1. Directors Questioned Proposed Instream-Flow Contribution Metropolitan staff outlined a proposal to contribute 14,000 acre-feet of State Water Project (SWP) Table A supplies to California’s Instream Flow Water Purchase Program in each participating year, in exchange for a $70 million upfront payment. Contributions would occur only when the SWP allocation is at least 30%, for up to 140,000 acre-feet across 10 participating years that need not be consecutive. The water would remain in the Delta to support stream flows; staff said the proposal should not be viewed as a sale of surplus water. Staff’s modeling found no significant increase in shortage probability, but directors questioned the roughly $500-per-acre-foot implied payment and potential risks to SWP-dependent areas. A vice chair asked whether contributed water could be recovered in a later low-allocation year; staff said it could not be recovered through the program. Staff noted that the payment reflects source-water costs, not the cost of delivering water to member agencies. Board action is planned for November or later in 2026.
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