For Immediate Release: 1/6/2020 Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org STOCKTON – Restore the Delta has filed comment letters on two major planning decisions that impact the health of the San Francisco Bay-Delta. The two processes are the Long Term Delta Operations plan for the State Water Contractors and the Westlands Water Contract. RTD sees problems...Read More

Editorial: Newsom can’t have it both ways on California water – Los Angeles Times, 12/24/19“But despite his Nov. 21 announcement, Newsom’s team still has not filed the water suit. That’s a bad sign, especially when paired with a proposal by the California Department of Water Resources to operate under new pumping rules that look remarkably like...Read More

Gov. Newsom’s threat to sue Trump upends peace talks on California water wars– SacBee Now, one of the nation’s most powerful farm irrigation districts says it will back out of the agreements completely if Newsom follows through with a pledge to sue President Donald Trump over a federal plan to pump more water to farmers from the...Read More

California water politics complicate House panel’s oversightRoll Call, Washington D.C. 2/16/19Natural Resources chairman wants to investigate Interior secretary’s role in water allocation report that benefited a committee member’s district“Grijalva and Huffman want to know if Bernhardt was involved in changing the report’s findings. If the committee finds evidence of undue meddling in the science, that...Read More

First, two smart takes from Dr. Delta Water Economics, Jeff Michael of the University of the Pacific on Valley Economy Blog 12/9/19Water Supply Reliability Out, Endangered Species Killing Incentives In With New Federal/State Delta Pumping Rules“Water exporters are praising the new rules for their use of real-time operations, as opposed to the old rules that were “calendar...Read More

Yesterday, Delta community members from Restore the Delta, Little Manila Rising, With Our Words, and LGBT+, Social Justice, and neighborhood groups, along with California Striped Bass, Save California Salmon, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Sierra Club California, and Planning and Conservation League achieved a better outcome than anticipated at the...Read More

First, a note from Barbara…So our members are clear, the outcome of the Newsom Administration’s announcement yesterday is not good. Yes, they are going to fight the Trump administration on rollbacks to the Delta. For that we are grateful.However, their plan for the Delta is just a little less bad than the Trump plan and...Read More

For Immediate Release: 11/21/19 Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org  Stockton, CA – The State of California announced two actions today that will impact protections of California’s endangered species.The Department of Water Resources issued draft Environmental Impact Report today on the operation of the State Water Project.Agencies also announced intention to sue the federal government over the Trump...Read More

Newsom must stop the Westlands water grab and save the San Francisco Bay-Deltaby Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Special to CalMatters11/20/2019 “Westlands is the 800-pound gorilla in California water politics. Years ago, fearing its water supplies were decreasing, Westlands hired David Bernhardt and paid him more than $1 million to be their lobbyist. Now that Bernhardt has become...Read More

Editorial: Californians must help kill sleazy Westlands water deal – Mercury and East Bay Times Editorial Boards 11/15/19 The Westlands Water District has engaged in some sleazy maneuvers over the years, but this one, which threatens the Bay Area’s water supply, tops them all.The Trump administration, led by Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt, is poised to give a...Read More