DWR outlines voluntary ‘Healthy Rivers and Landscapes’ alternative to unimpaired‑flow rules

Joshua Martinez, an environmental program manager with the California Department of Water Resources, presented the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program (HRL) to the Butte County Water Commission on Feb. 5, 2025, describing it as a voluntary‑agreement alternative to a State Water Resources Control Board staff proposal commonly called the unimpaired‑flow approach.

Martinez said HRL would pair increased instream flows with habitat restoration and adaptive science rather than relying solely on a high percentage of unimpaired flow. “We can probably do more with smaller volumes of water if we integrate those flows with habitat improvements,” Martinez said during his presentation.

He gave program-scale figures: a sliding scale of water deliveries that could reach about 825,000 acre‑feet in the January‑through‑June window in average conditions and a habitat commitment he described as roughly 45,000 acres, including roughly 20,000 acres of floodplain reconnection. Martinez also described a near‑term funding plan he summarized as “almost $3,000,000,000 in total,” with roughly half from the state, about 25% from federal sources and about 20% from public water agencies.

Commissioners pressed Martinez on how HRL would interact with federal projects and water rights. Martinez said federal entities such as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are signatories to voluntary agreements and that the HRL pathway would be an alternative regulatory pathway for participants; those who opt out would face the default unimpaired‑flow pathway. On groundwater substitution he said HRL would allow limited groundwater use tied to streamflow‑depletion factors and gave an example for the Feather River where no more than 10,000 acre‑feet of a 60,000 acre‑foot package would be permitted from groundwater and would be accounted for with streamflow depletion ratios.

Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about flow accounting, water rights, and the distributional impacts on growers and underserved communities. Martinez acknowledged the difficulty: “How are we gonna do this flow accounting to make sure not only people providing flows, but they’re being protected all the way down as Delta outflow,” he said, and described ongoing coordination with State Water Board staff, public water agencies and federal partners.

Martinez said the State Water Resources Control Board could vote on an approach as early as 2025, though timing may shift. He emphasized HRL’s science, governance and adaptive‑management components and highlighted floodplain projects and rice‑field management as means to increase ecological benefits per acre‑foot delivered.

The commission offered no formal action on the presentation. Martinez invited further questions and said DWR staff would provide materials to county staff on request.

What’s next: Martinez said a State Water Resources Control Board vote is expected later in 2025; local agencies will continue technical coordination and public outreach in the months ahead.