When Salmon Thrive
The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the Bay Delta are in crisis due to low inflows, dams and water diversions. Almost all species of Wild fish are facing extinction and millions of people’s drinking water is Being threatened.
For over a decade, the California State Water Resources Control Board has been working on updates to the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan to deal with clean water inflow issues in the Delta. Scientific studies Show that More Water (flows) are needed in both the SAN JOAQUIN and the SACRAMENTO RIVERS are part of this update.
The Bay Delta Update Plan for the San Joaquin is called Phase 1 of The Bay Delta Water Quality Plan Updates, the Sacramento Plan is called Phase 2.
Governor Newsom opposes the Bay Delta Plan flows and has stopped progress. He instead supports the voluntary agreements process for flows. This process is run by water diverters. During this time no endangered Delta smelt have been found and up to 98% of winteR- run salmon and many Spring-Run Salmon have died. plans for new reservoirs and the Delta tunnel have been prioritized above our rivers.
Due to Newsom's Stance Phase 1 was approved and not implemented and Phase 2 has not moved Forward.
Protecting California Rivers
The fight against Sites Reservoir builds momentum
Environmental and Tribal coalition submits extensive comments on why Sites is bad for California. Click on the letter below for more info.
Our salmon are facing extinction and our drinking water is threatened. Our rivers need water and our regulators and governor need to stand up to Corporate Agriculture before we do not have clean water.
Sites Reservoir is a proposed 13,200 acre private reservoir in the lower Sacramento River/Upper Bay Delta near Willows, CA. It would be one of the largest reservoirs in California and include new diversions from the Sacramento River.
The Sites Reservoir is planned to fill the controversial Delta Tunnel. It would deliver expensive water to Southern California. Farmers that use the majority of the State's water, such as almond and rice farmers, used 4 times as much water as the city of Los Angeles during the 2021 Drought.
Sites would be a 1.5 million acre foot reservoir. In contrast, minimum releases from the Trinity Reservoir to the Trinity River is about 340,000 acre-feet a year.
Sites would flood Native American cemeteries and ceremony sites and three creeks. It would further degrade salmon runs, harming this important food source.
Sites Reservoir would be privately owned, however California has promised over $816 million dollars in taxpayer money to the project.
California already has over 1400 reservoirs or dams and 5x times more water is allocated than actually exists in the Sacramento and Trinity Rivers.
Sites would build new diversion pumps to take fresh water from the Sacramento near Red Bluff. It would release polluted water to the Delta. This will make the drinking water quality worse for over 25 million Californians.
Governor Newson, Support Water Justice,
Save the Salmon
Governer Newsom, We're Counting on You
Governer Newsom, We Depend on the River for Our Survival
Stories of the River, Stories of the People
American West(s): How the Yurok Tribe is reclaiming the Klamath River
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