… For over a decade, a narrow faction within the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has pursued a misguided attempt to take as much as half of Lake McClure’s water and send it to the Pacific Ocean. This effort, buried in the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, is based on the hope of improving salmon populations by a few hundred fish — with no credible guarantee of success, and at a staggering cost – up to $672 million in lost local economic activity and $167 million in local labor income. … In contrast, MID has voluntarily restored spawning and rearing habitat along the Merced, and we’ve offered to provide new, real water – even in dry years – as part of a durable solution. That solution is the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Voluntary Agreement (HRL). This comprehensive approach, championed by the Newsom Administration, offers a better path. It brings together local, state, and federal partners to invest in habitat, flows, and long-term ecological health – not just regulatory mandates.
–Written by Stephanie Dietz, director on the Merced Irrigation District Board.