long and difficult with the public usually being relegated to only stating whether or not they support the item without additional commentary, it is important for us to have a sizable presence. We know that water contractors and special interest water industry leaders will all appear in large numbers (as they did last year) to oppose financial transparency. We’ve learned time and time again that “big water” provides fat paychecks for those who thwart public interest, protection of the Delta, and responsible water management in California.

A huge thank you to Assemblymember Ransom for her efforts to lead and bring accountability to the project. Once we learn more, we will continue to share updates about the audit and the hearing schedule.

Opposition to AB2215

The State Water Contractors are advancing AB2215 as a legislative solution to DWR’s expired water rights for the State Water Project and the DCP, rather than through proper procedure at the State Water Board. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Calderon, is moving for a floor vote in the Assembly and could happen at any time. If it passes, it will then move to the State Senate.

Now that you know who your State Senator and Assemblymember are (if you didn’t already), here’s a script you can use to call their office about opposing AB2215:

“I am calling to ask that you oppose AB2215 and legislative interference in water rights, especially in relation to the Delta Conveyance Project. The Delta Conveyance Project is a $100 billion boondoggle that California cannot afford. I ask that you side with our community that will be negatively impacted by this project rather than State Water Contractors who continuously work to undermine transparency and full inclusion of Californians in water management. The tunnel is a dangerous symptom of ineffective California water management.”

The Legislature, in many ways, is still beholden to Governor Newsom, and the special interests that have driven his failed water policies for the Bay-Delta watershed, urban water users, and San Joaquin Valley drinking water communities. His intent is clear – leave the system filled with bad projects and programs to drive this failed water agenda forward, despite whoever becomes the next Governor. 

In a recent press release, Governor Newsom provided more political spin that falls short of stating what the true devastating impact of the DCP would be and what it really means for Californians. While the administration celebrates restoring salmon habitat on the Klamath River, it also champions a massive tunnel project that would divert freshwater away from the Delta and further threaten fish populations and the communities that rely on a healthy bay-delta with adequate water flows.

It is time to stop the machine. Raise your voices and help us fight for the watershed, the Delta, fisheries, Tribes, Delta farming communities, the San Francisco Bay, and the people throughout the state who are impacted one way or another by the Delta Tunnel Boondoggle.