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Water news you need to know

A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Director Chris Bowman.

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Please Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. Also, the headlines below are the original headlines used in the publication cited at the time they are posted here and do not reflect the stance of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that remains neutral.

Aquafornia news Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: How business and government might solve the freshwater crisis—together

Does the public sector need the private sector’s help to address the freshwater crisis? That’s the controversial thesis of Stanford law and environmental social sciences professor Barton “Buzz” Thompson’s provocatively titled new book: Liquid Asset: How Business and Government Can Partner to Solve the Freshwater Crisis. (Buzz is also a member of the PPIC Water Policy Center’s research network.) We sat down with him to hear more. … The private sector is already involved in water in many ways, some more controversial than others. … We think of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) as a public program, and it is. The legislature passed the law, and public agencies are implementing it. But if you look carefully, you’ll see private handprints all over SGMA’s success. 

Aquafornia news Napa Valley Register

Napa County, Water Audit California clash on various issues

Water Audit California has voiced concerns about Napa County in recent months, appealing two Planning Commission decisions and calling new county plans for storing paper records a “black hole.” The environmental advocacy group appealed a Dec. 20 county Planning Commission decision approving a Nova Business Park project. But its bigger claim is that the county fails to do adequate due diligence, something the county denies.

Aquafornia news Arizona Daily Sun

Arizona panel OKs secrecy in negotiations to import water using taxpayer money

A Senate panel voted to shut the public out of the key business of the state agency tasked with finding new water for Arizona. HB 2014 authorizes the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority to enter into agreements to facilitate the construction of a project that would bring water from outside the state into Arizona. It also empowers the agency to negotiate deals with others to agree to purchase the water once it becomes available. But what HB 2014 also would do is exempt all communications and information gathered related to water augmentation from all provisions of the state’s Public Records Law. And the only time anyone could get information would be “on the consent of the authority.”

Aquafornia news Phys.org

A new look at Grand Canyon springs and possible threats from uranium mining

A new research paper published recently in Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, coordinated by scientists from The University of New Mexico and collaborating institutions, addresses the complex nature and societal importance of Grand Canyon’s springs and groundwater. The paper, “Hydrotectonics of Grand Canyon Groundwater,” recommends sustainable groundwater management and uranium mining threats that require better monitoring and application of hydrotectonic concepts. The data suggest an interconnectivity of the groundwater systems such that uranium mining and other contaminants pose risks to people, aquifers, and ecosystems. The conclusion based on multiple datasets is that groundwater systems involve significant mixing.

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Aquafornia news KGNU Community Radio

Tribes may finally get a seat at the table during Colorado River discussions

The Colorado River is relied upon by roughly 40 million people. That includes members of 30 federally-recognized tribes, as well as residents across seven states. Four of those are in the region known as the Upper Basin – that includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico – and the other three are in the Lower Basin – California, Arizona, and Nevada. In Colorado alone, half of Denver’s supply – as well as half of Colorado Springs’ supply – rely on the river. Tribal nations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming have been left out of key agreements involving the Colorado River for well over a century now. 

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Aquafornia news Axios

Where homes will face the most flood risk in next 30 years

Real estate websites are sharing more climate risk information with home buyers and sellers. Why it matters: Of roughly 4,600 prospective buyers Zillow surveyed nationwide last spring, over 80% said they considered at least one climate risk when shopping. State of play: Realtor.com, which was the first major site to show a home’s flood risk, added heat, wind and air-quality risks to listings this month. The company added wildfire risk in 2022. Threat level: Nearly 45% of U.S. homes face severe or extreme damage from environmental threats, according to a new report from Realtor.com.

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Aquafornia news The Santa Barbara Independent

An exploration of California’s water story 

The first publication by the newly renamed California Nature Art Museum in Solvang (formerly the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature) builds quite nicely on the institution’s vision to “be recognized as an exceptional and innovative leader in inspiring our communities and visitors to value wilderness and other natural areas through the lenses of a diversity of artists.” Featuring text and stunning photography by George Rose, California’s Changing Landscape: The Way of Water is an expansive large-format documentation of California’s vast terrain, complicated weather, and extensive biodiversity — particularly as they relate to water and, as naturally follows, climate change. 

Aquafornia news FishBio

Blog: Don’t put all your (fish) eggs in one basket: enhancing diversity to promote steelhead resilience

Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exhibit some of the most diverse life history traits among all Pacific salmonid species and play major cultural, economic, and recreational roles throughout the Pacific Coast. Steelhead are unique from their resident rainbow trout counterparts in that they follow an anadromous life-history, meaning they migrate to the ocean as juveniles and return to spawn in freshwater streams and rivers as adults. Rainbow trout, on the other hand, remain in freshwater streams for their entire life. Unlike most of their Pacific salmonid cousins, steelhead are iteroparous, meaning that they can spawn more than once in their lifetime. This adaptation allows steelhead to have a more flexible lifecycle that can be advantageous during warmer or drier seasons, especially near the southern end of their distribution in California’s Central Valley.

Aquafornia news Sierra Sun

Calif. Division of Boating and Waterways offering grants for Quagga, Zebra Mussel infestation prevention programs

California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways is offering grant funding to prevent the further spread of quagga and zebra mussels into California’s waterways. Funded by the California Mussel Fee Sticker (also known as the Quagga Sticker), the Quagga and Zebra Mussel (QZ) Infestation Prevention Grant Program expects to award a total of up to $2 million across eligible applicants. Applications will be accepted from Monday, April 1 through Friday, May 10, 2024.All applications must be received by 5 p.m. on May 10, 2024. The QZ grants are available to entities that own or manage any aspect of water in a reservoir that is open for public recreation, is mussel-free, and do not have an existing two-year QZ Grant awarded in 2023.

Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Monday Top of the Scroll: California doubles water allocation for most contractors following February storms

State officials on Friday doubled the amount of water California agencies will get this year following some strong storms that increased the snowpack in the mountains. The State Water Project is a major source for 27 million people. The majority of contractors who supply the water are located south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Previously, the Department of Water Resources had told them to expect 15% of their requests this year. The department increased that to 30% on Friday. The department said contractors north of the delta can expect 50% of their requests, while contractors in the Feather River Settlement can expect 100%.

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Aquafornia news Arizona Republic

Tribes seek equal status in Colorado River talks, compensation for any forced cuts

Two-thirds of the tribes with lands and water rights in the Colorado River Basin are calling for equal status in developing new river management guidelines and protection of their senior water rights against proposed cuts or caps on developing their water. Leaders from 20 tribes, including eight in Arizona, sent a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation March 11. In the letter, obtained by The Arizona Republic, the tribes outlined what they expect in new river management guidelines that will take effect when the current guidelines expire Dec. 31, 2026. The two tribes with Arizona’s largest river allocations — the Colorado River Indian Tribes, which holds senior rights to 720,000 acre-feet of water, mostly in Arizona, and the Gila River Indian Community, with 653,000 acre-feet of Colorado River and other waters — did not sign the letter.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

A river rescue as hail pounds SoCal. Meanwhile, a significant late-season storm is brewing

… Meanwhile, forecasters were looking ahead to a rare late-season “high-impact” storm that could reach the area by Friday, according to Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the NWS in Oxnard. Sunday’s bout of stormy weather was driven by a cold system moving south across the Southland, Munroe said. “Early projections place us maybe around an inch to 3 inches for a lot of areas — maybe even locally higher for our south-facing mountains,” he said.

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Aquafornia news Colorado Sun

Growing data-center demand at odds with Colorado climate goals

… The two impacts of data centers drawing the most concern in Colorado are the growing demand for power and impact it could have on the power grid and the need for millions of gallons of water by data centers, primarily for cooling. … While Colorado and the West have suffered a 20-year drought and there is haggling over the future of the dwindling Colorado River, a hyperscale data center with evaporative cooling can, according to Dglt, use more than 200 million gallons of water a year, about 550,000 gallons a day — enough to supply 1,200 households of four to five people for a year.

Aquafornia news Courthouse News

New study: Water conservation vital to make cities more resilient to climate change

As global temperatures are expected to rise by at least 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, environmental researchers urge a greater focus on water conservation as the precious resource is set to become scarcer due to climate change. In a report released Thursday by the SUREAL Engineering Lab, a collaboration between the University of Miami and EXP U.S. Services Inc., researchers urged local leaders to adopt region-specific conservation plans in favor of centralized systems. … At a press conference Thursday hosted by the International Code Council to unveil the findings, Andiroglu emphasized the need for urgent action, pointing to estimates that show within 50 years over 40% of the global population are expected to live in countries facing water scarcity.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

The Klamath River’s dams are being removed. Inside the effort to restore a scarred watershed

Near the California-Oregon border, reservoirs that once submerged valleys have been drained, revealing a stark landscape that had been underwater for generations. A thick layer of muddy sediment covers the sloping ground, where workers have been scattering seeds and leaving meandering trails of footprints. In the cracked mud, seeds are sprouting and tiny green shoots are appearing. With water passing freely through tunnels in three dams, the Klamath River has returned to its ancient channel and is flowing unhindered for the first time in more than a century through miles of waterlogged lands.

Aquafornia news Food and Environment Reporting Network

California’s water board hit with civil rights complaint over tainted water

A coalition of public interest groups filed a civil rights complaint against California’s top water board last week, accusing the agency of perpetuating environmental racism along the state’s Central Coast. According to the complaint, the region’s agricultural industry has contaminated Latino farmworkers’ drinking water with dangerous levels of nitrates, and the State Water Resources Control…

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Aquafornia news Office of Assemblymember Diane Papane

News release: Legislation to safeguard salmon and steelhead trout from lethal storm water contaminant approved by committee

Today, legislation to protect California’s iconic salmon and steelhead trout authored by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) was approved by the Assembly Committee on Transportation with a bipartisan vote. The S.A.L.M.O.N Act (Stormwater Anti-Lethal Measures for Our Natives Act), would mandate the development and implementation of a regional strategy by the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to eliminate (a contaminant from tire rubber) from stormwater discharges into specified salmon and steelhead trout-bearing surface waters of the state.

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Aquafornia news Monterey Herald

Judge hears testimony in Monterey Peninsula water battle

A critical set of oral testimonies will help a state regulator determine whether or not the Monterey Peninsula needs a desalination project to generate water supply over the next few decades, or whether the Pure Water Monterey Expansion project will get the job done. …The testimonies and cross examinations lasted five days, ending March 15. The testimonies were heard by California Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Robert Haga. Many of the testimonies … came down to which contrary estimates of water supply and future demand Judge Haga will believe. Once he’s reached a decision it will then be taken up by the five-member CPUC commissioners. 

Aquafornia news U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

News release: Reclamation announces $5.5 million investment to improve the safety of two Western dams

Reclamation today announced a $5.5 million investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to repair the Willow Creek Dam in Montana and the B.F. Sisk Dam in California as part of the Investing in America agenda. Willow Creek Dam in Montana will use $2.1 million to fund temporary spillway improvements by installing rock in the spillway to reduce risk of spillway erosion until a permanent dam safety modification is completed. Construction will include purchase and placement of 9,100 cubic yards of rock. Reclamation will reserve another 900 cubic yards on site for flood fighting activities. Reclamation’s project stakeholder, Greenfields Irrigation District, will perform the work. B.F. Sisk Dam in California will use $3.4 million to modify the Phase 1 contract, to adapt to delays caused by high precipitation levels in 2023. 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Editorial: L.A. may not get another wet winter for a while. We should prepare for drier times

It’s the second straight year of above-average rain and snow in California, amid the state’s driest period in 1,200 years. The respite from drought is certainly welcome, despite flooding, mudslides and associated miseries. Now meteorologists and oceanographers are watching possible La Niña conditions develop in the Pacific, perhaps signaling a return to drier times. It’s an appropriate time to take stock — of how we weathered the last two winters, what we’ve learned and what’s ahead. … It’s also important to note that California got a scary dose of climate change reality early in the winter when all that precipitation failed to turn into Sierra snowpack. It does us little good to get lots of rain or even snow if the weather is too warm to permit snow accumulation on the slopes. The annual snowpack‘s slow spring-and-summer melt has historically been the primary source of water for California cities and farm fields.

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