California Water Impact Network (C-WIN)

“Californians deserve better.”

With no baseline conditions established, an inadequate geographic scope surveyed, and insufficient analysis of tribal and environmental justice impacts, the DEIR has neglected its responsibility to protect the public trust.

Read C-WIN’s comment letter to the Department of Water Resources ⬇️

Department of Water Resources SWP Draft EIR: Our Comments — California Water Impact Network Comment Letter – Draft Environmental Impact Report for State Water Project Long-Term Operations July 11, 2024 Department of Water Resources Attn: Chris Wilkinson, Environmental Program Manager, Division of Integrated Science and Engineering Via email: [email protected] , ch

“One Delta fish is already extinct, and now we’re poised to lose several more. When I was a kid growing up in Sacramento and fishing for striped bass, Delta smelt were everywhere. They were the primary forage fish for stripers and every other large predatory Delta fish. In the last few years, the numbers recorded have gone from a few to zero. What was once the most common fish in the Delta has completely disappeared,” says lifelong angler and environmental advocate Dan Bacher.

“There aren’t any big fish left. There simply isn’t enough food for them.”

Check out our in depth Q&A with fish and water reporter Dan Bacher to learn why ⬇️

California Fisheries Q&A with Dan Bacher — California Water Impact Network Dan Bacher has been fishing and writing about fishing and fisheries conservation for more than 50 years. Angling is the great passion of his life – and while reporting on California’s fisheries is his career, he also views it as a personal responsibility. In today’s impoverished and skew

"Framing the issue as restoring salmon or keeping the lights on is a false choice. Our carbon reduction and ecosystem resilience actions can and must go hand-in-hand," states water policy expert and C-WIN board member Max Gomberg.

Read the full article ⬇️

Hydropower or Salmon? — California Water Impact Network Don’t Buy Into this False Choice Narrative By Max Gomberg Some California energy utilities recently sent letters to the State Water Resources Control Board commenting on the agency’s proposed updates to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan. The plan lists several alternatives, including some

“While additional urban conservation is important, it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the savings that could be realized by adjusting agribusiness allocations so they are equitable and resilient to climate change,” says water policy expert, former SWRCB staffer, and a senior consulting analyst for the California Water Impact Network Max Gomberg.

Learn more about this proposed regulation supported by the State Water Resources Conservation Board and its ineffective strategy to protect California's freshwater resources ⤵

Proposed Water Conservation Rule Exempts California’s Most Profligate Users — California Water Impact Network New Mandate Would Crack Down on Cities, Let Corporate Growers Off the Hook – All for Minimal Water Savings

It’s been over 10 years since the Delta Reform Act was passed. It was established to address the rapidly deteriorating fish populations, so why is this ecosystem still on the brink of collapse?

Learn more about the Delta Reform Act and the consequences of continued inaction ⤵

Delta Reform Act Explained — California Water Impact Network In response to intensifying drought cycles and plummeting fish populations, the Delta Reform Act of 2009 established two coequal goals:

“There is a 500% disparity between the water that is claimed and the water that exists. In a 1994 report on the financing of the State Water Project for the California State Library, researcher Dennis O’Connor coined the term ‘paper water’ to describe this phantom water that is found in legal and government documents but not in our reservoirs and rivers. It’s fantasy water – a complete fabrication. And yet, it’s foundational to the catastrophic policies of both state and federal water project managers.” says C-WIN's executive director Carolee Krieger.

“For the first time, the Board explicitly acknowledges what we’ve been saying for more than two decades,” Krieger continues. “Our work is predicated on the fact that California water rights claims exponentially outstrip supplies. That makes it impossible to craft and enforce workable water policy, ultimately leading to overcharged and underserved ratepayers, a devastated environment, and collapsing fisheries.”

So what does this mean for the State Water Board's legal and civic obligation to address this disparity? Learn more ⤵

Coming Clean: State Water Resources Control Board Finally Acknowledges "Paper Water" — California Water Impact Network Figures in the Agency’s New Bay-Delta Plan Update Confirm What Water Reform Advocates Have Long Maintained: California Water Rights Claims Exceed the Actual Supply of Water by Five Times

Newsom’s “progressive environmental agenda” has a pretty big blind spot. Instead of promoting protective management policies, his leadership is driving California’s once abundant salmon runs to extinction.

Learn how big ag and almond production are contributing to salmon’s plummeting populations ⤵

To salmon, Indigenous tribes and conservationists, Newsom says: Let them eat almonds — California Water Impact Network This piece was originally published in the Sacramento Bee January 18, 2024 BY TOM STOKELY Gov. Gavin Newsom has made it a point to tout his green credentials whenever possible — citing his administration’s initiative to derive 90% of the state’s energy from sustainable sources by 2035 , for ex...

“It’s shocking that the Board decided against recommending specific protections that would safeguard the Trinity’s fisheries,” Stokely says. “It even identified impacts to the Trinity but offered no proposals for mitigation. It’s as though the Trinity doesn’t exist, so the Board doesn’t have to bother with any protective measures whatsoever. It’s a forgotten river.”

The omission of the Trinity River in the updated Bay-Delta plan is bewildering, and if this lack of accountability continues, the river and the people who depend on it are at risk. Learn more ⤵

PRESS RELEASE: Forgotten River: The Glaring Omission in the State Water Board’s Bay-Delta Plan Update — California Water Impact Network Proposed Changes Ignore the Contributions and Needs of the Trinity River, Imperiling Salmon, Native Communities, and North State Fishing Economies A not-so-funny thing happened when the State Water Resources Control Board decided to update its Bay-Delta Plan, the document that authorizes protective

“It is time to reject the false narrative of farms versus fish." - Max Gomberg⁠
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The Delta ecosystem can be restored without impacting food security. The question is, will the Newsom administration prioritize public good over maximizing big ag. profits?⁠ Learn more ⤵

PRESS RELEASE: State Water Board Counters Big Lie from Big Ag — California Water Impact Network Agency Acknowledges Enhanced Delta Flows Won’t Harm Agriculture Despite receiving the lion’s share of water from the massive state and federal projects that pump from the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, Central Valley corporate growers have long complained that the enhanced flows needed to maintai...

“It’s simple: when the state’s water policies kill off all of the baby salmon, 2 to 3 years later you don’t get many returning adults in the rivers. This is Governor Newsom’s legacy.” said Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA).

This year will be the second in a row with a complete closure of recreational and commercial salmon seasons in an attempt to reverse the damage of Governor Newsom’s harmful water policies. California's coastal fishing communities are taking this devastating loss to their livelihoods and lifestyles in stride in the hopes that this consecutive closure will give salmon populations a chance to rebound. Meanwhile, the state continues to shift blame away from their complicity in the collapse.

“California claims to be environmental leaders, and to be focused on truth and healing for Tribes, but always chooses industrial agriculture over salmon and the communities that depend on them,” concluded Regina Chichizola from Save California Salmon.

It’s Official: California Salmon Fishing Closed Again This Year — California Water Impact Network This article was originally published in Daily Kos on April 10, 2024. by Dan Bacher On April 10, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) voted unanimously for a complete closure of recreational and commercial salmon seasons on the California Coast for the second year in a row, based o

The glaring omission of critical regulatory provisions in ⁠the California State Water Resources Control Board's Supplemental Environmental Document (SED) for Phase II of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan published last September is unacceptable.⁠ Revision is the only solution to a document that blatantly disregarded its obligations to the Human Right to Water, the Delta Reform Act, racial equity, tribal rights, waste and unreasonable use, and fish passage.⁠
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Check out the link below for a full breakdown of the public comments C-WIN submitted to address the SED's numerous egregious and unsubstantiated claims.

Breaking Down C-WIN's Comment Letter on Sacramento/Delta Draft Staff Report — California Water Impact Network The Purpose of Public Comments: The Administrative Procedures Act of 1946 requires federal agencies keep the public informed on proposed rules or regulations under consideration by the U.S. government. The public is given a 60-day period following publication of the proposal to submit relevant fe

“Salmon have survived droughts in California for millennia,” said Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Assn. “But when on top of that you have incredible water diversions and temperature pollution, that’s what’s killing these baby fish. And when you kill the baby fish, they don’t come back as adults.”

Drought is no longer a scapegoat policymakers can hide behind. Favoring farms is pushing California's salmon fishery to the brink of extinction. Read the full article from LA Times reporter Michael Hiltzik ⤵

Here’s What’s Killing the Salmon Industry — California Water Impact Network State and federal policies that favor farms have done far more damage to the fishery than drought. This article originally appeared on the Los Angeles Times web site on April 21, 2024. By Michael Hiltzik Snapshots from an environmental and economic disaster: Kenneth Brown, the owner of Bo

C-WIN has officially filed a protest to the State Water Resources Control Board for confirming the Newsom Administration’s Delta Conveyance Project. “The State Water Board should reflect on its institutional legacy and put this zombie project to rest once and for all,” says C-WIN’s Senior Policy Consultant, Max Gomberg.

The implications of the DCP blatantly contradict the State's duties to protect ratepayers, communities, and the environment. Learn more ⬇️

PRESS RELEASE: C-WIN Challenges the DCP - It Violates Both the Public Interest and the Law — California Water Impact Network May 14, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE C-WIN Files Protest Disputing the Legality of Newsom’s Single Water Tunnel Scheme The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) has filed a protest to the State Water Resources Control Board confirming the Newsom Administration’s Delta Conveyance Project (DCP)

The Sites Reservoir Project and its 1 billion dollars of public funding is just one more way for the State to funnel water into the fields of wealthy farm owners.

Not surprising, but once again disappointing, this proposal would continue to enforce the inexcusable standard that unsustainable agricultural practices are permissible for the sake of profits. Meanwhile, low-income households will be priced out of accessing water and the environment will continue to suffer.

Sites is as far from a climate-resilient water project as it could get. Californian’s indisputable right to water should never be jeopardized for the profit margins of a few and freshwater ecosystems that depend on cold water flows can no longer be left in the dust. Read Max Gomberg’s take ⤵

Opinion: Sites Reservoir project is a huge boondoggle with harmful effects — California Water Impact Network Plan would spend more than $1 billion in public subsidies to release warm, polluted water into river system

What's the difference between agriculture and "agribusiness"?

"It’s about maximum profit derived by gaming flawed water policies that favor the rich, the powerful and the few over the general public."

Read our latest C-WIN blog post: https://bit.ly/CAagribusiness

As reporter Marx Arax noted in his book The Dreamt Land, Vidovich “…isn’t farming dirt. He’s farming water.”

Read the latest C-WIN Water Blog post, "The Difference Between Farmers and Water Privateers". https://cwin.substack.com/p/the-difference-between-farmers-and?sd=pf 💶

The Delta is the beating heart of California, and it's on the brink of collapse, which is why we're working with orgs across the state to save it. Here's a proposed Delta Tunnel (which we're against) Impact Map, courtesy of Delta Counties Coalition. https://bit.ly/3EZewDj

The proposed Delta Tunnel Draft EIR analysis assumes our water supply will be similar to the last 100 years. Not gonna happen.🙅🏼‍♀️ Here's a great myth-buster put together by the Delta Counties Coalition. https://bit.ly/deltafacts

C-WIN board member Tom Stokely served 23 years as a Planner with the Natural Resources Division of Trinity County. Here's what he has to say about climate change, atmospheric rivers and the future of north state dams.
📷 Bureau of Reclamation https://bit.ly/trinitydam

The Delta Reform Act is current law that supercedes Newsom's proposed Delta Conveyance Project. Read more in our latest Substack post.
https://cwin.substack.com/p/the-delta-reform-act-explained
📷 BLM

Before it was a single tunnel project it was a twin tunnel project. See what C-WIN co-founder, Yvon Chounaird, has to say about wasteful infastructure, big agribusiness, the real problem—overallocation and paper water—and C-WIN's solution. https://www.c-win.org/research

Any new CA water project or policy should be built on facts, science and community input. C-WIN board member Dan Bacher is an independent journalist who’s been covering fish, environmental justice and water issues for 40 years. Here's what he thinks about the proposed Delta Conveyance Project. 📷 Courtesy of DWR
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/13/2122690/-Delta-Tunnel-s-science-denying-premise-diverting-more-water-out-of-Sacramento-will-restore-fish

"Farming uses 80% of all water diverted for human use in the state...almonds...demand constant irrigation even — and in fact especially — during dry years." Thank you
for spotlighting the hubris of growing almonds in the San Joaquin Valley. 💦 https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-09-04/newsom-water-supply-strategy-falls-short

Editorial: Newsom's water supply plan is only half-full Newsom correctly warns that California must replace at least 10% of its vanishing water supply, but his strategy gives a free pass to agriculture.

"California is now at a tipping point." Read our latest C-WIN Water Blog post and learn how over 150 years of water mismanagement happened, and how we can fix it – without a tunnel. https://bit.ly/FixCalWater. Map of San Joaquin, Sacramento and Tulare Valleys, 1873.

"Water is a finite resource. Until we treat it like that, we’re not dealing with reality." Food and Water Watch interviews C-WIN board member and activist Conner Everts, who fought hard against the ill-conceived Poseidon desal plant. https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/08/29/on-desalination-and-drought-with-activist-conner-everts/

Water rights can be...murky, especially at the intersection of groundwater and surface water. We break down water rights in one of our C-WIN primers. Check it out: https://bit.ly/CAwaterrights 👀

Reposting this C-WIN blog post, ""Wasting' Water? Think Again", as a reminder we can't outsmart nature and we can't continue to deprive the Delta ecosystem, Tribes, economy and citizens of a public trust: life-giving water. https://bit.ly/DeltaRights

Friday reminder that the CA Delta, and everything/everyone that depends on it, has inherent value and beauty that go way beyond economics. We're tracking the proposed tunnel plan 🤦🏼‍♀️ and have water equity solutions that don't include it. 📷 Three Mile Slough / Demi Stewart

We get a lot comments about how water is "wasted" when it's allowed to flow out to the sea. Here's the thing: it's not wasted if it sustains life-giving systems and resources, including drinkable water for humans. Read our latest C-WIN blog post: https://cwin.substack.com/p/wasting-water-think-again-a22?sd=pf

A lot of people look at desal as a solution to California's water problems. Here’s what you should know. https://bit.ly/knowdesal