Delta Stewardship Council Adopts Interim Plan

The Delta Stewardship Council adopted an Interim Plan Aug. 27 to guide state and local agency planning and management efforts in the Delta until the council completes a final Delta Plan.

The Interim Plan includes recommendations for early actions, projects and programs that advance the coequal goals of providing California with a reliable water supply and protecting and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. It provides the primary framework for DSC actions until the final Delta Plan is adopted, required by Jan. 1, 2012. It will assist the council with its responsibilities in relation to other agencies and will establish the legal authority, work processes and procedures that will be carried forward in the final plan.

The final Interim Plan was the result of three drafts and hundreds of comments from the public, including several letters submitted by ACWA. Both the Interim Plan and the final Delta Plan are required under SB X7 1, part of the comprehensive water package enacted in November 2009.

“Adopting the Interim Plan is an important start and illustrates how we will approach the coequal goals of providing California with a reliable water supply and protecting and restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem,” said Phil Isenberg, council chair, in a statement. 

A committee of the council will meet Sept. 14-15 to review and consider proposed early actions for possible inclusion in the Interim Plan. The meeting is open to the public.

ACWA will continue to work with the DSC as it advances early actions, projects and programs that promote the coequal goals. View the final Interim Plan.