California Court Backs Less Water for Agriculture and Residents, More for Salmon and Trout

As much as 80 percent of the San Joaquin River is diverted for farms and homes. Under the plan upheld by the judge, that would fall to 50-70 percent at times.

Water flows over the Feather River Fish Barrier dam as it diverts Chinook Salmon up a fish ladder to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Feather River Hatchery below the Lake Oroville dam during the California drought emergency in Oroville, Calif., on May 27, 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

A Sacramento County Superior Court judge recently upheld a decision by California’s water board to reduce the amount of water routed from the San Joaquin River and its tributaries to farms and communities for drinking in order to protect two species of fish.

In a March 15 ruling, Judge Stephen Acquisto rejected lawsuits by a dozen water agencies and local governments, which had been consolidated, attempting to overturn a 2018 update to a state water quality control plan, known as the Bay-Delta Plan.