Basin Planning

Basin Plan Amendments adopted by the Regional Water Board and Undergoing State Water Board, Office of Administrative Law and/or US Environmental Protection Agency

• Region-wide Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) Beneficial Use Evaluation Process in Agriculturally Dominated Surface Water Bodies to Removal of MUN Beneficial Use from 231 Constructed or Modified Ag Drains in the San Luis Canal Company District
  • Status: Adopted by the Central Valley Water Board on 11 August 2017 in Resolution No. R5-2017-0088. State Water Board, Office of Administrative Law and US Environmental Protection Agency action pending.

Basin Plans

Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins

• The current Basin Plan includes all amendments that have been fully approved as of February 2019: Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins, Fifth Edition, February 2019
  • Map: Sacramento Hydrologic Basin Planning Area
  • Map: San Joaquin Hydrologic Basin Planning Area
• Basin Plan Amendments adopted subsequent to the February 2019 edition and in effect:
  • Central Valley Salt and Nitrate Control Program Basin Plan Amendment
    • 2018 Original Salt and Nitrate Program Resolution
      • Resolution No. R5-2018-0034
    • 2020 Revised Salt and Nitrate Program Resolution
      • Resolution No. R5-2020-0057 (includes late and late, late revisions as of 10 December 2020)
      • Late Revisions to 2020 Revised Salt and Nitrate Program Resolution

Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin

• The current Basin Plan includes all amendments approved as of May 2018: Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin, Third Edition, May 2018.
  • Figure 2-1: Tulare Lake Hydrologic Basin Planning Area
  • Figure 2-2: Tulare Lake Basin Detailed Analysis Units
• Basin Plan Amendments adopted subsequent to the May 2018 edition and in effect:
  • Central Valley Salt and Nitrate Control Program Basin Plan Amendment
    • 2018 Original Salt and Nitrate Program Resolution
      • Resolution No. R5-2018-0034
    • 2020 Revised Salt and Nitrate Program Resolution
      • Resolution No. R5-2020-0057 (includes late and late, late revisions as of 10 December 2020)
      • Late Revisions to 2020 Revised Salt and Nitrate Program Resolution

Triennial Reviews

• Current Triennial Review
  • Workplan and adopting Resolution R5-2024-0060
  • Adopted by the Regional Water Board on 13 December 2024

Region-wide Basin Planning Efforts

• Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long-Term Sustainability (CV-SALTS)
• Agriculturally Dominated Water Bodies Evaluation
• Evaluation of Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) and Agricultural Supply (AGR) Beneficial Uses in a Portion of Historical Tulare Lakebed Groundwater
• Variance Policy and Interim Salt Program
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 6 June 2014 in Resolution R5-2014-0074, effective 8 July 2016.
• Non-Regulatory Amendments to Provide a Cost Estimate and Potential Sources of Financing for a Long-Term Irrigated Lands Program
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 13 October 2011 in Resolution No. R5-2011-0075, effective 14 December 2012.
• Onsite Wastewater Implementation Program

Basin Plan Amendments Associated with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

Basin Plan amendments are also proposed in association with TMDLs developed to address impaired water bodies. This link takes you to a list of TMDLs (water body and pollutant pairs) currently being worked on by Regional Board staff, where you can find more information on these Basin Plan amendments.

• Control of Mercury in Clear Lake
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 6 December 2002 in Resolution No. R5-2002-0207, effective 2 October 2003
• Clear Lake Nutrient TMDL
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 23 June 2006 in Resolution No. R5-2006-0060, effective 12 July 2007
• Cache Creek, Bear Creek, and Harley Gulch Mercury TMDL
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 21 October 2005 in Resolution No. R5-2005-0146, effective 6 February 2007
• Central Valley Pyrethroid Pesticides
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 8 June 2017 in Resolution R5-2017-0057, effective 22 April 2019
• Central Valley Diazinon and Chlorpyrifos Basin Plan Amendment
  
• Diazinon in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 16 October 2003 in Resolution No. R5-2003-0148, effective 11 August 2004
• 2007 Diazinon in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 3 May 2007 in Resolution No. R5-2007-0034, effective 11 August 2008
• Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Mercury TMDL
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 22 April 2010 in Resolution No. R5-2010-0043, effective 20 October 2011
• Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Diazinon and Chlorpyrifos TMDL
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 23 June 2006 in Resolution No. R5-2006-0061, effective 10 October 2007
• San Joaquin River Organophosphorus (OP) Pesticide TMDL
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 21 October 2005 in Resolution No. R5-2005-0138, effective 20 December 2006
• San Joaquin River Dissolved Oxygen TMDL
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 27 January 2005 in Resolution No. R5-2005-0005, effective 23 August 2006
• San Joaquin River at Vernalis Salinity and Boron TMDL
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 10 September 2004 in Resolution No. R5-2004-0108, effective 28 July 2006
• Sulphur Creek Mercury TMDL and Basin Plan Amendment
  Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 16 March 2007 in Resolution No. R5-2007-0021, effective 4 September 2009

Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins

• Evaluation of the Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) Beneficial Use in Agriculturally Dominated Water Bodies
  Status: Region-wide MUN Evaluation Process Basin Plan Amendment adopted by the Regional Board on 11 August 2017 in Resolution R5-2017-0088. Basin Plan Amendment to Remove the Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) Beneficial Use in Twelve Constructed and/or Modified Water Bodies in the Sacramento River Basin that receive Treated Municipal Wastewater from the Cities of Biggs, Colusa, Live Oak or Willows was adopted by the Regional Board on 16 April 2015 in Resolution No. R5-2015-0022, effective 21 April 2016.
• Drinking Water Policy
  Development of a policy to protect and enhance drinking water uses for surface waters in the Central Valley. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 26 July 2013 in Resolution No. R5-2013-0098, effective 20 November 2014.
• Groundwater in the Vicinity of the Hodson/Littlejohns Faults, Calaveras County
  Development of a Basin Plan Amendment to address high-salinity groundwater in the vicinity of the Hodson/Littlejohns Faults in Calaveras County. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 28 March 2014 in Resolution No. R5-2014-0047, effective 17 Jun 2015.
  
• Beneficial Uses for Old Alamo Creek, Solano County
  Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Basins to Dedesignate four beneficial uses of Old Alamo Creek. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 28 April 2005 in Resolution No. R5-2005-0053, effective 7 August 2006.
• Alamo Creek, Ulatis Creek and Cache Slough, Solano County
  Establishment of site-specific water quality objectives for three trihalomethanes for New Alamo and Ulatis Creeks.  Also, addition of implementation provisions for point source dischargers to Old Alamo Creek.  Status: Adopted by the Regional Water Quality Control Board on 27 May 2010 in Resolution No. R5-2010-0047, effective 9 April 2013.
• Electrical Conductivity Water Quality Objectives for the Lower San Joaquin River
  Establishment of salinity water quality objectives in the lower San Joaquin River. Adopted by the Regional Board on 9 June 2017 in Resolution R5-2017-0062 and approved by the State Water Board and the Office of Administrative Law in early 2018. Before becoming effective, this amendment must be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• pH and Turbidity Water Quality Objectives
  Revise the water quality objectives for pH and Turbidity. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 25 October 2007 in Resolution No. R5-2007-0136, effective 7 July 2009.
• Selenium in the Lower San Joaquin
  Amendment to the selenium control program in the San Joaquin River Basin to modify the compliance time schedule for discharges regulated under waste discharge requirements to meet the selenium objective or comply with a prohibition of discharge of agricultural drainage to Mud Slough (north), tributary to the San Joaquin River, in Merced County. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 27 May 2010 in Resolution No. R5-2010-0046, effective 7 November 2013
• West Squaw Creek, Shasta County
  Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan For The Sacramento River And San Joaquin River Basins to remove specific designated, but not existing, beneficial uses for West Squaw Creek, a tributary to Lake Shasta and the Sacramento River. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 9 July 2004 in Resolution No. R5-2004-0090. Before becoming effective, this amendment must be approved by the State Board, Office of Administrative Law and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
• pH and Turbidity Site Specific Water Quality Objectives for Deer Creek, El Dorado and Sacramento Counties
  Adds site specific pH and Turbidity water quality objectives for Deer Creek in El Dorado and Sacramento Counties. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 19 July 2002 in Resolution No. R5-2002-0127, effective 21 October 2003.
• Site Specific Water Quality Objectives for Temperature at Deer Creek in El Dorado and Sacramento Counties
  Adds site specific temperature objectives for Deer Creek, tributary to the Cosumnes River. Adopted by the Regional Board on 31 January 2003 in Resolution No. R5-2003-0006 and 16 September 2005 in Resolution No. R5-2005-0119. This amendment became effective 17 May 2006.
• Amendment to the Basin Plan for Bacteria
  Updates the water quality objectives for bacteria to use an E. coli pathogen indicator rather than fecal coliform. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 6 September 2002 in Resolution No. R5-2002-0150. This Amendment was not submitted for approvals due to a similar, concurrent state-wide effort. Updated state-wide bacteria water quality objectives are included in the State Water Resources Control Board's Part 3 of the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California, Bacteria Provisions and a Water Quality Standards Variance Policy, effective 4 February 2019
• Amendments to Reformat both Basin Plans
  Amendments to change the format to single columns, add numbering to the headers, and replace the statewide policies in the appendices with links to the State Water Board's website. Adopted by the Regional Board on 20 October 2017 in Resolution R5-2017-0106, effective 24 May 2018.
• Amendments to Edit and Update Language, 2014
  Amends the Basin Plan to correct the description of the boundary between the San Joaquin River Basin and the Tulare Lake Basin; remove, correct and update footnotes in several tables; correct typographical errors; and update references to the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. In addition the amendments will incorporate the State Water Board policies for compliance schedules and recycled water and update the incorporation of the implementation policy for toxics and the enforcement policy. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 27 March 2014 in Resolution R5-2014-0037, effective 26 January 2015.
• Non Regulatory Amendments to Correct Editing Errors and Update Language, 2009
  Amends the Basin Plan to correct an error in the beneficial uses of the Marsh Creek and Marsh Creek Reservoir that occurred in drafting the third edition of the basin plan and an error in the water quality objectives for boron that occurred in drafting the fourth edition of the basin plan. Staff also proposes to update the references to the State Water Board's Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary, include the State Water Board's Water Quality Enforcement Policy, the Nonpoint Source Implementation and Enforcement Policy, and the Compliance Schedule Policy, revise the waiver discussion to be consistent with the current California Water Code, and other language updates. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 13 August 2009 in Resolution No. R5-2009-0069, effective 18 May 2011.
• Amendment to the Basin Plan for Designating Beneficial Uses and Non-Regulatory changes
  Clarifies that federal and state regulations will be followed when designating or changing beneficial uses; removes inaccurate description of the federal antidegradation language; updates and removes obsolete references; and edits the water quality objective for bacteria in ground water. Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 6 September 2002 in Resolution No. R5-2002-0151, and on 31 January 2003 in Resolution No. R5-2003-0007, effective 7 July 2009. Portion that removes inaccurate description of the federal antidegradation language and updates and removes obsolete references has been approved by State Board, Office of Administrative Law and the US Environmental Protection Agency. This portion is effective 27 January 2004.

Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin

• Evaluation of Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) and Agricultural Supply (AGR) Beneficial Uses in Groundwater within a Portion of the McKittrick Area Oil Fields
• Evaluation of Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) and Agricultural Supply (AGR) Beneficial Uses in Groundwater within a Portion of the Southern Lost Hills Oilfield
  
• Evaluation of Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) and Agricultural Supply (AGR) Beneficial Uses in a Portion of the Historical Tulare Lakebed Groundwater
  
  • Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 6 April 2017 in Resolution R5-2017-0032 and approved by the State Water Board in Resolution 2017-0048, effective 26 December 2017.
• Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin for Bacteria
  Updates the water quality objectives for bacteria to use an E. coli pathogen indicator rather than fecal coliform.
  • Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 17 October 2002 in Resolution No. R5-2002-0176. This Amendment was not submitted for approvals due to a similar, concurrent state-wide effort. Updated state-wide bacteria water quality objectives are included in the State Water Resources Control Board's Part 3 of the Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California, Bacteria Provisions and a Water Quality Standards Variance Policy, effective 4 February 2019
• Amendments to Reformat both Basin Plans
  Amendments to change the format to single columns, add numbering to the headers, and replace the statewide policies in the appendices with links to the State Water Board's website.
  • Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 20 October 2017 in Resolution R5-2017-0106, effective 24 May 2018.
• Amendments to Edit and Update Language, 2014
  Amends the Basin Plan to correct the description of the boundary between the San Joaquin River Basin and the Tulare Lake Basin; correct a typographical error in the confined animal provisions; incorporate State Water Board policies that are pertinent to the Basin Plan; and correct other typographic errors and update Basin Plan language.
  • Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 27 March 2014 in Resolution R5-2014-0038, effective 26 January 2015.
• Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin for the Clarification, Consistency, and Updating of the Language
  Staff is proposing to add or edit language of the Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin to provide clarification of existing regulations and consistency with the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers Basin.
  • Status: Adopted by the Regional Board on 17 October 2002 in Resolution No. R5-2002-0177. Before becoming effective, this amendment must be approved by the State Board, Office of Administrative Law and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Portion that removes inaccurate description of the federal antidegradation language and updates and removes obsolete references has been approved by State Board, Office of Administrative Law and the US Environmental Protection Agency. This portion is effective 28 January 2004.