Surrounded by the waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, state and local leaders gathered today on Webb Tract to mark the beginning of a 2,800-acre wetland restoration project aimed at giving new life to one of the Delta’s deeply subsided islands.

Supported by a $20.9 million grant from The Delta Conservancy, the project on the Metropolitan-owned Webb Tract seeks to help slow subsidence, sequester carbon and create habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, while continuing to support the local agricultural economy.

The Delta is a critical part of California’s water supply system. It also supports agriculture, local communities and a diverse range of fish and wildlife. Its islands and waterways face significant challenges from subsidence, sea-level rise, climate change and other pressures.

More than a century of conventional dry-soil farming has contributed to subsidence throughout the Delta, with some areas of Webb Tract now as much as 24 feet below sea level. When peat soils are drained, they decompose and release carbon and the land surface continues to subside. If the land surface sinks too low, levees can fail and the islands could be flooded, which could affect the people who live and work on the islands, water quality, water exports, agriculture, infrastructure and habitat.

The Webb Tract project will use wetland restoration, along with conversion of approximately 1,500 acres of a former corn crop to rice production, to keep the island’s peat soils wet and promote multiple benefits for the landscape.

Unlike traditional restoration projects that can require extensive grading and rebuilding of the landscape, the Webb Tract Wetland Restoration Project will incorporate the island’s existing topography. This nature-based approach minimizes soil disturbance and construction impacts while allowing restoration to proceed more efficiently.

The project was developed with guidance from Indigenous and Delta communities and will use adaptive management to help inform restoration over time.

As part of the groundbreaking, project partners celebrated by planting seeds of Bay Miwok evening primrose, a small native flower with deep connections to the Delta’s Indigenous communities, offering a symbolic first step toward a transformed landscape. Seeds from plants in the Oenothera genus were traditionally gathered as food and prepared as flour and seed cakes by Indigenous communities.

The Delta once supported more than 2,500 acres of sand dune vegetation, but much of this unique habitat has been lost to development and sand mining. With input from the Webb Tract Ecocultural Working Group, the Webb Tract project will also conserve more than 100 acres of upland dune habitat and support the return of native plants to the island.

The project’s planning phase also received a 2026 Outstanding Environmental Project Award from the Friends of the San Francisco Estuary. The award recognized the project’s efforts to share knowledge, broaden the conversation and inspire action to improve the health of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provide water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.

THE SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA CONSERVANCY

Working collaboratively with local communities, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy leads efforts to protect, enhance, and restore the Delta’s economy, agriculture and working landscapes, and environment for the benefit of the Delta region, its local communities, and the citizens of California.

Restoring Webb Tract: Voices from the Groundbreaking Event

“When we think big and work with nature, we can tackle some of our biggest environmental challenges. By restoring wetlands and supporting agriculture, this project reduces land subsidence, restores habitat, stores carbon, and supports the Delta’s farming communities. It’s a win-win project and a model for our future.”

– Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources

“The Delta connects communities and water supplies throughout California, and its future depends on all of us working together. As Southern California’s regional water provider and planner, Metropolitan understands the importance of being a responsible partner in that effort. By restoring wetlands, we’re also strengthening the levees that help protect the Delta and California’s water supply. We are proud to put Metropolitan’s land to work in partnership with Delta communities, Tribal communities and others to restore habitat, build resilience and create benefits that extend well beyond the island itself.”

– Shivaji Deshmukh, Metropolitan Water District General Manager

“We are grateful for the partnership with MWD that helps us demonstrate how deeply subsided islands in the Delta can be managed in a way that stops subsidence and related CO2 emissions, maintains agriculture, improves biodiversity, and makes the islands more economically viable into the future.”

– Campbell Ingram, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Executive Officer

“I applaud the Metropolitan Water District’s work to transform Webb Tract with wetlands and rice cultivation. It aligns with DWR’s work on Sherman and Twitchell islands to address land subsidence, levee stability, habitat restoration, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The stakes of levee failure are high for the water supply reliability for 30 million Californians and 4 million acres of farmland. DWR looks forward to learning and experimenting alongside our partners at Metropolitan.”

– Tom Gibson, California Department of Water Resources Director

“The Delta ecosystem is like no other, which is why it’s so exciting to see the Metropolitan Water District and Delta Conservancy get the Webb Tract Wetland Restoration Project underway. This restoration project will restore wetland habitat and is a shining example of our Cutting the Green Tape Program at work, bringing the urgency needed to habitat restoration projects that are critical for our native species.”

– Meghan Hertel, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director

“What makes the Delta special is that it’s still a working, open landscape with farms and wildlife, connecting us to history and our future. Restoring Webb Tract with wetlands and rice protects that character, and keeps agriculture and open space across the Delta for the next generation.”

– Ken Carlson, Contra Costa County Supervisor, District IV

“Restoring land and water is also about restoring relationships and remembering our responsibility to care for these places for future generations. I’m honored to offer the opening prayer at Webb Tract and help begin this work for the land, the water, our ancestors, and all the life that depends on them.”

– Austin Stevenot, Northern Sierra Mewuk Director of Tribal Engagement

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