SB-88 Alternative Compliance Plan
In order to comply with the California Senate Bill-88 (SB-88) regulations, those diverting more than 10 acre-feet of surface water per year must measure and report the timing, rate and volume of their water diversions to the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). To facilitate landowners’ compliance with these legal requirements in the unique circumstances of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, The Freshwater Trust developed a novel Alternative Compliance Plan that used a combination of remote sensing, physical data and grower-supplied information to estimate surface water diversions.
In 2023, TFT supported a new Delta-wide ACP that relies exclusively on OpenET data, which models evapotranspiration rates for individual fields based on multiple satellite-driven models. This experiment will provide critical data to compare different sources of evaporation and transpiration data (consumptive demand) with local estimates of surface water diversion.
For more information, visit the SWRCB’s Water Measurement and Reporting Regulation page and the Delta ACP website.
In light of the regulatory support for the Delta ACP, TFT is consolidating its program into the Delta ACP. TFT is no longer accepting new participants in its SB 88 alternative compliance program but will continue to offer support for existing participants through this transition.
Participation fee: Existing participants who would like to continue receiving support from TFT can pay the annual participation fee, click here.
