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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 Nevada Today (University of Nevada, Reno)

University of Nevada, Reno helps farmers in nation’s driest state meet water challenges

A doctoral student and his professor at the University of Nevada, Reno spend long hours at their computers, using highly sophisticated satellite data to create a map of the underground water resources in Nevada. … [A] specialist with the University’s Extension unit supports alfalfa farmers with new practices that use less water. … It’s all part of efforts by researchers, students and outreach specialists with the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources to help the driest state in the nation … by focusing on the discovery and implementation of practices that ensure the best-possible uses of Nevada’s limited water resources.

Other agricultural water use news:

Aquafornia news Desert Research Institute

News release: NSF grant awarded to research the chemistry of post-fire soil water repellency

A significant knowledge gap exists in understanding the post-fire soil chemical processes that lead to soil water repellency and, consequently, increase the risk of post-fire hazards such as floods and landslides. To help address this, DRI Associate Research Professor Vera Samburova and Postdoctoral Researcher Yan Wen were recently awarded a National Science Foundation grant to study the chemistry of post-fire soil water repellency. The research will address this knowledge gap by identifying the dominant organic chemical compounds and functional groups that cause post-fire soil water repellency. The three-year project began this month.

Aquafornia news Monterey Herald (Calif.)

Rep. Panetta reintroduces bill for Monterey Bay National Heritage Area

With the ultimate goal of preserving historic and environmental treasures along the Monterey Bay and surrounding areas, the Monterey Bay National Heritage Area Study Act has been authored and reintroduced by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, which could also see the designation strengthen local economies and communities. This legislation would direct the National Park Service to initiate a comprehensive study on whether the coastal communities surrounding the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary qualify for designation as a National Heritage Area.

Aquafornia news The Colorado Sun (Denver)

How drought is affecting this fall’s color show in Colorado

… A dismal snowpack followed by a warm spring with short bursts of precipitation put the aspens and other trees in distress, dimming the glow of Colorado’s seasonal color show in many parts of the state. … If there’s enough sugar trapped in the leaves, some will turn a purplish-red. This year, that wasn’t the case for many aspen strands because the trees were stressed for water and struggling to keep the metabolic process going. … Farther west, where the extreme drought conditions persisted through the summer, more leaves have browned edges.

Other drought impact news:

Aquafornia news Aspen Daily News (Colo.)

New report identifies at-risk Colorado lands

A new report commissioned by Wilderness Workshop identifies 10 landscapes across western Colorado where wildlife habitat, migration corridors and clean water are at risk. The Crystal River, Thompson Divide, Red Table Mountain Ridge and the Colorado River Valley … made the list. In the 10 areas, rivers, forests and open spaces that supply drinking water, sustain wildlife and anchor the state’s outdoor economy are facing increasing threats by “extractive development and short-sighted policy decisions,” according to the Wild for Good report, officially released today on the eve of National Public Lands Day, which is Saturday.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news The San Diego Union-Tribune

Friends of Rose Creek log birds, plants for Biodiversity Day

On a gloomy Saturday morning in Pacific Beach, Friends of Rose Creek executive director Karin Zirk awaited participants for the California Biodiversity Day BioBlitz. As locals trickled in, the Sept. 13 morning’s activities got underway, with cameras out, snapping images of birds and plants. … With participants hailing from Pacific Beach and across San Diego County, Friends of Rose Creek’s primary goal is to connect those involved with the natural environment and inform the public on the importance of clean water systems. … Using the mobile app iNaturalist, participants snapped images of birds, plants, trees and shrubs along the salt marsh section of the creek and uploaded them to the app. 

Aquafornia news Complete Colorado

Commentary: Private property versus ‘right to float’ in Colorado

… Colorado treats the [right-to-float] issue differently than many other states. In some, rivers and streambeds are considered public land, but in Colorado and several others, the waters belong to the people while streambeds belong to adjacent landowners. … So, in Colorado the water is public, but not the land under it. Thus, wading, anchoring, and portaging around obstructions on private land may be trespassing. Public access for floating is well established in Colorado. … This creates an uneasy balance between that public right and the rights of private property owners that can only be addressed through a case-by-case mediated process, which was formalized in 2010. 

Aquafornia news CalMatters

Thursday Top of the Scroll: California lawmakers wanted to get tough on data centers. Here’s what survived

… If signed into law, Assembly Bill 93 will require data center operators to share with their water supplier how much water they estimate they will consume when they apply for or renew a business license or permit. It also directs state agencies to develop water use efficiency guidelines and best practices for data centers. … The same Big Tech groups that are fighting the consumer cost bill are also opposed to the water legislation, saying sharing water use data could divulge trade secrets and harm the competitive edge of businesses. … Roughly 17 data center projects planned in California as of May are in areas where water stress is high or extremely high, according to reporting by Bloomberg.

Other data center water news:

Aquafornia news CBS Colorado (Denver)

Strategy for battling the zebra mussel invasion in Colorado starts to shift

Now that Colorado’s zebra mussel problem has been confirmed in the Colorado River, the strategy for fighting the invasion has started to shift. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it won’t try chemical treatments on the river as they’ve done in the past with Highline Lake, one of the first spots CPW found the mussels. It believes the risks that could bring to native fish, along with the sheer scale of the waterway make that impossible. Instead, the focus now is on containing the spread and keeping mussels out of other lakes and reservoirs.

Other invasive species news:

Aquafornia news SJV Water (Bakersfield, Calif.)

‘Brutal’ groundwater plan may be only path forward for Tulare County growers

Farmers in southeastern Tulare County left hanging after their old groundwater agency disintegrated have new leadership but their path forward will not be easy. … The new Tule East GSA was created from lands left behind as water districts fled the Eastern Tule GSA. The exodus began after the state Water Resources Control Board put the region on probation in 2024 and specifically called out Eastern Tule for continued subsidence and what it said were “alarming” groundwater accounting methods. … As Eastern Tule fell apart, a new organization had to take on responsibility for those white lands. [Mike] George, a representative of Ducor Water District, was sworn in as chair of the new GSA Sept. 15 with about 20 landowners in attendance. 

Other groundwater news:

Aquafornia news NASA Science

Blog: NASA data powers new tool to protect water supply after fires

When wildfires scorch a landscape, the flames are just the beginning. NASA is helping communities across the nation foresee and prepare for what can follow: mudslides, flash flooding, and contaminated surface water supplies. A new online tool called HydroFlame, built with support from NASA’s Earth Science Division, relies on satellite data, hydrologic modeling, and artificial intelligence to predict how wildfires could affect water resources, from tap water to the rivers and streams where people fish. 

Aquafornia news ABC News

Some US streams and rivers facing severe declines in fish populations, new study suggests

The composition of fish populations in streams and rivers across the U.S. has been severely altered as a result of changing water temperatures and human-driven introductions of fish, according to new research. Cold-water streams have experienced disproportionate impacts, experiencing more than a 50% decrease in fish abundance over the last three decades, according to a study published Wednesday in Nature. Some of the largest threats include climate change and fish introductions — both by invasive species or game fish stocking, scientists say.

Related article:

Aquafornia news Colorado Politics (Denver)

Ted Cooke reflects on turmoil over his nomination to Bureau of Reclamation

Ted Cooke, the former nominee for commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, called the decision to scuttle his nomination “feckless.” President Donald Trump had nominated Cooke, the former director of the Central Arizona Project, in June to head the bureau. … Cooke was an integral part of the negotiations in the Colorado River’s 2019 Drought Contingency Plan, an agreement among all seven Colorado River basin states that aimed to protect water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. … Cooke’s nomination was greeted with applause from the Lower Basin states, and a certain amount of skepticism from the Upper Basin states.

Other Colorado River Basin news:

Aquafornia news KCRA (Sacramento, Calif.)

Stockton City Council opposes Delta tunnel project

The Stockton City Council voted to formally oppose the state of California’s Delta Conveyance Project, known as the Delta Tunnel, due to concerns about water quality and environmental impacts. The city resolution states that the project would degrade water quality for the Stockton region, threaten fish and wildlife, increase harmful algae blooms, and increase salinity intrusion in the Delta. … However, the state says the project is needed to ensure the safety of drinking water for millions of people.

Other Delta tunnel news:

Aquafornia news The Independent (Livermore, Calif.)

Fish passage project in the Sunol Valley moves toward finish line by end of year

Major construction on the Sunol Valley Fish Passage Project, an effort intended to restore fish passage and ecological function in the upper Alameda Creek, is expected to be completed this year. The project involves the removal of an existing Sunol Valley concrete erosion-control mat, which is protecting a 36-inch pipeline, L303, owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). … Removal of this final major barrier in the mainstem Alameda Creek was driven by decades of work by the Alameda Creek Alliance and the Alameda Creek Fisheries Restoration Workgroup to complete 16 other fish-passage projects.

Other fish conservation news:

Aquafornia news E&E News by Politico

Interior grant recipients report an abrupt loss of funding

The Interior Department has stopped dozens of environment-related grants to at least two nonprofit groups, recipients said Wednesday. Interior agencies including the Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management stunned two organizations — California Trout and the Institute for Applied Ecology — on Tuesday with the declaration that their grants were canceled. California Trout has received 28 FWS grants since fiscal 2014, according to a federal spending database. … All seven of California Trout’s active grants were axed.

Other Interior Department news:

Aquafornia news Courthouse News Service

California to consider protections for western spadefoot

A conservation group on Wednesday formally petitioned for the western spadefoot frog to receive protection under California’s Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for federal protection for two frog populations separated by Southern California’s Transverse Ranges. … The frogs depend on vernal pool complexes, which are temporary wetlands connected to upland grasslands or shrublands. Vernal pools are depressions in a forest that hold water for part of each year, supporting species like the western spadefoot. According to the center, more than 90% of these pools have been lost to urban development, intensive agriculture and roads. 

Related article:

Aquafornia news The Circle: Native American News and Arts (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Commentary: Sometimes we win some

I recently spoke with seventeen-year-old Keeya Wiki about the first descent of the Klamath River, a 263-mile river in Oregon and California. Keeya, who is Yurok and Māori, was one of thirty youth who kayaked the river for the first time in one hundred years. She reminded me of what it feels like when you protect something sacred. In 2024, four dams came down on the Klamath River, the largest dam removal in U.S. history, and the river was free. The youth trained for the descent on white waters throughout the region, and even in Chile, to make sure they were safe. Then this summer they joined the river and traveled for a month of freedom, joy, and renewal.

Other Klamath River news:

Aquafornia news Voice of San Diego

City staff deflect blame away from Pure Water before San Diego’s big water rate vote

As the San Diego City Council prepares to make major water rate hikes, city staff clearly want weary councilmembers to blame the San Diego County Water Authority and not the wastewater recycling project the city is building. … On Friday, city Public Utilities staff released a new cost analysis that showed how Pure Water, a multi-billion-dollar wastewater recycling project, could produce cheaper water than what the San Diego County Water Authority provides. The city’s new Pure Water numbers are the latest jab at the Water Authority over growing water prices.

Other water management news:

Aquafornia news NPR

California is seeing a spike in cases of Valley Fever

California is seeing a spike in cases valley fever — an illness spread by fungal spores. Researchers speculate the rise is tied to patterns of drought and precipitation. … [Gail Sondermeyer Cooksey, epidemiologist at the California Department of Public Health:] When we see prolonged drought followed by heavy winter rains, we see these surges in Valley Fever in the years that follow. … There is a lot of concern that changes in climate and environment are going to lead to these diseases occurring more in the state of California, but also elsewhere in the United States.