Historic Lawsuit Filed Against Department of Water Resources
October 9, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Historic Lawsuit Filed Against Department of Water Resources
Suit Cites Agency’s Failure to Protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Ecosystem and to Curb Wasteful and Unreasonable Water Use
In a major legal action, the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) and the Central Delta Water Agency (CDWA) have sued the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) over the department’s abject failure to protect the public trust, including fish species and other vital aquatic resources, and to prevent the waste and unreasonable use of the state’s water. The lawsuit makes claims under the California Constitution’s prohibition on wasteful and unreasonable water uses and under the Public Trust Doctrine, which establishes the fiduciary duty of state government to protect aquatic species, water quality, public use and waterways.
DWR manages California’s massive State Water Project (SWP), which captures water in the Feather River watershed in Northern Sierra Nevada Mountains and diverts water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for use by communities in Silicon Valley and Southern California and agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley. DWR diverts an annual average of about 729 billion gallons (2.24 million acre-feet) of water, while its contracts contain allocations of nearly double that amount (4.173 million acre-feet) which cannot be reliably delivered. In dry years, DWR has diverted amounts less than 500,000 acre-feet of water, creating an extreme imbalance between supply and demand, exacerbating problems such as land subsidence caused by over pumping of groundwater to keep unsustainable permanent crops (e.g, nut trees) alive.
“For far too long laws prohibiting wasteful and unreasonable use of water and mandating protection of our environment have been ignored,” said Carolee Krieger, C-WIN Executive Director.
“As a result, the state has promised exponentially more water supply from Delta watersheds than can be dependably provided and continues to pursue water diversions that harm the public trust and its valuable aquatic species, raise rates, and incentivize unreasonable amounts of permanent crops. We need accountability and enforcement of our laws against these greedy water grabs.”
Lawsuits over water transfers have typically focused chiefly on their adherence to statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, which require measures to ensure the survival of a single species. The legal action by C-WIN and CDWA addresses the larger problem at its root source: DWR’s violation of the foundational laws that establish a duty of broad environmental protection through preservation of the public trust and limiting the unreasonable diversion of water.
“For decades DWR has operated the SWP to maximize diversions at the expense of Tribes, Delta communities, freshwater ecosystems and ratepayers,” said Max Gomberg, the Senior Policy Advisor and Board Secretary for C-WIN. “This must stop. Our lawsuit is aimed at stopping these harmful and unsustainable water exports.”
Brett Baker, of the Central Delta Water Agency said DWR’s actions have had severe impacts on the farming families, communities, water users, fish and wildlife, natural habitat, recreational use, water quality and health and safety of the people and pets who contact the water or consume the fish and other food sources of the Delta.
“As it stands the Department does not keep track of the massive amount of water that is conveyed and delivered throughout the state to their respective contractors. Their failure to properly account for and track the ultimate uses of water demonstrates the lack of consideration and concern for these critical resources that goes into their planning and decision making and has resulted in the destruction and diminishment of Public Trust resources throughout the state and most particularly the Bay Delta Estuary,” said Baker.
Gomberg said the lawsuit identifies a simple and highly effective remedy to the problems caused by excessive Delta diversions: allowing more water to flow through the system.
“It’s not rocket science,” he said. “We know that increasing flows will restore fisheries and damaged ecosystems and provide relief to Delta farmers and communities. California has plenty of water for our cities, the environment and sustainable farming. But we can’t maintain ongoing unreasonable uses, such as thousands of acres of thirsty nut trees.”
CONTACT
Carolee Krieger
C-WIN President and Executive Director
caroleekrieger7@gmail.com
Brett Baker
Attorney for the Central Delta Water Agency
brettgbaker@gmail.com
More information: Complaint | FAQ
The California Water Impact Network is a state-wide organization that advocates for the equitable and sustainable use of California’s freshwater resources for all Californians.
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