The Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program conducts science activities and contributes to a comprehensive science program in accordance with the Science Plan and procedures within the Science Committee Charter. The Science Plan provides the framework for evaluating the outcomes of the flow and non-flow measures and ultimately to inform the State Water Board’s assessment in Year 8 of the Program as described in the March 29, 2022, MOU and Term Sheet. The Science Committee Charter specifically describes the Science Committee’s role, participation principles, framework for oversight of the Science Plan, the use and definition of best available science, the Science Program commitment and plans for independent peer review, and the approach for data management.
To achieve the comprehensive Science Program described in Section 10 of the term sheet, implementing entities participate in the Science Committee to advance consistency and coordination across governance entity activities. Implementing entities conduct science activities to inform the Science Plan hypotheses to produce results that inform recommendations to the Systemwide Governance Committee regarding adaptive management of flow and non-flow measures, and priorities for further investment in the Science Program. Additionally, coordinated by the Science Committee, the implementing entities will conduct four assessments of non-flow measures: (1) accounting, (2) habitat suitability, (3) consistency with the Scientific Basis Report Supplement (SWRCB 2023) and (4) utilization and biological effectiveness.
To ensure the Science Plan is as robust as possible for evaluating Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program, the Science Committee voluntarily submitted its Science Plan to an independent expert review, facilitated by the Delta Science Program. This review engaged three professional scientists who shared their expertise on decision science, Central Valley Chinook salmon populations, and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta environmental monitoring and food web ecology. The review charge, reviewer information, review materials, and all correspondence for the review are available on the Delta Science Program webpage for the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Science Plan Independent Peer Review. The final letters from reviewers were received and posted in July 2025. The Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Science Committee will use reviewer comments to inform its revision of the Science Plan in Fall of 2025.
Science Committee members will contribute to syntheses of the data produced through the Science Program in annual reports, triennial reports for Years 3 and 6 of implementation, and an ecological outcomes report prior to Year 7, as described in the term sheet (Appendix 4). Information collected by the science program will serve to track and report progress relative to metrics identified in the Science Plan and will inform the biological and ecological outcomes of the Program actions.
