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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Outrage over the Trump-packed U.S. Supreme Court rolling back
federal reproductive rights has in some ways overshadowed the
now 6-3 conservative majority’s relentless assault on
environmental regulations that for decades protected Colorado’s
clean air and water. … Now Colorado lawmakers are trying
to step into that regulatory void with Wednesday’s filing of
the Regulate Dredge and Fill Activities in State Waters bill
(HB24-1379). If passed, it would require a rulemaking process
by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment’s Water
Quality and Control Division to permit dredge and fill
activities on both public and private land. -Written by contributor David O. Williams.
All weather patterns must come to an end, and the setup that
allowed warm and dry conditions over much of the Northwest and
limited rainfall in California in recent days will wind down
later this week as a new train of storms lines up over the
northern Pacific, AccuWeather meteorologists
say. The storm train is not as intense as some episodes
over the winter, but with a breakdown of high
pressure over the Northwest and a southward shift in
the jet stream from the Pacific into North America,
there will be more opportunities for rain and mountain snow as
well as locally heavy precipitation that can slow travel on
highways and airports. … While a blockbuster snowfall is
not anticipated in the Sierra Nevada, the change to snow will
be more deliberate and add to the snowpack.
At least 70 million Americans get their water from a system
where toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” were found at levels that
require reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency.
That’s according to new data the EPA released in its ongoing
5-year review of water systems across the nation. The number
will almost certainly grow as new reports are released every
three months. … Found in drinking water, food,
firefighting foam, and nonstick and water-repellent items, PFAS
resist degradation, building up in both the environment and our
bodies. Salt Lake City; Sacramento,
California; Madison, Wisconsin; and Louisville,
Kentucky, were among the major systems reporting PFAS
contamination to the EPA in the latest data release.
Lake Powell remains at the center of attention as the seven
Colorado River Basin states figure out how much water is
withdrawn from it this year and beyond. But those who rely on
it for water and electricity — and the millions who enjoy
recreating on the reservoir — are equally focused on how much
Lake Powell receives this spring. The good news is, it is
expected to receive a decent bump in the coming months. The bad
news is, it’s not expected to reach the same levels it peaked
at before the region’s latest severe drought. Lake Powell
is projected to receive about 5.4 million acre-feet of water
based on conditions this winter, National Weather Service’s
Colorado Basin River Forecast Center officials said on Friday.
That would hoist the reservoir from 32% to 37% capacity after
the snowmelt process wraps up in the early summer.
The U.S. government is warning state governors that foreign
hackers are carrying out disruptive cyberattacks against water
and sewage systems throughout the country. In a letter released
Tuesday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan
warned that “disabling cyberattacks are striking water and
wastewater systems throughout the United States.” The letter
singled out alleged Iranian and Chinese cyber saboteurs.
Sullivan and Regan cited a recent case in which hackers accused
of acting in concert with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had
disabled a controller at a water facility in Pennsylvania. They
also called out a Chinese hacking group dubbed “Volt Typhoon”
which they said had “compromised information technology of
multiple critical infrastructure systems, including drinking
water, in the United States and its territories.”
Chevron has agreed to pay more than $13 million in fines for
dozens of past oil spills in California. The California-based
energy giant agreed to pay a $5.6 million fine associated with
a 2019 oil spill in Kern County. The company has already paid
to clean up that spill. This money will instead go toward the
state Department of Conservation’s work of plugging old and
orphaned wells. The department said it was the largest fine
ever assessed in its history. … The 2019 oil spill
dumped at least 800,000 gallons (3 million litres) of oil and
water into a canyon in Kern County, the home of the state’s oil
industry. Also, Chevron agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine
for more than 70 smaller spills between 2018 and 2023.
The Cocopah Tribe and two other Arizona tribal communities are
working with new money and tools to address climate change
after receiving grants from the U.S. Department of the Interior
and several private funders. In 2023, the 1,000-member Cocopah
Tribe, whose lands lie along the Colorado River southwest of
Yuma, received $5 million from the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation’s America the Beautiful Challenge to support two
riparian restoration initiatives. During the four-year project,
the tribe will remove invasive species and replant 45,000
native trees, like cottonwood, willow and mesquite to restore
390 acres of the river’s historic floodplain close to the
U.S.-Mexico border. The Cocopah Tribe also received $515,000
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bonneville
Environmental Foundation for the restoration effort.
Last winter’s big rain and snow brought immediate benefits to
California’s water supply and data now shows that there are
long-term benefits, too. According to data gathered by
Sacramento’s Regional Water Authority, a surplus of surface
water following the 2022-2023 winter allowed water managers to
use 17% less groundwater compared to 2022. Historically,
groundwater throughout California’s Central Valley had been
severely overdrawn. Over the past 20 years, policy changes and
more nuanced water management have helped groundwater levels
recover.
A Sacramento judge upheld a decision by California’s water
regulator to cut back agricultural and municipal water use from
the San Joaquin River. The decision could lend support for
future regulations in the rest of the Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta system. It comes amid declining fish populations
and increasing pressure on water supply due to climate change.
But rather than move forward with strict regulations, the state
agency is considering a plan pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that
would grant water districts more flexibility.
Klamath Project irrigation districts are preparing to move
water as concerns grow about potential flood releases on Upper
Klamath Lake in the coming weeks. The Klamath Water Users
Association says its members have been concerned over water
management in Upper Klamath Lake. The Klamath irrigation
district says given the possibility of flood conditions in the
coming weeks, it could pose a risk for everyone along the
Klamath River, including those working on dam removals.
Irrigation District Executive Director Gene Souza says their
request to discuss these concerns with the Bureau of
Reclamation has gone unanswered.
Some of California’s most treasured parks are threatened by
blight caused by pollution and climate change, according to a
pair of new reports. The four national parks with the highest
ozone levels are all in California, with Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks topping the list of parks struggling with
air that’s dangerous to breathe, according to a recent report
by the National Parks Conservation Assn., an independent
advocacy group. Meanwhile, severe wildfires, drought and
sea-level rise are ravaging state parks, which encompass nearly
a quarter of California’s coastline, according to a separate
report by the California State Parks Foundation, another
advocacy group. … Behemoth sequoias and jagged Joshua
trees are among millions of trees across the state
succumbing to worsening wildfires, severe drought, extreme
heat, disease and other stressors that have been intensified by
global warming.
Water shortages are becoming a way of life in cities across the
globe — Los Angeles; Cape Town, South Africa; Jakarta,
Indonesia; and many more — as climate change worsens and
authorities often pipe in water from ever-more-distant sources.
“Water sources are depleted around the world,” said Victoria
Beard, a professor of city and regional planning at Cornell
University. “Every year, more cities will face ‘Day Zero,’ with
no water in their piped systems.” Mexico City — founded by the
Aztecs on an island amid lakes, with a rainy season that
brought torrents and flooding — might have been an exception.
For decades, the focus has been getting rid of water, not
capturing it. But a grim convergence of factors — including
runaway growth, official indifference, faulty infrastructure,
rising temperatures and reduced rainfall — have left this
mega-city at a tipping point after years of mostly unheeded
warnings.
In 2023, PG&E announced its plans to remove both Scott and
Cape Horn dams on the Eel River as part of its license
surrender and decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project.
CalTrout has long advocated for removing both dams to improve
salmon and steelhead populations in the Eel River by
reconnecting the cold, perennial streams in the headwaters
behind the dams. CalTrout has also been working with water
users in the Russian River basin seeking to maintain the water
supplied by a transbasin diversion tunnel. On Tuesday, March
19, 2023, partners and stakeholders met to select a design
alternative for a potential future diversion from the Eel River
to the Russian River that balances both needs of water users
and fish.
California wineries appear to be complying with the Water
Board’s statewide Winery General Order’s winery wastewater
requirements, but the pace is slow, state statistics reveal.
And many are not in the compliance reporting pipeline at all,
data shows. (An overview page is provided here.) The order was
passed, the water boards said, for two major reasons. One was
because, “Winemakers requested the order to address the
statewide inconsistencies in permitting.” This request was from
large wineries that operate numerous facilities throughout the
state. (Smaller wineries opposed this in the public
hearings.) … As of Feb. 20, 2024, 201 wineries had
begun the process of filing, leaving a gap of 1,449 wineries
(the difference between 1,650 and 201, based on the initial
estimates).
Microplastics are tiny, nearly indestructible fragments shed
from everyday plastic products. As we learn more about
microplastics, the news keeps getting worse. Already
well-documented in our oceans and soil, we’re now discovering
them in the unlikeliest of places: our arteries, lungs and even
placentas. Microplastics can take anywhere from 100 to 1,000
years to break down and, in the meantime, our planet and bodies
are becoming more polluted with these materials every day.
Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based
plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New
research from scientists at the University of California San
Diego and materials-science company Algenesis shows that their
plant-based polymers biodegrade — even at the microplastic
level — in under seven months. The paper, whose authors are all
UC San Diego professors, alumni or former research scientists,
appears in Nature Scientific Reports.
Even in wet years — like the last two, which saw disastrous
flooding in many parts of the state — Californians need to use
less water. That’s the message the State Water Resources
Control Board conveyed to the public during a workshop as the
agency considers new rules for water conservation in urban
areas. By promoting water conservation as “a California way of
life,” the board’s goal is that the looming regulations will
save enough water for about half a million households annually.
Californians spoke out Tuesday over the state’s plan to rein in
urban water use that is ultimately less drastic than a previous
version of the regulations.
The East Bay Regional Park District’s Water Management
Department has issued an advisory for toxic blue-green algae at
Lake Del Valle in Livermore, Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton, and
other swimming areas around the East Bay. “Blue-Green Algae
(also called cyanobacteria) are natural organisms that are
present around the world in ocean and fresh water,” the park
district reports on its website. “Certain conditions – low
water levels, limited water circulation, increased temperature
and light, among other factors – can cause blue-green algae to
bloom and, in some cases, release toxins. Scientists do not
know what causes the blue-green algae to become toxic. We do
know that these blooms are increasing around the world.”
Blue-green algae was first detected at an East Bay Regional
park in 2014 and has been a constant threat ever since. In
face, algae blooms and toxins have been observed at all major
Park District water bodies.
The California Tahoe Conservancy joins with its funding
partners—the California Wildlife Conservation Board, Tahoe
Regional Planning Agency, California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, Tahoe Fund, and League to Save Lake Tahoe—to announce
the Conservancy is acquiring 31 acres of environmentally
sensitive land along the Upper Truckee River in South Lake
Tahoe. “This environmental acquisition may be the most
important in a generation to protect Lake Tahoe,” said
California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “By
reconnecting the most important wetland that filters water
flowing into the Lake, this investment protects the Lake’s
precious water quality and also provides an important corridor
for local wildlife. This project demonstrates the great value
of the California Tahoe Conservancy, to work diligently over
years—sometimes decades—to see important environmental
improvements to fruition.”
Members of the state Water Resources Control Board voted
unanimously on Tuesday, March 19, to reduce pumping fees for
groundwater users in subbasins that come under state control,
known as “probationary status.” The controversial fee was
lowered from $40 per-acre-foot of pumped water to $20 per acre
foot. The board will hold its first probationary hearing
on the Tulare Lake subbasin, which covers Kings County, on
April 16. … Groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) for
Tulare Lake and five other San Joaquin Valley subbasins were
rejected twice by the state as inadequate, which is why they
are now coming before the Water Board to determine if they
should be put into probationary status.
Colorado lawmakers say they want Congress to do its job and
fund repairs to a deteriorating irrigation system in
southwestern Colorado. The irrigation system, called the Pine
River Indian Irrigation Project, is one of 16 federal projects
in the West that have fallen into disrepair. The maintenance
backlog is extensive and would cost more than $2.3 billion to
address. … Southern Ute representatives focused on the
Indian Irrigation Fund during Colorado River Drought Task Force
meetings in 2023.
