Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Data Reporting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Delta Watermaster reports OpenET-based alternative compliance reporting progress; urges follow-up on remaining filers and flags South Delta channel-capacity, H‑
Summary
Delta Watermaster staff told the State Water Resources Control Board that OpenET-based alternative compliance reporting is advancing across the legal Delta but that staff must continue outreach to remaining nonfilers and must address South Delta channel-capacity, HABs and invasive-species threats.
The Office of the Delta Watermaster told the State Water Resources Control Board on March 4 that the Delta alternative compliance plan (ACP) — an OpenET-based method to estimate consumptive use in the legal Delta under Senate Bill 88 reporting — is making progress but requires continued outreach to bring remaining water-rights holders into compliance.
Will Anderson and Delta Watermaster staff reported that the Delta unit encompasses roughly 2,700 individual water rights and that, after an initial extension to account for OpenET data availability, roughly 98 percent of water-rights holders had filed annual reports for the prior reporting year. The Delta ACP filings for water year 2023 were still rolling in; staff said they expected substantially more filings by the end of the month and planned to send notice-of-violation letters to a small group of nonfilers who had failed to respond to prior outreach.
Staff described the ACP as an alternative to physical diversion meters in locations where direct measurement is impractical (for example, siphons and pumping setups on islands below sea level). The Delta Watermaster emphasized that authorized agents (consultants and agencies that file on users’ behalf) have been essential to adoption and urged that agent capacity be supported in CalWaters or other state reporting systems.
Delta Watermaster staff also highlighted several policy and science concerns in the Delta: - South Delta channel capacity and circulation: staff warned that limited channel capacity is creating water-quality and circulation risks in the southern Delta, and that a previously funded dredging program (water-level response/dredging) has not been continued. They urged interagency attention and funding to restore dredging and circulation improvements that once were carried out under D-1641-related programs. - Harmful algal blooms (HABs): staff said work is underway across agencies and the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) to improve HAB monitoring and coordination. A technical workshop and implementation planning are scheduled. - Invasive species monitoring: the Delta lead scientist and others flagged the golden mussel as a new invasive species of concern; early detections near Stockton prompted an interagency task force and public outreach to boaters and operators on containment.
The Delta Watermaster and Delta lead scientist asked the board to continue coordinated support for monitoring and multi-benefit Delta projects and to help ensure that scientific monitoring and interagency capability remain adequate in the face of federal and state funding uncertainties.
Board members asked staff to continue outreach on ACP filings, to prioritize remaining nonfilers for enforcement if needed, and to work with regional agencies on channel-capacity and circulation improvements. The board received the update as informational.
