California state water managers are likely to be able to increase how much water they pump out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta under a new set of environmental rules approved Thursday, which align the state more closely with federal water managers. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday largely approved the Department of Water Resources’ request to loosen the operating rules of the State Water Project. … The new rules give state water managers greater leeway to pump more water out of the Delta, particularly during the winter and spring, when young Delta smelt can get caught up in and die at the pumps.

Other State Water Project news:

• California Department of Water Resources: News release: Balancing water and wildlife — how science guides the State Water Project