Restore The San Francisco Bay Area Delta

Last week, a major trunk line ruptured in Los Angeles, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing down the Sunset Strip and into surrounding neighborhoods. Later that same week, two additional pipe failures caused flooding in Venice. In total, five water main breaks were reported within a single week, raising serious concerns about the city’s aging water infrastructure. 

These incidents are the consequences of relying on outdated infrastructure that is more than a century old. In 2019, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) reported that roughly 29% of the city’s pipes were more than 80 years old, approaching their typical 100-year lifespan.

The latest failures also echo the 2014 rupture of a trunk line on Sunset Boulevard, which released millions of gallons of water onto the UCLA campus, flooding multiple buildings and causing millions of dollars in damage. In the aftermath, the Los Angeles Times found that nearly half of the city’s water pipes had received a condition grade of “C” or lower from officials.

It remains unclear how long repairs to the damaged trunk line in West Hollywood will take. Meanwhile, utility and state leaders continue to prioritize costly projects like the Delta Tunnel rather than addressing California’s urgent need to modernize its aging water infrastructure.

These ruptures are a reminder that California must rethink its approach to water resilience. Southern California should embrace the Water Renaissance Plan by investing in sustainable, local water supplies and practical infrastructure upgrades that strengthen reliability and help prevent future disasters, rather than relying on large-scale water diversion projects.

Read more about last week’s water line breaks:

• More water pipes burst in Venice, Hollywood as Sunset Strip repairs enter Day 4. The Los Angeles Times.
• West Hollywood rupture was L.A.’s worst in years: 17 million gallons spilled, Sunset Boulevard closed for days. The Los Angeles Times.
• ‘Significant progress’ made on ruptured Sunset Strip water main. The Los Angeles Times.
• West Hollywood faces long recovery from massive water main break: ‘It was like whitewater rapids’. The Los Angeles Times.   
• 2 separate water pipe issues flood neighborhoods in Venice, damage underground parking structures. ABC 7 Los Angeles.
• Three ruptured water pipes cause flooding in Venice neighborhoods. CBS Los Angeles.
• Street, homes flooded after water pipe ruptures in Venice. KTLA.
• Two Pipe Failures Flood Venice Days After West Hollywood Water Main Rupture. Westside Current.

A Los Angeles Times article published this week highlights the escalating climate risks facing California and the world. With experts forecasting a strengthening El Niño, continued record-breaking temperatures, and mounting concern over rapidly warming oceans, these threats are no longer theoretical, but unfolding now. 

The article cites officials who confirmed that global sea surface temperature reached a record high this month. Warmer oceans increase the likelihood of extreme precipitation, flooding, and stronger storms, while also contributing to sea level rise and placing significant stress on marine ecosystems and wildlife. 

Scientists also warn that El Niño is expected to prolong an ongoing marine heat wave, creating an extended period of abnormally warm ocean temperatures that can have devastating impacts on marine life.

These climate-driven changes also threaten water supplies across the West, contributing to more severe droughts and heat waves. The article exemplifies the urgent need for California to adapt its water management strategies by investing in sustainable, local water solutions rather than relying on large-scale water diversion schemes that will become increasingly unreliable as climate change reduces available supplies.

Several critical water bills that we are tracking at Restore the Delta were heard in the Legislature this week – here are some key updates. 

SB 872 Passes Through Committee

SB 872, a bill that would dedicate $300 million annually to address two major threats to California’s water supply, aging levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and sinking canals in the State Water Project (SWP), passed the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee with unanimous approval. 

We’re excited by the bill’s passage out of committee. Thank you to Senator McNerney for advancing legislation that prioritizes safeguarding California’s water supplies, protecting critical infrastructure, and preparing the state’s water system for future challenges. SB 872 will next be heard in the Committee on Appropriations. 

AB 2215 is Pulled from Committee

In another positive development for the Delta, AB 2215 has been pulled from committee and is no longer advancing this legislative session. We thank our supporters and coalition partners for their work to stop the extension of water rights for the Delta Conveyance Project. We also appreciate the Senate Natural Resources and Water for carefully examining the bill’s implications and holding firm on amendments that returned it to the appropriate regulatory pathway. This outcome reinforces that the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Contractors must follow the same established regulatory processes as all other water rights holders.

AB 2218 Passes Through Committee

AB 2218, a bill that seeks to address inequities in California water policy inflicted on California Native tribes, passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. AB 2218 will next be heard in the Committee on Appropriations.

As California faces growing climate-driven challenges, policymakers and communities increasingly recognize that equitable and sustainable water management must incorporate Tribal rights, traditional ecological knowledge, and Tribal governance. AB 2218 directs state agencies to strengthen consultation with Tribes during water rights investigations and develop policies that address water related harms resulting from state-sanctioned termination, removal, and assimilation of California Native American tribes.

AB 2026 Advances

Unfortunately, one problematic bill did advance through committee. AB 2026 is not the narrow groundwater recharge measure its supporters describe. Instead, it creates broad new pathways to divert already-over allocated surface water, weakens public and environmental review, and shifts risk onto rivers, Delta communities, salmon, Tribes, and existing water users. 

Restore the Delta supports responsible groundwater recharge, but AB 2026 is the wrong approach. We will continue to monitor the bill’s progress and advocate for groundwater recharge policies that are guided by science and administered through the State Water Board’s established regulatory framework, not through broad statutory shortcuts that bypass water-rights, fish and wildlife protections, and the public interest.

Quotes from Restore the Delta and partners:

Cintia Cortez, Policy Program Manager, Restore the Delta:

“This week, the California Legislature made progress on timely investments to protect Delta residents and water supply, and addressing inequities inflicted upon California Native tribes, while standing firm against interference in the water rights process. We urge the legislature to stand with community and Tribal interests and move away from policies that perpetuate ongoing inequities in California water management.” 

Barry Nelson, Senior Policy Advisor, Golden State Salmon Association:

“Supporters of AB 2026 claim that it is designed to recharge groundwater and protect the environment. The truth is the bill is cynically written to allow enormous increases in pumping during the juvenile salmon migration season even when river conditions are dry. The bill could cause serious additional damage to salmon runs and the fishing industry that is struggling to recover after the mismanagement of our rivers during the last drought. The State Water Board must set science-based standards to require river flows needed to protect the environment and salmon jobs. That will allow us to properly identify the rare times when there is excess water in the system.” 

Chris Shutes, Executive Director, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance:

“We are very pleased that the author pulled AB 2215. The State Water Project now has to continue normal public process and environmental review to get the right to divert more water from the Delta. We are grateful to Senate committee staff for pushing back on the potential precedent of overriding the water rights process through legislation. We are also grateful to all those who visited so many offices to educate senate staff about this very bad bill.”

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Dear Friends,

The State Water Contractors are attempting to advance AB 2215 as a legislative solution to DWR’s expired water rights for the State Water Project and the DCP, rather than through proper procedure at the State Water Board. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Calderon, will be heard at the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee at 9 am on Wednesday, July 1st.

We need your help urging the Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, Senator Becker, to side with Delta communities.

Call Senator Becker at (916) 651-4013.

If passed, AB 2215 would:

• Permit the SWP for construction and increased water diversions through 2046 to the benefit of The Delta Conveyance Project.
• Circumvent existing processes through the State Water Resources Control Board that would both require an Environmental Impact Report; and analyze impacts to public trust, Tribal and environmental justice communities, and the Delta ecosystem. 

The Delta is a severely over-allocated system. Any new water infrastructure proposing to increase diversions must go through the regulatory process to protect Delta communities, ecosystem, and local fishing and recreation economies. 

TAKE ACTION!

Call Senator Becker at (916) 651-4013 and use this script urging their office to oppose AB 2215:

Hello Senator (LAST NAME),

“I am calling to ask that you oppose AB 2215 and legislative interference in water rights, especially in relation to the Delta Conveyance Project. This bill circumvents existing processes that would provide comprehensive analysis of the impacts of such an extension, and benefits controversial projects like the Delta Conveyance Project. The bill would also eliminate the public’s ability to provide input. I ask that you side with our community that will be negatively impacted by this project rather than State Water Contractors who continuously work to undermine transparency and full inclusion of Californians in water management. The tunnel is a dangerous symptom of ineffective California water management.”

It is time for our Delta communities to come together and stop the machine. Raise your voices and help us fight for the watershed, the Delta, fisheries, Tribes, Delta farming communities, the San Francisco Bay, and the people throughout the state who are impacted one way or another by the Delta Tunnel Boondoggle.

In solidarity,

The Restore the Delta Team