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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A coalition of top scientists loaded its last set of wastewater
samples for analysis Sunday after receiving the final word from
San Diego County late last week that the work should cease due
to a nationwide clawback of federal public health funds. Since
February 2021, the San Diego Epidemiology and Research for
COVID Health program (SEARCH), a collaboration of UC San Diego,
Scripps Research Institute and the genomics program at Rady
Children’s Hospital, have used advanced science to analyze
wastewater samples collected from three different treatment
plants in San Diego County. Samples have been used to estimate
both the amount and type of viruses shed by the region’s 3.3
million residents. … But those efforts ground to a halt
Monday after researchers received word that the roughly
$400,000 per year provided by the county’s public health
department would cease.
The Bureau of Reclamation has announced a $134 million award
for the proposed Sites Reservoir Project. This new water
storage project would be the second largest off-stream
reservoir in the nation and would increase Northern
California’s water storage capacity by up to 15 percent. The
award, funded by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the
Nation Act, previously received $389.65 million and was also
authorized $256.5 million from the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act, for a total of $780.15 million in federal
contributions to date.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has
released a status report highlighting the progress of its
Beaver Restoration Program. The initiative aimed to return
beavers to their native watersheds in California to restore
wetlands and combat climate change effects. Between October
2023 and September 2024, the CDFW placed 28 beavers across five
sites in the Sierra Nevada. The project, in partnership with
the Tule River Tribe and the Maidu Summit Consortium, has
already seen beavers producing litters and building dams.
In 1991, the state of California largely banned burning of rice
straw after harvest, and farmers turned instead to winter
flooding of fields to break down straw. As a result, wildlife
has flourished in rice fields which reproduce, to some extent,
the wetland habitat that once covered most of California’s
Central Valley. Rice fields now support some 200 species
including fish, birds and reptiles. Winter flooding depends on
sufficient water supplies and farmers have come under pressure
from drought, climate change and economic changes, putting this
success story at risk. Last year, the California Rice
Commission asked researchers at UC Davis and Point Blue
Conservation Sciences to estimate how many acres of rice would
be required to support multiple species.
The cliché “third time’s the charm” proved true for Berkeley’s
efforts to fix the aging culverts connecting the Aquatic Park
lagoon with the San Francisco Bay. Berkeley received a $4.1
million state grant last month after trying twice before in
recent years for funding to repair or rebuild the deteriorating
100-year-old tubes running under Interstate 80, said Scott
Ferris, head of the city’s parks and waterfront department.
Prone to cracking and clogging, the failing tubes are believed
to be primary culprits for the lagoon’s chronic pollution, as
they’re less and less efficient in channeling bay water in and
out of lagoon with the tides, a cleansing action. Of particular
concern are the lagoon’s periodic but persistent high rates of
enterococcus bacteria, a health risk for humans, and marine
die-offs, primarily affecting rays and leopard sharks.
Federal and California state officials announced Monday a set
of new inspection and quarantine requirements for the launch of
boats at Folsom Lake and Lake Clementine later this month. The
rules are aimed at preventing an infestation of golden mussels,
which were recently identified in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta and that “pose a significant threat to the ecological
health of all waters of the state, its water conveyance
systems, infrastructure, and water quality,” California State
Parks said. Folsom Lake and Lake Clementine in the Auburn
State Recreation Area will be temporarily closed to all
trailered or motorized vessel launching for a month, from April
14 until May 14.
The City is letting some people in the county who get their
water from wells instead hook up to its city water supply
for free. The work to the water tank started in October and now
crews are welding the red steel panels as part of the base of
the massive tank. It’s a milestone for the one million gallon
water tank project underway. … The City Manager, Pete Carr,
said the water tank will bring water to 185 homes and a mobile
home park with 75 residents and fire hydrants to neighborhoods
which previously had none. The city received $16 million in
state grants for the project.
In Orange County, California, wastewater from people’s homes is
not considered waste. Instead of treating it and sending it to
the ocean, Orange County purifies its wastewater with an
additional three-step process. Each day, the county treats
about 130 million gallons until it’s safe enough to drink.
Patel: “And then we take that highly treated, recycled water,
and we surface-spread it in a series of lakes or ponds and then
let it naturally seep or percolate down and replenish the
aquifer.” Mehul Patel is with the Orange County Water District.
He says the aquifer is a key source of water for people who
live in the area.
On “The Evergreen,” we’ve talked about the history behind the
largest dam removal project in the United States: the long
fight over water in the Klamath basin between Tribes and
farmers, the process of getting the dams out, and what dam
removal means to the Tribes along the river. Today, we’re
bringing you up to date. What’s on folks’ minds now that all
the dams are out a year later — and what still needs to be done
to piece this basin together again? Cassandra Profita is an
editor and reporter at OPB. She’s been covering the Klamath Dam
removal for years and joins us to talk about the challenges
that remain to repair salmon habitat.
The battle over whether California should build a $20-billion
water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is
escalating, with Gov. Gavin Newsom pushing to lay the
groundwork for the project before his term expires and state
water regulators considering whether to grant a key
authorization. The State Water Resources Control Board has
begun holding a series of hearings on a petition by the Newsom
administration to amend water rights permits so that flows
could be diverted from new points on the Sacramento River where
the intakes of the 45-mile tunnel would be built. The process
has grown tense in recent weeks, as the Newsom administration
and water agencies have pushed back against how the board’s
officials are handling parts of the process, and as opponents
have urged the board not to bend to political pressure.
Southern California’s wildfire-ravaged national forests soon
could fall under the ax, literally. An emergency order issued
by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on
Friday, April 4, directs federal personnel to increase timber
quotas by 25% on nearly 113 million acres of national forests
across the nation. A map accompanying the order with areas
targeted by the declaration shows large swaths of California,
including northern woodlands and what appear to be the Angeles,
San Bernardino, Los Padres and Cleveland national
forests. … National forests were originally created
beginning in 1891 as reserves to protect watersheds and
forests for drinking water and timber supply, after heavy
overlogging threatened both. Under the updated 1976
National Forest Management Act, the forest service’s
multi-pronged mission is to protect watersheds, timber stands
and healthy wildlife populations.
The Trump administration’s slash-and-burn approach to federal
programs has delivered a considerable hit to the nation’s
environment, but experts say its plans to repeal hard-won
protections for clean air and water will also directly
jeopardize Americans’ health — and their wallets. Two new
reports from environmental watchdog groups outline how the
administration’s recent regulatory rollbacks, cuts to climate
programs and promotion of fossil fuel production will
significantly increase the cost of living for millions of
people and bring about hundreds of thousands of premature
deaths.
Water and environmental groups in southwestern Colorado have
not heard a peep from the federal government since their $25.6
million grant got caught up in a widespread funding freeze,
officials say. Southwestern Water Conservation District pulled
together a unique collection of partners in 2024 to tap into an
immense stack of federal cash for environmental projects in the
Colorado River Basin. The partners were “ecstatic” Jan. 17 when
they found out their application to fund 17 projects was
accepted, Steve Wolff, district manager, said. Three days
later, President Donald Trump paused spending, and the
district’s partnership has been in limbo ever since. Other
Colorado groups are in the same boat with millions of dollars
of awarded grant funding on the line. … The uncertainty
has impacted a slew of environmental projects across the Upper
Colorado River Basin — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
The Bureau of Reclamation today (April 4) announced a $134
million award for the proposed Sites Reservoir Project. This
new water storage project would be the second largest
off-stream reservoir in the nation and would increase Northern
California’s water storage capacity by up to 15 percent. The
award, funded by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the
Nation Act, previously received $389.65 million and was also
authorized $256.5 million from the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act, for a total of $780.15 million in federal
contributions to date. Located 81 miles northwest of
Sacramento, Sites Reservoir would store water diverted
from the Sacramento River via the existing Red Bluff Pumping
Plant and Hamilton City Pump Station after all other water
rights and regulatory requirements are met. Water would be
released to beneficiaries throughout the state primarily during
drier periods when it is needed.
… leadership of the Hoopa Valley and Yurok tribes signed an
agreement to share 50,000 acre feet of water from the Trinity
Reservoir. It’s the latest push for water rights specified in
1950’s-era federal policy but have yet to materialize on the
ground, despite a supportive 2014 U.S. Department of the
Interior legal opinion. “This agreement is a victory, but there
is much more work to be done. We will continue to advocate for
the protection and restoration of our natural resources,
ensuring future generations of our people have what they need
to prosper,” said Joe James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe in a
statement in the release.
… Current snowpack levels in the Upper Colorado River
Basin hit 90% of normal on Friday. The region includes
parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, providing the
runoff that collects in reservoirs along the river and
eventually reaches Lake Powell and Lake Mead. And 90% is better
than where snowpack stood on Monday, when it had declined to
86%. It’s been a volatile end to winter, with big swings rather
than a steady increase to peak levels. Snowpack measurements —
SWE, or snow water equivalent — generally peak the first week
of April, when temperatures warm and more snow melts than new
accumulation from snowfall.
Pumping from the Paso Robles groundwater sub-basin continued at
unsustainable levels last year — with agriculture extracting
more water than domestic well owners and municipal water
systems combined, according to a new report. The
sub-basin, which pools underground from the area east of
Highway 101 to north of Highway 58, was designated as
“critically overdrafted” by the California Department of Water
Resources. Basin users pumped 75,100 acre-feet of water in
2024, up from 63,600 acre-feet in 2023 — an 18% increase,
according to the latest annual report for the
basin. … That’s far from the estimated sustainable
yield of 61,100 acre-feet per year. … This is the eighth
year in a row that pumping exceeded the sustainable yield.
Recently, two critical policy committees passed Senate Bills 10
and 594, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). SB 10
would expressly authorize funds from the new toll road to be
used for water treatment, environmental mitigation, and
restoration of the Tijuana River Valley, and SB 594 would give
communities across the state with existing environmental
pollution burdens the opportunity to voice their concerns in a
publicly noticed hearing when a new landfill development is
proposed, as is the case in the River Valley. … SB 10
passed the Senate Transportation Committee last week by a vote
of 11 to 3, and SB 594 passed the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee today by a vote of 5 to 0. Both bills now head to the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
A massive lithium discovery beneath California’s Salton Sea has
set off a high-stakes push for what some have implied could be
America’s best shot at lithium self-sufficiency. The U.S.
Department of Energy confirmed in late 2023 that an estimated
18 million metric tons of lithium—often called “white gold” on
account of its silvery-white appearance and economic
importance—valued at roughly $540 billion is trapped in the
geothermal brine beneath the Salton Sea, a shrinking lake in
Southern California’s Imperial Valley. … Despite optimism
surrounding the potential economic upsides, some of the
projects are not without criticisms. One lawsuit filed by CCV
(Comite Civico del Valle) and Earthworks, an environmental
nonprofit, argued that the Hell’s Kitchen project’s
environmental review failed to account for potential air and
water hazards.
Nature cameras are becoming a popular way to check out
wildlife. A bald eagle camera in Southern California has more
than 600,000 YouTube subscribers. Now, Sacramento County could
soon have its own permanent wildlife feed. Alan Friedman is the
man behind Sacramento’s salmon cam. “Technology has been
amazing to assist us in observing wildlife,” he said. It’s a
first-of-its-kind project along the American River Parkway. The
live camera is designed to catch a glimpse of Chinook salmon as
they swim up the American River at the end of their long
journey from the Pacific Ocean. County park commissioners
recently approved the concept, and now Friedman is launching a
pilot project at Sailor Bar in Fair Oaks.
