The state would monitor the fish and 'quickly respond,' if needed. Nemeth said there's plenty of water in the rivers to support fish, though the Newsom administration acknowledged in its proposal that it could lead to more deaths of baby salmon. If the state doesn't change the rules, Nemeth warned that would mean the state has far less water to make available in the spring and summer for farmers and major cities such as Los Angeles. 'We must be nimble in ensuring responsible water management for both water supply and the environment.'

'California is still recovering from years of drought and water cutbacks,' she said. Jennifer Pierre, general manager for the State Water Contractors - a nonprofit association representing 27 public water agencies - said the proposed rule changes are an 'appropriate action to help realign California's water management decision making with the latest and most relevant science and the current hydrology.' That makes it more difficult to manage the state's sparse water supply, especially 'this early in the season before we've really had a sense of exactly how the water year is going to turn out,' said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. Newsom fears California's intense January storms will be followed by an unusually dry spring. Scientists say climate change is contributing to so-called ' weather whiplash,' when periods of intense rain are followed by extreme dryness. More water is typically left in the rivers when it rains because there's an assumption that more rain will follow. Historically, rain has been spread fairly evenly through the winter months. The Newsom administration says a changing climate requires new rules. Those demands have threatened multiple fish species with extinction, including the Delta smelt, longfin smelt, Central Valley steelhead, spring-run Chinook salmon, winter-run Chinook salmon and the green sturgeon, according to Rosenfield. It's one of the oldest disputes in California, a state that for more than a century has manipulated the natural flow of rivers and streams to transform the Central Valley into one of the most fertile stretches of farmland on Earth while also supplying some of the nation's most populous coastal cities. 'This governor is the most anti-environmental governor, with respect to endangered species and California water, that we've had in my lifetime,' said Jon Rosenfield, senior scientist for the San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental group that focuses on the San Francisco Bay and its watershed.

They're furious with Newsom, whom they view as a hypocrite for touting himself as a champion of the environment while disregarding the laws designed to protect it. One acre foot of water is generally enough water to supply two households for one year.Įnvironmental group say pulling that much water out of the rivers would be a death sentence for the salmon and other threatened fish species that depend on strong, cool flows in the rivers to survive. If Newsom gets his way, the state would stop about 300,000 acre feet (370 million cubic meters) of water from flowing through the rivers. He says the drought has been so severe it would be foolish to let all of that water flow into the ocean and that there's plenty of water for the state to take more than the rules allow while still protecting threatened fish species.

Gavin Newsom asked state regulators to temporarily change those rules. State rules say when it rains and snows a lot in California, much of that water must stay in the rivers to act as a conveyer belt to carry tens of thousands of endangered baby salmon into the Pacific Ocean.īut this week, Gov. SACRAMENTO - Weeks after powerful storms dumped 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow on California, state officials and environmental groups in the drought-ravaged state are grappling with what to do with all of that water. State water officials say that Lake Oroville's Edward Hyatt Powerplant might be forced to shut down the hydroelectric plant as soon as August or September if water levels continue to drop. As the extreme drought emergency continues in California, Lake Oroville's water levels are continuing to drop to 28 percent of capacity. President Biden tours California storm damage, visiting Santa Cruz, Monterey counties President Biden tours California storm damage, visiting Santa Cruz, Monterey counties 02:33 (EDITORS NOTE: COMPOSITE IMAGE of 1330091446 - TOP IMAGE and 1466119718 - BOTTOM IMAGE) In this before-and-after composite image, a comparison of water levels at Lake Oroville: **TOP IMAGE** OROVILLE, CALIFORNIA - JULY 22: In an aerial view, the Enterprise Bridge crosses over a section of Lake Oroville that was previously underwater on Jin Oroville, California.

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