State Water Board begins three‑day hearing on Bay‑Delta Plan update as agencies and advocates clash over voluntary agreements

The State Water Resources Control Board convened a three‑day public hearing on Jan. 28, 2026, to receive oral input on the December 12, 2025, revised draft updates to the Bay‑Delta Plan and a newly released Chapter 13 of the draft staff report. Chair Joaquin Esquivel opened the session and reminded participants that no formal board action would occur during the hearing days and that staff will prepare written responses to oral and written comments before any adoption decision.

The revised draft presents two distinct implementation pathways for new water‑quality objectives intended to protect fish and wildlife: a regulatory pathway that would set tributary inflow requirements as a percent of unimpaired flow (a 55% starting point with an adaptive range of 45%–65% and specific ‘‘water supply adjustments’’) and a voluntary‑agreement pathway, known as Healthy Rivers & Landscapes (HRL), that combines flow, habitat, science and governance commitments for identified water rights on an initial eight‑year term.

Board staff described the mechanics and legal framing. Assistant deputy director Diane…