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.
On Wednesday, June 11, the U.S. Senate released a provision in
President Trump’s H.R.1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act that calls
for the sale of approximately 2.2 million to 3.3 million acres
of federal land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service.
… According to the tax and spending bill, lands in
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New
Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming could be sold off
for energy and/or housing development over the next five years.
… The Greater Yellowstone Coalition wrote via press
release that the privatization of federal lands could lead to
the loss of public access, negatively impact local economies
and result in development that harms wildlife habitat and
water resources. “Our national public lands
are not a luxury, they’re our legacy,” Greater Yellowstone
Coalition Executive Director Scott Christensen wrote. “These
are outdoor spaces that connect us to each other, fuel the
economies of western states and provide clean drinking water to
millions of Americans downstream.”
During the first semiannual meeting of the North American
Development Bank (NADBank) in 2025, the Governments of the
United States and Mexico, through the Board of
Directors, agreed to invest up to US$400 million in
priority water conservation and diversification infrastructure
in response to prolonged drought conditions throughout the
U.S.-Mexico border region. NADBank will welcome input from the
public on the Water Resilience Fund (WRF) during a 30-day
public comment period, after which the Board will consider its
final approval. Through the WRF, NADBank will allocate up
to US$100 million in retained earnings over the next five years
for concessional financing, as well as make up to US$300
million available for low-interest loans from its established
lending resources. NADBank may also supplement these
instruments with market-rate financing to further expand the
reach and impact of available resources.
… Since Trump returned to the White House in January, his
administration has fired or let go hundreds of climate and
weather scientists — and cut ties to hundreds more who work in
academia or the private sector. His team has eliminated major
climate programs, frozen or cut grants for climate research and
moved to shutter EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program. The
Trump administration has slow-walked climate-related contracts
— including one for the upkeep of two polar weather satellites.
And it’s begun to wall off the United States from international
climate cooperation. … (H)is budget strategy calls for
even deeper cuts in the months and years ahead. That includes
billions of dollars in cuts to climate and weather research at
NOAA and NASA, widely considered two of the world’s top science
agencies. All told, it’s an unprecedented assault on
humanity’s understanding of how global warming is transforming
the planet, scientists say.
… Data centers are central to the internet’s environmental
impact. While they consume a lot of electrical energy, massive
amounts of water and have harmful pollutants, those levels have
been relatively stable in the past decade. … Since AI servers
run much hotter than a typical server, they require much more
water for cooling. In 2023, Google’s data centers consumed over
23 billion liters of freshwater for cooling its servers; for
context, that’s just one billion liters shy of PepsiCo.’s
reported overall freshwater consumption for the same
year. … AI’s environmental impact has been a topic of
increasing concern for researchers like Ren and Mohammad Islam,
a computer science and engineering professor at the University
of Texas, Arlington, who co-authored a paper on “making AI less
thirsty.” “GPT-3 needs to ‘drink’ (i.e., consume) a 500ml
bottle of water for roughly 10 to 50 medium-length responses,
depending on when and where it is deployed,” Ren and Islam’s
paper reports.
… Eastern San Joaquin County, like the rest of the Central
Valley, is facing an uncertain future due to the looming state
groundwater mandate that requires basins not
to pump more water from an aquifer than is replenished in a
given year. It is safe to say Milton will feel the pain
when it comes big time. To prevent a similar fate, the SSJID
has developed a long range water plan critical in its fight to
keep the state from ignoring historical front-of-the-line
legally adjudicated water rights to commandeer water from the
Stanislaus River basin to use as they see fit. That,
coupled with the groundwater mandate, would have a major
negative impact on Manteca, Ripon, Escalon and the surrounding
countryside as well as Lathrop and Tracy. While it wouldn’t
send the South County back to the 1880s, it would still be
devastating. And if you think this is only a problem for
farmers, guess again. Choke off the water supply based on
average or above average precipitation years, and you will
devalue existing homes. –Written by Manteca Bulletin editor Dennis Wyatt.
Last year, legislators passed, the governor signed, and
California voters approved, a ten billion dollar climate bond
(the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought
Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, SB 867
(Allen), which appeared on the November ballot as Proposition
4). While the bond act’s full title largely tells the story of
its contents, the water- and resilience-focused spending may
not be what all Californians expected from the state’s first
self-proclaimed climate bond. … The negotiations will
continue to unfold, but in the meantime, it is helpful to look
at the contents of the bond’s legislative language. Some may be
surprised to learn, for example, that the bond primarily
addresses climate adaptation and resilience, rather than
climate mitigation such as clean energy infrastructure. This
post outlines some major areas, projects, and funding within
the language passed in 2024.
The regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”)
in drinking water remains one of the primary focuses for
legislatures and agencies at both the state and federal levels.
In May 2025, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(“EPA”) affirmed Maximum Contaminant Levels (“MCLs”) of 4 parts
per trillion (“ppt”) for two PFAS substances, perfluorooctanoic
acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”). Many
states have already regulated PFAS compounds in drinking water
but have done so in a variety of different ways, and at
different levels. The result is a patchwork of regulations and
standards which presents significant operational and compliance
challenges to impacted drinking water systems. This client
alert surveys MCLs, as well as guidance and notification
levels, for PFAS compounds in drinking water across the United
States.
Canadian Wave-powered desalination innovator Oneka Technologies
has secured regulatory approval to move forward with its
wave-powered desalination pilot project off the coast of Fort
Bragg, California. According to Oneka Technologies, the
Fort Bragg Planning Commission unanimously approved the
initiative on May 28, 2025, following the completion of the
environmental review process. The review included a 30-day
public consultation. The project, partly funded by the
California Department of Water Resources (DWR), is now entering
the deployment phase. … This is said to be the first
seawater desalination pilot to complete the CEQA process since
California updated its regulations in 2015. The system is
designed to produce freshwater using wave energy, operating
off-grid and without greenhouse gas emissions.
Before enjoying Ruth Lake this summer, be sure to clean, drain
and dry all gear, boats and trailers to prevent the spread of
the invasive golden mussel. The golden mussel, native to East
and Southeast Asia, was first documented in California in 2024.
Like quagga and zebra mussels, the golden mussel is capable of
rapidly spreading, wreaking ecological health and threatening
water infrastructure and water quality. Thomas Jabusch of the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Michiko Mares of
the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District join the program to
golden mussels, their threat, and what you can do to stop the
spread of this invasive species.
President Donald Trump on Thursday pulled the U.S. out of an
agreement with Washington, Oregon and four American Indian
tribes to work together to restore salmon populations and boost
tribal clean energy development in the Pacific Northwest,
deriding the plan as “radical environmentalism” that could have
resulted in the breaching of four controversial dams on the
Snake River. The deal, known as the Resilient Columbia Basin
Agreement, was reached in late 2023 and heralded by the Biden
administration, tribes and conservationists as historic. It
allowed for a pause in decades of litigation over the harm the
federal government’s operation of dams in the Northwest has
done to the fish. Under it, the federal government said it
planned to spend more than $1 billion over a decade to help
recover depleted salmon runs. The government also said
that it would build enough new clean energy projects in the
Pacific Northwest to replace the hydropower generated by the
Lower Snake River dams … should Congress ever agree to remove
them.
It’s been a wet several weeks in Colorado, but as Coloradans
know, moisture tends to come in the form of rain at this point
in the year. And as snowpack continues to dwindle around the
state, several regions are far behind their snowpack norm for
the date. According to data provided by the USDA, the state of
Colorado is at just 36 percent of the snowpack norm for June
12. … Meanwhile, western Colorado is hurting for
snowpack, too, with the Colorado Headwaters river basin
at just 28 percent of what’s typical. … It’s also
worth noting that places where the snow has disappeared the
fastest are also where some of the state’s most serious drought
conditions are found. Currently, it’s estimated that about 60
percent of the state is ‘abnormally dry’ or in a phase of
drought, compared to 38 percent at the same point last
year.
California Democrats tried on Thursday to dissuade Secretary of
the Interior Doug Burgum from cuts to water
infrastructure funding. Instead, they got a clear view
of the Trump administration’s priorities. The water security
programs may be working, but budget cuts are more important,
Burgum told lawmakers during a House hearing on President
Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the Department of the
Interior. … Congress is supposed to have the final say
in federal funding, but the administration’s budget proposal,
which would eliminate WaterSMART, is raising
red flags for some House Democrats, especially given the
approach DOGE has taken to federal funding. Burgum was
responding to Rep. Luz Rivas, who represents the San Fernando
Valley. Rivas said WaterSMART, which funds water management
improvements, drought planning and more throughout the American
West, was successful in mitigating water shortages in her
district. It’s received billions in federal funding since 2010,
with billions more matched by state and local partners.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee is bringing back a proposal that would allow
the federal government to sell off several million acres of
public land in Utah and other Western states.
… Introduced Wednesday evening, Lee’s amendment to
congressional Republicans’ budget bill, nicknamed the “big,
beautiful bill,” renews an effort initially spearheaded by Rep.
Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, and Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, that sought
to dispose of 11,500 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in
southwestern Utah and some 450,000 acres of federal land in
Nevada. … Though the scope is much bigger, Lee’s
reasoning behind the proposal is the same as Maloy and Amodei’s
— identify parcels of federal land near high-growth areas, and
sell them at market value to local governments to use for
housing, water infrastructure, roads and other
development.
In the desert of landlocked Arizona, where the Colorado
River crisis has put water use under a microscope,
Mainstream Aquaculture has a fish farm where it’s growing the
tropical species barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, for
American restaurants. … But some experts question whether
growing fish on a large scale in an arid region can work
without high environmental costs. That question comes down to
what people collectively decide is a good use of water.
… The farm uses groundwater, not
Colorado River water. … Arizona has seven areas around the
state where groundwater is rigorously managed. Dateland doesn’t
fall into one of those, so the only rule that really governs it
is a law saying if you land own there, you can pump a
“reasonable” amount of groundwater. … What might be
considered “reasonable” depends from crop to crop, and there’s
really no precedent for aquaculture, an industry that hasn’t
yet spread commercially statewide.
A newly published U.S. Justice Department memo could open a
path for President Donald Trump to roll back protections for
millions of acres of federal lands and oceans. … The 50-page
legal opinion provides guidance on the Antiquities Act,
concluding the president has grounds to abolish two national
monuments in California established in January by his
predecessor Joe Biden. The Justice Department determined an
opinion from the U.S. Attorney General nearly a century ago was
incorrect. The DOJ found Trump has the power to abolish or
reduce the size of national monuments established by other
presidents. … Opponents (of the Antiquities Act) say it
gives the federal government too much control over the
resources within hundreds of thousands of acres of land and
ocean and is sometimes inconsistent with other federal laws
that require more public involvement. … Proponents say
it allows presidents to move swiftly to protect vulnerable
lands and waters, and it has broad public support due to the
benefits of designating a site a monument.
Since January, the Trump administration has made sweeping cuts
to science and research at federal agencies, slashing funding,
laying off workers and terminating grants. A minority staff
report from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee released in May called the administration’s actions a
“war on science.” But amid these cuts, the administration plans
to prioritize an environmental program that cleans up toxic
waste dumps, also known as Superfund sites. … Some U.S.
lawmakers, however, have expressed concerns that mass layoffs
within the EPA and a dramatically reduced budget will hinder
the agency’s ability to accelerate Superfund cleanups. …
The Trump administration has justified Superfund budget cuts by
highlighting taxes on the chemical industry that help finance
the program. The Superfund program also received $3.5 billion
in funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law under the
Biden administration.
A sensor on the International Space Station that helps map
minerals was able to help track water contaminants off the San
Diego coast. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
researchers involved in a study of the instrument’s
capabilities found that it could potentially help track some
water contaminants faster than traditional means. The
instrument is called the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source
Investigation (EMIT) and it observes sunlight reflecting off
the Earth. Recently, EMIT was used to examine the
wastewater from the Tijuana
River as it emptied into the Pacific Ocean off the
coast of Imperial Beach. … Researchers examined EMIT’s images
pixel by pixel and were able to identify signs that indicated
certain molecules present in specific areas of the image. When
they cross-referenced their findings with water testing done on
those same areas of the Pacific Ocean, the findings lined up,
helping detect phycocyanin, a pigment in cyanobacteria, which
can make humans and animals sick.
Golden mussels are an invasive aquatic species that disrupt
ecosystems, filter away nutrients and damage shorelines
– and they were recently spotted on a boat trying to enter
Lake Tahoe. … This season, boating in California’s
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area requires a mandatory 30-day
quarantine or decontamination, while other water bodies like
Shasta Lake do not require any pre-launch inspection. No matter
the protocol, the spread of the golden mussel has raised alarm
among scientists and advocates, and its spotting in the Tahoe
basin is no small scare. … In the past, some
marinas shut down completely after the discovery of a new
invasive species – this happened in Lake Mead after the 2007
introduction of zebra mussels. Because Tahoe is so intertwined
with outdoor recreation, though, enhanced enforcements need to
be thoughtfully crafted.
A major new restoration initiative is launching across Northern
California to protect imperiled aquatic species and improve the
health of sediment-impaired watersheds historically impacted by
cannabis cultivation and rural development. The project,
Sediment Reduction on Cannabis Farms in Priority Northern
Watersheds, is funded through the California Dept. of Fish and
Wildlife’s Cannabis Restoration Grant Program, and was awarded
to Cannabis for Conservation (CFC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose
programs conserve wildlife and restore habitats in
cannabis-impacted landscapes. The project will reduce harmful
sediment production and restore degraded watercourses across
the Mattole, Eel, Mad, and Trinity River watersheds. These
vital river systems are home to some of California’s most
threatened and endangered species, including Coho and Chinook
Salmon, Northern California steelhead, and newly proposed
northwestern pond turtle.
Atmospheric rivers are responsible for most flooding on the
West Coast of the U.S., but they also bring much-needed
moisture to the region. The size of these storms doesn’t always
translate to flood risk, however, as other factors on the
ground play important roles. Now, a new study helps untangle
the other drivers of flooding to help communities and water
managers better prepare. The research, published June 4 in
the Journal of Hydrometeorology, analyzed more than 43,000
atmospheric river storms across 122 watersheds on the West
Coast between 1980 and 2023. The researchers found that one of
the primary driving forces of flooding is wet soils that can’t
absorb more water when a storm hits. They showed that flood
peaks were 2–4.5 times higher, on average, when soils were
already wet. These findings can help explain why some
atmospheric river storms cause catastrophic flooding while
others of comparable intensity do not.
