ACWA Voices Support for HRL Program Before State Water Board by ACWA Staff Jan 27, 2025 Water News SACRAMENTO — ACWA staff and more than a dozen member agency representatives and organizations spoke in support of including the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) Program in the Bay-Delta Plan Update during a Jan. 23 State Water Resources Control Board workshop. Their public comments were the latest in ACWA’s years-long effort through public testimony, comment letters and coalition building to support the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program, formerly known as Voluntary Agreements. The State Water Board is currently considering potential updates to the Sacramento River watershed, Delta eastside tributaries, and Delta portions of the Bay-Delta Plan. ACWA supports the HRL Program as the preferred pathway for updating the Bay-Delta Plan as opposed to an approach based solely on a percentage of flows. “We all want the same thing. We all want thriving habitat and thriving native species, we all want vibrant communities. We’re all trying to balance this system with competing requirements, while trying to maximize the limited resources that we have. ACWA strongly believes that the HRL Program is the best pathway to do that,” ACWA State Relations Advocate Stephen Pang stated as part of his testimony before the State Water Board. The State Water Board is expected to consider approval of the draft final Sacramento/Delta updates as early as spring 2025. Additional information and background is available online.
