State Water Board readopts emergency regulation for Scott and Shasta rivers, adds limited flexibility for short-term tests

The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday readopted an emergency regulation intended to maintain minimum in‑stream flows in the Scott and Shasta River watersheds and preserve critical habitat for salmonids, adopting change sheet No. 1 to allow limited, short-term evaluation of alternative flows in the Shasta Canyon and to add flexibility for groundwater metering and local cooperative solutions.

Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel and four board members voted in favor of the regulation following a multi-hour presentation by Division of Water Rights staff and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), public comment from tribal, fishing and agricultural representatives, and extended board discussion. The board directed staff to submit the regulation package to the Office of Administrative Law for a standard 10‑day review, after which the regulation would take effect following OAL approval and filing with the Secretary of State (anticipated in January 2025).

The regulation is the readoption of an emergency rule first adopted Feb. 1, 2024, and is designed to (a) establish minimum in‑stream flow requirements, (b) provide authority to curtail diversions to meet those minima, and (c) continue the groundwater local cooperative solution (LCS) program that allowed some irrigators to reduce groundwater diversions in exchange for conservation measures. Staff said no formal alternatives to readoption were submitted during the public comment period; the regulation being readopted incorporates revisions recommended after outreach held in November 2024.

Staff and CDFW presentations and why they matter Philip Dutton, supervising engineer and program manager in the Board’s Division of Water Rights, summarized hydrologic indicators and implementation experience under the emergency regulation. Dutton reported that on the morning of Jan. 5 the U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Fort Jones on the Scott River was reporting 2,390 cubic feet per second (cfs) and the Yreka gauge on the Shasta River was reporting 393 cfs. Staff stated those flows are above certain minimum flow requirements they track for other compliance points (staff attributed 200 cfs for the Scott and 125 cfs for the Shasta at the gauges cited), while cautioning…