<html><head></head><body><div class="ydp63da98yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><div class="ydp63da98signature" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">The Trinity River is included in the 169 page petition to the SWRCB. You can do a word search for "Trinity". See <a href="https://www.restorethedelta.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-05-24-Petition-for-Rulemaking-FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.restorethedelta.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-05-24-Petition-for-Rulemaking-FINAL.pdf</a> for the petition.</div><div class="ydp63da98signature" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">TS<br></div><div class="ydp63da98signature" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp63da98signature" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp63da98signature" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-26/california-delta-water-policy-tied-to-racist-past-tribes-say" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-26/california-delta-water-policy-tied-to-racist-past-tribes-say</a></div><div class="ydp63da98signature"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><div><h1 class="ydp6155e43eheadline" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">Delta water crisis linked to California’s racist past, tribes and activists say<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span></h1><div class="ydp6155e43epage-wrapper" style="margin-top: 40px;"><div class="ydp6155e43epage-main-content"><div class="ydp6155e43epage-lead-media" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><img class="ydp6155e43eimage" alt="A woman stands beside a creek" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e360668/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4200x2800+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F48%2F2e%2Fce8e5e264e3a8674b8c9125b47c1%2F890757-me-salmon-along-sacramento-river-71-ajs.jpg" style="display: block; max-width: 800px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; width: 100%;"><div class="ydp6155e43efigure-content" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 500; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px;"><div class="ydp6155e43efigure-caption" style="display: inline;">Caleen Sisk, chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, visits a creek near her home, a tributary of the Sacramento River where she recently saw salmon swimming.<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span></div><div class="ydp6155e43efigure-credit" style="display: inline; margin-left: 5px;">(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)</div></div></div><div class="ydp6155e43ebyline" style="margin-bottom: 20px; max-width: 680px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><div class="ydp6155e43eauthors" style="margin-bottom: 12px; text-transform: uppercase;"><div class="ydp6155e43eauthor-name" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; display: inline; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="ydp6155e43ebyline-prefix">BY</span><span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/people/ian-james" data-click="standardBylineAuthorName" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IAN JAMES</a><span class="ydp6155e43eauthor-title" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 4px; display: inline;">STAFF WRITER </span></div></div><span class="ydp6155e43epublished-date-day">MAY 26, 2022<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="ydp6155e43epublished-time">5 AM PT<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span></span><div class="ydp6155e43epage-actions" style="display: block;"><ul class="ydp6155e43eaction-bar-menu" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li style="margin-right: 5px;"><a class="ydp6155e43eaction-link" href="https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=134435029966155&display=popup&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fcalifornia%2Fstory%2F2022-05-26%2Fcalifornia-delta-water-policy-tied-to-racist-past-tribes-say" data-social-service="facebook" data-social-trigger="actionBar" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: block;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 1px; min-height: 1px;">Facebook</span></a></li><li style="margin-right: 5px;"><a class="ydp6155e43eaction-link ydp6155e43eActionLink" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fcalifornia%2Fstory%2F2022-05-26%2Fcalifornia-delta-water-policy-tied-to-racist-past-tribes-say&text=Delta%20water%20crisis%20linked%20to%20California%27s%20racist%20past%2C%20tribes%20and%20activists%20say" data-social-service="twitter" data-social-trigger="actionBar" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: block;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 1px; min-height: 1px;">Twitter</span></a></li><li style="margin-right: 5px;"><a class="ydp6155e43eaction-link" data-dropdown-trigger="" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-26/california-delta-water-policy-tied-to-racist-past-tribes-say#" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: block;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 1px; min-height: 1px;">Show more sharing options</span></a></li></ul></div></div><div class="ydp6155e43epage-article-container" style="max-width: 680px; margin: 0px auto;"><div class="ydp6155e43epage-article-body"><div class="ydp6155e43erich-text-article-body"><div class="ydp6155e43erich-text-article-body-content ydp6155e43erich-text-body" data-subscriber-content="" style="font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Tribes and environmental groups are challenging how the state manages water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a major source for much of California, arguing the deterioration of the aquatic ecosystem has links to the state’s troubled legacy of racism and oppression of Native people.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">A group of activists and Indigenous leaders is demanding that the state review and update the water quality plan for the Delta and San Francisco Bay, where fish species are suffering, algae blooms have worsened and climate change is adding to the stresses.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">The tribes and environmental groups submitted a petition to the State Water Resources Control Board demanding the state change its approach and adopt science-based standards that ensure adequate flows in the Delta to improve water quality and sustain imperiled fish, including species that are at risk of extinction.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">They said the ecological crisis in the Delta has its roots in California’s history of<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-madley-california-genocide-20160522-snap-story.html" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">violence against Native people</a>, the taking of land from tribes and structural racism that shaped how the water rights system was established more than a century ago. They said deteriorating conditions in the estuary represent a “continuation of California’s<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.restorethedelta.org/2022/05/24/petition-filed-tribes-and-environmental-justice-groups-link-bay-delta-collapse-to-water-rights-from-californias-racist-past/?fbclid=IwAR0jezXbw643OIkch1z83fbmszk5AIY1_SsqS_Asl6PdrAGz8W-exqEHmmA" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">discriminatory water management history</a>.”</p><div class="ydp6155e43eenhancement" data-click="enhancement" data-align-center="" style="clear: both; margin: 30px 0px; width: 680px;"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-wrapper"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-media" data-click="media" style="position: relative; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; max-width: 110px; width: 110px;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink ydp6155e43epromo-placeholder" href="https://www.latimes.com/projects/can-endangered-california-chinook-salmon-be-saved-from-extinction" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; display: block; position: relative; padding-bottom: 73.25px; min-height: 0px;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydp6155e43eimage" alt="Illustration of a Chinook salmon breaching with a dam in the background" data-srcset="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7acf8ee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/110x73!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg 110w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/41b8846/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/180x120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg 180w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9a05cdc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/320x213!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg 320w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8527d8e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/568x379!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg 568w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5dc52a2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/768x512!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg 768w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e4e6f99/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg 840w" data-sizes="100vw" data-src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e4e6f99/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e4e6f99/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1333+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fdb%2Fffb300d644b6a5d5fac241bf86c2%2Fla-me-endangered-salmon-share.jpg" style="display: block; max-width: 800px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; width: 100%; color: transparent;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></div><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-content"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-title-container"><p class="ydp6155e43epromo-category" data-click="category" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; color: inherit; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT</a></p><h3 class="ydp6155e43epromo-title" data-click="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/projects/can-endangered-california-chinook-salmon-be-saved-from-extinction" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">California salmon are at risk of extinction. A plan to save them stirs hope and controversy</a></h3></div><p class="ydp6155e43epromo-timestamp" data-date="April 7, 2022" data-shouldshowdate="true" data-shouldshowtime="true" data-timestamp="1649323812841" data-show-timestamp="true" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; display: block; margin: 0px; text-transform: none;">April 7, 2022</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">They wrote in their 169-page<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.restorethedelta.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-05-24-Petition-for-Rulemaking-FINAL.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">petition</a><span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span>that the state water board’s “failure to adopt sufficiently protective water quality standards entrenches a discriminatory system of water rights that was founded on the dispossession of Indigenous Californians and exclusion of communities of color, and that continues to prioritize large-scale agricultural interests over those of vulnerable Californians living in the Delta.”</p><div class="ydp6155e43eenhancement" data-click="enhancement" data-align-center="" style="clear: both; margin: 30px 0px; width: 680px;"><div class="ydp6155e43egoogle-dfp-ad-wrapper" data-min-height="270" data-ad-rendered="true" style="text-align: center; min-height: 270px;"><div class="ydp6155e43egoogle-dfp-ad-caption" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 5px; text-transform: uppercase;">ADVERTISEMENT</div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">The petition was filed Tuesday by the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Save California Salmon, Little Manila Rising and Restore the Delta, who are represented by a legal team from Stanford Law School’s Environmental Law Clinic.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">The petitioners called for the state water board to carry out a review of the Bay-Delta water quality standards through a public process and to consult with tribes in updating the standards, while recognizing and incorporating tribal uses of water.</p><div class="ydp6155e43eenhancement" data-click="enhancement" data-align-center="" style="clear: both; margin: 30px 0px; width: 680px;"><div id="ydp6155e43enativo_1"><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">They said the state should adopt new water quality standards that ensure adequate flows in the Delta. They urged the state water board to “regulate and restructure water rights as necessary,” including the most senior pre-1914 water rights, to implement the standards and to limit diversions and exports of water.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“Business as usual cannot continue. It’s not sustainable,” said Caleen Sisk, chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. “They need to rethink and redo. And do it better.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">For the Winnemem Wintu, whose ancestors were displaced by the construction of Shasta Dam, salmon are<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/projects/can-endangered-california-chinook-salmon-be-saved-from-extinction/" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">central to their cultural and spiritual traditions</a>. But endangered winter-run Chinook salmon, which migrate through the Delta, have suffered as years of drought and low reservoir levels have left the Sacramento River too warm for most of their offspring to survive.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Other threatened or endangered fish species include<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-threatened-delta-smelt-aquarium-exhibit-20190422-story.html" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">delta smelt</a>, longfin smelt, spring-run Chinook, green sturgeon and Central Valley steelhead.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Sisk and others who signed the petition said the crisis in the Delta has been “exacerbated through the construction and operation of large-scale Delta water export projects to feed the growth of agricultural industries in arid areas to the south.”</p><div class="ydp6155e43eenhancement" data-click="enhancement" data-align-center="" style="clear: both; margin: 30px 0px; width: 680px;"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-wrapper"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-media" data-click="media" style="position: relative; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; max-width: 110px; width: 110px;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink ydp6155e43epromo-placeholder" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-05-24/trees-are-critical-city-infrastructure-keep-watering-them" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; display: block; position: relative; padding-bottom: 73.25px; min-height: 0px;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydp6155e43eimage" alt="Calabasas, CA - May 13: Aerial views of homes around Calabasas Country Club Friday, May 13, 2022 in Calabasas, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)" data-srcset="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fcc4b41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/110x73!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg 110w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1fe19a1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/180x120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg 180w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7d92589/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/320x213!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg 320w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cfc5929/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/568x379!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg 568w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9f8ff93/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/768x512!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg 768w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/aad5fe9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg 840w" data-sizes="100vw" data-src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/aad5fe9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/aad5fe9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3597x2398+1+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F25%2F41e71f6e4fb39eaff5e2ab7fbe69%2F959048-la-me-the-rich-drought-4-brv.jpg" style="display: block; max-width: 800px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; width: 100%; color: transparent;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></div><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-content"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-title-container"><p class="ydp6155e43epromo-category" data-click="category" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; color: inherit; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT</a></p><h3 class="ydp6155e43epromo-title" data-click="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-05-24/trees-are-critical-city-infrastructure-keep-watering-them" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SoCal needs to keep vital trees alive despite unprecedented watering restrictions</a></h3></div><p class="ydp6155e43epromo-timestamp" data-date="May 24, 2022" data-shouldshowdate="true" data-shouldshowtime="true" data-timestamp="1653401716930" data-show-timestamp="true" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; display: block; margin: 0px; text-transform: none;">May 24, 2022</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Large quantities of water are diverted to supply vast farmlands growing almonds, pistachios, grapes, alfalfa and other crops. Water deliveries for agriculture have been<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-25/california-agriculture-takes-1-2-billion-hit-during-drought" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cut back substantially</a><span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span>during the drought, forcing growers to leave some lands dry or<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-farms-water-wells-drought/" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pump more groundwater</a>.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">But Sisk and others said the water system is structured in a way that continues to give preferential treatment to large agricultural interests that have senior water rights.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Some of the oldest rights date to the 1800s, when white settlers staked their claims, sometimes by<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/science/la-xpm-2014-mar-22-la-me-delta-flows-20140323-story.html" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nailing a notice to a tree</a>.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Today, while many crops are exported in large quantities for profit, the water diversions are exacting a worsening environmental toll, Sisk said.</p><div class="ydp6155e43eenhancement" data-click="enhancement" data-align-center="" style="clear: both; margin: 30px 0px; width: 680px;"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-wrapper"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-media" data-click="media" style="position: relative; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; max-width: 110px; width: 110px;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink ydp6155e43epromo-placeholder" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-05-23/newsom-urges-more-aggressive-water-conservation-amid-drought" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; display: block; position: relative; padding-bottom: 73.25px; min-height: 0px;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydp6155e43eimage" alt="Alicia De Mello waters her front yard in in South Pasadena " data-srcset="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a099a55/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/110x73!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg 110w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e77ab7e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/180x120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg 180w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/69147a8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/320x213!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg 320w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3c0bc29/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/568x379!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg 568w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/02b1301/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/768x512!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg 768w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7730be2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg 840w" data-sizes="100vw" data-src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7730be2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7730be2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5901x3934+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa4%2Fd2edaffb435d81759ad66b06ba88%2F951912-me-ladrought-scenes-06-fo.jpg" style="display: block; max-width: 800px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; width: 100%; color: transparent;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></div><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-content"><div class="ydp6155e43epromo-title-container"><p class="ydp6155e43epromo-category" data-click="category" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; color: inherit; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT</a></p><h3 class="ydp6155e43epromo-title" data-click="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-05-23/newsom-urges-more-aggressive-water-conservation-amid-drought" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Newsom urges aggressive water conservation and warns of statewide restrictions</a></h3></div><p class="ydp6155e43epromo-timestamp" data-date="May 23, 2022" data-shouldshowdate="true" data-shouldshowtime="true" data-timestamp="1653345929643" data-show-timestamp="true" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; display: block; margin: 0px; text-transform: none;">May 23, 2022</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“How is it that Big Ag uses 80% of the water and then ships its products out of state or out of country, and uses all this water, and that the state is left with the deficit?” Sisk said. She said the current system is giving agriculture too much water, while not dedicating nearly enough for local communities, fish and the environment.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">In March, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced a controversial $2.6-billion deal with major water suppliers that they say would bolster the Delta’s ecosystem. Under these proposed<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://resources.ca.gov/-/media/CNRA-Website/Files/NewsRoom/Voluntary-Agreement-Package-March-29-2022.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">voluntary agreements</a>, agencies that supply farms and cities would give up some water or secure additional supplies to help threatened species, while state, federal and local agencies would fund projects to improve habitat in the watershed.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">The plan has been<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-01/a-2-6-billion-drought-deal-is-drawing-fire-in-california" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">condemned by environmentalists</a><span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span>as a set of backroom deals negotiated out of the public eye that wouldn’t provide nearly enough water for threatened fish or the overall health of the watershed.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Those who filed the petition said the proposed agreements, which have yet to be endorsed by the state water board, are the wrong approach. They said the tribes should have been consulted and the process should instead start with updating the water quality standards.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“That process is moving forward with a framework that is not protective of the Delta,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta. “And science already has shown that what the Delta needs is more water moving through it.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">State data show that on average, about 47% of the state’s water<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://water.ca.gov/Programs/California-Water-Plan/Water-Portfolios" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">goes to the environment</a>, staying in rivers and wetlands. About 42% is used by agriculture, while 11% is used in cities and towns.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">But the groups said in their petition that dams and water diversions have drastically reduced flows in the Delta. On average, they said, about 31% of the watershed’s flow is diverted upstream from the Delta, and the combined effect of these diversions and water exports cut average annual outflow from the Delta by nearly half between 1986 and 2005.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“If nothing changes, the climate crisis will push these already tenuous conditions to the brink of disaster,” they said in the petition. “Without improved management, the results will include increasing salinity, proliferation of harmful algal blooms, spread of nonnative invasive species, decline of native fish species, and other harms to the estuarine ecosystem — all of which will do further violence to tribes and other vulnerable Delta communities.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Elaine Labson, health equity director of Little Manila Rising, said people who immigrated to California during the U.S. occupation of the Philippines worked in the Delta building levees and laboring in fields of asparagus, onions and potatoes. However, they didn’t gain water rights.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“From 1913 to 1945, California’s racist Alien Land Law prevented Filipinos from owning property, which is a prerequisite for acquiring water rights,” Labson said in a<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.restorethedelta.org/2022/05/24/petition-filed-tribes-and-environmental-justice-groups-link-bay-delta-collapse-to-water-rights-from-californias-racist-past/?fbclid=IwAR0jezXbw643OIkch1z83fbmszk5AIY1_SsqS_Asl6PdrAGz8W-exqEHmmA" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Today, she said, the degraded state of Delta waterways in and around Stockton poses health risks for residents. Labson noted that high nutrient levels and warm waters, resulting in part from low flows in the San Joaquin River, create conditions that allow harmful algal blooms.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">She pointed out that last year the state water board adopted a<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/racial_equity/resolution.html#:~:text=The%20Water%20Boards%20Racial%20Equity,a%20priority%20plan%20of%20action." style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">racial equity resolution</a>in which officials “acknowledged that the historical effects of institutional racism must be confronted throughout government.” If this resolution is to have meaning, Labson said, the board “must take action to restore flows to the Delta.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">The state water board said officials will need to carefully evaluate the petition before responding.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“Updating the<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bay-Delta Plan</a><span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span>is one of the board’s highest priorities,” the agency said in a<span class="ydp6155e43eApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22038413-2022-5-24-state-water-board-statement" style="text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; background-color: transparent;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">statement</a>. “The board completed a significant update in 2018 for the Lower San Joaquin River tributaries and anticipates completing updates for the Sacramento River and Delta in the next two years.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">It said this process will include an analysis of the proposed voluntary agreements, and the board will analyze the agreements “in conjunction with other alternatives for updating the Bay-Delta Plan.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Sydney Speizman, a student attorney with the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic who helped prepare the petition, said the board is supposed to update the plan and its water quality standards every three years, but it’s been at least 16 years since that last happened.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px 0px;">“They’ve fallen woefully short of that duty with the standards that they have put forward,” Speizman said. “The Delta is in crisis, and climate change is pushing that to the brink. And the board, we’re saying, needs to act upon its duties under the law to protect this ecosystem.”</p></div></div></div><hr style="margin: 40px 0px; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; background-size: ; color: inherit; width: 70px; min-height: 1px;"></div></div></div><div class="ydp6155e43etags" style="margin: 0px auto 40px; max-width: 680px;"><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; border-top-width: ; border-right-width: ; border-bottom-width: ; border-left-width: ; font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CALIFORNIA</a><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; border-top-width: ; border-right-width: ; border-bottom-width: ; border-left-width: ; font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT</a><a class="ydp6155e43elink" href="https://www.latimes.com/topic/california-drought" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; border-top-width: ; border-right-width: ; border-bottom-width: ; border-left-width: ; font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CALIFORNIA DROUGHT</a></div><div class="ydp6155e43emodule-container" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; padding-top: 20px;"><div class="ydp6155e43emodule-icon" style="text-align: center; margin: 10px 15px 10px 0px;"></div></div></div></div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>