CP&DR News Briefs: October 20, 2026:Bay-Delta Suit; Prohousing Funds; Roadless Rule; and More
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Lawsuit Demands that State Reduce Water Consumption from Sacramento Bay-Delta
Water advocates and local farmers have joined a lawsuit against the state of California over water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, demanding the state reduce its consumption in half. The Delta currently services 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland, but the suit argues the current levels of water use are “excessive” and causing harm to native fish and the ecosystem, creating algae blooms, and threatening local farms by drawing in seawater. Though Gavin Newsom’s administration has defended water use and regulation in the area, the suit is asking the Alameda County Superior Court to enforce water use in the area in order to hopefully increase the flow in the Delta and preserve the health of the ecosystem. Plaintiffs link the withdrawals to dramatic declines in Chinook salmon, steelhead, smelt and sturgeon, and to toxic algae blooms during droughts. They also argue the pumping has encouraged growers to plant almond and pistachio orchards that cannot survive without massive water consumption. State officials and the Biden administration created revised policies in 2024, and the Newsom administration has defended its balance between protecting fish and delivering water.
State Makes Planning $8 Million Available for Prohousing Jurisdictions
The Department of Housing and Community Development released the Prohousing Incentive Program (PIP) Round 5 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), providing approximately $8 million grant funding to jurisdictions with a Prohousing Designation. Prohousing Designation cities and counties are areas demonstrating leadership and commitment in tackling California’s housing crisis with policies that streamline approvals for multifamily housing, reduce homelessness upstream, help reduce unsheltered homelessness, increase housing capacity near jobs and transit, and support a broader mix of housing types such as affordable and accessible categories. Applications are open in March of 2027 to all jurisdictions that secure a Prohousing Designation by the PIP application deadline. Uses for the funding include affordable housing production and preservation, homeownership programs, renter assistance, shelters, and housing for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness. (See related CP&DR coverage.)
Coalition of States Call for Federal Government to Preserve “Roadless Rule”
California, and 16 other states, are denouncing a Trump administration plan to repeal the “Roadless Rule”, which currently serves as one of the safeguards protecting state parks from road-building, logging and oil-drilling and mining. The United States currently has 45 million acres of national forest land under the protection of the 23-year-old rule, which also protects the drinking water supply for 25 million Americans that exists on this land. A formal lawsuit has not yet been discussed, but the states contended that repealing the rule would violate the National Forest Management Act of 1976 which the current rule exists under.
Toad Species Becomes Candidate for Protection
The California Fish and Game Commission designated the western spadefoot toad a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act. Once the required notice process is completed, candidate status will apply throughout the toad’s California habitat, which spans the Central Valley, Sierra Nevada foothills, coastal areas and Southern California. Developers will need state authorization, typically an incidental take permit, if ground-disturbing work could kill or capture individual toads, even for projects with existing CEQA approvals or local permits, because the animals can remain undetected underground for long periods. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will now conduct a 12-month status review before the Commission makes a final listing decision, while a separate federal proposal to list the species as threatened, issued in December 2023, remains pending.
CP&DR Coverage: It's Time For California To Have Only One Definition Of Infill
California land use policy is overwhelmingly focused on infill housing and infill development, yet nobody’s quite sure what that means. Is it “building within unused and underutilized lands within existing development patterns, typically but not exclusively in urban areas”? Or is it building on land that is surrounded on three sides by development? Or is it surrounded by 50%? Does it have to be previously developed or can it be raw land? Under California’s laws and policy guidance, it could be any of these definitions, or many more, because the state uses more than 20 different definitions of infill development. Shouldn’t there be just one?
Quick Hits & Updates
The Rancho Cordova planning commission unanimously endorsed the development of a 7,500-seat arena on a 28-acre parcel in the Sacramento-area suburb. The Downtown Dova project would at least two hotels, a restaurant and retail development, and a centerpiece arena that would host indoor soccer, concerts, and other events.
The Solano County Department of Resource Management is moving ahead with plans to rezone about 1,312 acres east of Collinsville from Exclusive Agriculture to Industrial-Water Dependent, a move that would facilitate the development of shipyards proposed by California Forever. The change brings land that has been eyed for shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing into alignment with the county’s 2008 General Plan, but county officials say the rezoning is separate from approval of any specific project.
California high-speed rail officials say no decisions have been made on where to build a Merced station after community organizers sent the agency a cease-and-desist letter demanding it stay downtown. The question of where to place the station has been on the table since last year, when the High-Speed Rail Authority surprised local leaders with a project update prioritizing Bakersfield-to-Bay Area routes that could bypass Merced. A compromise later emerged to place the stop about four miles southeast of downtown, which would shave about $1 billion off the budget, speed construction and offer access to UC Merced, the airport and potentially Yosemite, but opponents argue state law requires a station in Merced’s population center, where businesses have grown up around the existing Amtrak and ACE terminal. Developers of the proposed $6 billion Sites Reservoir expect to have enough water to make the project work. The reservoir would be built in a rural valley in Glenn and Colusa counties, about 70 miles northwest of Sacramento. Earlier this year, state regulators set limits on how much water the reservoir could take from the Sacramento River, and supporters said those limits would deliver as little as half the water needed. After pushback from Gov. Newsom and others, the State Water Resources Control Board loosened the terms, including dropping a requirement that flows be at 55% of natural levels before water can be diverted from the river.
The State Auditor conducted a review of California’s dams and found that the Department of Water Resources and Cal OES have not ensured that dam owners adhered to state requirements that protect lives and property. As of May 2026, of the State’s 1,222 dams, 57 are in poor or unsatisfactory condition, including 40 that have hazard classifications of high or extremely high. Failure of just one of these 40 dams could pose harm to as many as hundreds of thousands of people and cause billions of dollars in property damage. » The most common factors contributing to these dams’ ratings are their age, the less comprehensive safety standards that were in place at the time of their construction, and their owners’ inability to pay for repairs. LMAs’ lack of maintenance of their levees and Water Resources’ reluctance to intervene could increase risks to surrounding communities.