Salmon are at risk with federal plans to give farmers more water from Shasta Lake, critics warn

The Trump administration plans to send more water from Shasta Lake to Central Valley farmlands this year. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will provide agricultural water agencies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta with 25% of their total contracted amounts, rising from 20%. Cities and towns will also receive more water through federal canals tied to the Central Valley Project. The agency attributes the change to modest improvements in reservoir levels after April rainstorms. Environmental and fishing groups oppose the plan, warning that drawing too much water from Shasta Lake can reduce cold water in the Sacramento River during late summer and fall. Chinook salmon require water below 56 degrees for eggs to survive, and past drought conditions in 2021 led to widespread egg and young fish deaths when releases became too warm.

"The Trump administration says it will increase the water it's sending to Central Valley farmlands this year from Shasta Lake, the state's largest reservoir. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said agricultural water agencies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta will receive 25% of their total contracted amount, up from an initial 20%. Cities and towns will also get more from the federal canals that are part of the Central Valley Project."

"Environmental and fishing groups reacted to Tuesday's announcement with concern, saying that taking too much water out of Shasta Lake threatens to harm Chinook salmon by depriving them of vital cold water in the Sacramento River in the late summer and fall. "This is really bad," said Vance Staplin, executive director of the nonprofit Golden State Salmon Assn. The Trump administration's plan, he said, "is likely to kill salmon.""

"When Chinook salmon swim upstream from the ocean to spawn in rivers and creeks, they need cold water for their eggs to survive. Research shows the water needs to be below 56 degrees. But when Shasta Lake is drawn down to low levels, the water flowing from Shasta Dam can get dangerously warm. During the last drought in 2021, it got so warm at one point that most of the eggs and young fish died."

"Shasta Lake is now 89% full. Each year, the Bureau of Reclamation is required to release a plan detailing how it will keep water downstream of Shasta Dam cold enough to protect salmon. But California regulators have tol"

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