Delta Adapts: Creating a Climate Resilient Future

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | June 25th, 2021

The time to act is now. Climate change is already altering the physical environment of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh (Delta), and we will continue t

The time to act is now. Climate change is already altering the physical environment of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh (Delta), and we will continue to experience its effects through hotter temperatures, more severe wildfires, and prolonged droughts. Over the long term, climate change in the Delta is expected to harm human health and safety, disrupt the economy, diminish water supply availability and usability, shift ecosystem function, compromise sensitive habitats, and increase the challenges of providing basic services. Many of these impacts will disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. Although the exact extent and timing of these impacts is uncertain, this climate change vulnerability assessment phase of Delta Adapts will help the Delta Stewardship Council (Council) understand specific regional climate risks and vulnerabilities. Regional, collaborative adaptation strategies rooted in science are more critical than ever. The next phase of Delta Adapts, preparing an adaptation strategy, will identify ways to address the risks and vulnerabilities.

Delta Aquatic Resources Inventory Factsheet

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2019

 DARI is the Delta Aquatic Resources Inventory of surface waters, wetlands and other aquatic resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). The goal of the DARI

 DARI is the Delta Aquatic Resources Inventory of surface waters, wetlands and other aquatic resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). The goal of the DARI project is to develop a geospatial inventory of aquatic resources that will be used as a common base map for the Delta. A similar mapping approach used to create the California Aquatic Resource Inventory (CARI; www. sfei.org/cari) will be applied to provide a map of the aquatic resources and their associated attributes. The final map will be incorporated into CARI and made publicly available through EcoAtlas (ecoatlas.org) and similar platforms. 

Delta Conservation Adaptive Management Action Strategy

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | April 11th, 2019

Various efforts are ongoing to restore and enhance ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Yolo Bypass, and Suisun Marsh (hereafter the Delta) that require suppor

Various efforts are ongoing to restore and enhance ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Yolo Bypass, and Suisun Marsh (hereafter the Delta) that require support for adaptive management. Adaptive management is a science-based, structured approach to environmental decision making under uncertain conditions. Adaptive management emphasizes acquisition and use of new knowledge in natural resource management, leading to continuous iterative improvements in project planning, implementation, monitoring, and follow-up. Adaptive management is required for compliance with multiple regulatory processes, such as consistency with the Delta Plan and the Suisun Marsh Plan, but recent reviews have found that a full adaptive management cycle is rarely completed at either the project- or system-level in the Delta (Delta Independent Science Board 2016; Nagarkar and Raulund-Rasmussen 2016). To address this issue, the Delta Science Program initiated an effort to work with agency and stakeholder partners in the Delta to develop a comprehensive, science-based adaptive management approach to support achievement of Delta conservation goals. Conservation, as defined in the Delta Conservation Framework (Sloop et al. 2018), consists of efforts to protect, restore, and enhance ecosystems in the Delta. The Delta Conservation Adaptive Management Action Strategy is based on the Adaptive Management Framework outlined in the Delta Plan (Figure 1, Delta Stewardship Council 2013). 

Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Report Explained

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 27th, 2022

The Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Report Explained is a companion to the Delta Conveyance Project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to hel

The Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Report Explained is a companion to the Delta Conveyance Project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to help members of the public better understand the proposed Delta Conveyance Project and the requirements for the Department of Water Resources (DWR) in preparing an EIR under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Although not required by CEQA, this document is intended to acquaint readers with the proposed Delta Conveyance Project and alternatives analyzed in the Draft EIR and provide a short summary of impacts to key resource areas. This document is separate from and not intended to be a substitute or surrogate for the comprehensive summary of the Draft EIR that is being circulated with the Draft EIR. Readers are encouraged to review the Draft EIR Executive Summary and full Draft EIR and provide comments during the public review period.

Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) | December 16th, 2022

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR or the applicant) is proposing to construct new conveyance facilities in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta). As

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR or the applicant) is proposing to construct new conveyance facilities in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta). As the lead agency for the Delta Conveyance Project (project or proposed action), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Sacramento District has prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS) for construction of the action alternatives. This Draft EIS analyzes the applicant’s proposed action and alternatives, which include intake facilities on the Sacramento River, tunnel reaches and tunnel shafts, a southern forebay and pumping plant, and south Delta conveyance facilities that would connect to the existing State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure. Because construction of the proposed action and action alternatives would alter federal levees, permission from USACE is required under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) (33 United States Code [USC] § 408) (Section 408). Construction of the proposed action and action alternatives would cross under the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel (a federal navigation project); therefore, a real estate outgrant1 from USACE would be required. In addition, the proposed work in navigable waters of the United States requires authorization from USACE under Section 10 of the RHA (33 USC § 403), and discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States requires authorization from USACE under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 USC § 20 1344). DWR is the requester under Section 408 and the applicant under Section 10, Section 404, and the real estate outgrant. Once constructed, the new facilities that comprise the proposed action would become part of the SWP. Operation of the SWP, including the facilities proposed in this project, is outside USACE authority under Section 408, Section 10, and Section 404. Therefore, the Draft EIS focuses only on 25 those actions requiring USACE authorization or approval. Operations are discussed briefly and qualitatively throughout the Draft EIS. Readers should refer to the Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (Delta Conveyance Project Draft EIR) (California Department of Water Resources 2022) for a more in-depth analysis of operations and associated effects on the environment. Where noted, this Draft EIS incorporates by reference portions of the Delta Conveyance Project Draft EIR (California Department of Water Resources 2022).

Delta Conveyance Project Fall 2023

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | September 13th, 2023

Delta Conveyance Project Final Environmental Impact Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | December 8th, 2023

Delta Conveyance Project Scoping Summary Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 16th, 2020

This document is the Scoping Summary Report for the Delta Conveyance Project (project). The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is undertaking an environmental

This document is the Scoping Summary Report for the Delta Conveyance Project (project). The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is undertaking an environmental review process to evaluate impacts of the project as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed project would construct and operate new conveyance facilities in the Delta that would add to the existing State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure. New intake facilities as points of diversion would be located in the north Delta along the Sacramento River between Freeport and the confluence with Sutter Slough. The new conveyance facilities would include a tunnel to convey water from the new intakes to the existing Banks Pumping Plant and potentially the federal Jones Pumping Plant in the south Delta. The project underwent a public scoping period of 93 days from January 15, 2020 to April 17, 2020, where DWR accepted public comments on the scope of issues to be considered in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that will be prepared for the project. Eight scoping meetings were held throughout the state to provide information on the project and gather comments. The scoping period was originally scheduled for a period of 65 days ending on March 20, 2020 but was extended for an additional 28 days in response to stakeholder requests and to accommodate unprecedented circumstances related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. During this period, the public was invited to participate in the earliest phase of the environmental review process and DWR accepted public comments on the proposed project. This Scoping Summary Report provides background on the project, summarizes the environmental review process, describes the purpose of scoping, and discusses specific activities and public outreach efforts undertaken during the public scoping period. It also summarizes comments received during the scoping period and discusses how the scoping comments will be considered during the development of the EIR. Copies of notifications and materials developed during the scoping period are included as appendices to this report, as are copies of all comments received during the scoping process. Supplemental material attached to comment letters is not provided in the appendices but is available upon request. For an index of comments, meeting transcripts and letters, go to the California Department of Water Resources Delta Conveyance page

Delta Conveyance Project: Scoping and CEQA

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | February 10th, 2020

Delta Fish Agreement

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) | December 30th, 1986

On December 30, 1986, the Directors of CDFW and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) signed an agreement to provide for offsetting fishery impacts caused by the divers

On December 30, 1986, the Directors of CDFW and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) signed an agreement to provide for offsetting fishery impacts caused by the diversion of water at the Harvey O. Banks Delta Pumping Plant (Banks), located at the head of the California Aqueduct near Tracy, California. The agreement, currently referred to as the Delta Fish Agreement (DFA or Agreement) (PDF), was previously known as the Delta Pumping Plant Fish Protection Agreement or Four Pumps Agreement because it was adopted as part of the mitigation package to add four additional pumps to Banks during the late 1980’s. Direct losses of Chinook salmon, steelhead, and striped bass are offset or mitigated through the funding and implementation of fish mitigation projects.