The California State Water Resources Control Board was set today to discuss proposed changes to double water flows in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta to help support the salmon population. How California manages and uses its water has long been a topic of hot political debate, falling more along regional lines than partisan ones and pitting agricultural interests against environmental ones. Beyond farming interests, politicians in the Central Valley say the plan would limit their access to drinking water. The plan would double the amount of water that must flow freely through the Low San Joaquin River and three of its tributaries from February to June, meaning less water can be diverted for farming or other needs. Ita s an effort to protect the statea s declining salmon population; the state estimates just 10,000 fall-run salmon returned to the San Joaquin Basin in 2017, compared to 70,000 in 1985. The change is an attempt to mimic natural water flows that help the salmon thrive. The Trump administration has weighed in on the proposal calling it a a Water Graba . The Water Control Board has postponed a final vote on the plan with no specified date to act on it.