From the Bay Area to Sacramento and Stockton, from Fresno to north of Redding, Californians — particularly low-income immigrants from Asian countries and other people of color — rely on the San Francisco Bay and the rivers that feed it for food. But the vast watershed is in trouble, plagued by low flows, algal blooms, urban and farm runoff and a legacy of mercury contamination that dates back to the Gold Rush.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now investigating claims that California’s management of the state’s largest estuary has “discriminated on the basis of race, color and national origin” with “its failure to update Bay-Delta water quality standards,” which involve how much water is diverted to cities and farms. The investigation also includes allegations that the State Water Resources Control Board “has intentionally excluded tribes and Black, Asian and Latino residents from participation in the policymaking process.”