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 Delta is an “ecosystem in crisis,” with state and federal
water policies doing great harm to chinook salmon and steelhead
populations, seven environmental groups and a Native American
tribe allege in a letter to the State Water Resources Control
Board. Two of the state’s top water delivery systems, the
Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, are
“exacerbating conditions for endangered species at high risk of
extinction in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary” that violate
maximum fish take rates under the Endangered Species Act, the
May 16 letter states. The groups and tribe allege that the
State Water Project exceeded the annual loss limit for hatchery
winter-run chinook salmon. And they blame the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation for water releases that are killing more salmon and
steelhead than their permits allow.
The Kern County Water Agency fired its General Manager after
only five years in the top spot at one of the most powerful
water entities in the county and the state. The agency board
announced Thursday it would not renew Tom McCarthy’s contract
when it expires on June 30. The board will appoint an interim
manager and has formed a committee of board members to provide
continuity and “stability,” according to an agency press
release. The vote, held in closed session, was unanimous,
according to an agency spokesperson. No reason was given for
McCarthy’s dismissal other than, “…the Board believes this is
the right time to take a new direction in leadership to meet
the evolving needs of our organization and address future
challenges,” according to a quote by board president Eric
Averett in the release.
Boaters and anglers trying to get greater flows on the upper
Kern River have been frustrated by what they feel is an
absolute betrayal of the river ecosystem by the one state
agency they hoped would be their strongest ally – the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The advocacy groups
have been urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
mandate Southern California Edison leave more water in the
river as part of the utility’s ongoing relicensing application
for its Kernville power plant, KR3. That process is
delayed with one study not expected to be complete until April
2026. After that, FERC will likely deem proposals by Edison and
other stakeholders “ready for environmental analysis,” which
will trigger a 60-day public comment period. FERC is expected
to make a determination on the new licence by Nov. 30, 2026.
The California Salton Sea Management Program celebrated a major
milestone Thursday with the filling of the Species Conservation
Habitat (SCH) Project’s East Pond Expansion, located at the
southern end of the Salton Sea. … This expansion adds
essential habitat for birds and fish while contributing to dust
suppression in surrounding communities. Since early April,
water has been flowing into the original East Pond. Now, the
adjacent East Pond Expansion brings the total restored habitat
to approximately 2,010 acres. With the completion of this
phase, the SCH project’s footprint now reaches nearly 5,000
acres. Plans are underway to expand even further—adding another
4,500 acres through the development of Center and West Ponds,
currently in the design phase. Once completed, the SCH will
encompass over 9,000 acres.
A boat going through the inspection process at the Thermalito
Forebay (at Lake Oroville) on Wednesday was
deemed positive for the golden mussel, an invasive species that
the California Department of Water Resources is trying to keep
away from local waterways. Inspections began on Monday at the
Forebay where boaters must go through a checkpoint where
workers thoroughly check the watercraft for standing water and
signs of the mussel. DWR issued a statement on Thursday that
said the mussel was found on a pontoon boat. According to the
statement, the boat was purchased on Wednesday morning by
residents of the Oroville area. The statement said the
watercraft had been away from the waters in the delta for “an
unknown period.” “Staff immediately contacted the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife for further inspection and
decontamination,” the release from DWR said.
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a tax and
spending bill on May 22, 2025, with a 215-214 vote. The Senate
is next in line to review the budget package. … The
FY2026 budget proposal initially showed a $2.46 billion
reduction in Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving
Funds compared to 2025 – however specific details about the
State Revolving Fund reductions are not prominent in publicly
available documents surround the spending bill. In a May
21 Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing,
Chairman Shelley Moore Capito stated that the State Revolving
Funds (SRFs) would be a part of the cuts. … Administrator
Zeldin stated he wants to investigate congressionally directed
earmarks that take away from the SRFs, but didn’t expand on
what the cuts would mean for the agency and water
infrastructure.
… As a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s College of
Environmental Design, (Kanani) D’Angelo is working with her
home community to identify strategies for incorporating
traditional Ahupua’a practices into urban environments. These
strategies include restoring the 400 year old ancient royal
fishpond, Loko Iʻa Pāʻaiau and marking the locations of streams
that have now been diverted underground. … Launched in 2021
with a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF), the Native FEWS Alliance is a
multi-university consortium designed to equip students with the
multi-disciplinary skills they need to strengthen food, energy
and water systems (FEWS) in tribal communities. Though the
alliance has benefited numerous students … the future of the
program is now in jeopardy after its funding became one of
approximately 380 NSF grants unexpectedly terminated earlier
this month.
Santa Monica is known for its ocean views, sunny skies, and
strong environmental values. But there’s a challenge on the
horizon that could test the city’s priorities: water. If Santa
Monica follows through on California’s state housing
requirements, which call for tens of thousands of new homes,
the city’s water supply will not be able to keep up. That could
mean building something the city and its neighbors have never
had before: a desalination plant. And powering it might require
making some tough decisions, possibly even considering nuclear
energy, something many local environmentalists have long
opposed. … If solar and wind alone can’t reliably power
a desalination plant, and fossil fuels are off the table for
climate reasons, nuclear might be the only option left. That
means environmentalists, residents, and city leaders may have
to ask themselves a hard question: are we willing to rethink
nuclear energy in order to solve an urgent water and housing
problem? –Written by Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible
Tomorrow
A recent stormwater sampling effort in Eureka revealed a
troubling trend in area parking lots: Even in periods of
relatively light rain, high concentrations of salmon-killing
toxic compounds are being flushed directly into local creeks
and Humboldt Bay.The results come from a pilot project recently
conducted by Humboldt Waterkeeper. The organization collected
water samples from two Cal Poly Humboldt parking lots in Arcata
and from the Eureka Target and Costco parking lots. The water
samples were testing for a compound that has recently been
discovered to be particularly toxic to coho salmon, which are
listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The pollutant
in question, known as 6PPD, is used in tires to help maintain
their integrity. As tires break down from normal wear and tear,
6PPD is released and reacts to ozone in the air and transforms
into a compound known as 6PPD-q.
… For over a decade, a narrow faction within the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has pursued a misguided attempt
to take as much as half of Lake McClure’s water and send it to
the Pacific Ocean. This effort, buried in the Bay-Delta Water
Quality Control Plan, is based on the hope of improving salmon
populations by a few hundred fish — with no credible guarantee
of success, and at a staggering cost – up to $672 million in
lost local economic activity and $167 million in local labor
income. … In contrast, MID has voluntarily restored
spawning and rearing habitat along the Merced, and we’ve
offered to provide new, real water – even in dry years – as
part of a durable solution. That solution is the Healthy Rivers
and Landscapes Voluntary Agreement (HRL). This comprehensive
approach, championed by the Newsom Administration, offers a
better path. It brings together local, state, and federal
partners to invest in habitat, flows, and long-term ecological
health – not just regulatory mandates. –Written by Stephanie Dietz, director on the Merced
Irrigation District Board.
Windsor residents should be prepared to pay more for water and
sewer service come July 1. But the Windsor Town Council is not
ready to approve rates quite yet. The council, in a 4-0 vote
Wednesday, opted to continue the conversation about a 6%
increase for water rates and 11% wastewater rate. … The
Wednesday night decision marks the council’s second delay for
approving the new rates, giving Windsor residents an extension
for protesting the potential rates. … The increases are
driven largely by the rise in wholesale rates charged by Sonoma
Water, the county agency that serves as the region’s dominant
supplier, as well as costs from town water and sewer
infrastructure upgrades. … The higher rates will go
toward covering replacement costs for the town’s wastewater
treatment system and construction of a facility to handle
biosolids — organic matter reclaimed from sewage and used in
agriculture — with a combined price tag of $175 million.
A controversial provision backed by Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) to
sell hundreds of thousands of acres of federally owned land in
Nevada and Utah to generate revenue for Republicans’ tax and
spending bill has been stripped out of the legislation by GOP
leadership at the behest of Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT). … To
that end, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced an amendment during
the Rules Committee’s marathon markup Wednesday to strip the
Clark County acreage from the bill, while Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV)
offered an amendment to take out land sales for parcels in Utah
that run alongside a proposed water pipeline
route that concerned water managers in other Colorado
River states, including Nevada.
One of the largest tree die-offs in California history, which
has turned evergreen forests into a bleak canvas of oranges and
browns, appears to be subsiding after nearly a decade of
wreckage. New data from the U.S. Forest Service shows that the
number of trees that perished in California last year hit a
10-year low. The 6.6 million trees counted as dead is still
above normal, scientists say, but it marks a major letup in the
run of drought, bugs and disease that’s
decimated forests across the state. The epidemic peaked in 2016
with 62 million dead trees. The improvement, revealed in the
preliminary results of Forest Service aerial surveys, is
credited to wet weather. … Healthy forests
are vital, notably for ecosystems, water supplies,
carbon storage and communities reliant on forest recreation and
the timber trade. Large numbers of dead trees can also increase
the risk of wildfire.
In an ominous sign for an already struggling project, state
officials on Wednesday said they are unhappy with the lack of
progress over plans by the Santa Clara Valley Water District to
build a huge new dam near Pacheco Pass and Henry W. Coe State
Park in Santa Clara County. Members of the California Water
Commission, an 8-member agency appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom
that tentatively committed $504 million in state bond funding
seven years ago to the $2.7 billion project — and still could
revoke it — expressed frustration at the district’s shifting
timelines and lack of specifics and accomplishments.
… On Wednesday, district officials told the water
commission that they still haven’t secured major permits needed
to start construction, haven’t secured water rights, and only
have completed 30% of the design. They said they wouldn’t be
able to break ground until 2029 and won’t complete construction
until at least 2036.
Sen. Jerry McNerney is laying down the gauntlet against Gov.
Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal to fast-track a controversial
Delta water tunnel. What happened: McNerney said he has the
votes to defeat Newsom’s bid last week to speed up the
permitting for a tunnel underneath the state’s main water
delivery hub, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, if it came to
that. “I’m confident that we do,” the former House Democrat
said in an interview following a press conference on the
issue. A version of the proposed project has been floating
around — first as a canal, then a pair of tunnels — for more
than a half-century, during which it has reliably brought out
opposition from environmental groups and elected officials in
the Delta region concerned about habitat loss and construction
impacts.
As we head into summer, be sure to mark your calendars for our
popular fall programs which will all be opening for
registration soon! Our first-ever Klamath River Tour
runs September 8-12 (tickets by lottery); the annual
Water
Summit takes place at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in
Sacramento October 1; and our classic Northern
California Tour runs October
22-24. Plus, the Water Education Foundation’s
2024 Annual Report is now available in a new
interactive, digital format.
Lake Mead has declined about three feet in elevation since the
start of May, and officials are prepping for a future with less
water with an extended boat ramp at Hemenway Harbor. While
seasonal dips are normal this time of year, the reservoir is
about 10 feet lower than it was at this same time last
year. As of Monday, Lake Mead’s elevation clocked in at
1,059 feet, while Lake Powell to the northeast is at 3,558
feet. Both reservoirs are currently 32% full. Winter
totals have now been calculated, with the Upper Colorado region
tracking at just 58% of the median snowpack as of Monday. This
region is the source of most of Nevada’s annual water
supply. Current runoff projections from that snowpack are
at just 55%, continuing a troubling trend. Colorado River
streamflow has shrunk by about 20% since 2000.
Other snowmelt and water supply news around the West:
For the first time, water is flowing into the Species
Conservation Habitat Project at California’s beleaguered Salton
Sea—creating vital refuge for shorebirds and bringing
much-needed relief from airborne dust in nearby communities.
… The state-run Salton Sea Management Program announced the
water flows into the project’s east pond in early May. The
inflow is a mix of water from the Salton Sea and the New River.
This is the first step in the watering of the project. Toward
the end of the month, state officials expect to begin watering
the East Pond 1 Expansion Pond. Together, these ponds will
provide about 2,000 acres of new habitat for migrating
shorebirds, waterfowl and other waterbirds. … The
flooding will substantially reduce acreage of playa, exposed
lakebed that that can send clouds of windborne dust blowing
into nearby communities.
For decades, drilling a well in the Salinas Valley and its
outlying rural communities has required only one bureaucratic
step – applying to the county’s Environmental Health
Bureau for a ministerial permit and paying a one-time fee. But
with the advent of the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater
Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) in 2017, that paradigm was no
longer sustainable. In the years since forming following
California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,
SVBGSA has been collecting data and creating reports to send to
the state Department of Water Resources to show proof the
region is on track to meet SGMA’s requirements to achieve
groundwater sustainability by 2040. If the Department of Water
Resources doesn’t think a GSA is effectively doing that, it is
empowered to step in and take over the process, which is the
worst-case scenario for stakeholders who want to retain local
control over managing their groundwater.
The Environmental Protection Agency and International Boundary
and Water Commission on Tuesday announced the fast-track
expansion of the International Wastewater Treatment Plant in
the Tijuana River Valley. The facility has been in a state of
disrepair for years and had been undergoing a remodel to double
its capacity at a cost of more than $600 million, the work was
slated to take several years to complete. But according to the
EPA and the IBWC, the construction will now be done in 100
days, expanding capacity from 25 million gallons to 35 million
per day. “It’s something we’ve been asking for a long
time,” said Paloma Aguirre, mayor of Imperial Beach, the
American city most affected by the sewage and pollution that
comes in from Mexico on a daily basis. The contamination
has forced the city’s beaches to be closed for more than 1,000
consecutive days.
