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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Aquafornia is off for the July 4th holiday and the
following Monday. But we will return with a full slate of news
on Tuesday, July 8.
In the meantime, follow us on X/Twitter where we post
breaking water news, and on Facebook,Instagram and
LinkedIn,
where we post other water-related news.
The team at the Water
Education Foundation wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable
Independence Day!
… Forecasters say it has been a wet start to this year’s
monsoon season, which officially began June 15 and runs through
the end of September. Parts of New Mexico and West Texas have
been doused with rain, while Arizona and Nevada have been hit
with dust storms, which are a common hazard of the season.
… Just ahead of the monsoon, officials with the Navajo
Nation declared an emergency because of worsening drought
conditions across the reservation, which spans parts of New
Mexico, Arizona and Utah. … Forecasters with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the
National Integrated Drought Information System say monsoonal
rainfall only provides a fraction of the West’s water
supplies, with the majority coming from snowpack.
Still, summer rains can reduce drought impacts by lessening the
demand for water stored in reservoirs, recharging soil moisture
and groundwater, and reducing the risk of wildfires.
Harmful “forever chemicals” flow from wastewater treatment
plants into surface water across the U.S., according to a new
report by a clean-water advocacy group. Weekslong sampling by
the Waterkeeper Alliance both upstream and downstream of 22
wastewater treatment facilities in 19 states saw total per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations increase in 95
percent of tested waterways after receiving discharge from the
facilities. … While advanced treatment technology to remove
PFAS from wastewater exists, most facilities do not have it.
None of the 22 facilities included in the study employed PFAS
removal technology, the Waterkeeper Alliance said.
Utah state officials last month approved the creation of a new
city near Moab that has been the focus of intense scrutiny and
controversy, ostensibly paving the way for the new locale in
the outdoor recreation mecca to take shape. … Foes, though,
filed a lawsuit late last week against the project sponsors to
halt development of the new municipality, Echo Canyon, charging
that they don’t have the needed water rights. They also
maintain that the new city, abutting the Colorado
River, would “diametrically change” the character of
the zone. … While the city’s potential impact on the nature
of the area — a major recreational draw in Utah — is a big
point of concern for project critics, the suit, filed last
Friday, June 27, in Utah’s 7th District Court in Moab, focuses
on water rights issues. More specifically,
Kane Creek Development Watch and Living Rivers, the nonprofit
groups behind the suit, charge that the developers’ water
rights have essentially lapsed due to lack of use and the
passage of time.
Tulare Lake was drained by farmers more than a century ago, and
it has reappeared only rarely when floods have reclaimed
farmlands in its ancient lake bed in the San Joaquin Valley.
Now, a coalition of tribal leaders, community activists and
environmental advocates has begun an effort to restore the
lake. They have been discussing a proposal to bring back a
portion of its once-vast waters by building a reservoir fringed
with wetlands on the west side of the valley, within sight of
Interstate 5. … An engineering proposal that was
recently submitted to state officials calls for acquiring
nearly 24,000 acres of farmland near Kettleman City and
building levees to contain the new lake and wetlands. Turning
the proposal into a viable plan, however, would require
addressing various challenges, including securing funds,
acquiring property from landowners and obtaining water that
would consistently flow to the lake.
Residents of a development hundreds of miles north of Kern
County on Saturday approved a massive water rate hike in hopes
of appeasing a local agency that has provided them water for
the past 24 years under a convoluted exchange deal. They will
go from paying about $200 a month for the base connection fee
to $568 a month. The money will go to the Western Hills Water
District so it can repay the Kern County Water Agency a debt of
$13 million that KCWA says it owes in unpaid water charges.
KCWA had said it would cut off supplies to Western Hills, which
serves the Diablo Grande development in the foothills west of
Patterson, by June 30 if residents didn’t agree to the rate
hike. But on June 26, KCWA board members, apparently in closed
session, extended that deadline to Sept. 30 to allow Western
Hills to “develop an alternate supply,” according to a letter
KCWA sent Western Hills on June 27.
… On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills
that scale back CEQA—curtailing local power to stop urban
development, and particularly housing, on environmental
grounds. After more than a decade of reform talk, the state’s
housing and homelessness crisis has finally prompted an
overhaul of a development procedure that a state study compared
to “urban warfare—contested block by block, building by
building.” CEQA reform is not really a defeat for
environmentalism—as the New York Times insisted on framing it.
Rather, it reflects a 21st-century understanding of the
environmental movement, one that recognizes that an existing
neighborhood is the greenest place for housing to be built. (Of
note, one of the bills also permits a variety of non-housing
stuff to be built in cities without environmental review,
including day cares, food banks, water
infrastructure, and critically, “advanced
manufacturing” plants, in industrial zones.)
… In December, the Biden administration awarded a $20 million
Community Change grant designed to help disadvantaged
communities address environmental and climate justice
challenges to the nonprofit Community Water Center, founded 20
years ago to help underserved rural communities without access
to clean drinking water. … But the project barely had a
chance to get off the ground. On May 1, the same day
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin
claimed the Trump administration was “ensuring America has the
cleanest air, land and water on the planet,” the EPA canceled
the Community Water Center’s grant. Now, community
organizations are scrambling to find ways to fill the
gap. The State Water Resources Control Board really came
through for the first phase of the project. …. State funding
will allow about 400 residents to get safe drinking water by
upgrading the Springfield Water System, which has struggled
with unsafe levels of nitrates and the cancer-causing chemical
1,2,3-trichloropropane, or 1,2,3-TCP, a contaminant in
pesticides.
At the beginning of the year, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs
introduced a plan to conserve shrinking rural groundwater
supplies. But that, and similar efforts, died in the
GOP-controlled Legislature. In rural areas of the state, many
communities rely on dwindling groundwater supplies where there
are no restrictions on water pumping. Rural Republicans stood
with Hobbs in January when she announced her plan to address
the problem by creating rural management areas around
endangered groundwater basins where pumping would be
restricted. But it didn’t get consideration by legislative
Republicans. Hobbs said Tuesday she hasn’t given up. “We made
progress and we’ve clearly shown the support for this kind of
legislation exists across the state and that rural Arizonans
want something done and we’ll continue to find a way to get
that done,” she said.
Fishing fans, here’s your chance to cast a line for a good
cause—and maybe reel in some prize money while you’re at it.
The Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing Derby is now underway, running
from July 1 through August 31, and organizers are inviting
anglers of all ages to join in. The idea? Catch as many
non-native Sacramento pikeminnow as you can from the Eel River
system and submit your catch for a chance to win part of $2,500
in cash prizes. … So why target Sacramento pikeminnow?
Although they’re native to parts of California, pikeminnow were
introduced into the Eel River in the 1970s, where they now pose
a serious threat to native fish. As voracious predators,
pikeminnow eat native salmonids and lamprey—both already under
pressure from habitat loss, drought, and climate change.
Reducing pikeminnow numbers can help protect these struggling
native populations.
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved another
increase to the contract for the Lithium Valley Specific Plan
on Tuesday, July 1, adding more than $170,000 to the project’s
budget as both costs and frustrations continue to climb. The
board’s carrying vote brings the total contract amount to just
over $3.2 million. … The project, funded through Senate
Bill 125, includes the development of the Lithium Valley
Specific Plan, a Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, and
a supporting infrastructure assessment for the area surrounding
the Salton Sea’s southern edge. State
lawmakers approved $5 million for Imperial County in 2022 to
help prepare for lithium and renewable energy development in
the region. … In addition to the traffic modeling, Dudek
completed a hydrogeological study earlier this year to evaluate
groundwater availability and potential impacts
from industrial development in the area.
President Donald Trump’s push to expand domestic oil and gas
production may bring new drilling to California’s Central Coast
— including parts of Santa Barbara County. More than
400,000 acres of federal land — managed by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and stretching from Fresno to Ventura counties
— are now being eyed for new oil and gas leasing and
development, as the president calls for “Unleashing American
Energy.” … The BLM announcement itself acknowledged that
preliminary issues may include, but are not limited to,
negative effects on air and water quality and
untold impacts on “special status species, archaeology, oil and
gas resources, and social and economic conditions.” However, it
also noted that resuming oil and gas leasing may “provide for
additional economic growth and jobs associated with the oil and
gas development within the planning area” as well as generate
additional revenues from oil and gas production.
The National Park service is warning people about swimming or
boating in Lake Powell over the holiday weekend. The department
is advising people to be extra cautious of algae blooms after
cyanotoxins were detected in the water of the Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area. Cyanotoxins are toxins produced by
blue-green algae in water. These algae blooms
can cause symptoms from mild rashes to serve illness. Lake
Powell was deemed at the high end of safe exposure by the
National Parks Service, but officials still advise people to
take precautions when in or around the water. Visitors are
advised to not go boating in scummy water or areas with algae
blooms. Officials say to clean and drain boats and gear when
done. Officials also advise against swimming in murky or algae
filled water.
United Water Conservation District (UWCD) recently completed
the first phase of its Laguna Road Pipeline Project, bringing
it one step closer to replacing groundwater as the primary
source for agricultural irrigation. This new interconnection
links Pleasant Valley County Water District’s (PVCWD)
infrastructure with UWCD’s Pumping Trough Pipeline (PTP) System
to deliver recycled water and help conserve local water
resources. … The $7.9 million project, supported by
nearly $5 million in grants, has been in development since 2022
and is being completed in two phases: first, the recent
construction of approximately 3,300 linear feet of pipeline
north of Laguna Road; and second, the upcoming installation of
a new booster pump station to expand the use of recycled
water.
Beavers have a habit of building dams and burrowing into banks.
That behavior can cause flooding and damage to infrastructure.
But in the right place and with the right process, those same
habits can make beavers powerful allies in ecological
restoration. That’s why Arizona Game and Fish Department
(AZGFD) biologists are testing a beaver translocation protocol
to turn problem beavers into habitat helpers. … The
first beaver to go through the new protocol was a female
trapped at the Arlington Wildlife Area where she was causing
land management issues. … Once the beaver had a clean bill of
health and a GPS tracker, she was released into southern
Arizona’s Lower San Pedro River Wildlife Area. The beaver
quickly adapted to her new surroundings, making the beaver dam
analog structures and an artificial lodge constructed by AZGFD
biologists her home –– and her own. … The beaver’s
efforts will build on the work that AZGFD biologists have been
doing to improve the area for the past two years.
The Trump administration wants to zero out climate research at
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
according to a newly released budget document. The
document calls for no funding to go to the agency’s climate
laboratories or regional climate data and information. It also
wants to zero out research at NOAA’s weather research program
and weather laboratories, as well as its tornado and severe
storm research. The budget document also calls for a shutdown
of weather and climate laboratories around the country,
including a lab in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, that tracks greenhouse
gas emissions and another in Miami whose research includes
hurricane studies. Overall, the document calls for
reducing the agency’s full-time staff by 2,061 people when
compared with fiscal 2024, a 17 percent cut.
Other climate research and weather forecasting news:
Colorado’s top water board unanimously agreed Tuesday to hear
out Front Range water operators’ concerns about a Western Slope
plan to purchase historic Colorado River water rights. The
Colorado River Water Conservation District, which represents 15
Western Slope counties, negotiated a $99 million deal to
purchase water rights tied to the century-old Shoshone Power
Plant, owned by a subsidiary of Xcel Energy. The River
District and the Front Range groups — Aurora Water, Denver
Water, Colorado Springs Utilities and Northern Water — all want
to maintain the historical flows past Shoshone to provide
predictable water supplies long into the future. They mainly
disagree about the amount of water involved. Front Range
providers say, if the number is too high, it could hamper their
ability to provide water to millions of people.
The Golden State’s tug-of-war between environmental advocacy
and a worsening housing crisis came to a head Monday evening
when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills that will
overhaul the landmark California Environmental Quality Act in
an effort to ease new construction in the state. The two pieces
of legislation, Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131, were
linchpins in the approval of a proposed $320-billion annual
state budget deal; the governor’s signature was conditional on
their passage. … “Today’s bill is a game changer,
which will be felt for generations to come,” the governor said
in a statement. Development experts agreed, saying it is among
the most significant reforms to CEQA in its 55-year history.
But its passage sparked fierce backlash from environmental
groups who say it marks a sweeping reversal of essential
protections for the state’s most vulnerable landscapes,
wildlife and communities.
California growers get the first news about how much water they
will get for their operations (each) year in late
February. … In over half of the past 24 years
… allocation updates — usually slight increases, but not
always — trickle in each month through the end of
June. … At the end of May, when the allocation for
South-of-Delta agricultural contractors went up from 50% to
55%, Allison Febbo, general manager for the Westlands Water
District, called the increase appreciated but disappointing
given the situation. The situation? Almost all of California’s
reservoirs were at or above their historic average levels at
the time. … “We’re looking at the various regulations on how
we can move water through the Central Valley Project to make
sure that, whenever we are cutting water supplies, it has a
meaningful benefit,” she says.
On a recent sunny Monday morning, 85-year-old Doug Brown pulled
up to a breakfast joint in Willits in his white pickup. Bold
white letters on the tinted camper shell window spelled out
“Water Witcher,” with Brown’s phone number written just below.
Inside the truck was a quiver of wire rods, each tipped with
different metals or materials, to be used for Brown’s practice
of an archaic tradition: water dowsing. In an age defined by
dry spells and dwindling resources, an unlikely group continues
to quietly deploy their centuries-old practice in search of
water. Called dowsers, water witchers or diviners, members of
this eclectic guild claim they can locate the Earth’s hidden
reservoirs using primitive technology and intuition, all for a
price.
