Please sign our follow-up petition here!

Your voice was heard – now it’s time to hold Reclamation to its commitment to renegotiate the San Joaquin River Exchange Contract that harms salmon and the river ecosystem

Just before the October 18 deadline, the Bureau of Reclamation sent a letter to the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors requesting renegotiation of their contract. Thank you for helping to make this happen!

What comes next? This contract renegotiation is a great opportunity to protect and restore the San Joaquin River and the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem and to make sure that everyone does their fair share in conserving our most precious - and finite - resource, water. The Exchange Contractors should be required to protect the environment and conserve water like everyone else—senior water rights and lucrative contracts don’t give them a pass on their responsibility to protect water resources that belong to all of us. 

The next step is to thank Reclamation for doing the right thing and tell the agency that you expect them to conduct a transparent, public negotiation that:

· Commits the Exchange Contractors to release water to keep the river flowing below dams on the San Joaquin River to maintain fish populations in good condition, as required by state law

· Limits water diversions from the Delta to the Exchange Contractors, especially in dry years – just as is required of other water users – to protect the San Joaquin River and the fish, wildlife, and water quality of the San Francisco Bay estuary

· Eliminates seepage constraints that currently restrict how much water can be released to restore the river

Reclamation has opened the door to increasing protections for the San Joaquin River and its newly restored salmon run. Let’s make sure they make the most of this opportunity. Please sign our follow-up petition!