A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation Writer Matt Jenkins.
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In just a few decades, summers in California
will not only be much hotter, but will also stretch for months
longer. Floods will become more widespread and
extreme. Exposure to wildfire smoke will kill
thousands more people every year. Those are the dire
projections of California’s Fifth Climate Change
Assessment, a report produced by California every few
years that analyzes the impacts of changing weather patterns on
the nation’s most-populous state. The future laid out in the
report, which was published on Monday, touches on familiar
warnings: more wildfires, bigger storms, longer
droughts. … At the same time, water
shortages could mean that the number of acres that
farmers irrigate could decline dramatically, including by up to
40 percent in the San Joaquin Valley, a major agricultural hub.
… At a roundtable discussion on Monday led by [Rep. Dina]
Titus at the Las Vegas Valley Water District, a diverse group
of Southern Nevadan experts laid out their vision for
solutions to the valley’s persistent water woes. While
doom-and-gloom headlines may be at an all-time high and Lake
Mead is setting all-time lows, they said tools exist to
remedy the crisis, albeit expensive ones.
… Titus’ conversation comes days after Arizona decided
to intervene as an interested party in Nevada’s lawsuit with
the Trump administration over its plan to manage the
Colorado River. The federal government, in the
face of record-low flows and no relief in sight, has asserted
its legal authority to slash Nevada’s water allocation
by up to 71 percent over the next 10 years.
Few cities in California last week felt the full brunt of the
climate crisis more than the small coastal town of San
Clemente. The beach city at the southern end of Orange
County for months has been dealing with widespread coastal
erosion from El Niño-related Pacific storms
that has threatened a crucial rail line and reshaped swaths of
its beaches. Then, as the waves were still pounding, a fire
broke out in the city’s bushy foothills Friday, quickly burning
toward hillside neighborhoods and destroying homes in nearby
San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente’s challenges
demonstrate what more of California will probably face
as the twin dangers of fire and coastal erosion converge this
winter. Southern California is just entering its traditional
fire season, and forecasters are predicting more coastal
flooding and erosion from what is expected to be a severe El
Niño winter.
San Diego County introduced former U.S. diplomat Bridget
Premont as its first Pollution Crisis Chief at
a news conference Monday, tapping her to lead its response to
the Tijuana River sewage crisis as preliminary
findings estimate the pollution costs the regional economy up
to $503.5 million a year. According to the county,
Premont will coordinate infrastructure planning across
agencies and pursue state and federal funding. She
will also coordinate emergency responses during sewage
spikes, chair a Sewage Crisis Interdepartmental Task
Force and maintain a public funding dashboard. In an interview
after the news conference, Premont said her immediate focus
will be on existing infrastructure, the county’s Capture and
Cleanup Initiative — constructing a wastewater
treatment plant of its own on the river — and data
showing what the region is risking.
Our 2026 Colorado River Water
Leaders cohort completed its seven-month
program recently with policy recommendations to
strengthen ”assigned water” programs across the Colorado
River Basin. “Assigned water” has become a key tool for
conserving Colorado River water and helping to
stabilize Lake Mead to prevent shortages. Originally
developed as “Intentionally Created Surplus” within the 2007
Interim Guidelines, it gives users the ability to store
conserved water earmarked for their own future use. The
cohort was tasked with assessing existing assigned water
programs and identifying opportunities across the Colorado
River Basin. Read
the full report.
Revisions to a pair of key Delta documents
were released last week – the outcomes from which remain
uncertain. Local water officials are still reviewing the latest
changes to the Bay Delta Plan released on
Friday, and as of Monday were not sure what the
amendments mean for Solano County water users.
… The Delta Stewardship Council has until Dec.
9 to decide whether to approve a revised Certification
of Consistency for the Delta Conveyance Project as applied to
the Bay Delta Plan. The council heard testimony and
received public comment on the Revised Certification of
Consistency filing from the Department of Water Resources.
… On the tunnel matter, the Delta Stewardship Council in
April remanded two parts of the certification back to the
Department of Water Resources to address concerns on potential
land use conflicts and golden mussels before refiling.
As the campaign team for Arizona’s attorney general crafted a
recent attack ad denouncing her opponent’s “extreme record,”
they weighed two options. They could zero in on their
Republican opponent’s stance on abortion — one of Democrats’
strongest and most impassioned issues in recent election
cycles. Or they could hit him on water policy, a
perennial snooze-inducer. The comments reflect
a deep concern about Arizona’s water crisis,
emphasizing the unsustainable use of water resources in a
desert environment.Many commenters criticize the continued
development and agricultural practices that consume large
amounts of water.
… This summer, outgoing Gov. Mark Gordon signed an executive
order titled “Data Centers the Wyoming Way” that he said would
“guide responsible development in Wyoming,” while keeping the
state an attractive landing spot for the enormous server
warehouses that power the AI industry. Data centers’
potential impacts on Wyoming’s precious water
supply, already-rising electricity prices and prized
public lands have rankled many corners of the state. Gordon
acknowledged those concerns in a statement accompanying the
release of the order, which is not binding. Environmental
groups in Wyoming agree that there need to be more guardrails
on data center development, but they are not fully aligned on
how to achieve that goal.
… To account for natural variability, CDFW uses functional
flows. Functional flows are the key parts of a river’s
natural yearly flow pattern that do a specific job for the
ecosystem. Instead of asking only, “how much water
does a river need?”, the approach also asks, “when, how fast,
and for how long?” Scientists have found that
California’s rivers and streams follow five main flow
patterns, each linked to a different part of the year.
The water year begins in fall with the fall pulse flow, a short
burst of water that flushes out the stream and signals fish to
migrate. This is followed by winter storms which bring peak
flows, moving gravel and sediment, reshaping the channel, and
moving water onto floodplains. Between storms, steady
wet-season baseflows keep the habitat connected, allowing fish
to move, feed, and grow.
… After a near-record-low snowpack and drought-stricken
summer this past year, Denver and nearby cities have been
fighting to make sure residents abide by water restrictions.
Denver Water implemented a restriction cutting off all lawn
watering from Oct. 1 to May 1, 2026, but the real end date
depends on how the weather shakes out this winter. Because
Denver Water provides water to various metro cities, the ban
also applies to Arvada, Lakewood, Littleton and Wheat Ridge.
Denver Water isn’t playing around, either. The agency has
threatened hefty fines if people don’t turn off their
sprinklers and water fixtures. … But residents have been
wondering: Where exactly is that fine money going? And how much
water will a fall watering ban actually save?
A wildflower that grows in both Nevada and California is
growing closer to gaining protections under the Endangered
Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a new legal agreement
over the Tecopa bird’s peak. The Center says the flower grows
in the desert wetlands in Nevada and California and is
threatened by groundwater pumping related to mining,
agriculture and energy development. … One
population of the flower grows in Esmeralda County, where,
according to the Center for Biological Diversity, is where
irrigation for alfalfa has caused a widespread drawdown of
groundwater levels. The agreement sets a date of Sept. 13 2028
for the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a final decision on
whether to list the flower as threatened or endangered.
Arizona has filed to join a lawsuit against the federal
government over its new plan for managing the Colorado River.
The federal plan would cut Colorado River supplies for
Arizona, California and Nevada by about 20% through 2028, and
could cut them by about 40% after that. The lawsuit,
originally filed by Nevada in August, argues that the plan is
too harmful to water users in those states. Arizona
would take the largest cuts under the new federal
plan, and state officials have openly criticized
it. … The lawsuit is not the so-called “nuclear
option” that could bring Colorado River matters before the
Supreme Court. That would likely require one state to sue
another. Arizona has laid out its case to sue if it
determines that upstream states are not sending a
legally-required amount of water downstream, but has
not yet done so.
Following a years-long process that included multiple
workshops, hearings and extensive public input, the State Water
Resources Control Board today released final proposed
amendments to the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta Watershed (Bay-Delta Plan) before considering
the plan for adoption at the end of the month. The proposed
amendments focus on the Sacramento River watershed, Delta
eastside tributaries (including the Calaveras, Cosumnes, and
Mokelumne Rivers), and Delta (referred to as the
Sacramento/Delta). Today’s draft includes
clarifications and minor revisions to the Aug. 18
version that were made based on written comments the
board received during its final written comment period, which
concluded Sept. 18. Oral comments will still be heard before
the board votes whether to adopt the plan at its Oct.
28-29 meeting.
San Diego County on Monday will introduce a former U.S.
diplomat as its first Pollution Crisis Chief, tapping
Bridget Premont to lead its response to the Tijuana
River sewage and pollution crisis as a new study
estimates the crisis could cost the region $7.9 billion over
the next two decades if it is not fixed. Premont will be
introduced at a 1 p.m. news conference at the San Diego County
Administration Center, according to the county.
… According to the county, Premont will coordinate with
federal, state and local agencies to prioritize
planning for local and cross-border infrastructure
upgrades. She will also pursue federal and state
funding, coordinate real-time emergency response when sewage
discharges spike and chair a Sewage Crisis Interdepartmental
Task Force.
A historically strong El Niño is overwhelmingly
predicted to bring a wet winter to California. But new
data suggests the Sierra Nevada snow outlook is more
complicated, and not a guaranteed bonanza. A Chronicle analysis
of three major seasonal forecasting systems points to about
17% less snowfall than normal near Tahoe and Donner
Summit in November and December, followed by roughly
28% more than normal from January through
March. The potential late season boost is even more
pronounced in the Central Sierra, near
Yosemite, where forecast models suggest snowfall
levels nearly 40% above normal from January to
March.
For three decades, developers have tried to build a new town at
the foot of Friant Dam. On Tuesday, Fresno County
supervisors may finally approve one, based on a water plan
built on a claim the federal government says is false.
Friant Ranch is a billion-dollar new town proposal just south
of the community of Friant, aiming to grow to the size of the
city of Fowler. To get through a drought, the county
says, the town can count on a multi-year supply of water stored
in Millerton Lake. But the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
which controls releases from the lake, told Fresnoland that
isn’t so. Water can be held behind the dam for only one
year, not several. … That leaves Friant Ranch’s
water supply in limbo during a multi-year drought like the one
in 2014 and 2015, a Fresnoland investigation shows. If such a
scenario were to happen again, public officials could be
left scrambling to find an emergency water supply for
thousands of people.
… Conservation groups and government agencies are increasing
their use of “starter homes” made of wood and brush to
encourage the creatures to move in and expand upon the initial
structures. Beaver dams slow moving water in a way that
promotes localized year-round availability, creates habitat for
native fish and provides a natural break that slows
wildfires. Proponents hope that by increasing active
beaver dams, the ecosystem will grow more resilient. This is
increasingly vital as climate change and overuse make the U.S.
West drier, experts say. … The structures, known as
beaver dam analogs, are typically built near
existing beaver families to encourage them to “move in” and
customize them. The ultimate goal is to cultivate
thriving beaver populations in key watersheds across both
public and private land in the western U.S.
The first real fall-run salmon season on the Trinity in years
hit a wall on its lower reach, with adult Chinook fishing
closing at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. The California
Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that anglers are
projected to reach the 536-fish adult quota for the stretch
from the Denny Road Bridge at Hawkins Bar downstream to the
Klamath confluence by the end of the day, triggering an
automatic closure there. … The Klamath and Trinity
are managed as quota fisheries this year, with a combined
allowance of roughly 3,200 adult fall-run Chinook spread across
different sections of the two rivers. Filling a sub-quota this
quickly on the Lower Trinity points to real numbers of
fish in the system, which tracks with reports of salmon
spawning in the upper Klamath for the first time in a century
following the 2024 removal of four dams.
Los Banos and Gustine will receive a combined $361,000 for
water infrastructure projects as part of more than $1 million
in grants awarded by the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors
Water Authority. The funding is part of the authority’s
Community Infrastructure Fund, which uses proceeds from its
Conservation Water Transfer Program to support infrastructure
improvements throughout the Central Valley. … Los Banos
will receive $150,000 to study alternative water supply
options. The assessment will focus on reducing the city’s
reliance on groundwater, improving long-term water reliability
and identifying opportunities to make better use of available
water resources. … Gustine was awarded two grants
totaling $211,000 for improvements to its wastewater treatment
facility.
The murky, magnificent Eel River was once a
highway for the Wailaki people, who navigated by canoe and
hauled goods between villages in cone-shaped baskets. But the
tribe was forced out during the Gold Rush and, decades later,
a railroad was built along the river in this verdant
stretch of Humboldt County. Perry Lincoln, whose
grandmother came from one of those villages, today sees another
affront — the Great Redwood Trail, a 307-mile path planned
along the remnants of the long-gone railroad that cuts through
his ancestral land. … Alicia Hamann, executive director
of the nonprofit Friends of the Eel River, is among the
ambivalent. She’s skeptical of bypassing the state
environmental law, but sees the project as perhaps the best bet
to address the railroad’s legacy of pollution and restore fish
habitat. Creosote-soaked rail ties leach toxic chemicals into
the soil, sharp scraps of metal litter the riverbed, and
pollution remains from the timber industry the rail line once
served.
