Delta Stewardship Council

The Delta Stewardship Council was created to advance the state’s coequal goals for the Delta – a more reliable statewide water supply and a healthy and protected ecosystem, both achieved in a manner that protects and enhances the unique characteristics of the Delta as an evolving place.

To do this, the Act required that the Council develop an enforceable long-term sustainable management plan for the Delta to ensure coordinated action at the federal, state, and local levels. The Delta Plan, adopted in 2013, includes both regulatory policies and non-binding recommendations.

Part of the Council is the Delta Science Program, charged with providing the best possible unbiased scientific information to inform water and environmental management decisions for the Delta. The Council appoints a Lead Scientist to oversee the program, and also appoints the 10 members of the Delta Independent Science Board, which has broad authority to provide oversight of the scientific research, monitoring and assessment programs that support adaptive management of the Delta.