Negotiations over how to manage the Delta’s water and fish species hit a boiling point in late January, when hundreds of members of the public, environmental groups, and Tribes pleaded for days on end with California water officials. They demanded that the  State Water Resources Control Board go against the wishes of powerful farming districts and mandate that more water flows through the ailing estuary, lest its once prolific chinook salmon, sturgeon, and smelt cross thresholds of extinction. … The grueling faceoff came during a three-day public hearing hosted by the State Water Board. The sessions focused on the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan, the keystone ruleset overseeing management of Delta water and its various beneficial uses. 

Other Bay-Delta news:

• Winters Express: Putah Creek salmon gains highlighted in Bay-Delta water debate
• Westlands Water District: News release: Westlands Water District statement on congressional delegation request for Governor Newsom to act on Port Chicago standard
• Daily Kos: Blog: No Delta smelt found in annual survey for 8 years as ecosystem collapses