Yuba Water Agency’s proposed voluntary settlement agreement is a collaborative approach to improving fish and wildlife habitat in the Bay-Delta ecosystem and achieving the State Water Board’s coequal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration. It includes: collaboration, increased flows, funding, fish habitat improvements and the development of a river science program meant to contribute to the recovery of fish and wildlife species in the Bay-Delta ecosystem. Specifically, Yuba Water proposes:
a. A base contribution of 9,000 acre-feet of new water releases in above-normal, below-normal and dry years, specifically for Delta inflow.
b. A supplemental contribution of up to an additional 41,000 acre-feet for Delta inflow in those same years, compensated at $290 per acre-foot.
c. A partnership with others in the development and/or improvement of 100 acres of in-channel and floodplain fish habitat during the term of the agreement.
d. A contribution of up to $10 million for fish habitat improvement measures.
e. A contribution of $7.8 million to fund a river science program, at $520,000 per year in the Yuba Watershed.
The term of the voluntary settlement agreement would be for 15 years. The other parties to the agreement would include the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Water Resources.