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State board staff say Term 91 curtailments began June 20 as Delta balancing drew on stored project water
Summary
State Water Board staff reported June curtailments under “term 91” across the Bay-Delta watershed, said the rule covers roughly 3,000,000 acre‑feet of post‑1965 rights, and that typical summer curtailed demand is about 100,000 acre‑feet. Staff also gave a short hydrologic update and reported salmon observations in the Shasta and Scott rivers.
State Water Resources Control Board staff told the board on July 16 that curtailments tied to water‑rights “term 91” went into effect June 20 after the Delta entered a balanced condition and operators began using stored project water to meet Bay‑Delta requirements.
The board heard that term 91 appears in permits and licenses issued after 1965 in the Bay‑Delta watershed and, when invoked, requires permittees to stop diverting when water is not available at their priority. “The face value of term 91 rights in the Delta Watershed total about 3,000,000 acre feet,” a staff presenter said. Staff added that the total demand curtailed in a typical summer curtailment period is about 100,000 acre‑feet.
Why it matters: Term 91 is the State Water Board’s routinely used tool to protect stored project water when Delta conditions are balanced and project releases are required to meet in‑Delta water‑quality and flow requirements. Curtailment notices and the board’s weekly public posting of “supplemental project water” let affected permittees and the public track the status of the term throughout the irrigation season.
Staff said statewide precipitation this meeting cycle was roughly 95% of average, with regional variation (the Northern Sierra index was reported at about 105% of average while a San Joaquin index was reported at 67% of average). Major water‑supply reservoirs were described as near or slightly above average, with the presenter noting a statewide aggregated water‑supply figure around 110% of average.
Board members asked about compliance and prior enforcement experience under term 91. Staff said most right‑holders already monitor the weekly public updates and rarely ask when curtailments will be invoked: “From our end, we see pretty good compliance,” staff said, and noted enforcement staff have acted on term 91 holders in the past.
The board also received a short hydrology update on the Scott and Shasta River watersheds. Staff said curtailments on the Shasta River went into effect June 27 and that flows have been hovering near the emergency minimum of about 50 cubic feet per second (CFS); staff reported a morning flow around 55 CFS at one recent check and said Chinook and Coho were observed in the system as of July 8. On the Scott River, curtailments were suspended at the time of the briefing because measured flows remained above the emergency minimum (staff reported about 89 CFS on a recent morning) but warned that flows were trending downward heading into August.
Staff also reminded the board that firefighting and maintenance of firefighting supplies are allowed curtailment exceptions and that, in 2024, staff delayed curtailments and extended reporting deadlines near the Shelley Fire in the Scott River area. The board asked staff to continue reporting on operations and the communications they maintain with the projects and right‑holders.
Board members said they value continued briefings on term 91 as the board implements the Bay‑Delta plan and requested that staff keep providing the June/July curtailment timing context and the weekly posting that shows whether supplemental project water is positive or negative.
Ending: Staff said they would follow up with details about enforcement actions taken under term 91 in the past and continue to monitor Delta operations and local watersheds through the summer.
