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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Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to accelerate his
administration’s plan to build a $20-billion water tunnel
beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
by short-cutting permitting for the project and limiting
avenues for legal challenges. Newsom urged the Legislature on
Wednesday to adopt his plan to “fast-track” the tunnel, called
the Delta Conveyance Project, as part of his
revised May budget proposal. …The tunnel would create a
second route to transport water to the state’s pumping
facilities on the south side of the Delta, where supplies enter
the aqueducts of the State Water Project and are delivered to
27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland.
… Newsom said his proposal would: simplify permitting by
eliminating certain deadlines from water rights permits; narrow
legal review to avoid delays from legal challenges; confirm
that the state has authority to issue bonds to pay for the
project, which would be repaid by water agencies; and
accelerate state efforts to acquire land for construction.
The Trump administration is preparing to announce its pick to
head the Bureau of Reclamation, a crucial position in deciding
the future of the Colorado River, a White House spokesperson
told the Arizona Republic. … The White House
expects to announce its nominee for Reclamation Commissioner in
a matter of weeks, according to the spokesperson. The nominee
will go through what could be a months-long process to be
confirmed by the Senate before taking office. … Trump’s
reclamation commissioner could be the only person on his
appointed Colorado River team who comes from the river basin
itself. So far, two of the three major federal officials who
most affect the Colorado River — Burgum and Travnicek — are
from outside the basin.
The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it
plans to weaken limits on some so-called forever chemicals in
drinking water that were finalized last year, while maintaining
standards for two common ones. The Biden administration set the
first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl
and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding that they increased the
risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies
being born with low birth weight. Those limits on PFAS, which
are man-made and don’t easily break down in nature, were
expected to be reduced in drinking water for millions of
people. Limits on three types of PFAS, including so-called GenX
substances found in North Carolina, will be scrapped and
reconsidered by the agency, as will a limit on a mixture of
several types of PFAS.
Central Valley water regulators want the world’s largest winery
to stop using its wastewater on local crops — a decades-old
waste management practice — because it’s threatening Fresno’s
drinking water supply. The Central Valley Water Regional
Quality Control Board issued a tentative Cease and Desist Order
to E. & J. Gallo Winery in March for allegedly violating 2015
waste discharge requirements. … The stipulated order
says the winery at Olive and Clovis avenues is “threatening to
adversely impact groundwater beneath the Facility.”
Specifically, Gallo’s practice of applying some of its
untreated wastewater from the grape crush and press process
directly to 400 acres of local cropland has resulted in
concentrations of nitrate and other contaminants above
allowable levels. The city of Fresno is directly impacted by
the winery’s wastewater practices because it relies on
groundwater downgradient of the winery for its municipal
drinking water.
… Deep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the sprawling federal agency charged
with monitoring and conserving fish stocks, managing coastal
waters, and predicting changes in climate, weather, and the
oceans—which commercial fishers rely on for day-to-day as well
as seasonal forecasts—threaten the long-term viability of
America’s $183 billion commercial fishing industry and the 1.6
million jobs it supports. … NOAA’s National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) staff, who oversee commercial fishing
and some recreational fisheries, is set to be slashed by nearly
30 percent. The NMFS assesses and predicts the status of
fish stocks, sets catch limits or quotas, and ensures
compliance with fisheries regulations, working collaboratively
with state environmental agencies, the fishing industry, and
other federal agencies.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, is part of a bipartisan bill
to unlock federal funding for water infrastructure in the West.
Working alongside U.S. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Kelly has
introduced the Restoring WIFIA Eligibility Act. It’s part of
efforts by their states, Washington state and California to get
federal dollars. Established in 2014, the Water Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) created a program to provide
credit assistance to wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater
projects, both public and private. With terms that included
low, fixed-interest rates and repayment schedules, WIFIA loans
allowed applicants to draw funds when needed. Still,
Kelly’s office said “certain interpretations of the program”
created hurdles for any projects with federal involvement.
That, said the senator, made them ineligible for WIFIA loans
because of language that made them available only to
non-federal borrowers.
Mexico recently paid a small portion of the water it owes the
United States under a 1944 international treaty. A total of
56,750 acre-feet of water was paid via “a transfer of ownership
in Amistad Dam” on April 30, Frank Fisher, spokesman for U.S.
Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission told
Border Report on Wednesday. … The additional water
increase brings the U.S. capacity at Amistad Reservoir to
21.95%, that’s up a point from a month ago, according to data
sent Tuesday from Rio Grande Watermaster Georgina Bermea in an
email to shareholders and obtained by Border Report. … With
this water transfer, Mexico has paid over 603,000 acre-feet of
water so far this five-year cycle, according to IBWC data.
However, under the treaty, Mexico owes the United States 1.75
million acre-feet by October, leaving just six months to pay
the remaining 1.14 million acre-feet of water.
Several parcels in southwestern Utah are getting a close look
as conservation advocates warn of the proposed sale of some
federal lands to local governments that mirror the path of a
disputed water pipeline project. Environmental groups are
monitoring congressional action on an amendment that would
allow the city of St. George and other local governments to buy
about 10,000 acres of federal lands. Water managers, too, are
keeping close tabs on the legislation but say the land in
question is needed for other projects for the growing desert
region, unrelated to the long-delayed Lake Powell pipeline. The
scattered parcels — part of a broader amendment inserted into
the House GOP’s tax, energy and national security megabill that
would mandate the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres of
public lands — have drawn interest because the sites align with
the proposed route of the pipeline that would draw Colorado
River water to St. George.
A new economic analysis by UC professors shows the high cost of
inaction on California’s perpetual water supply challenges. It
estimates that the state could lose enough water each year to
supply up to 9 million households — with economic losses
totaling between $3.4 and $14.5 billion per year, depending on
the severity of the scenario. The study, “Inaction’s Economic
Cost for California’s Water Supply Challenges,” builds on prior
research showing that California’s total water supply is on
track to shrink by 12–25% by 2050, a loss of up to 9 million
acre-feet per year, equivalent to one or two Lake
Shastas. The new report emphasizes that without
coordinated state action, these reductions could result in 3
million acres of fallowed farmland, 67,000 lost jobs, and
lasting damage to California’s agricultural and rural
communities.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will make a water policy
announcement Thursday with members of Arizona’s congressional
delegation, the agency said Wednesday. The event will feature
Arizona Republican Reps. Andy Biggs and Rep. Paul Gosar and
take place at EPA headquarters. It will include a “signing
ceremony,” the agency said. … EPA previously held a
water policy announcement and signing ceremony with officials
from West Virginia. At that event, EPA granted the
state’s request for authority over carbon dioxide injection
wells, which are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Arizona has also applied for that same authority from EPA.
The Salton Sea is a haven for wildlife, a repository of
critical minerals and the site of some of the worst
environmental and economic conditions in California. The
contrast between its natural riches and its impoverished
population has sharpened as companies seek to mine vast
deposits of lithium, a mineral used to make batteries for
electric cars, computers and cellphones. “Today, the Salton Sea
region stands at a critical juncture with a chance to become a
major domestic supplier of lithium,” state Sen. Steve Padilla,
who represents parts of Riverside, Imperial and San Diego
counties, recently told the Senate Committee on Business,
Professions and Economic Development. The Chula Vista Democrat
wants to give the region a bigger say in how it grows amid the
projected lithium boom. His bill, SB 534, would create a “green
empowerment zone” around the sea that would govern how to use
public money, invest in local communities and support the
transition to a renewable energy economy.
The Vacaville City Council decided not to raise water rates for
the time being, as councilmembers railed against a state
mandate to lower levels of toxic hexavalent chromium (Chromium
6) in the city’s water supply. On a 6-0 vote Tuesday night, the
council directed staff to pursue alternatives and bring the
decision back to the council at a later date. … The council
accepted 1,110 written protests from the community, but more
than 16,000 would have been needed to override the council’s
ability to vote in accordance with state law. … The vote
went against city staff’s recommendation to increase rates, as
the city cannot continue to pay for its water system at the
current rates. Even without state mandates to reduce the level
of Chromium 6 in the water supply, the city would need to
increase rates, according to Utilities Director Justen Cole and
Chris Fischer of Wildan Financial Services, an outside firm
hired to help the city conduct an assessment of its rates.
Dozens of families in the San Antonio Mobile Home Park in
Thermal are celebrating a life-changing milestone that many
people take for granted: safe, clean running water in their
homes. After nearly three decades of living without reliable
access to clean water, residents can now turn on their taps
without fear. For years, they relied on bottled water,
makeshift plumbing, and daily workarounds because of dangerous
arsenic levels in the groundwater and years of alleged neglect
by former park owners. The long-overdue project was made
possible through grassroots activism and collaboration between
the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Pueblo Unido, and the
Coachella Valley Water District. Recently, five new water
meters and essential infrastructure upgrades were installed in
the park as part of a nearly $30 million effort that took
almost 20 years to complete.
… For decades, people incarcerated at Mule Creek have raised
the alarm about the prison’s drinking water. Reporting from
inside Mule Creek State Prison, with interviews and surveys
from nearly 100 people—including currently incarcerated,
formerly incarcerated, loved ones of the incarcerated, and
former prison staff—and a review of thousands of pages of
records, reveals troubling concerns and observations of the
prison’s water quality for the last 20 years. … Despite
this litany of warning signs, including repeated complaints and
lawsuits, the prison has deferred responsibility. California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials say the
local water company is responsible for ensuring the water is
safe; the water company says state regulators are responsible;
regulators say it’s the prison’s responsibility. All the while,
incarcerated people at Mule Creek have no choice but to drink
it.
Arizona is doing its part and taking its hits to conserve the
Colorado River, Gov. Katie Hobbs said, and it’s time for
upstream states to do the same. The governor assembled a
roundtable of water users and officials on May 13 to present
what she called a unified front among the state’s interests in
defending Arizona’s share of the Colorado River as time runs
short for reaching a deal with other states that use the
water. … Gathered at Central Arizona Project
headquarters with representatives of cities, tribes, farms and
hydropower interests — all reliant on the river water that
flowing into the CAP’s canal — Hobbs said the state seeks a
compromise. Otherwise, supplies could become subject to
litigation, an outcome she said she’s preparing for in part by
seeking a legal fund from legislators.
Governor Newsom today announced, as part of his May Revise, a
significant proposal to streamline one of California’s most
important water management and climate adaptation projects, the
Delta Conveyance Project,
advancing much-needed and long-overdue improvements to the
State Water Project. … No piece of infrastructure is
more fundamental to California’s water supply and economic
success than the State Water Project. It captures, moves, and
stores water used by 27 million people and 750,000 acres of
farmland. If the service area of the State Water Project were
its own country, its economy would rank eighth largest in the
world, generating $2.3 trillion in goods and services
annually.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it
plans to rescind and reconsider limits on four different
“forever chemicals” under a landmark drinking water standard
implemented last year by President Joe Biden. The drinking
water rules were adopted as part of the Biden administration’s
efforts to limit public exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS), hazardous chemicals linked to a range of
serious illnesses. The original rule covered six common PFAS
contaminants, including PFOA, a known human carcinogen, and
PFOS, a likely carcinogen. The EPA estimates that more
than 158 million Americans are exposed to PFAS through their
drinking water. The agency plans to maintain current rules for
PFOA and PFOS, though it will extend the deadline for
compliance from 2029 to 2031.
A reduction in state funding for a Visalia-based nonprofit is
creating a lot of angst among groundwater agencies and
prompting hushed conversations about who should get the bill
when domestic wells go dry. The issue is highly sensitive as
the state Water Resources Control Board holds both the purse
strings to fund emergency water responses and the hammer over
agencies trying to get groundwater plans approved under the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
Most south San Joaquin Valley groundwater sustainability
agencies (GSAs) have created programs funded by growers to
address domestic well issues caused by overpumping. And they’ve
contracted with Self-Help Enterprises, the
south valley’s go-to nonprofit for contaminated or dry wells,
to run those programs.
Groups trying to bring water back to the dry Kern River bed
through Bakersfield have petitioned the California Supreme
Court to review an appeals court decision that knocked down an
order that had kept flows going for a few months last year.
… The main lawsuit, filed in 2022, is still ongoing with
a trial date set in December. That suit seeks to force
Bakersfield to study its river operations under the Public
Trust Doctrine, which requires water be put to the highest
public benefit, including environmental protection and public
access. The action seeking Supreme Court review involves a
preliminary injunction issued in late 2023 that mandated
Bakersfield keep enough water in the river to keep fish in good
condition per California Fish and Game Code Section 5937.
Agricultural water districts with river rights appealed that
injunction. The 5th District Court of
Appeal overturned it in April stating.
Spiraling dangers from a dried-up Great Salt Lake would
gradually spread well beyond its shores, a study warns,
eventually threatening Utahns’ health and economic well-being.
Not only does the prospect of a dried lake bed menace one of
the West’s cornerstone ecosystems, but the effects of its
collapse for the Wasatch Front also could pose rising risks to
public health, quality of life and the very economic viability
of the state’s most populous area, a new legal analysis
finds. Scholars with the Wallace Stegner Center at the
University of Utah‘s S.J. Quinney College of Law posit what
they call “the unthinkable” — a desiccated Great Salt
Lake-turned-Great Salt Dust Bowl, disruptive of weather
patterns and capable of spewing heavy-metal-laden dust over the
region.
