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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 Vik Jolly

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  • 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 SFGate

California’s Central Valley waterways could look a lot different in the future

Near Hickman, California, just outside Modesto, a 110-foot-wide grid of solar panels now tops a section of canal, arching over the gently flowing water. Solar projects have long been a crucial piece of the state’s movement to clean energy, and these panels are part of a new project that’s hoping to do far more than just generate electricity. Dubbed Project Nexus, the $20 million state-funded initiative hopes to better understand whether these installations can be an even more efficient approach to solar energy. 

Related article:

Aquafornia news SJV Water (Bakersfield, Calif.)

Cawelo adds another oilfield “produced water” project

The Cawelo Water District is working on a new “produced water” project to increase its irrigation supplies. Produced water is water that comes up with oil during pumping. The district has used oilfield produced water blended with other surface supplies for irrigation for about two decades.  Discussion about the new project began in early August. The project is expected to be completed in early 2026. Construction was pushed back due to a delay in biological studies but is expected to start at the end of this month.

Other produced water news:

Aquafornia news Enterprise-Record (Chico, Calif.)

Butte County unveils Five-Mile flood project

Something big was stirring in the flora at the Five-Mile Recreation Area as trees rustled and vibrations ran along the ground Monday. It was the work of heavy machinery like excavators and bulldozers, clearing out debris and biological materials with the goal of clearing more space for water in Big Chico Creek and the surrounding flood protection channels. Butte County announced its new plan to mitigate flood risk in northeast Chico on Monday, the Five-Mile Stream Action for Flood Emergency project, which is already underway at the park. 

Other flood preparation and response news:

Aquafornia news Imperial Valley Press (El Centro, Calif.)

Brawley to consider backing Salton Sea Authority in $5 million funding bid

The City of Brawley will consider on Tuesday supporting a $5 million funding request by the Salton Sea Authority (SSA), advocating for an equitable distribution of funds from Proposition 4, a $10 billion climate resilience bond approved by California voters in November 2024. … Proposition 4 allocated $605 million for watershed resilience, with a specific $10 million earmarked for the Salton Sea region. The funds are designated to either create the new Salton Sea Conservancy or to support the existing Salton Sea Authority. 

Other Salton Sea news:

Aquafornia news Western FarmPress

Clean Water Act exemption upheld for farmers

In a decision with major implications for Western agriculture, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the Clean Water Act exemption for irrigation return flows. The ruling in Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations v. Nickels affirms that discharges from irrigated agriculture are exempt from federal permitting requirements so long as they do not include additional point source discharges unrelated to crop production. The case centered on California’s Grassland Bypass Project, a drainage system that conveys water from nearly 100,000 acres of farmland.

Other Clean Water Act news:

Aquafornia news S&P Global

Report: Beneath the surface — Water stress in data centers

To address growing AI demand, many companies are building or leasing data centers around the globe. DCs that use water-based cooling consume significant amounts of water, and in this research, we have analyzed DC exposure to water stress globally. We examined the current decade and the 2050s decade under both moderate and moderate-to-high emissions scenarios, using projections from the S&P Global Sustainable1 Physical Risk dataset. We found that exposure is already high in some regions, and we expect the industry’s exposure to water stress will slightly increase by the 2050s.

Other data center water use news:

Aquafornia news California Rice News

News release: Rice water quality programs monitoring summary

The 2025 surface and groundwater monitoring under the RPP and WDR programs was completed by August. For the Rice Pesticide Program (RPP), no detections of thiobencarb were reported above the agricultural drain performance goal. … The Rice Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) surface water program monitored benzobicyclon and bispyribac-sodium, with generally good results. … The Rice Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) groundwater program reported low levels (consistent with historical averages) of nitrates in shallow groundwater beneath rice fields. 

Aquafornia news ABC10 (Sacramento, Calif.)

Beware fake water tests across Northern California, agencies say

Water agencies in Northern California are warning against a scam of people targeting homes and claiming the residents’ tap water could be unsafe. According to a news release from Citrus Heights Water District, various water agencies said there have been increased reports of people posing as water officials and knocking on doors to do in-home water tests. … The reports have been increasing across Northern California, including cities like Elk Grove, Fairfield and Sacramento. Officials said some people were pushed into buying expensive water treatment systems after unsolicited tests.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Monday Top of the Scroll: Experts call for cutting water use along Colorado River

The Colorado River’s massive reservoirs are now so depleted that another dry year could send them plunging to dangerously low levels, a group of prominent scholars warns in a new analysis. The researchers are urging the Trump administration to intervene and impose substantial cutbacks in water use across the seven states that rely on the river — California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. … If next year turns out to be a repeat of this year, they wrote, total water use would exceed the river’s natural flow by at least 3.6 million acre feet — nearly as much as California used in all last year.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news Politico

Solar-on-farms proposal stalls amid farming divide

A California lawmaker’s proposal to make it easier to build solar projects on former farmland stalled in the early hours of Saturday amid continued divisions among agricultural groups. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks pulled her AB 1156, which would have streamlined land-use changes to allow solar development on water-scarce farmland, from consideration in the final hours of the legislative session. … [T]housands of acres of fields and orchards are set to become fallow in the next decades as local officials and farmers work to meet the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Other agricultural water use news:

Aquafornia news Oregon Public Broadcasting

Klamath Tribes warn federal proposal to provide more water for irrigation threatens endangered fish

The Klamath Tribes are opposing a new federal water plan they say risks killing off endangered fish. The Bureau of Reclamation’s proposal would send up to 38,000 additional acre-feet of water — roughly 12.4 billion gallons — to Klamath Project irrigators in southern Oregon and northern California. … But the Klamath Tribes said in an email that the additional 38,000 acre-feet would not come from the designated excess water supply. The Tribes said the allocation would lower lake levels.

Other Klamath River Basin news:

Aquafornia news USA Today

Where’s the rain? Here’s where a dry and dangerous fall is in the forecast.

Drought continues to worsen in several parts of the country, meteorologists warned in early September as dry conditions are forecast for many areas later in the month, sparking additional fears about wildfires in the fire-prone West. … In June, 51% of the West was in a drought. Now it’s ballooned to 64%, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. Additionally, 100% of the giant Colorado River basin is now in a drought.

Other drought news around the West:

Aquafornia news Politico

Trump admin asks court to kill 4 PFAS drinking water limits

The Trump administration asked a federal court Thursday to toss out parts of EPA’s first-ever drinking water regulation for “forever chemicals,” on the grounds that the Biden-era rule violated a legal requirement under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Adopting an argument made by water utilities and chemical companies seeking to overturn the rule, the Trump administration wrote that the prior administration failed to give the public an opportunity to weigh in before proposing strict legal limits in drinking water for four versions of the chemicals.

Other PFAS and microplastics news:

Aquafornia news SJV Water (Bakersfield, Calif.)

State has opportunity to “leverage” Edison power plant relicensing to protect upper Kern River, Fish and Game commissioner says

A California Fish and Game commissioner urged staff on Thursday to look for ways to better protect the upper Kern River watershed and fishery as part of the ongoing relicensing of Southern California Edison’s Kern River 3 (KR3) power plant near Kernville. … At issue is how much water Edison is required to leave in the river between Fairview Dam, near McNally’s, and the plant at Kernville, a 16-mile stretch. … [A]dvocates say the minimum flows required under Edison’s current license aren’t enough to maintain a healthy river. … CDFW, however, is OK with Edison’s proposal to marginally decrease minimum flows.

Aquafornia news California State Parks

News release: Invasive golden mussel detected at Silverwood Lake and Pyramid Lake

The Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and California State Parks have confirmed presence of the invasive golden mussel at Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles County and Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County. These lakes are the southernmost State Water Project (SWP) reservoirs where golden mussels have been detected. The invasive species was recently discovered during a routine water test by DWR; in response, State Parks has updated Silverwood Lake’s boat inspection protocols, effective immediately. 

Aquafornia news CBS San Francisco

2 bills meant to speed up California Delta Tunnel project die without vote

Last Tuesday, the California Legislature cast a vote on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s controversial water tunnel project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by not voting at all. A couple of bills meant to speed up the process were allowed to die in committee before reaching the state Assembly. Opponents of the project consider it a victory in a fight to protect the water of the delta and the towns that live along its banks. … Newsom said he would like to see the tunnel fully entitled by the time he leaves the governor’s seat.

Other Delta news:

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Water bills in L.A. County are rising faster than inflation

Over the last decade, water bills in Los Angeles County have risen nearly 60% on average, outpacing inflation and adding to financial strain for low-income households, according to a UCLA report. The researchers compared average costs for the same amount of drinking water in 2015 and 2025, and said the results show water affordability is an escalating problem in Southern California. … In addition to water costs, the researchers looked at quality as they updated their Southern California Water Systems Atlas with details on 663 water systems across six counties that serve about 40% of California’s population. 

Aquafornia news Inside Climate News

Can bipartisan support in Congress save NOAA from White House cuts?

… On Sept. 10, members of the House Appropriations Committee made clear that they heard this message, rejecting the White House proposal to eliminate NOAA’s research arm and cut the agency’s budget by one-third. Instead, the legislators approved a fiscal year 2026 spending bill that includes a modest trim—about 6 percent—and directs the agency to avoid closure of any of its laboratories or cooperative research institutes. The Senate, meanwhile, is set to consider a budget bill that would maintain the current funding level at NOAA: about $6.1 billion. 

Aquafornia news ABC30 (Fresno, Calif.)

USDA announces $1B in relief for impacted California dairy producers

A major boost for Central Valley livestock producers impacted by recent floods and wildfires has been announced. In an exclusive interview with the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Alexander, the USDA has announced it’s offering $1 billion in disaster recovery assistance to eligible livestock producers here in California. … The USDA says dairy farmers in all Central Valley counties qualify and can receive up to 60 percent of one month of calculated feed costs for a qualifying wildfire or three months for a qualifying flood.

Other flood impact news:

Aquafornia news FOX40 (Sacramento, Calif.)

Tahoe makes strides in providing clean drinking water to the community

On Wednesday, the Tahoe City Public Utility District celebrated the Grand Opening of the West Lake Tahoe Regional Water Treatment Plant. … The plant can currently deliver one million gallons of water per day and may be further expanded to reach more customers from Tahoma to Timberland. The utility district stated that the approximately $30 million project was made possible by grant funding as well as a loan from the CA State Water Resources Control Board.

Other local water infrastructure news: