State water board votes 4–1 to update Sacramento River and Delta protections
Oct. 30, 2026 — The State Water Resources Control Board voted 4–1 late Thursday, Oct. 29, to update the Bay-Delta Plan's protections for the Sacramento River, its tributaries and the Delta, the Los Angeles Times reported. The board says those protections were last revised in 1995. Water users can comply through voluntary agreements that pair river flows with habitat restoration, or through a rule based mainly on flows. Restore the Delta, several tribes and other groups said in a joint statement that the plan is too weak; the Westlands Water District plans to leave the voluntary agreements, the Times reported.