New rules governing state water based on latest science

Re: “Newsom must not capitulate to Trump on Delta protections” (Editorial, Oct. 23):

The most important point in your Oct. 23 editorial regarding new rules governing California water appears in the first line: The current rules are a decade old.

And in that time struggling fish populations have continued to decline. Why would we want to lock in place out-of-date rules that aren’t achieving their stated purpose?

The new rules are based on the latest science revealed through a decade of work and hundreds of millions of dollars in research.

In addition, the needs of fish will now be assessed through real-time monitoring rather than simply relying on an arbitrary calendar date.

Overall, the new biological opinions represent a generational change in how we manage water projects and their impact on the environment. They will provide a better opportunity to reduce environmental impacts as well as improve water reliability for all Californians, including farmers, urban areas, rural communities and the environment.

— Mike Wade, executive director, California Farm Water Coalition, Sacramento